Apr 6th, 2023

The Marlin Chronicle

Seniors, Miller reflect

Class of 2023 looks back on pandemic, college experiences

BY CONNOR MERK ccmerk@vwu.edu

As graduation approaches, seniors are reflecting on their experiences and time spent at Virginia Wesleyan. In the past four years, a pandemic disrupted the world, a tumultuous presidential election heightened polarization and rising costs of living tightened and stressed budgets. Despite these challenges, students completed their course requirements, participated in student activities and made the most of their years at VWU.

When the class of 2023 enrolled at VWU and moved in during August 2019, they were not expecting COVID19, which resulted in remote learning to finish their first Spring semester and stringent regulations when they returned to campus.

The Fall 2020 semester came with daily health screenings, carry-out only from the Boyd Dining Center, masking requirements and a ban on social gatherings on and off campus.

After going remote that Thanksgiving and January Term, an announcement on April 27, 2021 from President Miller stated the requirement of the COVID-19 vaccination prior to returning to campus for the Fall 2021 Semester. Students who

A greener tomorrow at the MBC

BY MK MORRIS LARKIN mmorrislarkin@vwu.edu

The Marlin Business Conference, scheduled for April 17-21, will be taking an environmental approach to business. The conference is happening during Earth Week, and it will be in collaboration with the Generations Uniting to Address Climate Change Symposium to bring an ecofriendly outlook to businesses.

Each semester, those enrolled in MBE 301 Principles of Management run this conference to allow students to learn more about the business world and participate in events such as the shark tank competition.

Professor Frank Futyma, a lecturer in Management, Business and Economics and the faculty advisor of the conference, said the idea of the conference is that “we have a student CEO and then we have the Chiefs of Staff who are working on this.”

The students organize the entire conference, from managing budgets to planning guest speakers. They set up multiple fundraisers to help fund everything and then budget out the whole process.

This semester’s CEO is senior and International Studies major Abigail Mahoney, who has stepped up with it being her first time working with the conference.

She is joined by other team members to oversee their specific sections. Junior Kennedy Soliday is one of the Chiefs of Staff.

Soliday said, “It gives the students an opportunity to have real-world experience. We get to do things that a lot of other colleges don’t get to.” Soliday’s main job is being the accountant for the conference. She helps with the budget, and this goes handin-hand with her degree.

See MBC Page 3

Miller announces VWU as ‘last stop,’ hints at projects

BY CONNOR MERK ccmerk@vwu.edu

In an interview with the Chronicle, President Scott D. Miller reflected on the past four years, hinted at future projects and announced VWU will be his “last stop” as a college president.

Miller asserted that VWU has grown and prospered during extremely difficult times in American higher education and is most proud of how students performed during the pandemic.

did not provide their vaccination record prior to the deadline were not permitted on campus and were withdrawn according to institutional policy. Limited exceptions, for medical or religious reasons, were considered on a case-by-case basis.

As rules that regulated in-person gatherings lessened, masks remained until after the COVID-19 booster requirement on February 28, 2022.

Senior Paul Jordan, an Earth and Environmental Sciences major from Charlottesville, Virginia remembered college before the pandemic, how much COVID19 changed things and that his senior year had redeeming qualities.

During his first day on campus, he remembered a speech from Taylor (Tip) Major ‘20, the Student Government Association president at the time.

“He said, ‘Well, this school is so small that if you say “hi” to everyone that walks by you, you’ll eventually know everyone,’ and that really stuck with me,” Jordan said.

After that speech and the other orientation sessions, Jordan went to Major because of his advice and asked him

“The pandemic essentially deprived them of the social aspect of college, which can enhance a student’s learning experience immeasurably. But instead of giving up, our students endured. They showed grit and resilience, and I continue to be impressed with their perseverance,” Miller said.

Regarding major events, such as the 2020 presidential election, pandemic and rising inflation, he believed VWU handled these problems beyond the university’s control the best it could.

“These events contribute to the uncertainty that many Marlins feel about the future. The best way to handle these is to give people the space they need to process, be it outwardly through events moderated by the Robert

‘Airness’ rocks the stage

BY MADISON DZWONKOWSKI mkdzwonkowski@vwu.edu

VWU’s Theatre Department held “Airness,” written by Chelsea Marcantel, from Thursday, March 30 - Sunday, April 2.

To recap from playscripts.com: “Airness” follows its lead Nina as she enters her first air guitar competition, thinking taking the win would be easy. Once she befriends a group of charismatic nerds all committed to becoming the next champion, she discovers there’s more to this art form than playing pretend. It’s about finding yourself in your favorite songs and performing with raw joy.

The show was truly a masterpiece and had the audience laughing from start to finish. The Marlin Chronicle interviewed Quinton Coleman, a sophomore, who played Golden Thunder in “Airness,” alongside Professor of Theatre and Director Dr. Sally Shedd, as well as some audience members.

Shedd had zero hesitation in picking the show for the spring semester. She got the idea from her friend at the University of Kansas, her alma mater. She was informed the show was a hit with high school and college audiences, so Shedd read over the script.

Phi Tau Fest excites campus, gathers bands

“After looking over the script, I was sold, this play seemed perfect for us,” Shedd said.

The students playing in the show carried themselves with so much energy, confidence and character. All they looked forward to was their shows, due to all the hard work put into them.

“We had a lot of rehearsals on our air guitars; learning the actual guitarist, their songs, taking inspiration from their songs, getting down the lines,” Coleman said.

Coleman originally was working backstage during the productions, so this was his first show in front of an audience, and he loved every second of it.

We noticed some faculty in the audience as well. Kim Brown, manager of the University Store, went to support Coleman as a prior work-study student. She was amazed by his work.

Coleman was asked to share his favorite part of the show. “It would, without a doubt, be strip-

ping,” Coleman said.

Coleman’s character pulls his pants down in one of his guitar performances. He first reveals a pair of confederate flag boxers, then a pair of the original American flag boxers and proceeds to shake it behind towards the audience. This part of the piece had the audience in shock.

Aside from Kim Brown, the Chronicle also interviewed Veronika Murphy, who is also a sophomore. Her favorite part of the show was D Vicious’s debut in the Sprite commercial. “My friends and I were hysterical,” Murphy said.

Murphy also said she would totally see this show again if it were to ever come back to campus, however, she would love to see a “air guitar jam sesh with more songs.”

In addition to the music, the costumes, lighting, special effects and props were outstanding. They fit the storyline of the show perfectly; it was so fluid.

Of course, the fluidity in a show takes a lot of time and effort. The cast practiced at least 15 hours a week, not only to work on lines but to choreograph the air guitar performances.

Majors stake their claims, advocate for interests

BY JOSHUA HELLER jmheller@vwu.edu

Virginia Wesleyan Softball continues their display of domination again this season. Their 21-5 impressive record seems to become routine as they work closer to get to nationals and in hopes of bringing home their fourth national championship.

The Marlin’s display of athleticism has guided them to great highs thanks to consistent hitting from Julia Piotrowski, Alison Pollack, Sarah Prosser, Laci Campbell, Emma Adams and many more. The impressive hitting streak has helped the Marlins outscore their opponents 143-56 this season.

The mound has seen consistency from three designated pitchers: Emily Seale, Emma Adams and Lauren Bible. A trio that has generated 115 strikeouts, a combined ERA (earned run average) of 1.57 and an impressive average of 2.15 runs against per game.

Sophomore pitcher Lauren Bible has helped the Marlins on the mound this season with a 3-1 winning record. Additionally, her strikeout totals have been growing as of recently, which the team finds resounding. On the other hand however, Bible hasn’t let this talk go to her head. As she actively states that there is so much more softball to be played in the grand scheme of things.

See SOFTBALL Page 7

Kaza Dayton|Courtesy

From left to right: Kayla Bissette, Rob Lindsay, Ryan Abraham, Emma Wehr, John Post and Quinton Coleman perform “Airness” by Chelsea Marcantel in the Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center.

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

“After looking over the script, I was sold. This play seemed perfect for us.”

Dr. Sally Shedd

The Chronicle editorial page turns into an academic arena where students voice their career and educational goals. Page

Phi Kappa Tau hosted a festival with live music outside Brock Commons on Friday, March 24.

Page

James Hill|Courtesy Senior Caitlin Myers swings the bat against Husson University on Saturday, March 18.

SENIORS

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

“what frat is the most lit?” where Major pointed out Phi Kappa Tau. Later that semester, they both joined the fraternity.

According to Jordan, the worst part of the era of strict regulations on campus was “the mentality of everyone and the way it was kind of like Salem Witch Trials. We weren’t looking out for each other. We were just looking out for ourselves. It was a lot harder to meet people and it probably alienated a lot of people from the rest of the school.”

Jordan did consider transferring but felt like he was in too deep to leave, especially knowing not all of his credits would directly transfer over to another university. Instead, he “made the best of it, the best of a not-too-good situation.”

As rules on campus lessened, the number of student activities-hosted events and competitions increased. This led to Jordan’s winning spree of taking home a Yeti cooler and flatscreen television from the belly flop and kickball distance contests, respectively.

He also hopes that Mud Games will be switched back from the newly created Sud Games. He also enjoyed the Phi Tau Fest held on March 24 and labels that as his favorite event.

Jordan’s advice to underclassmen is to say “hello” to everyone in order to meet others as well as to become a beach lifeguard.

“A lot of people miss out on the best part of the year in Virginia Beach, which is the summer, so I lucked out by taking a summer class and working at the beach all summer,” Jordan said. “That made me happier at school because I had that going for me. It gave me more purpose and pride in who I am.”

Additionally, at VWU, he learned who he wants to be from making mistakes. “I’ve definitely made a lot of mistakes in college, like not really focusing on my academics and focusing on more of the social side of things,” Jordan said.

