September 14, 2017

Autism awareness in the Counseling Center COMMUNITY Page 3

The Marlin Chronicle THURSDAY 9.14.17 || MARLINCHRONICLE.VWU.EDU ||

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

Bill Clark|CQ Roll Call

People gather in Washington, D.C. to protest the recent decision by the Trump administration to end the DACA program.

A rude awakening for dreamers

BY MICKELLA RAST mjrast@vwu.edu

On Sept. 5, President Donald Trump gave Congress an ultimatum: make a decision regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in the next six months, or he’ll do it for them.

DACA is a program created by former President Barack Obama to protect the children of illegal immigrants, nicknamed “dreamers” by the administration.

The executive order was passed in 2012 and allowed the children to remain in the U.S. and function as normal citizens. They were integrated into the community and allowed to enroll in higher education, gain work permits, and serve in the military, free from the threat of deportation. Today, nearly 800,000 people are affected by the

program, both directly and indirectly.

The tweet Trump made on the subject was brief, but clear: “Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!”

Earlier that day he alluded to such an announcement, also tweeting, “Congress, get ready to do your job – DACA!” In a nota bene on Sept. 6, President Scott Miller called Trump’s decision “a matter of grave concern,” and said he wanted to “reiterate my commitment, and that of Virginia Wesleyan University, to inclusiveness and acceptance of those seeking academic and life success at our institution and others.”

“We stand in sympathy with those aspiring citizens, and we urge our leaders in the Congress to pass responsible, humane legislation that will preserve access to our institution of higher education and other avenues that will ensure that those who are registered for DACA or defined as ‘undocumented’ may continue to make contributions to American that are already, indeed, documented and valid,” Miller said.

Senior Chris Battle called the act significant for “dreamers.” “They do their part,” he said, and emphasized the role they play in society. “It’s an important act to cover that middle ground—not an illegal immigrant, not a citizen, sort of a shaky middle ground.”

Junior Brittany Hockey called the original DACA legislation an “overreach of executive power,” but continued to say that “those individuals should be granted some way to become citizens or actual greencard holders. Something needs to be done, but it needs to be done within the purview of legislation like it should have been done in the first place.”

The President of College Republicans, junior Benjamin Astrum, disagrees. “I fully support President Trump repealing DACA,” he said. “We need to be stricter on illegal aliens entering this country…

I welcome immigrants from all over, but they need to come here through the proper channels and do it legally.”

SEE DACA Pg. 2

Crowds congregate at the Caf

BY AMANDA ARCHER acarcher@vwu.edu

Max Peters|Marlin Chronicle Students wait outside the caf, while inside lines form around food stations.

The combination of returning students and freshmen enrolled at Virginia Wesleyan University have created overcrowding and structural changes in the caf.

At the start of the fall 2017 semester, President Miller announced the opening of the new Greer Environmental Sciences Center, a recent addition to the Virginia Wesleyan University campus, subsequently completing the quad. However, President Miller has signified that Greer will not be the only building contributing to the quad.

A new addition to the Boyd Dining Center, also referred to as the caf, is in the near future as well, and both new and returning students feel that it couldn’t come soon enough. Overcrowding and other health issues have been reported.

“I had multiple instances that I had to

inform the staff on duty about their cleanliness. During the first instance, at the home-style food station, there was a loaf of moldy bread in plain sight. The second instance was during breakfast and there was mold once again, this time on the muffins,” senior Cassetty Howerin said.

Howerin was not the only one to complain about circumstances in the caf. There have been recent stories released, including one last year from the Marlin Chronicle, on the cleanliness and understaffing with the University’s food partner Sodexo. This year, others have complained about overcrowding and having to eat at the tables outside of the caf.

“It is hard as a freshman to schedule things around your classes and having to avoid the caf for lunch because it is so overcrowded just makes things even more

SEE FOOD Pg. 2

Wireless speakers wreak havoc

Men’s soccer hosts N.C.

Mayweather vs. McGregor

OPINIONS Page 6

SPORTS Page 8

WEEKENDER Page 10

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2 Thursday September 14, 2017 The Marlin Chronicle marlinchronicle.vwu.edu

News

Campus housing conditions

S

GA happenings this quarter

BY MICKELLA RAST mjrast@vwu.edu

•

Pub n’ Club: On September 2, the SGA hosted their first Pub n’ Club event.

Students were invited to sing karaoke, dance the night away, and hang with friends from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Over 300 students attended.

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Freshman Officer SGA Elections: Voting ran September 5 through September 7 to elect the new freshman officers. The results are in: Allaina Boggs has been elected President, Max Peters is Vice President, Quentin Nace is the finance officer, and Elise Herring is the events officer.

•

Student Finance Committee: The SFC had their first two meetings of the year on August 31 and September 12, and were able to provide students organizations with over $1,000.

Ashlei Gates|Marlin Chronicle Bray Village, formely known as Village I, is the oldest of the four villages. These residence halls house freshmen.

BY JOSHUA DAVIS jwdavis@vwu.edu

Regardless of age or grade, students living on campus are part of a growing community that seeks to improve itself.

Though the beauty of a like-minded, ever-evolving community is easy to recognize, it is not without its faults. Housing a large number of students in one area of a city is difficult to do, regardless of the institution that is housing them.

Here at VWU, students experience many issues with housing and maintenance of buildings on campus.

The wet climate, constant occupancy and increasing demand for living spaces is causing students to experience problems with faulty equipment, broken appliances, and most strikingly, mold.

Senior Steve Roberts, and junior Tyler Conn found mold in their Teagle suite upon moving into their rooms. Turns out they aren’t the only ones.

“When I talk to people, there’s usually at least one thing wrong,” said Spencer Valenti, an RA in Brock Village.

These problems can range from small pests such as cockroaches and spiders, to mold being found in students’ living spaces. Upon hearing a complaint from a resident, an RA’s job is to fill out and turn in a form detailing the issue. These forms are then turned in as a request for maintenance to fix the problem.

However, some of these problems have not yet been fixed. Village Coordinators and Res Life directors have advised Resident Advisors to continue to fill out and submit their forms when needed, and to resubmit the forms that have not yet been addressed. When asked about the response time, Valenti

seemed optimistic, saying that “most of the more serious complaints, such as mold, have been addressed, or are being addressed by maintenance.”

In Villages I and II, students say they’ve experienced a buildup of condensation on the tile flooring. “I felt puddles, and condensation under my desk,” freshman Trevor Lalande said.

This could come from a problem of lack of central air conditioning in the older buildings on campus.

Many students have similar problems with their rooms, but not all of them are reporting their complaints. After speaking to a small group of freshmen, it seemed that they all agreed on a few issues that plague their dorm, but when asked if these problems had been addressed, these students didn’t seem to know where to start.

