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VOLUME 95 | ISSUE 20

MARCH 24, 2022

Honors students and Campus celebrity Anna Billingsley Writing Center work to retire after 18 years at UMW with ELL students JOSEPHINE JOHNSON News Editor

GRACE ScHuMACHER Senior Writer

The Writing Center is on the fourth floor of the Hurley Convergence Center. Kenya Carter / The Weekly Ringer

Four students in the UMW Honors Program, in collaboration with the Writing Center, are working on a service learning project to provide resources for English language learner students at UMW. Academic Support Centers Manager Heather Guhl has noticed an increase in English language learner students seeking support on campus. “In the Writing Center, since the start of the pandemic, we noticed an uptick in the number of ELL students seeking assistance, not only with papers, but with personal English grammar workbooks, conversation and reading comprehension,” said Guhl. She oversees multiple campusbased programs and centers providing direct student-facing academic support, such as the Writing and Speaking Centers. In response to this increase in English-learning students seeking assistance from the Writing Center, Guhl came to Director of the Honors Program Kelli Slunt with an idea for honors students’ service learning project that would help English language learners. According to an article on the UMW website, “more than 50 students from across the globe—twice as many as this time last year—are studying at UMW this semester.” Between the four students working on the project, some are working with English language learner students to mentor them and provide opportunities to practice and enhance their written and oral English communication. Others are working on finding resources to create a website for English language learner students. Thomas Pulsifer, a senior communication and digital studies major, is one of the four honors students collaborating on the project. Pulsifer is optimistic and hopes their efforts will put in place the foundation for a successful program at UMW where any English language learning student can turn to for help. “Dr. Slunt reached out to me to see if I was interested in helping with this up-and-coming program to assist ELL students, and I couldn’t say no,” said Pulsifer. “Online, I have several ELL friends that I frequently play games with, and I often find myself helping them understand English whenever they’re struggling. Helping someone, even in such a small way, is a really great feeling.” Junior theatre major Nathaniel Huff is another honors scholar collaborating on the project by mentoring English-

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News | 2

SEE ELL PAGE 2

Freshmen and seniors to complete the NSSE.

Anna Billingsley, associate vice president for University Relations, is retiring at the end of the spring semester after 18 years at the university. Billingsley is known for her emails and has become a campus celebrity over the years. “I don’t know why they think I’m something because all I do is send out messages that other people tell me to send out,” she said. “I try to inject a little bit of personality, but that’s all I do.” On Feb. 16 when she announced her retirement through email, social media sites were flooded with UMW students sharing their upset at her leaving. Junior English major Kayla Basham posted to UMW’s meme page on Facebook that she was “devastated.” “My initial reaction was that it was a joke because I feel like she always provides a sense of lightheartedness to whatever events are happening on campus,” said Basham. “I felt bad because she’s been the face of a lot of the school’s mistakes and she shouldn’t have been, but I think it was way easier to process all of the negative events happening at our school when they were announced to us through Anna and her emails.” Billingsley even has a student-run fan account on Instagram. “I started this account when AB sent the April Fool’s email last year, around that time she was catching a lot of hate from frustrated students about the content of her emails,” said the account owner of @annabillingsleyfanpage who asked to maintain their anonymity. “I was one of those frustrated students, so I emailed her and expressed my feelings, feelings that she validated and shared as a member of the university herself. We chatted over email for a bit and I ended up feeling really bad for her because UMW uses her as the messenger for a lot of hard communications, causing her to catch a lot of the backlash rather than the source of the communication itself. I made this page to create positivity around her emails and put students’ mindsets in a more positive space when approaching AB’s emails.” Billingsley’s emails typically garner replies. When sent to both faculty and students, the messages reach around 5,000 people. “Of course when I send out a message I always

Anna Billingsley posing with a student. @annabillingsleyfanpage / Instagram

Opinion | 3 Fasting can be a way to show support for Ukraine.

Anna Billingsley relays email messages to students and faculty at UMW. University of Mary Washington

get responses … because it’s easy to just hit reply,” said Billingsley. “I’ll hear complaints and I’ll hear praise. I never send out a campus message about any topic without, minimum 2-3, maximum 20 people responding.” Most responses are forwarded back to the original writer of the message.

“My first love, my passion, is writing. I was a newspaper reporter for most of my career and I have a master’s degree in journalism. I just want to write things that I want to write, I don’t want to send other people’s messages.” -Anna Billingsley “It’s a lot of pressure and a lot of stress, but I love it!” she said. “I told somebody the other day I might pull a Tom Brady and say I’m retiring but then no, I’m not really retiring. There’s really not an average day, but I think that’s why I like this job so much.” Billingsley took over the job of sending emails from Marty Morrison, former director of media and public relations. Morrison also had a celebrity reputation at UMW. Billingsley earned her bachelor’s degree from William & Mary and went on to get her master’s in journalism at American University. After her retirement, she plans to use her extra time to work on her own writing. “My first love, my passion, is writing,” she said. “I was a newspaper reporter for most of my career and I have a master’s degree in journalism. I just want to write things that I want to write; I don’t want to send other people’s messages. I haven’t had time to do any of my personal writing since I’ve been in this position.” Billingsley has a side business writing obituaries, called The Last Word. “I love writing obituaries because I feel like an obituary is really the last opportunity to let somebody

Life | 4

Cosmy talks about assessing age gaps in relationships.

SEE BILLINGSLEY PAGE 2

Sports | 8

Women’s lacrosse falls to Scranton 11-10.

News

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Page 2

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educators working with ELL students

FROM ELL PAGE 1 learning students one-onone and assisting in research. “At first, I was mostly interested in collaborating with the Writing Center because I believe their service is beneficial to many students, but I quickly realized that the ELL student population is in desperate need of resources,” said Huff. “While we’re happy to serve our fellow students, I wish there were more advertised, widely available resources from the University for ELL students.” Honors scholar Abigail Tank, a junior undeclared major, is a seasoned tutor and believes positive self-esteem is one of the building blocks of school success.

