The Blue & Gray Press

THE

BLUE &GRAY

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON STUDENT NEWSPAPER

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

VOLUME 88 | ISSUE 9

PRESS

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION: 2014 MIDTERMS

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE

1922

• Ed Gillespie and Mark

Warner still battling for Virginia

• Rob Wittman takes the 1st Congressional District

• GOP takes House & Senate • District of Columbia legalizes marijuana

• Multiple states vote in favor of raising minimum wage

• Females now occupy 101

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SENATE

2 INDEPENDENT

DEMOCRATIC

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DEMOCRATIC

HOUSE

Paint it red: midterm elections serve as big win for Republicans HOPE RACINE News Editor

One of the most dramatic midterm elections in recent years came to a close Tuesday night, resulting in a massive shift of political control in Washington.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives now lay firmly in Republican hands after Republican candidates seized at least seven of the six necessary seats to take the Senate majority. Their grasp on the House was reaffirmed as well, with current results coming in at 243 Republican seats to 175 Democratic seats.

Some states saw very tight races, such as the Virginia senatorial race, where Democratic incumbent Mark Warner holds around a 16,000 vote lead over Republican Ed Gillespie. Though Warner gave a victory speech on Tuesday night, as of Wednesday Gillespie had still not conceded. AP called the race too close to officially call at the time of publication for The Blue &

IN THIS

ISSUE

Gray Press.

Virginia does not have an automatic recount law, though candidates can request a recount if the race comes within one percent. However, if there is more than a 0.5 percent difference, the candidate requesting the recount must pay for it themselves.

Warner’s lead serves as a stand out in the otherwise purple Virginia, which saw Republican representatives picking up victories in many districts.

In the First Congressional District, which encompasses part of the city of Fredericksburg, as well as parts of Caroline, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties, among thirteen others, Republican incumbent Rob Wittman pulled in almost thirty percent more of the vote than his main challenger, Democrat Norm Mosher.

However, some states will not be determined for quite some time. Alaska, which is notoriously slow to report results, has still not called their election, and Louisi •MIDTERMS | 2

seats in Congress

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REPUBLICAN

REPUBLICAN

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Senate Warner meets pre-election with students in new ITCC WARNER | 2

UMW Young Democrats After the meeting, the UMW Young Democrats presented Senator Mark Warner with a club t-shirt.

CARVING CURES

TURN OUT

FOREVER YOUNG

Annual event brings Halloween spirit for good cause

Ukranian election ethics sparks international debate

Teagan Young captures CAC title

LIFE | 6

VIEWPOINTS | 5

SPORTS | 12

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 Alison Thoet

MANAGING EDITOR Mariah Young

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jonathan Polson

SECTION EDITORS NEWS Hope Racine Nephthalie Lauture

VIEWPOINTS Tess Osmer

LIFE Amanda Motley

SPORTS Chris Markham

ONLINE Lauren Brumfield

PHOTO

Ginny Clark

ADVERTISING TEAM BUSINESS MANAGER Cara Sexton

FACULTY ADIVSOR Steve Klein

Warner visits UMW, talks student debt reform EMILY HOLLINGSWORTH Assistant News Editor

Approximately 15 University of Mary Washington students were given an unexpected treat on Friday, Oct. 31. This Friday, Senator Mark Warner arrived for an impromptu meeting with the UMW Young Democrats.

Students brought lunch and were ready to ask questions to the then-candidate.

Warner shook each student’s hand and introduced himself before sitting down to begin the meeting, which had just been announced the night before.

According to senior Benjamin Hermerding, president of the UMW Young Democrats, he received a call from the campaign at 6 p.m. Thursday evening.

“They said they were traveling from Newport News and that they would be driving through Fredericksburg, and they asked if they could swing by,” Hermerding said.

As a photographer took pictures of the Senator and the students, Warner discussed his primary goals as a potentially re-elected senator.

Lowering the national debt was a key issue in the meeting, with Warner explaining the national debt rose billions of dollars over the last 60 years.

He said that both parties were at fault and explained how bipartisanship could reverse the national debt.

Warner noted that while he has been criticized for partnering with Republican officials, he believed that a joint effort between both parties would solve the issues the country faces today.

“We don’t have to solve the issue of national debt overnight,” Warner said after the meeting. “But problems will not be solved unless both parties work together.”

Warner also discussed lowering student debt. He asked if any of the UMW students in the meeting had student loans. Several of them raised their hands.

According to a survey by Fidelity.com, in 2013 a college student had an average of $35,200 dollars in debt upon graduation.

Young Democrats gave Warner a UMW Young Democrats t-shirt.

Warner stayed after the meeting to talk with students and take photos.

According to junior political science major Calli Burkett, this was not the first time that they had met Senator Warner.

Members of the UMW Young Democrats were also invited to Warner’s property in King George County on Sept. 6 for the “Almost Annual Pig Roast.”

According to Hermerding, Warner provided the students with food and activities during the event, spoke with students and even signed their plywood board with the club’s symbol, a donkey, on its center.

Hermerding appreciated Warner’s vision and his focus on issues that are important to the group, such as student debt.

“We’ve all faced that burden,” Hermerding said.

Warner has visited UMW several times before, including being the speaker at the spring commencement ceremony in 2004 as governor. He noted how the University has expanded over the past 10 years.

“It’s a great school,” Warner said. “It’s been cool to see the development taking place at the school over the past decade and how cool it has become.”

Gillespie and Warner senatorial race still too close to call

John Rohrback/ Flickr

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The first in his family to go to college, Warner took out student loans in order to pay for his education at George Wa s h i n g t o n University.

W a r n e r proposed an income-based student loan repayment system he formed with Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, which would adjust student payment based off an individual student’s income. According to Warner, if a particular student entered the workforce following college and made $30,000 a year, 10 percent of that amount, or $3,000, would be used to pay off a student loan.

After he spoke, Warner invited students to ask questions and to comment about the goals he outlined.

Paige Mckinsey, president of Feminists United on Campus, said that equal pay for women should be incorporated into the discussion of lowering student debt.

Warner spoke about his three daughters, who are between the ages of 20 and 24, and agreed that equal pay needed to be taken into account when discussing student debt.

Warner also discussed “crowd funding” initiatives, which would allow people to advertise their businesses online and let others invest in the business electronically. According to Warner, this venue could “empower women and minorities who may not have the resources to expand their businesses through traditional methods.”

Other students voiced concerns about issues such as raising the minimum wage and bringing more accountability into the public school system.

Once students finished asking questions, Warner thanked them for hosting him at such short notice. After applause, the UMW

•MIDTERMS | 1 ana has gone to a runoff until December, as neither of the senatorial candidates were able to pull in more than 50 percent of the vote.

Despite the nation going majority red, voters expressed support for more liberal issues, such as legalizing marijuana in two more states as well as the District of Columbia. Voters in Colorado and North Dakota struck down bills that would restrict abortion access, and Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota passed referendums to raise the minimum wage.

Voter turnout, while notoriously low in midterm elections, was particularly lacking in certain states this year. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, 41 percent of eligible Virginia voters came out to

Gage Skidmore/ Flickr

the polls, while some estimates state that Ohio pulled its lowest percentage for midterm elections ever this year.

