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Tinnitus strikes in Simpson: Earthquake-damaged lights torment students, University adopts prevention strategies

NorAh wAlSh Editor-in-Chief

As of April 1, every employee at Simpson Library and the most frequent library attendees—together, about a fifth of the UMW population—were diagnosed with tinnitus caused by overexposure to the ringing noise emitted by the lights in the building. To mitigate further exposure, the University has implemented guidelines that mandate library attendees to don earplugs and noise-canceling headphones before they enter the building, and students have also been directed to distance themselves from the lights by walking down the middle of the hallways in a crouched position or “army crawling” across the floor if they must browse the aisles.

The ringing started on Aug. 23, 2018, after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Piedmont region whose effects were felt in the Fredericksburg area. The earthquake caused the entire building to shake, dropping debris from the bridge to the HCC and vibrating the wires in the lightbulbs—the source of the ringing.

“It’s like a dog whistle,” said Associate Editor Callie Harkins, a sophomore political science major, about what the lights sound like. “It’s so high-pitched that even your music can’t block it out, and it’s constant—there’s no escaping it.”

Political science

Students who studied in the library suffered residual effects from the ringing, such as the noise being stuck in their heads for hours after they left the building. Some wrote it off as a mere annoyance, unaware of the effects they could suffer from spending too much time around the lights.

“It’s like a dog whistle. It’s so high-pitched that even your music can’t block it out, and it’s constant— there’s no escaping it.”

- Callie Harkins

“I had noticed the ringing before, and the noise stuck around in my head after I left the library sometimes, so I started avoiding the library because it was too much,” said News Editor Ky Huynh, a sophomore English major. “But with only a month left in the semester, I really needed to have a quiet place to do my work, so I thought that it would be okay.”

She continued, “I went up to the Nests, but they were all occupied, so I found a desk on the perimeter of the building, but all I could hear was the lights ringing.”

and

international affairs

alumni return to

alma mater to reinforce pillars of liberal arts education

JENNy wolfE Staff writer

On the evening of March 27, a panel of five UMW alumni returned to their alma mater to share their post-grad journeys and impart the lessons they learned to current undergraduate students. The Department of Political Science and International Affairs hosted the panel for current students to share how alumni’s activities and experiences benefited them most during their time at Mary Washington and how to apply those skills in the labor force.

The panelists’ graduation years extended from 2010–2023, which provided a wide range of varied advice about what political science and international affairs students can do at UMW to help further their careers and how to be professional and tactful in the workforce after graduation.

All of the panelists emphasized the importance of writing skills that they learned at UMW as a quality that has set them apart in their fields—whether that writing was for lengthy research-based work or politely emailing constituents.

“The

reason why I landed

this job at all is because I spent a good amount of time at UMW. Not just writing these papers, but getting feedback from professors and the writing center.”

- Mariam Ansari

“The reason why I landed this job at all is because I spent a good amount of time at UMW,” said Mariam Ansari ‘18, a technical writer and editor for ADS/US Agency for International Development. “Not just writing these papers, but getting feedback from professors and the writing center.”

The panelists also reinforced the importance of clear, concise and considerate communication in the workplace and their personal lives. Several of the panelists expressed that they learned this soft skill during their time at UMW due to the small class sizes and intimate nature of the University. This applied to the lessons they learned inside the classroom in addition to those derived from their extracurricular engagement.

UMW has mandated that students in Simpson Library wear earplugs and noise-canceling headphones. Abbey Magnet / The Weekly Ringer

Weekly Ringer

Students grapple with residual effects of lights

According to Huynh, she left 30 minutes later because the noise was too overwhelming and annoying. After she left, she heard the ringing in her head well into the evening, but it was gone when she woke up the following day.

Other students report suffering from more severe effects and have sought professional medical assistance.

“I thought I had blown out my eardrums while fixing the broadcasting volume on the soundboard in the WMWC radio station.”

- Abbey Magnet

“I thought I had blown out my eardrums while fixing the broadcasting volume on the soundboard in the WMWC radio station,” said Sports and Photo Editor Abbey Magnet, a junior communication and digital studies major who DJs with WMWC. “So I went to the doctor, but I was actually diagnosed with tinnitus caused by my overexposure to the lights in Simpson Library.”

She continued, “I was super mad because I had just started studying at the library after my class got moved to the HCC after Monroe closed down, and I thought that this would be my trick to becoming even more of an academic weapon.”

