House debate held at VWU between Kiggans, Smasal
BY CLAY YOKOM kayokom@vwu.edu
Jen Kiggans and Missy Smasal took the stage for a debate hosted in the Brock Theatre in Goode by the Hampton Roads Chamber to inform potential voters of their stances and to energize their preexisting voters.
This event was the only debate held between the two candidates for the District 2 congressional seat in this 2024 election season.
The President and CEO of Hampton Roads Chamber Bryan Stephens described this group as, “nonpartisan, pro business. We represent the business community in Hampton Roads.”
The Chamber’s event was sponsored by a multitude of businesses from the area, with Sentara as the highest donor for this event and spoke to the crowd before the debate.
This event was hosted to allow people in Senate District 2, which covers the Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads area, to have access to more information on the candidates to make an educated vote for the Nov. 5 election.
The debate covered a large portion of current large-scale political concerns, including immigration, economic practices, green energy and abortion access.
The debate was moderated by Chris Saxmann from Virginia FREE, a nonpartisan subscription based newsletter published on Substack, a paid newsletter platform that allows creators to make monetized publications.
When discussing the debate, people who weren’t present question who won. Virginia Wesleyan residents have a wide range of answers.
This event required the purchase of a ticket, which was 60 dollars, though Political Science Professor James Moskowitz procured tickets that could be used by students in some of his classes.
See DEBATE Page 3
Field Hockey finds unusual success
The team finished 12 - 5, the best record for VWU Field Hockey since 2005.
BY COY CAMISCIOLI clcamiscioli@vwu.edu
The Virginia Wesleyan Women’s Field Hockey team made history this season and earned a playoff spot for the first time since 2016.
The Marlins finished the season with an overall record of 12-5, which is the most wins in a season for the program since 2005, when they won 13.
With this feat, the Marlins have improved significantly from the previous season after finishing with a 7-11 record to end the 2023 season.
A lot of this success has come from the freshmen class introducing strong talent, being some of the best in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). Freshman Berkley Miller has been one of the key pieces to the Marlins’ success as the team’s starting goalkeeper.
NASA predicts major wetlands loss by 2100
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle Wetlands, like these at Pleasure House Point near the Brock Environmental Center, are in danger of disappearing.
BY ISAAC FICK
NASA and the local nonprofit organization Wetlands Watch reported that we will lose 78% of Virginia’s tidal wetlands by the end of the century, and half of that will be lost even if action is taken.
“We have some of the highest rates of sea level rise in the whole United States,” Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm, professor of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and director of Sustainability, said. “It’s definitely a big issue for this region and it’s not going to go away.”
“The metropolitan area in the U.S. [is] the second most vulnerable to sea level rise,”
Dr. Maynard Schaus, professor of Biology and Environmental Science and coordinator of Sustainability Management, said.
Schaus explained the cause of vulnerability. “The land is being compacted at the same time that the sea level is rising,” he said.
“Coastal wetlands are important for humans as well as for the organisms that rely on those ecosystems,” Malcolm said.
See WETLANDS Page 2
Miller has won the ODAC Defensive Player of the Week award three times already this season while logging 65 saves in 16 games.
Miller said she enjoyed every minute of her time with the team this season and is excited to keep this journey rolling.
“This team is absolutely incomparable to teams I have played for in the past. We focus on our culture as a team a lot and it is one of the main reasons I came to this school,” Miller said.
Miller is insistent that her success is in large part due to how comfortable she is around this group and that it will take them far in the future.
“This group of people is so special to me because I know I am able to talk to each and every one of my teammates. This team is there for me no matter what and I feel noticed and not put off to the side,” Miller
said.
Even with all of this success in Miller’s first year on the team, she is staying humbled and looks to make small strides every day, she said.
“My goals moving forward are to keep putting in the work at practice and to make it beyond the first round of the playoffs,” Miller said.
This season’s success has also been a blessing for the upperclassmen who have been through tough times during their career as the team only won 15 games total from 2020 to 2023. Forward Olivia Winslow, a senior, described what it has been like to go from a struggling team to one of the top schools in the ODAC.
“This team has transformed over my
Smaller majors at Virginia Wesleyan have unique benefits and challenges
BY VICTORIA HANELINE vfhaneline1@vwu.edu
There are 28 students enrolled in BIO 200, Diversity of Life, a major course for Biology. 25 are enrolled in MBE 301, Principles of Management, a junior-level business course. There are 38 in EES 200, Oceanography, commonly taken as a lab credit.
PHIL 309, Critical Thinking in a Digital Age, a Philosophy course, has four. FR 307, Topics in Advanced Conversation and Composition, an upper level French class, has one.
Virginia Wesleyan offers a lot of majors — 42, according to the VWU website — some of which are very crowded. Business and Biology are the largest, according to a Marlin Chronicle review of publicly available information and information given by several professors. Some majors are less populated.
“I’m pretty sure I’m the only French major,” Abby Villacrusis, a senior and double major in French and Media and Communication, said. Dr. Alain Gabon, associate professor of French, confirmed, although both said that another student was
Relief efforts ease hurricane destruction Page 2
Tackling
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle
Dr. Alain Gabon and Abby Villacrusis in front of congugation practice for the phrase “I hate myself” with different subjects.
going to declare upon return from her study abroad in France.
The experience of being the only declared major is rare, even at a school as small as Virginia Wesleyan. According to Villacrusis, it has its upsides.
“If I need a class, I can just directly email Dr. Gabon,” Villacrusis said. She described a conflict in her class schedule with a required class for Media and Communication, where Gabon was willing to adjust the class time slot to allow her to take both. She said that would not have happened in Media and Communication. Most professors in larger majors would find it much more difficult to See MAJORS Page 5
obscurity of Local Elections -- Page 5
“Local offices hold the keys on how to conduct the political process at the most basic level,”
- Lucas Gordon
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle
Field Hockey players at their game against Lynchburg on Oct. 30, which they lost 1 - 5.
Relief efforts ease hurricane destruction
BY CROSSON MILLER lcmiller@vwu.edu
With the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season hitting in October, the East Coast saw two hurricanes that left lasting damage in their paths. The first, Helene, made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26.
Helene’s damage stretched from Florida to Virginia, but the damage was most prominent in North Carolina.
The second, Milton, specifically impacted Florida, and made landfall on Oct. 9.
"We have got to get resources to folks that need drinking water, food, and basic necessities for everyday life."
Mayor Esther Manheimer
On “PBS NewsHour,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer spoke after Helene’s damage subsided.
“The priority is to restore water and power. And, in the meantime, we have got to get resources to folks that need drinking water, food, and basic necessities for everyday life. So, that could be diapers, formula, all the things that you would think of that you need to live in your home,” Manheimer said.
Most affected areas are still in need of more relief efforts. Virginia Wesleyan
WETLANDS
CONTINUED FROM PG. 1
She added that coastal wetlands, “provide habitat for organisms that are also commercially important in terms of fisheries.”
Malcolm outlined other benefits of wetlands, including preventing flooding and pollution. “They help buffer when we have flooding or storms,” she said.
“A lot of times, … pollutants will get trapped in the wetland and that helps prevent pollution from further going out into the Chesapeake Bay or the ocean,” Malcolm said.
Schaus outlined long term consequences of this climate change. “It affects storm frequency, it affects patterns of drought, it affects … long term climatic patterns and how those are going to change,” Schaus said.
He said that the same crops
is contributing by coordinating multiple different means of support. Director of Civic Engagement and Service Learning Bethany Tsiaras spoke on the matter.
“One of the biggest ones is donating blood. So we are going to have a blood drive as the Red Cross is coming on Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the CMAC,” Tsiaras said.
This drive will help provide blood for the Asheville area which is one of the items with the most demand posthurricane. Usually overlooked for food and generators, the blood will help aid medical assistance which could save lives.
Another way that Virginia Wesleyan is getting involved is putting together supplies for a future trip in the middle of March.
“In partnership with Campus Ministries, we are working on sending supplies in a group during spring break. So that would be like an alternative spring break option to go along with the blood drive,” Tsiaras said.
If someone wants to help out, outside of efforts sponsored by Virginia Wesleyan, there are other factors often considered. Transportation, housing and food are frequently the biggest constraints to civilians committing themselves to relief.
“So you would sign up with an organization to go and be in that area. We are not encouraging [anyone] to self deploy, that is very dangerous. You want to sign up with a reputable organization that’s already going, which is what myself and Marie [Porter] would do with a group of folks,” Tsiaras said. Tsiaras also said that anyone interested in the spring break trip should reach out to her at btsiaras@vwu. edu.
