The Blue & Gray Press

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.

IN THIS

ISSUE

“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

NEWS THE

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 Kate Seltzer

Associate Editors Abigail Buchholz Cosima Pellis

SECTION EDITORS NEWS Jess Kirby Josephine Johnson

VIEWPOINTS Abigail Weber

LIFE Erin Matuczinski

SPORTS Victoria Percherke

ONLINE Samantha Price Bernadette D’Auria

PHOTO Bryanna Lansing

FACULTY ADVISOR Sushma Subramanian

Editors: Jess Kirby & Josephine Johnson | blueandgray.news@gmail.com

UMW mourns one year of COVID-19 with short remembrance ceremony jess kirby News Editor

On the evening of March 15, four speakers and performers sat six feet apart on a dimly-lit stage, and five candles glowed in front of a podium.

As just over 100 people watched live, the university held a nine-minute long “Moment of Remembrance” for the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic reaching the United States and UMW students being sent home.

University President Troy Paino and SGA President Kyree Ford, a senior sociology major, echoed both messages of grief and hope for the future.

“At its core, grief is a reaction to a change that we didn’t want or ask for,” said Paino. “This moment of remembrance is not only an acknowledgment of all that has been lost this year, but it is also an acknowledgment that your pain matters. It matters to me. It matters to us.”

Ford also recognized the enormous

“We as a university have been tested but not defeated.

I truly believe that now our hardships that we face will lead to a more prosperous future.”

-Kyree Ford hardships faced by the UMW community over the past year.

“One year ago, we did not understand the magnitude that COVID-19 would bring, nor how it would affect our day-to-day life,” he said. “Somehow, we made it. Though we might not be one hundred percent

In a nine-minute “Moment of Remembrance,” four performers and speakers joined together to help the university grieve after a full year with COVID-19. Pictured from left to right is Kelsey Payne, Troy Paino, Kyree Ford and James Pryor.

University of Mary Washington

there yet, we can now begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Ford continued by looking at UMW’s accomplishments from the past year.

“Together, with the implementation of MMDC, we were able to have a great fall semester, and we’re doing pretty well this spring semester,” he said. “We have lobbied for the voices of students to be heard, we also fought on the front lines [against] racial injustice, and we did that together as a Mary Washington community. We as a university have been tested, but not defeated. I truly believe that now our hardships that we face will lead to a more prosperous future.”

Junior English major James Pryor followed Ford’s message by reciting a hopeful poem called “Recovery.”

“Outside the university gates, there are small blue flowers, microscopic and lost in the grass. They were here last year, and they’ll be here next year,

too. Nature’s recovery from winter never seems possible… but even now there’s news of cherry blossoms from D.C., and they’ll bloom next year, too.”

Pryor continued, “To separate humans from nature ignores the fact that we exist within the other. We’re waiting for the leaves to grow back and decorate the trees, as they will the next year and the year after that, and we’ll be there, too.”

Dressed in all black, freshman violinist Kelsey Payne closed the event by playing Bach’s “Sarabande” from Partita no. 2 in D minor.

“Amid our grief, we also need to reflect on our hope for the future,” said Paino. “In the meantime, let us join together as a community and walk into our grief by acknowledging all that we have lost this past year. In so doing, we strengthen the bonds that hold us together and walk into the future with greater strength.”

Trespasser barred from campus

•Trespasser | 1

PD again and explained the situation and we told people to report him if they see him. Campus PD then seemed to be all over campus.”

Hardesty witnessed the police respond to the call when the man showed up again.

“We saw him again outside of Willard on Campus Walk,” she said.

“There were two other girls that seemed to be freaked out so I called them over to make sure they were safe. An officer saw us and came over to speak to him and he basically asked him to put a mask on or leave campus and the man walked away.

He explained to us that after talking to him, he noticed he possibly had some cognitive issues and told us that if we saw him to report him again.

Thankfully that was the last time we saw him and my friends and I haven’t heard anything since.”

According to UMW Police Chief Michael Hall, the man came to campus

two times. The first was Feb. 25, the day before the email was sent out to students. He returned the day after, at which point he was apprehended by UMW Police.