Students who score prime study real estate in the Eagle’s Nests could avoid the ringing noise, though it takes careful planning and posture.

“The only place I can find any asylum from the ringing is up in the Nests,” said Charlie Li, a senior communication and digital studies major. “The cubicles provide some sort of sound blocking that actually maintains the quiet atmosphere the fourth floor is supposed to offer.”

He continued, “But it’s a little awkward to be tall and sitting in the cubicles because if you’re on the top level then you have to crouch down or else the ringing doesn’t get blocked and you face the same problem as the other locations in the library.”

According to UMW Facilities, the light bulbs are designed to be long-lasting so their wires are more durable and sustain vibration for a prolonged time without breaking. As the lights were replaced right before the earthquake, they are not due for a replacement for another five years, hence the adoption of mitigation strategies so that students can access Simpson risk-free.

As a result of the new guidelines, the reference desk is now located in the back of the on-campus Panera. However, students are prohibited from exiting the library without checking out their borrowed items, so they must reserve their books online to pick up at Panera as there is no longer a way to select a book from the shelves and check it out within the library.

Furthermore, all library employees and attendees are mandated to wear appropriate protective gear to avoid contracting tinnitus as they work in the building to retrieve books from the shelves. However, as many have already contracted tinnitus, they are now subject to listening to nothing but the ringing in their heads, which is isolated and amplified by earplugs and noise-canceling headphones that eliminate any other ambient noise that may be more pleasurable and offer some relief.

“It’s so messed up because we should have been wearing this gear the whole time,” said a library employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We’ve all been suffering for as long as we’ve attended the University, and those of us who work at Simpson are the most affected because we could never escape it.”

This story is a part of our April Fool’s edition and is intended to be satirical in nature. All information or quotations are made up and not to be taken seriously.

Alumni panelists offer post-graduate advice

According to alumna Nina Burges ‘21, a revenue officer for the Internal Revenue Service, her role as UMW Honor Council President from 2020–2021 gave her the experience of managing a team and working with authority figures, which were later valuable assets in the workplace.

“It’s super important to be a team player because then you kind of have people you can fall back on as well. And there’s that kind of mutual benefit of being on a team.”

- Joseph Zeldin

“[Being Honor Council President] helped me a lot in terms of interpersonal communication [and] management of people because I’m not only dealing with the 20 members of my panel, but I’m also dealing with the professor—who at the time was Dr. Brettinger,” said Burges.

Several of the panelists weighed in on how students can integrate effectively into the workforce during their first post-grad job.

“It’s super important to be a team player because then you kind of have people you can fall back on as well,” said Joseph Zeldin ‘23, a public policy and impact associate at Community Development Bankers Association. “And there’s that kind of mutual benefit of being on a team.”

Current students attended the event to parse out what their futures would entail after they graduated from UMW.

Natalie Johnson-Abbott, a senior political science major, said that she attended the panel in light of her impending graduation, seeking wisdom from alumni to influence her decision on post-grad plans.

“I have the hard decision of whether to go straight into a career or pursue a Master’s Degree and I felt that the panel could help me make that decision,” she said.

Tonia Attie, a sophomore double majoring in philosophy: pre-law and political science, said that she attended the panel after hearing about it from political science Professor Emile Lester. She attended to hear alumni perspectives from those who had a similar course of academic study.

Attie said, “It was definitely helpful and I think having alumni who all took different career paths post-grad really shows how much a person can do with a political science degree.”

The many perspectives and routes that the panelists offered an array of post-grad

decisions. Geoffrey Carlisle Jr., a senior international relations major, thought it helpful that one alumnus waited to graduate before applying to jobs.

“That was really reassuring considering I’ve been pretty slow with the job search and knowing that there is still hope for me,” he said.

For students seeking help with their resume, post-grad plans or internship and job opportunities, the Center for Career and Professional Development offers students information and professional advice on the second floor of the CRUC.

froM PANEL, PAGE 1

Emotivism

takes center stage:

Feelings begin to dictate the reality of our world, solving all problems without reprisal

ChArlIE lI life Editor

Life is too chill to stress about the small stuff, and too many people are sweating buckets, especially when it comes to having opinions. We’ve got to go with the flow and take the lazy river downstream before Ubering upriver to start the easy journey anew.