Knowing what he knows now, he would work harder and surround himself with more positive people.

His post-graduation plans include being

contracted with the Navy and going to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) on June 5. For him, it has been a lifelong goal to become a Navy SEAL.

Overall, Jordan is glad to be moving on but will miss VWU. He will come back to visit under one condition, “when I’m invited back as an honored guest.”

Senior Chloe Dewberry, a Business major from Chesapeake, Virginia was a member of the Women’s Swimming team for all four years.

During the Fall 2020 semester, the team was not able to compete, but still practiced. “We were limited to one athlete per lane and then we had to go every other lane. We were pretty much six feet apart the whole time,” Dewberry said.

Once competitions started up again, the swimmers had to walk straight up to the starting block with masks on, take them off to compete and then put them back on as soon as they exited the pool.

“We were soaking wet with our masks on but we all kind of just put up with it because we knew that it was either that or we don’t swim,” Dewberry said.

The most challenging obstacle during college for Dewberry was overcoming the sense of being on her own.

“Even though I’m not far away from home, I had to become really independent and it happens very fast and you don’t realize it when it’s happening,” Dewberry said.

“But now that I’m looking back on my four years, I can see the type of person I was when I came to college and I’m so comfortable with being on my own.”

Dewberry has been accepted to work at TowneBank in their three-year Leadership Program and looks forward to remaining connected with VWU Athletics to support her friends and coaches and coming back to alumni events.

Senior Joey Lee, a Sport and Recreation Management major from Fairfax, Virginia, played on the Men’s Basketball team and will be coming back to VWU for a fifth year. He will be a graduate assistant for the team while he completes the Master of Business Administration program.

He had an enjoyable season his freshman year, but things changed because of COVID-19 as he was unable to build relationships as much as he wanted to.

“Covid affected my teammates because I had a lot of teammates who came in as freshmen and that whole class left except for one person, Eric Rowland,” Lee said. “So, we lost a lot of recruits because of that, and that definitely hurt because I was close with a lot of them.”

He believes VWU handled the pandemic the best it could and understands it was a difficult situation to manage, but recognizes the impact it had on his social life.

“I remember my sophomore year, going out to eat to spend time with people and being in each other’s cars eating Cook Out or being outside with each other. We had to make do because we couldn’t be in each other’s rooms and that was the worst part,” Lee said. “I think that’s what caused a lot of people to leave or transfer because they didn’t get that initial college experience.”

Regarding classes, a lot of his were online or hybrid, which made it difficult to learn the course material. “I think teachers did the best they could but at a certain point, everyone was just trying to move on,” Lee said.

His favorite professors are Dr. Joyce Howell, who taught art history courses and Dr. Jill Sturts, who taught sport and recreation classes. “I’ve had her [Sturts] throughout my entirety here and I always call her my second mom on campus. She’s always there for me if I text her or need anything. She’s been super supportive and she’s the best,” Lee said.

His advice to underclassmen is to meet as many people as they can in order to find their friend group where they can be comfortable and have fun. Lee’s future goal

Curney’s advice to others is to not let opportunities like internships and study abroad pass by and to start seeking them as early as possible.

Due to Dr. Anjte Schwennicke’s International Law & Organizations, she narrowed down what she wanted to concentrate on in graduate school, which is international law and human rights. Curney plans on taking a gap semester and starting graduate school in the spring. She hopes to work for the State Department and then eventually the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Senior Emily Petsko, an Earth and Environmental Sciences major from Stephens City, Virginia, is excited about graduation but is also nervous about the uncertainty of what comes next. She was disappointed that her freshman year was cut short and the challenges that remote learning had on her education.

“I feel like COVID-19 really put a damper on my college experience, but it was also a great learning experience,” Petsko said. “I learned to adapt to the changes in my education, work and social experiences.”

is to be a high school physical education teacher and coach high school basketball.

Senior Sierra Curney, a Hispanic Studies and International Studies double major and member of the Batten Honors College from Virginia Beach, Virginia, feels bittersweet about graduating because she will not be directly down the hall from her closest friends anymore, but is excited to enter the next chapter of her life.

During the remote learning aspect of the pandemic, she found the educational impact to be more of an obstacle than the social impact. “However, I think the fact that my cohort had a semester under our belts before being sent home helped with the social hurdles COVID-19 presented.”

As a result, she was able to stay in contact with friends she had already made and reunited with them when everyone came back to campus.

Her favorite memory remains studying abroad in Murcia, Spain during the Fall 2022 Semester. “It was a time for me to grow personally and professionally in a different environment than the VWU campus,” Curney said.

rural institutions will struggle in the higher education environment.

As a member of the Cross Country and Track teams, Petsko’s favorite memories with her team were at the championship matches, especially the ODAC Championship this year.

“Our team was so positive and supportive,” Petsko said. “I loved having my last season come to such a great end after all of my hard work.”

Additionally, being a member of Marlins Go Green, the VWU environmental conservation organization, was a key part of her experience. Her favorite memories with the organization were the Earth Day Fair it hosted last year as well as its invasive species removal events.

“We had such a great turnout, and everyone that came had a great time. It made me happy that our event could reach so many people,” Petsko said. She also loved improving the campus environment as the forests can be overrun by invasive plants, especially English ivy and privet.

Her advice to underclassmen is to get involved in campus groups to meet people with similar interests. Petsko plans to work in the environmental science field, specifically with water quality or in environmental consulting.

students that have collaboratively moved this institution to the next level.

Nusbaum Center, for example, or through accessible student health and counseling services,” Miller said. “The pandemic was particularly hard because there was no playbook for such a thing.”

According to Miller, the administration put safety as their number one priority. “Even though we had to make some hard, and sometimes unpopular decisions, I can sleep at night because I believe we did what was best for the Marlin community,” Miller said.

When Governor Ralph Northam issued the stay-at-home order on March 30, 2020, Miller realized that it would alter how the rest of the Spring semester would look like. At this point, he encouraged students to abide by the rules to protect the safety of campus, and faculty and staff to do all they could to make their remaining time with VWU as beneficial as possible socially and academically.

When the remote learning model was established, many students told him they were excited about it. “They could be in their pajamas and take their class sitting in their bed, or at the kitchen table, or in any number of venues. What I found was after a few weeks of it, our students in particular, were ready to come back,” Miller said. He also says there is a new appreciation for institutions like VWU where students come here for more than a diploma and an education that cannot be replicated on

Zoom.

He believes the students did incredibly well with following the regulations because we had a lower positivity rate than almost all of the schools in Virginia.

“That’s a tribute to the character of our students and so I applaud them on that,” Miller said. “We had a few isolated cases not following the policy guidance. But, an overwhelming majority looked after each other, and it speaks to the quality of the people that we have here.”

He believes VWU is positioned well for the future because of its location and programs for non-traditional students. He stated that bachelor’s degrees will always be sought after, but there are also students who are looking for credentials, such as for a computer program or project management rather than a residential and longterm experience.

Regarding the traditional degree program in the higher education landscape, Miller stated that inquiries are up by 3,000, applications are up by 500 and deposits are up significantly for the fall. He attributes this to our location. He also believes that urban institutions will prosper, but small

Miller also added, “We’ve seen a leveling off of students in the traditional College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. We’ve seen growth in graduate programs. We’ve seen growth in online. We’ve seen growth in evening and weekend. We’ve seen growth in Japan. We’ve seen gigantic growth in the noncredit continuing education program, and going forward in the future that makes us more comprehensive as an institution.”

Specifically, the non-credit program of the College of Professional Studies (VWU Global Campus) has grown over the past several years.

“We had a very small non-credit program when the pandemic began. When the stay-at-home order was issued, our online program had 8,100 registrations for a number of courses,” Miller said. “That leveled off a little bit when we came out of the pandemic, but we had a program that was just a couple hundred before the pandemic, and now after eight months into the fiscal year this year, we have 1,900 enrolled in noncredit workforce and talent development programs.”

Additionally, success can be seen through the growth in the endowment from $55 million to $126 million in a five-year period. For Miller, it is significant because it expands the financial aid opportunities for students and also allows for a sixth straight year of a tuition freeze.

Overall, he is proud of VWU for being ahead of trends instead of waiting for them as well as for the efforts of faculty, staff and

His message to seniors is for them to stay involved with their alma mater and know that VWU is a lifetime experience.

“We want to follow your careers with the pride that we should have at a school like Virginia Wesleyan,” Miller said.

Looking toward future plans, he is still finalizing details of several creative campus projects with donors and a few of them will be announced by the fall. “I would speculate that we have a building project that will be coming that’ll benefit the academic program,” Miller said. “A new facility will probably be coming in the next year.”

For Miller, he stated, “this is my last stop” as a university president.

“I’m quite happy here. I have had tremendous professional satisfaction and wake up every day enjoying the people that I work around, and the outlook for this institution in the future. I get energized by our donors who have tremendous faith in the work that’s going on here and I enjoy implementing those things that our donors are making possible,” Miller said. “During my eight years as president, [the philanthropists] have been unlike any that I have seen at my prior three presidencies in over 33 years.”

He concluded by saying, “if I had found Virginia Wesleyan earlier in my career, there probably wouldn’t have been other presidencies. This is a great place to live, a great place to work and the people are the ones that make it that way.”

Sierra Curney|Courtesy Senior Sierra Curney visits Budapest, Hungary during her semester abroad.

Ryan Hunt|Courtesy

Senior Joey Lee against Guilford College in the ODAC tournament in Feb. 2022.

MILLER

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

“COVID-19 really put a damper on my college experience, but it was also a great learning experience. I learned to adapt to the changes in my education, work and social experiences.”

