The University of Mary Washington Student Newspaper Serving the community since 1922
The
Ringer
Weekly
VOLUME 95 | ISSUE 16
FEBRUARY 10, 2022
Virginia Attorney General’s opinion states universities may not require COVID-19 vaccines, UMW lifts mandate
jOSEPHINE JOHNSON News Editor On Jan. 26, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued an executive opinion at the request of Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The opinion stated that, “absent specific authority conferred by the General Assembly, public institutions of higher education in Virginia may not require vaccination against COVID-19 as a general condition of students’ enrollment or inperson attendance.” This is in direct contrast to the university’s previous policy that all students, faculty and staff must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a booster shot, and UMW has since revised its vaccine requirement as a result. Students received an email from Lisa Marvashti, signed by the Office of The President, on Jan. 31, informing them that, after reviewing the executive opinion, UMW will no longer be requiring proof of vaccination for students attending classes in person. Unvaccinated students or students without the booster vaccine will not be required to test any more than fully vaccinated students.
“UMW continues to strongly encourage students and employees to get vaccinated/ boosted as soon as they are eligible, and we strongly encourage them to upload their information when they do so at the designated survey locations,” said University President Troy Paino in the email sent out on Jan. 31. Nevertheless, the majority of UMW students are at least partially vaccinated.
“If you’re vaccinated, your chances of getting severely sick are extremely low. The vast majority of our students are boosted, and for now we still require masks inside.” -Troy Paino “Fortunately, approximately 95% of the UMW community is vaccinated, making this an incredibly safe place to live, learn and work,” said Paino in an interview. “If you’re vaccinated,
While vaccines are no longer required, the mask mandate remains in place for UMW students and faculty. Naomi Jones / The Weekly Ringer
your chances of getting severely sick are extremely low. The vast majority of our students are boosted, and for now we still require masks inside.” Paino also reassured students who may be concerned by the lifting of the vaccine mandate. “Dr. Joseph Allen, a COVID and ventilation expert at Harvard, recently stated that being vaccinated, boosted and wearing
a well-fitted N95 or similar mask indoors puts you at ‘extremely low’ risk,” said Paino. “In fact, he said ‘there’s not much else in life that would have as low a risk as that.’ While the risk is not zero, an impossible and impractical standard to meet, and those who are immunocompromised have to be more careful, individuals on campus now have the tools at their disposal to remain safe no
matter what others are doing.” The City of Fredericksburg has 5,196 confirmed cases as of Feb. 9, according to The Weather Channel’s COVID-19 case website. UMW has 203 cumulative reported cases this semester as of Feb., according to the university’s COVID-19 dashboard. In the fall 2021
SEE VACCINE PAGE 2
Education students placed in school districts with varying mask policies following Governor’s executive order
ELI KEITH Staff Writer
Students in the University of Mary Washington’s College of Education will soon begin their required practicum hours for the spring semester in area schools amid multiple school divisions doing away with their mask mandates. The removal of mask mandates in school districts that have elected to do so follows new Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order that loosens COVID-19 restrictions. In Fredericksburg, UMW students are between counties that do have a mask mandate in place and counties that do not. Stafford County, Prince William County and Fredericksburg City have kept their mask mandates, while Spotsylvania County and King George County are opting to follow Youngkin’s executive order. Several of the school districts that have not yet lifted their mask mandate,
INSIDE THE
RINGER
News | 7
Teacher “tip line” causes concern for future educators.
College of Education students may have to work in classrooms that do not have mask mandates. Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels.com
Fredericksburg neighbor Prince William County among them, have sued Gov. Youngkin for this decision and left it up to the courts to decide who has the
Opinion | 3 Sustainability practices left unfulfilled by lack of funding.
authority in this situation. The executive order contradicts Virginia Senate Bill 1303, which “requires each school board to provide such in-person instruction
Life | 4
Cosmy covers feeling confident in yourself during sex.
in a manner in which it adheres, to the maximum extent practicable, to any currently applicable mitigation strategies … to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 that have been provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” This creates a varying and unpredictable environment for education students, many of whom have yet to step into a physical classroom for observational requirements. Not unlike other adults working in environments where they are at risk of contracting COVID-19, students participating in practicums in public schools have some concerns. “Personally, I feel very scared and uncomfortable, especially since I will be around high school students, many of which could be athletes who have extensive, out of community interactions,” said sophomore English major Caleigh Deane, who is in the secondary education
SEE PRACTICUM PAGE 2
Sports | 8
Men’s lacrosse team kicks off season this weekend.
News
Thursday, February 10, 2022
The
Weekly Ringer Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief Jess Kirby
Education practicum students to still adhere to university mask requirements FROM PRACTICUM PAGE 1 the College of Education
weeklyringer.eic@gmail.com
program in the College of Education and has received a practicum placement in Business Editor Stafford County, which still has Erin Matuczinski a mask mandate in place. weeklyringer.business@gmail.com Junior elementary education major Brianna Burckhalter has been placed in Spotsylvania Associate Editors County, where the mask mandate has been removed for Bernadette D’Auria students and visitors. Cosima Pellis “I personally am very weeklyringer.associate@gmail.com nervous,” she said. “I think it is unfair specifically because most of [the] students in elementary Copy Editor school most likely are not vaccinated.” Abigail Slaughter Youngkin’s executive weeklyringer.copy@gmail.com order states that any Virginia public school student and their parents can elect for that News Editors student to attend school in Josephine Johnson person without a mask and Scotti Mullen without providing a reason. weeklyringer.news@gmail.com For students in non-mandate districts, this provides them with a choice. UMW students, however, will be going into Opinion Editor schools for practicum required Norah Walsh to wear a mask, regardless of weeklyringer.opinion@gmail.com which district they are in, as they are expected to adhere to the University’s current policy Life Editor that masks are to be worn Josephine Good indoors.