First year student Nick Barnas said he had “no complaints really,” and seemed surprised when other students spoke about the issues in their rooms.

Junior Tyler Conn added, “I’m not too picky about stuff like that, it bothered me when I first saw it, but it’s not something I think about very often. I mostly just want to be around people who are positive.”

These problems are not limited to students living on campus. Many students are housed in nearby hotels to help prevent overcrowding on campus.

Students housed in the hotel are often overcrowded, and left to rely on an inconvenient carpooling system. Shuttles are provided for students, but they are only available every hour.

“If I take the ride that the school provides, I am usually at least an hour early for my classes,” said junior transfer Kyle Leeming. Though being early for a class is not negative, students living in the hotel should not be left to worry about whether or not they will be able to make it to a class that they’ve already paid for. With that being said, the hotels that the University provides its students are merely a mile from campus.

Comfort is a state of mind for some students, and not everyone has bad things to say about their living spaces.

Indeed, students are in charge of the places they live. It is not a maintenance worker’s job to fix a problem that they haven’t heard about. Perhaps the issues with room maintenance would be better fixed if students took more of an initiative to report these problems in detail, and demand to be heard by those responsible for keeping them both comfortable and safe.

Food CONTINUED FROM FRONT difficult,” freshman Dani Stewart said.

While these are both legitimate concerns to be had among students, President Miller offers hope in lieu of the complaints. Once enrollment grows from the current 1,350 fulltime students to 1,500 students, there will be additions made to the caf to accommodate the student body. The current caf is set to be able to handle 1,400 full-time students and enrollment has not yet reached that number.

“When we get to the point that we have 1,500 full-time students enrolled, we will be looking at building an addition off of the front of the Boyd Dining Center, that would be additional dining space and a decorative front area that would become the commons. It would provide space to accommodate that kind of growth. 2019 is probably when we will do the addition to the commons that will include the addition to the cafeteria,” Miller said.

President Miller was adamant that the overcrowding in the caf will not last for long.

“Congestion usually occurs the first week or two and the people get into a different pattern based on traffic and it becomes more of a balanced operation. Once the first two weeks settle in and people get in their habits it spreads out a lot more,” Miller said.

In the meantime, he has offered some accommodations to keep things running smoothly in the caf.

“We have scheduled wiser anticipating the larger population so there are more people working to hopefully accommodate things in a faster way. Sodexo is a good national business, they are experienced and responded well when we informed them that we would be anticipating a larger crowd,” Miller said.

*Students are encouraged to contact SGA president Nich Hipple for more info

DACA CONTINUED FROM FRONT The Virginian-Pilot reported on Sept. 6 that new DACA applicants will be rejected and the program will be formally rescinded, although the Trump administration will renew existing twoyear work permits for the next six months.

Despite this, members of Congress still issued a warning: “The Department of Homeland Security urges DACA recipients to use the time remaining on their work authorizations to prepare for and arrange their departure from the United States.”

Former President Barack Obama responded to the news in a lengthy Facebook post on the day of the announcement, calling the decision “wrong” and “cruel.”

“Ultimately, this is about basic decency,” he said. “This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people—and who we want to be.”

Scott Taylor, the Republican federal legislator for Hampton Roads, was quoted in the VirginianPilot as saying, “Children shouldn’t pay for the sins of their parents. We need to help this population that is in a stateless limbo.”

If Congress fails to make a decision regarding the legalization or repeal of DACA, the Trump administration announced that it would begin a two-year phase-out of the program, starting March 5 of this year. This official statement came from Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and any questions regarding the program were also deferred to him.

THE SUNDAY READ Feature pieces, opinions, and stories by the editors of The Marlin Chronicle.

thesundayread.tumblr.com

Current events roundup

BY MICKELLA RAST mjrast@vwu.edu

Hurricane Season

As Houston and other Texas cities regroup in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the Caribbean and Florida begin their recovery from Hurricane Irma. Mid- and southeastern states still brace for impact, though the Irma has been downgraded to a tropical depression and has sustained winds projected under 39 mph.

The DACA Decision

An announcement on Sept. 5 from the Trump administration revealed its intent to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, originally implemented in 2012 to protect the children of illegal immigrants in the U.S. Congress has six months to make a decision on the program.

Nuclear Tests

North Korea recently held a weapons test that launched a nuclear missile over Japan. The missile landed in the ocean near Guam, a U.S. territory. There are no reported casualties or damage, but tensions have risen between Kim Jong-un and other national leaders.

A Monumental Decision

Debate continues in City Hall and among the populace surrounding the proposed removal of Confederate statues in Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads area. Discussion became more intense after a confederate statue depicting Johnny Reb was removed from downtown Norfolk, and a mural in Waterside depicting the same statue was painted over.

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Sources: CNN, The Virginian-Pilot, Flipboard, Wavy News 10, The New York Times

9/13/2017 3:48:46 PM

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Community The

MARLIN CHRONICLE Editor-in-Chief Justin Smith jrsmith2@vwu.edu Managing Editor Hayley Heath hrheath@vwu.edu News Editors

Mickella Rast mjrast@vwu.edu

Amanda Archer acarcher@vwu.edu Community Editors Cynthia Griffin clgriffin@vwu.edu Brianna Kidwell bnclarkson@vwu.edu Opinions Editor Ashley Kline aakline@vwu.edu Sports Editors Corey King ckking1@vwu.edu Luke Chiasson lachiasson@vwu.edu The Weekender Editor Julie Ainsley jmainsley@vwu.edu Photo Editors Ashlei Gates angates@vwu.edu Cora Wilson cmwilson@vwu.edu Illustrations Editor Valerie Miller vgmiller@vwu.edu Online Editor

Nel Hart nlhart@vwu.edu

Chief Copy Editor Tara Truax tmtruax@vwu.edu Business Manager Justin Smith jrsmith2@vwu.edu Advertising Manager

Thursday September 14, 2017 The Marlin Chronicle marlinchronicle.vwu.edu

New faces in Residence Life

BY MEGAN SHERMAN mrsherman@vwu.edu

The Residence Life staff welcomed two new village coordinators to the 2017-18 school year: Tanika Palmer and Tyler Turner. Tanika Palmer is now in charge of Allen Village and Honors Village, while Tyler Turner is head of Bray Village.

Palmer was born and raised in Washington, D.C. and attended undergrad at North Carolina Central University to receive her bachelor’s degree in English and Literature. Following that, she went to UNC Wilmington where she received her master’s degree in higher education. When asked how she ended up at Virginia Wesleyan, Palmer said that after grad school, she originally began to search for jobs of any type, but then narrowed down to ones relating to residence life and housing. She searched in the surrounding areas of North Carolina such as Maryland and Virginia. It came down to two schools, this one and another school in New Orleans.

There were many factors in her decision to move to Virginia Wesleyan. Palmer chose Virginia Wesleyan because the university was closer to her family.