Emily Petsko

“This is a great place to live, a great place to work and the people are the ones that make it that way ”

President Scott D. Miller

SVB collapses, confidence sinks

BY RHIAN TRAMONTANA rjtramontana@vwu.edu

In the beginning of March, the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) became the largest bank to collapse since the financial crisis in 2008. SVB provided services to almost half the technology and life-science companies in the country.

Dr. Nadia Nafar, an associate professor of Management, Business and Economics and the assistant dean of the VWU Global Campus, discussed the causes and effects of the collapse.

“[SVB] did not wisely manage its financial risk. The bank invested in assets, but failed to purchase insurance in case the value of these assets declined,” Nafar said.

This led to heavy losses for SVB. “On Wednesday, March 8, 2023, SVB announced that it incurred $1.8 billion in losses in the first quarter of 2023,” Nafar said. After that, SVB’s stock fell by 60% and the bank received $42 billion in depositor withdrawal requests.

Sophomore Business major Rowan Stuart discussed the economic shock that SVB experienced when the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to offset inflation. The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the U.S., and it serves to stabilize the economy and promote consumerism. In addition, the website for the Federal Reserve said the bank “seeks to minimize and contain systemic risks through active monitoring and engagement in the U.S. and abroad.”

Stuart said, “The [Federal Reserve] faces a difficult situation dealing with their own

previous statements, inflation and public distrust as a result of this issue.”

However, the Federal Reserve is in place to protect the money of the people rather than use it as insurance for banks. “After another bank failure in New York from a run on the bank, they bailed both out with a fund banks pay into, not taxpayer dollars,” Stuart said.

A run on the bank occurs when a large group of depositors take out money at the same time, usually based on their fears of financial insecurity or bank collapse. As people withdraw, banks will run out of money.

Most banks, including SVB, keep a small portion of deposits and the rest goes towards long-term debt such as treasury bonds, which offer steady returns and low interest rates.

The treasury bonds were linked to the rise of inflation and the subsequent collapse of SVB. “Given the rise of inflation

in the U.S., the Federal Reserve implemented interest rate hikes. This caused newly issued treasury bonds and government backed mortgage bonds to pay higher interest rates,” Nafar said.

Consequently, SVB’s “treasury and bond contracts were less attractive in the market,” Nafar said.

SVB then sold bonds for less than they were bought and lost the reported $1.8 billion.

“Deposits beyond $250,000 (or $500,000 for couples) are uninsured, meaning that there is no recourse for depositors to be reimbursed in case a bank fails,” Nafar said. “In SVB’s case, federal regulators promised that all depositors will get their money back. This means that SVB’s insured and uninsured deposits will get reimbursed.”

The $250,000 insurance comes from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which is an independent agency of the U.S. specifically to protect bank depositors in the event that a bank or savings association fails.

Nafar said the reasoning behind the federal regulators reimbursing the money is to stop the risk of more bank runs and boost confidence in the banking systems.

The collapse of SVB led to collapses of smaller banks as well. “Following SVB’s collapse, small regional banks lost $108 billion of deposits in one week in favor of big banks,” Nafar said.

In short, “SVB could have avoided this unfortunate scenario by purchasing ‘insurance’ and hedging against interest rate risk,” Nafar said.

Climatology blends global, local concerns

BY BREANNE BESSETTE bebessette1@vwu.edu

While solutions are needed to have an impact on the environment, Virginia Wesleyan University has taken steps to reduce its own carbon footprint and set further goals. Under President Greer, the university signed what was then “The American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.”

In this commitment, VWU pledged to become a carbon-neutral campus by 2050. Under President Miller, the commitment was renamed and resigned as simply “The Climate Commitment.” The carbon neutrality dates were also updated with the hopes that the campus would be carbonneutral by 2040.

“We laid out an agenda and I compliment Elizabeth Malcolm for this because it’s really her vision that is coming to fruition in a pretty comprehensive way,” President Scott Miller said. “Elizabeth sat down with me when I first came here, and outlined all these plans that she had had for years … I like to say whether you’re a preacher, teacher, lawyer, or politician, you’re going to come out of your experience at Virginia Wesleyan having a grasp of the importance of the environment, in your lives, and hopefully, we’ve instilled a sense of civic engagement.”

Each year, with a team of students, Professor of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and Director of Sustainability Dr. Elizabeth Malcom leads a greenhouse gas inventory of VWU. Over time, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions on campus with the cooling and heating systems have occurred.

Currently, the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions on campus is electricity. “We’re in discussions with our

Res Life shares housing intel

BY LILY RESLINK lbreslink@vwu.edu

In light of next year’s housing application being active, VWU residents offer insight on their current housing and Director of Residence Life David Stuebing shares information on the housing process.

Some residence halls are more desirable than others. Brock Village (V3), especially the apartments, appeal to upperclassmen wishing for privacy and amenities like kitchen access. Stuebing said, “We’ve got between 80 and 90 available beds [in the apartments], and usually over 200 people that express interest.”

energy provider about swapping grids, and putting us on a grid that would be regenerative energy, moving toward wind and solar as our primary provider. I would expect that within the next year we’ll probably do that. It’s my hope that by 2026, our power on campus would be provided by the wind farm located off of Virginia Beach 27 miles out,” Miller said.

As the university becomes more energy efficient and relies more fully on renewable energy, this will assist in its goal to become carbon neutral.

Climatology, one of the upper-level Environmental Science courses offered at Virginia Wesleyan, is taught by Dr. Elizabeth Malcom. Climatology is the study of weather conditions in a specific area over a long period of time. This course studies both the history of climate and climate change both through natural systems and anthropological impacts.

“We’re painfully aware now a lot of the shift has to do with anthropological (human) effects on the climate. The production of greenhouse gasses and deforestation, those factors are increasing the change in what is normally a slow changing system,” sophomore Biology major and climatology student Marco Molino said.

This human impact on the environment that results in climate change affects every ecosystem on earth. “There are no isolated systems in the environment, everything is so connected,” sophomore Environmental Sciences major and climatology student Ellie Snowman said.

As opposed to the faster rate of humancaused climate change, these ecosystems can usually survive natural climate change through adaptation.

One of the most noticeable signs that climate change is occurring has been evident

locally within the last months. On Feb. 23, a record temperature high of eightyone degrees was recorded at the Norfolk International Airport. According to the Virginian-Pilot, the highest temperature previously recorded for Feb. 23 was seventy-nine degrees in 1975. Similarly, on March 20, a freeze warning was sent out.

“A hallmark of climate change is drastic and radical weather,” Molino said. Yet these sorts of weather extremes are often disregarded as being coincidental or even somewhat normal.

“The problem is that it does seem normal, our generation is growing up in this climatological event of extreme weather,” Molino said.

Malcolm discussed Project Drawdown which is a global initiative to help the world reduce or “draw down” the level of greenhouse gasses expelled into the atmosphere. In coordination with their mission, the Project Drawdown web page includes a solutions library with an extensive list of potential solutions to climate change.

“What they remind us is that we already have all the solutions we need; it’s just a matter of implementing them,” Malcolm said.

While human-caused climate change has become an inevitable part of life on earth, efforts seek to alleviate anthropogenic damage. Changes may not always be perceptible.

“The resulting benefit would be really delayed because the globe is such a big system and it will react really slowly to change. But that absolutely doesn’t mean we should stop working for it,” Molino said. This kind of climate advocacy is essential in preserving the ecosystems that would otherwise be irreparably harmed by climate change.

Stuebing said that Res Life looks at the applications starting from those with the most credits, “Our system does kind of lean itself towards seniority to an extent.”

To gain student perspective, a distributed form inquired about a series of factors within residence halls such as location, noise levels, space and cost, yielding a range of perspectives.

In the form, Teagle Hall resident Toren Greenfield-Tuthill praised the spaciousness of his single-room, saying it is “the best sized dorm [he’s] lived in.”

However, Greenfield-Tuthill voiced concerns about how noise travels, “The doors aren’t even slightly sound proof, so if there is anyone in the living room, they might as well be in your room.”

Johnston Hall resident Riley Cheuvront rated cost as “very unreasonable.” Cheuvront wrote in the form, “For a barely functioning stove older than I am, a ratty leaky fridge, and one toilet for seven people, it’s pretty expensive.”

Regarding how the university prepares housing over the summer, Stuebing said that facilities management staff is responsible.

“They typically come up with a master schedule to try to work through each of the buildings, but they also have to work around summer conferences,” Stuebing said.

According to Stuebing, a benefit of these is creating “an additional revenue stream that helps to fund the university so that our buildings don’t just sit empty for several months.” He added, “That additional revenue helps to keep tuition from going up.”

Stuebing pointed out that a disadvantage of this is that “facility staff has to clean and prepare the buildings prior to the conferences coming in, but then they have to go back in afterward.”

As a new development, “This summer, summer student housing has been moved from Honors Village to the apartments so that there’s an opportunity for facilities to do more in-depth repair work in Honors that was harder to do in past summers,” Stuebing said.

Going forward, Stuebing said they plan on alternating summer housing between these so one does not continuously receive disproportionate cleaning time.

Mahoney has been working with Jessica Wilson, vice president of Marlins Go Green and Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm, professor of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and director of Sustainability, to incorporate a focus on the environment.

Malcolm said in terms of the inclusion of the environmental studies students, “I’m hoping that by the business conference bringing in some of these people who are working on solutions will be inspiring to the students to think about ways in their career, they can help make a positive difference.”

Students will learn about sustainability, eco-friendly business and organizations that are trying to improve the environment, making the conference not only a learning experience for business students but also those interested in the environment.