So why stress about stress when others can stress for you? Better yet, why have opinions at all? Opinions online and in person create divide and conflict, so everyone should just ease up and become an emotivist.

Our philosophical knight in shining armor, emotivism, suggests that moral statements do not describe the world but merely express our feelings about it. So ditch the opinions, get in your feels and align with the emotivist lifestyle.

For those who haven’t had the pleasure of learning about it, emotivism is like saying, “Apples are the best fruit,” to express “These apples are great!” Essentially, it’s centered around the idea that when we contribute opinions publicly, we’re not really stating facts about the universe, we’re cheering or booing.

So get out your pom poms and megaphones and emote!

Rather than using the critical thinking skills that we spend so much time at UMW developing, let’s ease up and find peace without the cacophonous yapping of opinionated personalities. With the rest of the world so set on being right or wrong, UMW’s campus should become a free space filled with emotivist minds thinking alike.

Diving fully into this emotivist mindset removes any inclinations for disagreement, as everyone is just emoting their feelings. Opinions are truly futile in achieving this state of calmness, for they are much past their prime and unnecessary to go through life. Opinions are in fact, as out-of-date as the mysterious container pressed against the back of your refrigerator.

In this opinion-saturated world, it’s worth considering the controversial notion that opinions—that’s right,

those seemingly harmless expressions of personal taste and belief—might be causing more harm than good. With everyone constantly sharing their opinions with others, there’s always the possibility of some form of backlash. The internet has become a war theater that could rival some historical conflicts in terms of the sheer persistence and dedicated investment in being upset over a difference of opinion, and an opinion is such a tragic hill to die on.

Consider your personal preference for coffee becoming a tempestuous debate.

“An espresso is the only true coffee,” you declare almost too boldly after watching every video with the hashtag “coffee” on TikTok and becoming what you believe is the closest thing to a coffee sommelier.

Little did you know, your simple opinion would ignite the fiery hearts of drip coffee worshippers, leading to a bitter feud that would span across the globe through social media, dividing families and spawning an uncountable amount of passive-aggressive memes on the internet. Suddenly, what you thought was just a cheer in support of coffee became a catalyst for the global divide of nations and the world as we know it—all over the most optimal method of bean water extraction.

Don’t even get me started about the political battleground that has encompassed everything we know today. Here, opinions don’t just lead to a really awkward and tense Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, they influence elections, policies and ultimately the fate of nations. The mere mention of supporting a policy can unravel into debates so intense that they make the espresso vs. drip coffee debate seem like a friendly disagreement at a picnic.

So, in a society already obsessed with likes, hearts and thirst traps, it’s time to embrace our inner emotivist and acknowledge that our opinions are not the beginning and end of a matter. Instead, all we know and have are the vibes.

Instead of holding divisive opinions that tear the fabric of society apart, we need to reevaluate our reaction to

dissension. Rather than erupting in anger when someone defends pineapple on pizza, instead, you can say, “Pineapple on pizza? Not in my emotional landscape!” See how suddenly we’re not arguing about the intrinsic qualities of pineapple as a pizza topping, but acknowledging our individual tastes and feelings?

Emotivism allows citizens to bury their political efficacy, denounce their religion and embrace the smooth sailing of preferred emotional landscapes. It is the answer to the universe’s secrets, the peaceful needle in the haystack of existence and the only avenue to attain hope in this ever-opinionated world.

This story is a part of our April Fool’s edition and is intended to be satirical in nature. All information or quotations are made up and not to be taken seriously.

Staff Editorial: April Fool’s issue reveals The Wiki Whatever

Jason Hayob-Matzke’s Introduction to Ethics course.

Every April, The Weekly Ringer Editorial Board publishes an April Fool’s Day issue of the newspaper in which editors can display and practice their satirical writing skills to provide students, faculty and staff at the University of Mary Washington with entertaining articles that tickle their fancy in critical and absurd ways.

Editors challenge themselves to provide an array of satirical pieces for this issue, delving into the creative writing skills many of us left back in high school to write light and amusing stories. In the April Fool’s issue, the editors are allowed to follow their imaginations to create vivid stories of hypothetical or even surreal situations.

In the News section, Editor-in-Chief Norah Walsh hones in on her hatred of the ringing lights in Simpson Library to inspire a tragic story of yet another building on campus facing issues that evict students from its premises. She bases fiction in fact even further with the passing mention of an earthquake that hit Virginia back in 2018, bearing in mind no knowledge of physics when she speaks of how the lights emit the ringing noise.

