Oct 27th, 2022

BY RHIAN TRAMONTANA rjtramontana@vwu.edu

The upcoming midterm elec tions will be held on Tues day, Nov. 8. VWU lies within Virginia’s Second Congressional District, with incumbent Demo crat Elaine Luria and challenger Republican Jen Kiggans compet ing for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

FiveThirtyEight, a polling organization that forecasts the results of elections nationwide, estimates that Kiggans has a 52% chance of winning compared to Luria’s 48%. The Wason Center at Christopher Newport Univer sity concurs, saying that Luria and Kiggans are both estimated to have 45% of the votes, with roughly 8% of voters stating they are undecided.

During the campaign, Luria raised almost $8.8 million. A total of $7.2 million went towards political ads, combining money from committees, PACs and Vote Vets. Luria was her own largest donor for political ads, providing $4.1 million in total.

In comparison, Kiggans raised $2.6 million. Outside of that, $6.2 million was spent on political ads. The money for political ads was assembled from committees, PACs, Kiggans herself and advo cacy groups. The largest donor for Kiggans’ ads was the Congressio nal Leadership Fund.

In the Republican Primary held on June 21, Kiggans won 55.6% of the vote to beat out other candidates for the general elec tion. Luria ran unopposed in the Democratic nomination process.

As a result of the redistrict ing process done every 10 years, the lines of the Second District changed. The current district excludes the previously included areas of Williamsburg, Hampton, Portsmouth and Norfolk, while the new district is extended west to the city of Franklin. The new lines even closer races between democratic and republican candi dates.

Alex Cain, a junior, explained how redistricting can change the outcome of elections. “Redis tricting always shakes things up,” Cain said. “I think that it really encourages candidates to form new connections with their constituents instead of just coast ing on name recognition and accumulated social capital.”

On Oct. 12, Kiggans and Luria faced off in a debate at the Marriott Virginia Beach Ocean front. The debate focused on two major issues: the economy and a woman’s right to have an abortion. Their discussion also covered election security and border security.

In regards to abortion rights,

Kiggans said that she has “been a person who supported abortion in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger.” Kiggans said, “I don’t think that is an extreme position.”

Kiggans also stressed that it is a state issue and that she wants women to feel that “there are other options out there” besides abortion.

During her response, Luria called Kiggans an extremist. “If you are a woman dying because of a complicated pregnancy, [Kiggans] certainly wants to tell you how to live your life. Or if you are a 10-year-old who is a rape or incest victim who can’t get an abortion here in Virginia,” she said.

“There are a lot of things at stake that I think VWU students care about,” Cain said, “The abortion issue is front and center in this race, as well as the debate about what role the government should play in healthcare.”

Throughout the debate, both candidates accused the other of

BY PHOEBE COX pecox@vwu.edu

Homecoming is a valued campus tradition at universities nationwide. Bringing together students, faculty members, fami ly members and alumni, it gives people the opportunity to congre gate and celebrate with one another in the fact of existence and accomplishment.

Virginia Wesleyan University’s Homecoming Weekend kicked off on Friday, Oct. 7 with the 21st Annual Golf Outing at Cypress Point Golf Course, the fall theatre production of “Cabaret” and the student Homecoming Dance.

Traditionally, the Homecoming Dance is held in the CMAC, but this year, tradition was switched up with the dance being hosted outside at the Cove.

Freshman Jordan Crallé liked having the established title of “Sneakerball” instead of just “Homecoming Dance,” especial ly since it was hosted outside.

“I know a bunch of my friends stepped out in cool sneakers to match their outfits,” Crallé said. He enjoyed having the overall environment change.

Sophomore Marco Molino, another attendee of the dance, agreed with Crallé.

“There was a lot more freedom of movement,” Molino said. “You also didn’t get super hot really quickly, and I just think you can do more outside than in a gym.”

He expressed how having the dance outside again in the future could enable even more opportu nities for growth. Various attrac tions could be added in addition to just the dance floor, and he was excited to see what would happen with Homecoming in future years.

Laurena Lara, a junior, was also a huge fan of the dance this year. Being an avid participant in Homecoming activities, she has been to all of the Homecoming dances that she’s been at college for and was pleased with the way it turned out this year.

Lara said her favorite part of the dance was how “it was a differ ent environment being outside.” She loved the fire pit at the Cove and how the outside air made it a lot cooler. She is excited for next

BY MIKAYLA SZUDERA mmszudera@vwu.edu

The Esports team has expanded with 35 athletes on this year’s roster represent ing four competitive video games: League of Legends, RocketLeague, Fortnite and Overwatch. Esports has made its way into the athletic realm and gives a new defini tion to college athletes all over the country.

The Esports team is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). There are 175 colleges and universities affiliated with NACE as varsity teams. The universities and colleg es include various divisions and sizes of programs which gives the VWU team plenty of competition.

The captain of the Rocket League team, senior Brandon Kwon, speaks on the culture of the Esports program and how implementing Esports into the athletic program will improve the University as a whole. “I believe it is a big step in the right direction. Other schools have also merged their Esports program with their athletics department to help with recruiting efforts

and establishing pages online to showcase their accomplishments,” Kwon said.

Team culture can be a valuable advan tage in competition and plays an important role in the success of the teams. Kwon gives perspective on the Virginia Wesleyan Esports community and how they motivate one another throughout the season.

“The Esports team as a whole is a very cohesive group. Across every team we are seeing all-time highs in our performance in our divisions. We try each semester to get together at least once or twice to give updates on all the teams as well as any big accomplishments we have made as a group,” Kwon said.

Junior Brice Johnson, member of the Fortnite team, believes the team has creat ed a space for virtual competition to be on the same level as collegiate sports competi tion.

“Esports players can be considered athletes because we are passionate, competitive and driven to succeed in our field of play. We balance our sport and school like every other student-athlete on campus,” Johnson said.

One of the teams in particular has been advancing rapidly this season. The Rocket League had JV and Varsity teams devel oped and both maintain winning records.

“We are pushing for the National Playoffs currently as well as gearing up for post-season tournaments. Since last year we have brought in five new members with one ranking in the top 0.01% of players worldwide, so having that backbone has definitely helped our chances of success,” Kwon said.

Esports is different from other athletic teams due to the fact that there is no spec tator space within the arena, but that does not stop the VWU community from giving their encouragement in other ways.

“The community as a whole has shown a lot of support towards the program already and that is seen with the increase in viewer ship on our Twitch page,” Kwon said.

With the increased recognition of

Emily Moody

Mel

Mandy

VWU Flickr|Courtesy

Left to right: President Scott D. Miller and seniors Asia Howing ton, Josh Heller and Jordan Gilliam celebrate on Birdsong Field.

VWU Esports|Courtesy

Sophomore Nick D’Antonio observes freshman Danni Kehl as she plays Fortnite.

never give how you’ll get to campus a second thought.

more at:

Youngkin plan emphasizes nuclear energy

Gov. Glenn Youngkin released the Com monwealth of Virginia’s 2022 Energy Plan on Oct. 4, rerouting from the Virginia Clean Energy Act (VCEA) established in 2020.

The 2022 plan is outlined based on the listed principles of reliability, affordability, innovation, competition and environmen tal stewardship. It places an emphasis on nuclear energy, saying that the Common wealth will “Work with government, in dustry, and academic partners to develop a plan to deploy a commercial small modular nuclear reactor in Southwest Virginia with in 10 years.”

Youngkin said the VCEA needed to be reevaluated. His plan stated that “Given the likely technical, affordability, and reli ability challenges for Virginia’s electrical grid, these mandates require periodic re view and reauthorization.”

In the letter that preambles the plan, Youngkin said, “We need to push beyond petty politics and execute on a real strat egy to provide the reliable, affordable and clean energy economy of tomorrow that Virginia deserves.”

Sophomore Jessica Wilson, vice presi dent of Marlins Go Green, Virginia Wes leyan University’s student-led sustainabil ity organization, said that she is concerned about Youngkin’s energy plan. Much of this concern stems from Youngkin’s in tention of removing Virginia from the Re gional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a program that reduces the amount of car bon dioxide emissions from electric power plants.