Another way that Virginia Wesleyan is assisting those affected by the hurricane is offering students at nearby schools a transfer program.
likely will not be able to be grown in the same regions, and “[we’re] going to have to move plants northward to help them extend their range northward so they don’t get wiped out.”
“People didn’t realize their value,” Malcolm said. She explained that in the past, wetlands were filled in and developed, which is resulting in their loss. “Now we’re losing a lot of them with sea level rise,”
Malcolm said.
“If you have slow sea level rise, the wetlands might be able to migrate inland,” Malcolm said.
“Sea level rise has to be slow enough that that can naturally happen.”
With roads and other developments in their path, Malcolm said, “If they’re trying to migrate inland they need a place to migrate.”
“One road that I drive by pretty regularly has marsh on both the left and the right side, and then in really high tide events and especially during the king tide, the whole road floods,” Schaus said.
“We have a wonderful transfer program here too. So if folks who are in college in affected areas have to transfer, or want to transfer to come here, we would welcome them here. That would obviously go through enrollment,” Tsiaras said.
The most heavily affected area by Helene was North Carolina. But after seeing the extensive damage Helene caused, more states took notice and took extra precautions for Milton. Head Olympic Sports Equipment Manager at Florida Atlantic University, Rayce Robbins, commented on the safety measures observed before Milton’s impact.
“The school I work at closed down classes for the week and only authorized personnel were on campus. The city started opening up shelters around town for incoming tourists because everyone had to flee Tampa and Tallahassee. Boca Raton actually advertised for people to evacuate
“How long before we lose that road? Should we be doing things to let nature take that area back over? Probably,” Schaus said.
“We’ve been trying to touch on climate change and environmental issues in a lot of our coursework,” Malcolm said. “Even the business major. All those students have to take one course related to the environment so that they’re thinking about the environment … when they go out and are leaders in the business world.”
Malcolm said that to protect wetlands, “it’s going to take a big effort from community organizations like Wetlands Watch as well as governments.”
In an effort to increase community engagement, Wetlands Watch hosted their annual Catch the King event in Portsmouth starting on Oct. 17, and ending on Oct. 20. This event collects flood data by acquiring volunteers to map the highest tides of the year, Perigean, or ‘King’ tides.
surrounding towns and come to Boca [Raton] as the storm was coming from the west,” Robbins said.
The measures taken by the city and surrounding areas proved helpful according to residents.
“The proactive measures were pretty effective. A lot of people averted crises by coming here, as their homes got flooded on the west coast of Florida, so it definitely saved lives. People also boarded up their windows in my apartment complex, which did a great job at protecting the glass from debris,” Robbins said.
Both Hurricanes Helene and Milton have carved their paths into the country’s southeastern region, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. However, thanks to many national emergency response teams, community donations and surrounding support, the affected areas are moving forward in recovery.
“It was a way for us to … have a finger on the pulse of what the needs of specifically the Portsmouth community is in terms of sea level rise,” Samantha Silvia, senior and Social Work major, said.
Silvia worked with Garry Harris, who helped lead the event, for her senior capstone project.
Silvia shared her highlight from the event, which, “was not only measuring, but getting that … full scope view at least for the city of Portsmouth, to get an idea of really what’s going on, and to get the science behind it, as well as the local impact.”
Another benefit of the event, Silvia said, was, “to also generate that interest in the community participating in science at the community level.”
Harris emphasized community and the effects sea level rise has. “It does not impact all communities equally,” he said. “We need to understand … these existing disparities in communities and the impacts of sea level rise in terms of cumulative impacts.”
Silvia described the sustainability of living in a coastal community, proposing that, “the problem is people who don’t have the money, finances, resources to be able to move out of that situation. What are they going to do?”
“Some people can easily get up and move … Others, they can’t do that,” Harris said. “They have to put up with … occasional heavy tidal surges that inundate their homes. They have to put up with the inaccessibility of services.”
“We’ve been looking at science through a lens of social justice and racial justice and climate justice and environmental justice and health disparities,” Harris said.
Harris explained the importance of the Catch the King event in relation to engagement. “Being part of the lifecycle of action,” Harris said.
Organizations in the area are combatting wetland loss to ensure their continued presence in the natural environment.
WLOS|Courtesy
Destruction of homes in Chimney Rock, North Carolina from Hurricane Helene.
Isaac Fick|Marlin Chronicle
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle Coastal wetlands protected by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation at Pleasure House Point, near the Brock Environmental Center.
Updates follow unexpected internet outage
BY ISAAC FICK ihfick@vwu.edu
On Oct. 7 at 11:24 a.m., The Malbon Center for Technology sent an email to campus, saying that there was an outage of the network services on campus.
“We noticed [the CPUs] were running very high that day,” Greg Skinner, chief information officer of the Malbon Center, said.
“We actually saw it before the network went down and immediately started looking into it … so we were already troubleshooting it when it happened,” Skinner said.
The Malbon Center distributed
turn in assignments on time and do things that we’re paying our tuition for,” Brown said.
“I was in the middle of doing homework … and I couldn’t use my laptop,” sophomore Abigail Boeckman said. “I lost three pages of a history assignment that I could not get back.”
“I can’t think of a semester where we’ve had reliable internet,” Brown said. “The weather’s affecting it or they’re having outages or scheduled downtimes.”
Brown believes that the outages are at inconvenient times, “whether it’s … late before midterm season or finals season.”
"I am always playing a guessing game as to whether or not I’ll be able to have access to the internet and turn in my assignments."
Baylee Brown
an additional email at 12:26 p.m. stating that the network was restored shortly before 12 p.m.
“The reason the CPUs were running high was that … the vendor said that … there was a known problem that they had in their operating system, and so they provided a patch,” Skinner said. “So we scheduled it that evening to put that patch in.”
That evening, at 4:51 p.m. The Malbon Center sent out an email communicating that the update was expected to begin at 9:30 p.m. and end at 11:30 p.m.
According to the email, “This will impact incoming and outgoing Internet access including VPN and campus phone services.”
“I had to figure out ways to get Wi-Fi off campus … and I didn’t get to properly study for my exam, which made me have a lower grade than I wanted,” junior Baylee Brown said.
“We're supposed to be able to
“I am always playing a guessing game as to whether or not I’ll be able to have access to the internet and turn in my assignments,” Brown said.
Brown outlined the lack of alternatives for students. “We have a lot of commuters, we have a lot of locals, but we also have a lot of people that are coming from across the country,” Brown said.
“When you live in a gated campus that is far away and extremely difficult to access … public transportation or sidewalks to just get places with Wi-Fi, I think it creates bigger issues than people see,” Brown said.
Skinner explained the reason for these updates, stating that, “the majority of the time, when there's an update that needs to take place, it's because of a need that's passed down from a vendor.”
When there is a zero day
vulnerability, which means that there was a vulnerability in the network published the same day, Skinner described what happens. “We don’t announce because we don’t want to tell anyone that we’re vulnerable… because then you’re telling the world you have six hours, eight hours to attack us,” Skinner said.
“It isn’t always at maybe the best, the ideal time, but in those situations … you need to move,” Skinner said.
On Oct. 10, the Malbon Center sent out another email, explaining that there would be two more planned updates. As outlined in the email, the update on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. affected internet access, while the next update on Oct. 14 at 10 a.m., which was during fall break, did not.
Skinner described that the Oct. 11 update was a continuation of the initial Oct. 7 update. The reason for the time between updates was because, “we were in continued conversation with the vendor and what they wanted us to apply that patch further,” Skinner said.
“That Monday [Oct. 7] was the first time in the four years I’ve been here … that I recall where the network went down midday unplanned,” Skinner said.
“When we’re thinking about our network, we’re thinking about speed, reliability and security,” Skinner said.
The Oct. 14 update was not connected to the Oct. 7 outage, according to Skinner. “We had planned work more on the reliability front over a month in advance,” he said. “That Monday was a good opportunity, considering faculty, staff and students were off that day.”
There are two internet service providers used for campus internet, Skinner said. The work done on Oct. 14 was intended to balance the two providers. “That work involved three different companies just to make sure that it was collaborative,” Skinner said.
Skinner explained that the three companies included the
two internet service providers, along with a third company, “that was also helping us with the configuration.”
“Whenever you’re trying to have two networks, they have to … talk to each other,” Skinner said. “That’s why we had contacts from each internet service provider.” He mentioned that when it comes to the reliability of the network, having those two internet service providers is important, in the potential case that one provider goes down. Skinner added that The Malbon Center aims to support the University, looking out for the community, faculty staff and students.
