Vol. 111, Iss. 2 ¦ Tuesday, March 23, 2021
The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
VACCINE CONFUSION
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ZACH LUTZKY / THE FLAT HAT GRAPHIC BY ALEXANDRA BYRNE / THE FLAT HAT
Students receive COVID-19 vaccine due to Walgreens' "congregate housing" definition ALEXANDRA BYRNE // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR During a COVID-19 vaccine rollout that has been chaotic at times, confusion has mounted at the College of William and Mary over eligibility requirements to receive the coveted inoculation. As some regions of Virginia moved into stage 1c of vaccine distribution last week, which includes an expanded group of essential workers, some students at the College have reported being granted appointments because they live in residence halls. The rumors, which began early last week, contend that dormitories are considered “congregate settings,” under the language used by the Centers for Disease Control and Walgreens, the pharmacy where many students were able to secure appointments. Though they are technically not eligible under Virginia’s 1b or 1c guidelines, a number of students reported that they had called Walgreens, and even the College’s Student Health Center, both of which reportedly confirmed their eligibility under Walgreens' definition. For those at the College desperate to avoid contracting the coronavirus, particularly those living in on-campus residence halls, the open Walgreens appointments seemed inviting. Students who signed up were under the impression that they were legitimately qualified. According to the Virginia Department of Health website, congregate settings do, in fact, include schools and workplaces. “A congregate setting is an environment where a number of people reside, meet or gather in close proximity for either a limited or extended period of time,” the website says. “Examples of congregate settings include homeless shelters, group homes, prisons, detention centers, schools and workplaces.” On the Walgreens questionnaire, students are presented with the option, “I am a resident or staff member in a congregate living facility.” Many students felt this option accurately explained their situation and coincided with VDH's designation. However, under the description of eligibility specifically for phase 1b, VDH defines congregate settings differently — limiting them to homeless shelters, correctional facilities and migrant labor camps. College spokesperson Suzanne Clavet also pointed to this VDH definition. “Residence halls are not included under this definition,” Clavet said in an email. “According to the information we currently have from VDH, we anticipate vaccine distribution to begin to the general public — the category under which most of our student population falls — by May.” Clavet emphasized that the College does not make its own guidelines, but rather follows those of VDH
and cannot speak for the practices of Walgreens. “I can’t speak for entities other than William & Mary,” Clavet said. “Certainly the university continues to work with the Virginia Department of Health to facilitate the vaccine distribution process with members of our community. To date, that has included only individuals eligible for vaccination under VDH’s Phase 1a and Phase 1b distribution.” A number of conflating factors complicate the situation — those with underlying conditions or who are essential workers qualify for a vaccine under 1b, which began Jan. 11. Students falling into these categories can receive the vaccine under VDH guidelines. Others find themselves doing mental gymnastics, attempting to answer the question that no one can agree upon: are college dormitories considered congregate housing? It depends on who you ask. The Flat Hat reached out to VDH and received no immediate response on the matter. Some students have pushed back on the notion that dorms qualify residents for the COVID-19 vaccine, arguing that congregate settings refer exclusively to prisons, group homes, homeless shelters and migrant labor camps. Students who make appointments because they live in a dorm, these objectors argue, are taking appointments away from those most in need. While it is possible that these appointments might be taken by higher-priority groups, it is difficult to identify on an individual level whose spot students may be stealing. As of Mar. 16, all incarcerated Virginians have been offered the vaccine. Individuals living in long-term care facilities and some group homes were eligible in phase 1a, and all those in these facilities wishing to be vaccinated received one as of Mar. 1. For other groups, such as those facing homelessness and those who are undocumented, vaccination rates are murkier. Virginia has faced a number of challenges in vaccine rollout beyond confusion over definitions. Some areas have seen an influx in “vaccine hunters” traveling across the state and beyond to find doses, while other areas see doses go unused. Doses are generally allocated to health districts based on population, which can easily be thrown off depending on how many visitors receive the vaccine compared to residents. Furthermore, though VDH has instructed counties to move to phase 1c only if they have made See VACCINE page 8
CAMPUS
Committee prepares College's Asian Centennial celebration College will commemorate 100 year anniversary since first Asian student enrollment ABBY PARAS FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR
Nearly 100 years ago, the first Asian student, Pu-Kao Chen ’23, a native of Shanghai, China, enrolled at the College of William and Mary, setting a precedent for many to follow. In this upcoming fall semester, the College will be celebrating the Asian and AsianAmerican Centennial with different events and projects. “The Asian Centennial will celebrate all those at W&M, past and present, who identify as Asian or of Asian ancestry, including those from Southwest Asia—often referred to as the Middle East,” the College said in a press release. The Committee on the Asian Centennial at William & Mary
INDEX News Opinions Variety Sports News
was charged in Feb. 2021 with developing and executing the commemoration. With a budget of $50,000, the committee will cultivate awareness, launch the centennial year and develop programming throughout the Spring 2021, Fall 2022 and Spring 2022 semesters. “They have been charged by W&M President Katherine A. Rowe to develop and execute the commemoration with three goals in mind: to honor trailblazing leaders at W&M; understand and elevate the impact of Asian and Asian-American students, faculty and staff; and advance W&M’s aspirations as a global, cosmopolitan and multicultural institution,” the press release said. Though most of the events will occur in the Fall semester, a few are already underway. Friday, Mar. 26, there will be a streaming
Inside Opinions
2 3-4 5-6 7 8
The Word on Reparations, Part 5: Roles Anne Arseneau '89 continues this series with a perspective on her role as an administrator in Student Leadership Development, which guides the Reparations Committee. page 3
Inside Variety
METing all the Requirements
Ashton Rodgers '21 interns at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and focuses on polychromy in Greek and Roman artifacts. page 6
of the documentary “Searching for Anna May Wong,” which chronicles the life of one of the most famous Chinese-American film stars of the 1930s and contextualizes her life in the modern day. This will be part of the Asian Centennial film series, which will continue through next semester. Tuesday, Mar. 30, the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies program will host a conversation with author Paul Ocampo about his short stories. More events will take place throughout April, all of which can be found on the Asian Centennial calendar. As co-chair of the Asian Centennial and director of the College's Asian & Pacific Islander American Studies Program, See CENTENNIAL page 8
Inside Sports
Tribe topples Camels
After trailing by six goals at halftime, junior Belle Martire led the College's women's lacrosse team's comeback to beat Campbell 16-12. page 7
newsinsight “
News Editor Alexandra Byrne News Editor Charles Coleman News Editor Molly Parks fhnews@gmail.com
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The Flat Hat ¦ Tuesday, March 23, 2021 ¦ Page 2
THE BUZZ
The centennial recognition of the admission of Pu-Kao Chen, William and Mary s first known student of color at a time when the university did not admit Black students, is significant in highlighting a historical moment. It also reconfirms the work our program strives to do in employing a pedagogy of anti-racist education that connects the discipline of ethnic studies with lived experience, past and present.
