The Blue & Gray Press

THE

BLUE &GRAY

PRESS

January 30, 2020

VOLUME 93 | ISSUE 14

1922 Committee calls for student input in renaming of Trinkle Hall

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON STUDENT NEWSPAPER

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE

“The world is changing and so is Mary Washington”

Jess Kirby Staff Writer

UMW community in late February, where they will be able to vote on their

A new naming committee of UMW staff, students and alumni was charged with collecting name nominations for Trinkle Hall to be presented to University President Troy Paino by March 31, 2020. Any member of the UMW community can submit a name suggestion through a form sent out over email until Feb. 3.

“We invite all members of the UMW community to participate in this historic opportunity to celebrate the university and affirm the identity of our campus,” said naming committee co-chair and history and American studies professor Erin Devlin. She estimates that the form will reach over 30,000 people.

An email with the link to submit name ideas was sent out on Jan. 22.

Students are also required to state how their choice is linked to UMW, how it represents UMW’s ASPIRE values, and how it fosters “an environment of equity, diversity and inclusion,” according to the email.

“Nominations are not restricted to individual names, but also may include groups, ideas or concepts,” said Devlin.

Once the survey closes, the naming committee will choose a variety of names, then send a poll out to the

at their April meeting. According to Devlin, it is UMW policy that the Board

I don’t really want a building named after a person with racist ideals,” said freshman Katharine Bogen, a historic preservation and classics double major.

“The education facilities are a huge reflection of the school as a whole. If they are named after people who had ideals not aligned with the community’s ideals today then it’s a big no for the

“I definitely think that Trinkle should be renamed to something else because I don’t really want a building named after a person with racist ideals.”

-Katharine Bogen

Students have been asked to suggest new names for the building; these suggestions are not limited to individual names and can be ideas or concepts.

Ginny Bixby / The Blue & Gray Press

favorite name until March 11. Finally, the naming committee will send the selected names and the committee’s recommendation to Paino, and he will present them to the Board of Visitors

of Visitors makes the final decision.

The decision to rename Trinkle Hall has been popular among students.

“I definitely think that Trinkle should be renamed to something else because

school’s image.”

“Renaming this hall is not going to turn back time,” said freshman Maya Jenkins. “It is not going to create a post-racial America. But right now we have this amazing opportunity to be a part of this university’s history.” Jenkins is a political science and philosophy pre-law double major and one of the two student representatives on the naming committee, along with Brianna Reaves.

However, some of the community seems relatively •Renaming | 2 unaware of the

Students found candidate-focused organizations in anticipation of upcoming democratic primary elections who might have differing opinions regarding candidates. Members with special interest in a candidate are then UMW has seen an increase in encouraged to create their own groups. politically-oriented groups on campus Hartz is the leader of a universityover the past few weeks, including wide Students for Pete Buttigieg Students for Pete Buttigieg, UMW for organization, which exists separately Bernie and Students for Warren. These from his leadership within the Young groups have been founded to campaign Democrats. UMW for Pete is a and educate student voters on the 2020 grassroots organization driven group presidential candidates. Each group will which hosts club events, such as debate be hosting events watch parties.

“I think we’re at a really leading up to the Travis Redmond, a 2020 democratic important crossroads right senior political science primary election now. We need a movement major, believes that the on March 3. The 2020 election is arguably that will inspire.”

Republican Party the most important is not hosting a in history. “[Bernie -Travis Redmond primary in Virginia Sanders’ campaign] is this year. expecting historic youth Established on-campus political voter turnout,” said Redmond. organizations, such as the UMW Redmond is the founder of UMW for Young Democrats, avoid endorsing any Bernie, a group focused on presidential particular candidate during the election candidate Bernie Sanders. Redmond season. was contacted by Sanders’ campaign “We have members individually via email and asked to represent the involved in campaigns,” said UMW candidate as a campus coordinator.

Young Democrats president Sam Hartz, UMW for Bernie will be tabling, junior American studies major. “We just canvassing and phone banking until can’t endorse [a candidate] as a club.”

Election Day. Staying impartial keeps the peace “I think we’re at a really important between the members of the club crossroads right now,” said Redmond.

Josephine Johnson Staff Writer

IN THIS

ISSUE

“We need a movement that will inspire.”

Students for Warren, represented by

their preferred candidate.

Like UMW for Bernie, Students for

Sam Hartz, Young Demmocrats president, and Patrick Healy, Young Democrats outreach chair, have both founded groups supporting their preferred candidate.

UMW Young Democrats / Facebook

Patrick Healy, a sophomore political science major who is also involved with the Young Democrats, is another group created to allow students to campaign for

Warren will be tabling and canvassing leading up to the primaires. Healy is optimistic regarding Warren’s odds in both •Primary | 7

Little Women

Housing Cost

Super Bowl

It should win the Oscar for best Best Picture.

