The Blue & Gray Press by The Weekly Ringer

THE

BLUE &GRAY

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON STUDENT NEWSPAPER

April 5, 2018

VOLUME 91 | ISSUE 21

PRESS

1922 UMW tuition rates to rise SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE

Milen Mehari Staff Writer

Alex Sakes / University Relations Erin Hopkins was recently hired to be Mary Washngton’s first Confidential Victims’ advocate.

Erin Hopkins: UMW’s first Confidential Victims’ advocate Rachel Manning Staff Writer

This year, Erin Hopkins joined the University of Mary Washington as the university’s first Confidential Victims’ advocate. She became interested in Mary Washington after UMW received a grant from Department of Justice’s Office of Violence against Women in 2016. Before coming to work at UMW, Hopkins worked as a counselor in North Carolina and Northern Virginia. “I’ve always been drawn to working with men and women who need help empowering themselves after trauma or crisis,” said Hopkins. Students can visit Hopkins if they or a friend experience sexual assault, stalking, intimate partner violence, or other types of harassment. She will give students information about their options without pressure to report to administration or police. Partly because this is a new resource, many students are not aware of its existence. Senior computer science major Imran Ahmed was one of these students. “Everyone should know about this,” said Ahmed. “It should be publicized more.” To make herself more visible, Hopkins has been working with the office of Title IX, the Talley Center, Residence

Life, and other clubs and athletic teams. “I am working in the Fredericksburg community to create awareness about my position, and about the services offered on and off-campus for UMW students,” said Hopkins. While it may be slow at first, Hopkins expects more students to become aware of this resource over time, and thus more students will use it. “I have had a few students come see me so far, and I think that as word spreads I’m going to be seeing a lot more,” said Hopkins. “With the rise of the #MeToo movement and other public instances of survivors speaking out, I believe that people will feel more comfortable to reach out for support and meet with me about their experiences.” Speaking on what students can expect when visiting her office, Hopkins said “They can expect a supportive and non-judgmental conversation about what happened, and what resources are available to them. Many students find power and strength in telling their story, and I encourage students to share what specifically happened to them if they feel comfortable.” Then, Hopkins will go over their options, including coming up with a safety plan so the student knows what to do if they feel endangered and discuss reporting op-

“The bottom line is: no matter how you identify, you deserve to be treated with respect and you deserve support when that doesn’t happen.”

Recently the University of Mary Washington released the 2018-2019 estimated cost of attendance on the Financial Aid website, and the prices have appeared to increase. Although the estimated cost is public, Lynne Richardson, the chief financial officer said, “they have not been considered by the Board of Visitors yet – they are on the agenda for the April Board meeting,” in an email interview. For an in-state UMW student who chooses to live on campus in a double room and purchases a 150 meal plan, the tuition is estimated to increase by $919. This increase in tuition is not new, the university’s online archived records, which go back to 20122013, s h o w that tuition has risen every year. When asked about the most recent increase in tuition and fees, Richardson explained why the increase occurred. “[The increase in tuition] will support university costs associated with mandated state changes in employee fringe benefits, operating cost increases in utilities, contracts, and leases, and a limited number of strategic initiatives.” Tuition fees are increasing because the cost of university operations is increasing. Richardson also mentioned

the increase in boarding rates, approved in November 2017. “[The increase in boarding rates] will support debit service costs associated with the renovation of Willard Hall,” where pipes burst and have caused the building to be closed for two academic years, it is estimated to reopen Fall 2019. Many students such as sophomore psychology major Chiann Todd feel that there are many issues associated with the tuition increases. “I think tuition increases are problematic, especially for students who can barely afford to attend college to begin with,” s a i d Todd. She ins i s t s that if students are “going to continue to see a rise in tuition, then we need to see a rise in grants a n d scholarships given to students.” Students also expressed the desire to be informed about the reasons behind the increased tuition. “We aren’t told why tuition is being raised so there is no way for us to know what money is being allocated for or if it is something that us students would even support,” said Todd. Saurabi Lamichhane, a junior biology and anthropology major, shared much of Todd’s sentiment. “It is worrying that •TUITION | 10

“One of the reasons I came to Mary Washington was because of its affordability but I’m worried that the tuition increases will make paying for college less feasible. I’d hate to have to move off campus because I can no longer afford to live here.” -Katherine Toomey

-Erin Hopkins

IN THIS

ISSUE

•HOPKINS | 11

VISITING WRITER

Milen Mehari / The Blue & Gray Press Over the course of recent years, tuition and housing rates have been increasing.

TAXING ORIENTATION

NEW VOICE

Sonja Linugston shares books and advice with students.

The new student experience is too expensive.

Student athletes now included in SGA advisory meetings.

LIFE | 9

VIEWPOINTS | 5

SPORTS | 6

NEWS

Editors: Meaghan McIntyre & Izzy Briones | blueandgray.news@gmail.com

Diversity Unity and Coordinating BLUE & GRAY Committee works to expand outreach THE

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 Kelly Emmrich

SECTION EDITORS NEWS Meaghan McIntyre

Izzy Briones

VIEWPOINTS Ginny Bixby

LIFE Lauren Closs

SPORTS Ryan Brauch

ONLINE Es Hethcox

PHOTO Cayley McGuire

Kyrstiane Urbaniak

FACULTY ADVISOR

Kate Seltzer Senior Writer

Sophomore Rahima Morshed, the incoming chair of SGA’s Diversity Unity and Coordinating Committee, has high hopes for the coming semester. “As the new chair for the committee, I am determined to be a continuous source for all students to address their concerns to regarding student life, student policy, and student engagement,” Morshed said. Per a new reform in the SGA’s Constitution, the DUCC and other Senate committees now have the ability to propose legislation subject to a vote from the SGA Advisory Board. Morshed as several ideas for new proposals for the coming semester. “I am determined to work with the UMW Office of Financial Aid, [as well as with] administration to pursue Pell Grants for students,” Morshed said. “Many students of minority groups, specifically students of color, rely on this form of aid to complete their college education.” Morshed also hopes to work with the the athletics department to “abolish the tokenization of people of color on promotional materials and advertisement[s] for the athletics department.” Current chair of the DUCC, senior Mariam Ansari, is pleased with how far the committee has come. “Something I’m most proud of with DUCC this semester is that we’ve really gotten our name out on campus and made our presence known,” said Ansari. “My goal coming in as chair for this semester was that we would reach as many students and organizations as we possibly could. While we still have a long way to go in that regard, I know that we’ve made great strides in the last few months and that makes me proud to be chair of this committee.” Ansari hopes that the DUCC will continue to expand its campus visibility and outreach. “I hope that, in the coming semesters, DUCC continues to pull motivated and involved students into the fold and work with them,” said Ansari. She also thinks it is important to involve UMW’s less visible students by “reach[ing] out to the students who don’t normally participate in student organizations and bridge[ing] the gap between the involved and the passive.” Morshed intends to make sure all