̶ Dr. Benedito Ferrão
FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF Atlanta shooting of six Asian women sparks outrage across nation and College campus Tuesday, Mar. 16, eight women, six of whom were of Asian descent, were killed in an Atlanta shooting at the hands of a 21-yearold man. The attack sparked an outpouring of support for the AsianAmerican community, as Americans took to social media and the streets chanting “Stop Asian Hate.” The shooting served as a tipping point after many Americans have been angered by the physical violence and violent rhetoric that the Asian-American community has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The AAPI community has been bombarded with hateful rhetoric and a spike in hate crimes since COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, China . After the attack in Atlanta, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms have been flooded with the hashtag #StopAsianHate in order to bring awareness to the injustices the community has been facing. On The College’s campus, students have been rallying to support the Stop AAPI Hate movement. William & Mary’s Filipino American Student Association released a statement strongly condemning the Atlanta shootings as “a racist and gendered attack”. FASA then held a Reflection Hour at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 19 for students to share their thoughts, feelings and stories. As hate crimes like these against Asian Americans have been on the rise, the College is soon celebrating its Asian Centennial. This centennial is in commemoration of the admission of the first Asian student, Chen Pu-Kao ’23, to the College. As the College celebrates this milestone, it is a time for students to reflect on their own biases and ask themselves how they can work to make their communities more inclusive to those of all races and national origins. BRIEF BY MOLLY PARKS/ THE FLAT HAT
A THOUSAND WORDS
COURTESY PHOTO / ELIZABETH LOSH
The Director of Gender, Sexuality and Women s Studies Elizabeth Losh researches selfies and took this picture at a media conference in Amsterdam.
Trailblazing Digital Learning
Professor Elizabeth Losh shares insight on teaching technology in the era of online studies GEORGIA THOMS // FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER Professor of English and American Studies Elizabeth Losh teaches courses on digital culture, social media, game studies, digital humanities and the longer history of “new” media. In a time such as this, digital platforms have become even more essential, providing everything from the latest news to academic papers. “I am fortunate to have a lot of freedom in what I teach since there isn’t an established digital studies curriculum right now at William & Mary — although groups like the eSports initiative are trying to create more structured course offerings for interested students,” Losh said in an email. COURTESY PHOTO / ZACH LUTZKY
CORRECTIONS The Flat Hat wishes to correct any fact printed incorrectly. Corrections may be submitted in email to the editor of the section in which the incorrect information was printed. Requests for corrections will be accepted at any time. Mar. 9, in the article “Workers Union Oppose Non-Renewal of Contracts with Protest”, Scott Challener was misquoted saying “a nation that is 40% Black”, which should have been “14%.” The quote “today and tomorrow is the right time...” attributed to Jasper Conner was actually said by Challener.
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“Many of these courses — like Gender and Digital Culture or Gender, Sexuality, and Gaming — combine digital topics with feminist or queer theory, which works well since I am directing Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and The Equality Lab right now.” Alongside her current role in directing, Losh is currently working on a book — a new addition to the six manuscripts she’s already published. “I just finished a book about social media (and mobile apps) in the Obama and Trump administration,” Losh said. “I interviewed several White House insiders for this project, and I even got amazing stories from the publicist who taught Donald Trump how to tweet.” Her previous works — three monographs, two edited collections and a comic book — have also bridged the gap between academics and media. “I enjoy working on projects intended to reach a broader audience,” Losh said. “‘Hashtag’ covered topics very much in the news, including online activism and the rising roles of internet influencers in society. It’s a slim little book that is designed to be approachable and informative for people who don’t use hashtags or know much about them. We also just finished a new edition (the third) of our graphic book ‘Understanding
Rhetoric’ with a whole new section on fake news.” Through her writing, Losh hopes to encourage readers to participate in digital culture, whether it is via online learning or citizens exploring online activism. “I want to spread expertise, so people feel more confidence and agency to demand real digital rights and acquire deep digital literacy as members of their communities and the broader culture,” Losh said. “Leaving it up to tech companies has never seemed like a good idea to me.” Although inspiring her audience was always her main goal, Losh also gained personal fulfillment from finishing her projects. “It’s wonderful to get that first box of books and open them up and hold them in your hand as physical objects,” Losh said. “I also like the feeling of finishing a book manuscript. I tend to speed up my work writing as I reach the end of a big writing project like a book, so it is exciting to feel motivated and in-the-flow of creative inspiration.” When asked about her greatest influence, Losh emphasized that members of the feminist technology collective FemTechNet have been her friends, colleagues and inspiration for over a decade. “From getting more people to edit Wikipedia to creating tools to counter online misogyny and racism, FemTechNet is doing ground-breaking practical and theoretical work,” Losh said. “I feel fortunate to be part of several international research groups founded by members of the collective, including those that cover interesting topics like computer simulation or machine vision.” Losh holds a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts and a doctorate in English, underscoring her passion for the field. Even as a child, English was Losh’s favorite subject. She won prizes in middle school and high school from English faculty, foreshadowing her future career. Her passion for American Studies, however, would come a little later. “I began moving into American Studies as I was researching my first book on digital rhetoric,” Losh said. “I was using both archival research and field research methods, and I found myself becoming much more interdisciplinary in my perspectives.” As an undergraduate at Harvard University, Losh continued her zeal for English by working as an editor for the campus humor magazine, The Harvard Lampoon. “It was fun to work on a nationally
distributed parody of USA Today,” Losh said. “I would say that having a somewhat irreverent attitude and interest in working with different writing partners (and visual artists) was something that I did develop in college there.” After her undergraduate degree, Losh decided to pursue her academic career, and the College of William and Mary seemed like the perfect place to teach. Washington D.C. carried large appeal, as she conducts research in the city and also writes about political rhetoric. Furthermore, Losh wanted to lead digital humanities initiatives. “William and Mary is in the center of a cluster of very innovative campuses in the digital humanities, and it has been great to work with groups like the Chesapeake Digital Humanities Consortium and bring interesting guests to campus,” Losh said. Losh added that the College is known for deep traditions in the liberal arts and has begun the process of acknowledging its role in legacies of slavery, segregation and Jim Crow laws. With regard to her courses at the College and future projects, Losh explained that there are copious connections between academics and the digital world. “I think students enjoy seeing how they can connect their everyday 21st-century digital practices both to contemporary issues about race, gender, sexuality, nationality, and ability and to enduring questions about representation, literacy, aesthetics, mediation, and political theory,” Losh said.