As costs rise homelessness and eviction rates do too.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers face off.

LIFE | 4

VIEWPOINTS | 3

SPORTS | 8

NEWS THE

Editors: Kate Seltzer & Abigail Buchholz | blueandgray.news@gmail.com

BLUE & GRAY PRESS

MISSION The Blue & Gray Press is published every Thursday in the University Apartments Clubhouse for our university community. The goal of The Blue & Gray Press is to produce high quality and accurate news in a manner compliant with the Society of Professional Journalists ethics code. In its coverage, The Blue & Gray Press strives to highlight the community of the University of Mary Washington, as well as deliver fair and accurate coverage on the issues important to our students.

EDITORS-AT-LARGE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lauren Closs

Associate Editors Grace Winfield Ginny Bixby

Business Manager Lucas Burkholder

SECTION EDITORS NEWS Kate Seltzer Abigail Buchholz

VIEWPOINTS Alicen Hackney

LIFE Cosima Pellis

SPORTS Jack Hagn

ONLINE Meaghan McIntyre Samuel Cobb

PHOTO Cayley McGuire

FACULTY ADVISOR Sushma Subramanian

Campus encouraged to nominate students active in the community for Eagle Awards Emily Shumaker Staff Writer

The Eagle Awards are accepting student nominations online until March 11. These awards, a tradition that began at UMW in 2016 to honor student leaders, recognizes students, campus organizations, faculty and staff who have displayed exemplary leadership, service, academic excellence and have made a significant contribution to the community.

and Engagement and the Center for Community Engagement. Last year, eleven students, seven organizations and one faculty or staff member was recognized. Eligibility for these awards is open to any qualifying student, organization, or faculty and staff

be found on the UMW website under Student Activities and Engagement.

Nominations are currently open and will remain open until Wednesday, March 11. They can be submitted by a form online at MyUMW. According to the SAE page on the UMW website,

“Student leaders have a major impact on helping UMW feel like home for so many other students, so it is essential to take the time to recognize everything they have done during their time at UMW.” -Sandrine Sutphin “UMW students play such an important role in making UMW a special place, and student leaders have a major impact on helping UMW feel like home for so many other students, so it is essential to take the time to recognize everything they have done during their time at UMW,” said Sandrine Sutphin, the director of Student Activities and Engagement.

The Eagle Awards are a collaboration between the Office of Student Activities

Eagle Award winners are given campus wide recognition, a framed certificate and an award.

UMW Website

members based on the type of award.

“There are a few awards that are specifically for graduating seniors, and others that are specifically for underclassmen,” said Sutphin. Full descriptions of all of the awards can

“Individuals may not nominate themselves; however, they can nominate an organization they are in.”

The Grace Mann Launch Award closes its nominations on •Eagle Awards | 7

Students support renaming building that honors advocate of eugenics movement •Renaming | 2

changes being made.

“I was not made aware of any renaming,” said sophomore Jack Dyson, a political science major.

But when they were informed, many UMW students largely agreed that

Trinkle should be renamed.

“Before the name change for Trinkle was announced, I had no idea how awful he was because I never learned about him,” said freshman Lauryn Bailey, a history major. “Renaming buildings in a school setting can promote positive people to young adults rather than glorifying people who don’t deserve it.”

Some who support the Trinkle renaming also feel that the university’s history should be preserved in the process.

“I think Trinkle is a stupid name to begin with so I don’t care much that it’s going,” said Dyson. “I do think they should add a plaque so that people know what it used to be called and maybe why it was changed.”

Trinkle Hall was named after former Virginia governor E. Lee Trinkle, a supporter of eugenics, forced sterilization and a ban on interracial marriage. Many students E. Lee Trinkle’s photo is displayed inside Trinkle Hall.

Emilia Michalkiewicz / The Blue & Gray Press feel that Trinkle Hall

should be given a name that does not celebrate Virginia’s racist past.

“As a black female student I feel really uncomfortable in Trinkle,” said freshman Tatiane Alycia Jones, a member of the NAACP. “It makes me feel unwelcome and angry because UMW is honoring a figure who pushed legislation to hold black people down and treat us as if we’re less than human because of our skin tone.”

The decision to rename Trinkle was part of a two-year process by the Campus Environmental Presidential Ad Hoc Committee to evaluate the campus and determine what changes needed to be made. In their final report, among the most pressing issues was renaming Trinkle Hall.

After the Nov. 2019 meeting with the Board of Visitors, Paino appointed ten members of the UMW community to be on the naming committee. Of those ten people, two are student representatives.

“I feel that this is a good start,” said Jenkins. “When meetings start, statuses become equal. We aren’t professors or business people or students. We are just people who want to make the school better than what it once was. There was a time when people who looked like me could not even step foot on this campus.