Life Editor Charlie Li finally tackles the Opinion section this week to argue against opinions and advertise his support of emotivism—a concept he learned in Professor

In the Life section, Associate Editor Emma Brennan confesses to making TikTok edits and thirsting after dump truck-having actors in “Master of the Air,” making us reflect on the fact that social media—often full of struggle and strife—can also be served with a side of cake for dessert.

In the Sports section, Sports and Photo Editor Abbey Magnet delivers mind-boggling game coverage on a sport without a name or any apparent rules. She pulls from her editorial experience to mix and muddy athletic terms for a unique twist on a game that falls into disarray and disrepair as the story continues.

Satire has the special ability of being able to make us consider the world around us through a different lens, which we hope offers a chance for us all to take ourselves a little less seriously. For this issue, we hope that our audience understands that the quips, cracks, jabs and jokes are satirical through and through. These pieces are meant to be taken in good faith and with ample humor, as we laughed while writing the stories and reading them aloud to each other, and we hope that you’ll do the same.

This staff editorial was led by Norah Walsh.

Why bother with all the arguments, fighting and retaliation when it comes to voicing an opinion? La-Rel Easter / Unsplash

PRISM welcomes professional and student performers in annual drag show following collaborative planning process

SoPhIA ToMPKINS

Drag is about having a community where people can express themselves and feel safe doing so, and on Saturday, April 6, PRISM will honor the importance of this performance art at one of their largest and most well-attended events of the year: the annual PRISM drag show.

According to the UMW website about the club, PRISM “is an education-based club focusing on issues and

information that pertains to gender and sexual minorities.” On the day of the event, PRISM’s executive board will be hard at work setting up the event, running the event—and some will even be performing.

“There are the things everyone sees: like the professional queens, student performers, decorations, and promotional materials, but there also a lot that’s out of sight.”

- Edward Haggerty

To set the mood for the show, the Digital Auditorium in the HCC will be transformed into an under-the-sea wonderland, as the volunteers shroud the room in streamers, jellyfish and seashells. Behind the scenes, 11 executive board members are responsible for setting up the event, led by PRISM President and senior political science major Edward Haggerty.

The drag show has been a tradition since 2002, and it even continued during the COVID-19 pandemic with a virtual show. Both professional queens and student performers will strut, slay and serve all night, creating an open and welcoming environment for students of all genders and sexualities.

Philip Stover, a freshman English: creative writing major and secretary of PRISM, contacted the professional queens to find performers for this year’s show, and he followed a social media rabbit hole to find a third.

“I contacted two performers we’ve invited before and found the third by asking them for recommendations,” said Stover. “I had to do a little bit of social media searching to find an email address I could reach since I was only given names of performers.”

Washington, D.C. She is also organizing the Mx. Tater Tot Pageant which will be held at Kiki—an LGBT bar in Washington, D.C.—on April 20. The winner of the pageant will win $100, a booking at Kiki and an entrance into the Big Pageant in October.

After finding the professionals, the board then spread the word about student performances. Hailing from PRISM and dance communities on campus, students who wished to show off their voguing skills and fancy footwork—or perhaps even a dramatic death drop—filled out a Google form to register for the show.

PRISM’s board members developed promotional material to advertise the drag show to the UMW community. To do so, members worked on tasks that utilized their best skills to successfully organize and promote the event.

Two professional queens, D’Manda Martini and Esthetic Em, will return to the stage for a second year in a row, accompanied by Logan Stone’s debut performance at UMW.

D’Manda Martini calls herself “The Chanteuse of Southern Maryland.” She is a cosplayer as well as a Washington Area Theatre Community Honors award-winning actor and nominated costume designer.

Martini has faced prejudice in reaction to her drag performances in the past. While she was leading the Drag Queen Story Hour at the Silver Spring library in June 2022, a small group of men entered and filmed her reading before “they soon started to interject, yelling about how Martini would face God’s judgment until they were confronted by parents and escorted out by security,” reported The Washington Post.

In addition to their performances, Esthetic Em is the associate director for gender and sexuality resources at Shenandoah University. She also writes about race, gender and sexuality on Medium, such as articles like “Queer Media Geared Towards Teens—What Does it Mean?”