Another landmark result of the election is that for the first time, over 100 of the 435 members of Congress are female. Though final tallies are not in yet, the current count shows 20, possibly 21, women in the Senate and 81 in the House, which could potentially be raised to 85. As a result, 26 states have now sent a female representative to Congress While all results are not in, President Obama already stated his obligation to work with the Republican Congress on issues where both parties agree – though White House officials stated that he has no intention of pivoting to the right in the face of Tuesday’s result.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

SPORTS

Sports lounge opens downtown

CHRIS MARKHAM Sports Editor

Downtown Fredericksburg welcomed a new small business to its family with the grand opening of Jay’s Downtown Sports Lounge.

On Wednesday, Nov. 5, Jay’s opened its doors for the first time to the general public after a week of hosting private dinners for the staff’s friends and families. The lounge will offer a unique taste to the Fredericksburg area, only to be rivaled by Home Team Grill.

“We are very excited because it’s a one a kind sports bar in Fredericksburg,” said owner Sanjay Sharma. “One and only I should say in this area, so I’m very excited because I feel I have something to give to Fredericksburg.”

Jay’s Downtown Sports Lounge is located at 409 William St., next to the Olde Town Butcher. The lounge opens up the possibility of adding additional flare to an already robust corner of the downtown area, which also includes Fredericksburg favorites such as Castiglia’s and Vivify Burger Lounge.

The restaurant will offer all that of a typical sports lounge, including pool tables, dart boards, flat-screen TVs and, of course, a bar. The bar will offer more than

60 beers, 20 of which will be on tap. The nearly all black interior of the restaurant provides a sophisticated feel while the seating options, ranging from couches and bars to booths and sunrooms, offers a wide variety of choices for its customers.

“Being a sports bar, we are planning to do some pool tournaments, dart board tournaments,” Sharma said.

The lounge’s 52 televisions are aligned side-by-side throughout the interior of the restaurant and are tuned to offer 24 different channels, ensuring that customers will be able to watch as many games as possible.

Being the first sports bar of its kind in the Fredericksburg area, University of Mary Washington students will now have the opportunity to enjoy a new atmosphere, one never before seen in the area.

“I think since we are a sports bar, we are going to attract a lot of college kids,” Sharma said. “They are going to have fun over here.”

The restaurant is located in the same building that previously housed F.W. Sullivan’s, along with numerous other stores.

Sharma, who also owns Jay’s Restaurant and Lounge in the Greenbrier Shopping Center, will be heading his second venture, according to the Free Lance Star.

Chris Markham/The Blue & Gray Press Jay’s Sports Lounge held its grand opening on Wednesday, bringing new taste to Fredericksburg.

Women’s soccer shines through other Eagle losses their CAC title run on Saturday, Nov. 1, the men’s soccer team faced off against CNU in the first round at the Battlegrounds.

The Eagles upended CNU in their last meeting this season, outscoring the Captains 2-1 on the road.

The script was flipped this time around, however, as the Captains shut out the Eagles by a score of 2-0, dropping UMW’s season record to 8-8-3.

The volleyball team was also one of those who began their offseason on a sour note. Despite their stellar 2211 regular season record, the Eagles’ Ginny Clark/The Blue & Gray Press 5-4 conference record landed them the fourth-seed in the CAC tournament, pitting The University of Mary Washington them up against fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s women’s soccer team advanced to the College (17-9, 5-4).

Capital Athletic Conference title game The two teams clashed in the Anderson with a 2-1 win over Salisbury University Center on Tuesday, Nov. 4 in front of a on Wednesday, Nov. 5, remaining to be rowdy UMW crowd. the lone surviving varsity team for UMW The Eagles took the first set of the match in the CAC tournaments.

25-20, but lost control of the game thereafThe women’s soccer team advanced to ter. The Seahawks took the last three sets the second round of its tournament after a of the match by scores of 26-24, 25-23 and 3-2 win over St. Mary’s on Saturday, Nov. 25-15 respectively. The match was evenly 1. The team traveled to Salisbury to take matched, despite the lopsided finals score. on the second-seeded Sea Gulls in a doThe No. 14 ranked UMW field hockey or-die semifinal game. team played host to CNU in the CAC tourJunior Jessica Bednarick took complete nament semifinal at the Battlegrounds on control of the game, scoring both of the Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Eagles’ goals unassisted in the first half.

Much like their men’s soccer and volThe win puts UMW against whoever is leyball counterparts, the field hockey team the winner of Christopher Newport Uni- came up short in the hunt for a CAC title, versity vs. Frostburg State game on Sat- losing to the Captains 3-0, likely ending the urday, Nov. 8.

Eagles’ season barring an at-large NCAA The Eagles were the last team to make tournament berth. the tournament, making their run to the tiDespite the slew of UMW teams that tle all the more special. were eliminated in their respective tourThe UMW men’s soccer team was one of naments, the women’s soccer team has the those that experienced an earlier-than-ex- opportunity to win its first CAC title in five pected end to their season. Beginning years.

CHRIS MARKHAM Sports Editor

Wizards enter this season with deep roster, high expectations SEAN KINSLOW Staff Writer

The Washington Wizards have high hopes this year heading into the basketball season, and D.C. fans will be excited to watch one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference compete once again. The Wizards had a breakout year last season, posting a 44-38 record and advancing to the second round of the playoffs, the team’s best performance since the 2004-2005 season The young and talented backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradly Beal were very impressive last season, with the potential to be even better for the Wizards this year. Wall has developed into one of the best point guards in the game, and Beal had a breakout season, proving he is seen as one of the best shooting guards in the league.

The front-court will also return two veteran starters from last year, two old-school big men in Marcin

Gortat and Nenê. Gortat is quick for a bigman and is excellent offensively around the rim. This will be his second season

Keith Alison/Flickr Bradley Beal and John Wall, Wizards’ dynamic duo.

with the Wizards and a full year under this system will benefit him and his teammates tremendously. Nenê is one of the strongest players in the NBA and is a solid power forward who passes, plays sound defense and has a high basketball IQ. However, he is injury prone and has not played an injury-free season since the 2010-2011 season.

The Wizards will return four out of the teams five starters from last year. The one exception will come at the small forward position. Trevor Ariza, the team’s best defender and three-point shooter from last year, left in free agency to go the Houston Rockets. To replace Ariza, the Wizards signed 37-year-old and future hall of famer Paul Pierce. Pierce can still create his own shot and play well defensively despite his age. Most importantly, he will bring championship experience to the team. Pierce is the only member of the Wizards to win an NBA championship, and that experience will prove to be crucial in the playoffs.

The Wizards bench will include Otto Porter Jr., a second-year small forward out

Keith Alison/Flickr Nenê, Wizards’ power forward

of Georgetown University, and Glen Rice Jr., a second year guard out of Georgia Tech, both of which had strong summer league seasons.

•WIZARDS | 12

Weekly Scoreboard Cross country:

Nov. 1 @ CAC Championships Men: 4th Women: 2nd

Men's Soccer:

Nov. 1vs. Christopher Newport (L) UMW: 0 CNU: 2

Volleyball:

Nov. 4 vs. Saint Mary’s (L) UMW: 1 St. Mary’s: 3 Nov. 1 vs. Eastern Mennonite (W) UMW: 3 EMU: 0

Women's Soccer:

Nov. 1 vs. Saint Mary’s (W) UMW: 3 St. Mary’s: 1 Nov. 5 @ Salisbury University (W) UMW: 2 SU: 1

Upcoming:

Women’s Soccer: Nov. 8 vs. TBA CAC Championship Game Swimming: Nov. 8 @ Randolph-Macon

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VIEWPOINTS Editorial: Taylor Swift changes marketing of current music industry Regardless of how you feel about Taylor Swift, it is almost impossible to ignore her record-breaking success. According to Nielson SoundScan, Taylor Swift’s new album, released on Oct. 27, has had the largest sales week for any female artist since 2002.

