Below are excerpts from several speeches delivered recently, including remarks by Student Body President Ben Anderson ’20 at opening convocation and Student Court Chairman John Pittman ’20 at honor convocation. These speeches are available in full at the links below.
"Now more than ever, the world needs gentlemen. The world needs good men and good citizens. The world needs the men of Hampden-Sydney College."
-Benton R. Anderson ’20, Student Body President, Hampden-Sydney College
"Despite what you might be thinking now or what you will be thinking at the end of orientation, we do not have a lot of rules here. Be honorable and be a gentleman. In being honorable, you exhibit trust in your classmates and in your professors and in the community at large. In being a gentleman, which is to say being chivalrous, courteous, and empathetic, you show the people around you that they have worth and that you are aware of it."
-John Pittman ’20, Student Court Chairman, Hampden-Sydney College
"Whatever you choose to become involved in here, be invaluable. Strive to become the kind of man with a legacy of hard work, determination, character and good will… Strive to be the kind of man that others strive to emulate…. Yes, strive for success always. But, more than that, be a man of value."
-Robert Sabbatini, Dean of Students, Hampden-Sydney College
"Unlike most college campuses—where the sidewalks between classes are a collision course of students looking down at their phones—we expect you to look each other in the eye and greet each other as you move about campus. Why do we put so much emphasis on the courtesy of saying hello to one another? Because we believe that acquiring the habits of decency and respect in simple matters like greeting other members of our community will ensure that you will act decently and respectfully in bigger matters. We want our culture here to be one of civility, and one that encourages you to become your best self, the best man you can be in everything you do."
-Larry Stimpert, President, Hampden-Sydney College
Full Speeches
Welcome, by John Pittman ’20, Student Court Chairman
“The World Needs the Men of Hampden-Sydney,” by Ben Anderson ’20, Student Body President
“A Very Special College,” by Larry Stimpert, President
Welcome, by Robert Sabbatini, Dean of Students