“I figured to come here because my sister lives in Baltimore and my mom still lives in D.C. so I was trying to be close to my family in case there was an emergency, and New Orleans is ten or more hours away,” Palmer said.

Another factor in her move was the students and staff on campus.

“When I came on campus for the first time I really liked the students and res life staff that I met. Everyone was so friendly and nice, so this Max Peters| Marlin Chronicle in conjunction with how close to home it is influenced my decision,” Tanika Palmer is the new village coordinator for Allen Village and Palmer said.

Honors Village.

Despite the difference in size between Virginia Wesleyan and UNC Wilmington, Palmer was still able to find multiple similarities that has student affairs to look like.”

Tyler Turner, the new village coordinator of Bray Village, is no stranger helped her feel at home. Both schools are just fifteen minutes from the beach, and they both share the same demographics in their student to Virginia Wesleyan University. Turner attended school at Virginia Wesleyan and worked in the Information Technology Department over bodies.

Now that she oversees residence halls, Palmer reflected on when the summer after he graduated, as well as the Residence Life office. At she was a student living campus during her undergrad and graduate the beginning of August, Tyler transitioned to working in Residence Life full time and became the village coordinator of Village I. schooling.

When asked how he felt about working at his alma mater Turner said, “I was working for housing as an assistant residence coordinator so part of the residence life staff was living on campus and being on call,” “I was nervous and excited at the same time. I thought it would be a great opportunity to still be amongst people that I already knew and also Palmer said.

Not only does she have prior experience working in residence life, meet different people on campus. I was also more willing to work here since I already graduated here.” but she also can relate with current students living on campus.

Originally Turner is from Maryland, but the beach and fun campus When asked about her favorite part about working here, Palmer said, “I would definitely say the staff; I know Virginia Wesleyan is going life brought him down to Virginia Beach where he too was a student through huge transitions, so it’s good that we are all consistent on one who lived on the Virginia Wesleyan campus during his four years. base. But it is also nice and helpful to have a staff that I can come back This means that he has an understanding of the villages as well as the and relate to and also laugh with. We all work well together because we atmosphere of the small student body. And with this knowledge he all have the same vision and this goal of what we want the division of is able to take his own experiences into consideration as he oversees Bray Village and the freshman student body that is occupying them this 2017-2018 school year. Freshman will find comfort knowing and seeing a friendly face they can count on for guidance such as Turner’s.

When asked on why he chose to work here, Turner said, “I think just seeing the sense of community is what I took into consideration coming back on campus. Being able to be amongst a group of people and have these positive interactions – those were the best things that I have seen.”

To add to that, when asked his current favorite part about working here, he reemphasized, “It’s the positive interactions, the positive interactions I am able to have with the students and the staff.”

Jasmine Demir jkdemir@vwu.edu Podcast Manager Brenna Will bcwill@vwu.edu Adviser

Dr. Lisa Lyon Payne lpayne@vwu.edu

Max Peters| Marlin Chronicle Tyler Turner is the new village coordinater for Bray Village.

The Marlin Chronicle is the official student newspaper of Virginia Wesleyan University.

Staff meetings are held every Tuesday at 5:40 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

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New program for autistic students

BY CAIMAYA ASHTON clashton@vwu.edu

The university’s Student Counseling Services will offer a new program for autistic students. The program is set to teach students social skills, along with helping them transition into college. Heidi Khatibi and Alton Wampler are both counselors at Virginia Wesleyan University and they have come together to start this program.

Some of the basics that were covered were what the program is about, what they are hoping for by implementing the new program, and overall details about the program, and its future results. Wampler, who is in charge of the program stated, “The program is set to be a support ignition that will be set on the autism spectrum. The program will help social skills, give counseling to students, as well help the students transition into the college lifestyle. We want the program to serve as an advocate here on campus.”

Wampler got the idea for the new program by looking

into similar programs that other schools had. “We have researched different colleges and universities that have started programs like this. We also have been looking and trying to find new ways to meet students’ needs and expectations.

With researching other colleges and universities programs, we have been able to spot what has worked, what works, and what does not work at all.”

The ultimate goal that counseling services has is for students to feel comfortable. Wampler and Khatibi hope to achieve their goal of making students feel like Virginia Wesleyan is their home with this new program.

To students who may be interested in the project, Wampler stated, “Anyone can acquire information about the program; the program is currently in the pilot stage. We do not have a set agenda just yet.”

Both Wampler and Khatibi stated, Hidesy| iStock “We encourage students to come in and give their thoughts, so that we can know what will work best for them.”

9/12/2017 11:54:42 PM

4 The Marlin Chronicle |

CAMPUS countdown September 15th Study Abroad Workshop Time: 3 P.M.- 4P.M. Location: Clarke Hall 112

Virginia Wesleyan students in their sophomore or junior years may apply to Virginia Wesleyan’s semester study abroad Global Scholars Program. The deadline to apply for fall 2018 semester abroad is Wednesday, September 20, 2017. Contact the Lighthouse for more information.

September 21st GEICO Presents: Resumes, Cover Letters, and LinkedIn Time: 11:00 a.m Location: The Lighthouse

Regional GEICO recruiters will be on Wesleyan’s campus Thursday, September 21 in the Lighthouse to give students advice on resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. Contact the Lighthouse for more information.

September 28th Ann Cyptar, Voice Pathologist Time: 11:00a.m.

Location: Fine Arts 9

Ann Cyptar, voice pathologist with the Riverside Health Systems, explains how the voice works, signs of injury, and healthy habits for a lifetime of speaking and music-making.

For information, contact Greg West at 757-455-3200 or gwest@vwu.edu.

September 29th Mud Games

Time: 2 p.m.

Location: Back of Rose Lawn Teams of students, faculty, and staff will compete in physical challenges in a muddy field--think dizzy bat relays, three-legged races, and a whole lot of mud. For more information, contact Director of Student Activities Kate Griffin at 757.233.8785.

CRIME BLOTTER

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Doing Business Online

BY CYNTHIA GRIFFIN clgriffin@vwc.edu For years Virginia Wesleyan students and parents have had to make their way to the business office to handle all of their student account and tuition needs.

Over the summer it was announced that Virginia Wesleyan students would have access to their student accounts via WebAdvisor.

From the new website students can see their student account summary and even submit online payments for their tuition.

On top of giving students access to their tuition, the website also gives students access to useful academic features. Students can view courses in the course catalog as well as grades from previous semesters on WebAdvisor.

An extra feature that the site has is a financial aid page. The page not only gives a student access to their financial aid information, but it also gives links to other important websites such as FAFSA. With it, the site also gives you access to other federal loan websites as well as links to the Federal Student Aid website to complete loan counseling if it is the student's first time applying for a federal student loan.