“The person was charged with unlawful entry and trespassing,” said

“There were two other girls that seemed to be freaked out so I called them over to make sure they were safe.”

-Andrea Hardesty

This man with no known association to UMW was issued a trespassing warning and was barred from the UMW campus.

University Police

UMW Police Chief Michael Hall.

“However, these charges have not been adjudicated.”

Hall said that normally the preliminary hearings for this case would have happened by now, but the justice system has been slowed down due to COVID-19. Hall estimates that his case will probably be heard by the end of March.

CORRECTIONS for THE Week

PLEASE REPORT ANY MISTAKES SEEN IN THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS TO Kate Seltzer, blueandgray.eic@gmail.com or Sushma Subramanian, ssubrama@umw.edu

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Thursday, March 18, 2021

VIEWPOINTS

Editor: Abigail Weber | blueandgray.views@gmail.com

College students should switch to craft beer

stations across the country.

There is a reason that they can sponsor the Super Bowl halftime show every year. They make a ton of money and there really isn’t anyone that can compete Many college students had the same picture of with them. college in their head prior to them arriving on campus Since the start of the Craft Beer Boom, craft beer for the first time: hundreds of students surrounding according to Visual Capitalist has accounted for 24 the keg at a party, patiently waiting to consume the percent of the sales in the U.S. beer market, racking up liquid gold that is inside. However, the light beer that $114 Billion in the process. is popular among college students is bad tasting and This is not by chance. It is due to the process behind hangover inducing. brewing craft beer.

Keg parties and light beers could now be a thing of I was able to get a firsthand look into this process. the past due to the Craft Beer Boom. Craft beer can My brothers work at Maltese Brewing company here in be best described as small batches of beer brewed by Fredericksburg. They are just one of the many breweries independent brewers across the U.S. in the area, but many of these brewing establishments Since the start of the pandemic the idea of drinking share a love of the process of brewing beer. in large groups has gone out the window. The idea of The time and effort the brewers put into the process picking up personal craft beers is now more practical is far more personal than anything you would find than ever before! with Bud Light or Miller. Each batch is essentially an Since 2010, the craft beer industry has seen a huge extension of that brewer. They want people to enjoy increase. Businesses popped up across the country with it more than anything. The personality put into every one goal in mind: to make beer that tastes great and be pour is reason enough to make the switch. There are proud of the ingredients that they put in it. pineapple flavored IPA’s, Oreo Brownie stouts, and Anheuser-Busch had essentially monopolized the some breweries in the Fredericksburg area even have beer industry in the U.S. until the 2010s. They produce sours that taste like fruit smoothies. and sell many of the beers sold in restaurants and gas On top of the selection, these beers are stronger than that of the normal light beer. The average light beer usually caps out at about 4% ABV (alcohol by volume). With craft beer, ABV can range anywhere from 5 to 13 percent. This is important because you don’t have to drink 20 of them to feel the effects and end up feeling bloated and vomiting.

Drinking less also decreases the chance Light beers like Heineken are a thing of the past thanks to the craft beer boom. of a college student Stella de Smit/@liefsvanstellaphotography on Unsplash JACK MONAGHAN Staff Writer

Staff Ed: UMW should return to staggered class registration slots

By THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS EDITORIAL BOARD

After the events of the previous registration period, it is clear that the new system of each year having separate days to register is disastrous. When registration is not staggered by credit hours, seniors and other students who need superiority are put at a great disadvantage.

As any senior can attest, preparing for graduation and degree completion is not a simple task. Students may find themselves with only one semester left to take required classes or face returning for an additional term, which results in a great loss of both time and money. When registering with credit superiority, there is a lesser risk of seniors not getting a seat in the courses they need for graduation.

In addition, the yearly slots are still determined by number of hours, just a larger range. In the past, a senior with 89 credit hours would sign up with a small selection of juniors in their time slot. Now under the year system, this senior wouldn’t be able to sign up with others in their year. They would have to compete with juniors to get into the classes they need to graduate.

But it’s not just seniors. Students who have spent their college careers taking heavy credit semesters in preparation for getting a good registration slot have had to watch their hard work turn to nothing.

