A Sea Of Red

Grad dates to collide yet again in 2008

By Christa Desrets
cdesrets@newsadvance.com
July 13, 2007

Parents of students graduating from Lynchburg-area colleges next year could be in for a disappointment if they don't plan their trips in advance - way in advance.

Liberty University, Lynchburg College, Sweet Briar College and Randolph College all plan to hold commencement ceremonies over the same weekend next year, May 10-11.

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i don't really see why a week's difference would make it harder to get a summer job. i've never had any problem getting a summer job if i wanted one, and previous summers i didn't start looking until at least 2 weeks, if not longer, after school let out.

Liberty got out a week to two weeks, and in some cases almost 3 weeks after a lot of colleges last year. Our Christmas break was way too long. Sometimes you have to look out for what is best for your students.

It's going to take some brainstorming.

No, it's going to take more hotels. As it was said in the article, you can't just pull an academic date out of a hat. In order to get more hotels, it's going to take more than one busy weekend a year, however. Until Lynchburg has some reasons for hotels to come in (e.g., destination shopping), they're not going to. As far as I know there is only one new hotel under construction in the hill city. That's the Hilton Garden right next to Liberty.

Those who don't get their reservations early will just have to stay farther away. I wonder what the dates are for UVA and the Roanoke based schools. Hotels need a certain average occupancy over the course of a year to survive, and full occupancy at graduation is not going to get them there unless there are other reasons to make Lynchburg a destination.

I'll have to plan my vacation around those dates. I don't want to be anywhere near Lynchburg when this goes down.

El Scorcho wrote:

It's going to take some brainstorming.

there is only one new hotel under construction in the hill city. That's the Hilton Garden right next to Liberty.

Scorcho, we are talking over 3000 acres here--on what side of campus are they building a Hilton? Is it on 29 South?

Its below the circle dorms on the other side of the tracks on Wards Road.

Or you could say it's to the right of the ramp at the back of the campus as you head from 460 around to Wards Rd.

....or...across the RR Tracks by the baseball field, make a U turn at the light...and another U turn at East Coast and its there on the right as your traverse back North on US-29N (Bus).

As we used to say in the outfield when I played Babe Ruth baseball, "I GOT IT!"

El Scorcho wrote:

It's going to take some brainstorming.

No, it's going to take more hotels. As it was said in the article, you can't just pull an academic date out of a hat. In order to get more hotels, it's going to take more than one busy weekend a year, however. Until Lynchburg has some reasons for hotels to come in (e.g., destination shopping), they're not going to. As far as I know there is only one new hotel under construction in the hill city. That's the Hilton Garden right next to Liberty.

As far as i know there is one additional hotel going up....its next to Movies 10 i believe. My buddies dad was working the deal and it was in the paper but i can't recall all the specifics off the top of my head.

It looks like UVA is having theirs the next weekend, so hotels in C'Ville would be an option for those who can't get a room in the Burg.

Rocketfan wrote:

El Scorcho wrote:

It's going to take some brainstorming.

No, it's going to take more hotels. As it was said in the article, you can't just pull an academic date out of a hat. In order to get more hotels, it's going to take more than one busy weekend a year, however. Until Lynchburg has some reasons for hotels to come in (e.g., destination shopping), they're not going to. As far as I know there is only one new hotel under construction in the hill city. That's the Hilton Garden right next to Liberty.

As far as i know there is one additional hotel going up....its next to Movies 10 i believe. My buddies dad was working the deal and it was in the paper but i can't recall all the specifics off the top of my head.

True. I had never heard about it but there's a rezoning sign right on Candler's Mt Rd and it says it's proposed rezoning for a hotel.

Interesting on the other hotel. Certainly not a bad location.

I still haven't quite figured out the Hilton Garden's choice of a spot. Who wants a room right next to the train tracks when the train comes rolling through with the whistle blowing? Sure the girls in Dorm 33 and some of the circle dorms are used to it, but in a hotel? I dunno.

Who wants a room right next to the train tracks when the train comes rolling through with the whistle blowing?

Do sound proof rooms really exist?