Out of all of the things that students have access to on the website, one of the best features is the ability to see how much of your financial aid you will have to pay back. It breaks down each financial aid award you get and gives you the percentage that you do and don't have to pay back.

Although this addition to WebAdvisor is fairly new, it’s a convenient way for students to take care of their financial aid and tuition needs in the digital age.

Alex Powers|Marlin Chronicle

Read more ONLINE http://marlinchronicle.vwu.edu/

A Change for Community Service

BY BRIANNA KIDWELL bnclarkson@vwu.edu Virginia Wesleyan University said goodbye to one of their favorite faculty members this 2017-2018 school year. Ms. Diane Hotaling, the face of Community Service at Virginia Wesleyan retired after 32 years dedicated to teaching students the value there is in helping the local community.

Ms. Diane started working at Virginia Wesleyan College when she was 24 years old and consistently showed dedication and put her heart into every aspect of working with the students and community.

There is no doubt that Ms. Diane will be one of the most missed faculty members of Virginia Wesleyan campus, “She is the most selfless person I have ever met. She has the kindest heart and always puts others before herself, “says Amanda Gerni a rising Junior who worked with Ms. Diane on multiple occasions community service programs.

Ms. Diane’s last day at Virginia Wesleyan was on August 15, 2017 and was a hard one for not only the students but faculty as well. The faculty who worked closely with Ms. Diane were extremely upset that she was retiring but they were ready to carry on what she had implemented during her 32 years at Wesleyan. “Ms. Diane is an amazing person with an amazing heart. Words cannot describe how she will be missed,” said the office manager for Community Service Gwendolynn Malone about Ms. Diane’s retirement.

Not only did Hotaling have an impact on the staff she was

around every day, but she impacted the lives of a large number of students she came into contact with as well. “The best part about working with Ms. Diane was the energy she would bring to the office every day. It was to the point where you had no choice but to smile when you were around her” recent graduate Andre Banks said.

The 2017-2018 school year has begun with many changes for the Virginia Wesleyan student body; from changing from a college to a university, or the new buildings which are undergoing or near completion, with the numerous positive changes, there also some not so positive. The sad news about Ms. Diane’s retirement will be one that every faculty member and student of Virginia Wesleyan University will be impacted by, but in her honor, we will continue to passionately work and help the community selflessly as she taught.

Positive energy, passion, a loyalty and dedication to Virginia Wesleyan are just a few of Ms. Diane’s amazing traits that will be missed. “I am going to miss everything about Ms. Diane. She wasn’t just a faculty member to me but she was somebody I could go talk to about anything. She brought me so many wonderful things to the campus community and she will truly be missed,” Amanda Gerni said.

Courtesy|Thinkstock September 1 9:00 p.m. |Larceny/Theft Brock Village Backpack Stolen September 1 12:10 a.m. |Liqour Violation Bray Village No description.

September 5 8:15 a.m. |Vandalism Greer Exterior Plants pulled out of the ground.

September 6 12:35 a.m. |Controlled Sub. Godwin Lot No description

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Val Miller|Marlin Chronicle

9/13/2017 12:35:38 AM

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Opinions

Thursday September 14, 2017 The Marlin Chronicle marlinchronicle.vwu.edu

Going green costs students green Reusable to-go boxes in the Boyd Dining Hall, part of President Miller’s go green initiative, cost students $5 each.

BY FARAH HAIDARI

fahaidari@vwu.edu

be healthy. The cafeteria and the Grille do not offer the healthiest options but at least the cafeteria offers fewer fried options. If students start skipping lunch and dinner, then that will affect them in more than one way. If I skip a meal, I usually feel dizzy and sleepy. If students start skipping meals on a daily basis, then that could affect them the same way or worse.

I also do not like these to-go boxes because students do not always have free time to sit around and socialize if they do not have five dollars. It is easier for some students to grab a to-go box and return to studying after they get their meal. While students could study in the cafeteria, it would be difficult because of how loud the environment is. Think about it, how free are students during midterms and finals? When midterms and finals are coming, everyone I know starts to fill a good portion of their days with projects, papers, or studying for their exams.

Ultimately, the school should have put more thought into this idea before they started doing it. Yes, it has great motives behind it, but it has flaws as well. This is a college, students usually strive to get the best grades and sometimes students have such a busy schedule that they do not have time to sit around and eat even if it is only for half an hour.

I hope the school reconsiders what they are doing and stops making students pay an additional five dollars to use these boxes before it starts to affect people.

This year, the cafeteria has made a change in its carryout option. Instead of offering disposable, Styrofoam to-go boxes, the school made the decision to offer reusable, plastic to-go boxes instead. There is a catch though.

Each student needs to make a one-time payment of five dollars before using a to-go box. After paying once, the next time students come to the cafeteria they can bring the same box that they used previously and use it again, or exchange it for another one.

I do like this idea for a couple of reasons. First of all, this idea helps save the environment. The idea encourages reusing boxes instead of creating waste. Not a lot of people are doing this, which negatively impacts the environment.

I do not always take care of the environment in the best way either. To-go boxes are a good way for everyone to take care of the world because they are reusing these boxes. It is important for people to take care of the environment. Since these boxes cost money that some students may not want to pay, this could lead to more students eating together in the cafeteria. Because of this, the boxes give students more time to socialize with others and relax for a bit while eating a meal together. Students also often communicate outside of the cafeteria, but when people are gathered around the table or in line getting their meal, it is a different and more calming experience.

Although there are pros to this idea, there are also cons. First of all, students are already paying a lot of money to come here and the tuition rises every year.

Making students pay an extra five dollars to get a to-go box is not fair. Not everyone can afford to go here. A lot of people use financial aid, or have jobs and take classes at the same time to pay for tuition and that still may not help them a lot depending on their situation. Students already pay for their meal plan when they pay the room and board fee. Shouldn’t the cost of the to-go boxes be included in this?

It is also unfair because students may not always be carrying money with them. If they need a to-go box at one of these times, this will force them to skip a meal, or to get food from the Grille. Students can also use flex dollars provided through the school, but some students may not have any available. If students stopped coming to the cafeteria, all of the food would go to waste.

If students got their food from the Grille for lunch and dinner from Monday-Friday, then that would not

Val Miller|Marlin Chronicle

Spinning out of control

Val Miller|Marlin Chronicle

BY ASHLEY KLINE

aakline@vwu.edu

As a Before and After school counselor at the YMCA last semester, as well as summer camp counselor this year, I quickly became acquainted with these twirly little toys known as fidget spinners. I was initially unconcerned with the emergence of fidget spinners, viewing them as a fad that would quickly die out. However, it is near the middle of September and fidget spinners have not decreased in popularity. Furthermore, they have been adopted by children and adults alike. Fidget spinners are sold at almost any retail establishment and I’ve even seen stores post signs outside to advertise the fact they sell them.