“I would have certain students come in almost every day to ask me for help with reading class materials, making presentations and other schoolrelated activities that were outside my wheelhouse as a Writing Consultant.” -Madyson May “Everyone deserves to earn an education without barriers and with the support they need,” said Tank. “The fact that students are able to do it in a language that they are not native in is even more impressive and should not be treated as nor viewed as a disability.” Layla Barnes, a senior creative writing major and lead consultant at the Writing Center, is the fourth scholar student involved in the development of English

language learner resources. “This issue first came to my attention last semester while working in the Writing Center,” said Barnes. “We had a huge influx of students for whom English was not their first language who were requesting more from us than we were really trained to provide, so I spent a lot of time working with Heather to try to find support systems to refer them to, but we realized those support systems didn’t exist.” Senior communication and digital studies major Madyson May is also one of the lead consultants at the Writing Center who has worked with multiple English language learner students. “I actually wasn’t aware of any kind of lack of resources for ELL students until I began to work with ELL students regularly,” said May. “I would have certain students come in almost every day to ask me for help with reading class materials, making presentations and other school-related activities that were outside my wheelhouse as a Writing Consultant. When I looked for any kind of outside help for my clients, I would either be directed to ODR (which is unrelated to ELL services) or told there was nowhere at all for the students to get help specific to their needs as English language learners.” In the past, the University has offered specialized language assistance services for these students through a bridge program with the International Language Academy. However, according to Guhl, the University is no longer partnered with this academy despite its presence on the university website. As stated on the Writing Center’s website, their mission is to “support undergraduate and graduate students in their disciplinary and

interdisciplinary studies as well as research through one-on-one tutorials with trained tutors.” These student consultants aim to offer assistance with all types of writing projects such as reports, papers, cover letters, resumes and research projects. While the Writing Center is successful in assisting all students with their writing, its consultants are not equipped to advise English-learning students. “The honors service project participants are working closely with two ELL students,” said Guhl. “They are compiling research and collaborating to lay the foundation for a Canvas module specifically meant for the professional development of Writing Center consultants regarding ELL students’ challenges with writing and other aspects of academics at UMW.” Barnes is one of the students creating these resources for peer educators. “The final product right now is going to be a canvas course for peer educators in general, though it will likely have a writing focus,” said Barnes, “My intention is that it would be an online, fully asynchronous course that peer educators would be able to take to prepare them to better serve ESL [English as a second language] students. This will incorporate theoretical readings as well as practical applications and resources, though a lot of the finer details are still being ironed out.” In addition to the creation of accessible resources for English language learner students, the Writing Center is working towards integrating a specialized appointment type for consultants who undergo the English language learner training process. “Teaching our consultants and other tutors across campus general strategies to feel more

comfortable and confident when there is a language or cultural barrier could very well be beneficial and may help ELL students to feel more welcome in our community,” said May. As a requirement of the honors program, honors scholars in their second year at UMW must complete a semester-long course called Honors Service Learning (HONR 201). The course involves proposing a service project and working on that project for a minimum of 20 hours throughout the semester.

“The work that myself and my fellow honors students are doing is the start of a type of training/service that will have a long-lasting impact at UMW.” -Abigail Tank “I collaborate with the Center for Community Engagement to determine potential service partners for the students in the class or students can propose their own projects,” said Slunt. The honors scholars are still in the early stages of planning with six more weeks of work ahead of them. Students in the program are continuing research, outreach and collaboration with the goal of not only providing a permanent resource for English language learners. “Setting up an in-depth training module that leads to ELL assistance certification is our goal,” said Pulsifer. “Every English language learner has different needs, so rather than simply going over the best ways to teach English, the module will provide strategies for finding what it is the learner needs and how the consultant can best accommodate them.”

Students saddened by Billingsley’s retirement FROM BILLINGSLEY PAGE 1 shine and to really tell their life story, so I really enjoy doing that,” she said. Billingsley is also looking forward to having more downtime.

“It is bittersweet to be leaving this place that I’ve worked at for 18 years. I love the people and I love the place, and I’ll still be around.” -Anna Billingsley “I hope to travel more and just relax a little bit,” she said. “This position has required that I’m on call 24/7 and I really take that seriously because I check my email, my voicemail on vacation, on

weekends.” The on-call nature of her job sometimes gets in the way of her life. “I said to my husband, ‘this is the perfect example of why I need to retire,’” she said. “We had waited two and a half years to see Elton John in concert because we got the tickets for fall of 2019 and it was rescheduled twice. … We were there and I got a text about work during the concert, so I said ‘this is too much!’” Some students will mourn the loss of Billingsley’s name in their email inboxes. “When AB retires, I will miss her playfulness when approaching messages,” said @annabillingsleyfanpage. “I didn’t realize how much of an impact she had until I started this account! Her fan page quickly gained traction and I was super surprised how many people followed, interacted and DMed this account. Her retirement is truly the end of an era.”

Billingsley hopes the UMW community will know that she is grateful.

“Her fanpage quickly gained traction and I was super suprised how many people followed, interacted and DMed this account. Her retirement is truly the end of an era.” -@annabillingsleyfanpage “I just want people to know how much I appreciate how folks here have appreciated me,” she said. “It is bittersweet to be leaving this place that I’ve worked at for 18 years. I love the people and I love the place, and I’ll still be around.”

