Welcome to Birmingham-Southern’s “Hilltop Photo of the Week” web page and archives. Each week at this site, we’ll feature a photo that depicts some aspect of life on the Hilltop campus, along with brief information about what is taking place in the Photo of the Week.

The college welcomes submissions to be considered for the Hilltop Photo of the Week. Scanned or digital photos can be e-mailed to the Office of Communications at bwagnon@bsc.edu, or photographic prints may be sent through campus mail to Box 549004. Please limit photo submissions to those that depict some aspect of the BSC experience, and be sure to identify what is taking place in the photo, along with location and people involved.

View the Photo of the Week archive here.

Interim Term 2006

Birmingham-Southern students once again spent January involved in service-learning, study, and internships locally, nationally, and internationally as part of the college’s Interim term. Below are two photographs from this year’s Interim.

Mindful walking —Students in Dr. Thomas Gibbs’ “Contemplative Practice” Interim course engage in a traditional Buddhist contemplative activity called “mindful walking” on the Academic Quad. (That’s Dr. Gibbs in front.) “We all know how to walk, and we can walk without even thinking about it. Walking becomes a contemplative practice when the walker decides to observe the act of walking—be mindful of it—in all of its amazing and varied details,” said Gibbs, a professor of music who designed and organized the course. The principal meditation teacher of the project was Sifu John Bright-Fey, Buddhist and Taoist priest and Meditation Master. For more information about contemplative practices at Birmingham-Southern and about Sifu Bright-Fey, click here.

Learning marksmanship —For those Birmingham-Southern students who stayed on campus for Interim term, there were numerous activities and events to keep them entertained when classes weren’t in session. The campus community was invited to a target practice one afternoon hosted by the BSC Rifle Team. During the one-hour “Air Rifle Shootout” class, the participants learned the basic rules for a rifle match, how to hold a rifle, and how to position the body while shooting. After an introduction from Rifle Coach Sam Gladden, a match was held and team members scored their targets. The top three scorers received prizes. “I think it was great to allow more people to learn about air rifle and to help break stereotypes about the sport,” said junior rifle team member Sirena Wang.