Additionally, Wilson said Youngkin is “trying to repeal the legislation that tied us to California’s new law that will only allow

ELECTIONS

CONTINUED

various lies. Throughout their campaigns, there was frequent criticism from both sides. Looking at in dependent expenditures, roughly $3.2 million was spent on anti-Luria mate rial and about $1.7 million was spent on anti-Kiggans material.

“It’s fairly normal for political campaigns to de volve into mudslinging, especially as election day approaches. I think that this leaves a bad taste in a lot of peoples’ mouths when it comes to politics, but it’s really just a symptom of how divided we are as a country,” Cain said.

Cain feels connected to the race as a result of vol unteering for the Kiggans campaign.

“Working on the Kiggans campaign made me real ize how many eyes are on this race specifically,” Cain said. “I think that this elec tion may be a good indica tor of how things will go in 2024.”

Luria gained more na tional attention because of her time on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

“One party, and the lead ership of that party that my opponent wants to support and vote for as speaker (of the House), doesn’t have the courage to stand up and actually say that it was wrong that we had a violent insurrection at the Capitol,” Luria said.

Kiggans said that she be lieves those who broke the law during the riots should be held accountable. Fol lowing that, she said, “I want people to feel like when they cast their vote that they have cast it con fidently and that their vote counts.”

Kiggans avoided an swering questions from reporters surrounding the legitimacy of Biden’s presi dency.

In her closing remarks, Kiggans stressed that her entire life “has been about service.”

Kiggans continued by re

new vehicles that are sold to be EV (elec tric vehicles) starting in 2035.”

As for campus policy at VWU, Wilson said she would like to see Virginia Wes leyan’s energy come from more renew able sources. She cited research from VWU 2022 graduate, Nathaniel Powell, that measured the university’s renewable energy production from July 2020 to June 2021. According to the study, 65.58% of VWU’s carbon footprint came from offsite energy purchasing. The study found that solar power accounted for 0.24% of energy used on campus in 2021. “It would be great if our campus could invest in more solar,” Wilson said.

Beyond campus, Wilson said she wants to see policies that limit CO2 emissions from large polluters and help low-income households transition to more efficient ap pliances and electric vehicles.

VWU Political Science major, freshman Breanne Bessette, said that even when peo ple are concerned about the environment, their voting may not reflect that.

A citizen acknowledging climate change as a problem “doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to turn around and vote for the person that’s going to make their gas prices go up, or that’s going to force them to trade from a gas car to electric car,” Bessette said.

She said that environmentally-motivated voting surfaces the conflict of “what’s con venient versus what is the ethically correct decision.”

VWU sets its own standard for clean energy policies. According to the sustain ability branch of the university’s website, “Virginia Wesleyan is committed to wastereduction, recycling, energy efficiency, green building practices, composting and other earth-friendly landscaping practices,

promotion of public transportation and much more.” The university heavily pro motes its Greer Environmental Sciences Center in alignment with those values.

The green building industry lands right in the intersection between money, policy and the environment. Joe Atkins, VMDO architect and designer of VWU’s Greer Environmental Center, said that in terms of green buildings, “lowering the costs and getting some of those barriers out of the way” can encourage institutions to switch to sustainable energy measures.

According to Atkins, lots of trade-offs occur in the construction process of green buildings. He said HVAC heating and cool ing systems have some of the largest im pact, but its implementation must find a balance between cost and environmental footprint.

“A lot of times we will really go to bat for the upfront expense of drilling the geo thermal wells, so that you can get that huge

energy benefit,” Atkins said.

Energy conservation measures within Greer’s design include a green roof, opti mized natural light and a ground system for water heating and cooling.

“Sustainable features integrated in the constructed wetlands,” the VMDO website said. “Near high-efficiency building sys tems, and on the green roof are accessible to students who study local flora and fauna and monitor the building’s use of energy and water.”

Dr. Maynard Schaus, professor of Envi ronmental Science and coordinator of Sus tainability Management at VWU, said that he recalls how an exciting part of the Greer design process for him was “building on the success” of the Chesapeake Bay Foun dation’s Brock Environmental Center. This is one of the first local buildings to achieve “net zero” energy, meaning it uses no more electricity than what it generates on its own through solar and wind.

1

minding viewers that Luria votes with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi 99% of the time, and Luria’s name is attached to the policies that continue the “wasteful spending” of money that leads to a hurting economy.

In her closing words, Lu ria directly spoke on the de bate of Biden’s legitimacy.

“And I will tell you, there are certain cases where I am not your candidate. I am not your candidate if you think the election was stolen. I am not your can didate if you think $70 mil lion should go to a forensic audit of the 2020 election in a state where Biden won by 10 points and there is no hint of election fraud any where,” she said.

Kiggans and Luria will be joined on the ballot by those running for City Council and School Board positions.

For District 4, Amelia Ross-Hammond is running unopposed for City Council while Kenneth Lubeck and Staci Martin are running for the District 4 seat on the School Board.

On Oct. 28, Wesley an Engaged will host an event on the importance of voting, featuring Kate

Slayton from Virginia21, a Richmond-based group that seeks to encourage col lege students to be politi cally active. The event will be held in the Grille of the Batten Student Center from 1-2 p.m.

Early voting began on Sept. 24 and officially ends on Nov. 5.

Early voting locations in Virginia Beach are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Voter Registration & Elec tions Municipal Center, Bayside Recreation Cen ter, Great Neck Recreation Center, Seatack Recreation Center and the M. E. Ober ndorf Central Library.

On Election Day, Nov. 8, polls are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. Those regis tered to vote at VWU can vote at Ebenezer Baptist Church at 965 Baker Rd in Virginia Beach on Election Day.

The deadline for request ing a ballot by mail is Oct. 28 and the ballot must be postmarked for return by mail by Nov. 8 to be count ed.

Additional election in formation can be found at vote.elections.virginia.gov.

Flag football rivalries light up Birdsong Field

BY RHIAN TRAMONTANA rjtramontana@vwu.edu

As fall sports enter competition seasons, the flag football teams gather under UREC management to compete in their own tour nament of games. For five weeks, on Tues days and Thursdays, Birdsong Field came alive with music and rowdy teams.

Hollyn Pleasants, a sophomore and Bat ten supervisor, attended each game to over see the field. “There were 8 teams in total participating,” Pleasants said.

Along with the teams, spectators were allowed on the sidelines to support their friends. “The amount of spectators varied but usually people would come to watch a specific game and then leave, so there was hardly ever a high number of spectators present,” Pleasants said.

The downside, for Pleasants, was the poor weather conditions. “The worst part was definitely the cold, especially during the one game where we had the hurricane winds,” Pleasants said.

Marranda Hansford, a junior who coor dinates UREC tournaments, was pleased with the season and hopes it continues to grow. “More competition would be nice,” Hansford said. “For next year’s season, I would love to see more teams involved!”

This season of flag football saw growth on social media. “A few of this year’s teams also made instagram accounts just for their flag football team,” Hansford said. According to Hansford, the teams would “make ‘game day’ edits of their players and post whether they won or not.”

The energy was helped by the continuing team rivalries. “The team rivals brought so much more energy to the field! For in stance, HeadUp Prep, this year’s champi ons, and To Da ‘Partments have a rivalry because they were both in the finals last year,” Hansford said.

“HeadUp Preparatory were our returning champs from last year, and they definitely defended their crown well throughout the season and especially in the last game where they beat White Men Can Jump by almost double their score!” Pleasants said.

Josh Heller, a senior, has been play ing flag football at VWU for three years. “HeadUp Prep, the basketball team, was ridiculously skilled and they were a tough team to face,” Heller said. Heller was on the field with the Drake Carried team.

