Staying on Campus for Spring Break
While I’d venture a guess that the majority of students will depart for Spring Break this weekend, not all will. If your Deac will be staying on campus for Spring Break, here are some suggestions for them.
We have a Spring Break hours page that will show students operating hours for dining, the Wellbeing Center, the library, and more. Students may wish to plan ahead for dining (e.g., have groceries on hand to prepare meals in their residences if they want to eat at late hours, etc.).
Students staying on campus may want to take advantage of some of our local gems in town (and nearby). Some thoughts for outings:
Take the campus path behind Winston Hall to Reynolda Village. Once there, there is lots to do. Reynolda Village is full of shops, as well as some great dining venues (you know I am a May Way dumplings junkie!) Students can walk through the beautiful gardens and green spaces, and visit Reynolda House, Museum of American Art, for free with their student ID (Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite is the featured exhibition). Reynolda Village and Reynolda House are great places to spend a warm spring day.
Go on a hike. Within an easy drive is Pilot Mountain (part of it closed from the recent wildfires, but many trails open), or Hanging Rock. Both are beautiful and within maybe a 30-45 minute drive.
Take advantage of downtown Winston-Salem. Hit the art galleries on Trade Street, find your favorite coffee shop (so many to choose from), see an indie movie at a/perture, enjoy the green space at Bailey Park, or go to the many restaurants downtown. The possibilities downtown are endless. Or go back in time by visiting Old Salem, just south of downtown.
Do your own campus art tour. Did you know that notable artists as Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, Alex Katz, Robert Colescott, Glenn Ligon, Kiki Smith, and Shirin Neshat are represented in the Mark H. Reece Collection of Student-Acquired Contemporary Art? And that we have several other major art collections? Your Deac can talk a purposeful walk through the Benson University Center, Reynolda Hall, Farrell Hall, Scales Fine Arts Center, and more to see some of the gems they might be passing by every day, but hadn’t noticed.
If you have a car, consider a day trip. North Carolina boasts some amazing places: Asheville, a little over 2 hours southwest of Winston-Salem, has a fun, funky downtown, lots of live music, restaurants, and breweries, plus Biltmore House. You can head to the mountains about 1.5 hours northwest of us, and visit Boone, hike in beautiful Blowing Rock, or drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. A little closer to home is Seagrove, about an hour away, known for its large concentration of working potters (so your arty Deacs might like it). Asheboro is maybe 40-45 minutes away and has a large zoo; Greensboro has the International Civil Rights Museum and some great international grocery stores.
Focus on your wellbeing. A week of break means a week where our Deacs can catch up on their sleep, be lazy, focus on themselves. Whether decompressing means doing some yoga in their room, taking a quiet walk, binge-watching Netflix, or whatever the pastime, this week is free for your Deacs to do whatever they find soothing and joyful.
Connect with others who are also on campus. As your Deacs see other students on campus during break, make connections. Introduce yourself, ask if they want to join you for a meal, get to know new people you might not yet have met. They could turn out to be terrific friends.
— by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (’92, MA ’94)