Once-in-a-lifetime eclipse draws hundreds to Lee University
Students gather on the SMC Great Lawn to witness the solar eclipse.
Photo Courtesy of Mitchel Hartley, Design by Kaitlyn Anderson
The total solar eclipse made its #leeuarrival to welcome the beginning of another academic year at Lee.
In normal Lee University fashion, the school held an event Aug. 21 on the SMC Great Lawn to celebrate the rare occurrence.
Onlookers at the event, which was organized by the office of VP for Student Development Mike Hayes, braced themselves with eclipse glasses in hand as students and faculty gathered en masse to witness totality.
“You can get a lot of people to show with something that only happens every 350 years,” remarked Lee University President Dr. Paul Conn to Lee Clarion.
A huge crowd of students gather in the SMC Great Lawn in expectation for the eclipse
Photo by Tessa Voccola
The rarity of the eclipse was the main reason for the large turnout at Lee — a total eclipse has not been visible in Tennessee since 1969.
President Paul Conn joins the festivities with students
Photo by Mitchell Hartley
TIME Magazine reported that a total solar eclipse only occurs on a particular spot once every 375 years.
This was allegedly the most viewed total solar eclipse in history. According to the NASA website, "the moon's shadow crossed 14 states, from Oregon to South Carolina, along a path that is home to 12.2 million people."
Roughly 200 million Americans were within a day's drive to see totality, and a number of tourists flew in from other states and countries.
“The path of totality is a relatively thin ribbon, around 70 miles wide, that will cross the U.S. from West to East,” according to the NASA website.
The last total eclipse took place in 2016 but was only visible in Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi.
This year, viewers in Cleveland, Tenn. were fortunate enough to glimpse the sight that some awed students described as "like a sci-fi movie."
But officials also warned viewers to watch the eclipse only with the protection of special eclipse glasses — gifts Lee University freely handed out to those on the Great Lawn.
Lee was in the small path of totality, letting students and faculty experience the full eclipse in all its glory.
Photo by Mitchell Hartley
Dr. B. Ralph Chou, professor of optometry and vision science from the University of Waterloo, told TIME that looking at the eclipse is certainly a gamble.
“If people look without the proper protection, they run the risk of injuring their eyes,” Chou said. “If they get an injury, depending on how often they look at the sun without the protection, they do have a substantial risk of developing a permanent loss of vision.”
Students safely watch the sun through their protective eclipse glasses
Photo by Tessa Voccola
Rachel Liske, a sophomore theatre student, joked that she feared for her vision after she sneaked a peek at the sun.
“I took my glasses off a little bit before I had completely looked away,” Liske said. “I’m wondering if my vision is going to start fading because I heard that happened to people. I really hope I’m not the next victim.”
Permanent blindness or not, the total solar eclipse was quite the spectacle and kicked off another year at Lee with a bang.