Heller spoke on the skill level of this year’s teams. “My team, Drake Carried, had a lot of talent on offense, we fell short of the race,” he said. Heller was also com plementary in regards to the other teams. “Props to the track, lax, both baseball teams,” Heller said. “They have a lot of skill and were extremely hard to cover de fensively, which was something my team struggled with.”

Flag football will return next fall for re matches and new teams. “The best parts were definitely seeing the players have fun and play great competitive games,” Pleas ants said.

Heller, who will graduate in the spring, said he will miss playing flag football. “I will miss Tuesday and Thursday nights in the lights,” Heller said.

Ross Winner|Marlin Chronicle

Greer Environmental Sciences Center boasts environmentally friendly energy.

Ross Winner|Marlin Chronicle

Teams compete on Birdsong Field in everything from cleats to pajamas.

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

Editor-in-Chief

Connor Merk ccmerk@vwu.edu

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Rhian Tramontanta rjtramontana@vwu.edu

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Carey Seay clseay@vwu.edu

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Mikayla Moscatelli mamoscatelli@vwu.edu

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year’s opportunity to dress up and experience it all over again.

Freshman Breanne Bessette also enjoyed the experience.

“I honestly did not expect to have a Homecoming at college,” Bessette said. “I had heard that colleges didn’t really do dances.” She was excited to find out that there would indeed be a dance.

Bessette also loved how the “The Wizard of Oz” theme of “Following the Yellow Brick Road” was incorporated into the surrounding decorations and food of the event and was thankful for “just being able to gather for a night with friends, have a good time and dance with each other.”

One of the most popular and talked about aspects of the dance was the actual dance floor itself. It was checkered with alternating solid spaces and mirror squares with lights lining the insides. Molino mentioned how the floor “was just mesmerizing. It made you want to dance.”

Another popular aspect was the 360 Spinner Video Booth. Groups of two to five could gather on top of a circular platform and get a 360 video taken of them that would then get airdropped to them by the video camera worker.

Sophomore Ellie Snowman enjoyed this part.

“It really added to the experience of the memories by having a video to look back on of your friends instead of just still pictures,” Snowman said. She felt like having this new aspect in addition with the environment change and lit-up dance floor really helped enhance the experience overall.

Saturday, Oct. 8’s Homecoming events started out with the Homecoming FinFest, a time when alumni, parents and students could all come together and eat, win prizes and simply socialize. Sporting events of various kinds also occurred later in the afternoon, including the alumni games.

Sophomore Evelyn Weaver, a member of the Women’s Lacrosse team, talked about the value of having these alumni games whereupon past members of the team get to play against the current campus team.

“It kind of inspires an appreciation for the people who came before you and made the program what it is now. And that goes for all the people no matter how long ago they graduated,” Weaver said.

Mentioning that the games are full of catching up, general chatter and just overall friendliness,

Weaver was thankful for the opportunity these alumni games gave for reconnecting with old teammates and remembering the fun and value of the sport.

Overall, Homecoming Weekend at Virginia Wesleyan was full of many events that included

social, artistic and athletic aspects. It gave people the space to gather together and take a break with one another in the midst of a busy semester, and many are excited to see what happens next year.

The Marlin Chronicle is the

student newspaper of

Wesleyan University.

meetings are held every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in Batten

submissions are welcome, but subject to the discretion of the

Let ters are not edited for content, but may be edited for length and mechanics. The views and opinions expressed in this newspaper may not necessarily reflect the views of the entire staff of The Marlin Chronicle or Virginia Wesleyan University.

The Marlin Chronicle Virginia Wesleyan University 5817 Wesleyan Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23455 757.455.3311

BY CAREY SEAY clseay@vwu.edu

Once a week, The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration & Discov ery at Virginia Wesleyan Univer sity holds in-person Japanese lan guage lessons. Beginning Oct. 3, the lessons are designed to teach the Japanese language to students and faculty traveling to Japan this upcoming semester and summer.

“The Japanese language lessons were created as an informal means to prepare a small group of indi viduals for their upcoming experi ences in Japan,” Director of Global Engagement Mandy Reinig said.

“Currently, there are three faculty members participating and two to three students. The students who are participating are individuals who either will be studying abroad in Japan next semester or will be traveling on the HON 200 course to Japan during the summer of 2023.”

In 2020, VWU partnered with Lakeland University of Plymouth, Wis. to open and operate a campus in Shinjuku, Tokyo. This campus, Lakeland University Japan and Vir ginia Wesleyan University Global, enables Japanese students to live on the Virginia Beach campus and earn their bachelor’s degree from VWU. This also allows VWU stu dents and faculty to travel and learn through the Tokyo campus.

mester studying abroad in Japan through all three of VWU’s joint programs, including two exchange programs and VWU Global Japan.

Students will also be offered the opportunity to spend their first two weeks of summer, May 24 through June 7, in Japan. This summer ses sion, open to students of any major, will be led by Reinig and the Dean of the Batten Honors College Dr. Travis Malone.

“We are going to explore how communities are dealing with global issues of gender equality, climate change and cultural devel opment,” Malone said. “Students will get to meet other VWU Global students and interact with students from around the world.”

In order to participate in this in teraction, VWU’s new Japanese language lessons are being held.

Two Japanese transfer students, seniors Momo Higuchi and Moeno Sawai, are instructing the lessons. Both students are business majors who came to VWU through its partnership with Lakeland Univer sity Japan.

“We were asked by Mandy to teach the lessons. We heard that there are some [professors] and students who are going to Japan pretty soon, so she asked us if we could teach them a little bit of Jap anese,” Higuchi said.

“As a former collegiate student newspaper editor, professional journalist and long-time advi sor for the Society of Collegiate Journalists, I understand the role and value of student me dia at a liberal arts institution.

Virginia Wesleyan University proudly supports the editorial independence and press free dom of student-edited publica tions. We believe that student editors have the authority to make all content decisions and consequently, assume full re sponsibility for decisions they make.”

--Scott D. Miller, Ph.D

According to an article published by VWU in April 2020, “This will add an increased international pres ence to VWU’s student body, as the University welcomes students not only from Japan, but from around the world.”

This upcoming spring, five VWU students will spend the se

The question of who should teach the lessons was not hard to answer for Reinig.

“I have known Momo and Moeno for a while and they are always eager to assist with differ ent projects,” Reinig said. “I knew they would have patience to work with us, know the key phrases that would be helpful for daily conver

sation and have been working with their friends to teach them some Japanese already.”

Higuchi and Sawai enjoy experi menting with many different meth ods to teach the language, whether that be through slideshow presen tations, worksheets or realistic ex amples.

“We go over alphabet letters, how to read and the basic conver sation, like greetings and how to introduce yourself,” Higuchi said.

Although the lessons are still fairly new to VWU, the impact they have had on those traveling to

Japan is already noticeable.

“Picking up a new language is really difficult and requires daily practice,” Malone said. “The les sons are a good way to practice and get real experience using the language in a setting that is very kind.”

For those who are interested in traveling to Japan with VWU, a new course, Japanese Culture and Language, will be offered in the spring. The course will be worth two credits and will prepare stu dents for a semester or summer ex perience in Japan.

Sarah Guzzo|Courtesy

The 2022 Homecoming court being crowned on Birdsong Field on Saturday, Oct. 8.

VWU Flickr|Courtesy

Families and alumni socialize at the Annual Marlin Alumni Social on Saturday, Oct 8.

Mandy Reinig|Courtesy Instructors Momo Higuchi and Moeno Sawai, seniors, lead a lesson.

Across 3. Leader of the Sanderson Sisters from Disney’s 1993 “Hocus Pocus”

6. The evil puppet of the Saw franchise

7. Serial killer doll from “Child’s Play”

9. The masked villian of the Scream franchise

10. Cannibalistic serial killer from “Silence of the Lambs”

Down

1. The horror who haunts the dreams of teenagers

2. Villian who wears a mask made of human skin

4. One of the top terrifying villians of all time; villian of the Halloween franchise

5. Antagonist of Disney’s 1998 “Halloweentown”

8. Clown who terrorizes the town of Derry, Maine

Poetry professor rhymes to a beat

BY VICTORIA HANELINE vfhaneline1@vwu.edu

A tall man stands in front of a classroom. He delivers lines impeccably in a constant rhythm. The entire class is silent. A man is playing drums next to him, accenting the poem without drowning it out, despite the drums echoing off the walls.

