Watch Professor Pathania’s star turn in Origin

See the 2023 feature-length film that Variety called “a masterpiece.” Dr. Gaurav J. Pathania, assistant professor of sociology and peacebuilding at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ, portrays Indian scholar and social reformer Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in this film (available to stream on Hulu) about historical caste systems. 

Read our story about how he landed the role, and watch the trailer below.

Warm up your winter with a cafeteria favorite

Just because you can’t make it to the caf doesn’t mean its tasty, comforting dishes can’t come to you! Try making your own tomato basil pie, a favorite among faculty, staff, and students alike, at home using this recipe lovingly provided by Darren Campbell, food service director for Pioneer College Caterers.

Need a little extra pick-me-up? Here’s a Common Grounds-inspired drink recipe from Tyler Goss, director for student engagement and leadership development.

Read Professor Evans’ new book

The latest book from Dr. David Evans, professor of history and intercultural studies and associate dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Damned Whiteness offers an unflinching look at the efforts by religious white progressives in the fight for Black freedom. Grab a physical copy of the page-turner at Parentheses Books (76 W Gay St., Harrisonburg) or download one online as an .

Seeking something a little more fantastical? Check out the series from Liesl West ’18 and by Christine Benner Dixon ’04.

Share your favorite indoor snow day activities in the comments below!

“When is it forecast to stop snowing? That’s one of the things I zero in on,” said , 91¶ĚĘÓƵ grounds supervisor. Once he knows that, he can begin to develop his strategy for snow removal.

It’s a difficult task. “Even in a 1-inch snow there is a rush-time when they [the administration] want every walk and step cleared. Our campus is 100 acres. If you think about it, a house in Harrisonburg is located on approximately a quarter of an acre. So on campus, we might have 6 or 8 people clearing the equivalent of 400 houses,” he said.

No matter how much snow accumulates, 91¶ĚĘÓƵ strives to open with minimal delays. However, the more complex the storm is, the more planning is necessary.

Every snowfall Hairston must consider: Is there enough salt? Will additional equipment be needed? Do I have enough manpower?

This week, due to shortages in his normal staff, Hairston hired temporary employees through student owned and operated BruCrew. “It is handy to have a temp agency that is familiar with campus and is made up of people we can trust – I was pleased with how that worked,” Hairston said.

Snow removal is expensive business. Last year, which was a bad year for snow and ice, physical plant budgeted $2,600 for snow removal, but ended up spending $8,300. This year they went toward the middle of those two numbers and budgeted $4,500. As of now, $3,400 of the $4,500 has been spent. “We will probably reach our budget,” noted Hairston.

Hairston isn’t worried. Although they have spent three quarters of their budget, much of that has gone toward the preventive measure of stocking supplies to last them the entire cold season, come what may. This is in direct response to a supply issue they encountered last year. As early as December of 2013 it became clear they might not be able to get more salt until the following summer. “That was a little frightening,” Hairston said.

On snowy days, Hairston has teams working around the clock. He assigns himself to some of the most undesirable shifts. “This past storm, I went home at 4 in the afternoon, went to sleep at 5, and came back in at 11:30 p.m.” When he arrived back at campus, he could tell the evening crew had just gone home because the truck was still warm and their clothes were in the dryer.

Night snow removal sounds like lonely, thankless work, but Hairston said it is just part of the job and that workers are able to stay connected through radios.

Besides, there are always humorous occurrences. “When you are running a snow blower, the landscape disappears so you have to make a mental map of where the sidewalks are. You can’t see anything underneath the snow and occasionally you might encounter something like a newspaper. Generally, the snow blower can handle the Daily News Record – but now, a Washington Post, that will stop it in its tracks.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 27, some snow actually fell from the sky and piled up an inch or two – enough generally to paralyze the Harrisonburg metro area for a day or two and put the city’s sledding hills back into business (briefly, very briefly).

91¶ĚĘÓƵ students Aron Brydge (bottom) and Travis Nyce, both of Harrisonburg, slide down the hill behind 91¶ĚĘÓƵ. Though much of the hill has been tamed by parking lots and other growth at the university, the steepest part remains a staple for Harrisonburg sledding. Photo courtesy of Daily News-Record

But Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Feb. 2, portending six more weeks of winter, we got another wintry mess this week and odds are it’ll happen again. All this to say: it pays to acquaint yourself with the area’s best sledding hills beforehand, because you’ve got to be opportunistic about winter fun here at 38.4 degrees North. (And yes, we realize it’ll probably be nice and balmy as this goes to print, but such is the nature of production deadlines, so back off).