Those who are much further in their degree path

Thursday, March 18, 2021

should not be halted by classes they need being full of students who are below them. This is especially true for any student attempting to graduate early.

Additionally, having one day for an entire class to register is incredibly undesirable, as students who are worried about seat availability must be up and ready to register as the clock strikes 8 a.m. With such a large traffic doing so, anyone who is just a few minutes late may find themselves unable to get into the classes they need. Having specific times spread out throughout the day not only reduces the amount of people able to register at one time, but also the stress for those who are concerned that their computer might not load quick enough to get a seat.

We’ve seen in Zoom classes this year how some people are at a dramatic disadvantage. Since many students are off campus, they have to deal with different levels of technology--from slow WiFi to dropped connections. Staggered out time slots mean that these students have to compete with fewer students. They have the opportunity to gain an edge through their own work, not the quality of their internet connection.

Registration needs to return to staggered slots based on earned credit hours. The switch to this new system causes more headache than happiness, and it did not introduce any advantages for a pandemicplagued term in the first place. Even if it did, the University’s plan to return to an in-person set-up next semester would negate those advantages.

getting alcohol poisoning. You can go to your local brewery and pick up a sealed four pack and be set for the night.

Another great upside of the Craft Beer Boom to the of-age UMW student is we have a local brewery right in Eagle Landing.

Adventure Brewing Company is located right across

“The time and effort the brewers put into the process is far more personal than anything you would find with Bud Light or Miller. Each batch is essentially an extension of that brewer.” the bridge and has a great selection of beer or seltzers to choose from.

UMW Senior Adam Warner has frequented Adventure in the past.

Originally from the U.K., Warner said that back home, the beers were all imported and had the same textures and flavors, yet the breweries around here are all unique: no two pints are the same.

“The only upside to normal light beers is the price.

The cheap everyday beers will always be appealing to a broke college kid,” said Warner.

As the craft beer industry grows, I hope that they can compete with the prices of Anheuser-Busch to stay competitive in the market, as well as maybe even one day surpass them. I also hope that college students think to give these local establishments a chance to show them the fantastic products that they have created.

The change in culture around college campuses could really be the difference moving forward. Moving out of the age of drinking to get drunk and into the age of enjoying what you’re drinking has the potential to remove the stigmas surrounding college kids and partying.

Craft beer has all the potential in the world to take a hold over the drinking scene on college campuses.

Especially with the change in culture that the pandemic has brought. Gigantic parties are a thing of the past and people who still want to be social drinkers will have to adapt moving forward.

COVID-19 DASHBOARD

44

Total cases since Jan. 1, 2021

2

Active cases

0.28

7-day average cases per day

1,074

Total tests Mar. 5-11

0

Positive tests Mar 5-11

113

Student health center tests since Jan. 1

8

Positive student health center tests since Jan. 1

38 of 38

Isolation spaces available

79 to 82

Quarantine spaces available

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LIFE

Editor: Erin Matuczinski blueandgray.life@gmail.com

Less traditional pets make appearances in SAE Weekly

ABIGAIL SAUGHTER Staff Writer

Many UMW students have pets, but not many have a furry—or spiky— friend like that of Skylar Houston, a sophomore biomedical science major.

Houston has a two-year old bearded dragon she calls Blue, named after the raptors from Jurassic Park. She decided to get a bearded dragon after PetSmart and Petco were having their reptile days, in which they showcased adoptable reptiles.

Houston lets Blue out of his tank periodically throughout the day so that he can get adequate exercise. He runs around on the floor and loves to play with cat toys. Despite the fact that they are not specifically designed for bearded dragons to play with, to a lizard, cat toys’ movements signal mimic those of a food source, so he chases after them.

Blue has a well-rounded diet, which includes leafy greens, vegetables, fruit, and bugs.

“His favorite [bugs] are probably hornworms, but I only give those to him every once in a while as a treat,” said Houston.

After playtime, Blue has to return Blue, a bearded dragon, likes to wear his food as a to his special tank. His environment hat and watch Grey’s Anatomy. must be temperature-controlled Skylar Houston between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and it should be equipped with a special UVB lightbulb. “[A UVB bulb] gives him nutrients that he would usually get in the wild from the sunlight,” said Houston. “When he is inside, all of that is filtered out through the windows and the glass.”