Opinion

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Page 3

How fasting can be used as a way to show support to a cause

DYLAN NADLER Staff Writer

Jewish people have fasted for thousands of years for many different reasons. The most recent fast in the Jewish faith was the Taanit Esther (the fast of Esther) on March 16 to commemorate the heroic acts of Queen Esther in the story of Purim. The University of Mary Washington’s Hillel Center took this opportunity to fast not only for the Purim holiday but also to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Fasting is an effective approach to connecting to one’s spirituality and strengthening one’s faith, and it is also a way to show your support to a cause. In reference to fasting, Rabbi Menachem Sherman, the director of UMW Hillel said, “I am taking away worldly things and trying to connect to something that’s not physical, so that means no food or water.” Fasting doesn’t have to be exclusively religious, either. It also works as a method of garnering a sense of togetherness and community among a group of people. This sense of community can be applied in many ways: a form of protest, to gain spirituality or to unify people behind a common goal. It’s important to note that while fasting is a great way to bring people together, it should be practiced with caution. Senior English major and Hillel Club President Haley Schnitzer reminds people to be careful if they choose to fast. “There’s always the caveat that you should not fast if it is a detriment to your health,” she said. “If there is someone that has an eating disorder, or has problems with their blood sugar or whatever reason, they should not fast.” Outside of physical health problems, if a fast is getting in the way of your schooling or mental health, it might not be the best option for you. I have had at least one instance of getting a headache from fasting during a school day which ultimately led to me not getting my work done,

so it’s important to be cautious. Barring any health conditions that may make it dangerous for you, fasting can be a powerful way to take a stance. According to Sherman, fasting is a way for people who are not actively in Ukraine to support Ukraine through a meaningful gesture. “We have four Hillels in Ukraine, one of which got hit with a bomb, so they’ve really been struggling,” he said. The international connections through Hillel create a sense of community worldwide, which makes tragedy abroad seem closer to home. “We [the Hillel community] had a student in Ukraine who was killed in the line of duty a few days ago, so Hillel really wanted to be able to bring people together,” Sherman said. In addition, fasting can be seen as an act of support for those who are struggling and we can only help so much. “To take something that has religious significance, like a fast day, and do it in solidarity was the main intent,” said Sherman. “To try to feel the pain of Jews across the world that we can’t necessarily feel because we’re not in the line of fire.” The practice of fasting has been used by many different religions and has differing purposes. Mahatma Gandhi fasted multiple times, and his most notorious fast was to protest British support of a new Indian Constitution that would separate the Indian electorate by caste. Additionally, Muslims fast during Ramadan for 29-30 days to practice self-restraint and self-reflection—to cleanse the soul and develop empathy for those who are less fortunate. Practicing fasting has had a positive effect on Sherman’s life. “Overall, fast days greatly improve my outlook on what’s important, and sometimes stripping away physical things is a good way to remind oneself of what’s important,” he said. Fasting has had a positive effect on my life, too. Growing up as a Jewish person sometimes led me to feel ostracized because I didn’t know any other Jewish people outside of

my family. To feel represented and seen by people who follow the same culture by doing things like celebrating holidays and fasting together is a truly invaluable sense of connection to have. I also realized that once your fast does end, your food tastes better and your drinks are a little sweeter—it’s rewarding, and it’s worth a try. Another reason fasting is such an applicable practice is that not every student at the University of Mary Washington can afford to donate money to Ukraine. Schnitzer spoke about how fasting is a benevolent alternative to donating money. “I think that obviously money is the biggest thing that they [Ukranians] can benefit from right now, but not everyone can provide money right now,” said Schnitzer. “So, I think fasting is a way that people can help for free.” When discussing the purpose of fasting, Schnitzer said, “the intended effect is just to show commitment and hope that enough people banded together. It produces a great outcome.” Junior history major and Hillel Club member Zack Steinbaum also thinks that fasting for Ukraine helps to bring about solidarity. “To know that we [Hillel] stretch out all the way to Ukraine just gives us solidarity,” said Steinbaum. “And we’re able to connect to Ukraine. At least I am able to connect to Ukraine a lot better.” This shows that the fast does not have to be a solely religious thing; a fast can also be a means to unify people together. “I’m not a terribly religious person,” said Steinbaum. “So for me, I don’t feel any strong connection to the fast other than fasting to show others that I’m with them, that I’m doing this with them. But for me, it doesn’t have to have any central religious importance.” That’s where I find the beauty in it. If you want to help at all, in any way, you can fast in solidarity at the very least. And you don’t have to do it during Ramadan, or to protest a caste system or during Taanit Esther. You can fast just to show support for whatever you believe in.

Ye & bipolar disorder: Conflating misconduct and mental illness is detrimental to everyone, not just celebrities

ALLY TINGEN Staff Writer

Since his conflict with Taylor Swift at MTV’s Music Video Awards in 2009, the world has seen Ye—the rapper formerly known as Kanye West—become a spectacle of controversy. After coming out with his bipolar diagnosis in 2018, however, there seemed to be more meaningful and genuine conversation regarding mental illness— until there wasn’t. In a 2019 interview with David Letterman, Ye opened up about his mental health struggles and dealing with bipolar disorder in a way he hadn’t before. However, in his most recent antics surrounding his divorce from Kim Kardashian, the overwhelming public response to a string of social media posts have shown that the stigma around mental illness still persists, and there is much more to be done to eradicate the toxicity within conversations about mental illness, especially when it comes to celebrities. From his public feud with Taylor Swift to his self-proclaimed presidential candidacy, Ye has deserved the vast majority of the public criticism he received. However, people fail to recognize the harmful nature of the comments that blatantly generalize and demonize his mental illness. These comments lead to further stigmatization of complex mental illnesses like bipolar disorder. Following his divorce from Kim Kardashian, the star has been very active on social media, begging for Kardashian to bring their family back together, while cursing her name in the same breath. He also continues to harass Pete Davidson, who is in a relationship with Kardashian following her and Ye’s divorce. In the music video for his song “Eazy,” Ye depicts Davidson being kidnapped and