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opinions
The Flat
Opinions Editor Lucas Harsche Opinions Editor Alyssa Slovin fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat Hat ¦ Tuesday, March 23, 2021 ¦ Page 3
GUEST COLUMN
GUEST COLUMN
The Word on Reparations, Part 5: Roles
Warmer weather, outdoor dining highlight College’s litter problem Ian DeHaven
Anne Arseneau FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER
Roles. We each have a role to play in the issues of systemic injustice that face the nation and our local community of the College of William and Mary. A little over a year ago, the Student Assembly formed the Reparations Committee. As a university administrator and the advisor to SA, part of my role is paying close attention to activities and initiatives of student organizations that come with (any) level of complexity. A student-led committee exploring Reparations? That definitely checks the complexity box, and I started attending meetings. As an administrator, my role can periodically put me directly in the path of disagreement with students. My role often requires me to enforce rules and students often push up against those rules. So, you might be surprised to read that I absolutely believe that the College (and the world) need more people to play the role of provocative change agent. Yet, “provocative change agent” will never be a description anyone assigns to me. I am slow, steady and incremental in my work and life. My best work is done in places where I get to build sustained relationships and refine systems and processes with the people around me. The problems facing our nation and the opportunities (and complexity) of reparations require a different skill set than slow, steady and incremental. Disruptors of the status quo can better elevate our pressing issues and bring attention to the gaps. Disruptors can also make it uncomfortable. But this discomfort is an essential part of an ecosystem made up of imperfect humans. Earlier this year, I stumbled across The Social Change Ecosystem Map from the Building Movement Project. The introduction to this map reads: “In our lives and as part of movements and organizations, many of us play different roles in pursuit of equity, shared liberation, inclusion, and justice. And yet, we often get lost and confused, or we are newcomers to ongoing social change efforts and don’t know where to start, or we are catalyzed into action in the midst of a crisis in our community.” This spoke to me. Being lost or confused and not knowing the “right” thing to do resonated. Not doing anything because I’m scared to do the wrong thing is a challenge I’ve always had to combat. The roles articulated in the Social Change Ecosystem Map helped me to be more cognizant that there isn’t one best way to contribute; there is more than just the disruptor. Indeed, all too often those who are most affected by these issues experience severe burnout. Maybe you are a healer, a storyteller, a frontline responder, a caregiver or a disruptor. There is no one way to make progress. We need everyone and every role. As a middle-aged white woman (and administrator) of some not insignificant privilege, I can’t possibly label myself a guide to the experiences of our BIPOC students, alumni and community members. Despite all the catching up I still have to do, I can use my experience and privilege to serve as a guide to navigating the College. Completing the plan for reparations will help the College move forward creating equity, liberation, justice and solidarity for the community. And this work necessitates many roles. Within the College ecosystem, my role is as a guide to the College’s students. We all have a role to play — don’t let your position, title, lack of knowledge or fear of inadequacy keep you from leaning into the role that you can play best.
Anne Arseneau graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1989 and has worked at the College since 1997. She works in Student Leadership Development where she supports students in the practice field working to make positive change in the groups, causes and communities that are important to them. Email Anne at aharse@wm.edu. To view citations, visit flathatnews.com.
FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER
On a campus where rainy days often turn into rainy weeks, warm weather and blue skies are a blessing. And if you’re anything like me, you put on a pair of shorts as soon as the forecast hints at 60-degree weather, much less 70. No doubt, it has been an excellent week to get outside, get together with friends and socialize in a COVID-safe way that is impossible when we’re kept inside by dreary conditions. And again, if you’re anything like me, you love it — but cringe about how the exodus of students almost always spells trouble for the beauty of our campus. Let’s get it out there: the College of William and Mary has a litter problem. Whether it’s broken glass around Old Campus buildings, plastic lids blowing idly on the Sunken Garden or soda cans and granola bar wrappers out on the Matoaka trails, our whole campus is blanketed in a fine layer of foodrelated garbage. You’d be surprised what turns up when you just look. And when students go outside en masse, this food-related garbage understandably increases in both scope and amount. In an age that has so strongly altered the way we get, eat and gather our food, we should expect that more areas of campus are being used for people to spread out. Each of these people come with an individually packaged meal and so on from a dining hall. Then, the wind picks up a napkin and
takes it on a journey, the trashcans by Sadler Center and the Sunken Garden overflow from unusually high traffic, and random chance strikes. The net result is dispersed litter of all sizes under every step we take. For me, this is a huge concern. My issue is not that garbage somehow ends up on the ground, but that it is allowed to stay there. I don’t think that I’m the only one who has seen the streaky toilet paper dried to the bricks outside of Yates, or the grocery bags that sometimes flit around The Terrace. But if I have a moment (and some hand sanitizer, depending on what the garbage in question is), you can bet that I’ll reach down and pick these things up. As we get the chance to go outside and leave rainy days behind, heightened use of outdoor spaces demands vigilance in trash disposal. We’re not living on a campus of “litter-ers,” but we do sometimes let meal and outdoor-time inconveniences slide. So, next time you’re enjoying the weather and come across an odd fork (or spoon) in the road, I hope you take the path that leads to a compost bin or trash can. Ian DeHaven ‘23 is an international relations major committed to making things better one niche issue at a time. Ian is also involved in rowing, rollerblading, cello and dedicated Arabic study. Email Ian at cidehaven@email.wm.edu.