The world is changing and so is Mary

CORRECTIONS for THE Week PLEASE REPORT ANY MISTAKES SEEN IN THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS TO Lauren Closs, blueandgray.eic@gmail.com or Sushma Subramanian, ssubrama@umw.edu

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Thursday, January 30, 2020

VIEWPOINTS

Editor: Alicen Hackney | blueandgray.views@gmail.com

Climate change is a global crisis, not a political issue

CALEB PICARD Staff Writer

The polarity that is becoming commonplace within American politics and media is allowing for climate change to be overlooked as leftist fake news. Climate change has become one of the most prevalent issues within the past decade, yet America continues to stay in denial of this world’s continuous and increasing weather abnormalities. The United States has the highest rate of climate change denial among first world countries.

Climate change can no longer be perceived as a political issue.

97 percent of all climate scientists agree that not only is climate change happening, but it is caused by humanity. One of UMW’s resident climate scientists and environmental science professors, Pamela Grothe, noted that it is an indisputable fact, that we can and do record the carbon emission within our atmosphere that has been scientifically linked to fossil fuels.

“A big part of it is because of Big Oil and their well-funded and well-organized fossil fuel lobbyists.

They have been particularly successful in influencing government policy and distorting the reality about climate change,” said Grothe.

Oil, natural gas and coal have all been scientifically linked to this catastrophe. Due to this, we as a nation are being shown directly the power that industry has over politics. These are big businesses, which are directly contributing to climate change, becoming political through lobbying and advocating.

Emile Lester is a professor of political science at Mary Washington. Lester explained the distinction of our government as a presidential system, instead of the more common parliamentary system. This system of

Climate change needs to be taken beyond political policy before it’s too late.

Ceci Freed / Media Matters

leadership, in addition to the weak campaign finance laws in place, allows for a much easier insertion of extreme wealth into politics. This insertion of wealth into politics allows for the furthering of big business’ agendas and creates a system that puts corporations before people.

John Tippett, another UMW environmental science professor and climate scientist, shared a slightly different view about the cause of climate change’s presence in the political arena. Tippett expressed his view that climate change has become helplessly attached to the culture wars that America is undergoing.

These cultural divisions, that have become undeniable within previous years, are causing a greater force of partisanship within the parties. Blind partisanship has become a prevalent issue within modern America with both parties out to get one another.

Tippett brings up the issue of cognitive dissonance

being an explanation for climate change denial. “If I am being told that the only solution to climate change goes against my beliefs about big government, then it is very easy for me to discount data rather than being forced to make a hard choice about my own beliefs.”

Within modern society both sides of the political spectrum are unwilling to listen to the other which is causing some worldwide issues to be ignored. For the past 30 years, we have known about climate change, and now we have reached a point where every year hurricanes, wildfires, flooding and more dangerous phenomena are occurring throughout the world.

Climate change is a global crisis that needs to be addressed as more than just a political issue. Only then can I foresee a possibility for change in policy to address climate change as the catastrophe that it has evolved into.

away to any area of Northern Virginia. Those areas are being infested by the consequences of rent rates rising.

The Washington Post reported that studies done by the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVRA) and George Mason’s University Center for Regional Analysis (CRA) predicted that average home prices in Arlington County would have reached an increase of 17.2 percent by the end of last year. The average rent cost in Arlington is $2,252/mo and 53 percent of the household population in Arlington are renting their houses according to rentcafe. The average pay in Northern Virginia is currently at $7.12; less than half

needing to find elsewhere to live. The population living in D.C. would increasingly consist of those with higherincome jobs reducing the risk of them receiving eviction for unpaid rent.

Displacement has become an increasingly concerning issue--especially towards minorities and historically black low-income communities. Among the 128 tenants that have received eviction notices last week, 66 were located on the southeast quadrant. According to the Washington Post, the Princeton analysis found that evictions were mostly occurring in the southeast area of D.C. It also found that an apartment list survey consisting of 41,000 participants, which was recorded in 2017, showed that black households were twice as likely to face evictions as white households.

The issue of gentrification goes past just displacing black communities and having decreased amounts of low-income class populated in cities. There is also a rise of anti-homelessness architecture that targets those who do not have a secure place to stay. Anti-homeless architecture is a type of design done by city planners or developers to deter the homeless population from comfortable sleeping or sheltering in public spaces. It is usually defended as an action to maintain order and prevention of criminal activity; however, it is elitist and causes a greater class divide among the higher and lower-income populations. The most prevalent type of anti-homeless architecture, according to Hidden gawnesco / Flickr Hostility D.C., is benches with built-in armrests-- their purpose and function to keep homeless people from sleeping on them.

Housing act reforms need to be taken to action this year. As taxpayers and citizens, we must hold our policy makers and representatives--local, regional and national, to utilize their political power and make this a part of their platform. If there are no significant changes in policy, soon the population of locals who have been residing in these cities for generations will be wiped out.

Not only will this affect the lives of many, but create an erasure to historical and cultural aspects of the city that carry weight to its identity and nature.