buried. Additionally, after speaking out in support of Kardashian, Ye called “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah a racial slur, which resulted in his 24-hour ban from Instagram. Many speculate that Ye is experiencing a mental health crisis; however, that assumption is not for the public to make. In fact, the main problem with this situation as a whole lies in the public’s response to Ye’s actions. Fans are quick to excuse his behavior under the assumption that he is manic. Critics joke that the rapper is “off his meds” and mock him in the form of memes and vile tweets, which is detrimental to those who have bipolar disorder. Even Ye himself has been outspoken about his diagnosis and the stigma surrounding it. In an interview with People, he said, “It’s a health issue that has a strong stigma on it and people are allowed to say anything about it and discriminate in any way.” However, this is not the case, nor is it fair to permit people who are bipolar to be subject to such treatment. Ye has created real and raw conversation regarding mental illness and the reality of living with bipolar disorder. The generalization of bipolar disorder and insensitive comments being made in response to an extremely public affair is damaging to those struggling with the mental illness. Bipolar disorder can be characterized by the experience of extremely elated periods followed by low bouts of depressive symptoms. “Highs,” or manic episodes, are marked by impulsivity and grandiosity, and “lows,” or depressive episodes, are often accompanied by feelings of emptiness or hopelessness. According to Emmie Pombo from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “Bipolar disorder is a complicated

mental illness. It has a variety of layers and It is time to stop using mental illness symptoms, which can make it difficult to as a tool for public entertainment and understand.” uninformed commentary. In taking sides Unfortunately, inaccurate pictures during a situation like this, we put mental of bipolar disorder have plagued public health awareness on the backburner in opinion for far too long. The media has favor of a laugh. Mental illnesses need to played a massive role in this, characterizing be taken seriously, especially when those people with this illness as “dangerous” and who suffer from them are in the public “crazy.” For instance, television shows eye, as the way we react to their mental like “Homeland” tend to portray people health sets a precedent for how we react with bipolar disorder and other complex to mental illness as a whole. mental illnesses as the culprits of serious crimes like homicide, rather than the victims, which is commonly the Submit your questions about case. Clinical psychologist and sex for Cosmy to answer chair of the UMW psychology in her column! department Dr. Miriam Liss said, “Bipolar disorder is marked Scan the code or use the tinyurl below. by instability and disruptive All questions will be anonymous. regulation of mood. It has nothing to do with moral character.” Harassment and abuse are not bipolar disorder and should stop being viewed as interchangeable, especially in Ye’s case. What he is doing to Kardashian, Davidson and Noah should not be excused due to his mental illness, and his mental illness should not be blamed for his actions. This stigma exists in both the media and the general public. “People use the word ‘bipolar’ as an adjective casually whenever https://tinyurl.com/2d9apddm anyone is exhibiting traits that are out of the norm,” said Liss. “Many people can have normal mood Past columns: fluctuations and not meet the diagnostic criteria.” The Talk with Cosmy Pellis: Safe sex is more She continued, “It often hurts the nuanced than just condoms and bananas person who has it. It’s important to know that bipolar disorder is a real The Talk with Cosmy Pellis: disorder that people suffer with Navigating bisexuality and can be treated.”

Life

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Page 4

The Talk with Cosmy Pellis: Assessing age gap relationships cosmy pellis Associate Editor Q: Can a relationship with an age gap be healthy? My boyfriend and I have been dating for several months and have been hooking up for over a year, and I often wonder if our 8-year age gap is healthy or not. I’ve always been told I’m mature for my age, and while I like that sometimes, I’m not sure if I should embrace it. There are such mixed reviews on social media from people also in this situation and I feel like it’s healthy, but I also am biased since I’m so close to the situation. How do I know if it’s healthy or not? A: To give a short answer to your question, I think that yes, a relationship with an age gap can be healthy. The keyword is can. Like all relationships, there are components of an age-gap situation that are necessary to assess whether it is healthy. I’m not here to judge at all; if this age gap works for you and your partner, and you’re in a mutually respectful, communicative, loving relationship, I support it, but I also hear your concern. Here’s the thought process that I would go through if I were in your situation. How do you feel about the length of your age gap? Eight years is a lot of time. When you’re young, eight years encompasses massive amounts of growth and learning. It’s important to consider the stages of life you are in. Since you’re writing to this column, I can assume that you’re in college, and doing some quick math, that means your boyfriend is reaching his 30s. College comes with a very different mindset than someone might have post-graduation. Your days probably look pretty different from his, and you probably have different worries and dreams. There’s nothing wrong with this—it can even make conversation really interesting to have two different perspectives—but it could be an issue if you feel unheard or disconnected from him because of the different points you are at in life. You don’t want anyone to rush you or make you feel like you want college to be over already. It’s a unique time in our lives when we really get to focus on ourselves and our studies and fully embrace academia. Make sure that being with someone who’s older doesn’t take away from experiencing your undergraduate education. Do you feel like you have open, honest communication in your relationship? I will never stop bringing this up in these columns. One of the major signs of a healthy relationship is the strength and frequency of communication between partners. This is crucial in an age-gap relationship because he might not intuitively know where your thoughts lie as much as someone who is in your same age group might. Definitely explain your feelings and be receptive to his. This is also important in terms of your sex life. Do you feel like you have open communication about sexual topics? Does he take you seriously and prioritize you during sex? Does he know what you like, and does he focus on that just as much as he focuses on his own pleasure? Make sure you feel heard and supported in this realm.