student voices are heard. “I will actively be spending time with all student organizations – multicultural, political, religious, athletic, and miscellaneous – to hear what they would like to see addressed and resolved [on campus],” said Morshed. Both Morshed and Ansari expressed a desire to mitigate the sometimes tense atmosphere on campus. “I intend to speak directly to administration regarding some of the more recent events and make them aware of how students feel [so] they can address and handle such situations in a more reasonable and respectable manner,” said Morshed. She also plans on “work[ing] personally with Dr. Sabrina Johnson, the new Vice President for Equity and Access, to establish a more safe and inclusive environment for all students.” “In an elected position your job is to help raise the voices of students who feel as though they aren’t heard,” Ansari added. “As tensions rise and fall on campus, I want DUCC to remain a solid organization on this campus to help students feel safe and represented.” The Spirit Rock, which has been a source of controversy in recent weeks, remains a challenge for the DUCC. “I believe that the spirit rock is a staple of Mary Washington clubs and organizations and to use it to spread messages of hate is not at all in accordance with UMW’s values,” said Ansari. Morshed agreed, saying that the message of “Trump 2020” written over “Hate has no home here” was an unacceptable sign of division. “Whether this gesture [was] done by students or someone off campus, it is important that it does not happen again,” she said. “Therefore, it is vital that the rock be monitored vigorously.” Ansari and Morshed hope students will continue to see the DUCC as valuable ally and resource. “Our goal is to not be the voice for you, but rather to get your voice heard by SGA, students, staff, faculty, and administration,” said Morshed. Ansari agreed. “DUCC’s purpose is to elevate the voices of the underrepresented and marginalized regardless of what groups they are part of,” said Ansari. “I want students to know that we are a resource on this campus waiting to help out student organizations in any way we can.”

“As the new chair for the committee, I am determined to be a continuous source for all students to address their concerns to regarding student life, student policy, and student engagement.” -Rahima Morshed

Izzy Briones / The Blue & Gray Press The construction on Willard Hall has resulted in a shift in parking places on campus.

Parking changes take place due to Willard construction Laura Taylor Staff Writer

On Tuesday March 27 UMW Parking Management began to prepare for the renovation of Willard Hall by closing the faculty and staff parking lot behind Monroe Hall. The UMW faculty were notified of its closure sometime around March 13. “The construction company will need area for equipment for the work and trailers to haul off materials from the interior of the building,” said Jean Elliot of UMW Parking Management. “This closure will reduce faculty and staff parking in the Monroe lot.”

“This closure will reduce faculty and staff parking in the Monroe lot.” -Jean Elliot Although the closure affects the number of parking spots available for faculty and staff who utilize the lot, other parking accommodations have been explored Elliot shared. “While faculty and staff parking has been reduced by 20 spots in the large Monroe lot, the Sunken Road parking area and the Alvey parking deck will accommodate the overflow with over 50 spaces regularly available,” said Elliot. Some of the professors, staff, and faculty that work in Monroe Hall are not affected at all by the lot closure. “I walk to work, so the closure doesn’t really affect me one way or the other,” said History and American Studies professor Will B. Mackintosh. For students who uti •PARKING | 10

CORRECTIONS for THE Week PLEASE REPORT ANY MISTAKES SEEN IN THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS TO

Sushma Subramanian

Kelly Emmrich, blueandgray.eic@gmail.com or Sushma Subramanian, ssubrama@umw.edu

SPORTS

What is all the racket? The inside scoop with UMW tennis player Joe Brown

GEMMA SPICKA-PROFFIT Staff Writer

The men’s tennis team had a busy yet successful weekend two weeks ago. They hosted Bates and York on Saturday, and they hosted Penn State Harrisburg and Christopher Newport on Sunday. The team was able to come away with four wins, three of which are within the conference. One key player who led to this success was sophomore Joe Brown. He won all four of his singles matches, including one against CNU’s Andy Mason who is one of Brown’s doubles partners from before college. “It was fun because we know each other’s game styles, and I’m good friends with him,” said Brown. The match against CNU was crucial because they are UMW’s toughest competition this season. This season, the CAC Preseason Coaches Poll ranked UMW as the top seed, but CNU trailed closely behind. Brown believes that “if we just keep playing the way that we’re

playing, we’ll definitely win CACs” and bring back the title once again. He also stated that the 9-0 win against CNU has easily been his favorite moment of the entire season. Brown has been playing tennis for nine years, after switching around between many different sports in his childhood, including basketball, flag football and swimming, Brown was inspired to settle into tennis after beating his dad in a match. He joined a junior team and has been playing ever since. Upon arriving at UMW last year, Brown was already very familiar with the courts because he had competed many times in the annual summer Junior Tournament, Battle in the Burg, hosted there. “Tennis was one of the biggest reasons for coming to UMW,” said Brown. “We have a really nice facility here with six indoor courts and twelve outdoor courts.”

He also prefers the format of a DIII game over the regulations of a DI game. In particular, he likes how DIII counts the doubles matches as three individual points rather than just one. Brown thinks that “if you sweep a team in doubles, that’s impressive”, and the D3 rules allow that success to be recognized. Brown’s favorite approach to a match is to tire out his his opponent. “It’s a stamina game; no matter how good somebody is, everybody’s human and can get worn out,” said Brown. He considers Roger Federer to be his biggest athletic role model, and he is also trying to adopt some of Federer’s skills into his own techniques. It can be easy for Brown to overthink each point during a match, and he appreciates how Federer is able to stay focused and limit the emotion he is displaying. Brown swats the ball with force

UMW Athletics

NFL restructures rules to prevent head injuries ABIGAIL HUNT Staff Writer

Last week from Mar. 25 to Mar. 28 the owners of the National Football League held their annual 4-day meeting in Orlando, Florida. While everything proposed during the meeting did not pass there where numerous rule changes for upcoming the 2018 season. Hot topics of conversation at the meeting included the new helmet-tohelmet rule. The helmet-to-helmet rule has stemmed from an ongoing concussion crisis that has been rooted in the NFL since the league first started in August of 1920. The concussion problem within professional football was not brought to the attention of the public until 1994, when former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue established the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee after discussing certain risks posed to players while on the field. Moreover, the approval of this committee seemed to have just been a stunt of some sort, as Tagliabue dismissed the issue on concussions for the next several years saying they are very infrequent and even calling them “a pack journalism issue.” For the first time ever in 1997 the American Academy of Neurology released a statement directed at the league stating that repeat concussions cause permanent long-term brain damage and symptoms must be monitored fifteen minutes post injury before returning to the field. Over the

next twelve years the MTBI committee published over 20 articles in scientific journals, as well as made several statements dismissing and criticizing outside research on the ramifications of concussions and repeat concussions in the NFL. The most common head injury found among the players is CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, that exhibits symptoms of dementia, mood changes, chronic headaches, and slower recovery of neurological function. It was not until 2009 that the league officially recognized the problem and started to make stricter guidelines. From this point on, millions of dollars have been spent to study brain injuries of players in the league although very few rules had been added or modified, until now. Many followers believe that head injuries are inevitable in this occupation and the nature of the game of football. This is one of the many why the new ruling is so controversial. The rule states, “Initiating Contact with the Crown of the Helmet: It is a foul if a runner or tackler initiates forcible contact by delivering a blow with the top/crown of his helmet against an opponent when both players are clearly outside the tackle box (an area extending from tackle to tackle and from three yards beyond the line of scrimmage to the offensive team’s end line),” said the NFL official rulebook. “Incidental

contact by the helmet of a runner or tackler against an opponent shall not be a foul. Penalty: Loss of 15 yards. If the foul is by the defense, it is also an automatic first down. The player may be disqualified if the action is flagrant.” Atlanta Falcons President and CEO Rich McKay explained the reasoning behind the new rule in a news conference stating “This is not situation protection, we have been getting to a technique that is just too dangerous for both the player doing it and the player getting hit, both. In the last three years we have really gotten better data and better information on injuries, better engineering work to understand how collisions work, as well as better video. We watched a lot of tape and met with a lot of doctors and professionals and what became clear is that we needed a change.” While the concept may seem like a smart move in theory, many players in the league out against the change. Richard Sherman, cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers, spoke out to USA Today saying ”Like telling the driver if you touch the lane lines, you’re going to get a ticket, it’s going to lead to more lower extremity injuries.” The new rule could bring changes to how the game of football is played as well as many controversial calls during games. We will see how it plays out in the upcoming 2018 season.

NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell

A hard helmet to helmet hit

ACME

NFL.com

Weekly Scoreboard baseball

Men's lacrosse

Mar. 31 @ Wesley (W) UMW: 1 Wesley: 4

softball

Mar. 31 @ Salisbury (W) UMW: 5 Salisbury: 2

Men's Lacrosse

Mar. 31 vs. Wesley (W) UMW: 18 Wesley: 4

Apr. 7 @ York (Pa.) TBA

women's lacrosse

Apr. 5 @ Frostburg St. (W) UMW: 18 St. Mary’s 4

Apr. 7 vs. York(Pa.) TBA

baseball

Apr. 5 @ St. Mary’s (Md.) TBA

softball

Apr. 5 @ Wesley TBA

VIEWPOINTS More than a name: Why we should learn more about the people behind the names of campus buildings MARY PRAUGHT Staff Writer

Growing up with the last name “Praught” it seemed like I was never blessed with the ease of syllabus day that the “Smiths” and “Joneses” I knew had. People mispronounced our last name so often that my family created a little slogan to help others remember - “it’s ‘Praught’ like ‘taught,’ just replace the ’t’,” we say. Nobody likes having their name pronounced incorrectly. Your name goes hand in hand with your identity. Needless to say, I was a little surprised when I came to learn that a name that is synonymous with the Mary Washington community has been mispronounced for as long as many of us can remember. One night during the Christmas season of 2016-2017 academic year, my junior year, I had gone up with a group of students from UMW’s Catholic Campus Ministry to visit the National Christmas Tree in Washington, DC. After we visited the tree we went to get dinner at Metro 29 Diner. While we were waiting for our food, a table next to mine, with three or four older couples, struck up a conversation with us. Commenting on the size of our group they asked us where we were from, and after we mentioned we were students from the University of Mary Washington, one of the women at the table got up and came over to speak with us. She introduced herself as Elizabeth Chimento, and said that her mother attended the school when it was still called Mary Washington College and that she was

Nina Gookin Bushnell

friends with Nina Bushnell, whom the residence hall is named after. However she went on to say that she was always so confused as to why we all pronounced it “bushNELL” when the ending was actually pronounced “BUSHnle” (like the end of “purple”). We were able to speak with Chimento for a little while longer and she eventually sat back down as our food arrived to the table. Being in a journalism course at the time, I realized that this could have the makings of an interesting article. So I grabbed a pen and Bushnell Hall scrap of paper, went back over to her table, and re-introduced myself. I explained to her that I found her story interesting and wondered if I could meet with her to discuss it more. At first it seemed like my schedule would never be free enough to arrange an interview with Chimento, but eventually the stars aligned and we managed to meet up the following academic year to talk all about Mrs. Bushnell. Chimento told me that her mother was a student at Mary Washington College and greatly adored Bushnell, frequently talking about her, and remembering in particular her extensive vocabulary, and striking red hair. It seemed as if there was an air about her that attracted others to her. One summer, when Chimento was a MWC Memories/UMW Blogs young girl, her family went to

MWC Memories/UMW Blogs

Clearwater to visit some relatives and on It was also remarked that since she was their way back her mother decided to stop in charge of the residence hall telephone, by and visit Bushnell. Chimento noted whenever there were young men who that after what seemed like a very long wanted to speak with any of the girls, they time waiting in the hot car outside her had to go through her first. Likewise she mother walked back out with Bushnell to would be the first one to see them as they introduce her to the family. came to pick up their dates, if she noticed “She made an impression when you met anything she considered distasteful, such her,” said Chimento. “That was my one as the smell of smoke or alcohol, she and only time meeting her but I could see would send them packing. why she was so revered.” Lois Hornsby, a former student, rememDuring her time at Mary Washington bered Bushnell well and kept in touch College, with her after she Bushnell retired. worked as “I worshipped the “I worshipped the ground ground she walked the Dean of Women from said Hornsby. she walked on. Mrs. Bushnell on,” the early “Mrs. Bushnell 1920s to the brought refinement and good brought refinement early 1950s, and good culture to culture to Mary Washington Mary Washington and quickly took on a College.” College.” parental role Interestingly for the womenough, when Bushen attending nell was approached -Lois Hornsby college at the about having a buildtime. Unlike ing named after her she remarked that today, how being remembered students are essentially on in the hearts of the their own once they move onto campus, girls she was with would be satisfactory recompense. away from their hometowns, Bushnell Although the era of full length gowns kept a close watch over “all her girls.” Every evening for dinner at 6 p.m. in the and etiquette lessons in the dining hall former Seacobeck dining hall, Bushnell has passed, properly respecting former sat with a group of girls dressed in full UMW faculty ultimately ties back to the length dresses and skirts, to whom she preservation of history for generations would teach table etiquette, supposedof graduates to come. So UMW, let’s get ly in order to help the girls distinguish it right from here on out, and honor the namesake of Bushnell Hall, who was so themselves from the apes — with such a notion, she may have been seen as quite beloved in the early years of the Universistrict, but was ultimately held as extremety’s development, by correctly pronouncly caring towards her students. ing her name.

Thursday, April 2018 Thursday, January 21, 5, 2015

VIEWPOINTS

Editor: Ginny Bixby | blueandgray.views@gmail.com

Expensive first year student program should be optional own. So what goes into this “New Student Program & Arrival” Fee? Think back to the first week on campus when no one else was on campus except First Year Students are being taken for first year students. The uber-enthusiadvantage of through University of Mary astic peer mentors and orientation leaders Washington’s new student programs that were so excited to show freshman around. cost both money and time. Once you put Students were forced to get up at 8 a.m. your deposit in to attend UMW, you are and were shoved into “fun activities” that asked to complete the next steps in purwould last you well into the night, leaving suing your academic career here. These you drained emotionally and physically steps include picking your FSEM and and then, it starts all over again the next your orientation day. However, it doesn’t day. This type of torture is something mention that these “next steps” will cost that not only takes away from your time you almost $500. Yes, that is not a huge settling into your new dorm and your amount of money compared to what the new community, but it is also financially university students are paying in general taxing. Freshman are paying for every fees, tuition, housing, meal plans, but it handout, every magician that performs, is a big sum if you are taking out loans every pen that is handed out during or working to pay for college on your Honors Convocation and every single “free” shirt or bag that you get. Yes, it is cool that you get to eat ice cream from a swimming pool on President Paino’s lawn, but is it worth the cost? This fee also covers the cost for school to the salaries for the Peer Mentors and Orientation Leaders who are supposed to be your resource during your first semester. It may be a surprise that those smiling faces are paid for in student fees. These are University Relations/umw.edu students who during the During orientation and Welcome Week activities, students are fall are supposed to plan given many free items. three events that pertain KELSEY SHEFFER Staff Writer

University Relations/umw.edu

UMW freshmen are assigned orientation leaders and peer mentors who are paid by the University.

to Health, Social, and Academics. This only provides freshmen with more stress because the school forces freshman to go to these events. This limits the time for freshman to acclimate to campus. When you see your peer mentor wave to you at the UC, you duck and cover or when they send you a text to remind you of an “exciting new event on campus” you immediately delete it because you do not have the time or energy to even say no. You are paying for this inconvenience, paying for this stress, and paying for limited time. I have the perspective of being on both sides of the issue. I was a peer mentor in the fall and the reaction I got from my mentees was mixed; however, most of them could care less about going to the events or participating in the program, and

to be honest, I was proud of them. The First Year Program shouldn’t be forced on students. It should be a resource like the Digital Knowledge Center or the IT Desk, but not a mandatory personal connection. Peer Mentors can be helpful though when you need to know when to sign up for classes or if something terrible happens to you and you are in need of medical attention or a shoulder to lean on, but the relationship shouldn’t be forced. Overall, the first year program shouldn’t be something that every student should be required to participate in because it costs a lot of time and money, but those who believe they need that support system should be able to have one. However, most students would be content to explore this experience with an extra $500 in their pocket and more downtime.