“1989,” the singer-songwriter’s fifth and most recent album, is the first time Swift ever made Pop the sole music genre, meaning Swift did not promote her music on country radio stations, nor did she go to any country music awards-a precedent in her music career.

While her new pop and synthpop sound does create a huge change of spectrum within the music world, Swift’s unique and groundbreaking marketing strategies leading up to the release of “1989” make this album her most famous to date.

Swift began advertising the album long before it was released by posting hints for the albums’ release date through various videos and photos on her Instagram, Twitter and Facebook page, her main forms of social media, on Aug. 4 and Aug. 6. Through the utilization of social media, she was able to reach out to her younger, more tech-savy fan base, also known as the majority of the people buying her albums.

On Aug. 13 the artist then confirmed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that her first single, “Shake it Off,” would be released on Aug. 18.

This announcement gravitated and was directed more toward her older fan-base.

A week later Swift did something no artist has ever done before: she hosted a worldwide live stream with Yahoo Screen Live to announce the title of her album, her newest single “Shake It Off” and its music video.

This strategy not only debuted her new era of music, but it made her fans feel like they were her best friends chatting about her greatest passion. The Twit-

terverse was taken by storm. The year “1989” was more thansimply a year in time.

On Oct. 13, Swift and her marketing team released a second song from “1989” called “Out of the Woods.” This allowed for her fans to get another sneak peek into her new pop album, which also made the Pre-Order sales for “1989” rise.

After its midnight release “Out of the Woods” became #1 on iTunes in a matter of minutes.

The artist continued advertising by posting the lyrics of her third track, “Welcome to New York,” on Instagram in her own handwriting. This made “Swifties” even more anxious to hear a new track.

However, when it came time to purchase the third song, fans were required to preorder the album.

As expected, Swift’s fans not only bought “Welcome to New York,” but also preordered “1989.” According to Apple, the musician’s album broke the pre-order record for U.S. stores, just surpassing One Direction’s “Midnight Memories” with over 195,000 pre-orders.

By the time this past week came around, “1989” was already the No. 1 album on iTunes. Swift also created a deal with Target by only selling her “Deluxe “ version there, which made not only her sales skyrocket, but Target’s sales as well.

The deluxe version included three extra songs and clips of Swift’s writing process, another look into the mysterious world of Taylor Swift that the media and fans cling to daily. The pre-order and Target purchasing strategy led to an incredible total of 1.3 million albums.

Even though Swift has a reputation for being too whiny and complaining about her boy problems far too often, one has to admit that a thing or two could be learned from her when it comes to marketing strategies and creating catchy, best-selling albums.

Bill Maher grid locked by students COLEMAN HOPKINS Staff Writer

“I guess they don’t teach irony in college anymore,” Bill Maher said exasperatedly to his audience via broadcast last Friday.

The college he speaks of is that of U.C. Berkeley. In an attempt to be politically correct, students there are trying to ban Maher from speaking at their school this December on the 50th anniversary of the Berkeley Free-Speech Movement.

Students stated they believe his recent comments on the conflict in Islamic states have been uncalled for, as well as insulting.

For anyone who keeps up with the liberal talk show, you probably heard that the past month or so has not been too kind on HBO’s Real Time host.

Last month, Maher had actor and political activist Ben Affleck on his show to discuss and promote his new movie, the psychological thriller “Gone Girl.” The conversation eventually transitioned into a disscusion on current events, including Islam, ISIS and the Middle East.

Surprisingly, both liberals took different sides on the issue and a heated debate ensued. Maher, a perpetual critic of religion, pounced on Islam’s record of intolerance and denounced it as the greatest threat to human rights that exists in the world today.

Maher went even further, remarking on the origins of Islam as compared to the other two Abrahamic religions, with trademark Maher colloquialism that Islam is a religion, “based on violence.” Rather than back down against such a sharp criticism, Affleck countered Maher in an equally forceful manner, ultimately denouncing the host as a bigot.

Maher’s comments on Islam gave him nontraditional support from the right, who view his assessment as ‘basically correct’.

In contrast, outlets such as the Huffington Post convicted him of being an ‘Islamophobe’ and a racist that does not divide Islam’s peaceful nature from what is going on internationally because he is too ignorant and biased.

Maher is now dealing with a petition from University of California at Berkeley students that aims to ban him from their commencement ceremony for his statements, which the students find to be in conflict with the school’s accepting nature.

In turn, a massive social media outcry sparked on Twitter, with some people denouncing Maher, some taking up his defense and some just laughing at the situation. While some of the Tweets regarding Maher’s comments are humorous, the overarching issue concerning free speech is rather serious. It is very alarming that there is such a large sentiment against the idea of having a debate on Islam. Moreover, the fact that more than 5,000 students signed the petition against Maher at a liberal university is terrifying, especially since it is against a liberal principal such as free speech.

It is said that the crown jewel of our Constitution is the First Amendment, which, in part, guarantees free speech, even when it is unpopular or critical of institutions and people. However, that does come with some loose boundaries, such as the prohibition of hate speech. By calling Maher’s criticism of Islam hate speech, we undermine the very point of our ability to speak our minds.

By redefining what is a ‘hate speech,’ we embrace a very nondemocratic idea of censorship concerning controversial issues. Sadly, this is not the first time this happened or even the first time I have written about this. In fact, last spring Brandeis

•SPEECH | 5

By THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS EDITORIAL BOARD

Policies on interment in China, the back alley transactions that follow suit ALICE BALDYS Staff Writer

As of Monday this week, two government officials in Guangdong Province of Southern China were arrested for buying bodies from a grave robber.

The reason the two officials, surnamed He and Dong, of the Guangdong government were in the market for human corpses is because of a government quota for cremations.

In an effort to reduce the size of cemeteries and use former burial grounds for civilian development, such as farming, China instated a law that bans the use of traditional burials in favor of cremations.

Chinese leaders including Mao Zedong sparked Funeral Reform back in 1956 by signing a letter committing to be cremated.

Traditional beliefs of ancestor worship in China require a tomb burial after death to ensure a peaceful afterlife for deceased family members.

In rural communities of Southern China, the cremation mandate has been met with widespread opposition.Villagers have resorted to burying family members illegally in hidden burial grounds.

In 2012, Chinese officials bulldozed nearly two million tombs in Henan prov-

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ince to make room for agricultural land expansion. After public outcry, one million of those tombs were allowed to be rebuilt by villagers.

Sadly, China has continued its cremation reform campaign with authoritarian vigor.

News reports from May 2014 attributed a rise in suicide rates to the cremation policy.

There are reports of elderly Chinese committing suicide so they could receive proper burial before a government deadline required cremation.

The latest scandal resulted in cooperation between a grave robber, Zhong, and two government officials.

According to news reports Zhong stole over twenty bodies from local villages at night and transported them to Guangdong on his motorcycle.

There, the two officials paid roughly 3,000-1,500 yuan, or $490-250, per corpse so they could cremate the bodies to meet the quota.

To the Western eye and to rural Chinese these actions are an embarrassing violation of the respect due to the deceased.

While it is clear that He and Dong were themselves acting illegally by colluding with a criminal, one must question the underlying principle of the law.

Funeral reform has been compared to the one child policy in its difficulty to enforce and its intrusion into private life.