Gentrification: housing costs rise, so does homelessness

TAMARA OMER Staff Writer

Gentrification is a systemic and elitist disease that continues to spread without a cure. The need to appeal to the higher and middle class population while disregarding the natives and locals who have been living in their cities for generations is unjust. There needs to be more demand for regulation on tenants and propertyowners raising rent prices.

Gentrification causing costly rent prices nationwide is a huge issue. Just north of UMW’s campus, Washington D.C. is said to have the highest intensity of gentrification nationwide according to the National Reinvestment Community. Causes of gentrification include investors going into neighborhoods, buying low-priced property and doubling its price; causing a shift in value for rental rates in neighborhoods and communities. Rent control is not as tight as it should be in Washington D.C. The Washington Post reported that a group of activists said tenants were experiencing up to a 30 percent rent increase due to building renovations costs. One hundred and twenty-eight tenants in D.C were set to be evicted just last week according to the data record charts of the Office of the Tenant Advocate.

In addition to looking at the soaring rates of which rent is increasing; the cost of rent is unaligned to the average Housing Act reforms need to be taken seriously by representatives this year. wage pay in Washington D.C. the minimum wage in D.C. The difference in wages The minimum wage pays just increased last July compared to the cost of living is even harsher than the from $13.25 to $14.50. The average rent cost in D.C differences in Washington D.C. is $2,235/mo according to rentcafe.com’s data. If a Although eviction filing rates have decreased, as resident worked one minimum wage paid job, they reported by greaterdc.urban.org in 2018, this does not would have to work at least sixteen hours for seven mean living in D.C. has become more affordable. In days a week to make nearly seven thousand dollars a fact, Beth Harrison, a member of the Legal Aid Society month before tax cuts. The rent cost requires residents to of the District of Columbia, said that the eviction rates work more than one job, or have more than one person might have gone down due to the risk of eviction rate providing rent, in order to live in D.C. and still pay for decreasing.

This could point to the idea of the city other basic needs like food and transportation. becoming so expensive that low-income tenants can’t Even away from D.C., take any direction a few miles even afford to claim housing; becoming displaced and

Thursday, January 30, 2020

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LIFE

Editor: Cosima Pellis blueandgray.life@gmail.com

Humans of UMW: Bilquiis Sheikh-Issa on minorities and mental health

ERIN MATUCZINSKI Staff Writer

Bilqiis Sheikh-Issa, a freshman with a huge impact on the multicultural community of UMW, has seen the world in ways that most others have not.

Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Sheikh-Issa moved back and forth between the United States and the Middle East. She spent a majority of her childhood in Saudi Arabia, as her father wanted his family to live in a Muslim country to give them a deeper understanding of their religion. She reminisces about simpler times where she would ride her bike around the compounds with her friends or chase the neighborhood cats. However, the most important memories were ones where she was around her family.

“My most favorite memory is that at night my dad would come home from work and me and my brother would get all of our toys and we would dump them on my mom’s bed, and he would just tell us stories,” Sheikh-Issa said. “In Somali it’s called ‘Sheeko Sheeko’ which means ‘talk talk.’”

In August 2014, when Sheikh-Issa was 12 years old, her father passed away. For five years she struggled to connect with her family and with her religion. She credits her mother for being there for her and her brother through one of the hardest times of their lives.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time Sheikh-Issa struggled with mental health issues.

“My biggest hardship in life has been my mental health. Honestly I started struggling with mental health at a really young age and I don’t think we talk about it enough, particularly in a lot of black communities and immigrant communities,” Sheikh-Issa said. “Especially for my family, who immigrated out of refuge, it was really hard for them to grasp onto the fact that I was struggling with a lot of mental issues because it’s hard when you go through a war and you think that you’re just fine with the survival of it all, to understand that there can be deeper issues that aren’t being properly addressed.”

As high school came to an end, the idea of attending UMW was originally brought up by Sheikh-Issa’s high school debate coach, whom she calls “Papa Price.” She considers him to be one of the most important people in her life and credits him for providing her with perspective when she needed it most.

“He really was a father figure to me when I didn’t have one,” Sheikh-Issa said. “Without him I don’t think I would be the same person I am today. He was always there to just make sure that I was okay and working on being okay.”

Sheikh-Issa’s mental health took a hit again last semester when her friend, and first love, passed away. It brought back a lot of emotional trauma from when her father died, as he reminded her a lot of her dad. However, Sheikh-Issa powered through. She has taken her personal struggles and transformed them into advocacy for mental health awareness, especially for those who are raised by families who may not be understanding.

Her biggest goal in life is to start a nonprofit organization that helps low-income, minority children and adolescents get access to proper mental health services.

For now, Sheikh-Issa spends her time at UMW being a powerful figure within the multicultural community. She is the vice president of the NAACP and has Sheikh-Issa is a freshman at UMW. Bilquiis Sheikh-Issa created a club called Poetic Justice that serves as a safe space for people of color.