How do your loved ones feel about your boyfriend? You mentioned that you feel biased because you’re so close to the situation, which I understand, and I think that is almost always the case in our personal relationships. It’s a lot easier to give advice to a friend than to confront the idea that there might be something wrong in your own relationship. I would advise you to ask your loved ones— family and close friends—how they feel about your boyfriend. Do they think the age gap is too much? Do they think you two are compatible? Does he treat them with respect? This one is really important—I always pay attention to how my significant other treats my friends and family. For me, they have to make an effort to connect and get along with the people I love. It can be a red flag if the people closest to you don’t like your boyfriend or if he doesn’t treat them with the respect and care that you expect him to treat you with. Pay attention to what trusted people in your life say about him. How do you feel when you’re not around your boyfriend? This is an important question to ask in any relationship. It’s easy to feel happy and lovestruck when you’re around your significant other, but a telling sign of an unhealthy relationship is feeling upset when that person is not around you. How do you feel when he’s not around? You should feel secure in the relationship and excited to see him again, not anxious, worried or angry. Fights happen in every relationship, but they shouldn’t be the norm. Does he encourage you to have fun outside of the relationship, like going out with friends? If he doesn’t, or if he tries to keep you from your friends, that’s a red flag. This is a typical manipulator move to isolate you from everyone but them. Does he support you in your everyday endeavors? This is a very vital part of a healthy relationship, but especially one with an age gap. Like I said, you’re likely in different places in your lives, so it’s important for him to have an understanding of what matters to you. You absolutely should embrace your maturity. I can tell from your question that you are thinking deeply about what’s right for you. Remember that maturity and age are not always on the same level, and even though he’s eight years older than you, he could still be less mature. Make sure he’s on your intellectual level. With maturity comes careful consideration of all of our relationships, and I hope that my advice helps you come to a conclusion about how you feel about your current relationship. If you decide that it is healthy, I wish both of you the best and I hope you’re happy together for a long time. If you decide that it’s not healthy, don’t fret. You can work on the relationship together or break up with him. Being single is just an opportunity to get to know yourself better and maybe find a new, super cool significant other when you’re ready. Either way, you are doing an amazing job of asking important questions and considering all facets of your relationship.

Good Neighbor Day 2022 helps Fredericksburg residents

abigail slaughter Copy Editor

Campus Outreach and Resources hosted Good Neighbor Day on Saturday, March 19 for the first time since 2019. This day of community service was the last large COAR event of the semester, drawing a close to COAR’s campus-wide event schedule for the spring 2022 semester. “[Good Neighbor Day] is a chance for UMW students to help our neighbors in the neighborhood of College Heights and neighborhoods below campus by conducting yard work and volunteering their time and talents to help our neighbors out,” said Sarah Dewees, associate director of the Center for Community Engagement, who has helped manage COAR for the past four years. This year, there were 14 volunteer sites, all led by COAR council members and COAR staff, who were referred to as “homeowners” that supervised and led their own groups of students at their respective sites. Most projects were within walking distance, and approximately 55 students

Devil & Goat

Illustrated by D.K.

participated, all receiving three hours of community service. According to the UMW website, Good Neighbor Day involves helping “our UMW neighbors with yard work and other home improvement projects,” in the local Fredericksburg community. These projects can range from mulching to moving furniture to digging up bushes. Taylor Coleman, a junior history major and COAR staff member, helped run Saturday’s event. “My role was [to help] manage the event and crowd control and make sure all of the projects go on their way and made sure everything ran smoothly,” said Coleman. She opened the event with a poison ivy demonstration and aimed to make sure everything went well. However, COAR faced challenges that forced them to make changes to the distribution of students at volunteer sites. “We had a project that canceled on us last-minute, but we were able to adjust pretty quickly and get those people to other projects,” said Coleman.

COAR hosted Good Neighbor Day on March 19. @coarumw/ Instagram

After the group leaders returned to campus with their student volunteers, they were able to order free tacos, chips and salsa from a food truck brought by Juan More Taco, who catered the event.

SEE NEIGHBOR PAGE 6

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Life

Page 5

Photo essay: A tour of newly-renovated Seacobeck Hall Mariam ahmed Staff Photographer For more than 80 years, Seacobeck Hall was UMW’s main campus dining facility. However, after undergoing four and a half years of renovation, Seacobeck is now the building for the College of Education and the Office of Disability Resources. Seacobeck was specifically designed for education students, from the curriculum lab to the maker lab to the collaboration spaces. The new technology gives students the opportunity to learn about and work on different teaching skills and techniques. For those of you who haven’t wandered its halls, here’s a tour of the newly-renovated Seacobeck Hall.

Throughout Seacobeck, there are multiple rooms available for student collaboration.. Mariam Ahmed / The Weekly Ringer

The main entrance to Seacobeck Hall is located off of College Avenue. The front door is surrounded by four tall white columns. Mariam Ahmed / The Weekly Ringer

The curriculum lab is located on the ground floor with various teaching materials, such as textbooks and wooden blocks, available for education majors to use. Mariam Ahmed/ The Weekly Ringer

In the center of Seacobeck is a unique set of stairs that functions both for students to use as a study space and for connecting the first and second floors. Mariam Ahmed / The Weekly Ringer

Multiple small and quiet lounging areas are located on the top level. Large sofas, sofa chairs and laptop desks are located throughout the building where students can collaborate and work. Mariam Ahmed / The Weekly Ringer

The spacious dome room towards the back of Seacobeck hall offers lots of sunlight and cozy seating. Mariam Ahmed / The Weekly Ringer

This large classroom is on the top level of Seacobeck. It features multiple tables, each with their own TV, to allow for student collaboration. Mariam Ahmed / The Weekly Ringer

