T HE F LAT H AT
Vol. 111, Iss. 14 | Tuesday, January 25, 2022
The Weekly Student Newspaper
Executive Order Number One
CRT
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of The College of William and Mary
DAY ONE ACTIONS AFFECT VIRGINIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Executive Order Number Two
Executive Directive Number Two
Governor's directive rescinds COVID-19 vaccine mandates for College staff, faculty MOLLY PARKS // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
COURTESY PHOTO / THE HILL GRAPHIC BY MOLLY PARKS / THE FLAT HAT
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aturday, Jan. 15, on his first day in office, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed 11 Executive Actions, three of which affect public education institutions in Virginia — including the College of William and Mary. Executive Directive Number Two directly affects all “executive branch employees," including higher education employees, while Executive Orders Number One and Two also affect Virginia K-12 public schools. The executive actions significantly roll back the policies of former Democratic Governor Ralph Northam. Executive Directive Number Two states that executive branch employers are not allowed to require the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment, meaning faculty and staff at the College are no longer required to be vaccinated or show proof of vaccination. During the signing ceremony of the 11 executive actions, Youngkin addressed his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine. He noted that although both he and his wife have both been fully vaccinated and boosted, he is against vaccine mandates, arguing that they infringe upon personal liberties. “Let me be clear, I continue to be an absolutely staunch advocate for the vaccine,” Youngkin said. “I’ve gotten the vaccine, I’ve gotten the booster; Suzanne has gotten the vaccine and gotten the booster. We believe it is the best way to keep your family safe. But we also believe that individual liberty counts, it matters. Therefore, rather than mandate, we’re going to work to educate, we’re going to work to have colleagues talk to colleagues, but allow people to make decisions about their own health.” Governor Youngkin has not yet replied to The Flat Hat to comment directly. In College President Katherine Rowe’s community conversation with members of the College’s COVID-19 response team, Chief Operating Officer Amy Sebring announced that the College will comply with the new directive. Though vaccines and boosters are still required for students, they are no longer required for the College's employees. “William and Mary announced yesterday that we are moving to strongly recommend vaccines and boosters for all employees,” Sebring said. “Although they are no longer required, the research continues to show that the best way to protect yourself is to be vaccinated and boosted as soon as you’re eligible. Executive Directive Two also goes further and says that mandatory disclosure of vaccine status is also prohibited. So going forward, William and Mary will no longer require that. Although, we do
ask employees if they are willing to provide information on the vaccination status, so that can help inform our testing response and quarantine and isolation should you need it.” In light of this ruling rescinding vaccine mandates, some students and employees of the College are worried about the repercussions for the portion of employees yet to be vaccinated or boosted for COVID-19. Student Assembly President Meghana Boojala ’22 spoke on the response from students that she has heard regarding Youngkin’s directive. “On the net, students are pretty concerned, I think, so am I,” Boojala said. “I think if there is one thing that made William and Mary very successful over the past three, four semesters, it has been the mask mandate and the vaccine mandate.” Boojala also noted that students should be mindful towards professors, since they are often of older age and of greater risk for complications with COVID-19 than their younger students. “If your professor isn’t vaccinated, then they’re more vulnerable to getting COVID, and they’re usually older than us; there’s that risk that students have to be wary of,” Boojala said. However, as Sebring noted in Wednesday’s community conversation, the College has a highly vaccinated and boosted community, with vaccinations and boosters still required for students. According to Sebring, as of Jan. 18, over 96% of the campus’s students are vaccinated, with almost 82% of students boosted. “For employees, we’ve got almost 95% of our employees vaccinated and, again, as of yesterday, over 75% reported that they’ve already received a booster,” Sebring said. Although the College moved to “strongly recommend” vaccinations and boosters for its faculty and staff, some College employees are calling for the administration to take a more direct stance against the governor’s directive. Jasper Conner is a Ph.D. Candidate of the College’s History Department and a long-standing member of the W&M Workers Union, where he is the social media chair. Conner took a strong stance against the governor’s new executive actions, calling for non-compliance. “I would encourage President Rowe to ignore directives from the state that put us at risk," Conner said. "In the same way that my kid’s school district here in Richmond is choosing to ignore these policies that they think are destructive and believe that they have a legal right to do that. That is what needs to be done. People need to stand up and take responsibility