“It’ll get students like science majors to see the business side of it, because they’re focused on the science side of it. As business majors, we’re focused on the business side of it. So it’ll give both majors a different view of what they’re doing and what they can incorporate in the future,” Mahoney said. They hope to influence many students during this conference to be open to new ideas about creating sustainable products and environmentally-conscious businesses.

“There is a way to perform business effectively and make a profit and also keep in mind that the environment is so important for our future,” Mahoney said.

The guest speakers come from a wide range of backgrounds that reflect these ideas. This list includes representatives from All Good Cafe, The Port of Virginia and the Elizabeth River Project. All Good Cafe makes a variety of foods but specializes in granola bars with oats recycled from beer

grains. The owner, Bryan Daniels, will speak at the conference.

Malcolm explained how to make a product sustainable and environmentally friendly.

“You’re looking at the whole lifespan of the product. From its manufacturer, all the way to its disposal and saying, ‘what are all the environmental impacts of the product along the way,’ so it might be looking at the Natural Resources it’s made of and how are those extracted or harvested to its use and then all the way to its disposal,” Malcolm said.

The Port of Virginia is an im-

porting and exporting company focused on making itself more sustainable. They are working on reducing their carbon emissions and transferring to renewable energy. The keynote speaker for the conference will be from the Port of Virginia.

The Elizabeth River Project speaker is Gabriella Olivieri, who is a 2021 Virginia Wesleyan graduate. She currently holds the position of Community Engagement & Environmental Justice Manager. Her job is to make sure that the Elizabeth River Project considers equity, inclusivity and environmental justice at every step of their work.

“My main focus is to expand the way we integrate equity into our projects and practices across programs, initiatives, and policies, ensuring that all are treated fairly and inclusively in our work,” Olivieri said.

The Elizabeth River Project helps integrate local businesses into havens of environmental res-

toration through the River Star Business program. This allows businesses to come to the Elizabeth River Project and get help on making themselves more environmentally friendly.

The Port of Virginia is a River Star Business, an accomplishment that Virginia Wesleyan has recently reached as well.

Olivieri’s speech will focus on encouraging how people can collectively make an impact on the environment and how businesses can make more eco-friendly choices.

When Olivieri was a student here, she participated in the Marlin Business Conference.

“Concepts learned in class can be somewhat amorphous until it’s applied to real-world opportunities. The business conference facilitates bridging that gap,” Olivieri said of her experience with the conference.

For more information on the Business Conference, follow them on Instagram @marlin_ business_conference_23.

Gabriella Olivieri|Courtesy

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

“We’ve got between 80 and 90 available beds [in the apartments], and usually over 200 people that express interest.”

David Stuebing

The MARLIN CHRONICLE

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Art professor Dr. Howell plans to retire

“[Dr. Howell] was always so willing to help us students and encouraged us to think beyond even the class topic, to engage deeply with the material and ourselves. Through this, she aided my growth not only educationally, but in life as well. I felt that I was a better person as I left her class and that I had the ability to change the world, as crazy as that may sound.” - Junior

JaLea Moody

“Over the past two years, [Professor Howell] has supported me as my adviser, and I have really liked being a part of her courses and having her point me in the proper direction. Her students are in her best interests, and she is incredibly kind and sympathetic. No matter how much or how little you understood about art history, Professor Howell always attempted to make class interesting and made us laugh at times.” - Senior

Jomaira Rosado

Step into a multiverse with

BY KYLEA MCCAREL ksmccarel@vwu.edu

Movie fans, anime enthusiasts and avid lovers of television shows flocked to Richmond’s Greater Convention Center for three jam-packed days of fun during the last weekend of March. GalaxyCon Richmond was full of nonstop excitement and long-awaited meet-and-greets. People traveled from around the country to visit Richmond and see their favorite stars in person.

The convention center was full of voice actors, comic book artists and tons of vendors selling their handmade works of art. For those who love anime, this is one of the best events of the year. This convention gives you the chance to meet people from “Star Wars,” “Doctor Who,” “Star Trek,” “My Hero Academia,” “Demon Slayer,” Disney and Marvel Universe movies and so much more.

question and answer panels and “After Dark” dance parties.

In Fantasy Super Cosplay Wrestling, trained professionals dress as popular legendary characters from comic books, movies, anime, television and video games. They travel through the multiverse and come together to battle it out to see who is the most formidable champion in the galaxy. This event is hard-hitting, highflying action at its best.

center, these actors have a lot of autographs and fans to meet.

Many of the popular voice actors and celebrities hold special photo opportunities for those who want to purchase a meet and greet ahead of time and not wait in the lines. These people also tend to speak at scheduled panels with their fellow co-actors for discussions on their shows and questions from fans.

The Marlin Chronicle is the official student newspaper of Virginia Wesleyan University. Staff meetings are held every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in Batten 217. Signed submissions are welcome, but subject to the discretion of the editor. Letters 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

“As a former collegiate student newspaper editor, professional journalist and long-time advisor for the Society of Collegiate Journalists, I understand the role and value of student media at a liberal arts institution. Virginia Wesleyan University proudly supports the editorial independence and press freedom of student-edited publications. We believe that student editors have the authority to make all content decisions and consequently, assume full responsibility for decisions they make.”

--Scott D. Miller, Ph.D President

GalaxyCon offers only four conventions each year in different areas for those looking to attend. Places including Columbus, Ohio, Richmond, Virginia, Austin, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina are home to these massive extravaganzas. If you’re lucky enough to afford the full three-day pass, the convention provides many special events besides the creators to fill your time. Each day’s itinerary is packed with fun activities like Fantasy Super Cosplay Wrestling, tabletop gaming, costume contests,

In the final show on Sunday, characters like Marvel Universe’s heroes SpiderGwen, Loki and Deadpool battled with Cartoon Network’s “Teen Titans” and Miss Trunchbull from the “Matilda” movie. A strange combination of characters brought to you by the multiverse allowed for a wild show. After many jumps from the top rope and matches from each character, the final match was an eight person fight with two people on each team. This resulted in Miss Trunchbull and her partner winning the Fantasy Super Cosplay Wrestling gold belt.

If you’re unable to catch any of these fun activities and shows, it might be because you spent extended periods of time waiting in line to meet your favorite character’s real voice actor. The dedication to the love of your favorite entertainers is no small feat to the faithful and committed fans. Some wait in line for hours to meet their number one celebrity. With some lines stretching across the entirety of the convention

“I like getting to meet them face-to-face,” Donavon Williams, a frequent comic-con attendee, said. “It’s even cooler when they’re a voice actor and you can hear them speak in that character’s voice.” Williams and his friends have attended GalaxyCon for the last three years in both Raleigh and Richmond. This year they decided to purchase special VIP passes to have shorter lines and enjoy more of the convention’s other activities.

“Oh it was definitely a game changer,” Jamal Butler, a friend of Williams, said. “We were able to spend not even a quarter of the time in lines than we usually did.”

By spending the extra money to upgrade to VIP, this group of friends spent more time visiting the smaller vendor booths that sold handmade art. Gwen Martinez, a local of the Hampton Roads area, owns her own small business called “That’s My Stitch” and attends both Richmond and Raleigh GalaxyCons. At conventions she is able to sell her handmade crafts.

Martinez creates small crocheted mushrooms and cacti, large incredibly soft hair scrunchies and mini desk rugs. While her online business tracks a lot of customers, selling at large conventions like this allows her art to be seen by so many more people.

“It’s really cool to meet people that usually wouldn’t see my stuff,” Martinez said. “It makes creating my art much more worth it.”

Whether you’re a huge fan of anime or just like shopping for small artists and businesses, GalaxyCon has something for just about everyone to enjoy. If you’re interested in attending an event similar to this one, Hampton Roads is offering the Tidewater Comicon at the end of May on a smaller scale.

They’ve begun releasing their special guests, including actors Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum from the superhero drama “Smallville” and actress Adrianne Palicki from the film “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” and are now selling tickets for the two-day event. The Tidewater Comicon will be held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center from Saturday, May 20 to Sunday, May 21.

After teaching for 38 years at VWU, Art History Professor Joyce Howell plans to retire following this semester.

As a teacher, I am committed to engaging students and making art historical education transformative. Being a professor is a great honor and a great challenge.

- Dr. Joyce Howell

University News|Courtesy

GalaxyCon Richmond on Facebook|Courtesy

The Richmond GalaxyCon was held from Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 26.

Marlins enjoy pre-summer festivities

Students attend school activities like ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ and ‘Field Day.’

Phi Tau Fest offers live music, games, food

BY SASHA SAXSON ansaxson@vwu.edu

&

BY MIKAYLA MOSCATELLI mamoscatelli@vwu.edu

For the first time ever, the Virginia Wesleyan fraternity Phi Kappa Tau hosted a festival open to all of campus. The festival was held on Friday, March 24 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the lawn of Brock Commons. According to Brian “Bhos” Hostetter, senior and philanthropy chairman of Phi Kappa Tau, Phi Tau Fest had been a dream of theirs since last spring. Phi Tau Fest was a hit, with approximately 91 Virginia Wesleyan students, and even alumni, attending. Numerous organizations, such as the Half-Baked club, the Marlin’s Business Conference and independent entrepreneurial students hosted tables to sell items they made.

“Phi Tau Fest 2023 will be one for the record books and really set the bar high for future Phi Tau Fests,” Hostetter said.

Hostetter additionally brought up when Phi Kappa Tau alumni Jason Seward, current associate vice president for Campus Life and Operational Management, was a student, as they had a similar event on campus called Lively in the Ivy. Phi Tau Fest presented a phenomenal opportunity for the fraternity to revamp a nostalgic event, catering it to the

AIRNESS

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

Coleman informed us that the cast spent a lot of time learning the basics of guitarplaying, something that only the main characters had to partake in. This makes sense: if you’re playing a certain role, you need to know everything about that role.

