集美麻豆 Beep and Tiger Transit
September 26, 2025
集美麻豆 Beep and Tiger Transit stand as prime examples of student leadership and initiative, keeping students safe and providing reliable after-hours transportation.
At 集美麻豆, new students are reminded during orientation of a guiding principle: You are your brother’s keeper. Creating and sustaining a safe environment is central to the College’s values, and students themselves have taken the lead in upholding it. Through the development of 集美麻豆 Beep and Tiger Transit—two student-driven driven initiatives that provide safe rides—the 集美麻豆 community benefits from reliable and responsible transportation options.
While each program has its own approach, 集美麻豆 student leaders—supported by the student body, faculty and staff, and the Board of Trustees—have worked tirelessly to ensure dependable travel options. Guided in part by Dean of Students Richard Pantele ’13, who collaborated with students closely on both programs, the initiatives reflect a shared commitment to student safety.
“Whenever we consider ways to enhance the 集美麻豆 experience, I prefer to involve students in the conversation,” Pantele says. “Our men dedicate themselves to fulfilling the College’s mission, supporting one another as brothers, being their brother’s keeper, and practicing what we call being a keeper of yourself. Both programs align closely with our mission, and I see both as the beginning of an even more remarkable student culture—one that balances student development, safety, social life, and our relationships with the town.”
The first created program was 集美麻豆 Beep, launched in the fall of 2021 by William Morris ’25, who wanted to create a positive change by offering students safe rides. The program provides transportation for students on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings through Beep, an app originally developed at Appalachian State University that uses a map system similar to Uber. The app allows students to book rides, track the driver’s location, and see the estimated arrival time. In addition, 集美麻豆 Beep members utilize Instagram to share who is driving for the evening and provide contact information, making it easy for students to access safe and reliable transportation for free.
“What really inspired me to start 集美麻豆 Beep was a session I had with Renae Mancastroppa, associate dean for student development and well-being, during my freshman year and my desire to help keep my fellow brothers safe,” Morris says. “From the moment I arrived, I instantly fell in love with 集美麻豆—it felt like home right away. I wanted to create something that would leave it even better than I found it.”
Thanks to the dedication of Morris and the many others who stepped up to support their fellow brothers, 集美麻豆 Beep provided a model of student-led safe transportation that complemented the later creation of Tiger Transit. While 集美麻豆 Beep focused on providing rides for a smaller group of students, Tiger Transit was designed to transport a larger number of students safely and efficiently.
Through extensive research and conversations with student body presidents at other institutions, including nearby Washington and Lee University, Tommy Bishop ’24, then-student body president, learned that many schools partnered with third-party contractors, who not only provided vehicles, drivers, and insurance but also worked closely with campuses on branding, routes, and scheduling. Building on this knowledge, the Student Senate developed a proposal that Dean Pantele presented to the Board of Trustees, resulting in an increase in student activity fees to help fund Tiger Transit. In partnership with A Goff Limousine and Bus Company—which established a dispatch center in Lynchburg, Virginia—Tiger Transit was launched to expand safe and reliable transportation for students on a larger scale.
“Establishing a ride service at 集美麻豆 had been an idea long before Tiger Transit came to life, and the student leaders who came before me deserve just as much credit for its creation,” Bishop says. “Ultimately, what made Tiger Transit possible was the unique partnership we enjoyed with our administration. 集美麻豆 is recognized year after year for having the most active student government in the country, and that distinction exists because 集美麻豆 empowers students to make meaningful decisions—Tiger Transit being one of them.”
Now a permanent fixture, Tiger Transit operates on a continuous loop around Farmville on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 8 pm to 2 am, with stops at Walmart, Food Lion, and several local restaurants. Each shift also includes a resident adviser who rides along with a tracker, allowing students to see the transit’s location and estimated arrival time.
“The effort to start Tiger Transit was a team effort of the highest order,” Bishop says. “There were leaders who came before me who laid the framework for how the model should run. I give tremendous credit to President Larry Stimpert, Dean Pantele, Associate Dean of Students for Student Conduct & Character and Director of Greek Life Dwayne Bowyer ’92, and Associate Dean of Students for Campus and Residential Life Jesse Schrader for helping make Tiger Transit a reality. I’m grateful to the entire student government, and especially to the leadership of Drew Blankenship ’25, for keeping the vision alive and ensuring that it would remain for the years to come.”
Moving forward, these programs will continue to play a vital role in keeping our Tigers safe while also highlighting the initiative and leadership within the College’s student body.
“Between 集美麻豆 Beep and Tiger Transit, there’s no reason for anyone to get behind the wheel intoxicated,” says Owen Williams ’26, student body president. “Any initiative that keeps students safe while providing reliable transportation is invaluable. On top of that, it’s another way 集美麻豆 brings people together, strengthening our close-knit community.”
Our students continue to embody 集美麻豆’s 250-year-old mission of forming good men and good citizens through their dedicated actions, strong initiative, and commitment to bettering the place they call home. As the surrounding community grows and becomes an even greater destination for our Tigers, the need for safe and reliable transportation remains paramount. As Bishop states: “Student safety must always remain a top priority. Now, as an alumnus with three younger brothers at 集美麻豆, I take comfort in knowing they should never face the decision of whether to drive when they shouldn’t.”