HAMPTON RENAISSANCE

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Hampton Renaissance. This first issue has been a long time coming and the editorial team and I are so excited to share it. Back in January, we asked “who is Hampton”? With students back on campus for the first time in over a year, it seemed a necessary question to ask. This is a student body on the cusp of a major administration change, dealing with the stressors of a global pandemic on top of the normal stress that comes with a collegiate education. This is a student body whose personal and communal identity is shifting rapidly and at Hampton Renaissance we felt it necessary now more than ever to provide a space for students and faculty alike to share what identity means to them.

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We wanted to show that Hampton University, our home by the Sea, is more than its physical property, more than the neatly trimmed grass, more than the brick and stone academic buildings. Hampton’s identity is encompassed in the minds, beliefs, and actions of its students and faculty, both of which are featured in this issue. With this inaugural issue, we wanted to shine a bright spotlight onto the individual voices that bring all the life and vitality to campus. We strive to showcase the talents of the Hampton faculty and student body as well as preserve our reflections on an ever changing world, but most of all, we strive to provide a space for students and faculty alike to share a little bit of themselves and be heard.

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This issue is the first of many we plan to do under the name Hampton Renaissance and we thank all of our readers, writers and supporters. Thank you for giving us your time and your energy, thank you for sharing your stories with us, and thank you for trusting us to listen.