The Theatre department puts on major shows every semester, and it is highly encouraged to take the time to watch your peers in their craft. With “Airness,” they put together an amazing show through a lot of effort and heart. Show business is no joke; it takes talent to do what these individuals do.

“Working in the show is great, and fun, but also hard work,” Shedd said.

ing a tradition, the chapter looked to hosting this event to stand out in a good way and to do something that hadn’t been done in a long time. The fraternity’s goal was to bring together the campus community for a day of music, food, fun and love for one

“All I can say is that the entire day consisted of some really hardly amazing people,” Mowatt said. “The outcome was exactly what we had pictured when we started the planning process months ago, and I could not be more proud of the brothers of Phi Kappa Tau for what we were able Hostetter also said -

thing they could have ever wanted and more. They are hoping this event could become an annual event.

Bloxom shares similar hopes and is extremely appreciative of all of the support Phi Tau Fest received.

“As president of Phi Kappa Tau, I would like to thank everyone for coming out, having a great time and for all the support,” Bloxom said.

@dir_of_stu_act on Instagram|Courtesy

Top: Participants of “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” stand with their women’s footwear on Thursday, March 23.

Left: Senior Jordan Gilliam rides the mechanical bull at “Field Day” on Friday, March 24.

@vbphitau on Instagram|Courtesy

Left to right: Phi Kappa Tau members freshman Brett Iwejor, junior James Johnson, freshman Ryan Koval and senior Terrian Smith sell tickets for Phi Tau Fest.

@vbphitau on Instagram|Courtesy Jack Mowat, senior and PKT member, sings at Phi Tau fest.

@vbphitau on Instagram|Courtesy

Left to right: Sophomore Cody Bloxom and junior Jack Palmer, PKT members, sell grilled food.

Kaza Dayton |Courtesy

Left to right: Kayla Bissette, plays Cannibal Queen, and Emma Wehr, plays Nina, hug it out near the end of the musical “Airness.”

Kaza Dayton |Courtesy Freshman John Post performs as D Vicious in a sprite commercial.

Virginia Wesleyan’s majors side by side

Want security? Choose STEM

BY KATELYN BAINES kabaines@vwu.edu

One of the most important decisions you’ll make while you’re at college is deciding what to major in. There are a lot of options, and each has its merits, but as someone studying Computer Science and Mathematics, I can easily advocate for any kind of STEM major.

STEM is a broad term that encompasses a lot of different majors and careers, but they all offer a ton of benefits.

Most people know that these careers can almost guarantee financial security; there are a lot of high-paying jobs in technology and engineering, and new ones are being created every day. What we often forget, however, is that STEM is a great option for those looking to make a difference in the world.

We can’t save the environment without someone to study it, and we can’t cure cancer without someone to research it.

Without a doubt, STEM spans a variety of lucrative careers. The field is always changing and growing, and there will always be new careers to explore in engineering and technology.

By the time you graduate, there will be STEM jobs you never could have imagined as a freshman. These jobs will span almost every industry, so you can find a career combining STEM with nearly any other interests.

Everyone from sports teams to amusement parks are now looking for STEM graduates. As the world evolves and

adapts to new technological advances, industries that wouldn’t have had anything to do with STEM just a few decades ago are finding they have a need for it.

Most of these positions will also be high-paying, so going into STEM is an easy way to guarantee financial stability without becoming stuck in boring, unfulfilling positions. With a STEM major, you can graduate knowing that you’ll be able to find a job you enjoy with a sizable paycheck.

Another benefit of the variety in STEM careers is that there’s no shortage of ways to get involved with your preferred social issue.

No matter your mission statement, effective use of technology is almost necessary for success in the twenty-first century. Nonprofits need someone to build their website; politicians need someone to analyze polling data. If you’re worried about climate change, we need scientists to study the environment and design more sustainable energy sources. If you’re concerned about the rise in infectious diseases, now more than ever we need people to study viruses like COVID-19 and learn how to prevent another pandemic.

Odds are, if you have a cause you’re passionate about, there exists a space for STEM in that movement, all you have to do is find it.

Deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life can be daunting, especially for a college student, but choosing

Under-appreciated English majors are the new innovators

BY KAYLA BISSETTE knbissettet@vwu.edu

“What are you gonna do with an English major?”

This is a question I was asked repeatedly in high school, especially because I decided that I would not pursue an education in engineering past graduating from the Project Lead the Way program. In the twenty-first century, there has been a significant increase in the emphasis placed on STEM-based careers, and with good reason.

The advancement of technology in recent decades has created countless job opportunities, and global reliance on technology implies a certain level of job security that other career fields don’t. STEM-based careers tend to pay incredibly well, too, and many positions don’t require a traditional degree.

Therefore, a person can spend less money to become certified for a job that pays better than most, reducing the amount of debt that one might accrue through a traditional higher education.

For those who do choose to pursue a college degree, there is a great deal of funding for STEM students—especially for women in STEM. So, who would turn away from the opportunity to obtain a high-paying job for a cheaper education?

I would. I did. And I don’t regret it in the slightest.

Careers in the arts continue to get a bad rap for being unstable, underpaying, unattainable and even unrespectable. Thus, students pursuing creative arts degrees are perceived by some as wasting their time and money. English students, in particular, are seen as limited in their options postgraduation.

At fourteen-years-old, I was told that, should I earn a degree in English, my only two options would be authorship or education. It takes months, even years, to write a book—it takes even longer to revise and publish it. Once you’ve got the finished product, there’s no guarantee that your time and hard work will be financially compensated. Similarly, becoming an educator requires even more time and money than a standard B.A., and while there is a dire need for teachers and the pay is adequate, there is a huge time commitment outside of the classroom, for which teachers are similarly financially uncompensated. No occupation is perfect; every career path comes with its own pros and cons, and it is up to the individual to decide which benefits outweigh the consequences of a job.

For me, it came down to passion, and though I was passionate about literature, at that time my passion extended to neither writing nor teaching.

I applied and was accepted into the Project Lead the Way program and saw it through to completion, even though I lacked passion for STEM, too.

I decided to return to my love of literature, and when I applied for college it was with the intention of earning a B.A. in English, despite the doubts of my peers that it would be a worthwhile investment.

Since then, I have learned something critical: every discipline needs English majors. Every peer-reviewed journal and scientific study has passed the inspection of an editor. Politicians need speechwriters. Tech-moguls need someone to write the user manual. State governments need curriculum-writers. English majors—arts majors—cannot be limited. Ours are not pipe-dreams only achievable by sheer luck or good publicity.

We are as necessary to innovation as those known publicly as innovators. Our options are endless, because strong communicators are necessary in every workplace.

What can you do with an English major? Anything you want.

Kayla Bissette is a senior English and Theatre double major. She enjoys performing with the Virginia Wesleyan University Theatre Department, including in their latest program, “Airness.” She is also a writing tutor in the Learning Center. She can be contacted at knbissette@vwu.edu.

one of our STEM majors gives you a lot of options post-graduation. The world will always need more doctors and scientists, someone to design and fix our smartphones, engineers to design new bridges and airplanes and someone to create the next big technological advancement.

Whatever your priorities for your future are, be it financial security, a meaningful career or the ability to promote change, studying STEM now is a great way to turn those dreams into reality.

Katelyn Baines is a junior and Computer Science and Mathematics double major. She enjoys participating in Virginia Wesleyan’s Theatre productions. She can be contacted at kabaines@vwu.edu.

BY KAITLYN DUSWALT kmduswalt@vwu.edu

Why is being a business and psychology double major and a sociology minor the best? Simply put, it makes me feel the most me. It compliments my interests and allows me to wander and be surrounded by the things I am curious and passionate about. Through this, I am able to intertwine them and transform them with my own ideas. Also, I only had to take one lab.

Despite how some people may feel about business majors and our workload, we live in a society that functions on businesses to put food on our plates and clothes on our backs, making an understanding of business extremely worthwhile.

The services we provide can be utilized by others and we can work together to produce things more efficiently as we specialize in our crafts.

However, there are many downsides to this system as we are plagued by consumptionism, and there are human and environmental abuses all over the place. By prioritizing profit over people, businesses have made a huge disconnect in communities.

With this in mind, I would like to create something that is more meaningful and centered around helping more people instead of solely helping to fill my own pockets.

By taking business courses, I have been able to expand my understanding on the way the business world works and how we depend and impact one another.

In society, we are majorly unaware of the individual mental processes that go on inside people’s heads. Each person is so unique and special and has a mind entirely of their own. I deeply feel like this uniqueness could be utilized and embraced in creating a more inclusive understanding of one another.

By majoring in psychology, I have deepened my own understanding of myself and others and have allowed myself to fully empathize with the feelings and struggles of individuals.

Correspondingly, mental health is something I find incredibly important and relevant as we are a society that prioritizes individualism but fails to support individuals in need. By better understanding one another, it can help us to better treat one another.

I am thankful that psychology has opened my mind to more ways of thinking and can potentially aid me in the way I interact with others.

Our social interactions are incredible and impactful to the way we interpret and see our own realities. They are a main component of our species’ survival and

contribute heavily to the quality of our lives.

Through sociology, I have developed a better understanding of a spectrum of inequalities of race, gender, sexuality and social class on the micro and macro level of society. I have gained insight to how social norms, values and ideals influence our behaviors and beliefs.

I hope to create an impact on our society and contribute to the development of a more inclusive and connected place.

For my plans on how to utilize my knowledge after school, my dream would be to create a community-based local business. Community-based businesses, with their connectivity with the local community and their positive impacts, are deeply moving.