GRAPHIC BY ANGELA VASISHTA / THE FLAT HAT
INDEPENDENT GRAPHIC
First day of spring, daylight saving time arrive on the College’s campus GRAPHIC BY ANGELA VASISHTA / THE FLAT HAT
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Page 4
STAFF COLUMN
STAFF COLUMN
What does freedom of speech actually give us freedom to say? Ezzie Seigel
FLAT HAT SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
There has clearly been a growing concern over free speech on this campus, as evidenced in part by the creation of a (not College-affiliated) publication claiming to espouse free speech while the comments on its page used to have to be approved before being visible on its website. Many students across the nation have actually voiced similar fears that their (usually more right-leaning) views are not being heard, but is this true? Well, what actually is free speech? When people reference free speech or freedom of speech, they are usually referring to the First Amendment right to express ideas without the fear of government interference, including censorship, retaliation or legal repercussions. The vital word in this phrase is “government,” because freedom of speech does not equal freedom from social repercussions. Being heard and platformed is different from having free speech. To put it bluntly: while the government cannot silence you, your peers certainly can try. This, of course, is an oversimplification. Over the past five years, a series of controversial speakers such as ex-Breitbart demagogue Milo Yiannopoulos and right-wing talking head Ann Coulter have had events canceled on college campuses due to widespread protest from students, which included chanting and even throwing objects during speeches. Essentially, students demonstrate how little they want these speakers at their universities. These situations are known as heckler’s vetoes, which are Constitutionally illegal if they occur at a public institution, because that counts as the government canceling a speaker due to their beliefs, therefore infringing upon the right of these people to speak freely without fear of retaliation. However, there is a stark difference between these heckler’s vetoes and the institutional silencing of student voices. The heckler’s veto is a technicality on college campuses. If the exact same thing were to happen to Yiannopoulos at a private university, it would be completely legal — and completely rational. Heckler’s vetoes on campuses come directly from the demands of the students, the very people these institutions are supposed to serve. Additionally, in Yiannopoulos’ instance, the students are protesting his rampant use of hate speech, which isn’t Constitutionally protected, but I digress. To be clear, I understand the gravity of any sort of infringement of free speech, and how every action could be a slippery slope to the suppression of the people. Still, the cancellation of a few speaking engagements pales in both magnitude and relevance when compared to the actual, genuine intervention of the government in regards to students’ rights.
Being heard and platformed is different from having free speech. To put it bluntly: while the government cannot silence you, your peers certainly can try. I present a small fraction of an extensive history: When UC Berkeley prohibited political activities on and near campus amidst the civil rights movement and the ongoing Vietnam War, the Berkeley Free Speech Movement (FSM) was founded in order for students to be able to organize. After a nonviolent protest with over 1,500 people, UC Berkeley got a new Chancellor who granted the demands of FSM. In 1969, when five students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War, the basis for the legendary Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines was conceived. This case provided the “substantial disruption” test that is still used today and protected students’ rights to free speech as equal to teachers’. The next year, when people gathered to protest the same war on Kent State University’s grounds, the National Guard opened fire on students in what is now seen as one of the most atrocious massacres to happen on a campus. Nine students were injured. Four died. Now, you may be wondering: why go on a tangent about heckler’s vetoes? Why does this matter? What does this have to do with the College? I want to make the distinction between social disapproval, suppression of free speech, and the nuances between the two. To students who feel as though their freedom of speech is under attack on this campus, I have to ask: Is the institution censoring your words? Do you have ideas that are actively being suppressed, or are they simply unpopular? Are you genuinely trying to advocate for free speech or are you trying to escape the social retribution you know you’ll inevitably receive? Freedom of speech is an incredibly important pillar of the Constitution, but college students need to be aware of when their rights are being taken away versus when their peers simply do not want to hear what they have to say. Ezzie Seigel ‘23 is a self-designed Creative Writing major with a concentration in Foreign Languages. When not playing music on WCWM or dancing lindy-hop during non-Covid times, you can likely find them in the Meridian, hanging out with the omniscient Jane. Email Ezzie at enseigel@email. wm.edu.