Houston introduced Blue to her fellow UMW students through Pets of the Weekly, a section at the bottom of the SAE weekly newsletter that includes a photograph and written introduction of each pet submitted to the page. She pointed out that although Blue doesn’t like his vegetables, he will wear them as hats, as seen in Blue’s submission photo in which he has a piece of kale on his head.

Houston wanted to submit something different for Pets of the Weekly, as she kept seeing exclusively cats and dogs on the newsletter.

“I thought I could spice things up a little bit.”

Lauryn Buchanan, a freshman who intends on majoring in conservation biology, also submitted a pet profile to Pets of the Weekly because she wanted

to make a unique addition to the newsletter. Her contribution was a photo of her pet Toby, a 7-year old serama bantam chicken.

“A lot of them are very friendly and they like being around people a lot more than you would assume,” said Buchanan, contradicting some people’s preconceived notions about typical chicken behavior.

When Buchanan is at home, Toby crows and wakes her up each morning, substituting her phone alarm that wakes her up on campus away from him.

Toby’s crowing lets Buchanan and her family know Toby and his sister Harley want to be let out of their coop for the day. His normal activities consist of roaming around the yard looking for worms and rolling around in the dirt.

Like Blue, Toby also has variety in his diet. which consists of fruit, vegetables, rice and chicken feed.

“Although I don’t think they should be, chickens are considered unconventional pets,” said Buchanan.

She feels that chickens are now considered to be less uncommon than in the past because humans use them for multiple different things, emphasizing their practicality.

Buchanan originally got Toby from her aunt, who had several chickens Toby, a serama bantam chicken, perches on his at the time, and Buchanan’s grandma owner Lauryn’s hand. thought it would be a good idea to Lauryn Buchanan bring them home.

SAE has put in effort to involve students virtually in activities on campus, such as stuffing stuffed animals and painting cacti, and Pets of the Weekly performs a similar function. Last year’s senior student coordinator for publicity Jo Sherwood proposed the idea of having students submit photos of their pets to SAE for the newsletter, and some version of Pets of the Weekly has been running since the last academic year.

In Pets of the Weekly, students are referred to as “weekly family members.”

Although there are not a lot of new “weekly family members” making profile submissions, students seem to be enjoying this newsletter section, according to Crystal Rawls, the assistant director of SAE. “I am not sure how many students have actually participated, but I know that we have a new pet to highlight every week.”

Neither Houston nor Buchanan would consider their pets to be exotic, despite Blue and Toby having different needs from other domesticated animals.

Bridge closure gives commuter students traffic trouble JOHN MONAGHAN Staff Writer

is backed up and it takes them longer to get to campus.

Not only does Chatham’s closure block up the Route 1 bridge, it also blocks the detour route that takes students down and around the backway into

“I don’t mind the drive to school, even with the time added on. I live relatively close to campus and Students choose to go to college in their it saves so much money in the long run. All that hometown for many reasons.

I have to do is plan for the traffic everyday and I Some don’t feel like moving far away from haven’t had much trouble with it since.” family, some want to skip out of room UMW has a vast number of commuter and board prices and live at home. students, with at least 45 percent of the For many UMW students that student body living off-campus. This hail from Stafford County and the means that this is an issue that affects a surrounding areas, the Chatham Bridge large portion of the student body. Yet in route has always been a nice little many cases, these issues are commonly shortcut to get to campus to avoid Route overlooked when it comes to the day-to1 traffic. day of classes.

On June 22, 2020, that route Many professors count you absent if was effectively taken away for the you show up after a certain point of time. foreseeable future.

In many cases, commuter students can’t The Virginia Department of control the traffic flow of the surrounding Transportation website states that the area and are marked absent due to things bridge is to remain closed through out of their control.

October of 2021, leaving lasting Davis hasn’t come into contact with implications and insecurities regarding this scenario yet. However, there are a commuter students. number of commuter students that live as For commuters coming from the far as Culpeper or Northern Virginia.

Stafford Area, the Route 1 intersection “Leaving on time every day has with Route 17 and Warrenton road become more important than ever,” said has been a traffic hotspot ever since senior Ryan Godfrey.