By supporting other local businesses, instead of out-competing them, and valuing employees by providing them with helpful resources to succeed, there are further benefits to the local economy as well.

For example, Erin Dougherty, a local small business owner of Eleanor’s Norfolk, a feminist bookstore and bottle shop, creates a safe space for community activism, engagement and learning. She demonstrates how there can be ethical businesses that thrive and I hope I can do something like this too one day.

Hopefully, my majors and minor will really help me create this space.

Kaitlyn Duswalt is a sophomore Business and Psychology major with a Sociology minor. She enjoys riding her skateboard and going to the beach. She can be reached at kmduswalt@vwu.edu.

All illustrations designed by Mel Lhuillier. All photos taken by Madelyn Yale.

Psych majors not only understand others, but better the world

SportS

Golf sets goals for season

BY CYRIL COEFIELD ccoefield@vwu.edu

The Virginia Wesleyan Golf team’s season has been more than interesting, which makes sense for having such a young team with only one junior and the rest being freshmen and sophomores.

“We don’t have any seniors. We only have one junior. So we’re young. We’ve got a lot of young players. Our makeup is also a lot of folks who came into the program vicariously,” Tom Hall, director of Men’s and Women’s Golf, said.

However, that’s not going to stop them from being competitive this season. Hall explained that when the team was down in Ocean Isle Beach for the Pfeiffer Invitational, they competed against a very competitive field. He also mentioned that at the Maryland Invitational, the team placed fourth overall against some strong competition as well.

This level of play didn’t come from anywhere, as you can see them improving and getting better throughout the season as a whole. Hall explained that he plans to build this program behind a young team.

“So we have a really nice solid group of freshmen this year,” Hall said. “I know we’re going to add next year with some good players and begin to develop the program behind a bunch of young guys.”

The players also seem to have a good feeling about the team. “The culture of the team is really good, we all want to get better and push each other to be better,” freshman Jacob Swiggart said.

Even with having a young team, Hall has an optimistic look at the season and the future of the program.

“I feel like the season has been good so far. We have done okay as a team and we are looking to improve on our last events in the Spring,” Hall said.

Junior Golf Captain John Wampler expressed that since this could be considered a culture building team, there may be some growing pains, but the best part about a young team is the amount of untapped potential that could be found.

“The season has been okay. We haven’t quite played up to our full potential but we still have three events to prove where we’re at. But the team has improved a lot since fall as a whole,” Wampler said.

The team keeps getting better and it could be because of how close they are as a team.

“Oh, our guys are tight,” Hall said. “They spent a lot of time together. They have a tremendous bond and a tremendous relationship with one another. I couldn’t ask for anything more coming into a new program. That’s one of those things that didn’t have to be fixed. The guys are great.”

Hall also tries to set and meet expectations and goals not only to compete but to improve the players as much as possible and to make the program better in the future.

“I think part of it is you have to establish reasonable expectations. Us going out and winning a national championship this year is not a reasonable expectation. So our first expectation was that we were going to get guys

out there and give them the opportunity to play golf. And I think we’ve done that,” Hall said. “The second thing is, our expectation was that we were going to shoot a number. Golf is all about the number. So we were going to shoot a number, hopefully, at 300 or lower. That’s the ultimate goal. We haven’t quite achieved that yet. I think our best round so far this year has been 312. But we’re close. We’re getting there and there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

The Marlins head to Elizabethton, Tennessee to compete at the Mountain Empire Intercollegiate on April 10-11.

Madness in March

BY COLETTE KEARNEY cmkearney@vwu.edu

Men’s Tournament

It’s March and you know what that means, the NCAA Basketball Tournament, March Madness. Now between both the women’s and men’s tournaments there have been plenty of upsets, most of them have been on the men’s side.

So let’s start with the men, and the upsets started in the first round. No. 13 seed Furman University upset No. 4 seed University of Virginia (UVA) with a final score of 68-67. UVA has not won a tournament game since they won the National Championship back in 2019.

No. 15 seed Princeton took down No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55. But maybe the biggest surprise of the first round and maybe at the end of it all the biggest surprise of the whole tournament was No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) taking down No. 1 seed Purdue.

FDU won 63-58.

The second round also had its fair share of upsets, starting with the defending national champions in No. 1 seed Kansas losing to No. 8 seed Arkansas 72-71. With that win, Arkansas advanced to the sweet 16.

Another upset was when No. 15 seed Princeton beat No. 7 seed Missouri to advance to the Sweet 16. It is their first Sweet 16 in nearly 60 years.

The last big upset in the second round was when No. 7 seed Michigan State University (MSU) beat No. 2 seed Marquette. MSU won 69-60 against the Big East tournament champions who are notorious for not doing well in the tournament.

The Sweet 16 was where we saw the last two No. 1 seeds in Alabama and Houston lose. First was Alabama who lost to No. 5 seed San Diego State University

“My strikeouts may be growing but it will always alter. As long as I continue to strive for more strikeouts, continue to make adjustments, and celebrate the wins, I will continue to have success in that area,” Bible said.

Coach Brandon Elliott’s high expectations have seemingly been answered in the team’s first 23 games. The successful head coach has been rallied around by this group of girls as they’ve set off in the 2023 season.

“I attribute this success to the fact that Coach Elliott recruited great talent, and seeing that made us want to compete more. Our team is also very close, this also helps the team dynamic, making us work together like a well oiled machine,” Bible said. Though Elliott has made history as the coach with the most wins in Virginia Wesleyan University history, he is also a notorious recruiter.

Elliott always attributes the program’s success to the women who played the

(SDSU) 71-64. SDSU advanced to the Elite 8 with their win. The last No. 1 seed to go down was Houston when they lost to No. 5 seed Miami (Fla), 89-71.

The Elite 8 also had some upsets, close games and controversial endings. The first upset was when No. 9 Florida Atlantic University (FAU) barely held on to beat No. 3 seed Kansas State with a 79-76 victory. FAU won the east region and advanced to the final four. The Owls, who had never won a single NCAA tournament game, advanced to the final four. In my opinion they deserve the title of Cinderella team for this tournament.

One of the more controversial moments in this round came at the end of the Creighton and San Diego State game. It came down to the final seconds and San Diego State won 57-56.

The other upset this round of the tournament was when No. 5 seed University of Miami (Fla.) upset the highest remaining seed in No. 2 Texas. Miami (Fla.) won 88-81. Now probably surprising to some but not to me was the No. 4 University of Connecticut (UConn) domination of No.3 seed Gonzaga. Some may have expected a closer game and it was quite the opposite, No. 4 seed UConn won the game 82-54.

The National Championship game was not nearly as exciting as titles games from the past. No. 5 San Diego State came into the game needing a miracle to pull off the upset over No. 4 UConn, the hottest team in the tournament. SDSU made it interesting at first and then towards the end of the first half UConn took control. SDSU did pull within eight towards the end of the second half but it wasn’t enough and UConn won 76-59.

Women’s Tournament

So the main surprise for the women’s tournament in my opinion is the fact that two No.1 seeds got knocked out so early in the tournament. Not only did No. 1 seed

sport years prior here. This has been vital to growing the program in size and the success they’ve had so far. “Certainly in the last 16 years, as far as building this team into a perennial national power. The women that were here before really have given us the opportunity to build it,” Elliott said.

The Marlin’s record can also be attributed to the attitudes in the locker room after losses. The team knows when they’ve made mental errors and can rally around each other to fix them.

“In that second Lynchburg game, where we lost 3-6, we just didn’t play our game. We all made mental mistakes, and we couldn’t stop the bleeding as soon as we wanted. We beat ourselves in that game,” Bible said. This Lynchburg loss didn’t fully paint the picture in their double-header, seeing as they won the first game, 5-0.

The Marlins will keep their eyes on the prize as ODACS are right around the corner. The coaching staff and players are in hot pursuit of chasing their fourth national title in program history and want nothing more than the “natty champs” phrase to say.

Indiana and Stanford lose in the round of 32 but they lost on their home court. During this women’s tournament, the top 4 seeds in each region hosted the first two rounds on their home court, which is different from the men’s tournament. No. 1 seed Indiana lost to No. 9 seed Miami (Fla.), Miami (Fla.) won 70-68. The other No. 1 seed to go down in the second round was Stanford when they lost on their home court in Stanford, Calif. Stanford lost to No. 8 seed Ole Miss 5449 to advance to their first Sweet 16 in 16 years.

The next upset is sad to me because my parents and I love Villonova. I nearly cried when they lost to Miami (Fla.) in the Sweet 16. Villanova lost 70-65 but not without trying. Villanova came back from a 21 point deficit, but in the end it was not enough and Miami Fla. went on to make their first Elite 8 in school history.

One of the biggest upsets in my opinion was when No. 3 seed Ohio State beat No. 2 seed UConn to advance to their first Elite 8 since 1993. Ohio State won the game 73-61. Ohio State’s win snaps UConns 14-year final four streak and their 16-year elite eight streak.

Jumping to the semi final games, the first semi final was between No. 3 Louisiana State University (LSU) and

No.1 Virginia Tech. While some people might see it as an upset, the way Virginia Tech played, they didn’t play like they were the No. 1 seed. With that being said, Virginia Tech did have a lead going into the fourth quarter but they let LSU come all the way back to win the game 79-72.

Now the second semi final was the one I was looking forward to the most. No. 2 Iowa against the defending national champions No. 1 seed South Carolina. I kept saying after the Elite 8 that the only team that could beat South Carolina was Iowa and they did just that. They were led by their junior guard Caitlin Clark who put up 41 points and was perfect from the free throw line making all 11 attempts. No. 2 Iowa won 77-73 to advance to the national championship game.