Despite uptick in vaccinations for students, everyone must follow regulations to have normal fall 2021 rollout has been quite slow thus far. May 1 is a promise, not a guarantee. After a year of continued disappointment, this isn’t much of a surprise. But even with delays, I think there is reason to believe we could all be vaccinated by the end of the summer. Barring more unforeseen obstacles with vaccination distribution in Virginia this spring and summer, we should expect a more normal start to next year with a vaccinated campus population. It is key that the College does everything in its power to ensure we can start the fall semester with in-person classes, clubs and sports unhindered. Students have worked incredibly hard these past semesters to keep our community safe. We diligently followed rules set by the FLAT HAT ASSOC. OPINIONS EDITOR College that were much stricter than any state mandates. For It’s been a long year. example, we wore masks outside, and we limited gatherings And I don’t mean the transition from 2020 to 2021. The to 10 or fewer people, even when the state capacity limit real year mark has been these last few weeks of March — a was higher. The College still dictates that only two students year since the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted our lives. can sit at a table in the dining halls, even though restaurants The year benchmark has caused me to reflect on the are open. It’s only fair that we expect the fall semester to be events of the past year and where we go from here. The most more open and enjoyable to its students. With a vaccinated important thing we have to look forward to at the College campus population, there are no valid reasons preventing of William and Mary is the news that vaccines are coming. normal operation next fall. Through the College, 100 employees have been vaccinated I am greatly looking forward to the fall semester. But so far. Not a large amount, but a start. These numbers until then, we just have to keep being patient with vaccine should rapidly increase in the upcoming months distribution to the best of our abilities. because as announced by President Biden, Although frustrating, we are there will be enough vaccines for ever closer to the light the entire adult population by at the end of the May 1, maybe even sooner. tunnel. And when The vaccine is available we finally get for the students and the vaccine faculty at the College ourselves, with medical conditions we must as well as those who really are essential workers. savor that But with the limited moment. It’s supply in the state, many been a year in those groups will have in the making, to wait for more doses after all. to become available, as Caitlin Noe ‘24 is appointments are quite limited. a Government and It is exciting to know that some Psychology double major. among us have been vaccinated in the She is also a member of last week and many more will be in the Amnesty International and upcoming weeks. Film Society. She will participate GRAPHIC BY ANGELA VASISHTA / THE FLAT HAT Although we have many reasons to have in the DC Summer Institute hope, we must remain cognizant of the fact that the process American Politics program this summer. Email Caitlin at of vaccination takes more time than we would like and it will cjnoe@email.wm.edu. be a while before we reach a post-pandemic reality. Vaccine To view citation, visit flathatnews.com.
Caitlin Noe
STAFF COLUMN
Hallmates don’t have to be strangers in a pandemic make something hilarious. We simply posted a bowl of cereal with four forks resting in it: the obvious response, right? Then, possibly the best, was our submission for International Women’s Day. Since all four of us are women, we thought just taking a photo of ourselves would be too obvious, and that’s the last thing we would ever want for a competition with such high stakes. Instead, one of my suitemates stood on a stool and used nylon thread to FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR suspend her phone from the air vent on our ceiling and hit “record video.” Some of us were lucky enough to Then, the four of us laid on the floor in create strong, familial-like bonds with the shape of a “W” and as the phone our freshman hallmates. I remember swayed above us to capture the true that my room was always a social hub, magic of the day. That’s the true power with countless hallmates staying in our of women. room unless they were asleep. Others Through this, I’ve started to feel at knew they were welcome if they needed home in my hall instead of just in my to talk, if they wanted to watch a movie, room, even though I haven’t spoken to or if they were simply sexiled for an hour most of my hallmates in person because or so. We had hall dinners and birthday of the pandemic. The COVID-19 celebrations, sing-a-longs and a sex pandemic may be a great limitation for education-themed trivia night. everyone in terms of socialization, but As an out-of-state student six hours that does not mean that there are not away from home and familiarity, I could ways to still make connections. not have asked for a better hall to call Although in-person connections are my home for that year. “J1E or die,” as always more valuable than those over they say. text, do not underestimate the power of Then, my roommate and I actually a good laugh, a silly meme or expertly accidentally ended up living in the directed video. We cannot completely same dorm room again for sophomore cut ourselves off from anyone outside year. We still had each other and our of our rooms, and this activity has been friends from freshman year, not to such a hilarious way to make some mention new people who we met much-needed connections. Also, in our classes, but we noticed if you live in my hall, I cannot that upperclassmen were wait to see the rest of your not up for all of our same submissions, especially shenanigans. Everyone those for Mar, 28, was content keeping which is Something to themselves, which on a Stick Day. made sense, but Alyssa Slovin ‘22 was a shock to our is an English and systems that we could marketing double no longer invade the major. Besides her rooms in which our work at The Flat friends used to live. Hat as Opinions Our hall’s GroupMe Editor and Flat mostly consisted of Hat Magazine as people who forgot Editor-in-Chief, their student ID and she is involved in needed someone to Sinfonicron Light let them into the dorm Opera Company, and the obligatory The Gallery and complaints that follow Active Minds. Email fire alarms. Alyssa at amslovin@ GRAPHIC BY SKYLER FOLEY AND HEADSHOTS BY KAYLA PAYNE AND ANGELA VASISHTA / THE FLAT HAT Now, as a junior, email.wm.edu.
