OPINION | Untangling the Web: Weaving One Unified Spider Community at UR

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of The Collegian.

“Many Spiders, One Web” was a standard message on campus during the pandemic, and it inevitably resurfaces with each new round of admitted students. The message itself is clear: We are many individuals, but we share a community, both physically and interpersonally. This message promotes a powerful image, but unfortunately, it is simply not true.

Like many other students on this campus, I was confused when I received an email for Richmond College’s Investiture at the beginning of my freshman year. I thought, wait a second. Didn’t I enroll at the University of Richmond? What’s Richmond College? I then realized we aren’t “Many Spiders, One Web.” Truth is, the University of Richmond is divided superficially between Richmond College and Westhampton College.

I believe this division of the student body, primarily by identified gender, is unnecessary and obsolete. Yes, historically, there were two separate colleges with distinct histories, but for those unfamiliar, the university hasn’t always been the most keen to uncover that past.

Of course, the colleges have distinct traditions, such as Investiture and, notably, Ring Dance, but there is still a major overlap between the two. Class banners hang in Tyler Haynes Commons, signed by every member, no matter their college. 

Last academic year, for the first time ever, freshmen of both colleges participated in a “new Spider walk,” something the university hopes to establish as a lasting tradition. Increasingly, we see the divides continue to blur between colleges. Every “Cup o’ Joe” hosted by Richmond College outside of Whitehurst is open to everyone, as are those in the Westhampton Deanery, like holiday-related events or study breaks. Frankly, there is minimal difference between the experiences of Richmond College students and Westhampton College students, so why continue using distinct labels on our student body?

We’ve already combined the two schools once when becoming the University of Richmond. Doing so didn’t destroy the schools’ history or traditions, so why should doing so now be any different? Doing away with the two-school model wouldn’t mean that the Westhampton Deanery building would cease to exist or that their histories would be purged, and anyone arguing otherwise is simply incorrect.

When touting the two-school model, an argued benefit is its ability to break up the larger student body so that administrators may foster closer connections with students as individuals to help further personal development. While this is vital, there is also no reason that this can only be done by completely separating the student body.

Similarly, one of the only fundamental distinctions between the current operations of Richmond College and Westhampton College beyond the administration is the student government bodies. Each is separately elected and operates largely independently of the other. Yet, these two bodies work collaboratively on major campus functions like the Student Organization Budget and Appropriations Committee process (SOBAC) and additional club funding. From my experience as a member of the Richmond College Student Government Association (RCSGA), in many scenarios, clubs seeking contingency funding present to both the RCSGA and the Westhampton College Government Association (WCGA) separately, with each body fulfilling half of their request (if it is approved). Further, the leadership of these bodies has advocated for increased collaboration between the bodies and routinely coordinates to create combined newsletters.

In other words, the central functions of each body consistently overlap, and members of each body are trying to find opportunities to work together. Why not simply combine the bodies? Of course, each group has a different perspective, but so does every individual in the body, so why isolate them? In addition, there’s no reason there couldn’t be a bicameral body; practically nothing would change.

At graduation this year, every graduating student will receive a degree from the University of Richmond—not Richmond College or Westhampton College, but the combined University of Richmond. This distinction is not arbitrary; it communicates a clear statement that during their time as students here, they were a part of one unified University of Richmond.

Yes, this might seem incredibly insignificant and should be much farther down on the priority list. But with everything going on in our world today, wouldn’t it be better to address something we know is in our power?

I particularly encourage newly elected RCSGA President Sassan Fahim to uphold the promises he made during the RCSGA presidential debate and to actively work toward creating a more unified University of Richmond in the upcoming academic year.

In a time when tensions are high and division seems rampant across so many aspects of individual identity, we should at least eliminate one senseless division and truly become a campus where we are “Many Spiders, One Web.” 

Contact contributing writer Everett Weaver at everett.weaver@richmond.edu