Distractions to teachers, stress relievers, and play toys

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are some of the many labels these three-winged contraptions have been given. My primary concern with children playing with such toys is that they are captivating yet use little brain capacity. They are not stimulating and can do nothing more than spin. Children have become way to consumed by these toys that provide little mental or physical benefit. At my work, a mother went as far as to stalk out another child for no reason other than the fact he stole her child’s fidget spinner. At my work, we also had an immediate confiscation policy for all fidget spinners. Within a couple weeks of this policy, the site director had an entire office drawer full of fidget spinners.

However, I can see the benefit of fidget spinners in the treatment of anxiety disorders. I had a friend that suffers from anxiety that just caught onto this trend. They can be a distraction to the mind as well as an instrument of calming.

One can simply spin their fears away as they fidget with the spinners. As long as they are used in this way only, I think fidget spinners could be a great benefit to society and be of psychological use.

Ultimately, while huge distractions, fidget spinners do have a role to play, and this is not to be undermined.

9/13/2017 12:23:03 AM

6 The Marlin Chronicle | marlinchronicle.vwu.edu

Wireless speakers spread noise pollution epidemic across Wesleyan

Thursday, September 14, 2017

New Residence Life staff initiate housing reform

BY JONATHAN JOYNER jrjoyner@vwu.edu

Virginia Wesleyan has been steadily evolving in recent years. Between our expanding campus, the recent change to university status, and our constantly expanding academic departments, Virginia Wesleyan is truly becoming a “premier coastal Virginia university for the liberal arts and sciences.” This evolution stretches to our Office of Residence Life, which is here to ensure proper housing conditions for all on-campus residents. Last semester, Residence Life implemented a new system for determining where students are placed in on-campus housing. This new system brought improvements and established a proper method for determining housing.

The first, and greatest, change was the creation of a housing portal, which can be accessed by students during the housing application period. This new portal allowed for a more convenient and economical method of completing housing applications. In the past, Residence Life would send out different applications to students via their student emails. The housing portal puts all of these applications into one location and makes it so students do not have to apply for housing more than once. With this new system, students need only to apply and select what type of housing they wish to have. The best part is that students can also select multiple types of housing and rank them.

This new portal also has a system for choosing roommates. You may request certain people if you so choose, or you can fill out the roommate profile that will provide you with a list of people who may be good choices based on your personality characteristics and habits. Previously, the only way to request a roommate was to speak with Residence Life directly. In terms of a housing profile, they had a Facebook link that people could try, but this system was disorganized and ineffective. Overall, this new portal was probably the best change made to the housing system.

Val Miller|Marlin Chronicle

BY JONATHAN JOYNER jrjoyner@vwu.edu

Virginia Wesleyan University is a school full of passion. Many of our fellow students and faculty brighten up this campus day after day in many ways. A new method I have noticed in the recent months is the use of wireless speakers to broadcast music when people are outside. I myself, being a music lover, think this is wonderful. People are spreading their interests to others around them.

However, this can also be annoying to some. Not everyone approves of blasting music outside for multiple reasons.

First of all, the music, depending on the type, can be disruptive to people’s daily lives. Students and faculty both occasionally go outside to get some of their work done and would like to have peace and quiet while doing so. I know some people would probably tell these students and faculty to just put on headphones, but some people enjoy having the peace and serenity that nature has to offer and do not wish to listen to music

while they are working. If you are going to play music out loud, make sure that you are being respectful of those around you.

Second of all, some people may not enjoy your music choice or be offended by it. I know this reason sounds ridiculous, but imagine if you were trying enjoy a nice day and someone starts blasting random music.

The life of a college student, or professor, is stressful and music can be a great way to relieve such stress. Sadly, not everyone is always in a musical mood and you should be respectful of those around you. I am writing this article to encourage awareness of the world around you as well as awareness of your fellow students here at VWU and their feelings.

Long live music, but also long live the respect you should have for those around you.

Color the stress away

BY JUSTIN SMITH

6Opinions.indd 1

The other big change was the implementation of a system through which priority could be given to certain students. This system mainly solidified the method of assigning housing based on GPA and class (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior). Those with disabilities and honors status still kept their priority in the new housing system. Though assigning housing based upon GPA and class was a rule in the past, people still found ways around the housing system and managed to get higher-class housing. This was a huge blow to the upperclassmen who had worked hard to earn their housing.

The types of housing assigned to those with higher GPA and class include

single rooms, suites, townhouses, and apartments. I believe this is fair because these types of housing come with better accommodations and should be earned.

I realize that having a simple double room is not ideal place to live in some people’s minds, but there needed to be reform in the system.

These new systems, though few in number and disliked by many, have brought much needed reform to how we can handle our housing. This new system is not perfect and still has its glitches, but we all know that this is a major improvement compared to where we were.

Academics over athletics

BY COREY KING

jrsmith2@vwu.edu

Remember the days when the idea of fun was pulling out your box of crayons and your favorite coloring book?

Well, as a 19-year-old college student I am not ashamed to reach into my bookbag and slap down my 288-page coloring book.

Adult coloring books have been a trend since 2015 for those looking to reunite with their inner child. Personally, I find these coloring books to be a useful tool to combat the daily stresses of being a college student.

There have been many days when work is slow or nights when I am overthinking things (as per my usual fashion) when I’ll just grab my coloring book and markers and color the stress away. Concentrating only on the designs of the page and the color combinations needed to make them come to life will make you forget just about everything (and sometimes put you on the edge of an existential crisis, but that’s a story for another time).

Still not convinced? Allow me to put my psychology minor to use.

There have been many studies that prove that coloring can reduce stress.

Psychologist Gloria Martínez Ayala described that coloring activates different

Val Miller|Marlin Chronicle

ckking1@vwu.edu

areas of our two cerebral hemispheres.

“The action involves both logic, by which we color forms, and creativity, when mixing and matching colors. The relaxation that it provides lowers the activity of the amygdala, a basic part of our brain involved in controlling emotion that is affected by stress,” Ayala said, according to the Huffington Post.

Coloring has also be categorized as an autotelic activity that allows an individual to experience the psychological concept known as flow. Coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow is an optimal experience characterized by tremendous concentration, total lack of distractibility and thoughts concerning only the activity at hand. Someone who experiences flow may also develop a mood elevation and even believe that time is passing quickly.

Coloring is definitely one of the better outlets of stress. Adult coloring books are worth the investment if you find yourself drowning in anxiety, stress or any other negative thoughts.

Disclaimer: Although listening to music while coloring maximizes relaxation, certain songs will make it more difficult to stay within the lines.

Every coach I have ever had dating back to middle school has always said, “You are a student-athlete. Athlete comes second because to play you have to be a good student first, and you get rewarded with athletics.”