Staff Ed: Internet users should be careful about what they post on social media By THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS EDITORIAL BOARD

The recent Facebook hack left many Facebook users questioning the safety of their information. However, the “hacking” was in actuality not a hacking at all—Cambridge Analytica (CA), a data analysis company that worked on Trump’s campaign used completely legal methods to obtain data from the accounts of over 50 million people, taking advantage of the way that Facebook is designed in order to do so. While Facebook contends that the technology that CA used to obtain millions of users’ information worked exactly how Facebook had created it to work, the corporation claims that CA violated Facebook’s terms of service and has suspended CA from its service. Despite this

proclamation of innocence, Facebook has changed its terms of service since the breach to cut down on how much information can be shared with third parties, signifying that the corporation is aware that their prior restrictions were not good enough. What many people may not know about third-party companies and their ability to access data from Facebook user accounts is that whenever someone logs into a website through their Facebook instead of creating a username and password, the developer of the website is granted access to much, if not all, of their Facebook information. What is even more surprising is that developers are then able to access data from Face-

book accounts of those who are on the friends list of whoever logged onto the website. In 2015, Cambridge University Professor Dr. Aleksandr Koger created an app called “thisisyourdigitallife,” which utilized the Facebook log in and thus gave Koger access to the information of every single person who used his app: around 50 million people. Koger recently sold the information to CA. Facebook’s chief security officer sent out a tweet that stated that everything Koger did to obtain the information was completely legal, and although he did misuse the data after he had obtained it, his actions were not necessarily a breach of Facebook’s security. However, the corporation suspended

CA for violating Facebook’s terms of service, which prohibit third party companies from sharing or transferring data to any ad network, data broker, or other monetization-related service. This completely legal breach of privacy should lead our community to think more carefully about what we put online, and to be aware of the potential access corporations and large companies have to our information. While Facebook should not have the right to share its users information, a very smart and simple solution is for people to think critically about what they are putting up on their Facebook accounts, and to limit any online activity that they do not want shared with third party corporations.

LIFE

Editor: Lauren Closs blueandgray.life@gmail.com

Addicting game Fortnite distracts students from studies GABRIELLA GARCIA Staff Writer

“Next on ‘My Strange Addiction’ is my ‘Fortnite’ issue,” joked freshman Maccall Warner. Unless you’ve been hiding underneath a rock, you most likely have at least heard of Epic Game’s most popular release known as “Fortnite.” This popular game has taken over students’ social and academic lives and has quickly become a top priority. Although the game was released quite some time ago, it has finally come out for iOS devices in the last month and is keeping students of all ages engaged and addicted. For those who are less familiar with the game, it begins by dropping 100 players onto a large map that quickly becomes a smaller area by what is known as “the storm.” The storm forces players into an increasingly small space in which they will fight to the death until there is one person standing. Those outside of the circle will be taken by the storm in a matter of minutes. The goal is to drop onto the map, stock up on supplies like guns, bandages and shield potions, and not get killed in the process. New players quickly figure out their favorite places to land and favorite weapons to use. “I like landing at Tilted Towers because it’s such a challenge. I feel so good when I get out of there alive,” said Warner. Freshman Tanner Herndon said, “Definitely Shifty Shafts because you have to use strategy.” While the game was recently released

as an iOS app, it is invite only. This means that you must be invited by someone who has an invite code. The fan base has become so large that strangers are now selling codes to each other over social media. “I want to play on my phone so badly I just need one of those codes,” said freshman Emily Hall. Although “Fortnite” seems like a simple survival Fortnite was released as an iOS app on Mar. 12. game, students cannot seem to stop playing. “I probably Pixar-ish aesthetic. And because of its play for about 2-3 hours every day,” cartoony nature, Fortnite has been able said Herndon. That’s nearly 20 hours to go fully wacky with creative skins and every week. “I only started playing even weapons like grenades that force so I could beat my boyfriend, but I’ve you to dance in place.” quickly become addicted,” said freshman Epic’s popular game also includes Cassidy Clark. other unique features such as the ability People across the nation have also to build. Players can collect materials noted issues caused by the game’s such as wood and steel to build cover addictive quality. A group of high school and other structures to provide them with aged girls have recently gone viral on an advantage against their opponents. Twitter for starting petitions to get their Tassi also pointed out that the game is boyfriends to stop playing the game. about as non-violent as a shooting game Forbes Magazine recently covered can get, which makes it appealing to all the topic to see what all the fuss was age groups, including parents who like to about. Forbes writer Paul Tassi stated, keep a watchful eye over the games their “This may sound minor, but I genuinely children are playing. believe that a large part of Fortnite’s Several students at Mary Washington success is because of its cartoony, almost claim that they play the game in class

Flickr.

during boring lectures or videos, as it keeps them entertained. A student source stated, “I played it throughout my theatre class today, and it was so fun.” Other students have gone completely out of their way to make playing “Fortnite” more comfortable. “Of course I moved my TV into my friends room. Now it’s really easy for us to play duos together,” said Herndon. Similar games have come about in the past that distracted users from their day to day lives, for example Pokemon Go. If this is any indication, the excitement over the game will most likely die down quickly, but in the meantime hopefully students will enjoy the game without letting it affect academics, their social life, relationships and more.

Association of Student Veterans hosts 22 Push-Up Challenge TREVOR YOUNG Staff Writer

But what about after the hashtag? What comes next? Marissa Howard, the secretary of the ASV, talked about further volunteering. “He [the founder of 22KILL] also created a charity organization called 22KILL,” said

with the hashtag is so important. Because it brings awareness, and it is also directly correlated to his organization. So they provide mental assistance to veterans and first responders and their families, and if they are impoverished they provide