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Sports Editor Victoria R. Percherke
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Online Editors Maggie Mae Young Cameron Delean
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Photography Editor Emily Warren
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Faculty Advisor Sushma Subramanian ssubrama@umw.edu
Corrections Due to staff error, the Jan. 27 article “Office of Disability Resources recently relocated to Seacobeck Hall” stated that ODR director Jessica Machado was not available for comment in time for publication. This is incorrect and has been removed from the online version of the article. Due to editor error, last week’s article “Ukraine-Russia conflict sparks discussion in political science and international relations classes” incorrectly stated that Russia has assembled 1,000 troops. They have assembled 100,000 troops. Due to editor error, last week’s article “Ukraine-Russia conflict sparks discussion in political science and international relations classes” incorrectly referred to junior Eleanor Haas as a senior. The Weekly Ringer strives for accuracy and will correct any inaccurate information printed in the newspaper. Please report any corrections to Jess Kirby at weeklyringer.eic@gmail.com or Sushma Subramanian at ssubrama@umw.edu.
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“It’s very important students have as many in-person experiences as can be safely set up for them.” -Janine Davis Students in the College of Education do not have a say on which school district they are placed in, primarily because they are placed with a teacher in a school who is able to mentor them at a time that fits all schedules involved. In recent semesters, however, practicums have been conducted in several different ways in order to meet the program requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students have been in
for multiple semesters and still have not stepped into a classroom.
“I am a firm believer that a virtual practicum experience will not adequately prepare someone to teach in a real classroom environment.” -Layla Barnes Many students in the College of Education will be placed in Spotsylvania County, while others will have placements in Stafford County or Fredericksburg City. These practicums will vary to a large degree in regards to how much their placement school is taking action toward combating the spread of COVID-19. Students placed in Stafford County or Fredericksburg City will be in classroom environments that are aligned with the CDC’s guidance for combating COVID-19 in K-12 schools, which recommends “universal indoor masking for all” regardless of vaccination status. Still, school landscapes are expected to return to normal when the pandemic has ended, and current education students are only a couple of years from entering their own classrooms. “It’s very important students have as many in-person experiences as can be safely set up for them,” said Janine Davis, associate dean and professor in the College of Education. Davis, as well as Director of Clinical Experiences Kristina Peck, scour the news and updates from school boards about how schools are going forward as each new semester begins. “They [school boards] don’t ever ask us what we think,” said Davis. All residential UMW students were sent home in March of 2020, and from that
semester until the fall 2021 semester many students did not go to an in-person practicum. The virtual practicums took the form of modules, lesson videos and virtual tutoring or teaching sessions with students in one of the five school districts that UMW students may be placed in. According to Davis and Peck, students who are immunocompromised or at high risk will still be able to take this option if they must. Despite the concerns of the masking status in some schools, there are students who are excited to simply get into a classroom. “I am a firm believer that a virtual practicum experience will not adequately prepare someone to teach in a real classroom environment,” said sophomore Layla Barnes, an English major in the secondary education program. There are also interactions outside of the physical classroom that do not occur without being physically in schools. “You’re not walking into the building and interacting with the office staff, interacting with any kids that are not in your class, seeing teachers who are teaching next door,” said Davis. Davis believes that, though the teaching can be done virtually, more subtle aspects of schools may be difficult to learn without walking through the hallways. “We can’t predict what’s going to happen every single day… all those little tiny things that you just don’t think about,” said Peck. In virtual settings “it was really hard to build relationships with the kids. You had to go really out of your way, even then there were some kids you never even knew what they looked like the entire year.” Due to the pandemic’s effects on school structure, students’ home lives and socialization opportunities, students are “entering a very different classroom from what they left,” said Peck. “One of the roles of a teacher is to almost be a
therapist at times. You have to have that trauma-informed practice.” Despite concerns that entering public schools without mask mandates puts practicum students there at risk, some believe that virtual practicums do not prepare students to teach as well as in-person ones do. Burckhalter completed an in-person practicum in an elementary school last semester.
“I valued being in person in the classroom because I got to have handson experience with the students and could learn and help teach in the classroom. I feel like if I was virtual in practicum, I would feel very lost and not learn much.” -Brianna Burckhalter “I valued being in person in the classroom because I got to have hands-on experience with the students and could learn and help teach in the classroom,” she said. “I feel like if I was virtual in practicum, I would feel very lost and not learn much. I would not be able to see how the students are collaborating, it makes it more difficult to help the students. It would be a big adjustment from being in person.” While the outcome of this lawsuit has yet to be decided, the unpredictability and variability of the situation reflect the reality of a profession that is equally as dynamic and complex.
Students and faculty no longer required to be vaccinated against COVID-19
FROM VACCINE PAGE 1 semester, UMW reported a total of 128 COVID cases from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31. “I don’t appreciate [the new COVID regulations] because I live with high-risk family members and I’d like to believe that I’m not taking COVID home, but there’s no way to be sure,” said Addy Reeher, a junior communication and digital studies
major. Reeher noted that because the Attorney General issued this opinion, “it puts the schools in a very difficult position.” Reeher, a resident of Eagle Landing, is concerned that some residents do not wear masks in the building. “There are a lot of students who are unvaccinated for whatever reason and
that worries me because they’re not getting weekly tests, especially because people in Eagle Landing don’t wear masks,” she said. Junior sociology major Megan Mercuro also wishes the university could maintain its vaccine mandate. “Personally, I think the school should’ve kept the vaccine mandate, especially with the new highly contagious
strain omicron,” said Mercuro. “By keeping the mandate we are not only protecting ourselves but other students and faculty who may be at high risk. We are also preventing the school from having another fully Zoom semester.” Moving forward, Paino hopes to work through mental health problems amplified by COVID. “The availability of
the vaccine and booster has significantly reduced the risk posed by the omicron variant, so we must now focus more on the mental health problems associated with organizing our lives around COVID,” he said. “More human interaction will go a long way in addressing those problems, so I look to our future with great hope and enthusiasm.”