With so much opposition in rural areas, the law encourages widespread evasion

rather than compliance.

According to one report, counties in rural China have as low as a 20 percent cremation rate. In 2012, the U.S. had a National Cremation rate of 42 percent alone.

Rather than spawning compliance, officials are creating widespread opposition with their aggressive and ruthless tactics of destroying graves.

The history of cremation reform in China is tied to the Cultural Revolution during the rise of the Communist Regime.

Historian Natacha Aveline proposes that funeral reform was intended to break up family hierarchy and clan influence during the rise of the Communist regime in favor of the nuclear family.

Mandating, rather than incentivizing, cremations and harshly enforcing them is causing unrest in Southern China.

The negative media attention, deaths and tremendous trauma and grief it has led to show that a better, less harmful approach should be taken here.

No one should have to feel like their loved ones’ resting place has been desecrated in the name of government policy.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

VIEWPOINTS

Editor: Mona Osmer | blueandgray.views@gmail.com

Maynard’s ‘Death with Dignity’ sparks heavy controversy HOPE RACINE News Editor

This past week, on Nov. 1, 29-year-old Brittany Maynard chose to end her life through the Oregon state-sponsored Death With Dignity Act. Maynard, who received a large amount of Internet backlash upon announcing her decision, was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.

She was given a timeline of a few months and told that the rest of her life would be increasingly painful. Before dying, she would lose control of almost all her faculties.

To save herself and her family the trauma of watching her health deteriorate, Maynard moved from California to Oregon and publicly came out in favor of the Death with Dignity Act. Currently legal in only five states, Death With Dignity is technically doctor-assisted suicide without the Kevorkian connotations and with a gentler name.

In states that have passed the act, such as Oregon and Washington, restrictions do apply. Individuals must have a diagnosis of less than six months and must be found mentally competent enough to have made the decision in clear mind and sound judgment.

If cleared, they are given a prescription to take at a time and place of their choosing.

Maynard’s decision brought the divisive issue of right to die back into the center of public debate for the first time since the 1990s, when Dr. Jack Kevorkian, often called “Dr. Death,” was convicted of second-degree murder for his role in doc-

tor-assisted suicide.

Unsurprisingly, public tone shifted over the course of the past 15 years.

Death With Dignity advocates believe the act is intended for those with severe terminal illnesses, who are in the slow process of dying.

The idea is not to commit suicide, but rather to make the decision to die on their

suicide protest from a moral and theological standpoint. Others point out that doctors should not have the right or ability to help with these situations.

The hesitation makes sense. As teen suicides have spiked over the years and mental health awareness has become more prominent, the idea of encouraging someone to end their own life is shocking and disturbing. There is always so much left to live for, we say.

But the unfortunate and brutal truth is that in Death With Dignity cases, there really is not.

One of the key points in the argument in favor of the right to die is the right to bodily autonomy.

A cultural war has been waged over a woman’s right to her own reproductive rights.

Society is working to ensure women this freedom, and it is viewed in the eyes of the law not as a moral matter but a personal and medical one.

So how is the right to reproductive auCNN/ Flickr own terms. tonomy different than the right to deterIndividuals with life threatening illness- mine the duration and subsequent ending es can chose to end their lives when and of our lives? where they want and while their health is There is arguably no choice more imstill decent enough that they have a clear portant, and in the case of doctor-assisted mind with which to make the decision. suicide, it becomes more of a medical deIt allows individuals to ensure that cision and less of a moral one. loved ones only have good memories and In a society that grows increasingly save them the pain of hospitals and medi- more socially aware and concerned with cal problems. the rights of citizens, must we uncomfortThe distinction between suicide and ably admit that the right to die should be willfully ending one’s own life is what protected and acknowledged just as much makes many individuals shy away from as the right to live. We cannot pick and supporting the movement. choose where bodily autonomy ends.

Religious groups who preach against

Stance against student protest

•SPEECH | 4

University in Boston banned another critic of Islam from speaking, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, because she supposedly offended Muslim students.

This Maher incident has yet to fully play out, but if it occurs the way the Brandies controversy ended, which I sadly expect it will, then we will be left with a paradoxical question: how do seemingly liberal universities sacrifice fundamental liberal principles to defend an intolerant and non-compromising religion that stands opposed to the concept of equality and freedom?

While I do not endorse Maher or the things that he says or stands for, I fully believe that he has a right to express himself.

When it comes down to it, we live in America, not Russia or Iran or Saudi Arabia.

There should be open debate on ideas that we disagree with because there can be.

By silencing all criticism of Islam and preventing an open debate, we are essentially condoning the current social and political trends in the Middle East today: the stonings, the homophobia, the mass-murder, the codified gender inequality and the restrictions on human rights.

Maher is equally well-known for his snarkiness and for getting the last word, so I will allow him to close: “So here’s my final plea to you liberal-in-the-truestsense-of-the-word-college students not just at Berkeley but all over the country, please, weigh in on this, my reputation isn’t on the line, yours is.”

Democratic elections in Ukraine deemed ‘pseudo elections’ by the international community

MONA OSMER Viewpoints Editor

Men clad in camouflaged uniforms stalk the streets of Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukraine.

Since the signing of the Minsk Protocol in Sept., which outlines laws that must be adopted in order to protect peaceful relations between the Ukrainian government and rebel forces, Ukrainian military forces continue to fight pro-separatist forces.

This is even after Moscow deemed the election of two pro-Russian leaders, who conducted their swearing in ceremonies on Tuesday legitimate. The two self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk are presently unrecognized by the Ukrainian government, along with the U.S. and the E.U. However, the residents of the region in Donetsk plead, “We hope for peace, well being and prosperity for the region,” in a video posted by BBC, confronting residents about the illegitimacy of their local elections.

The Central Election Commission in Donetsk announced Incumbent Prime Minister Aleksandr Zakharchenko as their new Prime Minister on Sunday and see no reason as to why their standing PM should not be recognized by the international

Christopher Harte/ Flickr

community.

In response, Fredrica Mogherini, Foreign Policy Chief of the E.U., said, “I consider [Sunday’s] ‘presidential and parliamentary elections’ in Donetsk and Lu-

them.

“They are a clear violation of the Sept.

5 Minsk Protocol, which has also been signed by Russia’s representative,” Poroshenko said, therefore denouncing Russian

Fast Facts on Ukraine • Official Name: The Republic of Ukraine • Capital: Kiev; 24 provinces • Declared Independence from Soviet Russia the 22nd of Jan. 1918 • Feb. 20, 2014: this year pro-Russian separatists first violent protest against Ukraine gov.

• Feb. 22, 2014: President Viktor Yanukovych flees country • June 7, 2014: Petro Poroshenko is sworn in as President of Ukraine hansk ‘People’s Republic’s’ an obstacle on the path towards peace in Ukraine. The vote is illegal and illegitimate and the European Union will not recognize it.”

Further, Petro Poroshenko, president of Ukraine, has not remained silent during these, “Pseudo- elections,” as he calls

acceptance of Sunday’s elections.

Russia continues to be a key player in this debacle between Ukraine and separatist forces, supplying both weapons and alliance to rebel forces.

How ironic it is that the U.S. and E.U. do not support the separation of both Do-

netsk and Luhansk from the Ukraine.

This regime change was democratically voted on by citizens of both cities and should be recognized as such. The fact that citizens have fully supported these elections should be the only factor needed to back both republics and their legitimacy.

Russian acceptance of the republics in both Donetsk and Luhansk should not squander their efforts to abide by their governance of the people.

