They Call Themselves the “Red Eye Crew”

If you have insomnia some mornings…or the dog wakes you up, and you end up on campus early, walk over to Mountain Laurel Hall, specifically the southeast wing of the first floor.

Your senses will be engaged. The smell of some fresh-brewed Folgers, Maxwell House, or some specialty blends percolating in two coffee pots in the MLH 101B kitchen. There is also a good chance that in one of those rooms pastries can be had. Grab a cup of Joe and a bear claw and have a seat in the hallway and just listen to NVC at 6:30 am. What will you hear? What will you see? First off, you will notice there are over 100 students in that wing, which is the busiest place on campus that early.

You listen to a very young and energetic instructor who seems to be not much older than her students. She seems to have already consumed a pot of coffee! She might be talking about things like degree planning, time management, or maybe leading a critical discussion on topics like the effects of budget cuts on community college students. You get engrossed in the dialogue and discussion, but you hear other topics going on.

Next door, you hear the familiar voice of what appears to be the NVC career counselor. What is she doing here at this hour!!!?? You are engrossed, but then you hear another situation evolving across the hall.

Wow! The instructor and students are discussing theories of learning, and they get into a debate on John Watson and Little Albert! Can this be real or are you dreaming? Just when you anxiously await the class opinion on the ethical dilemma of that case, you hear a booming voice with an Appalachian accent in the fourth room. The topic of discussion for that class is a challenging historical perspective – the case of Benedict Arnold. Everything is so engaging and interesting! You ponder which room to focus on! And again, you think you are dreaming. You’re not.

This is NVC at 6:30 am. All over the campus classes are meeting at 6:30 am. Who are these lunatics that teach this early? They call themselves the ‘Red Eye’ crew and we will detail one of these early risers until the list is expended.

Contributed by Gary Bowling, Senior Coordinator of Student Development