That’s where a lot of kids lose interest. They do not want to work hard in the classroom, so they lose the privilege of playing sports. It takes a specific type of person to be able to manage playing a sport and being a full-time student. It is not the easiest thing in the world, but at the end of the day, it will help better you and better your future. This is because an athlete’s time management skills have to be so much better than those of most college kids.

The coolest thing I have ever seen in sports happened this past week when University of North Carolina Chapel Hill squared off with the University of Kentucky in the Elite Eight. It wasn’t only because of what happened during the game, but also because of what happened after.

As a sports fan and athlete I always think of what it is like to play on TV. This past week, University of North Carolina’s Luke Maye became a campus legend with one shot. After Kentucky made a shot to tie the game 73-73, Carolina pushed the ball up the court and put the ball in the hands of Luke Maye. He took the shot that ended the Kentucky Wildcats’ season and pushed Carolina to the Final Four. That in itself is pretty impressive, but what people don’t think about is, that kid is in college. So after that game is over, after the press conferences are over, those guys still may have homework.

The morning after Maye made that shot, a video went viral from a classroom on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. This video was of Maye sitting in the front row of a lecture course, at 8:03 a.m. Yes, you read that right — he made it to his 8 a.m. class after thrusting his team one step closer to the pinnacle of college basketball. All kids need to see these two videos. It will be videos like these that will make kids want to be the guy/girl that works hard in class and in sports to get the chance to make that shot. Then stay dedicated enough to show up to that 8 a.m. class and get a standing ovation from your peers because you made the shot or play of your life the night before and everyone saw it.

9/13/2017 3:27:09 PM

7

Sports

Thursday September 14, 2017 The Marlin Chronicle marlinchronicle.vwu.edu

Women’s soccer looks to repeat success

BY HENRY TASKER hltaskerl@vwu.edu

The future is bright for the Virginia Wesleyan University women’s soccer team. Coming off a season where the Marlins finished 12-6-3 (7-0-3) and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after falling in the ODAC Championship to Washington and Lee, the Marlins are ready to come back stronger. Ranked third in the ODAC Preseason Poll and boasting a great deal of squad depth, the ladies are fired up for another season under Head Coach Jeffrey Bowers.

“We love our team, we’re going to get better and better,” Bowers said. “They’re hardworking kids, and they’re going to do well.”

Bowers is hoping to inject some new life into the team this year with the addition of 15 freshmen to the roster. This depth will provide a solid base for the team in the event of injuries or suspensions, and will give Coach Bowers a lot of options when it comes to selecting his preferred lineups.

Coach Bowers will look to his five AllODAC selections from a year ago in First Team selection Zoe Traficante, Second Team selections Alexia Vassiliadis, Marli Hayward, and Ann Marie Moffett, along with Third Team selections Taylor Chapman and Ryan McCurry.

After a very difficult start to the season, and suffering losses to Catholic University and Trinity University, which is ranked #5 in the nation in the first United Soccer Coaches poll, the team is looking forward with a positive mindset. Senior Zoe Traficante explains “our record does not accurately reflect how we’ve been playing. We have been doing very well as a team and will start getting the results we’ve been working for.”

The loss to Catholic was in the very first game of the season, a tough 4-0 affair. The ladies’ next opponent came in the form of Trinity University from Texas.

Ranked #5 in the nation, the VWU side managed an admirable feat, only suffering a 2-1 loss to the Trinty Tigers. Traficante said, “Our team talent level is the highest it’s been in years. As compared to last year we have greater skill, faster players that allow us to be more dangerous on the attack, and more depth.”

An improvement came against Christopher Newport University, with whom the Marlin ladies tied 2-2. CNU came off the back of a 6-1 victory over Catholic, so it looks as though the VWU side are hard at work on the training ground.

The girls’ most recent game against the Methodist University Monarchs ended in a lopsided Marlin victory with a final score of 9-1.

Making sure the team stands together is the most important aspect for Traficante.

“Our motto is Y. N. W. A., you never walk alone. This is how we play. We win as a team, lose as a team, play well as a team, and stand out as a team.”

That seems to be the case; the group is beginning to gel on the field, but with such a large group coming into the team, there is always going to be some deficiencies which need to be ironed out.

Senior Maddie Sanders said, “There is still a lot we need to work on as a team, we are still all learning each other’s playing styles and strengths and weaknesses, although we are headed in the right direction.”

With home games against Salisbury, Meredith, Randolph-Macon, Randolph, Bridgewater, Emory & Henry and Washington & Lee, fans of the Marlins have something to get excited about this fall.

“We’re excited about them,” Bower concluded. “I think there’s a lot of talent, so hopefully We can just keep getting better by working hard. It’s a good group.”

Allaina Boggs | Marlin Chronicle Junior Brooke Adamchak sends a ball into the box in a recent contest against Catholic University on September 1.

Marlin fall sports off and running

BY LUKE CHIASSON lachiasson@vwu.edu

Cross Country The Virginia Wesleyan University Men’s and Women’s Cross Country programs hosted a meet for the first time in school history and both teams came away with victories in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Preview. September 1st was truly a great day to be a Marlin as senior Emily Latimer defended the home course and won the women’s race with a time of 23:57.81.

Teammates Kayleen Meinen, Trini Cole, and Kwonsha Washington rounded out the top four finishers with times of 27:31.18, 27:31.68, and 32:40.12. Latimer was also named ODAC Player of the Week along with Marlin of the Week. Latimer credits her team for her success in a recent interview posted on vwuathletics.com: “Our team is all about positivity and support. We build each other up and motivate one another to stay focused. I love my team and my coach; they’re like a family to me.”

Jordan Sulcer was the top finisher for the Marlins in the men’s race and finished second overall with a time of 27:35.18. Louis Wolverton, Michael Tres, Michael Ward, and Michael Class finished third through sixth with times of 27:42.21, 28:25.57, 28:40.37, and 28:46.19.

The teams return to action on September 15 at the Adidas Wolfpack Invitational in Cary, NC.

Sports Information | Courtesy Emily Latimer runs to victory at ODAC Preview on September 1 at VWU.

Field Hockey After struggling in their first two games of the season, the Marlin field hockey team bounced back with a pair of wins this weekend to even their record to 2-2 on the young campaign. The Marlins are riding a two game winning streak where they outscored their opponents 21-0.

Sophomores Taylor Wihelm and Elizabeth Roberto lead the team in goals with five for Wihelm and three for Roberto. Junior Captain Skye Swain has been solid in net allowing only 2 goals per game and making 30 saves this year.

Coach Restivo is entering her fifth year at the helm and is looking to bring her squad back to the ODAC Tournament for the third year in a row. Sophomore Captain Emma Walsh will anchor the defense that looks to lower their goals against average from a year ago, which was 3.04.