is Camp Valhalla, a veterans’ retreat focused on helping returning warriors reintegrate into society through Tuesday, Mar. 27 was a dreary and consoling and brotherhood. Through overcast day, but out on the University 22KILL, veterans can also participate in Center Patio a message of hope and the 22KILL Tribe, a national network of camaraderie was being spread. veterans working together to The Association of Student support one another. Veterans (ASV) was hosting While the challenges its own version of the 22 faced by veterans both Push-Up Challenge to raise abroad and at home can awareness of veteran suicide seem insurmountable, there rates. are more and more programs Why 22 push-ups? In 2012, such as 22KILL that can the Veterans Administration help soldiers overcome. (VA) released a study that Through campaigns such as showed a staggering 22 the #22pushupchallenge we veterans commit suicide can all do our part to help everyday. spread love and awareness The 22 Push-Up Challenge for the hardships faced by is a social media campaign our American warriors. that works in a similar way to Robert Martin, a the ASL Ice Bucket Challenge, sophomore studying where participants use the sociology and a former hashtag #22pushupchallenge Army Infantry Staff on social media to promote a Sergeant, summed up the message of love and support day. for our troops dealing with “Some people are pretty the tremendous difficulties reluctant to do their 22 of readjusting to life after push-ups, at first, but the service. idea is not really about the Participants in the 22 push-ups,” said Martin. #22pushupchallenge must “It’s just about the effort perform 22 push-ups. Go going into it, so maybe it’ll figure. To many this may seem get people thinking about daunting, but the challenge of President Troy Paino participated in the 22 Push-Up Challenge on Mar. 27. young men and women out Troy Paino / Instagram. performing the task is meant there that are having issues, to make the participant think about the Howard. “22KILL, if you go to their housing and food.” having trouble. Hopefully people will challenges veterans face constantly, both website it basically says, ‘So you’ve 22KILL offers a number of different take a second today and think, ‘You physically and emotionally. When one done your 22 push-ups, now what?’ This programs veterans can get involved know what, that is an issue that needs to considers the perspective of these vets, is the sister organization to the hashtag. with to stay connected to one another be recognized.’” 22 push-ups seems like nothing. So that is why posting everything online and promote camaraderie. One program

Thursday, April 5, 2018

LIFE

“Jesus Christ Superstar” comes to TV, appeals to new fanbase LAUREN CLOSS Life Editor

Over the last few years, several popular stage musicals have been adapted into live television shows. From “The Sound of Music” to “Hairspray” to “Grease,” these specials featured popular actors or artists like Carrie Underwood, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens, appealing to audiences that are not typically fans of stage productions. “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!” the latest live TV musical, aired on Easter Sunday this year and starred John Legend, Brandon Victor Dixon, Sara Bareilles and Alice Cooper. “Jesus Christ Superstar” tells the story of the last week of Jesus’ life from the perspective of Judas. A rock opera written in 1970, the musical is typically set in a mixture of biblical times and the modern day. This setting was continued in the live television special with the

cast members giving off rock concert vibes in tank tops and leather vests, with modern hair and tattoos exposed. John Legend as Jesus wore a tank top with jeans, sneakers and a cardigan all in light colors. This modernization also brought in an interesting class element with Pilate and King Herod in more colorful and fancy outfits as opposed to the darker street clothes donned by the apostles and the Jews. While many people watched the live show to see John Legend, Brandon Victor Dixon stole the show as Judas. Giving both an incredible vocal and acting performance, Dixon hits notes perfectly on pitch, but also in a stressed way that conveys the complex emotions required for the role. While John Legend’s classic voice worked beautifully for slower songs like “Hosanna” and “Gethsemane,” his attempts to mimic the typical “screaming Jesus” portrayal by Jeff Fenholt and Ted Neeley did not come across well.

His huffing, puffing anger portrayed in “The Temple” was not convincing and the way he builds up in songs like Fenholt or Neeley and then cracks into a falsetto instead is disappointing and jarring. It seems as if he focused so much on musicality that he sometimes misses the emotional aspect. In “The Last Supper” his voice has perfect vibrato during the confrontation with Judas, but he doesn’t match the emotion Dixon brings to the table. I personally would have loved to see

John Legend played Jesus Christ in the show.

Brandon Victor Dixon played Judas Iscariot in the show.

Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! / NBC

him embrace his portrayal of Jesus as somber and tired. “Gethsemane” was beautifully haunting and sad, and Legend could have stuck with this rendition rather than attempting the irritable confrontations. Another role that was done very well were the Pharisees,

Wikipedia.

who were vocally on-point, but also with calculating attitudes and geometric, cultlike sci-fi villain outfits made them much more threatening and menacing than the comical versions typically portrayed. Their intimidating interactions with Judas helps give more insight into his choices and emotions, which is the point of the show. Overall, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!” is a worthy addition to the recent series of live television musicals and a fun and thought-provoking form of Easter-themed entertainment.

Staff playlist: Cleaning jams to brighten up monotonous tasks 1. “Talk is Cheap” by Chet Faker submitted by Cayley McGuire, Photo Editor

9. “Rewrite the Stars” from The Greatest Showman submitted by Es Hethcox, Online Editor

2. “High and Dry” by Radiohead submitted by Cayley McGuire, Photo Editor

10. “Delicate” by Taylor Swift submitted by Es Hethcox, Online Editor

3. “Diet Mountain Dew” by Lana Del Rey submitted by Ginny Bixby, Viewpoints Editor

11. “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae submitted by Ryan Brauch, Sports Editor

4. “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine” by Sia submitted by Ginny Bixby, Viewpoints Editor

12. “Drunk & I’m Drunk”by Marc E. Bassy ft. Bobby Brackins submitted by Ryan Brauch, Sports Editor

5. “Cold Cold Cold” by Cage the Elephant submitted by Kelly Emmrich, Editor-in-Chief 6. “Here It Goes Again” by OK Go submitted by Kelly Emmrich, Editor-in-Chief 7. “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Suede submitted by Kyrstiane Urbaniak. Photo Editor 8. “Brandy” by Looking Glass submitted by Kyrstiane Urbaniak, Photo Editor

13. “Why Worry” by Set it Off submitted by Meaghan McIntyre, News Editor 14. “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” by Set it Off submitted by Meaghan McIntyre, News Editor 15. “Stuck On You” by Elvis Presley submitted by Lauren Closs, Life Editor 16. “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Toploader submitted by Lauren Closs, Life Editor Flickr.

Weekend Events

Thursday

Friday

• Lost Stories, Found Images: Portraits of Jews in Wartime Amsterdam by Annemie Wolff @ Ridderhof Martin Gallery, ALL DAY.

• First Fridays: Pots and Palettes @ James Monroe Museum, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

• Black Panther Movie Showing/Discussion @ Paragon Village 12/50 Towne Centre Blvd, Fredericksburg, VA 22407, 3 p.m. - 10 p.m. • Audrie & Daisy Film Screening @ HCC Digital Auditorium, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. • Purple Out Concert @ UC Patio, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

@theBlueandGray

Saturday

Sunday

• 8th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival @ Chandler Ballroom, 6:30 p.m.

• Mary Washicon ‘18 @ • Spring Forward FesHurley Convergence tival @ Brompton Center, 3rd floor, 1p.m. Lawn,1 p.m. - 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. • BellACAppella Spring • PRISM Drag Show: Concert @ Dodd AudiOld Hollywood @ Digtorium, 1 p.m. ital Auditorium, HCC, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. • UMW Chamber Mu-

• Star Wars: The Last Jedi @ Monroe 116, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

• Maze Runner: Death Cure @ Monroe 116, 7 p.m.- 9 p.m.

• UMW Concert Band Spring @ Dodd Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

• Write/RE/Write UMW Faculty & Student Dance Concert @ Dodd Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

• Maze Runner: Death Cure @ Monroe 116, 10 p.m.- 12 a.m

sic Festival @ Gari Melchers Home and Studio, 4 p.m.

• Star Wars: The Last Jedi @ Monroe 116, 10 p.m. - 12 a.m.