The national championship game was wild at the start but then LSU got a lead late in the second quarter and never let it up. The referees were blowing their whistle like it was nothing and there were fouls getting called left and right on both sides of the floor. The game may not have gone the way I was hoping it would since LSU won 102-85 but it was the first national title for the LSU Tigers, led by tournament Most Valuable Player, forward Angel Reese.

I mentioned her earlier but Iowa guard Caitlin Clark made a lot of history during the NCAA tournament. She became the first person in women’s NCAA tournament history to have back to back 40 point games. Clark scored 41 points against South Carolina, the most points scored in semi final history. Clark had 60 assists during her 6 games in the NCAA tournament, setting a new record by 10. Clark set the record for most made three pointers in a championship game with 8. Lastly she had 193 points during the NCAA tournament, a new record.

James Hill|Courtesy

Senior Brooke Anderson, freshman Sarah Prosser and junior Julia Piotrowski high five each other in the outfield against Husson University on March 18 on the Tom and Betty Broyles Field at TowneBank Park.

Alysse Scripter|Courtesy Junior John Wampler finishes his swing at the Sleepy Hole in Suffolk, Va.

The

2023

Tennis international players bring flavor and fun

BY KAMAL WOMACK krwomack@vwu.edu

VWU’s tennis program has a long history of success in the ODAC. For example, the Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams have won multiple ODAC championships and have sent players to compete in the NCAA Division III national championships. The teams play their home matches at the university’s Everett Tennis Center courts. So far this season, the men’s team has a current record of 6-4 overall and the women’s team has a current record of 4-6.

The men’s and women’s teams both have a mixture of players from the United States as well as international players.

Alen Curovic is a freshman who came to VWU from Sweden. Curovic began playing tennis in Sweden at eight years old and says that his favorite part of playing the sport is the sense of control that he has as an individual player.

One major difference he notices between the U.S. and Sweden is that the tennis matches and leagues are connected directly to the schools, while overseas they are connected to clubs that schedule tournaments throughout the year.

He appreciates playing because it gives him the opportunity to travel to different countries. “Right now, I am focused on school, but if I did get a chance to go pro, I would,” Curovic said.

Assistant Coach and Lecturer in Political Science, James Moskowitz, said these international players “bring a lot of flavor to campus” and have “a big presence in the classroom.”

Moskowitz explained that this team plays on a special level and that he is proud of our team, especially when other Division III teams ask if this team is Division I. He also said that the current team is actually made up primarily of “international guys” from Sweden, Poland and Germany, and even some of the American guys have international backgrounds.

“We have a good group of guys and everybody adds some texture,” Moskowitz said. For an average American student, playing on this team would be like a “study abroad program.”

Moskowitz used to be a French teacher. He played tennis in college and traveled to France, where he met his wife, Dr. Antje Schwennicke, dean of the Birdsong School of Social Science and

associate professor of Political Science, who is from Germany. He said that this background helps him talk with some of the players and he knows some of their slang, which can be entertaining. The team also has a good time using different languages such as French at times, even though no one on the team speaks French fluently.

Moskowitz plans to continue coaching and come back next year. He is the assistant coach for both the women’s team and men’s team, and anticipates two new international women next year.

Moskowitz enjoys the recruiting aspect, especially since the level of tennis coaching that these players have experienced overseas is very high.

He also expressed his admiration for Head Coach Toni Bickford, who he said, “has a resume that does not belong in Division III.” Like himself, he said that Bickford is at VWU for the location and that our university is lucky to have her.

In addition, Moskowitz believes that VWU will see more and more international players because this school is “a great comfort zone.”

The men’s next home match is April 19 at 1 p.m. where they will play Randolph College at the Everett Tennis Center.

The women’s next home match is April 22 at 1 p.m. where they will play Randolph-Macon College at the Everett Tennis Center.

the Scoreboard

BY SHIRELL WASHINGTON sawashington@vwu.edu

the Schedule

|Courtesy

On April 3, the ODAC named junior Julia Piotrowski, VWU Softball Pitcher/Outfielder, as Softball Player of the Week. This is her first weekly honor for the season after helping the Marlins last week get a Marlin sweep of 6-0 against Mary Washington (8-1, 4-2), Averett (9-4, 10-1) and Guilford (8-0, 5,0). At Mary Washington, Piotrowski went 4 for 7 with two RBIs (runs batted in), in which a batter is credited for making a play that allows a run to be scored, along with stealing three total bases (two coming in game one against the Eagles). She had a walk at Averett where she went 3 for 8, had a stolen base in game one and scored twice in game one. Down in Greensboro, the Franklin Square, N.Y. native had a pair of walks, along with a triple and drove in three runs for the Marlins in game one against the Quakers. Piotrowski, currently, is ranked in the ODAC top-five in batting percentage (.423), on-base percentage (.488) and slugging (.676). She also leads the ODAC with eight doubles and is fifth with 30 hits.

Announced on March 27, junior Felix Bevc was named Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Men’s Tennis Athlete of the week for his stellar performance the prior week. Bevc, from Frankfurt am Main, Germany, had a strong showing when the Virginia Wesleyan Men’s Tennis team went 2-1 against some strong competition. Along with his teammate, Alen Curovic, the pair posted a trio of doubles with an 8-5 win against Rhodes competitors, an 8-3 victory over their Maroons opponents and Roanoke College and an 8-3 win over University of Lynchburg opponents.

Bevc also finished a pair of #1 in singles against Lynchburg and Rhodes. Against Lynchburg, Bevc won 6-4, 6-2 in his singles match to help the Marlins defeat the Hornets 5-4. In the Rhodes match, he also added another singles match win of 6-4, 6-2.

Grace McGhee|Courtesy Junior Felix Bevc (left ) and teammate freshman Alen Curovic (right) confer during match.

Alysse Scripter

Julia

Piotrowski Felix Bevc

Blue Cow serves scoops & smiles

BY HOUDA TOUCHEN htouchen@vwu.edu

With summer around the corner, Blue Cow Ice Cream Co. continues to serve innovative scoops to Virginia Beach’s resident ice cream lovers. Blue Cow is an ice cream store located seventeen minutes away from Virginia Wesleyan University’s campus. In addition to its coastal location, the company has five locations spread throughout Roanoke, Fredericksburg and Richmond. Blue Cow was founded on a passion for regional cuisine, hoping to provide an artisanal and inventive take on the traditional ice cream shop experience.

Jason and Carolyn Kiser, a husband and wife team, established the Blue Cow Ice Cream Company in Roanoke, Virginia. Devoted consum ers of their neighborhood’s culinary scene, they spotted a chance to take an active role in it in 2016. Before long, their kitchen had been con verted into a test kitchen. Jason registered in a short course on ice cream technology at the University of Guelph in Ontario and even attended a program for ice cream makers at Penn State University.

This charming ice cream store is just large enough to house curli cue chairs and small tables. The first thing you’ll notice when you enter the store is a huge groovy wall mural of a pink octopus. Its bright color creates a playful vibe that com plements the store’s unique flavors.

The friendly staff are patient with cus tomers, assisting them with free samples

Virginia Wesleyan junior Isaiah Luckey, an ice cream enthusiast, had his curiosity piqued by Blue Cow’s new flavors.

“It’s one of a kind, to say the least. I actually tried the mint chip flavor, and I can totally say I’ve never had an ice cream like this before, in a good way and bad way. It’s quite revolutionary,” Luckey said.

“I got the Snickerdoodle flavor, allegedly a sweet cinnamon flavor with chewy cookies. It’s definitely interesting to taste something new and innovative, but sometimes it’s better to stick with the usuals,” sophomore Madison Moore said. Flavors differ, as well as opinions. Junior Jana Goltenboth looked forward to trying experimental flavors.

“I got the Banana Pudding and Chocolate Brownie flavors. I like the combination as they’re very strong flavors and I have nothing to complain about. You can definitely taste the banana and chocolate,” Goltenboth said.

Senior Virginia Wesleyan student Ronaldinio Stickley had his own opinion about his Blue Cow

“I tried several flavors during my time here, one of which was goat cheese with blueberry. The one that I ended up getting was a simple cookies and cream. This taste is more of a generic vanilla and it was a safe option for me, I’m glad I picked it,” Stickley said.

John Wick 4 is a Doggone Action Masterpiece

BY RYAN ABRAHAM rsabraham@vwu.edu

“John Wick: Chapter 4,” directed by Chad Stahelski, is the latest entry in the “John Wick” franchise. The film is also the longest entry yet, clocking in at nearly three hours. However, this length will go unnoticed by the viewer, due to the film’s almost non-stop action throughout.

Keanu Reeves returns as the titular protagonist, who is once again trying to free himself from being hunted by the High Table. Reeves gives his best performance as the character to date, as the film sees Wick having to combat assassins, as well as grapple with what kind of life he wants to lead.

Leading the efforts to kill Wick are Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis Vincent de Gramont. Skarsgård’s Marquis is a memorable villain, thanks to Skarsgård’s strong performance as the character, showing him to be ruthless, egotistical and petulant.

“Chapter 4” delivers some of the best action sequences in the franchise so far. One particularly notable sequence features a continuous shot as Wick fights assassins in a building, while the camera follows him from above. Complementing the action scenes are the film’s international scope, as “Chapter 4” sees Wick visiting Japan, Berlin and Paris.

The film also features a strong supporting cast, which includes Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne returning as their characters, Winston Scott and the Bowery King, respectively. Both actors once again give strong performances. Lance Reddick also returns as Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel. This is one of Reddick’s final roles prior to his death, and he gives a strong perfor-

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

Summer nights at The NorVa

BY MIKAYLA MOSCATELLI mamoscatelli@vwu.edu

With summer coming and all the concerts that follow, if you are looking for an indoor venue that is comfortable and has a more intimate feeling, the NorVa is the place for you.