In addition, Sheikh-Issa is also a part of the African about her.

Student Union, Black Student Association and Women “My entire background has shaped me into the of Color. She believes one of the biggest parts of college person I am today, even the relationships I just recently is getting involved and that it is important to get ideas had,” Sheikh-Issa said. “I think my lived experiences are of different perspectives, especially since she considers definitely incomparable to anything else.” her own perspective to be one of the most unique things

Netflix’s “You”-inspired TikToks spark conversation about stalking ALEXANDRA LEWIS Staff Writer

The second season of the Netflix original series “You” was released on Dec. 26, 2019 and with it came an onslaught of memes, Tik Toks, and jokes. Despite protagonist Joe Goldberg being an obsessive stalker and murderer, he’s caught our attention as many of his stalking methods via the internet seem common-place. In the opening of the first episode he looks up Beck, the girl he becomes obsessed with, online and says, “And there you were. Every account set to public. You want to be seen, heard, known.” He is able to find out information about her family, birthplace, college experiences and her current address from her social media simply by knowing her name.

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network describes stalking as “repeated physical or visual closeness, like waiting for someone to arrive at certain locations, following someone, or watching someone from a distance.” According to this, habitually sitting on one side of the cafeteria to see someone you may be interested in is stalking, going to the gym at a certain time of the day to workout at the same time as someone else is stalking and so is going to every single UMW home sporting event to see one specific player.

More common than physical stalking is technological stalking, which is what Joe Goldberg excels at. Writer for techsafety.org, Shalini Batra, explains how “Mobile devices include call records, texts, web surfing and

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physical location histories. Many social media apps also track a user’s friends, conversations and location.” This type

need to know who you really are. You are special. You’re talented. You’re passionate. You’re smart.” Examples

Joe Goldberg is the main character in the Netflix series “You.”

of stalking is common with checking Snapchat maps and watching Snapchat and Instagram stories to find somebody’s location.

On TikTok, there is currently a trend in which people will post videos of themselves morphing into Joe Goldberg with captions about stalking people on social media. Goldberg’s voice is overlapped on the video saying “I just

PopBuzz.com

of the text on the videos includes @ vertigoprincess writing “when you check snap maps to see when he was last on Snapchat to make sure he isn’t ignoring you” or @gabesco writing “when she replies to the screenshot on your story of a song you got from her Spotify which you found through her VSCO.” @hope.less.mess wrote “when you see a cute boy in a class of 200 so u go

into canvas and look up every name into Instagram until u find him,” which alarmingly was accompanied by a multitude of comments with people stating they’ve done the same thing. A response by @kerrigankonkle states “I found a guy one time in public and I searched every sports team in the area and looked up every name until I found him. - been dating for three years.”

Many people online also openly admit to using Canvas to find people on social media, raising the question of whether Canvas should have a public class roster.

Recently UMW has abandoned putting resident’s names on door decals unless given permission in order to preserve students’ privacy in dorms, but there’s no clear explanation about where the students can and cannot have privacy.

It is notable that Canvas currently has no option to hide your name from the people page.

Joe Goldberg’s actions in season one and two of “You” have created controversy with people defending his actions and in turn defending their own. As technology increases and these actions become normalized, it will be interesting to see if the definitions of technological stalking will change with it.

The joke may be that girls are undercover FBI agents but when put into context, with proper camera editing and voice-overs, someone looking up a student online or through Canvas to find their social media is a technique Joe Goldberg would use if he was in college.

Thursday, January 30, 2020

LIFE

“Little Women” won’t win best picture, but here’s why it should

BEN FANCHER Staff Writer

Every once in a while, if you’re lucky enough, you get to experience a film that is truly special. A movie that grabs you by the heart, holds you in place for two hours and makes you feel every emotion on the spectrum of human emotion; you love every second of it and you miss it when it’s gone. “Little Women” is one of those movies.

Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott novel was released just in time to qualify for this year’s Oscars. It’s up for six awards in total including Best Picture, but I can almost guarantee that it isn’t going to win.

Which is a shame, because it really should. Let me tell you why.

This is a story that has been adapted for the screen dozens of times, so what makes this particular adaptation so special? The easiest thing to point out is the cast. But I don’t want to talk about the cast, simply because that would be too easy. I don’t want to talk about how Saoirse Ronan gave yet another Oscar-worthy performance as Jo March, earning her fourth Oscar nomination at just 25 years old. I don’t want to talk about how Florence Pugh takes Amy, a character who is portrayed as irritating and nothing else in just about every other adaptation of the novel, and turns her into a powerfully honest, inspiring heroine who everyone can embrace, and who everyone does embrace.

I also don’t want to talk about how Emma Watson portrays Meg March with so much joy and sincerity that you can’t keep your heart from melting just a little bit every time she’s on screen.