The poet is named Synnika Lofton and his percussion accompanist is Greg Lee.

The two met at an open mic around 2006— neither of them are certain quite how long it’s been.

Lofton said that when he was studying, he got really into the beat poetry of the 50s and 60s, and later into the Black Arts Movement, which featured a lot of rhyth mic poetry.

“At the open mic we were at, when Greg said, ‘Do you mind if I play drums,’ I said, ‘Not at all,’” Lofton said.

Lee said that he had been playing drums since ‘97, but the open mic was the first time he had ever tried beat poetry. What he loved about it was the connection be tween the two mediums. That connection is something he finds in other artforms as well.

“When I play for dance, it’s the joy of playing for its own sake, but also seeing how my playing informs how someone moves, being able to inspire an artistic re action from another artist in another me dium,” Lee said.

They’ve been performing together ever since.

The two have performed everywhere— from coffee houses and libraries to con certs and festivals full of people. One of their most recent performances was at the

Black England event in Chesapeake for an Old Dominion University audience.

Lofton writes a poem every day, about whatever is on his mind. During the pan demic, he had a mailing list where he would send out poems every month to peo ple who were subscribed. Lofton has also published over 90 books.

“I’m able to use poetry like a vehicle to talk about all the topics that I love to talk about, that I’m passionate about,” Lofton said.

One of the main topics that he loves to talk about is social justice. He has written poems and books regarding the past, and more importantly, present treatment of minorities in America. Prominently dis played on his forearm is a tattoo of the year 1619— the year slaves were first brought to the Americas.

“It feels like I’m living on the edge of every single poem I’m writing,” Lofton said. His poems are often short and cut to the chase.

In addition to writing poetry, Lofton teaches classes at several universities and organizations. Currently, he teaches at Chesapeake Academy, Norfolk State Uni versity and the Muse Writing Center, a nonprofit literary center.

This fall semester that list also includes VWU, where he teaches Introduction to Poetry.

Lofton said that he received his job offer from VWU this past summer, after learn ing about the opening through a colleague at the Muse Writing Center.

“He was like, ‘Wesleyan is looking for someone to teach Intro to Poetry,’ and I was like, ‘I’m a poet,’” Lofton said.

Lofton’s classroom is fairly small, but

every Thursday it’s filled with recitations of poetry. On some Thursdays, Lee comes in and plays for the class. One of the ac tivities Lofton has people do is listen to a rhythm Lee comes up with on the spot and then write a poem about whatever that beat reminded them of.

Lofton wants his class at Virginia Wes leyan University to publish a book of po etry that they have written. He is letting the class pick the title for the poetry book. The goal is to combine the best work of the students from each of the weekly prompts.

Lofton’s students have mixed feelings about having their work published, but he is hopeful that by the end of the semester

enough will come around to have a book published.

A book is a different story from the pro fessor himself. Even though they aren’t all fans of publishing their work, most of the students enjoy the class and love the pro fessor.

“It’s a chance for me to express myself without any other input, and I don’t feel judged in this space,” Destiny Vaughn, a freshman at VWU said. They said that Lof ton led an inclusive class, something that they hadn’t had in high school.

“I feel like I couldn’t pick a better teach er for the class,” Vaughn said.

Synnika Lofton|Courtesy

Professor Synnika Lofton performs a poem in front of a group of students.

Mel Lhuillier and Carley Tantlinger|Marlin Chronicle

OpiniOns

Election Perspectives

Luria to continue bipartisan leadership

BY CAROLINE WILLETTE cgwillette@vwu.edu

Rep. Elaine Luria is the current repre sentative for Virginia’s 2nd Congressio nal District and is up for reelection this November.

She is the Democratic nominee and was first elected to Congress in 2018, and was reelected in 2020.

Before being elected to Congress, Luria served in the United States Navy for 20 years and then went on to open her own small business, Mermaid Factory, a local gift shop.

She currently serves as Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, in addition to serving on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, the House Committee on Homeland Security and, most recently, on the House Select Committee, fighting to keep democracy alive by investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Luria has passed bipartisan legislation while in Congress, including the Chesa peake Bay Cleanup Reauthorization with Rep. Rob Wittman, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2019.

Arguably, the most important reason to reelect Luria into office is to help fight for reproductive rights in Virginia. Unfortu nately, the future of accessible abortions in Virginia is uncertain.

Rep. Luria believes it is a person’s right to choose if abortion is the best option for them.

Gender equality is also a critical issue for Luria. She is an original co-sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which is a bill that will help ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.

Luria has worked towards racial equity in Congress. She has supported bills such as the George Floyd Justice in Polic ing Act and the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act.

As a mother, Luria feels strongly about the ongoing issue of gun violence in America. She is a strong supporter of common sense gun laws including bans on assault weapons, universal background checks and banning possession of highcapacity magazines.

In response to her advocacy, she received the Gun Sense Candidate Distinction from Everytown for Gun Safety.

Luria is also passionate about protecting the environment. She started the Offshore Wind Caucus, which advocates for invest ments in renewable energy and addresses

climate change while promoting clean energy solutions.

Luria co-chaired the New Dems Climate Change Task Force, which collaborates on solutions for climate change issues affect ing communities. In addition, she served on the Congressional Solar Caucus that worked on transitioning to cleaner and more renewable energy sources.

From her experience in the Navy, Luria has a heavy focus on veterans and the military. She voted twice to increase authorized spending for the Department of Defense, which increased pay for service members and funding for Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

Luria has authored a bill to help lower veterans’ cost of living, the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Bill, which passed and has been law for the past three years.

A thriving economy is essential and Luria is constantly working to improve the economy.

As a local small business owner, Luria is committed to assisting local businesses and she has done so by passing small business legislation and creating a small business hotline.

She has voted to increase federal mini mum wage, which would allow minimum wage workers to make a liveable wage.

We are fortunate to have someone in Congress who is so passionate about representing her community. Her biparti san leadership in Congress is evident and will continue if reelected this November for Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.

Kiggans seeks to end D.C.’s one-party rule

BY ABIGAIL PETERSON akpeterson@vwu.edu

The competition within Virginia’s Second Congressional District is in full swing, with State Sen. Jen Kiggans chal lenging incumbent Rep. Elaine Luria.

This election is extremely important, as the winner could decide which political party holds the majority within the House of Representatives.

Virginia has already seen a shift toward conservatism with Gov. Glenn Young kin’s victory last year and this trend may continue depending on the results of this election.

I have always kept up-to-date with political news but had never person ally involved myself with a candidate other than going out to vote. That has totally changed this semester as I have knocked on hundreds of doors with the VWU College Republicans, becoming increasingly invested in the result of this election.

As gas and food prices began to rise, the impact of policy became evident. While the blame for rising inflation has been highly debated, the disdain toward this significant increase has not.

This issue, along with military strength abroad and abortion, is important this cycle.

Both candidates share many outward similarities. They both are women who served in the Navy that had long careers before entering politics. They both also claim to support the strengthening of our military forces.

Luria presents herself as a candidate that has supported both Democratic and Republican initiatives in D.C. However, after further research, I found this to be untrue, as she voted with President Joe Biden 99% of the time according to FiveThirtyEight.

She has continually cemented her opinions on President Biden, supporting his decisions even as his approval ratings continue to drop.

Luria has focused a majority of her campaign on attacking Kiggans for being an extremist and a political opportunist, continually commenting on Kiggans’s supposed support for a complete ban on abortion.

In comparison, Kiggans has built her campaign on fighting these allegations and focusing on her constituents.

Kiggans’s motto is “Restoring Amer ica’s Strength.” She works towards this idea with her initiatives to cut inflation, increase job opportunities, prioritize national security, secure elections and implement many other policy objectives.