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Opinion
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Compostable dining materials rendered useless without proper disposal methods on campus
ABIGAIL SLAUGHTER Copy Editor
Despite some of the efforts UMW has made to become more sustainable, such as switching to compostable dining hall packaging and silverware, the university has not had the monetary means to properly dispose of the waste created by this packaging. Therefore, UMW should receive additional state funding in order to be able to effectively implement its sustainability initiatives. Having compostable materials and not the proper ways to compost them is like separating trash and recyclable materials just to dispose of them in the same dumpster. Just as recyclable materials need to be separated out from regular trash in order to be correctly processed, compostable materials need to be divided out from other forms of non-compostable waste. If this separation process does not happen, the university’s use of compostable materials for the sake of sustainability is rendered obsolete. The university is listed among the most environmentally-conscious colleges in the “The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges,” and the state should match that prestigious achievement by helping fund ongoing sustainability efforts so that UMW can continue to receive this accreditation and positive national attention. According to Melanie Szulczewski, an associate professor of environmental science and founding member and co-chair of the President’s Council on Sustainability, these materials need to be separated from normal trash in order to actually be sustainable. Having worked with this
Katora Cafe distributes compostable dining materials when students order from the cafe. Emily Warren / The Weekly Ringer
council on implementing campus composting and other sustainability efforts for almost 15 years, Szulczewski is familiar with the financial and bureaucratic challenges of promoting sustainability on campus. “Compostable silverware and plates are a great idea in theory, but if you’re putting them into the regular garbage, it’s probably not worth the extra expense, and it is misleading to say you’re using compostable materials if you’re not composting them,” said Szulczewski. “If you are going to invest in having compostable silverware and plates, it’s really important to take the extra step to send them to a composting facility.” Currently, the university is in the process of implementing multiple sustainability initiatives across campus. One program is Sodexo’s Better Tomorrow 2025 plan, which is a “corporate social responsibility roadmap that ensures our actions contribute to a better future for our employees, customers and the communities we are part of and the world around us,” according to David Schneider, the General Manager of University Dining. Since Sodexo is our campus’s food service provider, UMW is part of their plan to do better for the planet; however, the university’s individual attempts at sustainability need to be fully met in order to properly represent this mission. Alan Griffith, a biology professor who has done sustainability research projects in the Fredericksburg community, said, “When you compost things, they decompose very differently than when you put them into a landfill. When you take compostable materials and you put them into a landfill, that gets covered up by other trash.” The piling of trash aids in the production of harmful greenhouse gases, according to Griffith. “Decomposition still happens, but decomposition happening in an anaerobic environment–a non-oxygen environment– produces a lot of methane,” he said. Griffith mentioned that if the state were to get financially involved, it could help kickstart sustainability practices at UMW, which would make us part of the solution to the climate crisis. According to UMW’s 2020-2021 University Budget Plan, the university has suffered financial losses, leading to budget cuts. For example, from the 2019-2020 academic year to the 2020-2021 academic year, UMW cut its dining budget by 5%, or almost $460,000. The university has been forced to make budget cuts in many sectors in order to maintain good financial standing, so we cannot expect the university to be able to properly compost dining material without further help from the state. With a budget insufficient in funds to provide proper disposal of compostable materials, such as compost collection bins on campus, these materials end up being
thrown away along with other trash. This leads to landfills filling up with even more materials that are intended to remedy the sheer amount of trash we create. This was especially an issue when the university began the semester with only grab-and-go dining. Callie Jordan, a junior political science and women’s, gender and sexuality studies double major, can attest to the sheer amount of trash created by campus dining. “Boxes were stuffed and piled into trash cans around the UC,” she said. “When it got too overfilled, students placed them in the hallway.” According to Planet Aid, the average college student produces approximately 640 pounds of trash per year, which is generated from the abundance of single-use products provided by schools at dining locations and campus events. If UMW had the financial resources to correctly dispose of compostable dining materials, it would not only mitigate the creation of so much waste, but it would also help the environment. The university creates a substantial amount of waste, especially with grab-and-go dining, and the accumulation of waste in landfills comes with a price. “Landfills are filling up,” said Griffith. “It is expensive to take land and put it aside to put things into it.” Why should our school contribute even more trash to landfills that are already reaching their capacity? If the state provided the school with funds to support a composting initiative, then the school could fulfill its promise of being a sustainable institution. Although the university is taking part in initiatives to reduce the use of single-use plastics on campus, they need more money for their dining sector in order to be able to successfully carry out these practices. Even with faculty members attempting to implement these beneficial practices on campus, there will not be progress without sufficient funds. On Jan. 24, the university reopened in-person dining at all campus dining locations, which somewhat eliminates the use of single-use dining materials, since the dining hall has returned to using flatware and china; however, some places like Katora and Panera still provide these disposable materials. Therefore, even though the materials are less distributed, the need to dispose of them properly still stands. Furthermore, we are living in an extremely unpredictable college environment where the appearance of a new COVID-19 variant or another supply change shortage could force dining locations to revert back to grab-and-go dining, which would mean a return to using compostable dining materials again.
TIDAL offers music for the sake of artistry, not profit norah walsh & Alexi woodward Opinion Editor & Staff Writer Spotify’s low price to stream an endless amount of music may look appealing, but their practices have shifted from a focus on music to that of mere entertainment and profit. Due to their heinously low compensation for creators and lack of support for musical artists when conflicts arise, it is clear that Spotify doesn’t care about their musical artists and cares more about their streams. Thus, students should switch to TIDAL, a similar streaming platform that prioritizes artists. Spotify and TIDAL are both large streaming services, offering over 50 million and 60 million tracks respectively. While this number of tracks for either platform is impressive, the compensation Spotify gives its artists is dismal, paying only $0.00331 per stream, yet they recently reported over $2 million in profits and over $2 billion in revenue. The compensation for their artists compared to their revenue and profits reflects that they don’t value their artists enough to pay them for their work. TIDAL pays their artists $0.00927 per stream, which is significantly more than Spotify. For every 1,000 streams, artists on TIDAL make $9.27, while artists on Spotify make $3.31. Additionally, TIDAL gives comprehensive credit to all those who contributed to a song. This dedication to their artists demonstrates a superior focus on music, while Spotify focuses on entertainment as a whole to attract listeners.