The Chatham Bridge is located on Route 3 between William Street and Kings Highway.

Chatham’s closure in June.

Godfrey says that this is just another Emily Warren/The Blue & Gray Press “You never know if it is going to take source of stress in his life. He has to plan two or 20 minutes to get across the bridge,” said downtown Fredericksburg. The main highway that his commute according to traffic that wouldn’t senior Brandon Davis. runs through Stafford and Fredericksburg and the have been there in past semesters.

This uncertainty leaves commuters at a backroads both present uncertainties.

“I’ve been late to a class a couple of times, disadvantage to their on-campus counterparts. On Davis has found that his usual commute has I usually just have to plan to leave earlier than test days, some commuter students must leave an increased from 20-25 to nearly 40 minutes. This I would like to,” said Godfrey. Penalties for hour earlier than they normally would, missing still doesn’t deter from his decision to become a absences haven’t really come into play for Godfrey, out on last minute studying, just in case the bridge commuter student. but he sees how that could be an issue.

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Thursday, March 17, 2021

LIFE

Photo Essay: The search for the sacred “Secret Bench” CARA LOWENGRUB Staff Photographer

UMW prides themselves on having multiple benches located all over campus walk. Throughout my four years at UMW, the school has made a big deal about sitting on these benches. However, COVID restrictions have made it very difficult for friends to participate in the act of “benching.” Recently, I was informed by a peer that there is a secret bench located somewhere on campus. Two strict rules have been set in place for once you find the bench, in order to keep its location hidden: you cannot reveal the location to anyone and it must be photographed. For someone who is an avid bencher, I was dead set on finding this so-called “secret bench.” I started my search at the bridge that connects Eagle Landing to the main campus. From there I explored various areas around campus that are surrounded by a lot of trees. In the hour that it took me to find the bench, I came across a few areas of our small campus that I didn’t know existed. When I finally found the bench, it was in one of the last places that I expected. In order to follow the rules, I took a picture of the bench in which you can see my roommate Margaret Gregory relaxing after the strenuous search. I share photos of my experience here hoping that other students will go out and look for this bench, discovering some of the many secrets that the UMW campus has hidden. Personally, as a senior at UMW, I have learned that it is never too late to explore some parts of campus for the first time.

The beginning of the search starting from the Eagle Landing Bridge

Venturing off Campus Walk togo into the woods surrounding campus.

Found and old grill that was used for barbecues.

Thursday, March 17, 2021

Discovering a new set of stairs down to the parking lot

Cool student carved art onto a tree.

An old fire hydrant that has been recently covered by leaves.

Margaret Gregory resting on the bench after the long search.

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The Blue & Gray Press @theBlueandGray

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NEWS

CRIME COLUMN JESS KIRBY & JOSEPHINE JOHNSON News Editors

Arson On March 13 at 5:30 p.m there was a case of intentional burning at Stafford campus. This case is pending.

Larceny

Between Feb. 9 and 11 there was a case of larceny by false pretense at Brent House. This case is pending.

Vandalism

On March 11 at 9 a.m. there was a case of vandalism in the Eagle Landing Parking lot. This case is pending.

Possession

On March 14 at 1 a.m. there was a case of underage possession of alcohol in Randolph Hall. Two admistrative referrals were issued.

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Vocelli faces understaffing and significant decrease in sales

jack brewster staff Writer

COVID-19 has caused UMW Vocelli Pizza to experience a lack of employees, among other COVID-related problems.

John Iacunato, owner of the UMW Vocelli Pizza sees the effect COVID-19 has had on his business. “The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed how we do business on the campus of UMW. The impact on the campus is quite evident. We see this happening in all facets of the service industry and as you know the restaurant business has been hit extremely hard

by COVID-19 due in part, to people’s dining habits changing along with real concerns about the potential of getting sick,” said Iacunato.

A lack of students living on campus has affected the volume of students Vocellis serves each day.

“Sales at UMW are down over 50 percent from pre-COVID-19 days,” said Iacunato.