Throughout her campaign, Kiggans has constantly defended her position on abor tion, reiterating her belief that abortion laws should be determined by individual states as decided by the Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade this past June.

I have been fortunate enough to meet Kiggans on several occasions and have gotten to know both her political motiva tions and her character. She is an extreme ly approachable individual with a passion for service.

Her career as a Nurse Practitioner came from a desire to help Virginia’s growing elderly population and veterans.

Kiggans is also forthcoming, willing to answer difficult questions about her opin ions. Her most impactful characteristic is that she truly makes an effort to listen to her constituents.

She formed her campaign statement around solving issues that affect Ameri cans’ daily lives.

At each volunteer meeting, she has gone around shaking every person’s hand, taking the time to have genuine, meaning ful conversations about our concerns with the U.S. government.

In a country that distrusts the major ity of public officials, Kiggans’ potential electoral victory gives me hope that there will be a member of Congress that focuses first and foremost on support ing their constituents and initiating true change within our country.

policy endangers youth

BY VICTORIA HANELINE vfhaneline1@vwu.edu

According to a new policy proposed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, public schools in Virginia are now required to ask a parent or legal guardian for permission to refer to a student under the age of 18 by a different name or different pronouns.

If the parent refuses, schools will be required to refer to the student by the name and pronouns the parents prefer.

Even if the family submits a signed form, teachers are in no way obligated to refer to students by their preferred name or pronouns, and can continue using the student’s birth name if they so desire. This is ar gued to defend the free speech of instructors.

Following the change in policy, students are now required to participate in activities according to their birth sex.

Changing a student’s name in the records is now substantially harder and requires a legal name change.

Students are now no longer allowed to use the bath room corresponding to their gender.

Parents are also allowed to deny their children counseling related to gender.

“The children don’t belong to the state. They be long to families,” Youngkin said, “and so as children are dealing with important topics, parents have to be the center.”

The previous policy allowed students to have the final say on their name and pronouns, including what name was used at graduation. Parents would also not be informed if the student did not wish for them to be.

Children don’t belong to their families. Parents should not have the right to determine what their chil dren are called or if they receive counseling.

This proposed policy will result in more depressed students. It will result in more suicides. Transgender

students, who are already one of the most at-risk de mographics for depression, are going to be denied use of a chosen name and therapy.

Therapy, according to a study by John Hopkins University, reduces repeat suicide attempts by rough ly 25% when provided after a first suicide attempt.

Intentional misgendering – referring to someone by incorrect pronouns – causes depression and stress, according to the American Psychological Association. In some cases, misgendering even leads to suicide, such as in the case of Kyler Prescott, a 15-year-old who commited suicide after intentional misgendering by medical professionals.

Deadnaming- the intentional use of one’s former name following a transition- is also likely to occur following this change in policy.

Intentional misgendering, denial of treatment, dead naming: These are what happen to students whose parents do not support them.

When I got my diploma, it had my name on it. My name was the one called at graduation. Most every

one can say that. This bill makes that a lot harder for trans students. Trans students won’t have that.

In high school, I could use the bathroom that aligned with my gender, if I chose. Trans students won’t have that.

I could play sports, provided I met certain require ments. I could do activities with people of my gender.

Trans students can’t do that.

This policy is a concerning step backwards when it comes to the rights of LGBT people, especially those under 18. It ignores human rights in favor of giving more say to parents and protecting the perceived right to misgender other people.

This is coming on the heels of bills in other states that restrict the rights of trans people, like the particu larly infamous bill in Texas that asks people to report parents of trans kids to the Child Protection Agency, or the “Don’t Say Gay” Florida bill that criminalizes treating anyone under 18 for gender dysphoria.

These bills, no matter what is written, aren’t to protect kids. They’re to control them.

Of course, if a teacher wants to call a student their preferred name, they can’t.

If one wants to change their name in the school system, they need a legal name change - with proof, and signed parent approval. That’s the name that goes on your diploma.

Legal name changes are difficult to get, and in Vir ginia, come with a charge upwards of $40.

Students can and will be denied being called their name. Students are going to have the wrong name called at graduation. Students are not going to be al lowed to play sports, to use the correct bathroom, to participate in gendered activities.

Students are going to be denied therapy.

This is the kind of policy you can put on a toe tag.

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

Connor Merk|Marlin Chronicle

Political signs engulf the City of Virginia Beach Voter Registrar’s Office.

Esports on campus, the team has been able to actively recruit current and prospective students to come join.

Kwon said, “I work in our enrollment department as one of our ambassador coordinators so I have seen the recruitment we are currently doing and believe it to be working. Every other weekend I am making calls to prospective students talking about our program and what they can bring to the table.”

As the Esports roster increases in size, it is still considered a small program compared to the larger universities in the NACE conference.

Johnson shares his experience competing against larger universities and touches on how NACE has altered competition rules so that teams are given a fair chance no matter the size or number of teams a program has.

“Last year, schools were able to have as many teams as they wanted in the tournament which resulted in an unfair advantage to our single team last year.

This year they changed the rules, so that different schools can only add two teams per heat in the tournament. This has helped to level out the competition in a fair way,” Johnson said.

Kwon appreciates the growth of the program and believes that the Esports program has helped the VWU community.

“It has allowed for students with this interest to find other students with these same interests and form other social groups on campus,” Kwon said.

Looking to the future, Johnson said, “The goal would be for all of our teams to eventually reach National play-off runs, but as a whole we have seen increased growth in the program and expect us to continue to see success into the near and far future.”

Show your support for the Esports team by following their social media or Twitch channel to keep up with their tournament schedule. Follow @VWUEsports on Twitter and Instagram.

The NFL league has come under scrutiny for their concussion protocols by their fans and former athletes as frequent head injuries of players have become a major concern.

BY SHIRELL WASHINGTON sawashington@vwu.edu

Concussions have once again become a hot topic in football. The medical consequences surrounding football has always been a concern since the first ever football game played in 1869.

Now, a professional football player, Tua Tagovailoa, has suffered two head injuries within a five day range and now the NFL is under scrutiny for the concussion protocols.

Tagovailoa’s first injury occurred in a game against the Buffalo Bills, where he was taken off the field and straight to the sidelines.

30 minutes later, Tagovailoa was back on the field. NFL fans started criticizing the league even more when, five days later, Tagovailoa was back on the field playing against the Cincinnati Bengals, only for him to suffer another bad head injury that led him to be unconscious.

Many people on Twitter have come out to express their concerns. Emmanuel Acho, a former linebacker and analyst for Fox News Sports, said, “Truth be told Tua should probably never have been playing. He displayed neurological trauma last week, we disregarded it, labeled it a ‘back injury’ & let him back in the game. Now, the whole world watch as he lay on the field helpless. When will we put player safety FIRST!”

The NFL is planning to strengthen their concussion protocols to better protect their players, but they have a long way to go.

Currently, the protocols give the team doctor the final say in whether or not the player can come back, not the neurologist that is hired.

I think this is kind of backwards, because if you are going to hire a person whose main focus is the human brain, then why don’t they have the final say?

If the league does strengthen their protocols, they need to start being stricter about it. Tagovailoa is most likely not the only player that has suffered a serious head injury in the league, and went back to playing like everything was normal.

If this continues, then parents of young children will stop putting their kids in youth football leagues and go for another sport with a lower risk of getting concussions.

BY COLETTE KEARNEY cmkearney@vwu.edu

On Sunday Sept. 25, Miami Dolphins star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a head injury after being hit in the head during a tackle by Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano. After standing up on his own, he had trouble walking and fell back onto the field. The Dolphins soon after announced that Tagovailoa was questionable to return to the game but after passing concussion protocol he was allowed back in the game for the beginning of the second half.

During the next game on Thursday Sept. 29, Tagovailoa suffered a very similar head injury in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, but this time it was diagnosed as a concussion. According to an article written by the Los Angeles Times, Tagovailoa laid on the field for seven minutes before he was eventually put on a stretcher and taken off the field.