Last but not least, Logan Stone is a drag queen and cosplayer who performs at various drag brunch events in

“Graphic design is not my passion, and we’re fortunate that we have some very talented people on our e-board,” said Haggerty. “My role in that was making sure those talented people knew the specifications of what we needed—Instagram posts, fliers, sandwich boards, and big banners [that] all need different specifications—so making sure our design team understood that part of it and what the timing should look like in terms of submitting things.”

Along with advertising, PRISM had to effectively communicate with the University by asking for funds from Finance Committee and filling out necessary forms to allow for a smooth and coordinated event.

“There are the things everyone sees: like the professional queens, student performers, decorations, and promotional materials, but there’s also a lot that’s out of sight,” said Haggerty about the process of planning the event. “Things like reserving the space, coordinating with facilities and A/V, and making sure all of our ducks are in a row so we can follow all of the finance regulations involved.”

PRISM is tabling from April 1–6 from 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m. at the University Center so students can stop by and get tickets before the show. Tickets to the drag show cost $3 for the UMW community and $5 for non-UMW attendees.

Staff writer

In addition to doing drag, Esthetic Em writes about race, gender and sexuality on Medium. @only_estheticem / Instagram

Logan Stone is a cosplayer and drag queen, who performs at various drag brunches in Washington, D.C. @loganstoneofficial / Instagram

Logan Stone is a cosplayer and drag queen, who performs at various drag brunches in Washington, D.C. @loganstoneofficial / Instagram

Yawningly ordinary “Masters of the Air” shocks viewers with mediocre star talent, Major Glen Cleven’s dump truck

While the cast’s performance and appearance weren’t up to par, the filming of the aerial dogfighting scenes, as well as the accuracy of aircraft was beautifully handled. @appletv / Instagram

EMMA BrENNAN Associate Editor

Apple TV’s latest historical series, “Masters of the Air,” follows the story of the 100th Bomb Group during World War II. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who also produced “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” the series takes to the skies and focuses on the brave missions carried out by the men of the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Force.

In addition to its impressive historical portrayals, the series has a star-studded cast. Featuring Callum Turner of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Anthony Boyle from “Tetris” and Austin Butler from “Elvis”—with his “Elvis” accent somehow still apparent—the ensemble exudes a certain type of attraction.

Don’t get me wrong, the historical portrayals are impressive, but it’s hard to focus on the dogfighting scenes when the men piloting the plane are distractingly plain and possess remarkably unremarkable eyes. This is also the case when they have their face masks and silly little helmets on, trying not to get shot down by the enemy.

And it isn’t only the dogfight scenes; their aimless meandering around the airfield with a manner of walking— one so ordinary it could be replicated by any average Joe— is so mundane and unengaging that you will find yourself having to fast-forward the show due to these boring and unneeded scenes. Why pay for a “star-studded” cast when you can walk outside and pull just about anyone in to accomplish what has been done?

Viewers also took note of this.

“All I could think about when I saw Lieutenant Biddick come on screen was that he looks like a middle-aged Dewey from ‘Malcolm in the Middle,’” said senior international affairs major Nathan Faneuf. “Sawyer Spielberg looks like a skinny Shane Gillis.”

Personally, my least favorite character in “Masters of the Air” is Harry Crosby, a navigator for the 100th. He’s able to woo the ladies in the show but has quite the ques-

tionable appearance, and his overbearing and flagrant attitude is detracting on all accounts—not to mention his unreliability on missions, especially when he throws up in the air, interrupting the crew’s sense of order.

Not to expose myself too much, but I have to admit that, although I didn’t want to, I got engulfed in the “Masters of the Air” craze on TikTok. I have a TikTok account where I use Adobe After Effects to edit shows or movies I enjoy, but I only edited “Masters of the Air” to increase my like count. After all, who would want to edit men who are mediocre at best?

With these warily made edits came people who would unjustly thirst over the cast members as if they were handcarved by God—a borderline repulsive dynamic if you ask me. A user on one of my edits commented “im dying why are they so hot,” and on another, “ugh I need him so bad.” Then the most baffling comment of the bunch: “john egan you rock my world.”

I began to question my own perception of the cast after these alarming comments contradicted my own, but I was quickly reassured by other viewers who thought the cast was yawningly ordinary.

“I was trying to pay attention; the filming and content was beautiful, but I had to look away from the screen anytime any of the actors came on. They hurt my eyes.”