Poroshenko only signed the Minsk Protocol because his forces were losing and devastation of both cities became severely concerning.

The growth of international acceptance of separatist movements should become a socialized norm, as it is a trend happening all over the world.

For instance, although it did not prevail, the Scottish referendum is a fine example of this trend.

Moreover, the U.S. assistance against the Islamic State is a total contradiction of its refusal of the Donetsk and Luhansk elections.

How can we help destroy the advancement of such a demoralizing and authoritative regime such as the Islamic State while supporting Ukraine’s ignorance of democratically assembled republics?

5

LIFE

Editor: Amanda Motley | blueandgray.life@gmail.com

‘Carving for a Cure’ raises money for the American Cancer Society

Ginny Clark/ The Blue & Gray Press

Students carved over 70 pumpkins to raise money for the American Cancer Society during the Relay for Life event “Carving for the Cure.”

JULIANNE KUHN Staff Writer

On a crisp fall afternoon, the smell of apple cider was in the air as Relay for Life hosted their sixth annual “Carving for a Cure” event on Ball Circle.

Students paid a $5 suggested donation to pick out a pumpkin and carve it however they wanted, and there was even a contest awarding Visa gift cards for the top three pumpkins.

The event, which is put on annually, is one of the many events Relay for Life holds each year. This year, “Carving for a Cure” was co-sponsored by Dining Ser-

vices. Proceeds from each Relay for Life event is used to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

Margot Jelinek, a senior biology major and one of the event chairs, discussed why she relays.

“About five years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer. She deteriorated very quickly and passed away. She was one of the strongest women I knew.” Margot said. “In addition to that, both of my

father’s parents were affected. His father died of lung cancer, and my grandmother died of breast cancer. Cancer is very prominent in my family and it’s a disease that just shouldn’t happen, it shouldn’t be around.”

Margot said she believes that cancer affects everyone in different ways.

“Cancer sucks, that’s the bottom line, that’s why I do it,” Jelinek said. “That’s why I relay.”

This event raised $341 for the American Cancer Society as participants carved over 75 of the 116 pumpkins that were donated by Dining Services and other organizations.

Sophomores Zach Norrbom and Raj Barua were the winners of the $50 Visa gift card prize for their Mother of George Frisbee inspired pumpkin masterpiece.

Next on the Relay for Life agenda for UMW is the Fight Back 5K Fun Run. This event will be this Saturday, Nov. 8 at 8 a.m. Be sure to register via the link on the event’s Facebook page.

Students decorate Madison Hall for Halloween

Haunted House continues to get better each year, according to visitors on from behind the door.

As the tour continues, attendees were greeted by a blood bath upon entering the final room. Dead bodies, mutilated by a Bloody corpses, piercing screams and a butcher knife, were scattered on the maniacal, yet well-mannered clown: cold stone floor. these things and more were all presSenior creative writing major ent at this year’s Haunted House at and organizer of last year’s haunted the University of Mary Washinghouse, Sean Stableford, commented ton. that this year’s haunted house was a Although ghostly children and hit. real estate agents are an unexpect“It was good because it was short ed combination for a haunted house and sweet and each room had its own theme, this formula was successful personality,” Stableford said. nonetheless.

He noted that this year’s version The basement of Madison Hall was not as scary as those in the past was transformed to fit this unique but, nonetheless, was better orgacombination theme for this year’s nized and put together. installment of the residence hall’s Maxwell Traubert, a senior psyannual Haunted House. chology major, agreed that this Students who attended this speyear’s haunted house was successful, cial Halloween event were greetnoting that he thought that this theme ed upon arrival by a demented yet did a good job of scaring students. friendly doll.

“It scared my friend enough that The high-pitched screams echoed he had to hold my hand to get through from the inside of Madison, prepping all the rooms,” Traubert said. the waiting audience for what they With shrill screams ringing were about to face themselves. throughout the dark basement of Groups of students were then led Madison, UMW’s annual Haunted through the haunted house by a real House once again proved itself to be estate agent who presented the setoutstanding. ting as an open house occupied by Raising the bar for next year’s ghosts of the former children and hosts. Topping the creativity of this their violent mother who once residyear’s theme will certainly be a chaled there.

Ginny Clark/The Blue & Gray Press lenge.

Students dressed up and decorated to create a Haunted House on campus in Madison Hall.

RUTH BORDETT Staff Writer

6

The rooms had their own personalities, each scarier than the last, all coming together to form a cohesive horror story. One of the more particularly terrifying rooms in

the haunted house was the laundry room.

Stark and dimly lit, a woman slammed her fists against a washing machine, yelling and shrieking as another creature looked

Thursday, November 6, 2014

LIFE

A capella groups compete for title of best group on UMW campus

AERIEL MERILLAT Staff Writer

Halloween started a couple of days early on campus this year, with the University of Mary Washington hosting an a cappella competition, the “A Cappella Off: Night of the Singing Dead,” to celebrate the ghostly holiday.

Last Wednesday, Oct. 29, UPC, along with Class Council, held the university’s first a cappella competition in the Underground. Students flooded the Underground as fans of the a cappella groups eagerly waited to see their fellow classmates perform.

Performers included all three of the University of Mary Washington’s a cappella groups: BellACapella, Symfonics and One Note Stand. Taking the stage first was BellACappella, UMW’s only all-female a cappella group. Following their performance was Symfonics, UMW’s oldest co-ed group. And last to take the stage was One Note Stand.

Each group had the chance to perform five songs of their choice. Once all of the groups performed, members of the audience were invited on stage to place a ticket in the bucket of the group that they thought performed the best. The tickets were counted, and at the end of the night, UPC announced the winner of the competition. First place was awarded $300, second place $200 and third $100.

While the event was a competition, the camaraderie and friendship between all of the groups was evident throughout the night.

“Everyone performed so well,” said Sarah Etherton, a junior psychology major and member of Symfonics.

The groups performed everything from a range of current radio hits to heartfelt classics. BellACapella, taking the stage dressed as a box of crayons, gave the audience riveting performances of songs with strong female leads, such as Ingrid Michelson’s “Girls Chase Boys” and Clean Bandit feat Jess Glynne’s “Rather

Materials: Mod Podge glue (i.e. spreadable glue) 17 ounce or larger clear mason jar Ten or more real or artificial large leaves of various colors and sizes, stems removed 1-2 inch paint brush One battery operated candle Optional Materials 12 inch ribbon

Be.” Symfonics, dressed in black and adorned in various Halloween attire, performed a variety of powerful pop songs, such as the soulful “Fallen” by Alicia Keys and the upbeat “Anna Sun” by Walk the Moon.

One Note Stand, clad in festive orange, seduced the audience with their renditions of Justin Timberlake’s “Pusher Love Girl” and Michael Jackson feat. Justin Timberlake’s “Love Never Felt So Good.” Accompanied with smooth dance moves, they had the crowd clapping and dancing along with them.

In the end, only one a cappella group could be declared winner of the A Capella Off. Winning the crowd over with their sexy falsettos and engaging stage performance was One Note Stand. They walked away from the night with $300 dollars in their pocket.

“We weren’t expecting such a large, enthusiastic audience, and we were honored to share the stage with Symfonics and Bella,” said Bronwyn Stokes, senior psychology and business Spanish double major, as well as business director for One Note Stand.

When asked what the group planned to do with their prize money, Stokes said, “We are considering putting some of it towards Bob’s Scholarship, The Robert Ericson Environmental Research Endowment.”