I really don’t want to talk about how Eliza Scanlen plays Beth with so much goodness and love and quiet kindness that you can’t help but hope against your better judgement that maybe this time Beth doesn’t get scarlet fever.

I’m not going to mention any of that, because Best Picture shouldn’t just be the movie that has the most perfect cast.

We have to actually talk about the story.

The book has existed for more than 150 years and has been adapted for the screen and stage, which means a ton of people already know the story. And yet Gerwig wrote the screenplay in such a way that makes the story feel fresh and new.

It’s difficult to adapt a well-known story into something that pleases both long-time fans and first time viewers, and yet Greta Gerwig seems to have decided that it isn’t that difficult at all, actually. Her use of non-linear storytelling, combined with new character decisions (#JusticeForAmy) and a beautiful meta-ending that addresses the speculation about why the novel ends the way it does, turned what could just be a retelling into something of its own. Something with its own personality and story to tell.

And it’s a story worth telling.

Especially today. It’s a rare thing, a story that focuses on positivity. Nowadays, most movies that break into the Best Picture conversation aren’t exactly what you would call “happy.” And they certainly aren’t positive stories centered around women. Some of them have happy moments, sure, and there are even women on screen in them sometimes, but the movies that feature these things prominently don’t even get nominated.

Take a look at some of the nominees this year: Netflix’s “Marriage Story” is a movie about divorce, featuring a man who cheats on his wife. “1917” is an admittedly good movie set during WWI, but is depressing because, you know, war and stuff, and doesn’t have any women in it at all. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is a Quentin Tarantino movie, which means it features women’s feet more than it features their voices.

“Joker” got a Best Picture nomination too somehow, which proves my point that there’s nothing the Academy loves more than a movie that tells them that life is sad, especially when it’s a man who is telling them.

“Little Women” is different. It’s a movie that’s about women. Women who work hard. Women who are kind, brave,

“Little Women” was directed by Greta Gerwig, and is the latest adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott novel.

Thursday, January 30, 2020

“Little Women” was released on Dec. 25, 2019.

smart, talented, passionate, beautiful and, most of all, happy. This is a movie that teaches us about growth and loss. It shows you the rewards of hard work. It shows you that you should always help those who have less than you do, even if it means sacrificing what you already have. It teaches you to keep the ones you love close to you. It tells you to go find

IMDB.com

them too. It is a story of a nation torn apart by hatred and racism, and a family being kept together by kindness, strength and love.

This is a story by women, about women, for the world. It’s a story that we should all hear and learn from. “Little Women” is the Best Picture of 2019.

Empire.com

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Weekend Events Thursday

Friday

Saturday

• “Digitally Mapping Medieval • Reel Deals: Once Upon a Time • Gospelfest @ Dodd Women and the Circulation in Hollywood @ Monroe 116, Auditorium, 3 p.m. of Material Culture: Crossing 7 - 9 p.m.

• Reel Deals: Once Upon a Time Boundaries and Connecting • James Farmer: In His Own in Hollywood @ Monroe 116, Spaces” by Dr. Tracy Chapan Words, 1920-1999 Exhibit @ 7 - 9 p.m.

Hamilton @ HCC Digital HCC Convergence Gallery • James Farmer: In His Own Auditorium, 5 p.m.

Words, 1920-1999 Exhibit @ • Great Lives: JFK/James Bond HCC Convergence Gallery

by Steven Watts @ Dodd Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

• James Farmer: In His Own Words, 1920-1999 Exhibit @ HCC Convergence Gallery

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NEWS

POLICE BEAT Presidential primary to take place over spring break •Primary | 1 ABIGAIL BUCHHOLZ & KATE SELTZER News Editors

Vandalism On Thursday Jan. 23 at 10:57 p.m., a sign was vandalized in Randolph Hall. This case is pending.

On Sunday Jan. 26 between 10:15 p.m. and 10:28 p.m., ceiling tiles were vandalized in Russell Hall. This case is pending.

On Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7:58 p.m., a window was vandalized in Marshall Hall.

This case is pending.

Petit Larceny On Friday Jan. 10 at 9:30 a.m., personal items were stolen from a vehicle on the 900 block of Cornell Street. This case is pending through the Fredericksburg Police Department.

the primaries and the general election. “I think [Warren’s] the best person to beat Trump,” said Healy.

With a multitude of groups to choose from, students concerned with the upcoming election have a place they can go to meet with like-minded individuals.

John Vizzard, freshman, says his main interest is the safety of people. “Climate change is hurting the earth, healthcare is

“I think [Warren’s] the best person to beat Trump.”

-Patrick Healy expensive and gun control [is important] for obvious reasons,” said Vizzard.

Olivia Breda, freshman, says what is most important to her is, “for one thing, putting someone else as president.”

Breda’s concerns also include immigration and conflict with Iran.