Science double major.
“The winner is Wesleyan,” Moskowitz said. Moskowitz worked with the League of Women Voters and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, two non-partisan organizations, to have the Chamber host the debate at Virginia Wesleyan.
The debate was moved two weeks back to the date it occurred on, as scheduling difficulties made the previous date not suitable for both candidates.
Moskowitz said that if there had to be a winner it would be Smasal. As the incumbent, Kiggans has an advantage in the coming election and so the debate represented Kiggans recognizing Smasal as a challenger, Moskowitz explained.
“When an incumbent shares a stage, right, it's a meaningful thing that gives them [the challenger] even just a chance to impress and give new information to new voters,” Moskowitz said.
“I think it was probably tied,” History and Social Science major and junior Victoria Willey said. “I would have liked more specific issues addressed in what their plans are.”
“Why should we be winning debates?” sophomore Lucas Gordon asked. He is a History and Social Science and Political
“Debates should be a structure, a civil structure, in which questions can be asked and policy can be discussed without this incessant need to demonstrate a clear sense of superiority over your opponent,” Gordon said.
“It almost scared me, because when we watch the Presidential, Vice Presidential debate on TV, you’re kind of able to remove yourself a little bit,” Gordon said. The experience of a local election being debated was intense for some students. This debate on campus allowed students a chance to get an impression of the candidates beyond just statistics. “I shook hands with them. These are real people proposing real policy items,” Gordon said.
Moskowitz said he was, “happy to hear from my students that it was kind of inspiring to them.”
Some Virginia Wesleyan students were interviewed by local news groups for a student’s perspective on the debate and some of their interviews made it into news coverage of the event. The debate was covered by The Washington Post, “13 News” and “WHRO”– the public TV station. The debate itself can be viewed on YouTube, titled “Kiggans, Cotter Smasal trade jabs on border, abortion in Virginia 2nd Congressional District debate” and posted by "WTKR News 3."
Isaac Fick|Marlin Chronicle
Elliot Fylstra|Marlin Chronicle
Cianna Morales|WHRO News
TOP: Republican incumbent Jen Kiggans at the second congressional debate on Friday, Oct. 11.
BOTTOM: Democrat challenger Missy Cotter Smasal speaks at the debate.
Sarah Richards|Marlin Chronicle
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Community
Marlins Halloween Extravaganza!
Scenes from the Haygood United Methodist Church and Campus “Trunk or Treat” Events and the Annual “Haunted Trails” Event
Students volunteered at the Haygood UMC “Trunk or Treat,” in association with Campus Ministries, and the Student Activities “Trunk or Treat.”
Students worked and volunteered at the annual “Haunted Trails” event. Students worked as event directors, scare actors and tour guides. Students were taken on guided tours of the trails and were scared by actors along the way.
“As
“It’s vital for us to be part of the community and for the community to actually see Virginia Wesleyan Students being out there and contributing.”
Marie Porter
Campus Ministries Director
Aiden Croghan|Marlin Chronicle
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle
Aiden Croghan|Marlin Chronicle
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Guided Tour Shines Light On Campus History
The ‘If These Grounds Could Talk’ Event showed areas of campus often seen, but rarely observed
have at Virginia Wesleyan.
BY MIA DIEHL mjdiehl@vwu.edu
Advocacy, resilience, community and sacrifice were the themes of the “If These Grounds Could Talk” guided tour given by the Robert Nusbaum Center on Thursday, Oct. 10.
The guided tour included sacred spots such as the John Wesley statue outside the chapel, the Heritage Plaque, Beech Grove, the Veterans Memorial, the Domestic Violence wall, AIDS Memorial wall and the Peace Garden. These places are considered sacred because they are places with great significance tied directly to the Virginia Wesleyan campus.
Dr. Craig Wansink, director of the Robert Nusbaum Center, has been involved with the center since its very beginning. He became the director in 2014. When asked what makes the center so special, he described being attracted to the opportunity and ability to bring together different disciplines. The Nusbaum Center’s main focus is to create civil society through education, respectful dialogue and mutual understanding.
“I frequently think that students’ education at Virginia Wesleyan is diminished if they do not recognize the name of the place,” Wansink said, “I think it consists of three parts, Virginia and Wesleyan and the university.”
The first sacred spot visited was the John Wesley statue. When speaking about the John Wesley statue, Wansink wanted to acknowledge not only the Methodist history John Wesley gave Virginia Wesleyan but also the work he did as a social advocate, visiting people in prisons and working with the poor and hungry, as well as speaking out against slavery in a time when such ideas would put his life in danger. This concept of doing great things for others in the face of adversity was a recurring topic on the walk.
The tour then moved on to Beech Grove. Beech Grove is an old-growth beech forest, which became a symbol of student activism in 1991. Wansink explained that a construction project threatened its existence, and students rallied to advocate for the relocation of one building, which spared much of the grove. This show of advocacy was said to help lead to the environmental studies program we now
The Heritage Plaque represented the land’s history and the property’s first institutional use. In 1866, a portion of the land on which Virginia Wesleyan now lies was used as a place of transition for newly freed slaves. The plaque, near Godwin Hall, contains this description. The tour leaders said it represented freedom and uplift.
The group was informed about the second institutional use of the property when we visited the next sacred spot, which was the Veterans Memorial. During World War II, a part of the land Virginia Wesleyan stands on was leased to build barracks for training pilots. The memorial itself, which is a plaque, honors those who served in the United States Armed Forces. The memorial was established in 2013 and is located behind Godwin Hall. The tour guides pointed out that every year on Veterans Day the VWU community gathers to reflect on the sacrifices of those who served during World War II.
Dr. Kathy Stolley, a Sociology professor, was another leader on this tour. She is credited with the idea of touring the sacred spots on campus. Stolley hoped that this tour allows students to gain a new perspective and appreciate the values upheld by the people who came before us.
Stolley stated that “Visiting and reflecting on these locations will allow us all to learn some history of VWU and offer us the opportunity to contemplate our values, the world we live in and the world we hope to live in.”
Stolley was the primary speaker when the group visited the Domestic Violence and AIDS Memorial walls. She described them as important in encouraging awareness and support about the issues. When the tour arrived at Allen Village, Stolley first introduced the Domestic Violence wall. The wall was started in 2008 and was originally designed when there was an active women’s center on campus. Stolley informed us that a group of students wanted a visual acknowledgment of domestic violence issues that was lasting. She described the wall as a place on campus that students can come to as a reflection area.
When asked which aspect of the tour spoke the most to her, Stolley stated,
“The AIDS Memorial Wall speaks to me the most. It has layers of meaning. In brief, I remember the tragic early years of the epidemic, so I have those personal reflections. From a scholarly perspective, I wrote a book on HIV/AIDS and have done additional research and teaching on that topic. The stories and connections that the students, faculty, and staff had with the people remembered, and messages shared, on the blocks deserve to be honored.”
The AIDS Memorial Wall was started in 1999. Stolley informed the group that the wall was designed after the quilt project, which honored those who had died from the disease. Stolley also described The AIDS Memorial Wall as a timeline of the epidemic, the color of the outline of each square signifying the different times. Black was the first color, meaning those wall pieces symbolized the lives lost to the pandemic. Stolley pointed out that when the wall first went up, many people had to paint at night as it was not seen as a good thing to support the people who had AIDS at the time. A red outline highlighted the addition to the wall in 2008, focusing on spreading awareness about the disease. Finally, a blue outline represented a project
think of Philosophy majors as doing well after college financially or professionally. According to Emmanuel, that is incorrect.
CONTINUED FROM PG. 1
...accommodate such a request due to a larger group of students looking to take courses and a less flexible schedule.
Majors are small for a variety of reasons, and the reasons tend to vary from major to major.
“Philosophy is typically not the first thing people think about when thinking about a major,” Dr. Steven Emmanuel, professor of Philosophy and chair of the Philosophy department, said. He said that a major reason for that is that people don’t
“Philosophy majors do exceedingly well—this is like the best-kept secret in the world,” Emmanuel said. He said that Philosophy “equips students with a skill set” that leads students to be able to succeed in a world that calls for a variety of aptitudes.
“That’s the real value of philosophy,” Emmanuel said. “It’s not as much about the answers as the pursuit of the truth.”
Another reason for the low enrollment, he said, was the removal of the “values requirement,” which used to be a breadth requirement and brought a lot of students through Philosophy. Back then, he said, they were more likely to have 18 majors than eight.