Robert Ericson was a member of One Note Stand who passed away in the spring of this year.

“The rest will go to our club’s fund to help us travel to other competitions and for possible recording opportunities,” Stokes said.

At the end of the night, all of the three groups walked away with prize money. UPC’s A Capella Off drew in a lot of people and proved to be a great, new way to kick off Halloween 2014.

LAUREN MOSESSO Staff Writer

The leaf jar, inspired by Pinterest, uses the vibrant colors of leaves, producing a warm glow and instantly makes any room cozy.

You can use this jar all throughout the season, and it’s a fun project to do with your family when you are home during Thanksgiving break. This craft has only six easy steps and costs less than $10.

Capture a piece of autumn for your room or apartment by creating a decorated candle jar.

The numerous trees on the University of Mary Washington’s campus are full of brilliant colors, providing an excellent opportunity to create this craft.

Directions: 1.Wash the mason jar, making sure label and adhesive are completely removed.

2.Paint a thick coat of spreadable glue on the jar.

3.Before the glue dries, affix several leaves on the jar, holding each leaf down for a couple of seconds.

4.Coating the back of each leaf with spreadable glue, add more leaves to the jar, overlapping these with the first layer of leaves.

5.Paint a final coat of spreadable glue on the leaves.

6.Allow to completely dry, approximately two hours.

Optional: If desired add a ribbon around the neck of the jar.

CraftRiver

Tip: Some products such as spaghetti sauce use mason, which you can use for your leaf jar.

Thin leaves work the best for this project.

7

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LIFE

Open letter to Taylor Swift about her music and ‘1989’

Dear Taylor Swift, Since the age of 15, I have been listening to your music. We’ve cried together, laughed together and I’ve been in denial about the way your songs seem to mirror how I feel about my life.

“Our Song” was pure perfection. A boy I “loved” at the time used to request that I belt out the lyrics to him. This made me feel like it was “our song.” I held on with a fierce grip to every verse in the lyrics.

Over half a dozen girls probably felt the same way, but to me you were singing that song just for us.

I’ll never forget “Love Song.” At the time, I liked a particular boy, and I can still remember how we locked eyes listening to those lyrics. We were jumping up and down in a room full of people and then locked eyes so tight; it seemed like a piercing blaze of fire.

Remember “Mine?” It felt like you were speaking to me yet again and I was the misunderstood teenager who had met the boy who made “a rebel out of a careless man’s careful daughter.”

Then there was “Mean” and “The Best Day.” Those were some of the best because they reminded me that the best days are with my mom and that it is possible to overcome the cruelness in the world.

“Red”… Thank God for the entire album “Red!” It has been in the CD player of my car for so long, I think it is literally stuck there. That’s okay though; it keeps me awake when I am driving on I-95 late at night.

While all of your albums have spoken to different stages of my life, I can’t

help but be partial to your newest album, “1989.” “Out of the Woods” reminded me that something good can come from every relationship and that each person I have met along the way has shown me a way to get “outta of the woods” and enriched my life.

Still, while every relationship can teach us a lesson, sometimes it’s hard to watch someone you truly care about just walk away. To the boy I gave all my firsts…”all you had to do was stay.”

“Shake It Off” - this was the best of all.

This song makes me get up and dance because we all deserve to be unapologetically ourselves. Shaking off what people may think of us is hard, but for the most part,we should and never forget who we really are.

Other reviews have called your new album “unoriginal” or “boring,” but “1989” is everything I needed in a soundtrack for my college senior year.

The entire album is filled with songs that we can all relate to and reminds us that there will be both good and bad times, but we will all always get through them all.

You have broken away from your country roots yet still stayed true to yourself with an album that has already sold 1.3 million copies. You have found a way to be successful by being yourself. That’s rare and inspirational.

I don’t always admit I’m a fan, but hats off to you, Taylor, for bringing us yet another album we can all relate to in some unique kind of way.

Sincerely, Amanda Motley Life Editor

T_Swiftfan3/Flickr

Swift has produced five studio albums since 2006. The newest one is “1989” which has sold more than 1.3 million copies since coming out on Oct. 27.

UMW La Cieba holds silent auction

La Ceiba

MONA OSMER Viewpoints Editor

Spend Friday not only enjoying the first day of the weekend but taking part in an event that promotes the funding of organizations such as Helping Honduras and La Ceiba.

This Friday, Nov. 7, La Ceiba is holding a Silent Auction at Wilderness Run Vineyards at 7 p.m.

“Come take part on the bidding of great local art, food, artistry and much more.

This will be a night of indulging in great items and beautiful surroundings,” the event’s Facebook page states.

La Ceiba is a collegiate micro-finance institution that provides financial, social and educational support to communities in El Progresso, Honduras in partnership with UMW’s Students Helping Honduras.

La Ceiba was founded in 2008 assisted

by UMW associate economics professor Shawn Humphrey.

As posted on the organization’s website, La Ceiba’s mission, “Is to provide the financial and educational tools our clients need to give poverty a beat down.”

To give a better view, La Ceiba states their beliefs on micro-finance as, “For us, micro-finance is not just a tool for female empowerment, entrepreneurship, or group solidarity, it’s not even just a tool for moving clients and their families out of poverty…(it) is a tool that allows us to create healthy and dignified relationships with our clients. We recognize our clients as full individuals that know their own lives better than we do.”

Stuart Shotwell, senior economics major and member of La Ceiba said that the event Friday is, “an opportunity for La Ceiba to develop relationships with students and the surrounding Fredericksburg community.”

This event is intended to be an enjoyable and relaxing time and is also dedicated to funding an organization that is both inspiring and beneficial to the educational growth of students and poverty stricken areas.

There will be a $10 entry fee for anyone interested in taking part in the auction and it is encouraged that one buy a ticket in advance.

9

NEWS

FredXChange facilitates community engagement Businesses in Fredericksburg area network for success

VANESSA MOORE AND MICHELLE MOODY Staff Writers

FredXchange defines itself as “a social platform for community engagement – a cultural intersection of art and commerce, innovation and technology,” Its mission is to work toward helping people start up future businesses and making them successful.

Founded by Christine Goodwin and Matt Armstrong, FredXchange’s goal is to grow an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Fredericksburg “We have a community of entrepreneurs, startup founders, designers (graphic, web, etcetera), coders, business experts and owners, lawyers, students, marketers, makers and educators,” Goodwin said.

FredXchange has a community of about 500, and it is growing rapidly. According to Goodwin and Armstrong, FredXchange wants to lose the normal barriers that entrepreneurs face when starting a business and speed up business growth.

Through various meet-ups, startup businesses and enterprises can connect and meet with one another to share ideas and meet other like-minded groups and individuals.

The variety of events and opportunities FredXchange hosts provides individual startups and groups the ability to come together to form a close community. This allows for the networking that’s so often necessary and beneficial for businesses that are getting off the ground.

The available events include Open Coffee, which meets every Friday morning, the Founders Ale, FredDev, FXBG Design and FredX. These events take place on the first, second, third and fourth Tuesdays of the month respectively. While Open Coffee and Founders Ale are events that are open to all startups, so that they can meet and discuss new ideas and connect with others, FredDev, FXBG Design and FredX are events directed more toward particular groups.

FredDev is intended for developers, programmers and designers to meet one another and discuss things related to technology and design, whereas FXBG Design is more focused on bringing graphic de-

POLICE BEAT NEPHTHALIE LAUTURE News Editor

vandalism On Oct. 29 at approximately 9:30 a.m. glass was found broken in the driver’s side of a vehicle on the Thornton St. student parking lot. The case is pending.