According to Joe Schad on Twitter, Tagovailoa said, “There was a point where I was unconscious. I remember the entire night up until the point I got tackled. I don’t remember being carted off. I do remember some things from the ambulance and the hospital.”

What has brought this story so much attention is the backlash the NFL, the trainers and concussion protocols have received since Tagovailoa went down. Even though he has since come back and played, people are still upset and have brought to light the dangers his injury can have on his long term health. The neurotrauma consultant who looked at Tagovailoa has since been fired by the NFLPA after multiple mistakes were made during his evaluation according to reports.

According to NFL rules, players diagnosed with a concussion must follow a five step process in order to return to the field. Phase 1 is symptom limited activity, phase 2 is aerobic exercise, phase 3 is football specific exercise, phase 4 is club based non contact training drills and finally phase 5 is full football activity and clearance.

I feel like the NFL should have stricter rules for concussion protocol especially for instances like Tagovailoa’s during the Buffalo Bills game. For example, there should be different types of clearance based on the severity of the concussion sustained by the player.

Men’s and Women’s Basketball hire two new coaches

BY COLETTE KEARNEY cmkearney@vwu.edu

Quntashea Lewis

Before the start of the 2022-23 academic school year, Virginia Wesleyan University announced the hire of Quntashea Lewis as the new Women’s Basketball Head Coach. A native of Charlotte, N.C., Lewis had an interesting start in the sport of basketball.

“I grew up in the arts, I went to a performing arts high school that did not have sports. I didn’t play organized basketball until senior year,” Lewis said. After her senior year of high school, she played four years of college ball at Salem College in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

After college, Lewis hoped to stay in the sport of basketball but wanted to explore the other side of it, so she decided to get into coaching.

“Playing wasn’t really an option for me. My head coach at the time told me about graduate assistantships,” Lewis said. Lewis then was a graduate assistant and assistant coach at ODAC school Eastern Mennonite University from 2016-18. She then spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Mount Saint Mary’s College and has spent the past three seasons as the head coach of her alma mater, Salem College.

Lewis said she chose VWU because it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

The great facilities, locker room and area off-campus meant she knew she had to be here. Both Lewis and volunteer assistant coach Romona Dominguez said that not only is their goal for the team to win more than last season but to also see growth in the players from the first practice to the last.

The women’s first official game is Nov. 5 against Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md.

Marcus Curry

Starting his first year as a coach at Virginia Wesleyan University is Men’s Assistant Basketball Coach Marcus Curry. A native of Greensboro, N.C., and a 2019 graduate of ODAC school Guilford College, Curry comes to VWU after being an assistant coach at Guilford two seasons.

During his time as a player at Guilford he was first team All-ODAC for his junior and senior year. Curry was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Division III All-District Second Team and the D3hoops.com All-South Region Second Team.

During his junior year, Curry led the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game which ranked him fourth in the conference. Throughout his senior year, he again led the team in scoring with 15 points per game and had six double-doubles.

After his career, Curry knew he wanted to get into coaching so he accepted a graduate assistant position at Guilford. Curry came to VWU because he said he needed a change and he said he loves the program so far.

“I needed it in my life, a different change, more face paced, more urgency with Coach Macedo,” said Curry.

Curry mentioned his specific goals for the men’s team this year are to win the ODAC tournament and make the NCAA tournament but ultimately it’s to grow as

a team.

“I just want to see this group grow as a team, because they’re so young,” Curry said. He also mentioned how he hasn’t really felt a difference being alongside Head Coach Dave Macedo rather than playing against the VWU team.

“I haven’t really noticed it, I feel like when we play Guildford it’ll hit me then,” Curry said.

The men take the court for their first official game on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. against the Royals of Regent University at TowneBank Arena.

Emily Uzzle|Marlin Chronicle

Ross Winner|Marlin Chronicle

VWU Esports team member playing in The Marlin Esport Arena in the Jane P. Batten Student Center.

VWU Esports|Courtesy Esports team gathers in the Jane P. Batten Student Center for a group photo after their interest meeting on Sept. 30 in Pearce Suite.

Volleyball, soccer clubs spark interest

BY SHIRELL WASHINGTON

Beach Volleyball Club

Club and intramural sports are a fundamental part of any college, especially for those who may not want to continue competing collegiately but still want to participate in athletics. Recently, beach volleyball has started to come onto the scene at Virginia Wesleyan. Though not an official club under VWU UREC, this club brings together people who love to play volleyball.

“Last year, some of us would just go and play beach volleyball for fun, and it just got me thinking about how we have the court but no one’s utilizing it, and so then I was just like, I’m going to try and do this,” junior Cara Caruso, leader of the Beach Volleyball Club, said.

The club had its first meetup in early September and there were a decent amount of students that came out. Since the group is not an official club at the moment, most participants are coming out to just play volleyball, much like an open gym instead of anything structure based.

“It’s been a way bigger thing than I thought it was going to be,” Caruso said. She mentioned that other schools have volleyball clubs and that transitioning the club from a summer beach volleyball club to a winter indoor volleyball club is probably what she wants to do next.

“If we transition to indoor then we can actually get a club activated and start playing other schools,” Caruso said.

The National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) sponsors a national championship for collegiate volleyball club teams. The championship is hosted every April, and before the championship, teams compete regionally against one another. There are also tournaments for summer volleyball that are typically hosted at the beach. With their eyes set on becoming an official club, there are opportunities to compete collegiately as a club. Caruso expressed that she is open to these ideas going forward.

“Not only is beach volleyball club a good chance to learn a new sport, but it is also an opportunity to meet new friends,” Caruso said.

If anyone is interested in joining they can contact Cara Caruso or reach out via their instagram page @ vwubeachvb.

Club soccer has always been a popular recreational activity for college students. In college, club soccer is typically made up of people who have either played soccer in high school or just like the sport but don’t want to play collegiate. At Virginia Wesleyan, Club Soccer has become popular as there are many students that have participated since it started last year.

“I played soccer all throughout high school and when I came here I didn’t want to keep playing super competitively, but it was kind of weird going from soccer every single day to no soccer at all. So, I talked to a bunch of people that sort of felt the same way and we wanted to build a club where we could all go out and play a couple of times a week without a real huge time commitment or skill requirement,” senior Ethan Labelle said.

The Club Soccer team is not restricted to only those who have played soccer. Labelle expressed that people of a variety of skill levels have come out to play with them and that if anyone has the desire to learn and beginnerlevel soccer experience, then they should come out.

The club practices two times a week and anybody can come out. For games, the club picks a couple of people to play as a team.

“All the teams we’re playing against are just men’s teams but we show up Co-ed. We sort of take who can come plus the best 17-18 people that will give us a chance to play. A lot of our games are kind of far away, so it’s hard,” Labelle said.

As mentioned, the club team does compete against other schools. Last year, their debut match was against Longwood University where the team lost 1-0. This year, they’ve played two games so far. Their first game was against Old Dominion University and the game ended in a tie 3-3. In the second game, they played against the University of Mary Washington and the team suffered a loss.

Going forward, Labelle mentioned expanding the club, into a men’s club team and a women’s club team. He said that women’s club soccer teams have reached out to them to try and schedule games, but they don’t have a full women’s team. “It would be cool to have those two separate teams, so we could schedule games and play friendlies,” Labelle said.

If anyone is interested in joining they can contact Ethan Labelle or reach out via their Instagram page @cs.marlins.

Emily Moody|Courtesy

Senior Eric O’Dea, a member of VWU Club Soccer, has possession of the ball during a game against Old Dominion University.

Carley Tantlinger|Marlin Chronicle

Volleyball Club participates in Phi Kappa Tau Series Fun Children’s Network Volleyball Tournament.

Carley Tantlinger|Marlin Chronicle

Club Soccer meets during practice on Birdsong Field.