Villacrusis said that French was lower because it’s hard to get into if one didn’t take French in high school. Gabon said that the school didn’t require enough foreign language, and estimated that only 20% of students take even one class studying a culture other than our own.
Emmanuel said that the more popular majors were requiring more credit hours, making it more difficult for students to double major. Gabon said that students were wary of taking majors that had the perception (although not reality) of being more able to lead to a stable job.
Whatever the reason, many classrooms on campus in a lot of departments have few students in seats. Both Gabon and Emmanuel expressed concern over a new proposal that classes have 15 students, as opposed to the current policy, which is eight.
“It’s completely unrealistic,” Gabon said of the 15 person limit, adding that it would “simply eliminate a whole bunch
of programs.” He said that the school was currently “very liberal” and understood that some classes needed to operate with fewer students than 15, or even eight, but was worried that if implemented, it would harm the school. He said that majors, once they are gone, are a lot harder to get back.
“There’s never been anything close to 15 students, ever,” Gabon said of French, discussing a heyday of French when a group of five dedicated students managed to bring in a lot of traffic to the major. He emphasized that the school has been very understanding of his and other programs needing to operate on smaller numbers. One policy is counting multiple classes towards the limit, or having more than eight students in one class allowing him to run fewer in another.
“I think this administration could do a lot more,” Emmanuel said. He said that “critical reasoning” should be a requirement for all students in the same way a lab credit and English 105 are. He added that he was “very confident” about the value that Philosophy brings.
“We don’t have lots of majors, but we’ll have majors,” Emmanuel said.
Dr. Susan Larkin, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, canceled an initial interview and declined to schedule a later talk with the Marlin Chronicle on this topic via Marina Maye, administrative assistant to the provost.
However, it’s hardly doom and gloom in these classrooms, even if they don’t have 15 students in chairs—maybe especially so. The smaller classes allow for a much deeper understanding of students and professors.
“I know my students very well— especially the majors, however few they are,” Gabon said, adding that he liked to joke that he knew them “better than their
done by middle schoolers. Combined, these sections represented a timeline of how society viewed the epidemic and sexually transmitted diseases, from hiding in the dark to paint, to young middle schoolers doing it as a project. Both the Domestic Violence and AIDS walls are placed in separate ends of Allen Village, with paintings on each wall tile with different messages bringing awareness to these issues.
Kelly Jackson, the associate director of the Nusbaum Center, described this opportunity as an “invitation to look beyond the visible” and how the sacred spots on campus show the history of resilience and advocacy on this land.
“Each space, from the Peace Garden to the Veterans’ Memorial, serves as a call to action, inspiring us to champion the causes that matter most to us and to recognize the profound impact we can have on others when we act with courage and compassion,” Jackson said.
The last sacred spot visited on the tour was the Peace Garden which Jackson shared was the spot that spoke most to her. Tour leaders described the Peace Garden as a symbol of peace, unity and community. You will find a Peace Pole in the center of the Peace Garden. On each side of the Peace Pole, the saying “May peace prevail on Earth” is inscribed in a different language. The hope of the Peace Garden was said to be having students walk through it and think about their roles in promoting peace in their lives and the world.
The final remarks of the tour were given by Wansink, who said to remember a quote from John Wesley: “Without love, all learning is but splendid ignorance, not this folly.” Wansink also shared that these sacred spots are sacred because of the risks and sacrifices taken by individuals who sought to do what is right and good.
own parents.” Gabon has been a professor of French Studies at Virginia Wesleyan since August 1999 and has been the only one for that entire period of time.
“I have to pay attention and know what I’m talking about,” Villacrusis said, since there were no other students to be a buffer between her and the professor. She said she learned a lot about Gabon from talking with him, from his family to his French rocker covers. Both said that language classes naturally lead to this, as one naturally ends up talking a lot about their family and plans in practicing a language.
“I’ve certainly learned more about him than any other professor,” Villacrusis said. The benefits are hardly negligible, either.
“I had many interests—at the end of the day, I stuck with Philosophy because it stuck with me,” Emmanuel said.
The smaller size at Virginia Wesleyan was one of the reasons Gabon picked VWU over three other options—it allowed him to get to know students better, and to be able to teach a variety of classes. He said multiple times that he was unwilling to get stuck teaching a particularly narrow topic: his example was 19th Century French literature. At VWU, he teaches a variety of classes from French Cinema to Advanced Composition to French Culture.
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle Abby Villacrusis standing in front of a blackboard, which reads “I quit” in French.
Sarah Richards|Marlin Chronicle
Robert Nusbaum Center|Courtesy
AIDS Memorial Wall, located in Allen Village.
Robert Nusbaum Center|Courtesy Campus veteran’s memorial, located behind Godwin Hall.
A deep dive into ‘Chromakopia’
Artist Tyler, the Creator explores family dynamics like never before
BY MADDIE DIAZ mtdiaz@vwu.edu
In a surprising turn of events, Tyler, the Creator has broken his two-year release schedule with the launch of his eighth studio album, “Chromakopia.” In just two weeks from its initial social media teaser on Oct. 16, this album has become one of the most anticipated rap releases of the year, attracting fans and critics alike with its unique approach and rich thematic content.
Tyler, known for his innovative style and boundarypushing artistry, has already
garnered significant acclaim from the beginning of his 2007 career, including multiple nominations and two Grammy Awards for previous albums “IGOR” and “Call Me If You Get Lost.” Popular singles like “See You Again” from his fourth studio album, “Flower Boy,” have solidified his place in the music world, but “Chromakopia” marks a new chapter in his artistic evolution.
This album blends influences from his past works, particularly drawing instrumental styles from “Cherry Bomb” and “IGOR.”
This album has successfully united fans from various stages of his career, showcasing his experimental stylistic choices while embracing his usual synthdriven, gritty production that characterizes his more recent records.
Initially, Tyler announced that “Chromakopia” would feature no guest artists, yet listeners like me were surprised by collaborations with highly regarded musicians like Daniel Caesar, ScHoolboy Q
and even Lil Wayne. His choice of features never disappoints; Tyler has a knack for pairing with versatile artists, having previously collaborated with names like Pharrell, Estelle, A$AP Rocky and the everpopular Frank Ocean. While many fans online have expressed disappointment over Ocean’s absence from this project, the depth of the production and the themes explored throughout this record more than compensates for it.
Tyler’s approach to featuring artists is admirably thoughtful. Often, he locks away entire songs from the album on physical media, such as vinyl, including features that do not make it to streaming platforms. In fact, on the first distribution of the “Chromakopia” vinyl, Playboi Carti has a surprising feature on the song “Thought I Was Dead.”
Upon first listening, “Chromakopia” presents a lot to digest. Many listeners I’ve spoken with find that it takes
Tackling obscurity of local elections
Virginia Beach elections fight for voter attention
BY LUCAS GORDON lrgordon@vwu.edu
Within this year’s election cycle, all eyes are on the general election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, but in the state of Virginia, in the city of Virginia Beach, and with many of its individual districts, there are even more elections to be decided; elections that are just as, if not more, important than the general race. Within the American political sphere, the rhetoric of federal and international politics is hammered in time and time again, but the complexity and nuance of state and local politics is an obscure subject within the field, as it is frequently left out of the limelight. However, I find these elections to be far more intriguing, as the lower levels of government (those being state and local) tend to impact day-to-day life far more than that of the federal government. There are major challenges that the city of Virginia Beach is actively facing, such as the challenge of proper stormwater management and environmental sustainability throughout the city, the housing crisis and the “death of the single-family home,” the construction of Virginia Beach’s Marina District and so on. The elections within Virginia Beach are, in my opinion, of the utmost importance, as their outcomes may have great effects on the future of the city, as well as setting a precedent for the state of Virginia as a whole.
This year, there are several major elections within the Virginia Beach City Council, as the Office of Mayor and city councilmembers from Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8 are up for election. For the Office of Mayor, current Virginia Beach Mayor Robert M. “Bobby” Dyer is once again seeking reelection, with his opposing candidates consisting of current District 7 Councilwoman Sabrina Wooten, current District 8 Councilman Chris Taylor and former District 9 Councilman John Moss, as well as Richard “RK” Kowalewitch. What is interesting to note, however, is that by running for mayor, Wooten and Taylor are forced to resign from their offices, meaning that if the two do not win the Mayoral Office, they will no longer serve on Virginia Beach City Council. As a result, it has made the races for District 7 and 8’s city councilmember positions all the more contentious. Additionally, Rosemary Wilson serves not only as District 5’s member of City Council, but also as the vice mayor of Virginia Beach, which has led to her seat being just as contested. The Office of Mayor of Virginia Beach most certainly has some weight to it, and for good reason. Virginia Beach is an epicenter for business, the US Navy, recreation and tourism, and education, and the role of overseeing the political process of almost half a million
people through all of these avenues is no small feat.