From the many, many candidates, see&do picked five local hills with good public access, ranging from grandma-friendly to severely/profoundly dangerous, all of which get regular use whenever it snows enough to warrant an attempt (described below in no particular order).

The Keister Hill

This one, in front of Keister Elementary School on Maryland Avenue, sees heavy sledding traffic, thanks to its convenient location and size.

“It’s just a big hill and it’s safe. There’s nothing at the bottom they could get hurt on,” said Nicole Kyger, who brought her two sons all the way from Bridgewater to shred the slope last Tuesday afternoon, as the snow began to turn to sleet.

Keister’s snazziest feature is the hump near the very bottom, big enough to launch a few feet in the air if you hit it right. Kyger’s son, Spencer Ritchie, an eighth-grader at J. Frank Hillyard Middle School, was using a plastic toboggan style sled that didn’t handle well, though, and he was lucky if he made it halfway down to the jump without tumbling out of control. Next time he’ll bring a tube, he said, with a gleam in his eye, and take to the air.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Purcell Park

Tucked away in the southernmost corner of Purcell Park, between Blacks Run and the interstate, is a relatively short slope that, thanks to its extreme steepness and abundance of hazards, offers a challenge to the most serious and accomplished of amateur sledders. It’s a bit of a hike – just get on the outer loop walking trail, head south and you’ll eventually find it – and it also gets a lot of use, particularly from JMU students who live nearby, according to Kari Sherwood, a senior. She and a group of friends capitalized on their unexpected snow day last week to brave the Purcell hill on neon plastic disc sleds.

A successful run here requires you to pick a perfect line between the oak trees, dodge the large concrete manhole, avoid the sycamore toward the bottom and screech to a quick halt before you shoot into the creek. There are also some gentle knolls nearby, for the fainter of heart.

Difficulty: Ranges from Beginner to Advanced

The Waterman Hill

Harrisonburg’s bunny slope is on the west side of Waterman Elementary School, bounded by Gay and Willow streets. It’s short, and it’s gentle, and it’s obstacle-free, and the young sledder will lose all momentum way before they get anywhere near the road or any other source of parental angst. When see&do visited last week, we found tracks testifying to sledding activity earlier in the day, though the sleet had already driven everyone indoors.

Difficulty: Beginner

ISAT

“This is THE big hill,” said Erin Gallagher, one of dozens of JMU students clustered in front of the ISAT building on east campus, atop a large, sled-friendly hill that tilts down toward UREC, the campus recreation center.

The group of students was using all sorts of sledding apparatus, including several people descending the hill on lunch trays pinched from the cafeteria. These have become something of a collector’s item, now that the JMU cafeteria’s gone trayless for environmental reasons (several girls, speaking off-record due to the possibly-illicit nature of their cafeteria theft, speculated that the trays could fetch a nice sum on the JMU black market).

Beside them, Sean Patterson, who grew up in town and has tried pretty much every hill around, said this is the best of them all, before he strapped on a snowboard, launched downhill and crashed about 15 feet later.

Difficulty: Intermediate

91¶ĚĘÓƵ Hill

This steep hill on the northwest edge of campus, the mainstay of the Park View sledding scene for decades, has been gradually tamed by expanding parking lots and facilities at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ. The steepest part remains intact, however, and the terrain is rumpled and interesting enough to keep it a popular destination. (The fact that 91¶ĚĘÓƵ’s privately-owned puts this one in a bit of a special class; Physical Plant Director Eldon Kurtz said the school tries to strike a balance between fun and safety, and emphasized the at-your-own-risk nature of any sledding activities to occur there.)

Years ago, when 91¶ĚĘÓƵ President Loren Swartzendruber was a student at the seminary, he’d take his kids out on the 91¶ĚĘÓƵ hill, though he said his official duties have kept him too busy to hit the slopes yet during his tenure as university president. He will become a grandfather in May, however, which he said will give him new incentive a few years from now to dust off his sled.

Difficulty: Intermediate