The NorVa is one of the best indoor venues that is close to Virginia Wesleyan with tickets going for about $28 plus an online fee including ample room to get as close as you want to the barricade without paying extra.

Standing near the stage, jumping and swinging your arms in the air is one of the best feelings a concert-goer feels, and being able to interact with the performers on stage is another must.

If you are lucky some nights, the openers end up at the merch stand and have a small meet and greet after the concerts for pictures and signatures.

An amazing VIP member sponsorship program allows the owner of the pass access to two tickets to any show they host, up to a year from the date of purchase. The benefits also include access to the VIP lounge that is complete with chairs, couches and, for those of age, a fully stocked bar

Within the lounge, a flat screen TV broadcasts the live show to ensure you

never miss a moment. An added bonus is the upstairs landing, which allows VIP members to view the whole concert without any obstructions, making it the best spot in the entire venue.

With ample parking in numerous parking garages located at the MacArthur Center Mall and on the corner of Monticello and Freemason, the parking rates vary.

“I absolutely love the entire atmosphere of the NorVa—the anticipation while waiting in line to see your favorite artist, the amazing friends and cool people you meet along the way and of course the rush and adrenaline of being in the mosh pit. Whether I’m in a mosh pit or just vibing to my favorite music at the barricade, I can always count on this place for an amazing concert experience,” Grace McGhee, sophomore and member of Alpha Sigma Alpha, said.

McGhee has been to the NorVa numerous times to see Charlie XCX, X Ambassadors and Bear Hands and to attend the The Taylor Party: Taylor Swift Night. The NorVa is one of the best places to go for many different types of music.

“I thought the atmosphere of the concert was very lowkey and welcoming. It gave off very grungy vibes from the minute we walked in,” Jordan Shirley, a fellow concert-goer, said. “Jxdn and his headlin-

ers gave an emotional but beautiful performance.” Shirley went to the Jxdn concert on March 30.

Each time I have personally gone to the NorVa for concerts, I have always had the best time.

Two out of the three times I have gone, I ended up getting close-up pictures of the performer.

Prosperity kitchen & pantry

BY SASHA SAXON

Not quite a restaurant, but infinitely more than a bakery, Prosperity Kitchen & Pantry strives to “inspire cozy feelings and delicious memories,” as stated on their website. In addition to Roman-style pizza, savory and sweet treats and fresh bread, the store sells convenience meals (made in-store), cheese and dips, wine and beer, snacks and jams, seeds and many small business sustainable options. A customer could pick up lunch for themselves and prepare for a dinner party in one fell swoop.

Prosperity Kitchen & Pantry

originally found its footing as an overflow workspace—a place where Kevin Jamison, owner of Commune restaurant(s), and head baker Ishiah White could continue producing delectable artisan breads and pastries for their expanding business. However, Prosperity quickly found its identity within the Vibe District community.

It is a place that cultivates community. In an hour, a family popped in to grab their toddler a cookie, a business woman purchased a pizza dinner for her family, a couple came in for a date and two women caught up over savory pastries and a glass of

wine. The servers (and bakers) are genuinely personable.

The interior is a naturally-lit, open design relying on a smattering of plants, the smell of their food and packages of colorful snacks to decorate the space. A counter minimally separates the patrons’ seating area from the large kitchen, and serves to display rows of baked goods. The available seating, stools, aren’t the most comfortable, but there is plenty of space to spread out inside and outdoors.

Prosperity isn’t associated with a cheesy tagline, but their brand irrefutably reflects transparency. Mass production and immediacy are not on their agenda, their famous Roman-style pizza takes three days to produce. Their process, from sourcing fresh local ingredients, to baking their vegan sourdough loaves is meant to be sustainable and delicious— no corners cut. Like many small businesses in the Vibe District, Prosperity does an excellent job of supporting local farms and highlighting seasonal ingredients. This is reflected in their menu.

Jamison returned from his time abroad in Italy, with a desire to implement Roman-style pizza in Virginia Beach. The focaccia-like, rectangle slices provide the perfect vessel for classic and adventurous

At the most recent concert, I was close to the stage to enjoy interacting with the performers as they engaged with the audience. The guitarists of the band made their way over to my section numerous times throughout the whole concert, even naming us the best section and their favorite of the night.

flavors. Thought is put into every step of the process, with a three day fermentation developing flavor in their crust before toppings are even added. With ingredients currently available, their menu of nineteen options includes Margherita (a classic tomato and mozzarella combination), bacon, pear and blue cheese, artichoke and sausage ricotta. Regardless of what a customer might be looking for, Prosperity provides an option to satisfy any craving. Dessert truffles are a popular quick bite, while flourless

chocolate cake is a decadent gluten free option. If you are looking for breakfast options, they serve sandwiches and pastries (savory and sweet). In typical bakery fashion, they also bake cupcakes, cookies and tarts with more sophisticated flavors. Traditional chocolate chip cookies can be found next to dark chocolate merlot cookies. Additionally, if patrons want to purchase one truffle, or whole cakes and bakery goods on wholesale, all options are incredibly affordable.

The store is closed on Mondays, and open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. However, Tuesday through Saturday they remain open from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. Although Prosperity is dog and child friendly, they most definitely cater their service to adults, serving wine, cider and beer.

Escape2win inspires collaboration

BY PHOEBE COX pecox@vwu.edu

Escape Rooms have become a rising phenomenon in cities all over the world. Centered around the pursuit of adventure, mystery and problem-solving, they have the ability to test the constraints of your friend group, as time runs out and pressure builds.

Players enter a room and are tasked with the responsibility of finding clues and deciphering puzzles in order to find a way to “escape” the room. Usually, the room is themed, containing references to popular genres.

If you are searching for something that is unique, creative and distracting from the tribulations of reality, escape rooms could definitely be just the thrill you are seeking.

Escape2Win is a locally-owned escape room business in Virginia Beach. Located only twelve minutes away from the Virginia Wesleyan campus, Escape2Win offers five different escape room themes to choose from.

These options range from family-friendly explorative adventures to horror-movie style settings. Different rooms accommodate various levels of challenge, with two players being the minimum and eight being the maximum to play.

Having five stars on both Yelp and TripAdvisor, the business has built quite the reputation.

As stated on the website, it offers student, military and large group discounts. Their current escape rooms available are “The Attic,” “Scene of the Crime,” “Lunar Lockdown,” “Ghostly Encounter” and “The Explorer’s Club.”

In order to secure a time block, advance registration via Escape2Win’s online web-

site is required. Customers choose their escape room theme of choice and select the hour they would like to reserve.

Upon entry into the building, players gather in a lobby that has a variety of puzzles and mini-games strewn about on the coffee and side tables. Peg solitaire and dry erase board mazes are only a few of the options available to occupy one’s time while waiting for everything to be set up.

After confirming that each member of the group has filled out a short liability waiver, everyone watches a brief video on the rules and regulations of participating in an Escape2Win escape room. Important information pertaining to logistics, such as not being able to take pictures during the experience, is conveyed.

When the video is finished, players are escorted to their designated, reserved es-

cape room, and the 60 minute countdown begins. With only an hour to try and solve everything, time management is essential.

Sophomore Stone Sterling participated in the “Lunar Lockdown” escape room. With a plot line of needing to restore power to the spaceship in order to return home to earth, the objective was to get all the grids up and running.

“I was in awe of the details in the room. The theme was amazing as after a while I felt like I was actually on a ship,” Sterling said.

Sterling expressed his overall positive experience with Escape2Win, citing it as a great activity to do with friends. He appreciated the attention to detail in creating an immersive environment through both visuals and auditory sounds.

“I would recommend this to everyone.

The escape room was a great serotonin boost to get my mind relaxed before finals. I had a great time, and I don’t remember when there wasn’t a smile on my face,” Sterling said.

Sophomore Marco Molino, another member of the same group, agreed with Sterling’s assessment of the decor, saying that it was “definitely one of the most well put together escape rooms. Fantastic aesthetic.”

Molino especially enjoyed the collaborative spirit the escape room encouraged.

“My favorite part was certainly watching everyone add to solving the puzzle. Each of us was making connections and getting the chance to put something together,” Molino said.

Sophomore Evelyn Weaver, also a member of the participating group, appreciated the cooperation of the activity as well.

“I feel like a good escape room should be interactive in a lot of different ways,” Weaver said, going on to assert that Escape2Win’s “Lunar Lockdown” did exactly that.

She liked being able to work with the group, allowing all participants to bounce off of each other’s skill sets.

“Everyone in our group thinks a little bit differently, so everyone kind of had a few moments where things just clicked,” Weaver said.

Overall, Escape2Win provides a fun experience for any group of friends looking to spend some interactive time together off campus.

With prices of about $30 per person, it is a unique and different way to have fun. For anyone who dares try out “Lunar Lockdown” too, Molino warns you to “NOT just touch every red button you see.”

Phoebe Cox|Marlin Chronicle

Phoebe Cox, Eveleyn Weaver, Adam Sterling and Marco Molino celebrate escaping.

Mel Lhuillier|Marlin Chronicle

ansaxon@vwu.edu

Sasha Saxon|Marlin Chronicle Servers work in the open kitchen, just behind the display case with pizza, savory pastries and desserts.

Sasha Saxon|Marlin Chronicle

The exterior facade of Prosperity Kitchen & Pantry, located in Virginia Beach, surrounded by outdoor seating.

Mikayla Moscatelli|Marlin Chronicle JXDN performs with artists Brent Burdent, Kenji and Tosh on The NorVa’s stage.