Additionally, District 8, a district near VWU (which lies in District 4) has a critical race this year, meaning that the surrounding community will be greatly affected by the results of this election cycle. Thus, it is truly crucial for citizens of the area to become educated on their options for a new councilmember, as Taylor is no longer able to hold the seat, and the removal of the incumbent will ultimately demand more attention from citizens of the district at the ballot box. While the Mayoral Office is important, it is not within their purview to tailor their efforts towards the specific needs of a District. It is for this reason that the intimate structure of Virginia Beach’s City Council relies on the communal strength that their councilmembers hold, as their consistent dialogue and networking among their citizens is what bolsters the growth of Virginia Beach.
Local offices hold the keys on how to conduct the political process at the most basic level, whether it be proposing plans for a new park, establishing renovations to the local strip mall or even tackling local climate crises. Thus, when people approach me and ask “Should I care about local politics?” I can only respond with a resounding “Yes!” When it comes time to vote during a local election cycle, I have found it imperative to understand just who is on the ballot and what they stand for before arriving at the ballot box, as making the most informed decision that one can is critical to the security of not only local elections, but elections in general.
multiple spins of the record to fully grasp its complexities.
After three listens, I began to truly unravel the intricate layers of themes Tyler addresses, such as coping with challenging parental relationships, the paranoia that accompanies fame and the contemplation of having children.
A poignant aspect of the album is Tyler’s inclusion of snippets of his mother speaking before several tracks. These brief interludes act as a voice of conscience, invoking feelings of guilt that resonate throughout the record. These voice clips serve as reminders of his upbringing and the emotional weight carried into adulthood. The overall theme of the record revolves around consequences faced through life, and the ongoing journey of self-discovery—a truly relatable experience for many listeners.
Tyler, the Creator continues to push the boundaries of music while remaining true to himself and his artistic vision. In an era where music is often produced
for instant gratification, Tyler’s latest project encourages deeper reflection and engagement. It reminds us that true artistry requires time and introspection, inviting listeners on a journey that is both complex and beautiful.
McKenna Howenstine |Marlin Chronicle
Youth travel sports are ruining America’s future
BY CROSSON MILLER lcmiller@vwu.edu
Over the past decade, youth travel sports have transformed into a booming market in America. They offer young children the opportunities to compete at a high level, travel and develop specialized skills. This is a trend in most youth sports such as soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse and basketball. However, the commercialization of youth sports is prompting a variety of adverse effects on our country and the future lives of these athletes.
The economic weight of travel sports can be staggering. Families frequently find themselves spending thousands of dollars each season on things such as uniforms, registration fees, travel expenses, equipment, lodging and food. This creates a divide between families that can afford it, and those that cannot. This divide leads to an arrogant, shortsighted culture that encourages financial investment in children over talent and dedication. Therefore, most children in lower income families cannot participate in the travel sports scene, hindering their potential and limiting equal opportunity in youth sports.
Additionally, the hyperfocus on skill and competition leads to burnout in the young athletes. Many children are training all year, which comes with sacrificing focus that could be spent on their academics, social opportunities and mental health. The pressure to perform is overwhelming, especially after parents have spent thousands of dollars. This burnout leads to injuries, anxiety and even depression in young athletes. The unwavering commitment to greatness sounds ideal for athletic development, but instead it’s harming our youth outside of sports and taking away the love of the game.
The culture of youth travel sports also pushes a harmful mindset that prioritizes results over values. Values and lessons should be the most important part of youth sports. Youth athletics provides children the opportunity to learn leadership, teamwork and interpersonal growth. However, parents and coaches
are pressuring young athletes to prioritize their performance, creating a troublesome atmosphere. This leads to an unhealthy fixation with results that extends beyond sports, changing how children view themselves compared to others.
Moreover, the commercialization of youth sports has led to a business driven focus on profit over participation. Youth athletic organizations are managed by businesses prioritizing economic benefit, often at the cost of the children’s mental and physical health. This movement towards profit demand has compromised the virtue of youth sports. The emphasis should be about social and personal development, not generating revenue. Finally, the effect of youth travel sports reaches past any singular athlete. Sports have long been a driving force that hold communities together, serving as a common interest that everyone can get behind. Now with elite travel sports, communities are suffering because families aren’t investing in local leagues. This dismisses the sense of pride in community that local sports foster.
The fellowship and experiences that conventionally unite communities through local sports are now lost in this landscape of youth travel sports. While youth travel sports offer some benefits, the consequences are more damaging. The economic constraints, mental health challenges and loss of community created by this shift show that the current model of youth sports needs to be changed. By shifting the focus back to the true meaning of sports—inclusive participation, intrinsic satisfaction and personal growth—we can produce a healthier environment for young athletes. It’s time to prioritize the well being of our youth over money and success, guaranteeing that sports remain a positive outlet in their lives moving forward. We can do this by signing our kids up for local teams and putting more of an emphasis on school sports than
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle
is a sophomore studying History & Social Science and Political Science. He has lived
Crosson
Tyler, the Creator|Courtesy
Crosson Miller|Marlin Chronicle Crosson and his travel sports team pose for a photo.
Maddie is a sophomore studying Elementary Education. Maddie has been listening to Tyler, the Creator since 2018.
BY SYDNEE WASHINGTON
Due to the creation of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) back in 2021, athletes have been afforded the right to “monetize their personal brand and endorsements while participating in college sports,” according to NCA Sports. Consequently, big-name athletes have capitalized off of this policy, generating millions of dollars from their personal brand. Although not all athletes will have such experiences, the idea of NIL and its possibilities are still rewarding in any capacity.
At Virginia Wesleyan, however, very few athletes have taken advantage of this policy –that is until recently, according to Andrea Hoover, the executive director for Intercollegiate Athletics.
“Name, Image, and Likeness has grown some traction, and I think this is the opportunity that I have seen the most of our student-athletes that kind of took advantage of this opportunity.”
The opportunity Hoover referred to is the NextGen America Campaign. “Opendorse approached us, and so we passed that information along to the
VWU athletes take advantage of growing NIL opportunities
student-athletes,” Hoover said.
“This time, they had a series of videos that they had to post for NextGen about voter registration and getting out to vote, and those videos had to be approved by that company, and then they were paid,” Hoover said.
Sophomore track and field athlete Zantia Durand is one of the many that have participated in this opportunity. According to Durand, student-athletes were required to have “at least 1000 followers on Instagram” to participate. If interested, athletes simply had to send the company an email to express their interest or apply through the app Opendorse.
Durand explained why she chose to participate. “I did it for the money, really, but it’s nice trying to help others make their voices heard.”
This was Durand’s first NIL deal despite its existence well before her freshman year. “I do not believe that we had any of this last year, and if we did it was not promoted at all to student-
Looking back to move forward
BY ELI CASEY emcasey@vwu.edu
with opponent on defense at scrimmage on Oct. 31.
The 2007 Men’s Basketball team was recently inducted into the Virginia Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame. The team, coached by David Macedo, finished as NCAA National Runner-Up, capping off a return to the NCAA Tournament following the 2006 National Championship triumph.
Brandon Adair, 2012 Hall of Fame inductee and member of the 2007 Basketball team, described the feeling of the season. “We were the hunted,” Adair said. The 2007 team had to block out the expectations from the outside, according to Adair.
In the offseason after the championship success of 2006, the Marlins had to take extra care in ensuring a return to form. The 2007 team was preseason ranked No. 1 but the players remained humble, Macedo said. “They played for one another. They were great teammates,” Macedo said.
On the way to the Final Four run, the Marlins held an overall record of 28-5 and 17-1 in conference play. At home, they
finished undefeated with 15 wins.
“We always feel like we should have an advantage when we’re at home,” Macedo said, “There’s nothing like coming out of your own locker room and through the tunnel and playing in the arena.”
Following last season’s NCAA Tournament bid, the 2024-2025 Marlins are striving to model the 2007 team. According to Macedo, the brand of basketball both teams play is similar. “We hope that this team can follow in those footsteps,” he added.