Alyssa Slovin
my suitemates and I were expecting the same situation. Upperclassmen rarely attend hall events, and with COVID-19 residence hall restrictions, we were not expecting any different. However, those restrictions are what made creativity come out and thrive, apparently. For the month of March, my resident assistant came up with a way to get everyone involved without challenging everyone’s patience or schedules. She posted a calendar each of the hall’s bulletin boards with some sort of holiday, event or Googleinvented silly celebration. Our task is to send some sort of photo or video proof that we celebrated the day in the GroupMe. Not only does my suite have endless laughs coming up with each entry each day, but it’s a way for the entire hall to bond over stupid humor in a way that we never would have otherwise. Also, most importantly, the room with the most submissions wins a pizza party. Some of my favorite days so far have been Peanut Butter Lover’s day, Cereal Day and International Women’s Day. Each of those represent our three moods when it comes to our submissions. For Peanut Butter Lover’s day, my roommate took a photo from Google Images of the Peanut Butter baby, an internet superstar from several years ago, and edited each of my suitemate’s heads onto his baby head. For Cereal Day, we felt like that was a minimal effort day that we could still use to
variety METing all the Requirements
Variety Editor Ashanti Jones Variety Editor Grace Olsen flathat.variety@gmail.com
The Flat Hat
| Tuesday, March 23, 2021 | Page 5
Ashton Rodgers 21 interns at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, focuses on polychromy in Greek and Roman artifacts ASHANTI JONES AND GRACE OLSEN // FLAT HAT VARIETY EDITORS COURTE
The 2021 class of Adrienne Arsht interns at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will be the first fully paid suite of interns at the Met since its conception in April 1870. Arsht, an American philanthropist and business leader, gifted $5 million to the museum to ensure that all of the internships are paid. Ashton Rodgers ‘21 is part of the first cohort to enter the program. Rodgers, a classical studies major, expressed that while the internship is not quite what she expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she is extremely grateful for the opportunity to work closely with others in her field to make their work more accessible. “Since I’m not interning in New York, I can’t go to the museum and see the objects I’m working with,” Rodgers said. “We’ve been working primarily through Zoom. And so I think, as someone who does focus specifically on art and art geology, there’s a lot lost in opportunities to be with actual artifacts and objects. But there’s also a lot of good that’s come from it because people are really focusing on digitizing collections, and making things accessible because everything’s had to go remote.” There are many different areas of the museum for the interns to work in given the Met’s size. Depending on what their primary interests are, interns can participate in administrative or publicfacing work. According to Elizabeth Perkins, the internship program head, interns are selected from a range of academic interests and backgrounds. “So generally, the experience is meant to help students develop some kind of professional skill and bridge the gap between what they are studying and what they might be doing following college or in a full-time job,” Perkins said. “We want to offer, through different kinds of meetings and networking opportunities, a chance for students to learn about museum practice broadly.” By “broadly,” Perkins is referring to the interns’ ability to address current issues the museum is facing, as well as learning from and interacting with staff and the museum cohort. Rodgers works specifically for the Greek and Roman department. Her interest in artifacts dates back to childhood,when she would go to local museums with her family. Rodgers enjoys studying artifacts because they function not only as art but as teaching tools for us in the modern day to learn about those who came before us. “I think I find a lot of comfort in art as a teacher, like, we can never know everything about an object or a piece of artwork,” Rodgers said. “So, I find a lot of comfort in the idea that it teaches us about ourselves, about others. It can be a painting, poetry, or archaeological finds, it really doesn’t matter. They all speak to sort of something we can learn from that specific object or piece or image.” The Met’s Greek and Roman department is currently focused on polychromy in ancient artifacts in relation to race and color. “I’ve been focusing a lot on polychromy and one of the themes I’ve been focusing on is the concept of race and color in art,” Rodgers said. “Polychromy is just the idea of how ancient statuary was painted. Instead of being what we see in western canonical art, and Renaissance art and architecture, statuary was not just white in antiquity. It’s a concern in the field of classics, that there’s a connected history between the idea of whiteness, in western art, in classics, and in museum studies. So I think it’s been really exciting to work on a project that’s pushing back against the idea that antiquity and people in antiquity were very white, and that race was tied to sort of that ideal of the monochrome.” Rodgers’ work within the project has mainly focused on studying artifacts again over several eras from various regions, and account for
the new knowledge in the field surrounding race and color in the artifact descriptions for the Met’s records and website. “Currently, we’re working with some from the Egyptian collections,” Rodgers said. “We’re working with a lot of artifacts over a large period of time and from different departments. We’ve been talking about Cycladic figures and Egyptian figures. So it’s sort of drawing on a lot of the different wings of the Met, and a lot of its collections.” The hiring process for the internship opens three times per year. After preliminary reads and an initial sort-through of applications, the pool is narrowed down, and Met staff are asked to submit project ideas to gain a sense of where the interns could focus and study. Selected interns are matched to colleagues of similar interest and then go forward with a second read of the applications and conduct interviews. The internship program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students that offer a range of qualities and skills. As one of the most renowned museums in the world, the Met receives a plethora of applications from qualified students. “Broadly, there’s a couple of areas that we focus on when determining who to give offers to,” Perkins said. “One of them is the potential for growth and for exposure. Can we offer something new to the student and are they ready to learn from us? So, we’re really looking for students that haven’t had experiences yet similar to what we can offer them — students who can demonstrate that this opportunity would really benefit them in terms of their next step at success in a future field. We are looking for students with clear goals.” Rodgers has previously worked with museums in her home state of Texas. She explained that the work she did at the San Antonio Art Museum is not the same work she is doing now, but was a great help in preparing her for the caliber of work required for the Met. “I interned with the San Antonio Museum of Art my sophomore year, in the summer with the Education Department,” Rodgers said. “I think that internship specifically just showed me how much was going on behind the scenes and how even if you are in education, you have to keep up with everyone in curation because you have to be able to talk about artifacts and objects and histories with like a level of authority. I really enjoyed understanding how a museum sort of functions in a more practical level first, and it sort of allowed me to better understand how I would interact with people once I was in a departmental internship.” The internship program is not closed off to students that want to be a museum curator. The Met provides background and knowledge that teaches students how a museum operates, manages its social media content and how it markets to its different audiences. The program does not require a student to major in a field related to the arts or museology, but does require the student to be passionate and excited about the two. What a paid internship offers that an unpaid one cannot is opportunity. Arsht believes the paid internship creates a more level playing field and enables greater inclusivity — this is one of the core values of the Met’s program. “I think the major thing a paid internship offers is access,” Perkins said. “If we make sure that everyone can access the opportunity and isn’t held back by financial barriers, then we are not limiting the cohorts to people that can afford to work a job for free or have to choose between a paid internship and a job. But there is also something to be said, a paid internship is not enough. We need internships that are well-paid so that interns don’t have to