On Oct. 31 at approximately 1 a.m.a car was egged at the UMW apartments parking lot. The case is pending.

Adrian Silversmith Adrian and Casey Silversmith are the husband and wife duo behind the gourmet sandwhich product “Sprelly.”

signers and other creatively inclined groups and individuals together. FredX is focused around the startup community itself, and is geared toward gathering interested parties to consider how the startup community can progress, grow and do more to support upand-coming businesses and the like.

Open Coffee takes place every Friday

On Nov. 1 at approximately 8:25 p.m. a sign from the Anderson Center was thrown off of the parking deck. The case is pending.

ty-affiliated businesses such as the La Ceiba Micro-Finance Institution and the Virginia Small Business Development Center liquor law violations were also present.

The common factor amongst all of the On Oct. 31 at approximately 2:24 a.m. businesses and organizations is their strong a student, 18, was was found in posdrive to contribute to the Fredericksburg session in alcohol on the third floor of community with the skills they have.

Randolph. The student was given an “Anyone, even just the curious, administrative referral. are always welcome to any of our events,” Goodwin said.

Adrian and Casey Silversmith, the On Nov. 2 at approximately 12:33 a.m. husband and wife duo behind goura student was publicly intoxicated. met peanut butter and jelly sandwich The student received an administraventure “Sprelly” are looking into tive referral and an EMS transport. integrating their cuisine into school meal plans, and thereby make their services easily available to students.

The information was compiled with assistance At Open Coffee, the founders from UMW Police Manager James DeLoatch provided samples of their custom and Fredericksburg Police Department Public peanut butters in salted butterscotch Information Officer Natatia Bledsoe. and white chocolate almond butter flavors, just two of the ten custom flavors available thus far. They currently sell at The Blue & Gray Press will publish the farmer’s markets on the weekends and are names of students who are formally looking to expand and sell at the “Made in charged by the University of Mary WashVirginia Store” on Caroline St. as well. ington Campus Police or the Fredeicksburg Police Department to have committed Sprelly participated in the “Made in Fred VA” competition, which Adrian Sil- acts of extreme violence against members of the UMW community or pose a large versmith described as the “local version of threat to that community, when names are the TV show Shark Tank.” They won the released to the public. The Blue & Gray competition’s People’s Choice Award. He Press will publish names and write articles describes their business as “Comfort food, about criminal acts on a case-by-case fast food style,” emphasizing the custombasis according to the aforementioned izability of their selections with an explaparameters. nation of the businesses’ name – “Your spread, your jelly – Sprelly.” He and his wife were festively dressed as peanut but •FREDXCHANGE | 11

MAKE “ANYONE, EVEN JUST THE CURIOUS, ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ANY OF OUR EVENTS.” - Christine Goodwin morning in the campus center at 1514 College Avenue, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The owners of the building are supporters of Fredxchange and are entrepreneurs themselves.

It is open and inviting, with everyone mingling and fraternizing over coffee for the first thirty minutes before either delving into various presentations highlighting certain organizations and groups, or holding informative lessons covering information that would be useful to budding businesses.

The businesses in attendance span a broad variety of services, from Adrian Silversmith’s venture into the gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich profession to Barbara Gustavson’s vocation of executive coaching. Representatives from universi-

Adrian Silversmith

10

Thursday, November 6, 2014

NEWS Feminists United on Campus protest outside of President Hurley’s home EMILY HOLLINGSWORTH Assistant News Editor

Feminists United on Campus organized a protest last week near Brompton House, the home of University of Mary Washington President Richard Hurley, in an effort to reinforce their concerns and demand change to the university administration’s level of activity regarding sexual assault on campus.

Members of FUC held signs on Thursday, Oct. 30 that read “sexual assault is an epidemic” and “protect students.” FUC took photos and spoke to curious people passing by.

Thursday’s protest was meant to push two different actions: hiring a sexual assault response coordinator who would solely handle sexual assault cases on campus and organize prevention campaigns, and create a set budget that would go exclusively to sexual assault education, treatment and prevention on a yearly basis.

The desired Sexual Assault Response Coordinator would be in charge of all issues related to sexual assault and would assist victims. Contacting one office would make it easier for students to get help, according to Bailey Meeks, a junior creative writing and women and gender studies double major.

The responsibility of handling sexual assault cases and creating awareness and prevention programs at UMW currently comes from different offices on campus.

The Talley Center for Counseling Services provides counseling and resources from students who are victims of sexual assault.

Currently, Title IX Coordinator Leah Cox and Title IX Deputy Coordinator Raymond Tuttle investigate sexual assault cases and bring students involved in sexual assault cases to the Student Conduct Hearing Board.

Cox created the “Yes is the Key Campaign,” an initiative from UMW that began this semester and educates students on the importance of consent in relationships.

Cox also oversees other campus-wide awareness programs.

In addition, UMW faculty and the Fredericksburg Police Department are trained to recognize instances of sexual assault and respond when a student reports a case.

Hiring a sexual assault response coordinator focused exclusively on sexual assault cases and prevention would be somewhat rare. Other secondary schools in Virginia, such as George Mason University and the University of Virginia have faculty that investigate sexual assault cases and organize consent education forms. However, those faculty members have additional responsibilities in the school. For instance, at UVa., the Title IX Coordinator Darlene Scott-Scurry is also the Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs.

In addition to hiring a response coordinator, FUC also wants to create a set budget for sexual assault education and resources on campus.

The message written on their t-shirts read, “UMW spends more money protecting my e-mail than protecting my body.”

According to senior FUC secretary Sarah Palmer, the university contains a designated budget to keep student emails safe from being hacked, but do not have a specified budget for sexual assault education or cases on campus.

Hurley, in a statement regarding FUC’s protest, said he is “always proud of our students when they take a stand on an issue” and has “no problem with their protest.”

“The institution has focused on the is-

“UMW SPENDS MORE MONEY PROTECTING MY E-MAIL THAN PROTECTING MY BODY.” -Feminists United on Campus

Emily Hollingsworth/ The Blue & Gray Press Feminists United on Campus gathered outside of Brompton in a protest designed to put pressure on administration in terms of sexual assault handling.

sue of sexual assault in serious, meaningful ways, continues to focus on the issue to determine what we can do better and differently and certainly take the issue very seriously,” Hurley said.

Beginning Nov. 10, UMW will host a week-long program with activities that will educate students on the importance of consent, including the white ribbon campaign.

The University is also planning to participate in a state-wide survey with other universities in the Commonwealth to gather information about campus climate and use the survey to best decide what areas need additional support, according to a newsletter released from Hurley on Oct. 31.

With the same goal in mind to protect and educate students regarding sexual assault, five members of FUC attended a meeting with Cox and Doug Searcy, vice president for student affairs on Monday, Oct. 27 in order to discuss their concerns and to find a possible solution.

At the meeting, Cox, Searcy and the FUC representatives discussed the possibility of providing more involved discussions about the importance of consent at student orientations and working more closely with community organizations such as Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault and Mary Washington Hospital.

Palmer said Cox and Searcy were responsive to FUC’s ideas and felt the group’s concerns were addressed.

“It went pretty well,” Palmer said.

“They were receptive to our ideas. Definitely felt we were getting heard.”

However, FUC wanted to continue the protest in order to show the administration that the goals they hope to achieve will not disappear anytime soon.