The team hosts four non conference opponents on September 16, 17, 20, and 26th before opening ODAC play on the road at Roanoke.

Allaina Boggs | Marlin Chronicle Junior Ashley Parker gains possesion against Salisbury

Allaina Boggs | Marlin Chronicle Sophomore Hunter Majewski battles a Salisbury defender in a recent scrimmage at Birdsong Field.

SEE FALL SPORTS Pg. 8

7Sports.indd 1

9/13/2017 1:05:52 AM

8 The Marlin Chronicle | marlinchronicle.vwu.edu

Thursday, September 14, 2017

AT A GLANCE Men’s Soccer Sep. 16 At Penn St.-Berks 1:00 PM Sep. 17 @ Albright 2:00 P.M. Sep. 20 @ Chris. Newport 7:00 PM Sep. 23 @ Emory & Henry* 3:00 P.M. Women’s Soccer Sep. 13 Salisbury 7:00 PM Sep. 16 Meredith 2:00 P.M. Sep. 19 @ N.C. Wesleyan 4:00 PM Sep. 23 @ Lynchburg* 7:00 P.M. Field Hockey Sep. 16 Neumann 12:00 PM Sep. 17 Widener 12:00 P.M. Sep. 20 Wesley 5:00 P.M. Sep. 26 St. Mary’s (Md.) 5:00 PM Sep. 30 @ Roanoke * 12:00 PM

Score Board

The starting unit for the Marlins kneel before taking there positions.

Corey King|Marlin Chronicle

Marlins top N.C. Wesleyan

BY COREY KING ckking1@vwc.edu

After finishing the 2016 campaign 8-6-4, the Men’s Soccer team is off to a 2-1 start with wins over Wesley College and Averett University. After the first game of the season against Neumann was postponed due to lightning, the Marlins secured an overtime victory against Wesley courtesy of the right foot of junior Ricky Perrault.

Perrault currently leads the team with two goals and four points. Freshman Jamison Auer earned the starting goalkeeper position and is 2-1 in his early collegiate career, posting seven saves.

On September 12, the Marlins took on the Battling Bishops at Virginia Wesleyan.

This game was completely dominated by the Marlins. For the whole 90 minutes, the Bishops seemed flustered. The Bishops seemed completely caught on their heels in the first 20 minutes of the match. After the first three goals, the Marlins seemed to take their foot off the gas, not registering shots like they did during the first few minutes of the game.

The Marlins had a few more chances as the game went along, but they could never quite get the ball into the back of the net.

The early lead was given to the Marlins by sophomore Andrew Duenke, who scored

first from just outside of the box. Then, within 5 minutes the Marlins struck again with a goal from junior Ryan Kraus; he collected the ball after it bounced off of another player and put it into the net. Then the third goal, also scored by Kraus, put a header away off of a cross pass from Alex Surprise. “The whole team was just flowing tonight and everything just felt right. I was in the right spot at the right time,” Kraus said.

That was all the Marlins needed to top the Battling Bishops. “We came together as a team before the game and really paid attention to the scout and came out and performed well as a team well,” Duenke said.

This win seemed to get the Marlins into a good position heading into the rest of the season, “We came out and performed well in the beginning but I felt that drop off as the game went on, and we just need to play the who game through with that energy,” Duenke said.

Corey King|Marlin Chronicle With this win the Marlins improve to Junior Austin Mckenzie scans the 3-1, with their next match coming Saturday field.

in Pennsylvania against non-conference opponent Penn. State- Berks.

Women’s Soccer

Sep. 01 Catholic Atlantic Orthopaedic Tournament L, 4-0 Final Sep. 02 #5 Trinity (Tex.) Atlantic Orthopaedic Tournament L, 2-1 Final Sep. 05 Chris. Newport T, 2-2 Final Sep. 08 Methodist @ Newport News, Va. CNU Captains Classic W, 9-1 Final Sep. 10 Cal Lutheran @ Newport News, Va. CNU Captains Classic L, 2-1 Final

Men’s Soccer

Sep. 02 Wesley @ Glen Allen, Va. Yellow Jacket Classic W, 4-3 Final - OT

FALL SPORTS

Sep. 06 Averett W, 3-2 Final

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

Sep. 10 @ Hood L, 2-1 Final

Volleyball

Field Hockey

Sep. 01 @ Chris. Newport L, 6-0 Final Sep. 02 DePauw @ Newport News, Va. L, 2-1 Final Sep. 08 @ Hood W, 7-0 Final Sep. 09 @ Notre Dame (Md.) W, 14-0

Corey King|Marlin Chronicle

Ryan Kraus scores one of his two goals on the night.

BY LUKE CHIASSON lachiasson@vwu.edu

The Marlins currently sit at 5-4 after playing in two tournaments to prepare for the ODAC schedule, which opens on the road against Bridgewater. The Marlins protected their home court by going 3-1 in the Virginia Wesleyan Invitational, which kicked off their 2017 season. After falling to Averett in four sets, VWU headed north to Muhlenberg, PA for the Buttermaker Tournament, where they finished 2-2. The schedule was challenging as two teams participated in the NCAA Tournament last season. Throughout nine matches, the Marlins have shown resilience, win or lose, as they have yet to

Department of sports Information|Courtesy

be swept in straight sets anytime they step on the court. Senior Allison Mackley leads the team in digs (188), Senior Emilee Pearson leads the team in assists (184), and Junior Kristina Scott paces the Marlins in kills (95).

Marlin Nation

Catch up on your Marlin Sports by following @marlinsports on twitter.

8Sports.indd 1

9/13/2017 1:11:17 AM

How will you spend your winter?

onicle nd.

Explore. Accelerate.

Winter Session is a special three-week academic term in January during which students concentrate their studies on one intensive course.

Students have the opportunity to take unique courses, fulfill needed course requirements or participate in exciting study away courses to Costa Rica, Berlin, Israel, Mexico, or Hawaii and more.

Discounted tuition and room & board available.

Registration for Winter Session 2018 opens September 18, 2017.

Students can register on WebAdvisor.

For all other inquiries contact: Dr. Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson Associate Professor of Biology Director of Summer and Winter Session at VWU dgonsalvesjackson@vwu.edu

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9/13/2017 12:33:55 AM

PAGE 10

THEWEEKENDER

FIGHT NIGHT LIVE

September 14, 2017

The hot ticket boxing match brought in millions for the fighters

BY TONY TANN tdtann@vwu.edu

$100 is a lot of money. For college kids, that money could go a long way. Gas, food, books, tuition, even an extra hundred dollars in the rainy-day jar. So, would you spend $100 for a pay-per-view match of the decade, Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor? Even if you knew you didn’t have to?