The greatly anticipated Virginia democratic primaries on March 3 are

Possession On Friday, Jan. 17 at 2:15 a.m., one administrative referral was issued for underage possession of alcohol in Eagle Landing.

On Sunday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m., there was an incident of marijuana possession and possession of a false ID in Randolph Hall.

One administrative referral was issued.

On Tuesday,, Jan. 21 at 10:33 p.m., there was an incident of marijuana possession in Russell Hall. One administrative referral was issued.

On Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 10:53 p.m., there was an incident of marijuana possession in Russell Hall. One administrative referral was issued.

Stalking On Friday Jan. 17 at 3:00 p.m., an incident of stalking around multiple locations of campus was reported. A referral to the Office of Title IX and for Behavioral Intervention Training was made.

Thursday, January 30, 2020

during spring break. Having a primary over spring break means that those who are registered to vote on campus or in Fredericksburg will need to request an absentee ballot if they plan on leaving the area for break. Absentee voting began Jan. 25, with the deadline to request an absentee ballot being Feb. 25.

Although many political clubs on

campus do not endorse candidates, this does not stop them from doing what they can to inform voters on who is running in the election. Debate watch parties and weekly meetings are common ways of spreading information. According to Hartz, Young Democrats is currently working on trying to get candidates to visit campus.

Previous recipients reflect on Eagle Awards Friday, March 6 to allow time for interviews. “There is an interview process of the top candidates selected for the Grace Mann Launch Award as it has the largest monetary scholarship,” said Sutphin. The winner last year was senior Erin Shaw.

“There are monetary benefits for a few of the awards,[including the] Prince B. Woodard Emerging Leader and Outstanding Leader Awards, as well as the Grace Mann Launch Award,” said Sutphin. “For all the awards, [winners receive] recognition, a framed certificate, and an award.”

This year is the inaugural year for the James Farmer Defining a Legacy Award. According to the description on the website, “This award is awarded to a student, staff, or faculty member who creates a direct action project, overcomes a substantial obstacle, challenges an oppressive system, and spreads their cause.”

According to Sutphin, “review committees, comprised of students, faculty and staff review the nominations within a category and score them

•Eagle Awards | 7 Between Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 8:30 p.m. and Thursday, Jan. 24 at 8:00 a.m., a skateboard was stolen from Bushnell Hall.

This case is pending.

Student groups plan on tabling and hosting events throughout the campus over the next few months.

Kate Seltzer / The Blue & Gray Press

“There are so many things constantly happening on campus that sometimes, the amazing things others are doing escape your notice. And really, it’s nice to see others being celebrated for all the work they did during the year.”

-Paige Hildebrand individually, then the Eagle Awards Planning Committee compiles the score and takes the average, in order to choose the winners.”

There are separate review committees for the Grace Mann Launch Award and the James Farmer Defining a Legacy Award.

Paige Hildebrand, a graduating senior at the time, received the Prince Woodard Outstanding Leader Award in 2019.

“It was absolutely fantastic to see campus consultants. I proposed and led everyone who was nominated and a project to implement ‘Pop-Up Writing everyone who had won Eagle Awards, Centers’ to reach more people across because there are so many things constantly happening on campus that sometimes, the amazing things others are doing escape your notice.

And really, it’s nice to see others being celebrated for all the work they did during the year,” Hildebrand said.

During her time at UMW, she served as treasurer for a year and a half in the campus club, Students Helping Honduras.

“I traveled down to Honduras twice and both times inspired me so much [that] when I came This year’s Eagle Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 16 .

University Relations back for the spring of 2019 semester I was determined to do as much as I could campus and helped to train and lead to help the families down in Honduras. consultants within the Writing Center.

I sat as head of our 5K committee, “The award felt like a nice coming up with plans, managing the recognition,” Messier said. different groups working to pull this feat “The ceremony has grown each year. off. Together, we managed to raise over Last year we had approximately 100 $1,000, and also got the word out about students, faculty, and staff in attendance, our organization.” and we hope it will continue to grow,” Senior Rebecca Messier, an English said Sutphin. “These students deserve major enrolled in the Elementary recognition, even if they’re nominated Education Master’s program at UMW, and don’t win, we want them to know was awarded the Unsung Hero award the impact of their commitment and last year. It recognizes students who took contribution to UMW.” the initiative to help their club or group The ceremony will be held on achieve their goals behind the scenes.

Thursday, April 16 at 6 p.m. in the “This past year I worked as a Lead Chandler Ballroom. All students, faculty, Consultant at the Writing Center. I and staff are invited and encouraged to presented at an out-of- state conference attend to help celebrate those who have for other writing center tutors, as well been awarded and have made significant as at a UMW-wide conference for oncontributions to the UMW community.