BlueandGrayPress

The Blue & Gray Press

LIFE

Sonja Livingston discusses writing experiences with students GARY KNOWLES Senior Writer

On Mar. 30, a group of students and professors sat around the parlor of the Creative Writing building to listen to visiting writer, Sonja Livingston. Livingston, a professor of Creative Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University, read from two of her books and discussed writing and ideas with students in Creative Writing classes at the University of Mary Washington. The main focus for Livingston’s reading was her memoir, “Ghostbread.” The story follows Livingston and her family around upstate New York during the 1960s and 70s. Growing up in poverty is a central part to the memoir, but Livingston’s detailed, emotional flash pieces never let the story grow stale or feel like she was complaining. Instead, the book simply communicates what happened to the reader and strings them along from point to point, and character to character. Livingston also presented parts of her newest book, “Ladies Night at the Dreamland.” She told the students at the event that she struggled with the boundaries of fiction and nonfiction when writing that collection of essays, because the book incorporates both

history and imagination in one place to shed light on women’s stories that are not often told. As a growing writer myself, I have been fascinated in how we as writers, storytellers and artists deal with the emotional and personal weight created by the stories we tell. Livingston shed some light on her process of dealing with those themes. “When I write about things I’ve usually processed it already,” Livingston said. “It’s not fresh.” Distance from the past seemed to be paramount to effectively writing about it for Livingston. She explained that being too close to something can allow anger or pain to cloud the story and the message it brings to readers. Instead, Livingston wants to recount the details and events, while offering the reader something more to grab out of life. “Shifting the voice Virginia Commonwealth University. and point of view helps to Livingston teaches Creative Writing at VCU.

handle more difficult material,” said Livingston. The reading eventually evolved into an exchange of ideas with the writers and students that attended. For example, Livingston gave advice to a student asking about the choice of publishing nonfiction under a pseudonym. Livingston assured him that if the choice was to protect someone in the piece then using a fake name shouldn't take away from the story’s validity. Before she left, Livingston discussed her current writing project. Her next series of essays focuses on religion. More specifically, Livingston is interested in travelling and discussing practices and beliefs that people no longer participate in and what we lose in the process. The series was inspired by a return trip Livingston took to her old church in “Ghostbread,” where she found that her childhood community church was dying out. Livingston’s visit served as a great learning experience for Creative Writing students to get some insight from a successful writer about any ideas they have been struggling with, or other ways to deal with writing issues and the writing life.

“Red Sparrow” has a slow and confusing plot, not enough action MAGGIE MCCOTTER Staff Writer

While all of this backstory is going on, another plot line is introduced with an American man, Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), who works for the CIA. The movie goes back and forth between the two characters in a very disconnected and rough manner because we don’t really know either of the characters. This jumping back and forth is very confusing as the movie has just started and the

A strong female lead is something that is not as common as it should be in movies today. This concept is finally developing and getting the attention it deserves in movies like “Ladybird” and “Wonder Woman.” Naturally, I hoped “Red Sparrow” would be similar to these. The movie looked very exciting and action-filled, sort like an off-brand “Black Widow” as the idea behind the movie is very similar to Natasha Romanov’s background, but that was completely false. Jennifer Lawrence plays the main character and critics were hopeful that this would be a successful film for her as several of her most recent movies were flops. “Passengers” was rated even lower than “Red Sparrow” and that movie had Lawrence as well as Chris Pratt. Many critics have praised Lawrence for her acting skills, so this raises questions about whether she should be more picky about the movies she chooses to star in. The movie begins by introducing the main character, Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence), a prima ballerina who is trying to take care of her sick mother. This part of the movie really drew me in as I enjoy backstory and character development. Without spoiling anything, Egorova is unable to dance anymore, so she has to find another way to take care of her mother and turns to her uncle for “Red Sparrow” was released on Mar. 2. help.

viewer is not emotionally invested in the characters yet. After the back and forth, the movie finally focuses on Egorova trying to find a solution to being out of a job. She agrees to do whatever her uncle wants in exchange for medical care for her mother, including seducing a very powerful man in politics. After this, Egorova’s uncle sees the potential in her to be a “sparrow,” an elite governmental spy that has to go through rigorous training at State School 4. Egorova is sent there and the movie then focuses on her development of essential spy skills. I was hoping to get some training scenes filled with action or maybe her making a friend there, but that definitely did not happen. I was disappointed that they focused on exploiting desires to seduce victims with no training on physical apprehension or mental manipulation, which is very unusual for a spy movie. I was frustrated with the slow plot progression and I didn’t understand why Egorova was doing the things she was asked to do. There was no explanation of her mission, nor why she needed to get sexually involved with Nash, so it left me feeling out of the loop and disconnected. As the movie continued with betrayals and alliances, Egorova Flickr. managed to keep her hair

and makeup perfectly coiffed no matter the situation. After two hours of grating dialogue and two completely unnecessary torture scenes, we finally reach the resolution and the reasons behind Egorova’s actions are finally revealed to us. I would say that this series of scenes was the only good part of the movie because it showed how everything connected. The majority of the movie was confusing with only the end providing a basic understanding of the plot. While I may not be a movie expert, even I know the plot needs to develop with the movie and not just in the last five minutes. The female spy genre has gained popularity in recent years. “Atomic Blonde,” starring Charlize Theron, came out in 2017 and was relatively wellreceived. It was rated much higher than “Red Sparrow,” but it basically had the same plot with a lot more action instead of dialogue. “The Rhythm Section,” a movie slated to come out in 2019 with Blake Lively as the lead, has the potential to be a movie on the level of “Atomic Blonde” or a flop like “Red Sparrow.” More action and excitement would be well-received, but if the movie is mainly dialogue, I don’t know how the critics will take yet another bad female spy movie. All in all, “Red Sparrow” was really not worth two hours and 15 minutes of my life. It was dull for the majority of the movie, the acting wasn’t all that great and the plot was too complicated. The movie is based off of a book by Jason Matthews that was received well by critics, but the movie was a disappointment that based on the basic idea and A-list actors, had the potential to be a box office hit. If a “Black Widow” movie comes out, I seriously hope it will be much better than this. As a final, official rating, I give “Red Sparrow” a 2/10, do not recommend to others.

NEWS

POLICE BEAT MEAGHAN MCINTYRE & IZZY BRIONES News Editors

Petit Larceny Between Wednesday, February 14 at midnight and Wednesday, February 28 at 9:54 a.m., clothing and an electronic device was stolen from Randolph Hall. This case is pending. On Wednesday, February 28 between 2:00 p.m. and 4:31 p.m., US currency was stolen from Mason Hall. This case is pending.

Simple Assault On Wednesday, February 28 at 11:47 p.m., an incident of assault took place at Jefferson Hall. This case is pending.

Vandalism On Tuesday, February 27 at 8:46 a.m., a wall of Melchers Hall exterior was graffitied. This case is pending.

Between Monday, March 5 at 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday, March 6 at 7:00 a.m., a door was damaged at Goolrick Hall. This case is pending. On Wednesday, March 14 at 11:00 a.m. a vehicle window was vandalized at 900 block, Mercer St. This case is pending FDP. On Friday, March 30 between 12 a.m. and 7:50 a.m., a door was vandalized at Westmoreland Hall. This case is pending.

Arson On Tuesday, March 20 between 9:00 p.m. and 9:20 p.m., the corner of a poster was burned in Arrington Hall. This case is pending.

Intoxication On Sunday, March 25 at 1:09 a.m., there was an incident of underage intoxication at Virginia Hall. One administrative referral was given.

Trespass On Wednesday, March 28 at 3:30 p.m., an incident of trespassing, which violated a court order, took place at 1200 Block, Rowe St. One arrest was made by the FPD.