Both platforms cost $4.99 per month for student subscriptions. For this price, Spotify includes access to Showtime and Hulu. Many students find this to be a perk of the platform but not because of increased access to music. Instead, added subscriptions included in the overall fee seem to draw listeners for the purpose of increased entertainment. According to their website, “TIDAL is a global music streaming platform bringing fans closer to artists through unique experiences and the highest sound quality,” offering around 350,000 videos. These videos, which consist of “music videos, filmed live performance, and movies and documentaries about music,” according to the Soundguys website, indicate that the service is more fit for music lovers. So why do so many people choose to stream music through Spotify? One reason is the concern students have about losing their carefully curated playlists. “It would be extremely difficult for me to make a switch to a different streaming service at this point,” said Reid Brown, a senior environmental science major. “I have a playlist with almost 4,000 songs on it that I have been making for the past three years now, and over half of those songs I wouldn’t even know what they are.” However, this situation isn’t an issue, since TIDAL offers a service to import playlists from a Spotify account to TIDAL using TunemyMusic or Soundiiz, which are
both provided on the TIDAL website. There is also a premium service that moves all of the music from one platform to another at once. All levels of the premium service are under $10. Accessibility is another reason for people’s hesitation. “Spotify is the most easily accessible for me and what I need,” said UMW alumnus Emmanuel Smith, a master’s program graduate with a degree in music technology, who has music on Spotify. “I’ll probably eventually move to TIDAL. They have the most features, and they pay the artists the best. As consumers though, most people don’t really care about how much the artist is making.” While TIDAL offers “unique experiences” for listeners, Spotify has more independent artists. This is most likely related to the process it takes for artists to get their music on the respective platforms, since Spotify’s acceptance process is much more lenient. TIDAL’s process ensures that the music they offer meets a certain expectation, making it more difficult for indie artists to upload their music to the platform. Spotify doesn’t care about the standard of music they allow on their platform, for allowing indie artists to upload their music without much overview attracts more listeners to the app. This exploits these smaller artists, since the intention behind hosting them is for profit, not for the shared love of music. More artists means more listeners, and more listeners means more profits.
see spotify page 6
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Life
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Movie review: “Moonfall” disappoints with generic storyline Jacob veil Staff Writer “Moonfall” is the latest addition to the disaster flick genre. A tedious affair. The film is directed by Roland Emmerich, who has dominated this genre for some time, directing films such as “Independence Day,” “2012” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” The cast is star-studded, featuring delightful Patrick Wilson as astronaut Brian Harper, Oscar-winner Halle Berry as astronaut Jocinda “Jo” Fowler and John Bradley of “Game of Thrones” as conspiracy theorist KC Houseman. However, the main star of the film is the moon. Yeah, that’s right; it’s the most compelling part of the film. The earth is doomed because it is an Emmerich film, but also because the moon is falling, hence the incredibly on-the-nose name. However, lack of imagination in the plot is not the problem; it is the poor execution of those interesting ideas that mar an otherwise well-scored and well-crafted feature. Those familiar with Emmerich’s filmography would not be surprised at the introduction of aliens, with world-ending ambition, as the main antagonist. However, Emmerich, who is also a writer and producer of this film, attempts to subvert expectations by introducing a second group of aliens as a separate set of protagonists. Multiple switchbacks, odd pacing and direction choices riddle this film, leaving the audience feeling like they have suffered debilitating intellectual whiplash. Undoubtedly, Emmerich was attempting to re-capture the magic of his earlier films, but the result is a scattered mess. The opening scene of the movie is a near-shot-for-shot rip from the movie “Gravity” by Alfonso Cuaron. Without going into spoilers, disaster strikes, because it is a disaster movie, and the moon begins to fall. A key feature of disaster movies is watching the world go to hell with fake news reports and politicians and scientists searching for answers, but even that element is rather listless and poorly executed. Rather, Emmerich focuses on the familial components of the lead character’s lives, no doubt hoping to create some sympathy for the leads and increase the stakes of the upcoming mission. Instead, these scenes come off as rather wooden and unconvincingly portrayed. At one point, I was even rooting for the moon to win. As the situation deteriorates, Earth’s leaders formulate a plan that inevitably fails, leaving Earth’s top minds searching for answers. Enter astronaut maverick Brian Harper, a generic hero with a generic name, played by Patrick Wilson. Only he can save the day because he plays by his own rules. And you know he’s a maverick because he owns a motorbike and wears leather jackets, which means he’s a hero. Think of Clint Eastwood’s “Man with No Name” but good at science. Halle Berry functions as a foil to Wilson’s lead character, bringing class and intelligence to the role. Unfortunately, she is relegated to the role of chaperoning Wilson’s character through the plot. The film probably would have been better if she was the lead, wearing leather jackets and riding motorcycles, and Wilson was her dorky, little science sidekick. The last of the leads in this film is KC Houseman, another terrible name, played by John Bradley. Bradley plays the conspiracy theorist, who is actually right for once. He warns the heroes of the incoming doom and, for some reason, must accompany them
on their secret mission to steal a rocket ship and fly to the moon. He’s downgraded to the role of the bumbling, overweight, comic relief sidekick. This is something Hollywood has been in love with for years, unfortunately, and really needs to progress with the times. However, Bradley is an accomplished actor and makes the role his own; you even feel sympathy for him and his B-plot, something that is rather elusive in the rest of the film. The plot progresses in predictable fashion, and the trio makes it to the moon after flying through a tsunami. Yes. A tsunami. This movie takes enormous liberties with the rules of science and physics. During their journey, the film is intercut with scenes “Moonfall” is a disaster movie about the supposed end of the of the moon breaking apart in world. @johnbradleywest / Instagram Earth’s atmosphere, creating stunning cinematic landscape shots and filling the viewer with awe, but not particularly deepening an already thin plot. There is also a boring B-plot where Wilson’s family is searching for supplies and they have to fight groups of raiders because apparently humanity devolves into baser instincts once there is no electricity for one week. The film has a lackadaisical nature in nearly all aspects. During serious scenes, the actors hardly react to grave news. Even in the final wrap up scenes, the hopeful tone is at odds with the surrounding reality of immense ecological destruction. Sometimes these bizarre scenes can be humorous, but, oftentimes, they only serve to remind the viewer that they’re watching a terrible movie with a spiritless plot. Eventually, the heroes succeed, but not without a modicum of self-reflection, selfless service and self-sacrifice…. I’m just kidding, it’s an Emmerich film. They win because they’re human. If audiences weren’t dragged through enough misery, the final scene sets up a sequel. Emmerich reveals himself to be incredibly optimistic and out of touch at the same time. “Moonfall” was released in the U.S. on Feb. 4, 2022, by Lionsgate. The film received generally negative reviews from critics. The budget of the movie, as disclosed by Lionsgate, was 146 million dollars. The final verdict: As “Moonfall” touches down in theaters, if you are not a fan of space disaster movies, do your best to dodge it.