- Jillian Vargas

“I was trying to pay attention; the filming and content was beautiful, but I had to look away from the screen anytime any of the actors came on. They hurt my eyes,” said sophomore international affairs major Jillian Vargas.

However, other viewers thought differently and found the actors immensely attractive, even though they were

clearly in a state of delusion.

“In my professional opinion, Major Gale Cleven had an absolute dump truck, but it is nothing in comparison to Croz’s [Harry Crosby’s] stunning mirror scene… that scene made me feel some way,” said sophomore historic preservation major Adam Shinberg.

Aside from the less-than-spectacular cast, audiences were in awe of the impressive historical accuracy and production quality of the show. The attention to detail in the set designs and costumes convincingly recreated the era, which helped viewers feel immersed in the World War II setting. Especially impressive were the B-17 bombers and combat portrayed in the show, which felt very real.

“The show did a fantastic job of portraying those heroic men, but the true authentic accuracy was Major Gale Cleven’s absolute DUMP TRUCK.”

- Adam Shinberg

“Although I’m not a ‘master of the air’ and not a part of the 100th bomb group during World War II, I did very much appreciate the accuracy of the planes themselves and the specific missions the 100th flew. Especially when it came to the Tuskegee Airmen and the Red Tails,” said Shinberg. “The show did a fantastic job of portraying those heroic men, but the true authentic accuracy of the show was Major Gale Cleven’s absolute DUMP TRUCK.”

This story is a part of our April Fool’s edition and is intended to be satirical in nature. All information or quotations are made up and not to be taken seriously. Emma thinks the cast is smokin’ hot, especially Anthony Boyle.

A sneak peak at the infamous mirror scene of Anthony Boyle who plays Harry Crosby. @appletv / Instagram

Goldman, Fallah and Davies receive VIVA Open Grants for greater resource accessibility and innovative class design

IrENE CASTEllET Staff writer

“I didn’t want my students to pay for something that at the end of the day they may not be required to use entirely, so I saw the announcement for the [VIVA Open Grant] and I felt like, ‘Okay, this is a good incentive to just push me towards using an open education resource,’” said Samira Fallah, an assistant professor in the College of Business.

Fallah is one of three recipients at UMW to receive a VIVA grant, which Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium established to “encourage the use of open and affordable course content by providing funding for instructors and libraries to adopt, adapt and create course content that can be made available to students for no or very little cost.”

Computer science professor Stephen Davies and communication and digital studies associate professor Adria Goldman also received VIVA grants, all of which aim to alleviate the financial burden on students by providing free access to costly course materials.

Faculty members received an email about applying for a VIVA grant, “which was asking us to adopt some free online resource for students,” said Goldman. Applicants had to identify a particular source they wanted funding to use and explain its relevancy to their course.

According to UMW Voice, the VIVA Open Adopt Grant program offers assistance to educators by incorporating pre-existing open or low-cost materials into their syllabi, thereby ensuring accessibility to academic resources for Virginia educators.

With this grant, Fallah will be able to incorporate “OpenStax Principles of Management” in her Principles of Management course. Davies will adopt the second edition of “Database Design” for his Applications of Databases class, and Goldman will integrate “Communication in the Real World” in Introduction to Communication and Rhetoric.

Together, the professors’ three initiatives are projected to save students over $72,000 in textbook expenses and impact over 1,000 students over five years. Statewide, the 2023 awards are expected to save students nearly $1.5

million in expenses and have the potential to benefit over 16,000 students.

With the reduction of textbook costs, instructors have more flexibility when it comes to organizing their classes and offering their students a low-cost but high-quality education.

Anna Vilain, a sophomore communication and digital studies major and exchange student from France, said that this grant “opens frontiers to other very interesting options.”

“I think it’s an excellent idea that many people could benefit from,” she said. “Also, it means that learning does not come only from a textbook, which can be a bit boring.”

Fallah explained that using a cost-free textbook allows her to use funds to incorporate other tech resources in her classes.

“In terms of assignments, first of all, there are many interesting simulations out there, and there are new simulations that are not being used much by instructors—they are AI-based simulations,” she said.

In these simulations, students log into a game, which then provides them with a case scenario within a certain field. In simulations on managerial decision-making, students practice skills like “how to manage remote work, or how to be a more effective manager or how to develop a

specific type of a strategy,” according to Fallah.