After what seems like years of talking and those funny video memes of McGregor practicing for the match, audiences everywhere were surprised when McGregor lasted 10 rounds with the current champion, but lost to Mayweather by technical knockout. Everybody knows that story already, and nobody was shocked by the outcome, unless you didn’t watch it.

However, the fight was completely overshadowed by the fact that around 3 million people pirated the fight on 239 illegal streams, according to Irdeto, a digital platform security company.

There were many different platforms to watch the fight. If you were a sophisticated pirate, you may have had kodi on your pc, gaming console, or Roku/ Amazon Firestick. But, if you were willing to sacrifice quality of the stream any old Facebook Live, Periscope, Twitch.tv, or even YouTube stream would do.

These illegal streams were taken down as fast as they appeared. However it’s near impossible to terminate each and every stream.

A popular stream is like a hydra, terminate one head, two more take its place. All was not lost though, there are still people out there who paid the mildly overpriced amount of admission, including some Virginia Wesleyan Students.

Freshman Caleb Carter and junior Adam Kurek opted for the straight and narrow way. “We had a fight party. Everybody invited paid a cover charge. It was pretty fun,” Carter said.

When Kurek was told he missed out on watching it for free and learning how many people actually did, he was astonished at the amount of people watched the fight live, but did not pay for it. “I think that’s fine. Mayweather and McGregor made tons of money from tickets,” said Kurek.

Despite who wins or loses, or in some upside-down world where ticket sales were not great, both men get paid just for agreeing to fight. According to SBNation, Mayweather was guaranteed $100 million win or lose, McGregor coming in at $30 million. Only after the ticket sales and profits from the pay-per-view/streaming services came in did Mayweather make around $300 million and Mcgregor make $150 million. A measly 3 million extra viewers would have been nice, however neither fighters missed it.

If you did get to watch the fight for free, don’t feel guilty. It’s understandable that those 100 singles had to firmly stay in the “my car broke down” jar. Maybe you don’t have friends to split the bill with. Maybe you’re all broke. Maybe you or some of your friends aren’t interested in the fight. Broke college kids who can’t really afford to pay for a fight that they barely want to see. The fight in theory is interesting; two worlds collide: boxing and MMA. But for the non-casual viewer of boxing, paying $99.99 to sit through three lower card matches where you don’t know who they are or why they’re fighting just to see the main event might not be worth the crisp Benjamin sitting in the bank.

Junior Jacqueline Crabtree did not watch at all and didn’t really care about the fight because she didn’t want to pay for it. “I might have watched it if I had known there were so many other ways to do it, but when you build something up so much and have so many people who really want to see something, people are going to find a way to see it,” said Crabtree.

In this digital age, our generation will stop at nothing to fill their digital craving.

You either find a way or make a way; know somebody who has a way and use that way. Hence why the number of illegal views is so high.

Almost everyone is looking for a bargain, and the best bargain is free, so why spend $99.99 for the most hyped up fight of the century when your best friend that’s out of town is streaming it live from his TV for free? You see the part you want to see and get to be in the pop culture conversation the next day.

Like the fighters, everybody wins.

LOOK WHAT SHE MADE US DO

Taylor Swift changed her routine sounds and introduced a “new her”

Val Miller | Marlin Chronicle

FANCY FIND IN NORFOLK

Hummingbird Macarons in Norfolk is serving delectable treats that won’t break the bank

Nel Hart | Marlin Chronicle Hummingbird Macarons offers a variety of flavors from chocolate to Piña Colada

BY NEL HART nlhart@vwu.edu

Macarons may seem like a rich person’s dessert, but everywhere you turn, there’s always some type of image of the sweet treat on someone’s Instagram or Facebook page.

If you haven’t tried macarons before, or would like to make a little trip out to a quaint little area in the middle of Norfolk traffic, Hummingbird Macarons is the place to be.

Hummingbird Macarons, near the Cure coffee shop in Norfolk, is a sweet little dessert shop where you can enjoy the seating and decorations while enjoying the decadent little macarons with knives and porcelain plates.

Former Virginia Wesleyan student Kelly McGraw came across the shop’s website a few weeks prior to visiting and was very excited at the idea of trying macarons for the first time.

“I love Paris and everything about it. I looked forward to getting macarons that day and trying new things,” McGraw said.

When turning onto the cobblestone street, parking is hard to find, but it is all reconciled when you walk through the doors in the charming storefront.

“Once we got there, it looked like a hole in the wall… only to discover the book pages on the floor and paper flowers hung so delicately,” McGraw noted in her first

impression of the dessert shop.

Hummingbird Macarons may look small from the outside, but it is large enough to hold a small group of friends that love the company of others and the taste of the decadent desserts. Macarons are held in cases, on opposing sides of the register, separating cookie from customers.

According to McGraw, “the time and love put into each macaron made [them] taste that much better, especially with people that I really cherish.”

Each and every macaron is decorated with purpose and includes flavors that can appease the taste buds of all ages alike. If you like cookies and cream ice cream, they have a macaron for that. Or even if you like Piña Colada, they have a coconut and pineapple dessert aptly named Piña Colada.

People tend to spend anything between $2 and $25, depending how hungry they are, and anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour talking and enjoying the macarons as well as enjoying each other’s company.

It is an wonderful break from the routine of everyday lives. So if a quick twenty minute drive for dessert sounds like an ideal trip for you, bring a friend or two to check out Hummingbird Macarons near Waterside Drive at 501 Botetourt Street.

BY JULIE AINSLEY jmainsley@vwu.edu

Taylor Swift was resurrected from a almost three-year hiatus from music since her album, “1989,” came out October 27, 2014.

Her first single, “Look What You Made Me Do” premiered August 24, 2017 and shook Swifties and regular people who have never been fond of Taylor Swift.

Junior Brandon Foster loves Taylor Swift and was excited to see she was back in the game. “I loved the song when I first heard it. I thought it was great and really different from her normal routine,” Foster said.

The smash hit was the first single for her new album, “Reputation.” She references her reputation in the single and quotes that, “the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now… cause she’s dead.”

Fans freaked out over the symbolism that her statement evoked.

“The old Taylor Swift is dead. This reminded me of when Miley Cyrus cut her hair. She needed to reinvent herself in order to gain a new audience, while still having the loyalty of her old audience.”

This reputation is also shown through the music video.

“At first, I thought ‘Oh great, another Taylor Swift video’ but like usual I began to like it. I am obsessed with the allusions to the many major life events that have happened to her since her last album release,” Foster said.

The video references her battles with music streaming companies like Spotify, her never-ending feud with Kanye West, and her infamous squad and ex-boyfriend list, just to name a few. At the end of the video, it shows many of her most famous looks falling to make room for the new Taylor.

The buzz surrounding this video creates a narrative that we do not want to be removed from.

“Reputation” will be available on November 10, 2017.

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Val Miller | Marlin Chronicle

9/13/2017 12:51:38 AM