The Talk with Cosmy Pellis: Feeling confident during sex Cosmy Pellis Associate Editor Question: What can I do to feel more confident about my body while having sex? My immediate answer to this question might seem simple, but it’s anything but—anyone who’s having sex with you is lucky to be doing so, as you’re sharing one of the most intimate experiences possible with them. However, I’ve struggled with my own body image in the past and it’s honestly a constant effort to feel confident. I know that it can be hard to turn off that inner doubt. Here are some things that have helped me conquer my insecurities. Positive affirmations Feeling good about your body during sex starts with feeling confident when you’re alone. Think of it as forming a relationship with another person, except the other person is your own body. If you find yourself criticizing your imperfections, reciting positive affirmations can help you manifest confidence. Speaking something into existence actually works; it creates the right energy and space for positive progress. You could build a few minutes of affirmations into your morning routine while you’re drinking your coffee and waking up. Some of my favorites are “I am allowed to take up space,” “my body does so much to take care of me” or “I choose to love my body exactly how it is.” You could even use some that are geared more towards sex and relationships, like “my body is deserving of love,” “my body is a gift” or “my body is worthy of respect.” These might work for you, or you can develop your own that are more catered to what you’re working on in your self-love journey. Affirmations can be spoken out loud or written down; journaling can also help you to work through some of the deeper aspects of your relationship with your body. These practices could be paired with yoga or stretching, which can help to establish a connection with your body
throughout your day and help you feel more present. Positive touch The ways we touch and interact with our own bodies contribute to our body image in profound ways. We are sometimes rough with them, pinching fat that we’re insecure about or putting our bodies through exercise without proper nourishment. It’s important to be gentle and remember that our bodies do so much for us just to simply get us through the day. One positive way you can interact with your body is by turning on music and dancing around your room in your underwear, embracing the way that your body moves. It could also be fun to have a photoshoot with friends and take pictures that make you feel confident about your body. Then, when you look at these, you’ll be reminded of how you look when you’re happy and at ease. Body neutrality There’s a lot to be said for the way that body neutrality breaks down our concepts of attractiveness. This idea was developed by Anne Poirier, a body-image coach who explained it this way, “Body neutrality prioritizes the body’s function, and what the body can do, rather than its appearance. … You don’t have to love or hate it. You can feel neutral towards it.” Utilizing body neutrality, you can think of your body as a vessel carrying you through the world, rather than something that is “good” or “bad” based on appearances. This is pretty hard to do in a society that puts so much emphasis on looks, but it’s definitely possible. Body neutrality is a concept that you could build into your daily affirmations, with affirmations like “my body keeps me safe” or “my body is the least interesting thing about me.” Achieving body neutrality is impressive and powerful. Refocus your thinking during sex Body neutrality can also be applied to sex; it’s possible to think more about what your body allows you to do during sex rather than how it looks. You can shift your thinking to focus on the fact that your body allows you to closely connect with another person.
During sex, try to focus on pleasure. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in your thoughts, worrying about your sexual performance or how your body looks. Sex is messy, natural and human, and you’re not going to look “perfect” at all times. When you find yourself getting caught up in insecurities, pay more attention to your partner and the actual sex rather than how you look. Training your mind and refocusing your thinking works wonders.
Life is too short to hook up with people who cause you to have even one negative thought about your own body. Choose the right partners Take careful note of how your sexual partners make you feel about your body. Do they make comments that make you feel negative about your body? Do they grab you in a place that you’re self-conscious about? Do they ask you about or comment on your weight? If they do any of these things, it’s very important to have a conversation about how they make you feel. They might not have realized it and may be willing to change this behavior. If they aren’t receptive to your feelings, or if they’re constantly degrading your appearance, it’s time to drop them and find a new sexual partner… now. Life is too short to hook up with people who cause you to have even one negative thought about your own body. The right partner will help you feel attractive, empowered and secure. Building confidence is a long process, but it starts by making it a priority. Whether self-love or body neutrality resonate with you more, making time to rethink your relationship with your body is the first step. Combine this with the right sexual partners who make you feel safe, and you are on the right track to feeling more secure and empowered during sex! I am always accepting sex questions at weeklyringer. associate@gmail.com! If I answer your question, it will be anonymous.