Junior Omari DeVeaux, the 2022-23 team’s leading scorer, believes that this year is the right time to make a push. “If we can make it out the ODAC, we can definitely make the Elite Eight, Sweet Sixteen even the National Championship,” DeVeaux said.
“Everybody has gotten stronger, more physical, skill level has gone up.”
This season, DeVeaux is taking a different mindset. “Every game counts,” DeVeaux said. “I want guys to treat every game like it’s a big-time game, because those games are going to be the games that’s going to determine whether
we get to the tournament or not.”
As the season begins in under a month, there are only a few details left to fine-tune. “Our league is so physical that it hurt us at times,” Macedo said. “We all need to be much more disciplined with our rebounding, and we have to be more physical on the court.”
One of the details that DeVeaux mentioned working on was highstress situations. “We have times where a coach will put around like two minutes up on the clock, and we’ll be down five or six,” DeVeaux said, “They challenge us…We have to figure out a way to come back and win.”
Last season, the Marlins saw dominant wins against William Peace University, North Carolina Wesleyan College and Regent University, among others. The Marlins are a tough matchup for some opponents, Macedo said. However, he emphasized that going into each game and trying to “play our brand” of basketball was most important.
athletes,” she said.
Although opportunities were previously sparse, Hoover noted that they are becoming increasingly available thanks to companies such as Opendorse, Teamworks and Influxer. “You just are seeing more and more of these companies that are dedicated to Name, Image and Likeness, and working with schools and athletes on opportunities in that space,” Hoover said. “We’ve been doing research on them, just to kind of see what’s out there right so that we are educated on those opportunities.”
Durand expressed the importance of NIL deals such as this for athletes. “They give us opportunities to make connections with other companies and to have our own brand,” she said.
Sophomore track and field athlete Grace Harriman also noted the importance of the experience for not just her brand but also her interests.
“The NextGen America campaign was a perfect match for me because not only did I get
FIELD HOCKEY
CONTINUED FROM PG. 1
four years. We are full of hard-working, determined and compassionate young women ready to get things done. The competitive nature of this team has allowed us to find some true success this season,” Winslow said.
The Marlins earned the No. 5 spot in the tournament in which they faced No. 4 Washington and Lee University and lost by a score of 7-0.
“Previously, teams underestimated us and considered us not a competitor. However, now the ODAC respects us as an opponent,” Winslow said.
All of this season’s success has Head Field Hockey Coach Riley van der Velde incredibly pleased especially with the contributions of the younger players.
“We have a few freshmen in some tough positions. We ask a lot of them and we make no excuses for being young. I’m so proud of their contributions, mental toughness and work ethic. They have set the bar for all of the women coming in next year,” van der Velde said.
Coming into this season,
money, but I got to promote my passion, political science. A lot of students don’t understand how important their vote is, so it was an incredible opportunity to push for a campaign that isn’t creating more polarization within politics that scares the youth away but rather encourages them to vote because it’s their right,” Harriman said.
With these positive effects of NIL also come some downsides. Some schools use the promise of NIL opportunities to recruit athletes. This issue is more prevalent at the Division I level; however, there is no guarantee that these effects will not trickle down to the Division III level. “I think that usually there is a trickle down of most things, and so I don’t know what it will look like in three to five years, but I know that we are seeing more action and movement in this space,” Hoover said.
Although the future of NIL and its effect on sports is unclear, as of right now, it has proven to be beneficial.
van der Velde and the team had the goal of making the ODAC tournament as it would be their first playoff berth since the 2016 season.
“We talk a lot about trusting the process and not focusing so much on outcomes. We know if we trust the process the outcomes will follow. That being said, we are focusing on bringing our best level of hockey and teamwork to the ODAC tournament,” Velde said.
Despite the loss to Washington and Lee University in the quarterfinal round of the ODAC tournament, the team feels to be in good hands moving forward heavily due to the leadership of the upperclassmen.
Senior Lauren Hedspeth, the team’s second-leading scorer, is excited for the team beyond this season.
“It is such an amazing feeling to see this team grow over the years I have been here. So much time and effort has gone into growing this program. I know that it will only continue to grow because of the young women who have bought into our program,” Hedspeth said.
With new talent and confidence, the team looks to capitalize on their success next season.
The Marlins will face talent such as Christopher Newport University, Randolph-Macon College, Guilford College and Hampden-Sydney College this season, all preseason ranked Top 25 by d3hoops.com. “I’m a raging optimist. I always believe in our guys. I feel like we’re a work in progress in the preseason, but I love the pieces and I love our potential,”
said.
Macedo
The Marlins
James Hill|Courtesy
Omari DeVeaux battles
James Hill |Courtesy Anderson shoots the ball over defender.
Mars Johnson|Marlin Chronicle
BY MATT SMITH mjsmith3@vwu.edu
Thanks to the support of a new sponsor, CompleteU, VWU’s Esports team will be receiving a much-needed hardware upgrade for the upcoming Collision on the Coast event, an annual Esports tournament held at VWU, and the upcoming spring season.
After experiencing a drop in system performance last year, the Director of Esports Brandon Kwon made it imperative to upgrade the team’s equipment as soon as he could. “It’s usually a five-year turnaround when you need new computers,” Kwon said.
Competing at the highest levels of Rocket League since the birth of the Esports program in 2019, Kwon was nervously excited about the timely upgrade to the team’s long-time PCs.
“We were stressed going into the year about new systems, if we want to run this (Collision on the Coast) again we’re going to need improvement,” Kwon said. With
big schools like UCF, ODU and JMU coming to compete at last year’s event, and similar schools expected to be at this upcoming “Collision,” undesirable performance was not an option.
This complete system overhaul does not come cheap. However, with long-time sponsor Kellam Mechanical, and the acquisition of a new sponsor, CompleteU, the team was able to make the enhancements needed to continue competing at the highest level.
“They stepped in with a ‘sure let’s run it’ attitude,” Kwon said.
The program has been fitted with Lenovo Legion T5s, a cutting-edge engine allowing for high-performance systems. “We jumped two generations from 2070’s to 4070’s,” Kwon said; this jump allows for smoother frame rates and with Windows 11, an “Ultra high FPS,” according to Lenovo’s website. Senior Andrew Zamor, who plays Overwatch, and is known in game as Drzammy3, is especially excited about the performance improve-
ments. “Better performance will make life easier, make us more comfortable, allow us to react faster, especially in a game like Overwatch,” Zamor said.
With fast-paced games such as Overwatch, Valorant, Fortnite and Rocket League offering major benefits for using a high-performance system, the majority of Esports games will be boosted by the upgraded PCs.
Although the system upgrades
are substantial, the team’s abilities have never been in question.
“While the new hardware is impressive, and will be a big help, our experience and progress is what got us this far and will continue to make us great,” sophomore Ahmik Allen, known as TMOApollo in game, said. The team is currently, “on track to make the playoffs,” according to Zamor. “I think we can do a lot this year, make some noise,” Zamor said.
Collision on the Coast 3 is coming up next semester on March 29 and 30.
“Esports is one of the most interesting and competitive sports,” Allen said, “If you don’t know if it’s for you, all of our matches are streamed on Twitch through VWU Esports.”
Tune into their upcoming matches as they take on the likes of ODU, JMU and other big-time schools at TowneBank Arena.
Prioritizing mental health in sports Time for a level up
BY SYDNEE WASHINGTON sawashington2@vwu.edu
With World Mental Health Day in the rearview and Mental Health Awareness on the horizon, they serve as important reminders that mental health is true wealth. This is especially true for studentathletes.
“Suicide rates among U.S. college athletes have doubled over the past two years, according to data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).” U.S. News
“Suicide rates among U.S. college athletes have doubled over the past two years, according to data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).” This makes suicide the second leading cause of death among college students.
Sports are mentally and physically demanding, so it is important to know when to keep pushing and when to take a break.
Junior Salena Jones shared her experience with taking a break from collegiate athletics.
Jones was recruited to play volleyball at VWU, but after her freshman year, she decided to step away from the sport. “It was just really draining my freshman
year, like it was a lot with school and volleyball, and my mental health was just in the dumps. It was really bad,” Jones said. The decision was not made lightly, as Jones had dedicated 12 years of her life to the sport. Ultimately, it came down to prioritizing her mental health. “I was like maybe it’s a good thing to take a break and just quit, and it did help my mental health,” Jones said. “But then I was like, I miss the team,
so that’s why I came back.”