Will Mortimore, a senior communication and digital studies major is one of many students who has decreased the amount of time they spend at the pizza place. “When living off-campus, I wouldn’t think of going to Vocellis when the campus is shut down,” said Mortimore. “Really the only time I think of stopping [at Vocelli’s] is when I am on campus and going from class to class. So with no students being on campus, I could imagine they’re having a tough time.”

According to Iacunato, the lack of students on campus has led to a decrease in the available workforce.

“Since the fall semester of 2011 Vocelli Pizza on the UMW campus, our primary workforce has been made up of part-time students and a handful of full-time team members from the local community,” said Iacunato. “In the fall

of 2020 and now spring of 2021 the actual number of students on the campus at UMW has decreased significantly, with a greater majority of students taking virtual classes many have chosen to not come onto the campus. This has caused a significant reduction… in the available pool of potential team members we can recruit from the UMW student population.”

Fear of contact with others has also decreased the likelihood of students being willing to work. “This issue, combined with a real concern with all people on campus of becoming ill, has significantly decreased the number of potential team members who are willing to work in any type of restaurant given all the contact with other team members and customers of the restaurant,” said Iacunato.

This deficit in employees is reflected in the recent tweets from the UMW Vocelli Pizza Twitter account, having expressed their interest in hiring new employees four times between Jan. 9 and Feb. 5.

The additional stress of having classes online has contributed to the lack of student employment at Vocelli Pizza.

“Students at UMW are feeling a great deal more stress, given the current situation on campus with virtual learning. Many of our team members who are currently working with us have had to reduce the available hours due to class load. This had had a direct impact on Vocelli Pizza and our ability to recruit new students to join our team, but it has also had an impact on students who were part of our team in the last few semesters from returning to Vocelli Pizza. What we hear most from students who were former team members is the current workload of classes and study is just too much to allow any time for working,” said Iacunato.

As with all other dining services at UMW, Vocelli has implemented new procedures to ensure the safety of both the staff as well as the students they serve.

“You can witness this by the removal of all indoor seating and most of the patio seating. The precautions we have instituted in the campus location with the addition of shields, reductions in our customers being able to serve themselves items, the addition of daily monitoring of all our team members with temperature and health checks and in-store sanitation practices,” said Iacunato.

In order to help streamline serving customers while also maintaining proper safety protocols, Vocelli has become involved with the now-familiar Grubhub service.

“We attempt to focus our efforts on providing the best service we can given the current business environment.

A great example of this is Sodexo working with Grubhub to put together an ordering and pick-up option. It has been a very successful program from our perspective, and it allows students to place an order and… pick it up with little or no contact with other students or team members,” said Iacunato.

Iacunato took a moment to acknowledge the work done by the management of UMW Vocelli to keep business afloat during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, fewer students attending campus in person also means fewer students visiting Vocelli.

“I used to go there all the time… especially after labs in Jepson that would get out late,” said Will Hackett, a senior geology major. “It was the easiest thing to get, and the only place open. But now with living off-campus paired with campus being shut down, I haven’t gone since the spring semester of 2020.”

UMW sees a decrease in applicants

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has experienced a decrease in applications, but a certain few Virginia schools have actually seen an increase in applications.

“Many schools, UMW included, have seen a decrease in applications this year. In Virginia, it’s been reported the UVA, VT, and W&M are dramatically up. It’s no coincidence that all three have waived test scores requirements this year. Most of the remaining public institutions in VA are in a similar situation to UMW with decreased application numbers,” she said.

There are a variety of different reasons for the decrease in applications at many schools.

“There are some students who simply did not engage with the admission process for fall 2021, choosing to wait out the pandemic’s impact on a traditional college experience,” said Yakabouski. “Additionally, underrepresented populations in college are coming late to this process.

First-generation, diverse students and socioeconomically challenged families are not as engaged. FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) filing is also down across the country, including Virginia.”

UMW partnered with Capture

Higher Ed to engage interested students virtually.

“Our website is a huge virtual recruitment tool, but it was passive,” said Yakabouski. “Prospective students certainly use it to find information, but prior to our partnership with Capture, we would never know about them unless they decided to complete a form and let us know. It also allows us to better understand the needs and interests of our admitted students based on their behavior on our website, so we can share information in a more targeted, strategic way.”

