THE
The University of Mary Washington Student Newspaper
BLUE & GRAY PRESS Serving the community since 1922
VOLUME 94 | ISSUE 6
MARCH 18, 2021
UMW hires Capture Higher Ed in response to a decrease in admissions applications
Kaitlin smyth Staff Writer
With all admissions events online, UMW has faced challenges attracting potential students. In response to a decrease in applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, UMW has decided to partner with Capture Higher Ed, a marketing company that helps colleges and universities to appeal to students. According to their website, Capture Higher Ed uses data scientists to analyze engagement on university websites. They make suggestions to universities about how to tailor their website to their audience by providing information about website viewers to the universities. “Our contract with Capture is $52,000 per year,” said Melissa Yakabouski, director of Undergraduate Admissions. “We have reallocated funds that would normally have been spent on Admissions recruitment travel or in person campus events to this endeavor. As with all of our activities, we will assess the return on our investment in this tool to determine if we will continue to use it.” High school seniors have
missed traditional college preparation opportunities due to COVID regulations. “They [seniors] haven’t had the opportunity in their high schools to drop in on their counselor and ask questions about colleges or the Common Application. They not only missed traditions of senior year, but for the most part have not had many if any opportunities to engage with colleges in person. They haven’t had the chance to get the vibe of Campus Walk. They haven’t attended open houses or toured campus, seen residence hall rooms, experienced the HCC or the UC,” she said. UMW Admissions has had to significantly change its events in order to adapt to a virtual setting. “Admissions events are entirely virtual,” said Yakabouski. “Normally, in March we would host Destination UMW on campus with more than 300 students plus their parents, where we would nearly fill Dodd Auditorium. We’d do it again in April with a second similar crowd. Right now we are thrilled to have 250 admitted students registered for virtual Destination UMW on March 20.” The switch to online
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions has seen a decrease in applications since the COVID-19 pandemic. umw.edu
admissions events has made it harder to interact with potential students, according to Yakabouski. “You may think virtual would allow us to expand our reach for more students, and in some ways, it has. We have seen more international students join a virtual open house,” she said. “However, virtual events are far easier to dismiss, to say ‘I’ll just catch the next one’ rather than show up for a planned trip to
campus. Zoom fatigue is real. Attendance for events like our fall open houses virtually has been lower than our fall inperson events would have been. This seems to be a trend for many of our peer universities as well. While there are chances for potential students to visit the campus in person, they are limited. “We have had the opportunity to welcome guests on a limited basis to campus
under COVID social distancing restrictions through the year. We are heading into spring breaks for high school students, so we may see more visitors to campus in March and April. Tours are of campus, not inside buildings. We are doing our best to bring campus to life in other ways through video, live hosted video tours and virtual sessions,” Yakabouski said. UMW, like many other colleges and universities, has
•ADMISSIONS | 7
Students recount being followed by trespasser patrick brown Staff Writer
On Feb. 24 and 25, a man with no known connection to the University tried to get into Willard Hall and successfully entered an academic building. He reportedly rattled door handles and followed and intimidated several students. The man was located and barred from University property, and students were notified through email on Feb. 26 and 27. Freshman Grace Sylvia was one of
“We knew we were safe but we were nervous, especially since the doors to the dorms take about 20 seconds to lock.”
On Feb. 24 and 25, an unmasked man with no connection to UMW followed and intimidated students, trying to enter Willard Hall and successfully entering the performing arts building. University Police
-Andrea Hardesty the students he approached on the night of Feb. 24 outside of Willard Hall. She was with some friends at the time and reported it to the campus police soon after.
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“He asked us how to get into Willard and why everyone was staring at him,” said Sylvia. “My friend told him people were likely looking at him because he was not wearing a mask. We called campus non-emergency about 20 minutes after he approached us and called twice on Thursday when he approached our friends. We gave a detailed description of the man and told
police that he was following girls around campus and trying to get into buildings.” Sylvia remembered feeling nervous because the exterior doors to Willard Hall do not lock immediately. “We knew we were safe but we were nervous, especially since the doors to the dorms take about 20 seconds to lock and everyone holds the door for people so he could have easily gotten into the
building,” she said. Freshman Andrea Hardesty was with Sylvia that night. “He was at one of the entrances pulling on the doors,” said Hardesty. “He then approached my friend and got really close to her. He seemed disoriented and it was just a weird situation.” Before calling the police, Hardesty worried about causing too much of a stir over the interaction. “We didn’t want to be dramatic and cause a scene but we felt super uncomfortable,” she said. “Because there was only one report, they took note of it but nothing else seemed to happen until Thursday night.” The following night, the man showed up around Willard Hall again. “On Thursday, a lot of our friends contacted us and told us they saw him again around Willard, and he asked a lot of people for directions and seemed to follow them,” said Hardesty. “My friend called campus PD again and explained the situation and we told people to report him if they see •TRESPASSER | 2 him.
secret bench
Brewing Adventures
COLLEGE E-SPORTS
A journey to find the university’s hidden gem.
Students should switch to craft beer.
GMU e-sports could serve as model for UMW.
LIFE | 5
VIEWPOINTS | 3
SPORTS | 8