Open dialogue sparked between students and administration Jack Pollard Staff Writer

On March 27 in Chandler Ballroom a man introduced himself as Malcolm Holmes, the Director of University Relations and Communications. Beside him is sat Dr. Nina Mikhalevsky, the Provost of the University, and across t h e room is Chief Michael Hall, of the University Police. They are the main speakers of the forum, and together, they heard out complaints, concerns, and ideas from almost half a dozen students over the course of an hour long session. “For those of you who weren’t here last time, what we’re trying to do is just open up a dialogue between students and administration, to give you guys an opportunity to share any issues or concerns you might have with us,” said Holmes. “We’ve had a lot going on on campus recently, and [the faculty] felt we needed to talk. This is informal, and I thank you all for coming here.” And thus, the forum got underway.

Dr. Mikhalevsky spoke first. “One question I heard was a question about diversity among faculty, and what we are doing to address issues with that,” she said. “[My colleagues and I] developed a plan when I took office, and it had to do with improving our faculty recruitment process, and making

that might spread into university life. “I was wondering about having on-topic conversations in class,” said Saldanha, “things going on outside the bubble of our university. I’m a women and gender studies major, but when mass shootings happen, and there’s topics of mental health and violence against women, I don’t t a l k about it in any of my classe s … I feel l i k e I ’ m missing out on opportunities to have real conversations about how the things I’m learning apply to the real world.” Dr. Mikhalevsky was quick to answer, stating “what happens in the classroom should always be a function of a learning environment… That’s the premise: when you walk into a class, this is going to be a learning community. There should always be a very healthy and productive dynamic in a classroom.” “However,” she continued, harkening back to the 2016 election, “there is always a chance that something happens. I’m the profes •FORUMS | 11

“What we’re trying to do is just open up a dialogue between students and administration, to give you guys an opportunity to share any issues or concerns you might have with us.” -Malcolm Holmes the diversity of our faculty a priority.” “This year was our opportunity,” continued Mikhalevsky, “to change what we had been doing in the past, and improve upon it… Of the six searches we have finished, we have brought in four faculty from under-represented populations, two of whom are African-American. We have never in the history of this institution done that. That, is success.” However, diversity amongst the faculty wasn’t the only issue raised at the forum. Emily Saldanha, junior, was concerned over the discussion of current issues in class, and addressing events

Parking deck experiences overcrowding as a result of change •PARKING | 2

lize the parking deck, some are finding the added congestion of faculty cars difficult. As a result,some students have been unable to find parking, some students on the other hand have not seemed to notice the increase number of cars. “There are already not a lot of spots during busy times,” said senior math major Shannon Haley. “When I want to go to the gym, sometimes I can barely find parking.” Senior Emily Keehan shared these sentiments as a commuter student. “Nope, I have not noticed a change in available spots at all,” said Keehan. “Faculty and staff now occupy the top level of the parking deck which was off limits to commuters.” Other UMW students that utilize the parking deck for shorter periods of time also notice little to no difference in the increase number of faculty vehicles

parked in the parking deck. “The lot closure really does not affect me as I cannot even park on the upper deck anyways,” said senior Taylor

The Monroe Hall parking lot closure closed off 10 spots in total for faculty parking options amd there are other locations for those faculty members to

“When I want to go to the gym, sometimes I can barely find parking.” -Shannon Haley Williams. For those who walk behind Monroe Hall, the sight of construction equipment, fences, supplies, and construction vehicles fill up the closed parking lot making the scene less pleasant and inviting to walk through.

park minimizing the stress on students who are now sharing even more parking options with faculty. The parking lot will reopen as a faculty and staff parking area when the renovation of Willard Hall finishes in 2019.

Predicted tuition increase causes worry for students •TUITION | 1

the administration has chosen not to announce their decision to increase tuitions and room and board for next year,” said Lamichhane. While the U n i v e r s i t y ’s estimated 2018-2019 tuition is on the website, Lamichhane stated, “this is the first I’m hearing of this when the decision should’ve been announced when it was made.” For first year students like anthro-

pology major Katherine Toomey, an increase in tuition feels unexpected. “One of the reasons I came to Mary Washington was because of its affordability but I’m worried that the tuition

ford to live here,” said Toomey. There will be an open forum on the tuition and fees, led by President Paino, on Wednesday April 11 at 7 p.m. in the Magnolia Room at the University Center. Richardson stated that “at least one Board member is expected to be in attendance.” The Board of Visitors are set to meet April 1920 to vote on the tuition increases. The meetings are open to the public but there will not be an opportunity for public comment at these meetings.

“I think tuition increases are problematic, especially for students who can barely afford to attend college to begin with.” -Chiann Todd increases will make paying for college less feasible… I’d hate to have to move off campus because I can no longer af-

Thursday, April 5, 2018

NEWS

Forums provide students with an outlet for various campus based concerns •FORUMS | 10

sor, and I walk into my classroom to see half my students are crying. I remember that class, and we talked about [the election]. There are times when it matters that we pause, and be very mindful about things we need to discuss.” She stated that to have such a discussion was her decision as the professor. If someone wants to discuss these topics, or have a conversation about a recent event, it is up to their professor to have that conversation. Reaching towards the end of the forum, one student spoke up about an issue regarding the university’s current curriculum. “I was wondering if there is any push to have mandatory classes about diversity, or classes that are more inclusive towards ableism, or LGBT identities?” Dr. Mikhalevsky had this to say on the subject. “In the past [the university] had a general education requirement, that each student had at least one class that directly discussed issues of race or gender. As a consequence, the faculty generated a large amount of courses and opportunities for students to take many courses across the disciplines on issues of race

or gender. When the faculty revised its general education requirements, they decided that because there were so many courses that treated issues of race or gender, that they didn’t think we needed a mandatory requirement. Virtually every single student was graduating having had some exposure.” “I do think there is a real sense that a lot of our students need more,” said Mikhalevsky. “I really appreciate what you’ve s a i d about issues of ableism, which I think is a really serious issue, a n d something, by the way, we’re going to focus on in the future.” To wrap up the forum, Chief Hall made sure to notify everyone of the next “UMW: Can We Talk?”, which will take place on April 6th, at 1 p.m. in the Digital Auditorium of the HCC. There will be a 30 minute presentation on campus safety, active shooting situations, faculty obligations in a crisis, and services provided by campus police, as well as the RAVE Guardian Safety App, a 24/7 service used by campus police and highly recommended by Chief Hall.

“What happens in the classroom should always be a function of a learning environment.” -Dr. Nina Mikhalevsky

Photo from http://students.umw.edu/cpb/ The 2018 CPB’s Spring Concert is approaching and tickets are still available to be bought.

Hopkins seeks to be a useful resource •HOPKINS | 1

university accommodations, if needed. Any student who has experienced a trauma, whether they are a man, a woman, or gender non-conforming, can seek help from Hopkins’s office. “ T h e bottom line is: no matter how you identify, you deserve to be treated with respect and you deserve support when that doesn’t happen,” Hopkins said. S h e hopes to change certain assumptions about assault victims and make those affected feel more comfortable seeking help. “I hope, first, to help break the stigma of not seeking help because students think they ‘did something wrong’ or ’deserved’ the violence they’ve experienced,” said Hopkins.

Hopkins noted that students do not usually inquire about such services proactively. “It’s not until something happens to a student or a friend that they start looking [at] their options,” said Hopkins. Students are glad to see the university taking action on tough issues. “ I t ’ s good that the university is talking about [sexual assault] and not sweeping it under the rug,” said junior international affairs major Chloe Chindgren. If a student wants to visit Hopkins’s office, they can call the Talley Center at (540)-654-1053 and set up on appointment. She is on campus every Monday afternoon and alternating Wednesday and Fridays.