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work a side job, especially like during our summer internship that is full time.” The Met internship emphasizes that with the paid opportunity, the students can focus on their work as opposed to outside financial stressors. When discussing inclusivity, Perkins focused on the power of inclusivity that the paid opportunity offers. “We want a culture and a community where everyone is able to learn and creating that learning environment means that students have physical access to whatever we’re doing, whether it’s remote and that’s technology and computers, or whether we’re on site,” Perkins said. “It also means that they’re in an environment where they feel supported by Met staff. That they know that they can ask questions that were available to them.” Rodgers found that paid aspect of the internship especially appealing when applying. “I really got into this internship because they got a generous donation that allowed it to be a fully funded internship,” Rodgers said. “So several of us interns got a fully paid internship and that’s a big deal in terms of moving forward for accessibility and sustainability.” Arsht has given to art centers around the country. “I flunked handwriting class, please, I am no artist,” Arsht said. “I’m still writing with a number one pencil but my interest in the arts covers music, dance, any form of performance and visual art. Art is everywhere. If you go back and look, the Lascaux cave had paintings on the walls. In Mother Nature, there is something called the mating dance. Birds, they dance, or sing covers any way to express feelings, to share with others. And I think that is what art really is, it defines a society at whatever time and it’s what somewhat makes us civilized.” In the past, Arsht has been involved in the Met’s performance, or live arts, division. She has worked with Limor Tomer, who runs the division, and funded the opera performance that honored the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. “I have no talent whatsoever,” Arsht said. “I often say to people in the art world who thank me for my support: I can’t sing. I can’t play a musical instrument. I don’t pay. I don’t dance. But I’m so impressed by those who do, and I support them. So, I want to make sure that any, any city has a place for artists to gather.” For Arsht, the Met’s paid internship grants access to experiences to a much wider group of individuals than it usually would. It also creates a more level playing field for those who would not be able to afford working an unpaid one. “Many of these people will bring a different background, different point of view, or different experiences to the call at the job site,” Arsht said. “They all see life through a different lens of experiences. And so, the end product will be infused with how they all think and see things. And as they pass through this, at the end of the internship, they will be able and available to fill many other positions up the career ladder to which they had would not have had the access if they hadn’t had the internship.” Next year, Rodgers will attend the University of Michigan to work toward a Master of Arts and doctorate in classical studies, with a concentration in art and archaeology. She hopes to stay connected with museum work in the future. “I definitely hope to stay involved in the museum field,” Rodgers said. “I think it’s really important for academics, to stay in touch with things that are outside of the academy, like the museum. Because you’ve got to think about, you know, you’re responsible for how things are presented in your field, whether or not it’s an academic paper, or in a public institution.”
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Page 6
CONFUSION CORNER
B a fflfl ffl l i n g B u s i n e s s S c h o o l B a l l o o n B a n Confusion Corner Columnist Claire Hogan 22 ponders the baffling ban on balloons at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business Alan B. Miller Hall CLAIRE HOGAN // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF If you’ve ever had the deep misfortune to be usual rainbow of identity is crushed under the subscribed to the Raymond A. Mason School patent leather loafer of 21-year-old finance of Business’ listserv, you’ll notice that at the majors whose names are almost invariably bottom of every email is a simple phrase, “no “Braeden” or “Nick.” balloons in Miller Hall.” If you ask an authority Imagine the sterile environment of Miller (which you never should), they’ll tell you that Hall, the magnitude of its uniformity nearly the rule against balloons stems from the fire detection system, citing some complicated method of laser beams to detect smoke. And yet this shallow, straightforward answer cannot be all there is. The balloon ban must go deeper. Anyone who’s been inside Alan B. Miller Hall could easily describe its physical features: pale marble, high ceilings and even some ridiculously comfortable armchairs. Yet beneath its shiny veneer lurks a feeling of deep-seated unease that isn’t present in any other building on campus. In our squishy, feel-good, liberal arts environment, disagreement is encouraged. Classroom discussions are the epicenter for intellectual discussions, the egg from which the bird of new ideas hatches. Yet, in Miller Hall, the musical birdsong of discussion is replaced with the lifeless tapping of keyboards, the rhythmic clacking of sensible heels on polished marble and the dull hum of GRAPHIC BY ASHANTI JONES // THE FLAT HAT information emanating from every lecturer. Even individual expression, perhaps in drowned out by the sheer depressive nature the form of an ironic t-shirt or embroidered of its content. Now imagine a balloon, and jean jacket is stripped away, as the B-School you’ll see why the laser beam smoke detector requires its devotaries to don the suitable hypothesis goes out the window. business attire of knee-length dresses, blazers A balloon is the opposite of all the traits and uniformly uncomfortable shoes. The Miller Hall holds dear. Balloons reject
uniformity: from the cheap rubber spheres from the dollar store to the shiny mylar SpongeBobs of your local supermarket, they thrive in their idiosyncratic variety. A balloon cannot be contained. Despite your best efforts at control, perhaps tying them to a table or wrapping the string around your wrist, a balloon cannot be moored in a single harbor. Balloons yearn to be free, to linger at the top of stairwells and in the peaks of roofs, leaking their precious helium until one day, when they are ready, they come drifting gently down. Balloons yearn for the freedom of the sky, released en masse by corporate publicists or one-byone by foolhardy children at carnivals. A balloon defies both definition and constriction. So I ask you. Why are balloons forbidden from entering Miller Hall? Is it really because their presence disrupts the oh-so-fragile ecosystem of the smoke detectors? Of course not. It is because a balloon is the antithesis of the B-School ethos. In a building full of black blazers and dark computer screens, where soulless corporate entities lurk in every shadow, a balloon could be dangerous. A balloon could remind the students, whose heads are perpetually bowed over their accounting homework, that a world exists outside of Miller Hall. Outside of the narrow concrete path that leads to a life of corporate drudgery. Up in the sky, in the open air, where a balloon longs to be. Freedom. What a dangerous idea. The B-School cannot handle the chaotic idleness of a balloon, and so they ban them, along with every shred of individualism that manages to survive between those marble columns. No room for dissent No space for creativity. No balloons in Miller Hall.