Life
Thursday, February 10, 2022
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Understanding astrology: Your how-to guide for finding yourself through the stars with Sarah Eltayeb
sarah eltayeb Staff Writer
Planets in retrograde and questions of birth charts plagued us all long before the pandemic began. Whether or not you’ve blamed a bad day on one Mercury retrograde or another, you can’t deny we’ve all heard our fair share of astrology talk. My name is Sarah and I’m definitely guilty of contributing to the astrology talk. Sure, hearing I’m a junior international affairs major with a Middle Eastern studies minor could tell you something about me, but finding out I’m a Gemini sun with a Cancer moon and Libra rising would say so much more. Talking about astrology started as little jokes about Leos and Libras among me and my friends, but eventually I got so deep into it that here I am writing an entire column on it. Over winter break, a friend of mine began a deep-dive into the UMW Archives and discovered an old “In the Stars” column that peppered horoscopes into editions of The Weekly Ringer. Considering how far we have come in terms of astrological popularity and newspaper naming, we’ve decided to bring it back. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the study of the heavens was a universal endeavor that spanned many of the great civilizations of history, but it was the Arabs who maintained and developed the study of Greek astrology when the Roman empire fell. The discipline was largely abandoned by Western civilization, and the Middle Ages saw a flourishing of astrological scholarship
until its subsequent decline during the Inquisition and the rise of the Church. Eventually, 1920’s newspapers begin publishing horoscopes that divine the days of readers based on their sun signs and astrology enters the mainstream. The study of astrology is one that melds the worlds of science and the divine. Early astrologers looked to the stars to predict earthly events based on the positions of the planets, including the sun and moon, within the constellations. The discipline was held in high esteem and was often practiced in close conjunction with astronomy, meteorology and medicine. The scientific community has since, time and time again, disproven the legitimacy of astrology and deemed it a pseudo-science. There is no evidence that having Libra placements makes you any more indecisive than the other signs of the zodiac, but we as humans enjoy a good cause and effect explanation. The personal aspect of astrology comes in with your birth chart, which is just a snapshot of the sky at the exact moment you were born. The day, time and location of your birth all determine where each celestial body is in the sky. Astrological signs all correlate to a respective constellation, so the sign each planet is in comes from the planets’ positions at your time of birth. It’s helpful to picture a wheel when thinking of the signs, as each sign is based on the yearly rotation around the sun. Each celestial body then exists within a house. While signs correlate with a yearly cycle, houses reflect the 24-hour cyclical rotation of the Earth. The significance of signs and houses are inextricably linked; signs relate
to how energy is expressed, planets relate to the type of energy being expressed and houses relate to the specific facets of life in which the energy is expressed. If your life was a play, the planets would be the characters, the signs the way each role is performed and the houses the physical settings of each scene. Again, astrology is widely regarded as a pseudo-science, but amateur astrologers often employ the example of the ocean in trying to argue its legitimacy. If the moon’s gravitational pull has enough sway to raise the tides and our bodies are composed of roughly 60% water, how could the planets not influence our lives? I grew up in a culture that sums up your weather preferences to the time of year you were born. I can’t deny that I like a humid summer night, and whether that’s because of the fact that I was born in late May or because I’ve got a ton of Cancer in my chart and like warmth and sweetness, I couldn’t tell you. Regardless of the countless scientific studies that have disproved the impact of the planets on our daily lives, astrology, if nothing else, presents an opportunity for self-reflection and analysis. You don’t need to believe that any one planetary placement predisposes you to a specific disposition, but analyzing your chart may be an effective means of reflecting on, at the very least, coincidental tendencies tied to your zodiac sign. As Allen Edwall once said, “The one thing a birth chart does not show is the will of the individual and how he may exert it. … The wise man rules his stars, the fool is ruled by them.”
Influencers share their lives with prospective students madison mccallum Staff Writer The ZeeMee Influencer Program is a new partnership opportunity for students to showcase student life, as well as the quirks and personality of our campus, to prospective students. ZeeMee is a social media platform that offers prospective college students the opportunity to get a feel for the schools they are considering attending. Similar to Instagram and Facebook, users are able to share text,
The ZeeMee Influencer Program offers students the ability to show prospective students an inside look at campus life. Photo Courtesy of Emily Whitt
Devil & Goat
Illustrated by D.K.
photos and videos, allowing them to look into what their life may be like in the coming months. The layout of the app is almost identical to an Instagram feed, swiping up and down to view each post, leaving likes and comments and replying to others’ comments. Not only do the university’s influencers post on the app, but students who are interested or committed to attending the school post introductions on the app, allowing them to engage with each other and look for potential roommates and friends. “Colleges love to show you a clean and pristine image of campus life, but you don’t often see the mundane, everyday things. It’s great to show a candid view to them about what it’s really like here.” said senior theater major and ZeeMee influencer Riley Salazar. Following a lengthy selection process, students from various academic and engagement backgrounds were offered the opportunity to share their college experience, allowing influencers to show how different everyone’s collegiate experience can be. Influencers are involved in different organizations around campus, such as UMW Theatre or the Office of Student Activities and Engagement, or they may simply have an interest in social media and a love for the university. Senior marketing major Kayla Zengada, the student coordinator of publicity for SAE, became a ZeeMee Influencer this past year. Zengada overheard the university’s social media manager, Paige Shiplett, discuss the possibility of having social media-savvy students in influencer positions. A few days later, Zengada received an invitation to be a member of the first generation of ZeeMee influencers. She felt that her passion for the
school and her experience in social media management made this an opportunity she had to take advantage of. “I really enjoy seeing prospective students and how excited they are to come to Mary Wash!” Zengada said. Influencers are required to produce three to five posts a week on the platform, as well as monitor the #AskACurrentStudent chat offered through the app. Posts that the influencers create are meant to be creative, interactive and realistic in regards to student life. Influencers are not only encouraged to engage with prospective students on the app but also other influencers on the ZeeMee app and other platforms. These influencers are given the freedom to share whatever they feel is relevant in their day, which is completed by relentlessly taking pictures and videos of all things Mary Washington. “I pretty much document everything I do,” said junior communication and digital studies and theatre major Hannah Chester, a ZeeMee influencer. “I take cool pictures of things I love on campus and I make a post and move along with my day. It’s really a great position and I love getting to know some of the current high school seniors who are interested in coming here!” Although similar programs have existed in past years, this is the first year that the university has partnered with ZeeMee. “This experience has been a really creative and rewarding way to connect with prospective students and show off UMW. I love being able to show students what I do in a day, so they can get a feel for what college will look like!” said junior accounting major and ZeeMee influencer Emily Whitt.
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Opinion
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Spotify vs. TIDAL FROM spotify page 3 Many listeners may find Spotify more attractive than TIDAL because of the number of podcasts Spotify offers, as well as their exclusive podcasts like “Call Her Daddy” and “The Joe Rogan Experience.” However, advertising these exclusive podcasts detracts from the initial purpose of Spotify, which was to listen to music, and it seems that the streaming platform is in search of podcast listeners rather than musiclovers. For example, Spotify is currently dealing with an internal conflict amidst their artists. The popular podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which is hosted by Joe Rogan, released an entire episode of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. This information has referenced the COVID-19 vaccine, death rates reported by hospitals and conspiracy theories about the pandemic as a whole. In protest of this misinformation, Neil Young demanded that the podcast episode containing the misinformation be removed from Spotify or else he’d remove his music from the streaming service. When Spotify refused to remove Joe Rogan’s podcast episode, Neil Young removed his music, and his label backed him up. After Spotify chose Rogan’s podcast over Young’s music, multiple artists on Spotify followed suit and removed their music from the streaming platform in solidarity. The artists included Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash and India.Arie. Shortly after her music’s departure from Spotify, India.Arie released a statement criticizing Spotify for its mistreatment of artists. “Paying musicians a Fraction of a penny? and [Rogan] $100M?” said India.Arie. “This shows the type of company they are and the company that they keep.” India.Aria’s comment was indicative of Spotify’s change of focus since the artists who took their music off the platform had fewer listeners than “The Joe Rogan Experience.” The artist with the most listeners, Neil Young, had 5,389,351 monthly listeners, and Graham Nash had the fewest with 516,733 monthly listeners. To compare, Rogan’s podcast, which is exclusive to the platform and was signed for a reported $100 million, attracts about 11 million people per episode. Therefore, students should switch from Spotify to TIDAL. Spotify’s prioritization of the most profitable media—even if it has potential to cause harm through the spread of misinformation—illustrates how Spotify is no longer about supporting artists and celebrating music: it’s about profits. TIDAL offers an alternative option that is easy to switch to and that values their artists much more than Spotify.