To Fallah, implementing alternative academic resources is not only about their affordability but also their impact on pedagogical approaches.

“These simulations are, unfortunately not free, so students need to pay, but the payment that they need to make is much lower than the textbook. So, now that I don’t use a textbook, I may be able to use those simulations,” said Fallah. “Other than these, I can be creative in terms of coming up with new assignments, and I design new activities.”

For both students and teachers, this grant marks a new stage in the way classes are taught at UMW.

“I think there’s a move towards getting free information online, right—whether it’s credible or not—it’s there, and I think we have to kind of tap into that,” said Goldman. “By locating or even creating these free credible resources for students, I think it does have the potential to have a big impact on higher education because it’s expensive.”

Building on Goldman’s insight, Fallah expressed enthusiasm for the potential benefits this shift could bring to the future.

“I’m excited for my students, and hopefully this will make me a better instructor … [and] help my students learn better,” said Fallah.

Crime Column

Fondling

on March 19, there was a case of fondling at Ball Circle. This case was referred to the Talley Center.

Fondling

on March 19, there was a case of fondling at westmoreland hall. This case was referred to the Talley Center.

Destruction of Property

on March 21, there was a case of destruction of property at hyatt Place. This case was sent to fredericksburg City Police Department.

Adria Goldman, Samira Fallah and Stephen Davis received VIVA Grants to provide open and affordable educational resources to their students in light of the high cost of university education. UMW

UMW team plays other team in some sport

ABBEy MAGNET Photo & Sports Editor

On April 1, a UMW athletic team composed of either boys or girls played a game requiring skill and athleticism in an open area somewhere near campus. They played the game against a rival team, and one team lost and one team won.

The stands were pretty full looking down on the baseball pitch, but I soon realized that I had gone to the wrong game and found my way over to the rugby diamond. There, they threw around a pigskin, and I saw the opposing team score a touchdown.

I continued to observe the game and was excited when UMW got a goal, but the students in the stands did not seem as thrilled. I soon realized that I had been cheering on the wrong team. I suppose the colors should have been a dead giveaway; after all, one team wore red while the other sported blue uniforms.

Both teams played well—I think—but one did a little better than the other. One team scored three home runs and the other team hit 76 goals.

Callie Harkins, associate editor and sophomore political science major, enjoyed watching the players compete.

“I came with my friend to watch the game and actually enjoyed myself. The players all did very well,” she said.

The weather was sunny with rain showers wreaking havoc on the turf. The players had to avoid massive puddles, but the man in the black and white striped uniform said the teams would continue to play despite the natural obstacles. During halftime, players enjoyed the muddy ground as if it were a Slip ‘N Slide.

Following the halftime entertainment, many students in the stands decided to leave because they were soaked by the rain, and all hopes of identifying the correct team were lost with the mud that covered

their matching t-shirts.

Some students left, feeling no need to stay and cheer on the teams because they believed UMW would lose.

“Yeah, I didn’t stay the whole game because I was wet and bored,” said News Editor and sophomore English major Ky Huynh. “I also assumed UMW wouldn’t be able to beat the opposing team.”

However, once the rain stopped, the teams were able to play much better.

UMW’s pitcher almost made a slam dunk during the second part of the game, but the other team spiked the ball out of the net before it could make it in. This resulted in a foul ball, giving the pitcher the chance to sink the shot and knock the ball out of the park.

Editor-in-Chief Norah Walsh, a senior Spanish and philosophy: pre-law double major, attended the game after realizing that she hadn’t been to many athletic events at UMW.

“I thought I was coming to a game that wouldn’t rival broadcasted sporting events, but I was seriously mistaken,” she said. “At first I thought I was confused about the rules of the game, but when the field turned into a Slip ‘N Slide, I confirmed that UMW knows how to entertain.”

The UMW goalie did a phenomenal job at keeping a rogue birdie hit by the rival team from making a hole-in-one as the clock dwindled to zero. With this final save, the stands erupted in cheers, not in support of the winner but rather rejoicing in the possibility of donning warm, dry clothing upon their return home.

The Eagles will play again on May 8 against a different team. The game will take place on the football field at midnight, though none of the lights on the field will be on.

This story is a part of our April Fool’s edition and is intended to be satirical in nature. All information or quotations are made up and not to be taken seriously.