“We wanted to keep the pressure on the administration to show them that this is not an isolated incident,” Palmer said. WW

FredXChange offers resources and support for business and students •FREDXCHANGE | 10 ter and jelly for Halloween.

The 100 percent student run non-profit organization La Ceiba was present at the most recent Open Coffee event as well, where they presented their organization and their goals in providing loans to people living in poverty in Honduras.

They are the only organization that does not take collateral from those they lend money to – instead, they keep in close contact with those they loan to, striving to build relationships and form “trust between loanees and students,” as explained

by Shannon Clunie, a senior spanish major at the University of Mary Washington. La Ceiba representatives also made it clear that they are always open to the involvement of interested students, especially as their client base grows larger.

Susan Bell, representative of the Small Business Development Center, discussed the assistance that is available for those looking to start new businesses through the SBDC, which includes classes and free consulting with marketing experts, real estate agents and bankers.

Bell discussed the technical aspects of venturing into entrepreneurship, covering things like how one might go about defining their market, what it might cost to get started, as well as helpful, relevant information, in hopes of helping people start and run successful businesses.

“We don’t try to kill anybody’s dreams, but we do try to keep it real,” Bell said.

The overall feel of the meetings is one of involvement, desire to succeed and desire to help others succeed, being very much focused on giving back to the community. Whenever anyone expressed a need for assistance in any area within their

business, other businesses with the appropriate assets readily spoke up and offered their resources. Efforts to collaborate were common and near-immediate, and everyone gained through all the pooled resources.

These pooled resources might be of particular interest to business majors, or students that are interested in starting businesses, as the information and the networking opportunities available through FredXchange are numerous and free of charge.

Those less interested in the business aspect of this collection of entrepreneurs can involve themselves in supporting businesses that interest them or that provide services or goods that they are interested in.

There are no fees or dues required to attend any of the meetings, as it is not a membership, and UMW students are encouraged to show up.

“Their perspectives are very important to most startups and existing businesses, there are opportunities for getting involved with local startups, and we have worked with several student-founded startups in the past,” Goodwin said. “We would like to see less people leaving UMW after they graduate and choosing instead to work for cool companies and staying here.”

Goodwin emphasized that FredXchange is interested in keeping local talent in the area, as they would like to “see successful founders re-investing locally and funding new founders.”

FredXchange is also affiliated with various enterprises and groups within the area, including SkillUp VA, Wishstars, Fredericksburg All Ages, Blackstone Coffee Company and Germanna Community College.

11

SPORTS

Editor: Chris Markham | blueandgray.sports@gmail.com

Young captures CAC title as cross country teams host championships Q: Do you have a meal you like to eat on race day?

Q & A with Teagan Young: A: I like to eat either a whole bagel with peanut butter or oatmeal with fruit and chia seeds.

Q: In your free time, is running something you enjoy doing or is it just for sport purposes?

A: I love running and would do it all the time if I could, but I like to do other things. I like to swim, bike, play guitar, draw, write, hang out with friends, watch tv shows, do yoga, meditate and read as well as other things.

Q: What are some pre-race rituals you have?

A: I don’t have any pre-race rituals. I feel like they just get in the way.

Q: Where do you live outside of UMW? What high school(s) did you attend?

A: I live in Falls Church. I went to George Mason High School for my freshman and sophomore years and I went to Forest Park High Schol for my junior and senior year.

Q: Why run cross country here at UMW? A: I love to run. Coach Soper is a great coach and the team is amazing as well. I’ve been going through a tough time recently and they have shown how supportive and understanding they are. I have also made some great friendships outside of track and am learning about myself more as well. I love how small UMW is. It’s such a close knit community. Pretty much everyone is open minded and willing to lend a hand and I think that’s really special.

Q: What are you majoring in at UMW? A: Right now I am majoring in environmental science, but I’m still considering biology.

Q: What got you into cross country?

A: My mom got me into cross country. She signed me up against my will in eigth grade. I went to the first practice and had a blast and I’ve been running ever since.

UMW Athletics

Women finish 2nd, men finish 4th at conference championships MIKEY BARNES Staff Writer

The University of Mary Washington hosted this year’s Capital Athletic Conference Championship for the men and women’s cross country teams at Four Winds Golf Club on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Just 30 minutes from UMW, Four Winds served as a de facto home meet for the Eagles of UMW. Due to the lack of available land surrounding of the university, Four Winds is the closest thing UMW had to a home meet this season.

The conditions of the race were not ideal for bystanders, but for the runners in the race, the weather could not have been more perfect. The cold, rainy weather provided the harriers with ideal running conditions to go along with the fast, flat course the teams were given.

Coming off a second place finish just four weeks prior, the women’s cross coun-

try team showed similar success as they finished with yet another second place finish, this time on a much bigger stage. The women’s team was led by sophomore Teagan Young, who finished first overall with a time of 21:20, which was 22 seconds

ahead of the second place runner. Senior Lauren Braney finished second on the team and sixth overall with a time of 22:15.

Not far behind Braney was sophomore Victoria Parent, who finished 11th overall at 22:47. Freshman Rachel Lewis took 13th overall, followed by senior Tara Landy in 14th, fellow senior Trinity Smith in 17th and junior Sam Park in 27th. The success of Young, Braney, Parent, Lewis and Landy earned all five ladies all-conference team honAaron Spicer/Facebook ors.

The men’s and women’s teams will now travel to Rome, Georgia for Regionals.

The men, who

Wizards no longer an under-the-radar team •WIZARDS | 3

Keith Alison/Flickr Beal will miss four weeks with a broken wrist.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

The Wizards also signed back up big men DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries and Rasual Butler in hopes to build some depth. Backup guard Martell Webster is also returning to the team this year but will be sidelined until December while recovering from back surgery in June.

If Wall and Beal can continue to develop into an elite back-court and the front-court duo of Gortat and Nenê can stay healthy and productive, the Wizards will certainly be one of the most exciting teams in the NBA this season. Other keys to the Wizards’ success will be the growth of Porter and Rice into productive players off the bench and if age has caught up to veterans Nenê, Pierce and Miller.

The Wizards have a realistic shot at finishing the season as the third or fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls will likely finish ahead of the Wizards. The main competition for the third seed will come from the Toronto Raptors.

University of Mary Washington sophomore English major Will Atkinson commented on the Wizards’ upcoming season.

“It will be interesting to watch Wall and Beal continue to develop this year, and I think the addition of Paul Pierce will make for an exciting season,” Atkinson said.

The Wizards will be a fun team to watch this year. Comcast Sportsnet-Washington will carry all the action this season. Tune in on UMW Channel 59.

performed successfully as well, did not fare as well as the women’s team but certainly showed some brightness as they finished in fourth place. The UMW men’s team was also led by a sophomore, as Ben Sorenson finished fourth overall in the conference championship while running an 8k time of 25:16. Junior Nick Eghtessad finished just 24 seconds behind Sorenson, putting him in 17th place overall.

Behind Eghtessad was senior Julian Menk in 22nd, junior Jamie Van Emmerik in 29th, senior Chris Anderson in 36th and fellow senior James King in 37th. Sorenson received all-conference honors for the men and Eghtessad fell short by just one spot.

Overall, it has been a great season for the UMW cross country program. The next step for the teams is the Regional Championship meet in Rome, Georgia on Nov. 15.

Sean’s Predictions: • 48-34 regular season record • 4th in Eastern Conference • Lose in second round 12