Holidays in Busch Gardens

BY SASHA SAXON ansaxon@vwu.edu

As people age, and college students grow too familiar with their campus, holidays such as Hal loween and Christmas tend to lose their appeal— their magic. Candy eaten in cheap costumes fails to excite the senses and one can only watch so many horror movies in October. In Virginia Beach’s soggy climate, snowball fights, roaring fires and frosty winters are few and far between.

However, roughly one hour from campus ex ists a microcosm of (Americanized) European culture, exhilarating roller coasters, theatrical performances and extravagant holiday-themed experiences that can rekindle festive excitement.

Busch Gardens is a family-friendly theme park subdivided into sections that celebrate and mimic Germany, France, England, Scotland, Ire land and Italy, located in historic Williamsburg, Virginia. Not only does the park boast more than twenty rides and attractions, patrons can peruse the petting zoos, take advantage of free daily per formances, dine in restaurants (some including live shows) and shop for souvenirs and art. From Sept. 9 to Oct. 31, Howl-O-Scream is Busch Gar dens’ main event when the sun goes down at 6 p.m.

In addition to the typical theme park charm, Howl-O-Scream layers on a ghoulish gleam. It expands the park with five haunted houses, five

territories, four terrifying shows, party zones and (for those of age) BOOze bars.

Mikayla (Kaza) Dayton, a Virginia Wesleyan freshman who recently starred in the school’s production of “Cabaret,” said, “As a native Dela warean, the wonders of Virginia’s Busch Gardens are anything but commonplace to me. But as an amusement park enthusiast, I am always eager to experience a new adventure, especially during ‘spooky season.’ This past weekend, my friends and I experienced the spooky thrills of Howl-OScream!”

She went on to say, “When we first arrived in the afternoon, we were greeted by crowds and crowds of people; Oct. 22 must have been when the whole world went to Busch Gardens.” Dayton and her friends explored the park, eating at Das Festhaus—a festive German dining hall—in the Busch Gardens’ Germany section and riding the Griffin, a roller coaster nestled between “Ireland” and “Scotland.”

Although the ride’s wait time was over an hour and a half, Dayton stated that “being able to ex perience the thrills of the coaster at night was spectacular.” However, the true fun started when Howl-O-Scream festivities began.

In regards to the event itself, Dayton said, “Fog machine smoke and actors dressed in gory cos tumes could be found scattered through the park. Regrettably, I was the first in the group to be jump-scared by an actor with a chain-saw com ing from behind me on our way to Ireland. But, again—I am all about thrills, so I didn’t really mind.”

Dayton and her friends finished their night with several breath-taking roller coasters and KILLar ney Diner, one of the haunted houses. In regards to her trip, Dayton said she personally “enjoyed the coasters much more than the haunted house— mainly because it’s not a fully immersive expe rience for me unless my hair is blowing, I’m at least fifty feet in the air and I’m screaming like a maniac from the intensity of a coaster drop.”

However, she would definitely recommend Busch Gardens’ Halloween experience as “it’s incredible to see how the park really comes to life (…or death)” and how “the intermittent scary dance parties, frightening performers and creepy ambiance of the whole park truly immerse visi tors in the spirit of Halloween.”

A sophomore at Virginia Wesleyan, Gabriella Snowman, recently joined junior Ethan Labelle and their group of friends at Howl-O-Scream. A popular event, their group of ten experienced

long lines, but as Snowman describes, “the things we waited for were worth it,” including the new est roller coaster, Pantheon.

Labelle, who has attended Howl-O-Scream every year for the last eight years, recommends making the trip as “they do a great job of decorat ing each year and the haunted houses are really entertaining, even if they aren’t that scary.”

Snowman, who had only been to Busch Gar dens once prior, for Christmas Town, had a fan tastic time with the actors, the unique themes of the haunted houses and how thoroughly the park adopted a Halloween theme.

As Halloween is nearly here, Busch Gardens will be continuing the festivities with Christmas Town, from Nov. 11 to Jan. 8, one of the largest holiday displays in North America (according to the website).

Alumna, Ryan Westpfahl, produced a glowing report of this holiday event. “A visit to Busch Gardens has been a special treat since I was in grade school. The roller coasters, animals and at mosphere have made me a consistent visitor into my adult years. You can’t beat Germany, Italy, Ireland and Switzerland during the holidays— and Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the closest I’ve gotten.” Westpfahl enjoys both Christmas Town and Howl-O-Scream enough to purchase a

membership for year round fun.

The park comes alive with holiday cheer, as Westpfahl describes it, “the award winning Christmas lights make for awesome views and even better pictures while the winter treats make you feel at home despite the chilly weather. I hit Christmas Town every year and never regret spending the time or money. Beyond checking off what’s become a holiday staple, the event always provides space for some relaxation and care-free moments during, what can be, a stressful time of year.”

Ticket prices vary, as there are always sales, ticket bundles and discounts available online or through sites such as Groupon. If you’re looking for an activity to spark holiday spirit, be sure to check out the website, https://buschgardens.com/ williamsburg/.

Ethan Labelle|Courtesy

Current and former Virginia Wesleyan University students at Busch Gardens’ HowlO-Scream event.

Mikayla Dayton|Courtesy

Left to right: Mikayla Dayton, John Post and Jacob Underwood, Virginia Wes leyan students in Das Festhaus.

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

‘Hocus Pocus’: Did they put a spell on you?

BY MIKAYLA MOSCATELLI mamoscatelli@vwu.edu

The first day of October, starting the beginning of the Halloween season, is always when the Sanderson Sisters put a spell on us. “Hocus Pocus” takes everyone on a trip to Salem, Massachusetts, from the starting scene of Sarah Sanderson’s shadow flying ominously along the field.

Then, viewers watch the sisters curse the village as they are being hanged for Witchcraft, while the sisters insist that a virgin will bring them back on a full moon on All Hallow’s Eve. Seeing the sisters vanish to dust at dusk after Halloween, we can believe that this is the true end of the Sanderson Sisters.

The movie features a star studded cast of Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy playing the Sanderson Sisters, Winifred, Sarah and Mary, respectively.

“Hocus Pocus” was released on July 16, 1993 and is, in my opinion, one of the best movies these ladies have done. It’s one of the movies they are most known for, while some know Sarah Jessica Parker from the television show “Sex in the City.”

“Hocus Pocus” will forever be one of my personal favorite movies and watching it brings me joy. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I struggled finding a movie that I could watch while eating Pillsbury pumpkin sugar cookies because that’s what I envisioned for a Halloween movie night.

The movie takes viewers through numerous emotions while watching. I had my best laughs while watching this movie and a small cry of sadness when I thought Binx had died. I ended up having a cry of happiness when Binx finally got to be with his sister again after many years.

“Hocus Pocus” is one of those movies that will forever be in everyone’s movie queue for Halloween and will always be an option for Halloween for

those who may not be a big fan of slasher films.

“Hocus Pocus 2” came out on Sept. 30, and while to many, it was an amazing movie, I think it should have stayed an idea.

Following a short introduction of the Sanderson Sisters’ past, viewers are pushed into 2022 to follow three girls who used to do a birthday ritual until they had a falling out.

As many may have seen from TikTok, the sisters went to Walgreens and seemed like it was a big joke. The whole sequel was too modernized and seemed as if it was stretching to keep people engaged with the movie.

When I saw the news regarding the sequel, I was

ecstatic. I loved the original and had hoped to find a second favorite movie. I was disappointed, to say the least. It felt drawn out and overly hyped up to the point where I was expecting an amazing movie. Frankly, the best parts of the movie were the first ten and the last ten minutes. The whole movie was unnecessary because of the added story, essentially creating a way for there to be a television show that follows the storyline but also another movie.

In spite of this, I loved learning the sisters’ backstory, because it showed how they grew up and why they are so close.

Also, seeing what changed the Sanderson Sisters into who they are made me happy because as a viewer, I better understood them. Keeping the same actresses for the Sanderson Sisters was probably one of the best decisions that could have been made for this film. After 30 years, this was honestly what many fans of “Hocus Pocus” needed since it gave some closure to their past.