Prior to the pandemic, athletic teams reached out to potential student-athletes where they had scheduled a tour of campus. Freshman Kelly Young was one of the many student-athletes that was invited to tour UMW prior to COVID-19 and later on experienced the virtual admission process.

“I decided to go to UMW because when I went on my visit the track and field cross country team was very welcoming,” said Young. “My transition was a little bit easier because I had the opportunity to have a normal visit before the pandemic.”

Despite having a virtual orientation, Young still enjoyed the opportunity to meet with other eagles.

“Something that was really helpful during my virtual orientation was that we went into the breakout room and had the opportunity to meet our orientation leader as well as other rising freshmen,” said Young.

Freshman Kaitlin Saal received the UMW Washington Scholarship. For Saal, this scholarship was a big incentive to choose UMW over other schools, even during the pandemic.

“My scholarship definitely helped ease the financial load of school off of my parents. I didn’t qualify for much financial aid. We still can’t afford to put both my brother and me through college and hopefully med school so I was definitely happy to be able to lessen the burden for them,” said Saal.

Through Capture Higher Ed, UMW is attempting to adapt to the constraints of the pandemic.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting different results,” said Yakabouski. “We cannot recruit the same way. This [Capture] is a different tool and approach.”

UMW has had to amend the way that they conduct admissions and, despite many challenges, has made significant strides in altering their admission events in hopes of overcoming the challenges set forth by the pandemic.

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SPORTS

Editor: Victoria R. Percherke | blueandgray.sports@gmail.com

Fredericksburg Nationals welcome inaugural season with in-person fans

SHAWN FLEETWOOD Staff Writer

The Fredericksburg Nationals are set to kick off their much anticipated inaugural season this May, after the team’s originally scheduled debut season was postponed last year following the emergence of COVID. The 2021 season will be the 43rd season for the franchise and 16th season as an affiliate of the Washington Nationals. However, it will be the first under their new name, the Fredericksburg Nationals.

According to the team’s website, the season will

“Fredericksburg residents can have their own home team to root for.”

-Paige Honaker include 10 home series consisting of 60 games and 10 road series consisting of 60 games, with the Nats facing off against teams in the newly formed Low-A East League. Series will be comprised of six games each, stretching from Tuesday to Sunday each week.The season will officially begin on May 4 and conclude on Sept. 19, with game times yet to be announced.

UMW students have voiced their enthusiasm for the inaugural season, citing their excitement about having a local sports team so close to home.

“If I could go to a game, I most likely would,” said Jacqueline Huppuch, a senior English major. “I have been a baseball fan for all my life and I am excited that I don’t have to go far for a game.”

Paige Honaker, the marketing coordinator for the Nationals, says that fans will have a lot to look forward to at games, noting different events planned for the season.

“I hope we are able to give our fans a very well-deserved return to normalcy after the year we have all had,” she said. “We have planned a great season full of theme nights, giveaways, drink specials, food specials and so much more. We’re so fortunate to be building a new fan base with a staff that has worked in minor league baseball for years.”

Honaker also expressed her excitement about

having a local sports team in Fredericksburg. “Virginia doesn’t have professional sports teams like other states... we have been loyal to DC teams,” she said. “Now Fredericksburg residents can have their own home team to root for. I think we are doing the community justice by making as many elements as personal as possible like our logos that include the downtown church steeples or our family of local business partners.”

Fans, however, should still expect to see some COVID-related restrictions when attending games, according to Honaker.

“Due to capacity restrictions set by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, we are currently limited to 1,000 fans inside the ballpark,” she said. “By May 1 we should be at 30 percent, which is closer to 2,000 fans.

Additionally, all fans inside the ballpark are

required to wear masks.”

“I am planning on attending at least a couple of games,” said Ryan Kohler, a senior computer science major. “What I’m looking towards the most is probably the social atmosphere of a baseball game and being able to enjoy a good day with some friends.”

Both Huppuch and Kohler spoke about how the new team could positively impact the Fredericksburg area.

“There would be something else fun to do in the area,”

said Huppuch. “Despite some people who feel disgruntled by changes, The best part about the sport (base-

“I also hope that some students from UMW will use the games as a way to get out, and meet each other after a year of lockdowns.”