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Life

Page 6

Personal Essay: Why I stopped hating poetry LEIGH hatton Staff Writer Every student who has studied English, I should imagine, has at some point hated poetry, has at some point dismissed the expansive genre with a kind of heartfelt frustration. In my most anti-poetry days, I condemned it as an overdramatic distraction from real literature, and I felt it a personal affront that a lesbian in the present day should be required to analyze Donne’s erotic fantasies from 1633 or Wyatt’s comparison of women to hunting prizes—I condemned all poetry as an overly complex reinforcement of the patriarchy. In the very way that James Baldwin felt dubious about Othello, I doubted every author I might have liked when I learned that they wrote poetry. As a diligent English major, I read the lines and even memorized them at times. Yet, I was in revolt against them, angry that I had to spend my evenings analyzing self-centered rhymes, penned by people I could not relate to. Well, I was young and missed the point—so many different points in so many different poems—unable to see past the strange uses of syntax and punctuation. I remember vividly my shock when I had pulled a collection of Adrienne Rich’s poems off a bookstore shelf one March day. As I stood there skimming over them, I came across “Dedications”: “I know you are reading this poem standing up in a bookstore far from the ocean on a grey day of early spring, faint flakes driven across the plains’ enormous spaces around you.” What I suddenly heard for the first time was manifold. The voice of Rich stretched across time and distance and I

suddenly knew what she was saying—what it was like to wonder about the mind of a stranger living a different life. Yet, more than that, I understood why she, and other poets, wrote in the first place—that essential human longing for connection, to share one’s voice and have it echoed back across generations in a kind of endless, timeless dialogue. I read “Dedications” twice more and then turned page after page, suddenly voracious for more newly found meaning. The lines I read come to mind even now, years later: the poem “Phantasia for Elvira Shatayev” reads, “but till now/we had not touched our strength”; “Love Poem XVII” reads, “No one’s fated or doomed to love anyone/The accidents happen, we’re not heroines/they happen in our lives like car crashes.” Rich wrote about so many things— trees, vampires, boats, Marie Curie, blackberries—and I knew that she was writing to me, to the world and also, yes, for herself. My relationship to poetry, then, revealed itself to be my relationship to myself, my identity and my love for language. Like the sudden burst of colorful life when winter shifts into spring, poetry was rapidly vibrant and all around me. I read Sappho’s fragments, Richard Barnfield’s sonnets, Mary Oliver’s peaceful observations and Audre Lorde’s thought-provoking lines. Even works I had been assigned to read before seemed to blossom with new meaning. While John Keats used to be dreaded on a syllabus, I now found solace in his odes. After being assigned three Alice Walker books, I sought out and devoured all of her poems. Even Shakespeare, who James Baldwin had such a conflicted relationship with, transformed for me. I, who was never overly emotional, was now moved to deep sadness by “Julius Caesar” and

felt just as anguished as Hamlet. If I had not liked poetry before, I had seen it as the authors’ fault, but perhaps it was my own. I had been sitting in classrooms and speaking to professors like a sleepwalker, my eyes closed to the reality right in front of me. Poetry is nothing more or less than life. On some level, all poets understand this. They write what they know and feel and especially what they observe in the lives of people around them. Personal experiences that I have never found words for have been shaped into beautiful phrases by poets, as T. S. Eliot did in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”: “Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. For I have known them all already, known them all– Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life in coffee spoons” The minutiae of our daily lives in the face of the breadth of the universe—is this not the backbone of poetry? Every time I read these lines, I am still shocked at how much they communicate to me, a combination of specific images and the vaguest terms. I love being an English major, because now, when someone in class mentions a line, phrase or poem that they “love,” I know exactly what they feel. Anyone who patiently searches for meaning in poetry, like an archaeologist in a glorious ruin, will be able to find pieces of their own experience among the debris. Inspired by “Why I Stopped Hating Shakespeare” by James Baldwin

COAR hosts Good Neighbor Day 2022

Good Neighbor Day 2022 was the first time COAR has held the event since 2019. @coarumw / Instagram

FROM NEIGHBOR PAGE 4

“We wanted to give a picnic to our volunteers, so we decided on a food truck,” said Coleman. Max Steinbaum, a freshman historic preservation major, was tasked with painting the spirit rock to advertise the event. “[Good Neighbor Day] was lovely,” said Steinbaum. “COAR was one of the reasons why I came to UMW, and it was so great. I didn’t get to go out to anyone’s house per se, but just being out there with a bunch of people doing good, making other people smile makes me smile as well.” Macey Lynch, a senior communication and digital studies major and COAR council leader of Food Recovery, attended her first Good Neighbor Day last Saturday. “I’m also a council leader, so we’re here to lead the programs that we’re going on today,” said Lynch. She led a group assigned to dig up bushes in a person’s front yard. “It was actually really fun. We did bamboo too, so we extracted bamboo roots,” said Lynch. Although Good Neighbor Day typically happens in March of every year, it did not happen last spring due to UMW’s restrictions on large gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We didn’t do Good Neighbor Day [last year] because we didn’t want to be in contact with people off campus,” said Dewees. “We did have Pay It Forward day, and that was similar to Into the Streets, where we had several different community projects. We gathered outdoors wearing masks.” On March 18, a weekly COVID update email informed students and faculty that the CDC lists the community COVID levels for Fredericksburg and the surrounding counties as “low.” With UMW’s indoor mask mandate lifted everywhere on campus but classrooms, labs, mass transit and health locations, the university is steadily returning to a pre-pandemic “normal.” Student volunteers were told they only needed to wear masks if asked to do so. “It’s emotional, but inspiring [to return to normalcy],” said Dewees. “Things are different, but in small ways, we are returning back to what life was like pre-pandemic, coming together for service projects. Outdoor projects feel especially safe.” Dewees continued, “Our students are invested in making the world a better place, and that starts in Fredericksburg.”

News

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Page 7

National Survey for Student Engagement to measure the quality of education at UMW and other colleges

Mohtasin Akbar & SCOTTI MULLEN Staff Writer & News Editor The National Survey for Student Engagement measures the quality of university education by surveying freshman and fourth-year seniors. UMW participates in the survey every even year.