Roots returns to the diamond for senior season

lower body to include lower impact [exercises] and less direct work on the hamstring,” said Morris.

At the onset of baseball season on Feb. 10, Noah Roots, a senior business administration major, pulled his hamstring at bat. Nevertheless, through dedicated work and training, Roots has recovered from his injury and returned to showcase his skills on the diamond as a first baseman.

Roots was on crutches for a week and then rehabilitation for two weeks, which included dry needling and strengthening. Kimlonte Morris Jr., commonly known as “Coach Kim,” is UMW’s strength and conditioning director who helped Roots with his strength lifting by modifying his training.

“We have modified some things for his

Despite his injury, Roots epitomizes the image of athleticism.

“As an athlete, Noah passes the eye test. He has the build and strength of a top-tier athlete,” said Morris. “On the field, he displays his talents with a powerful swing, efficient infield play and quick decision-making.”

Mary Washington’s baseball team has been playing strong. Over 24 games, they’ve won 18, hit five home runs and are on base 41.9% of the time, according to UMW Athletics.

But Roots holds himself and the team to a higher standard than winning or other arbitrary statistics. Even though the team swept the plate in all of their games over the March 23–24 weekend, Roots said, “We agreed as a team that we didn’t play that well.”

On March 27, UMW Men’s Baseball played an away game against Bridgewater College. The game went into two extra innings as they were tied 4–4 by the end of the ninth inning, and Mary Washington fell short, losing by just one run in the end.

On March 29, UMW baseball had a makeup game against Randolph-Macon College. The team was up 5–0 in the third inning but ultimately lost 10–6. According to Roots, the game was one of the worst losses of his career.

During their following game on March 30, the team had a home game against Salisbury University—one of the Eagle’s toughest rivals. Since UMW did not play well in their

previous games, they had even more motivation to take home the win.

The game was remarkably close at the end, but the Eagles won 11–9. It was the first game that a team scored more than 10 runs against Salisbury this season, and the win also marked the first win against Salisbury in eight years.

In all, Roots’ talent on the field doesn’t stay on the plate since he incorporates excellence into his social life as well—particularly with his teammates.

“He is down to earth, has a great personality and engages with any and everyone he is around. He keeps a positive attitude and always has something funny to say,” said Morris.

Furthermore, Griffin Graham, a junior economics major and pitcher on the team, sees Roots as a great model to the underclassmen, noting that his presence will be missed after he graduates.

“What I’m going to miss the most when he’s not here next year is his leadership in the weight room,” said Graham. “Teammates see the work he puts in during lifts, and it motivates guys to step up to that level. We’re also going to miss not having him daily. We’re a family first on this team and not having him around is going to be sad.”

Even with a torn hamstring early in the season, Roots still looks forward to the conference and the NCAA tournaments.

He said, “The season’s been good. The team is winning a lot of games and we are excited to get into conference play towards the back half of our season.”

Men’s Tennis (9-3)

April 5 vs. Chris. Newport

April 6 vs. Carnegie Mellon vs. Pfeiffer

April 12 @ Brandeis

Women’s Tennis (6-5)

March 29 vs. Haverford (5-4)

April 6 vs. Carnegie Mellon

April 13 vs. Chris. Newport

Men’s Baseball (18-6)

March 28 vs. Randolph-Macon (10-6)

March 30 vs. Salisbury (11-9)

April 3 vs. Stevenson (Postponed)

April 6 @ Chris. Newport

April 8 vs. Marymount (Va.)

April 9 vs. Penn St. Harrisburg

April 10 @ Shenandoah

Women’s Softball (11-11)

March 30 vs. randolph-Macon (8-0) vs. randolph-Macon (2-1)

April 2 vs. Mary Baldwin (Postponed)

April 3 vs. Va. wesleyan

April 9 @ Stevenson

April 10 vs. Catholic

Men’s Lacrosse (6-5)

March 30 @ Stockton (18-17)

April 6 vs. Montclair St.

April 10 @ Salisbury

Women’s Lacrosse (3-7)

March 29 vs. Stevenson (10-9)

April 3 vs. York (Pa.)

April 7 vs. York (Pa.)

April 12 vs. Bridgewater (Va.)

Games are available to watch via livestream on the UMw Athletics webpage www.eagles.com/composite

AMANDA ShEwArD Staff writer

Roots steps up to bat. Photo courtesy of Paul Kotula.