-Ryan Kohler ball) is how it brings people together. It also provides job opportunities, too.”

“My hope is that a local baseball team would positively impact the community by bringing in some more entertainment to the area as well as some more jobs,” said Kohler. “I also hope that some students from UMW will use the games as a way to get out, and meet each other after a year of lockdowns.”

The Nationals will play their first home game on May 11, facing off against the Delmarva Shorebirds.

Further information regarding the 2021 season schedule can be found on the Fredericksburg Nationals’ official website.

The Fredericksburg Nationals will make its return to play on May 4th, 2021.

milb.com

Esports become increasingly popular at neighboring colleges DANIEL ROZZEL

George Mason University’s esports program could serve as a students and any other spectators easy viewing of the events and Staff Writer model for UMW if it chose to create its own esports program. even giving unique perspectives of the overall gameplay and what Collegiate esports has seen significant growth according to each player is seeing. GMU Esports is able to stream these events a study conducted by the Grand Canyon University. In 2009, there were only two through a dedicated team, that ensures the regulation of streams to match individual collegiate esports programs; by 2019, there were 346 schools with collegiate programs. league and tournament guidelines.

The University of Mary Washington has yet to become a member of this growing list.

“So our staff structure is made up of the leadership team, event planning team and Some students were unaware of how exactly a university goes about developing and social media team. Among the social media team, is the streaming and video team. So maintaining these programs. every time that we take part in the competition, we always love to have it streamed “I’ve always thought the idea of students being able to represent themselves on a by our dedicated streamers and casters among GMU volunteers,” said Harrison. “The college-level playing the games they love and excel at is a great idea, I’ve personally only thing that would disqualify us from doing something like that is if we look in the never really thought about how the programs are run or the types of opportunities league rules and it says [the league administration] doesn’t want any of this streamed. available. I know that we don’t have a team or anything, but I think there’s a A lot of them say, you know, minimum one minute delay. Some of them will just have community here that would be interested in the idea, and I could see myself being a specifications when it comes to streaming things on Twitch or YouTube or whatever it spectator,” said UMW senior business administration major Allison Morris. may be.”

GMU Esports was formed back in late 2018, with a smaller club existing previously GMU Esports players say the organization has been instrumental in forming a since 2011. Since then, the program has grown with around 100 players currently on community. competitive teams. The organization covers four major games with competitive teams: “I think it’s just an organization that’s trying to reach a different set of people in a Super Smash Bros, League of Legends, Rocket League, and Overwatch. different community and host a healthy environment for that community representative The structure of esports is in some ways similar to that of traditional sports. or representing GMU,” said Harrison.

“In collegiate star league, CSL (a divisional league for the game Rocket League), Peter Parker, student president of GMU Esports, agreed. there’s a ton of different leagues. There’s the star league, there’s the challenger “Within the past few years, the esports community has meant a great deal to me. division, and there’s the open division. Each of which is supposed to go down in I’ve met a lot of great friends and have a lot of support from people I’ve met through competitiveness each time,” said Daniel Harrison, the Rocket League Team manager esports. Having a shared sense of place is very important for everyone, and it’s one of who joined GMU Esports in 2019. the reasons why I enjoy working in esports,” he said.

With more colleges creating collegiate programs, many of these game developers like Psyonix (the developer of Rocket League) have begun hosting major tournaments for collegiate teams. Their first tournament was held in 2017 with a prize pool of $50,000 and their upcoming tournament has a total prize pool of $75,000. This provides opportunities for players to gain recognition and also serves as a source of earnings for these players.

“We also compete in the main competition that Rocket League itself, Psyonix, puts on, for its competitive collegiate community. And that’s called the CRL Collegiate Rocket League, which is not a league but a tournament. So that’s one of the ones that we take most seriously,” said Harrison.

One of the advantages of esports, according to players, is that all of the gameplay is easily streamed and can all be done virtually. This allows the players to continue The Esports organization has become a sense of community for gamers.

PSU.com competing in competitions even during the global pandemic. This also allows for

Thursday, March 18, 2021

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