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SPORTS

Editor: Jack Hagn | blueandgray.sports@gmail.com

2020 Super Bowl: Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49ers

BENN MELLINGER Staff Writer

This year’s Super Bowl seems to be a passing of the guard in the NFL. Two new quarterbacks will be featured this year--Tom Brady’s understudy, Jimmy Garoppolo and third-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes. This is a stark difference from past Super Bowls which included the likes of Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers haven’t won a Super Bowl in a combined 75 years, it will be interesting to see if the 49ers can return to their winning ways or if the Chiefs will become 2 for 2 in Super Bowl games.

Jimmy Garoppolo led the offense for the 49ers this season, totaling 3,978 yards with a 69 percent completion rate.

He was assisted by star tight end George Kittle who was named first-team All-Pro and broke 1,000 receiving yards this season. However, the 49ers would not be where they are now if it wasn’t for the incredible year that the defense is having.

They were the second-best defense in terms of yards per game and the best

Winter Sports Schedule

The Chiefs and the 49ers haven’t won a Super Bowl in a combined 75 years.

against the pass. The 49ers also have the second-best third-down conversion defense and the Chiefs have the number one third-down conversion offense. So something will give when it comes to third-down success rate.

A key stat line to focus on in this game is how many sacks the 49ers are able to get. They had 48 during the season, tied for fifth in the league. On the other hand, the Chiefs only allowed 25 sacks all year. San Francisco’s ability

Jimmy Garoppolo and third-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

George Kittle broke 1,000 receiving yards this season.

Chiefs have the number one third-down conversion offense.

Thursday, January 30, 2020

University of Mary Washington

nypost.com

newsweek.com

wamc.org

sportingnews.com

to contain and takedown Mahomes will certainly be a game-changer for this Super Bowl.

Flipping to the other side, the Chiefs are also led by quarterback and tightend pairing Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Their offense ranks fifth in terms of points scored with most of their damage being done through the air. Two players to focus on will be the 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman and Chiefs speedster Tyreek Hill; how the coaches choose to combat the Chiefs passing attack will be engaging. Keep an eye out to see if Sherman shadows Hill all over the field because neutralizing him is a key to slowing down the Chief’s dynamic offense.

The Chiefs defense has not been the greatest, particularly against the run, a polar opposite of the number two rushing offense that the 49ers have. However, this postseason the Chiefs haven’t allowed more than 100 yards rushing.

Which Chiefs defense decides to show up will play a huge factor in deciding the outcome of the game.

Talking to students on campus, the majority of people I spoke to were rooting for the Chiefs.

“Mahomes getting a ring at his age would be sick. I also think that Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are some of the best players at their positions in the league,” said Latzi Balint.

Kyle McPhillips is rooting for the Chiefs because he enjoys their spontaneity and fast-paced plays. “ I enjoy the explosiveness of the offense and how many weapons they have.

They have all the capability to make huge plays considering they have two of the fastest players in the league and a quarterback who is capable of making all kinds of throws.”

There were plenty of 49ers fans too.

Reece Anderson is rooting for the longtime underdog. “Their team this year has proven that we deserve the Super Bowl, especially after so many people doubted us. Even though I’m from the United Kingdom I have supported the 49ers for a long time now and I want to see them win,” said Anderson.

Some fans are in to support their favorite players. Seamus Brennan is a Patrick Mahomes fanatic: “He is just a different hybrid of a quarterback and has so many different weapons.”

“Richard Sherman because he’s above 30 years old and having a career year.

I used to not like him mainly because I dislike the Seahawks and I normally support the Green Bay Packers. I’m glad the Seahawks replaced him with a guy with one less hand,” said senior Ross Whitehead.

The 2020 Super Bowl will air Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Men’s Basketball (12-8)

Jan. 25 L @ York (Pa.) (79-73) Jan. 29 W vs. Southern Virginia (107-76) Feb. 1 @ Chris. Newport Feb. 5 @ Southern Virginia Feb. 8 @ St. Mary’s (Md.)

Women’s Basketball (14-6)

Jan. 25 L @ York (Pa.) (67-55) Jan. 29 W @ Southern Virginia (58-53) Feb. 1 @ Chris. Newport Feb. 5 vs. Southern Virginia Feb. 8 @ St. Mary’s (Md.)

Women’s Swimming (8-3)

Jan. 18 W vs. Barton (187-75) Jan. 18 W vs. Franklin & Marshall (16993) Jan. 25 L vs. Gettysburg (141-121) Feb. 1 vs. Southern Virginia Feb. 13-16 vs. CAC Championships

@ St. Mary’s City, Md.

Men’s Swimming (6-5)

Jan. 18 W vs. Barton (182-80) Jan. 18 L vs. Franklin & Marshall (154107) Jan. 25 L vs. Gettysburg (159-103) Feb. 1 vs. Southern Virginia Feb. 13-16 vs. CAC Championships

@ St. Mary’s City, Md.

Full Schedule not listed above.

Most recent games included.

Bold indicates home game.

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