During the hiatus, Jones elected to remove herself completely from volleyball. “The first time I touched a ball was during the spring season, which started in January,” Jones said. “It was a rough spring season. I was really out of shape, and I was really bad at volleyball for the first part of it.”
Despite difficulties getting back on track, the reset proved to be fruitful, as Jones currently
leads the team in assists and is in the top five for assists leaders in the ODAC.
Although her current state of mental health is not perfect, she remains grateful for the clarity her break provided her and does not intend to take another.
“I think I realized what I lost when I quit, and that’s why I’m not going to quit again,” she said, citing the importance of her teammates in her decision to stay.
Not all athletes share the same
story as Jones, stepping away from their sport permanently. Senior Jenna Waters was a member of the VWU Women’s Volleyball since her freshman year, but walked away from it her senior year to protect her mental health.
“This was definitely one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make thus far,” Waters said. “There are many benefits to playing a sport at a collegiate level, but it is also a very intensive and involved process in and out of the gym that can definitely get overwhelming at times.”
In weighing the pros and cons of playing versus departing, she found that leaving would leave her “happier and more fulfilled.”
Playing since the third grade, volleyball was a part of Waters’ identity for a substantial portion of her life. Quitting collegiate athletics has not killed this passion, as she continues to play in recreational leagues and tournaments in the area. “I love the sport so much, and now I feel like I get to enjoy it on my own terms,” Waters said.
She has also taken up new hobbies in her newfound free time. “I use the extra time that I have now to work and have also discovered new hobbies like sewing and upcycling clothing.”
Athletes are no stranger to struggles with mental health. There are a multitude of ways to remedy mental health declines, and it is important for an athlete to do what is best for their health, even if that means walking away from the sport indefinitely or permanently.
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle
Senior Joshua Condit playing Super Smash Bros Ultimate against Keiser University on Oct. 17.
Mars Johnson|Marlin Chronicle
Sydnee Washington
Chronicle
Saturday Night full of chaotic fun
Jason Reitman’s latest movie is enjoyable, but marred with sexism.
BY GABRIELLE BARNETT gabarnett@vwu.edu
Sony Pictures’ “Saturday Night,” directed by Jason Reitman, explores the wild, chaotic and occasionally violent hour and a half leading up to the first ever episode of the popular satirical show, “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”). The movie was released to celebrate the 50 season of the late night staple and provides a dramatized look at both real and sensationalized events that happened backstage before the first episode of “SNL.”
“SNL” is a comedy show that airs, as the name suggests, live on Saturday nights at 11:30 p.m. The cast of the show consists of new and professional comedians performing a variety of different sketches, many which relate to current events, particularly politics. Sketches consist of commercial parodies, short films, songs, fake game shows and other satirical sets.
Reitman’s film captures a version of the hour and a half between 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on the night of Oct. 11, 1975, in a fast-paced, frenetic movie. With an upbeat, pulsing score and a lively plot, it’s a fun, and funny, movie to watch.
The film follows “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels, played by Gabriel LaBelle, as he struggles to keep actors in line, decide a clear structure on the show and convince the rest of the world that the show will come together for prime time.
At every turn, he faces dissenters such as cast member John Belushi, played by Matt Wood, who hasn’t yet signed his contract to be on air, or NBC executive David Tebet, played by Willem Dafoe, who is almost eagerly waiting to see the show go up in flames to cancel it and replace it with a taped rerun of “The Tonight Show.”
As Matt Singer put it in his Screen Crush review of the film, the movie presents a slightly distorted and, at times, fictional representation of events. However, there have been many looks behind the scenes of both creating “SNL” and the first night of
“SNL,” so the real story is hardly difficult to find.
“What you go to this film for, I suppose,” Singer said, “is energy, which ‘Saturday Night’ does have in abundance.”
The movie is able to present a version of that night with the zeal that comes from live television and a sense of nostalgia that recalls a time waiting to be shaken up with something as disruptive as “SNL.”
One part that shines in “Saturday Night” is the casting. Convincingly close interpretations of the original “SNL” cast
are brought back to life with near lookalike and experienced impression actors.
One actor who really stands out is Rachel Sennott, who plays Lorne Michaels’ then wife, Rosie Shuster. Throughout the chaos, Shuster provides a grounding, encouraging presence as she aids in the production of the show. Sennott brings to life a varied, confident character who provides a sense of comedy and calm to each scene she’s a part of.
However, Shuster’s role is indicative of a larger flaw of the movie. The “SNL”
original cast featured three women who would eventually become well known comedians, and each was appropriately cast. Gilda Radner, played by Ella Hunt; Jane Curtin, played by Kim Matula; and Laraine Newman, played by Emily Fairn, are well known for their contributions to “SNL” and the rise of women in comedy.
Author and historian Yael Kohen described the prominent role of Radner as an inspiration to nearly all female comedians of the following generations. Yet the movie only focuses on the male comedians and producers on the show with the women acting mainly as plot devices or comedic relief.
Shuster’s character remains the most interesting female role of the whole show, simply because she is allotted actual screen time and audiences gain an understanding of her character. Still, she spends the whole movie calming down the men around her, from Michaels to Belushi, and providing very little significance of her own.
When she isn’t patting another character comfortingly on the back, Shuster spends the rest of the movie contemplating her own complicated relationship with Michaels, a subplot that contributes practically nothing to the larger chaos and energy of the movie. None of the women add anything to the plot, save for other characters wondering if Shuster will keep her own last name or use Michaels’ last name in the end credits of the show.
The profound contrast between the exploration of the male and female characters is a remarkable disappointment. Nearly every male character’s “story” is explored and embellished, providing them with a character arc to fulfill throughout the film. It’s unfortunate that there was no similar opportunity for the female icons on the cast.
Overall, “Saturday Night” provides a fun, chaotic story of the first night of “SNL,” a cultural phenomenon. While it has its flaws, the movie provides energy and excitement that rouses nostalgia and laughter alike.
Cullipher Farm cultivates happiness
BY KAMI WHISENHUNT kjwhisenhunt@vwu.edu
Cullipher Farm, a pumpkin patch, sunflower field and pick your own fruit all in one. A gem for individuals or families looking to experience fun this fall season.
The farm is a community rooted business and, according to the website, a family entity that’s been passed down from generation to generation with over 200 years of farming experience in the North Carolina and Tidewater area.
Continuing on the legacy is current owner Mike Cullipher, along with his wife and son. He is passionate about the farm and believes it is special to the Hampton Roads area.
“At the risk of sounding braggish or boastful we’re the only ones in Hampton Roads, or the only ones east of Richmond that I know of that grow strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, apples, grapes and pumpkins all on the same farm,” Cullipher said. “All those crops are available for the public to pick at various
times of the year.”
Each season brings specialties to the farm. Springtime brings strawberries, summer brings blueberries and the farm’s fall specialties are apples, grapes and pumpkins according to Cullipher. On the
farm, seasonal sweet treats are offered at their walk up window including slushies made from the season’s fresh fruit and various ice cream flavors.
A visitor to the farm, Austin Ashworth, enjoyed an ice cream cone while browsing their market of fresh produce, baked goods and more.
“The environment is very good. It’s busy and seems like everybody is having a good time. The workers inside the market were very helpful and answered any questions we had also,” Ashworth said.
The market is an area where people can browse and purchase goods. It ties into the community and focuses on the farm’s grown products. It incorporates items from local and regional providers like cooking and pantry necessities to go along with the fruits, vegetables and meat from the grass fed animals raised on the farm.
Cullipher said the corn maze is a popular attraction of the fall, featuring a new shape each year. This year it spells out the words “Hollow Tree Branch.” This theme relates to a part of the farm’s history. As mentioned by their website the name comes from a creek that used to run through an ancestor’s farm located in Knotts Island, NC.
According to the legend there was a pirate who hid his gold in a hollow tree along that creek, giving the creek its name. Thus the name “Hollow Tree Branch” became special to the farm. Not only has it been used as inspiration for the corn maze, but “Hollow Tree Branch” is also the name of a line of beef on the farm as a way to share their heritage.
Cullipher Farm offers a bright environment with a large sunflower field for good photo opportunities and flower
picking. This compliments their pick-yourown-pumpkin patch and apple orchards well. People can also see a few animals while visiting, like cattle, lambs and a donkey. The farm also hosts food trucks and live music on occasion. To add to the fall festivities, the farm offers wagon rides around the property as a fun activity.
In order to cater to the family side of things there is a complimentary, one acre play area to entertain the kids. It’s enclosed by a white fence for safety, and contains tire swings, tube slides and a hay tunnel.
