And just like that the space filled by thousands of Longwood University students around the corner, and Hampden-Sydney College students six miles down the road, stands empty.

The Town of Farmville's population has been cut in half.

You tend to notice it when you wake up one morning and half your family is gone, whether it is one person or, in this case, several thousand people now out of sight.

They will be missed and their return in three months welcomed.

Our university students enrich our community in ways too numerous to mention and in ways that are beyond our general knowledge or public understanding, known only to those whose lives are blessed by those encounters.

Certainly, our local businesses have a very clear understanding of what it means to have half the town's residents pack up for summer vacation, returning to their other homes. But LU and H-SC students contribute in ways that transcend economic benefit. Yes, of course, there is a very real and appreciated financial contribution through the year as businesses benefit from the presence of several thousand additional wallets and purses in their potential customer pool. But there are intangible benefits through the students' investment of their priceless human capital in our community, as they volunteer or otherwise engage themselves in our daily lives.

They deserve perpetual appreciation.

-JKW-