“We compare ourselves to other schools to make sure we are performing as well as or better than our peers.” -Debra Schleef “As the name suggests, these surveys are done at universities all over the U.S.,” said Debra Schleef, associate provost for institutional analysis and effectiveness and professor of sociology. “The whole point is to understand the student experience from beginning to end at UMW. It’s very important to have as high a response rate as possible so that as many students as possible can participate and have a say in how we understand the student experience and what policies we engage in to improve that experience.” Schleef explained that UMW compares its survey responses and compares them to responses from other schools. “NSSE sends us a variety of reports (with the comparisons to other schools) and the raw data as well, so we can do our own analyses,” she said. “It is the main way that we can benchmark our activities related to student engagement to other schools. We also compare our

Crime Column

JOSEPHINE JOHNSON & sCOTTI MULLEN News Editors

Possession On March 17 at 7:30 p.m., there was an incident of underage possession of alcohol at 800 BLK Mortimer Ave. This case is pending.

Threats On March 21 at 9:00 p.m., there was an incident of threats at Westmoreland Hall. This case is pending.

own data across the years for the same reason – what areas are we strong in? In what areas could we be better? Are certain elements improving over time or not?” The survey is designed to compare the first and fourth year students to see how things change and how they respond differently. The goal is to see how engaged students are with the community. Results are released yearly in November “We examine how often students engage in “high impact practices” such as research with a professor, internships, study abroad and completing community service or a culminating project,” said Schleef. “Again, are graduating students likely to say they have had those experiences?” The survey covers many topics, such as “student learning strategies, different types of learning (such as collaborative learning), diversity, studentfaculty interaction, relationships with peers, different supports in the university environment and academic challenges,” said Schleef. “The NSSE also asks about how students use their time – for studying, for outside work, for commuting, caring for family members, etc.”

“As a student, I do appreciate taking these surveys, and I take them very seriously. I would like to see them more often.” -Aishah Wahedi The data are used to make real changes to campus life. For instance, in previous years, the

The National Survey for Student engagement is conducted every even year and is given to first and fourth year students. Christin Hume / Unsplash

survey has led to the changing of certain general education requirements. “The provost’s office (which is where I work) frequently looks at all manner of data, and each time the NSSE is done I present that data to the provost council and other stakeholders,” said Schleef. “So, the NSSE results are looked at widely by the university administration and student-focused offices.” Schleef utilizes these data to make UMW-specific reports. “I created a report for academic advising that looked at the quality of advising (from 2012 to 2018),” said Schleef. “I also prepared a report on some of the student affairs indicators for the Student Affairs office so that they could see how effective some of their work has been.” The more recent changes made from this survey have involved diversity and inclusion. “Recently we’ve been using the data to help us augment university collected data on diversity and inclusion,” said

Schleef. “For example, I presented some data on the relationship between student race/ethnicity and incidences of high impact practices (both what students said they wanted to do and what they did) to the University Board of Visitors, which led to some suggestions on how we might improve access to these practices for underrepresented students.” Aishah Wahedi, a senior biology major, thinks that the surveys are beneficial to the university. “As a student, I do appreciate taking these surveys, and I take them very seriously,” said Wahedi. “I would like to see them more often.” Some other students value the importance of the NSSE. “I honestly don’t like taking surveys; however, this survey was one of my favorite surveys I have taken,” said Aziza Alikhail, senior biomedical sciences major. “It had all those questions that I really needed to know more about and the things I felt like needed to change. This survey

helps the upcoming students who will be attending UMW on what to expect and decide if this is the place where they want to exceed their education.”

“I honestly don’t like taking surveys; however, this survey was one of my favorite surveys I have taken.” -Aziza Alikhail Students who complete the survey by March 28 are randomly entered to win one of twenty $25 gift certificates to the bookstore. “I really like how it has a little treat to it, such as winning a gift card, because most of the time people tend to not take surveys and feel that it is a waste of time, which I really like the idea behind providing a little treat,” said Alikhail.

COVID-19 Dashboard UMW’s COVID-19 dashboard is located on the university website. These statistics are from March 23, 2022—the most recent at time of publication.

231

Total cases as of March 22, 2022

Active cases

0.14

7-day moving average of new cases per day

208

Total tests conducted at the Student Health Center since Jan. 1, 2022

Positive Student Health Center tests returned since Jan. 1, 2022

22 of 22

Quarantine spaces available

120 of 120

Isolation spaces available

Total prevalence tests administered from March 11, 2022 - March 17, 2022

Total positive prevalence tests returned from March 11, 2022 - March 17, 2022

Percentage of positive prevalence tests returned from March 11, 2022 - March 17, 2022