News
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Crime Column JOSEPHINE JOHNSON & sCOTTI MULLEN News Editors
Destruction of Property On Feb. 6 12:15 a.m., there was an incident of destruction of property in Willard Hall. This case is pending.
Unlawful Entry Between Jan. 24 and Feb. 4, there was an incident of unlawful entry in Framar House. This case is pending.
Larceny Between Jan. 26 and 31, there was an incident of larceny of bag in Randolph Hall. This case is pending.
Bookmobile Fredericksburg speaks out against Gov. Youngkin’s teacher tip line DANIEL CHILDERS Staff Writer College of Education students and members of Bookmobile Fredericksburg have spoken out about Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s tip line for Virginians to report “inherently divisive concepts, including critical race theory” being taught in public schools. People may also use the tip line to report violations of his executive orders.
“We not only have to be a teacher, but we have to be a parent, a counselor and a psychologist. We are highly likely to quit teaching because of our rights being violated as teachers.” -Kiarnan Kaleshefki In an Instagram post, the Bookmobile team issued a statement in support of teachers. “Over the past few weeks and months, we have seen a concerning increase in distrust and skepticism of teachers at a local, state and national
level that only continues to grow,” the statement said. “Bookmobile Fredericksburg’s mission is to promote literacy, a love of literature, and a passion for learning; all of which our teachers have been working tirelessly to accomplish long before the conception of the Bookmobile.” Bookmobile Director Hollis Cobb, a junior English major in the secondary education program, has been worried about the future for teachers and their rights. “Some Spotsylvania County school board members went as far as suggesting burning books,” Cobb said. “A teacher that has the ability to do their job comes in the form of having some autonomy. We have a lot of control over our teachers already, but teachers emphasize the things that they see important in a child’s education.” Kate Jade, associate director of Bookmobile and a junior philosophy major, has heard concerns from students in the College of Education. “Teachers do so much more than teach,” said Jade. “I’ve heard from friends in their fourth year [of the education program] say they’re worried about what’s going to happen.”
The Bookmobile released a statement on their Instagram on Jan. 28 about standing with teachers. @bookmobile.fxbg / Instagram
“Some Spotsylvania County school board members went as far as suggesting burning books.” -Hollis Cobb Despite Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to reveal the tip line complaints, Youngkin has maintained that the complaints are
not public record and therefore cannot be requested through FOIA, as reported by the Virginian-Pilot. The Governor’s office has stated in an email that these emails are “working papers and correspondence of the Office of the Governor.” With an already growing teacher shortage, some students in the College of Education are worried for the future. “The historical reasons for a lack of teachers are complex. Low wages, reduced interest among young
people in entering the profession and the high cost of student debt that they have to endure are some of them.” Kiarnan Kaleshefski, a junior elementary education major with an endorsement in special education, is one of those students. “We not only have to be a teacher, but we have to be a parent, a counselor and a psychologist,” said Kaleshefski. “We are highly likely to quit teaching because of our rights being violated as teachers.”
COVID-19 Dashboard UMW’s COVID-19 dashboard is located on the university website. These statistics are from Feb. 9, 2022—the most recent at time of publication.
203
Total cases as of Feb 8, 2022
Between Jan. 19 and Feb. 1, there was an incident of larceny of the handshake chair in the University Center. This case is pending.
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15
Active cases
1.43
7-day moving average of new cases per day
110
22 of 22
Quarantine spaces available
117 of 120
Isolation spaces available
137
Total prevalence tests administered from Jan. 28, 2022 - Feb. 3, 2022
6
Total tests conducted at the Student Health Center since Jan. 1, 2022
Total positive prevalence tests returned from Jan. 28, 2022 - Feb. 3, 2022
13
4.38%
Positive Student Health Center tests returned since Jan. 1, 2022
Percentage of positive prevalence tests returned from Jan. 28, 2022 - Feb. 3, 2022
Sports
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Faculty celebrate family ties to Super Bowl athletes
Luis gavignano Super Bowl 56 will take place in Los Angeles, his confidence is on display on and off the football Staff Writer Calif. on Sunday, Feb. 13 between the Los Angeles field,” said senior environmental science major Greg Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. But this year, the Rowson, a member of the UMW men’s basketball Super Bowl hits especially close to home for two team. UMW professors: John Burrow and Daniel Hubbard. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association website, John Burrow, a lecturer in the College of Business, is the uncle of Joe Burrow started his collegiate career at Ohio State University as Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow. a backup quarterback, then transferred to LSU (Louisiana State “Joe is a good young man; University) to play under coach he works hard, cares about his Ed Orgeron. In 2019, Burrow teammates and has fun on the won the Heisman Trophy and football field,” said John Burrow. Louisiana State University won “What makes Joe such a special the College Football National talent is his empathy, emotional Championship. A few months intelligence, competence and his later, in 2020, he was drafted first desire to win.” overall in the NFL draft by the Historic preservation associate Cincinnati Bengals. professor Daniel Hubbard is the “I have been a fan of the cousin of Sam Hubbard, a star Cincinnati Bengals since 1968,” defensive end for the Cincinnati said Daniel Hubbard. “I plan on Bengals. watching the Super Bowl with my “It feels AWESOME!!!! to have father who, at 89 years old, is one a family member competing in the of the oldest Bengals fans I know. big game,” said Daniel Hubbard Joe is one of a rising generation of in an email. “After Sam saved incredible athletes who are taking the game against the Raiders the sport of football to a new @joeyb_9 / Instagram level.” by jumping to deflect a sure The Super Bowl