for the world we live in.” Earlier this year, Richmond City School Board’s decided to challenge Youngkin’s Executive Order Number Two, which rescinds mask mandates in Virginia public K-12 schools. Richmond City is one of the many school boards across Virginia speaking out against the executive order. Executive Order Numbers One and Two deal with issues in public K-12 schools, specifically mask mandates and the teaching of critical race theory. According to Governor Youngkin, Executive Order Number Two, which prohibits mask mandates in public K-12 school, is “reaffirming the rights of parents in the upbringing, education, and care of their children.” The order allows parents to make the decision for their children, without needing to provide a reason, about whether or not their child wears a mask in public K-12 schools. The order nullifies the former governor’s mask requirement in K-12 public schools, while also rescinding Executive Order Number 79, regarding masking and COVID-19. However, some school districts across the commonwealth are pushing back. Jan. 24, seven school boards across the state of Virginia announced that they are suing and challenging the constitutionality of Executive Order Number Two. The collective seven boards argue that the order violates Article 8, Section 7 of the Virginia Constitution, which states “the supervision of schools in each school division shall be vested in a school board.” In a public statement on Jan. 21, Youngkin addressed the controversy and ongoing legal situation. “I have said all along that we are going to stand up for parents,” Youngkin said. “Executive Order Two is not about pro-masks versus anti-mask, it’s about empowering parents. I am confident that the Virginia Supreme Court will rule in the favor of parents.” However, Conner sees the actions of school districts as an empowerment of teachers. “Teachers are a guiding light for the labor movement right now,” Conner said. “They have gone on strike when they are not allowed to. They are organizing and fighting for their own jobs, but also for the welfare of the children they teach. When the school districts back the teachers fighting for these things it’s even stronger. So, more power to them all. Across the state they all need to step up and protect the kids.” See YOUNGKIN page 8
COVID-19
College establishes protocol for re-opening amid Omicron College continues to mandate indoor mask usage, requires booster shot for students DANIEL POSTHUMUS THE FLAT HAT
Monday, Jan. 10, the United States reported 1,433,977 new COVID cases in one day — an indication of the Omicron variant’s ability to rapidly spread. By Friday, Jan. 21, the number of new cases had dropped to 825,052, still more than double the pre-Omicron nationwide high of 301,138. Facing this ongoing challenge, the College of William and Mary will resume inperson classes this Wednesday, Jan. 26, using vaccines and mask mandates to keep students. Wednesday, Jan. 19, the College’s senior administration officials held a community conversation to address the College’s health policies, answering pre-screened questions from students, faculty and staff. Three members of President Katherine Rowe’s Public Health Advisory Team (PHAT) joined Rowe for the conversation, which some students, such as Class of 2024 President Mia Tilman, found dissatisfying. “I find it frustrating that the university would
INDEX News Opinions Variety Sports News
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advertise a community ‘conversation’, implying a back and forth where students can express our opinions and share our thoughts in hope of influencing college policy,” Tilman wrote in an email. "Yet having this conversation a week before classes start, when policies are clearly already set in place, makes it difficult for student opinion to have the type of influence we want it to and are told it has.” During the conversation, Rowe began by outlining the administration’s six basic principles when making public health decisions: keep goals simple, make decisions in a phased way, adapt with intentionality and care, remember that everyone is in the same storm but not everyone is in the same boat, recognize that every semester is different and communicate consistently and thoroughly. The representatives of the PHAT then went through different questions, the responses to which emphasized the college’s use of its ‘tools’ to keep students safe from COVID. “We’ve got three big things: we have vaccines, we have boosters, and we have indoor masking,”
Professor of Kinesiology Carrie Dolan said. “And all three of these things work together to help decrease and minimize the transmission as well as the severity of disease.” Despite the surge in cases nation-wide, the College has no plan to delay the start of classes. Officials emphasized pre-arrival testing, the College’s system of COVID case managers and high-quality masks as preventative measures against a COVID surge on campus. The College also recently ordered 40,000 K-N95 masks for distribution among students, emphasizing their reliance on masks as a preventative tool. Sebring explained the decision to not delay inperson classes in a follow-up. “William & Mary has relied on delayed opening and/or remote starts in past semesters, and we are in continual communication with peer institutions in terms of discussing our COVID response,” Sebring wrote in an email. “For the Spring 2022 semester, William & Mary benefited by a start date that is later than many other institutions; many that were scheduled
Inside Opinions
Inside Variety
Isabelle Fortiz '24 writes that the dining services at the College are in need of improvement in terms of options, food quality and value. page 3
Alumni Lamar Shambley ’10, founder of non-profit Teens of Color Abroad, shares personal abroad experience, importance of study abroad for Black students. page 5
From raw chicken to limited dietary options, the dining halls need help
Taking the World by Storm
to start in early January opted to delay to midJanuary. In contrast, undergraduate classes at W&M start January 26. That said, delays are very disruptive, especially for a highly residential campus community.” However, Tilman views the the College's decision with skepticism. “I trust the decisions of medical professionals and feel that for the most part, W&M does have appropriate measures to keep students safe (and hope these aren’t further rolled back throughout the semester, regardless of what our Governor may say),” Tilman wrote. “However, I would deeply disapprove of William & Mary returning to a solely in-person format. It is clear that these last few Covid semesters have been hard on students, physically and mentally…. While I am glad we are returning in-person for those of us who need in-person education, I hope the university is adequately prepared to accommodate ALL students.” See OMICRON page 8
Inside Sports
Men's Basketball defeats Drexel 83-75
Tribe Men's Basketball moves back to .500 in Colonial Athletic Association with Saturday's win over Drexel. page 7