“I do think there is a real sense that a lot of our students need more.” -Dr. Nina Mikhalevsky

“I hope, first, to help break the stigma of not seeking help because students think they ‘did something wrong’ or ’deserved’ the violence they’ve experienced.” -Erin Hopkins

Thursday, April 5, 2018

The “Can We Talk” forums provided students with an opportunity to voice concerns.

UMW SGA Twitter

SPORTS

Editor: Ryan Brauch | blueandgray.sports@gmail.com

New SGA constitution gets student athletes involved

ARIANA BARRETT Staff Writer

For the first time in University of Mary Washington history, the school’s constitution has been reformed to include athletes in student government advisory meetings. Both varsity and club sports will now be represented by this change. Before, varsity sports were only represented by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and club sports were grouped with all of campus recreation. Many athletes are in favor of this change and are optimistic of their new representation. “I think SAAC being added to the school constitution is important because it shows that the school is starting to value the perspective of athletes.” said AJ Robinson, sophomore basketball player and current member of SAAC. Robinson explains SAAC as a committee “made up of student-athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience and offer input on rules, regulations, and policies that affect student athletes’ lives.” Considering that there are approximately 400 varsity athletes and 200 club athletes, it would only make sense to include them when representing the student body. Newly elected Student Government Association president Matthew Good, is excited to start his new term with this change, feeling that it is SGA’s responsibility to represent all student views and concerns.

“If you’re an athlete, you’re probably not going to be in SGA or other higher leadership roles, and have to really juggle what you’re in because it all takes a lot of time. Because of that, athletes really don’t interact with the same circles that SGA does when polling student issues.” said Good. One of the main issues varsity athletes have expressed is having priority class registration, this would reduce the amount of class time that student athletes miss due to games, traveling, and practice. Being in the first pool of students to register would give them a better chance to get into courses that fit their busy schedules. “We’ve had a lot of athletes bring us some issues lately, especially regarding registration for classes, priority registration, and we’ve been looking at what is the feasibility of athletes that have a lot of constraints on when they can have classes.” said Good. “I’d just want to see any change that could benefit student-athletes from the viewpoint of teachers. I think there are lots of teachers that are very understanding of the schedules of student-athletes, but unfortunately not all of them.” said Robinson. With the change in the constitution, hopefully professors and administrators begin to understand the daily struggles student athletes face with balancing their sport and academics. Athletes constantly are asked to choose

Women’s rugby narrowly slides past William & Mary NATHANIEL DEVINE Staff Writer

On Saturday Mar. 31, the University of Mary Washington Eagles’ Women’s Rugby team faced off against the William and Mary’s Tribes. At first, both teams seemed to be evenly matched as each team stole the ball from one another, defended their goals, gained significant yardage when on offense. The Eagles’ luck seemed to turn as William and Mary scored twice on them in the first half of the game. However, UMW started to come back near the end of the first half, scoring on William and Mary. At halftime, William and Mary was up by one try with the Eagles looking to catch up. The second half of the game was equally as tense, with both teams going at it head to head as if their lives depended on it. William and Mary once again scored on the Eagles after a rigorous and lengthy back and forth. However, the Eagles evened out the score in the fourth quarter. For the rest of the game the Eagles

Ebony Clarke breaking through a tackle

Thursday, April 5, 2018

between the two and being a division three school and not being able to receive scholarships on behalf of their athleticism, their academics suffer at the price of their own money. Whether it is creating more class times or giving them priority registration, many will argue that it is only fair that athletes receive this privilege. Athletes are the face of UMW and fill some of the biggest responsibilities for representing our school. “We had a task force that was set up that looked at the constitution and was in charge of making it better and so we rewrote it and just in doing research and focus groups and talking to students we found that we should probably include them.” said Good. The new advisory board that has been created includes all the original organizations that were already on cabinets along with the new additions such as SAAC and other popular organizations such as the Campus Programing Board. They plan to meet twice a month where either the president of the committee or a nominee on their behalf show up to offer recommendations to the legislation. Good has a meeting this week with SAAC to explain their new position and opportunities they have with the reformed constitution and answer any questions they may have.

Historical March Madness ends with Villanova victory JOSE REYES Senior Writer

kept pace with William and Mary, matching their offensive fronts with equally skilled defense, and vice versa, and following up a try from William and Mary with one of their own. Finally the Eagles took the lead from William and Mary and held it for the remainder of the game, bring the final score to 32 - 24 for UMW. When asked about the victory, head coach Kris Kabuza said “In terms of strengths, it appears this semester the team was determined and worked hard to turn around a rebuilding year. We lost during the regular season to William and Mary something like 55-5. So, the turn around says a lot regarding the players commitment to the team” Kabuza hopes to recruit more for the team and build up the numbers. Kabuza said that currently their biggest weakness is their numbers and their player depth. Their next game will be against George Washington on April 14.

UMW Women’s Rugby Facebook

The frenzy that is March Madness, filled with both excitement and despair, has finally come to an end. We witnessed some crazy upsets, big wins, and some close competitive games that kept us on the edge of our seats until the final buzzer. With that being said let’s get into the most electrifying games, the Final Four. The game to kick off the final four was between Michigan, a three seed, and the fourth 11 seed to ever make it into the final four, Loyola-Chicago. Looking at the seeds, the result might have been clear, but since Loyola was on a 14 game streak, it was sort of a toss up. Michigan came out on top, and moved on to the championship. Moritz Wagner, with 24 total points, 15 plus rebounds, 10-16 shots from inside the three point line, and 3-7 from behind the three point line, the first ever since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1983. Both teams shot fairly the same, with Loyola hitting 43.1 percent of its field goals, and Michigan not far behind with 42.4 percent. Cameron Krutwig, with 17 points, held Loyola’s ground fairly well. Michigan hit 25 percent of their 3 pointers while Loyola only made 10 percent. Wagner, with no surprise, shot a crucial 3 pointer with 6:59 left in the game. That shot was a huge momentum shift for Michigan and they rode that wave to finish strong at 69-57. The following game was between two competitive number 1 seeds, Kansas and Villanova. Villanova worked hard, and waited for no one to finish up the first half with a 15 point lead. Villanova had a historic shooting performance from behind the arc with an astounding 13 3-pointers by half time, an amazing feat that tied an NCAA tournament record for most 3-pointers in a game. Eric Paschall

was one of the most influential players of the game, and his stats were pristine. He totaled 24 points, making 10-11 shots, and as if that was not enough, he got 3 rebounds along with 3 assists. This is their second time competing for a title in the last three years, and their 3-pointer before half time was their sixty-first of the tournament, which also meant they tied for a NCAA record. A monumental 3-pointer shot by Collin Gillespie with 13:06 left in the first half had Kansas trailing by double digits for the rest of the game. As it came time for the championship game, excitement and suspense was very high. Villanova, who had won all their previous tournament games by double digits, was trailing by 7 points midway through the first half. They finally switched gears and dominated the rest of the match. Donte DiVincenzo made 18 of Villanova’s 37 points in the first half, making 5–7 shots from the 3-point line. In addition, DiVincenzo had 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Michigan’s Moritz Wagner made a total of 11 points and had 5 rebounds at halftime. He went on to get four turnovers. Wagner was one of the main reasons Michigan took their largest lead in the game with 11 minutes left in the first half. The score was 21- 14 and Villanova was able to close that distance by scoring 23 of the next 30 point in that half to take the lead at the end of the half with 37-28. They went on to finish strong with a score of 79 – 62. Villanova really played their hearts out after the latter period of the first half, and the stats prove. Well deserved some might say.