“Hocus Pocus” is the most popular during Halloween. I think having the sequel come out now was a good idea, but the end product wasn’t as good as it could have been. The sequel will still get the hype and the views and people will still want to watch it at least once or twice because it is a new movie and the sequel to a well-known movie.

I would definitely recommend everyone to watch it to get their own opinion, since I may be biased in favor of the original.

From brooms to swiffers, it has truly been a ride with the Sanderson Sisters watching this movie on Disney+.

With it only being on Disney+, it may be difficult for people without Disney+ to watch, but this is one of those movies where it wouldn’t be that big of a loss if you can’t watch it.

The whole hour and forty-three minute movie could be an interesting end to the story of the Sanderson sisters, but one never knows. The movie ends with the possibility of a third movie, but we don’t know what will happen next.

Fall in love with Tupelo Honey

on your favorites. Tupelo Honey strives to create dishes with different flavor profiles. While playing with different textures and seasonings, they create a distinctive flavor unique to their business.

with a table before their initial reservation time. Despite the quick and easy seating, Maskell and her friends said the service was quite slow.

BY KYLEA MCCAREL ksmccarel@vwu.edu

If you’re looking for a new flavorful way to enjoy a chicken and waffles breakfast plate, go no further than a short drive down the street from VWU. Located right on the edge of Virginia Beach’s Town Center is Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen and Bar.

While Tupelo Honey isn’t a locally owned business, the corporate chain gives off down-home southern vibes. The atmosphere both inside and on their outdoor patio gives you the feeling of warmth at Grandma’s house in summer.

The aesthetically pleasing decorum, coupled with a new fall menu, is definitely one you must try. Tupelo Honey offers two different menus that don’t shy away from flavor. A select brunch menu is offered in the mornings on Saturdays and Sundays, while an extensive lunch and dinner is offered all other days and times.

Their scratch made Southern faves style of cooking matches their ambience. Executive Chef John Ferguson describes his creations as “elevated southern cuisine with a twist”.

By adding non-typical ingredients to the usual southern home cooking favorites, like goat cheese in your grits, Ferguson boasts that their style of food is sure to be high

Starting at the beginning of October, Ferguson and his team rolled out their new fall menu. Items such as the crispy pimento grilled cheese with fried green tomatoes, bee-dusted buttermilk country fried cauliflower and the chef’s favorite roast beef debris (pronounced day-bree) served over goat cheese grits and gravy are now available. “The roast beef debris is a hearty filling dish with all the additional flavors from the grits to balance,” Ferguson said.

Tupelo Honey is always open for reservations of all kinds, whether made online or over the phone. Soon-to-be-bride Brielle Maskell and her friends dined inside on a Sunday for an engagement brunch.

“I love that they allowed my friends to bring balloons and decorations,” Maskell said.

Her friends appreciated the easy-to-make reservation online and were even provided

“Our server was nice but it did take her a long time to actually take and get to our orders,” Maskell said. She and her friends also complained “the champagne in the mimosas was a little flat” causing them to send them back for a different drink. She hopes to go back another time and see if she receives a better experience with a table of two versus six.

Besides having wholesome made from scratch dishes, Tupelo Honey also prides themselves on their company ideals. In spite of being a corporate chain restaurant, a neighborhood “one team, one purpose” ideal is what the staff team likes to keep in mind.

“Serve and do with integrity” is one of their company’s many core values, Ferguson said. Their waitstaff wears comfortable black and white clothing that allows for a convenient and cozy workplace environment.

Server Bailey Smith said her favorite part about working at Tupelo Honey is their “accommodating management staff” and the comfortable, versatile uniform requirements. “Not many places allow you to wear what you want to work. There’s no discrimination and the guidelines are easy to follow,” Smith said

The company prides itself on taking care of its staff with their Biscuits for a Cause. Before COVID-19, Tupelo Honey served small thumbprint sized biscuits complimentary to customers. With the large impact COVID-19 took on restaurants and small businesses, they decided to make a change.

Tupelo Honey took their small thumbprint biscuits and created something more beneficial to their employees. Now served as two large “cat head” sized

buttermilk biscuits with blueberry jam and whipped butter; the proceeds from each order go to the Tupelo Honey Employee Relief & Development Funds.

During COVID-19, this fund supplied more than half a million dollars in financial relief to their staff. These soft, handcrafted biscuits exemplify their company’s core values and helped many of their staff in a serious time of need.

In addition to their everyday biscuit fund, they are also raising money in the month of October to donate to the Childhood Cancer Fund by participating in “Cookies for Childhood Cancer.” For every “boo-nana” pudding sold, they will donate a dollar to help fund research and treatments for children with pediatric cancer.

If you’re looking to make a reservation, donate to their many causes or take a peek at their new fall menu, you can find them online at tupelohoneycafe. com or on Instagram with the handle @ tupelohoneycafe.

3 and ½ stars out of 5. While they have incredible dedication to their employees and an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere, they lack in customer service and consistent food/drinks.

Ends’ on an imperfect, high note

BY RYAN ABRAHAM rsabraham@vwu.edu

Directed by David Gordon Green, “Halloween Ends” closes out his “Halloween” trilogy, which picked up after the original 1978 “Halloween,” and began with 2018’s “Halloween,” followed by “Halloween Kills” (2021). However, unlike most of the prior films in the franchise, “Halloween Ends” does not focus directly on Michael Myers, played by James Jude Courtney, and his rampage through the town of Haddonfield. Instead, the film is set four years after the events of “Halloween Kills,” and focuses on the fear that Myers’ violence has inspired in the town.

The town’s heightened fear is contrasted by Laurie Strode, as they are gripped in the very fear the film sees her trying to overcome. Strode is portrayed once again by Jamie Lee Curtis, whose performance is the strongest aspect of “Halloween Ends.”

Curtis portrays Strode’s newfound sense of hope for her life with an evident warmth, while still showing the edge her character had in the prior two films. This aspect is particularly evident in her interactions with Will Patton and Kyle Richards’ respective characters, Frank Hawkins and Lindsey Wallace, who both give good albeit brief performances.

In addition to Curtis’s warmth as Strode, she shows the sorrow and pain Myers’ acts of violence have caused, which adds even more depth to her swan song as the character.

While Curtis’s Strode provides a contrast to the fear of the town, Rohan Campbell’s Corey Cunningham shows the effect of the town’s fear. Cunningham is a crucial character to the film’s story, and Campbell gives a strong performance as a character who is being warped by the town’s anger and fear.

Campbell’s performance as Cunningham portrays the character’s initial kindness and sympathetic nature, as well as his spiral into madness later in the film. However, Cunningham’s turn in the film feels slightly

underdeveloped, and needed to be fleshed out more by the script.

Another major crux of the film is the relationship between Campbell’s Cunningham and Strode’s granddaughter, Allyson, who is again portrayed by Andi Matichak. Matichak gives a good performance, but is held back by the fact that her primary role in the film is focused on her relationship with Cunningham. Matichak is held back due to the film’s underdevelopment of the relationship between Allyson and Corey, which causes her character to often come across as irrational.

While much of the film focuses on the aforementioned characters, it still includes the violence and horror the franchise is known for, primarily in the second half. This horror is amplified by the atmospheric score crafted by John Carpenter, who both directed and scored the 1978 original film, as well as scored many of the subsequent films.

Also, while Michael Myers has a smaller role in the film than previous entries, the promised showdown between him and Curtis’s Strode is a highlight of the film. Overall, despite its flaws, “Halloween Ends” takes the franchise in a new direction, while still offering a definitive conclusion for this iteration of the “Halloween” films.

Kylea McCarel|Marlin Chronicle

Tupelo Honey’s classic Bloody

Their hours of operation are 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Mon. - Fri. and 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sat. - Sun.

Tupelo Honey|Facebook Perfectly fried green tomatoes on grits. The restaurant is located at 4501 Main St. Virginia Beach, Va.

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

“Halloween Ends” scores 3.5 Michaels out of 5.