Cullipher Farm’s dedication to provide a lively and safe environment is clear and reflects the values of their family owned business.
Bailey Clark, an employee of the corn maze, got her job through a family connection.“I’ve worked here for about four months, my aunt worked here in the market, so she got me a job,” Clark said. Clark said the visitors of the farm are always nice.
According to Mike Cullipher, the many generations of their family being incorporated within the business are a challenge but also an opportunity.
“Having two and three generations involved makes it not bad, but just a challenge of trying to blend in younger points of view,” Cullipher said. “For example, our son is 25 and I’m 58, so he looks at things differently than I do and trying to mesh our ideas together is something we have to work through.”
Evidently they are succeeding because the farm was buzzing with people. They lean into their family history and are eager to share it through the farm. Cullipher Farm creates a blend of tradition, family values and fun for everyone to enjoy.
Kami Whisenhunt |Marlin Chronicle Sunflower at Cullipher Farm’s sunflower field.
Instagram |Courtesy
Kami Whisenhunt |Marlin Chronicle Wooden crate full of apples at Cullipher Farm’s market.
Kami Whisenhunt |Marlin Chronicle A large field of pumpkins to pick from at Cullipher Farm.
Kami Whisenhunt |Marlin Chronicle Entrance to the Cullipher Farm corn maze.
From Basket to Barnyard
BY CALEE LUKOWSKI crlukowski@vwu.edu
A great spot for a day trip, the family owned and operated Bergey’s Breadbasket and Barnyard offer a unique and fun way to unwind and get away from the stress of classes. With the weather slowly turning towards fall, what’s a better activity than visiting a farm for the day?
Bergey’s Breadbasket functions as the storefront for the farm with a bakery, deli and creamery. With incredibly kind and helpful staff, the store is a great place to grab lunch, some nice merchandise, some ingredients for a meal or even a quick snack.
“The shop was also so cute, everyone was so sweet and there was a variety of delicious food including homemade ice cream, ciders, fudge, crepe mix, pasta noodles and jams. I definitely will be going again soon,” sophomore Ava Gerstemeier said.
Even though it sounds like a typical farm market, Bergey’s Breadbasket holds a special kind of charm that any normal market might miss. From interesting flavored ice creams, like dark chocolate
lemon, to wonderful baked goods, there is something for everyone.
“The shop was cool. I liked the homemade ice cream alot. The petting zoo was even better. My favorite animals there were the goats,” sophomore Geordie Chagalis said.
After browsing the shop and enjoying some sweet treats, visitors can make a short walk around back to Bergey’s Barnyard, a working farm that also functions as a petting zoo. For just a small fee, visitors can spend as much time as they please with many animals, including goats, pigs and piglets, bunnies, cats, sheep and more.
“The petting zoo was so fun, and I loved that we were able to go into the pens with the goats and sheep to interact with and feed them,” Gerstemeier said.
If you love animals, Bergey’s Barnyard is the place for you. You are encouraged to enter most of the animal pens to pet and interact with the animals. You can get up close and personal with baby goats and pigs to wipe away the mid semester stress. It’s a great place to relax and take some time for yourself.
“The petting zoo was a really nice
experience because they have a variety of animals to bond and connect with,” sophomore Madi Mellon said.
The animals are all wonderful and so friendly. You won’t spend the time waiting for them to come to you, they will simply appear behind you wanting some attention or food. The goats are especially friendly and love to be showered in attention.
It’s the perfect place for college students who are away from their pets at home and still needing some kind of animal companionship, even for a few hours.
“Especially being on a college campus without your animals from home, sometimes you crave that connection, and this was a really cute opportunity to do that,” Mellon said. The petting zoo is also very reasonably priced. Fall prices, which run until Nov. 27, are five dollars Mondays through Thursdays and six dollars Fridays through Saturdays. Bergey’s Barnyard is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Sunday and Bergey’s Breadbasket is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Sunday.
2D Cafe, HD Flavor
make them appear flatter.
BY GABRIELLE BARNETT gabarnett@vwu.edu
2D Cafe was founded by Monica Kiraly to be an aesthetic, convenient oceanfront coffee shop. Located at 1102 Atlantic Ave #102 on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, the cafe serves a variety of food, with special emphasis on Turkish food.
“At the beach, we don’t have too many coffee shops,” Kiraly explained. “But besides that, we wanted to make something different, not just sell coffee.”
Kiraly, a Romanian native, has always harbored a deep appreciation for fine coffee and food. She described visits to other coffee shops with her husband and friends, admitting that she often critiqued them. Her husband urged her to start her own coffee shop in response.
The 2D Cafe was inspired by other similarly designed cafes in the United States, as well as one Kiraly visited in Turkey. Every inch of the small cafe is decorated in black and white designs that brings a distinctive two-dimensional feel to the restaurant. Even the comfortable chairs and tiled ceiling were decorated on theme, painted white with thin black accents to
“The design was made by two art students from Thailand,” Kiraly said. “They did an amazing job. They were very talented.”
The students’ murals of artwork lined the walls of the cafe, decorating it with pictures of famous landmarks and other decorations. Families filled the booths, chatting and enjoying the wide variety of food.
Mixed with the bluesy synth music, the entire cafe was picturesque and beautiful, which contributed to the Instagrammable appeal. As is evident on their Instagram page, the contrasting black and white tones of the cafe created fun pictures where food and people vibrantly pop out.
“I love the decorations that they have,” Norine Vogel, a customer, said. Vogel was visiting the cafe on a trip she was taking with her daughter, Kathleen Daly, to the oceanfront.
“We were not expecting what it was going to be,” Daly said. She explained that she and Vogel, because of their unfamiliarity with the area, had simply Googled a coffee shop and found the 2D cafe. “I mean, we’re thinking we’re gonna get coffee and nothing else, right? And then we started reading the menu,” Daly said.
The menu offers a wide variety of food.
“We try to offer something for everybody,” Kiraly said. “Like different age groups, different countries and so on.”
Not only does the cafe offer more typical coffee shop options, such as lattes, espressos and teas, but it also offers boba tea, milkshakes, smoothies and freshly squeezed juice.
Still, coffee is the highlight of the cafe, locally sourced from a supplier called Neptune’s Fury. Daly bought a coconut cream specialty latte, which she enjoyed. Kiraly also recommended the coconut cream specialty latte as one of her favorites, but the cafe also offers honey lavender, caramel kiss and mocha splash lattes.
“We print ghosts and stuff on our lattes,” Kiraly said, explaining how they design
and decorate their lattes seasonally.
Outside of coffee, the cafe offers a wide variety of delicious food, including traditional Turkish dishes that can be paired with Turkish tea and coffee. Salads, bagels, burgers, soups and more fill the menu, each one made of a wide variety of bright, distinct ingredients. Kiraly added that her personal favorite part of the menu is the Turkish food items.
The Turkish food is inspired by Kiraly’s husband, who is from Turkey. Turkish coffee is a particularly distinct part of the menu. The coffee is well known for its rich thick flavor made from finely ground coffee beans that creates a distinct flavor.
It’s served in an intricate, artisanal cup with a side of lokum dessert, also known commonly as Turkish delight.
“My favorite is the Magnolia dessert,”
Kiraly said. “It’s a custard dessert with Biscoff cookies and Biscoff cream, like a pudding.”
The cafe offers a wide variety of desserts alongside the Magnolia dessert, including rice pudding, tiramisu and baklava, a Turkish pastry layered with nuts and honey.
Vogel and Daly recommend the Manti, which are Turkish ground beef and lamb mix dumplings served with homemade yogurt, garlic and Turkish salsa.
“Out of five, I’d give it a five,” Daly said. “And I’m actually very picky about restaurants because I like to cook.”
“It’s just fun to find it by accident,” Daly said. “A really nice place, awesome.”
The 2D cafe provides a fun, aesthetic place with a variety of options for delicious food, making it a great place for a fun time with friends or by yourself.
Landon Crooks|Marlin Chronicle
Calee Lukowski |Marlin Chronicle Collage of some goats at the Bergey’s Barnyard petting zoo.
Gabrielle Barnett |Marlin Chronicle
Pictured is a Turkish coffee with the side of lokum (in the covered dish), passion refresher, cheese börek (also known as su boregi), and menemen, a type of Turkish omelette.
Calee Lukowski |Marlin Chronicle
Storefront of Bergey’s Breadbasket located at 2207 Mt. Pleasant Rd.
Gabrielle Barnett |Marlin Chronicle
The design of the inside of the 2D Cafe.