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Sports

Track & field hosts first meet of the season

ELI KEITH On Saturday, March 19, the men’s and women’s January, Assistant Coaches Stephen Harrison, Alec Staff Writer track and field teams hosted seven other competing Villiva and Anthony Wallace have assumed interim universities at the Battleground Athletic Complex head-coaching duties. for the home opener of the outdoor track and field season. The “It’s been nice seeing the assistant coaches take charge, work even women’s team came in third place behind Delaware State University harder and organize things,” said Murphy. and Gettysburg College, respectively, while the men’s team finished The assistant coaches could be seen running back and forth third behind Delaware State and Christopher Newport University, between events making sure their athletes were mentally and missing second place by only seven points. physically ready to go. Scoring in track and field meets is based on the top six finishers “It was weird not having the guidance we are used to having but I in each event. First place receives 10 points, second receives eight, looked to the assistants and volunteers for support during the meet,” third receives six, fourth receives four, fifth receives two and sixth said junior psychology major Kayla Leonard. receives one point. However, Saturday’s meet was ultimately about the athletes “Since it’s the first meet … everyone’s goal was to finish and feel getting their bodies back in tune and getting a strong start to the accomplished doing it,” said senior sociology major Teresa Guzman. season. “You have to recognize you’re not where you were last year when you Christopher Newport will host the Eagles in a meet next month peaked.” Athletes on the team have workout programs designed to on April 9, followed by a meet at Johns Hopkins on April 23 coming get them in the best shape towards the end of the season when they just a couple of weeks before the conference championship meet, have to be at their best to qualify for postseason competition. which will take place on May 6 and 7. The Eagles seek to grow from “It’s always great to host teams on our home turf,” said junior Saturday’s performance as they look ahead to the more competitive biomedical sciences major Hana Bussell, who competed in the meets further into the season. These future meets “show you where women’s pole vault. you stack up in terms of your performances,” said Guzman. Although this is the Eagles’ first meet for the outdoor track season, The Eagles’ next meet will also be at home, as they host the they’re not out of practice, as the indoor track season just finished in Battleground Relays on Saturday, April 2. late February. They’re looking to carry experiences from that season into this one. “A team goal of ours is to stay strong and focused with all the hard work we have been putting in for the past few months,” said Bussell. Junior biochemistry major Hannah Unger won the women’s high jump, junior psychology major and elementary education student Grace Pippin snagged third in the women’s 1500 meter and UMW took fourth through seventh place in the men’s 800 meter. The longest race of the day, the 5000-meter race, had several Eagles participating in both the men’s and the women’s race. Freshman Jessica Oberlies finished in 21:19 as the top Eagle, while senior political science major Patrick Brown took second overall in the men’s race. Junior geography major and secondary education student Dylan Wright and junior cybersecurity major Patrick Murphy came in as the second and third Eagles in the same race, respectively. “We want to give team members more defined goals for the season,” said Murphy. “Some people want to finish their senior season on a high note, others might want to bounce back from an injury, and some just want to improve. It’s exciting that despite all these goals, the team can pull together and give it their all.” Track runners at the starting line. Photo courtesy of Scott Smith Since the track and field teams have not had a head coach since

Women’s lacrosse loses close game to Scranton

Abby knowles The Eagles held onto the lead through the On Saturday, March 19, the women’s lacrosse Staff Writer team hosted a competitive game against the third quarter, but the Royals made significant Scranton University Royals but ultimately lost gains. Going into the fourth quarter, the score 10-11, leaving the Eagles with a 3-4 record so far this season. was 9-8 in favor of the Eagles. The Royals came out strong in the The Eagles started out strong with three goals in the first quarter. fourth, scoring three goals to put them up 9-11. With one minute left The first two goals were around the 11-minute mark by junior in the game, Erin Steinberg scored a goal, but it wasn’t enough— and biomedical Scranton took home the win against the Eagles with a score of 11-10. “I think our defense is attacker science major Kayla “I think our defense is very solid this year and I see a lot of individual very solid this year and Sarazin and sophomore talent from everyone, which has been coming together nicely on the I see a lot of individual attacker psychology offensive end,” said freshman midfielder Micaela Burneo. Scranton also led 31-23 in shots taken. talent from everyone, major Katie Blair. With “I think that if we just cleaned up some little pieces like eight minutes left in the which has been coming quarter, Blair scored again transitioning the ball in the midfield and some of the offensive plays, together nicely on the to put the Eagles up 3-1. we definitely could have won,” said Burneo. offensive end.” Although the Eagles didn’t come out on top, the team’s spirit and The Royals answered with two goals, but the Eagles energy is still high. “Obviously it’s always hard to lose such a close game, but I’m stayed up 3-2 at the end of -Micaela Burneo happy with how our team worked together, overall,” said sophomore the first quarter. The Eagles opened up the second quarter strong with three goals. chemistry major Maria Schneider. “We’re all very close on and off the Once again, the Royals answered with two goals, making the score field and are always picking each other up, no matter the outcome of a game.” 6-4 at intermission. Throughout the game, “Our sideline is the players and coaches on the loudest part of the sidelines were encouraging game. We’re constantly and supporting those on the cheering, creating crazy field. “Our sideline is the sideline celebrations loudest part of the game,” and encouraging our said freshman goalie Allison Carolan. “We’re constantly teammates.” cheering, creating crazy sideline celebrations and -Allison Carolan encouraging our teammates who are on the field. … We were able to keep up and stay competitive the whole game because of how conditioned and determined we are.” Women’s lacrosse will play their next home game on March 26 against Messiah College at 1 p.m. The women’s lacrosse team lined up for the national anthem. “I think that Scranton really pushed us to play our best lacrosse yet Photo courtesy of Scott Smith this season and that we played at a high level which was awesome,” said Burneo.

Page 8

University of Mary Washington

Spring Sports Schedule

Victoria R. Percherke Sports Editor

Track & Field

March 5 at Shenandoah March 11 at NCAA Championships March 19 vs. UMW Opener March 25 @ Richmond Invitational

Men’s Lacrosse (5-4)

March 23 L vs. Hampden-Sydney (17-9) March 26 @ Marymount (Va.) March 30 vs. Roanoke April 2 vs. Messiah

Women’s Lacrosse (4-3)

March 23 W @ Washington College (7-5) March 26 vs. Messiah March 27 @ Randolph-Macon March 30 @ Shenandoah

Men’s Tennis (6-2)

March 19 W @ Washington & Lee (7-2) March 25 @ Kalamazoo @ San Antonio, Texas March 26 @ Trinity April 1 vs. Christopher Newport

Women’s Tennis (6-2)

March 20 W vs. Kenyon (7-2) March 25 @ Trinity March 26 @ Washington @ San Antonio, Texas April 2 vs. Carnegie Mellon

Baseball (14-10)

March 22 W vs. Southern Virginia (10-4) March 30 @ Bridgewater April 2 vs. Christopher Newport April 6 vs. Mary Baldwin

Softball (13-10)

March 22 W vs. Southern Virginia (5-0) & (4-0) March 23 vs. Randolph March 24 vs. Randolph March 26 vs. Gettysburg

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.

“A is fo hard put