On June 7, The BVI Beacon turned 40. To celebrate, it is re-publishing some of the biggest stories from its archives over the past four decades. The article below was written by Jeffery B. Meyers and originally ran Aug. 16, 1993

 

Hundreds turned out Sunday for the opening of the new H. Lavity Stoutt Community College campus, a milestone one official called the territory’s “finest effort.”

The celebration, marked by heartfelt speeches, songs and prayer, honoured the completion of the Paraquita Bay campus’ first building.

At the ceremony it was announced that the college would now be named for Chief Minister and college founding chairman Lavity Stoutt. Mr. Stoutt announced that he expects other facilities to eventually join the $3.5-million building that took more than two years to build.

Red-letter day

“Today is a red-letter day in the highest sense,” Mr. Stoutt said in an emotional address. “You cannot imagine the way I feel. There is a bubbling inside of me.”

Residents and visitors from abroad crowded the three-storey building’s foyer and gathered on its steps for the programme, which featured the college chorale and quintet.

“Rejoice, oh fellow citizens; we have conquered,” said Ralph O’Neal, deputy chief minister and college executive committee chairman. “We toiled, we struggled, we laboured and we sacrificed. Generations to come will say it was our finest effort.”

Historic occasion

Keynote Speaker Sir Alister McIntyre, vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies, called the event “a historic occasion, not only for the British Virgin Islands, but for the entire Caribbean.”

He stressed the importance of “investing in our young people by seeing to the cultivation of their minds and the sharpening of their vision.”

“The explosion of advanced technology has made higher education and advanced skills a necessity for young people seeking to prepare for the 21st Century,” Mr. McIntyre said. “(UWI) views the BVI Community College as an integral part of our preparation for tomorrow.”

Mr. McIntyre commended the “remarkable vision and persistence with which your college has transformed an idea into reality.”

College President Charles Wheatley said a college is “an absolute necessity for modern nations.”

The territory must strive to make higher education available to all, he said.

“Our mission is to provide educational opportunities for everyone,” Mr. Wheatley said. “We still have a long way to go.”

Following the ceremony, Messrs. O’Neal and Stoutt said the territory has come a long way since the days when only a handful of students would attend secondary school.

Tougher courses encouraged

Tiffany Scatliffe, a full-time HLS Community College student, encouraged more students to enroll in the most challenging, or A-level, courses.

She said the increase in people receiving college educations is the “main force in the sudden explosion of intellectual growth in our community.”

Ms. Scatliffe repeated Mr. Stoutt’s call for businesses and organisations to support the college.

The new campus was made possible through the “tireless efforts” of government officials, college and UWI officials, and others, Mr. Stoutt said.