will take place on Sunday, Feb. 13. Touchdown pass, we were all saying we won the game because a Matthew Stafford is playing his first season for the Los Angeles Hubbard finally used his head.” Rams after previously playing for the Detroit Lions in his first According to the sports website Yard Barker, “Joe Burrow and 12 seasons. According to the Rams website, he was a standout Matthew Stafford are easily two of the most likable quarterbacks in quarterback at the University of Georgia. Then, in the 2009 NFL the NFL. The fact both are set to square off in the Super Bowl means Draft, Stafford was selected first overall by the Detroit Lions and it will be very hard for neutral fans to pick a side.” quickly became the face of the franchise. Matthew Stafford, the quarterback of the Rams, is currently third Although his favorite team won’t be competing in the Super Bowl, in the NFL in total passing yards, behind only Tom Brady and Justin Rowson is excited for the game. Herbert, according to the NFL website. In just his first season as a “As a fan of the Washington Commanders I wish they were member of the Rams, he passed for 41 touchdowns and 4,886 passing competing in the big game, but I am very excited to see Joe Burrow yards. and Matthew Stafford compete on the biggest stage in football. The On the other side of the field, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow two teams have many superstars on both sides of the ball and it will led his team to the Super Bowl in his first full season as starting be a great game,” said Rowson. quarterback in the NFL. Burrow helped turn around a struggling The Super Bowl kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m. eastern time at the Cincinnati Bengals franchise that, last year, had a record of 4-11. newly-constructed SoFi Technologies Stadium. “Joe Burrow is my favorite player competing in the Super Bowl;
Men’s lacrosse starts the spring season on Feb. 12 captains, business administration major Sam The University of Mary Washington men’s rebecca winicour Pugliese and geography major Sam Allen. With lacrosse team will return to the Battleground Staff Writer 10 freshmen and seven returning sophomores, Athletic Complex for their first game of the spring 2022 season on Saturday, Feb.12. The team is hopeful for a the defensive side of the team is young. On the offensive side, the more normal season after their 2021 season was canceled due to team has four returning juniors and five returning seniors. COVID-19. “We are preparing “We played a highly competitive schedule through some difficult “My favorite part of being on for the spring difficult circumstances and definitely had our ups and downs,” said through intense this team is the competition assistant men’s lacrosse coach Tyler Houston in an email interview. and a lot and the brotherhood that practices of time watching “That said, when we started playing our best lacrosse late in the comes along with it.” film on both our season, COVID unfortunately had other plans and we got shut opponents and our down. But our mind is on the future!” own practices,” said Houston’s goals for this season are to take things “One game at -Jackson Davis Pugliese. “This will a time, one play at a time, focus on us and live in the moment! [The players] have started very well. We have been able to build quickly help us fine-tune our game plan for every game.” Pugliese explained that, overall, the team is very senior-heavy. on the productive fall and our guys are soaking up new information. When asked about the chemistry of the team, Pugliese said, “We We have great confidence in where we currently are.” Houston, a class of 2016 UMW alumnus and former student- work on team bonding through hanging out or being together all the athlete on the lacrosse team, said that “the team’s dynamic depends time. It could be simple things like hanging out with the guys and on which side of the ball you look at,” meaning that the team’s watching a game on TV or eating together in the UC.” Junior political science major and offense midfielder Jackson dynamic changes from the attack to defense. According to Houston, the defense is led by the two senior Davis said that the team feels like a brotherhood. “My favorite part of being on the team is the competition and the brotherhood that comes along with it,” he said. “It’s really special to be a part of a group of individuals that go to battle together with the same goal in mind. Every guy on the team has each other’s backs on and off the team.” As team captain, Pugliese tries to treat every game like it’s the most important game of the season. “We want to be the most prepared and focused team out there. I know I want my last season to be the best one yet,” said Pugliese. The goal for this season is to make it to the tournament in the long run but face each opponent intentionally in the short run, according to junior business major and goalie Riley Green. “We go and take care of them and then we’re onto the next,” he said. “In the past we’ve looked ahead in the season, underselling teams we should beat. [Causing] us to lose.” Green said that he feels the chemistry of this year’s team is the best it has ever been. The team will kick off their season with a home game at 1 p.m. on Feb. 12, facing off against Randolph-Macon College. The men’s lacrosse team will face off against Randolph-Macon on Feb. 12. Victoria R. Percherke contributed to the reporting for this article.
UMW Athletics
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University of Mary Washington
Spring Sports Schedule
Victoria R. Percherke Sports Editor
Track & Field
Feb. 12 @ Roanoke Challenge Conference Championships Feb. 19 Coast 2 Coast Conference Mar. 5 at Shenandoah Mar. 11 at NCAA Championships
Men’s Basketball (15-5) Feb. 5 L @ Salisbury (71-57) Feb. 9 @ Christopher Newport Feb. 16 vs. Salisbury Feb. 19 vs. Chris. Newport
Women’s Basketball (15-6) Feb. 5 L vs. Salisbury (48-43) Feb. 9 W vs. St. Mary’s (Md.) (66-48) Feb. 12 vs. Pratt Feb. 13 vs. UC Santa Cruz
Men’s Swimming (6-3)
Feb. 17-20 vs. Metro Collegiate Swimming Conference Championships @ Camdem, N.J. March 16-19 vs. NCAA @ Indianapolis, Ind.
Women’s Swimming (8-1)
Feb. 17-20 vs. Metro Collegiate Swimming Conference Championships @ Camdem, N.J. March 16-19 vs. NCAA @ Indianapolis, Ind.
Equestrian Team
Feb. 19 @ Liberty Show Feb. 27 vs. Regional Show @ Sweet Briar, Va. April 9 vs. Zone Championship @ Laurinburg, N.C. May 4 vs. IHSA Nationals
Games are available to watch via livestream on the UMW Athletic’s webpage Full schedule not listed above. Most recent games included. Bold indicates home game.