sports
Sports Editor Nathan Seidel Sports Editor Lexie Hiestand flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports
The Flat Hat
¦ Tuesday, March 23, 2020 ¦ Page 7
MEN S TENNIS
Tribe ends losing streak with 7-0 victory over UMW
After dropping four of five, team earns statement win credited to changed mindset JAKE FORBES FLAT HAT SPORTS ASSOC. EDITOR After winning their season opener over East Tennessee State, William and Mary lost four of their next five matches, including their conference opener at Elon. Friday Mar. 18, however, they steadied the ship with a 7-0 win over Mary Washington. According to graduate student Brenden Volk, the team’s loss to Elon changed their mindset heading into the second half of the season. “That loss flipped a switch and sparked a fire within us,” Volk said. “We have been a different team on the practice court recently, and then showed it in the match with Mary Washington.” The Tribe won two of three doubles matches, claiming the match’s opening point with an 8-5 victory from Kazakov and Brailovsky and an 8-3 win from Talcott and junior Daniel Pellerito. The Tribe swept Mary Washington 6-0 in singles matches, with only Volk’s match against Hutchison entering a tiebreaker. Volk won the first set 7-5 before dropping the second set 6-7. “The match against Hutchinson was very demanding both physically and mentally,” Volk said. “He is a good player who serves and volleys which is a game style that we do not
see too often in tennis anymore.” In the tiebreaker, Volk made several adjustments to account for Hutchinson’s style of play. “I just tried to bring as much positive energy as I could and focus on what I could control,” Volk said. “My teammates also supported me throughout the tiebreaker which provided a boost to my game.” Volk’s win over Hutchinson marked his third of the season, and his second on line one. Sophomore George Davis and senior Finbar Talcott claimed the most dominant victories, each defeating their opponents 6-2, 6-2. Graduate student Lev Kazakov and senior Sebastian Quiros each recorded their third singles wins of the spring season. Junior Joseph Brailovsky closed out the singles matches with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Mary Washington’s Peter Leese, improving his record to 4-2 this year. Heading into the second half of the season, Volk feels the Tribe will be playing with a chip on their shoulders. “Our plan is to continue to improve every day on the court and push one another to our limits,” Volk said. “We have some good matches left to play in the regular season and then we have the conference tournament.” Volk noted that the team’s goal is to win the
s t r o p S t h g i l t Spo Women s tennis returns home after away loss to No. 1 UNC LEXIE HIESTAND FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR Wednesday, Mar. 17, William and Mary (2-4) fell to their host, North Carolina (17-0), with a final score of 0-7. The Tarheels’ victory was ultimately unsurprising, as they are the No. 1-ranked team and have gone undefeated this season. The Tribe, on the other hand, has lost all four away games it has played. In singles, not one member of the Tribe won a set. Junior Mila Saric played top spot against No. 120 nationally-ranked Fiona Crawley. The pair were the last to finish. Saric pushed the first set to 12 total games before Crawley ultimately won 5-7. Crawley swept Saric 0-6 in the second set. In attempting to battle for the first set, Saric lost stamina for the second. The only member of the Tribe to win more than Saric’s five games was senior Vitoria Okuyama, playing in the third position with 6 wins. Okuyama also played a stronger game in her first set, losing 4-6, but was able to maintain some momentum to pick up two games in her second-set loss, 2-6. Graduate student Jill van den Dugen also showed a determined performance against her fellow graduate student, No. 49 nationally-ranked Makenna Jones. Though her match was the first to finish, she put up three wins in her first set and one in her second. In her first match, van den Dugen even held a 3-2 lead, but Jones powered back and won the next 10 games. Jones has not lost a set this semester; She has 99 career match victories in singles competition. The bottom three positions had 12 games wins between them, but none could string together enough victories to take a set. Fourth position, sophomore Alisia Manolescu was the only player to even battle back in the second set, taking a negative split on the night. She dropped her first 1-6, but found the strength to win four games against Tarheel Reilly Tran in the second. In doubles, the Tarheels clinched the point before the top position finished. Though the Saric and Okuyama pairing led 5-4, the losses of van den Dugen’s and Manolescu’s second and third line, respectively, caused their match to be cut short. Manolescu was paired with sophomore Elisa van Meerteren on the bottom pairing. They finished first, with a Tarheel sweep, 6-0. Van den Dugen’s line did not fare much better. They were only able to pick up two wins before Tran’s line eventually won. Their defeat sealed the Tribe’s fate. The Tribe will travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to play Colonial Athletic Association foe, James Madison. Both teams have a record of 1-0 in their conference, after beating CAA rival Towson in a 7-0 sweep. For the Dukes, that match-up was their first game of the season; for the Tribe, that victory came only last weekend, Mar. 7. However, overall, the Dukes have only dropped one of their six matches against No. 37 Old Dominion. The Tribe hopes to continue its CAA luck and win its first match on the road Mar. 21 at 3 p.m.
COURTESY IMAGE / TRIBE ATHLETICS
The Tribe dominated Mary Washington led by strong performances from sophomore George Davis and senior Finbar Talcott
Colonial Athletic Association Championships. “Any other result is a failed season for us. We will do everything in our power to ensure that when the time comes, it is the Tribe who come out on top,” Volk said.
On Mar. 21, the Tribe (now 3-4) continued its momentum with a 4-3 victory over Radford (4-4). The team utilized a strong doubles performance and win from Volk to take down the Highlanders by a narrow margin.
WOMEN S LACROSSE
College overcomes six-goal deficit to topple Camels After trailing 11-5 at halftime, Martire leads 11-1 Tribe comeback NATHAN SEIDEL FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR After falling behind 11-5 at halftime, William and Mary came out firing against Campbell in the second half Saturday, Mar. 21, outscoring the Camels 11-1 in the second 30 minutes to win 16-12. Leading the attack was junior Belle Martire, who posted seven goals to give her 99 on her Tribe career, one shy of becoming the 21st player in the College’s history to reach the century mark. She also recorded eight draw controls to up her total to 24 over the last three games. Junior midfielder Sabrina Schrader also contributed three goals and four draw controls and midfielder Kathleen Cozzi and sophomore midfielder Sydney Sloan both punched in two goals. The Tribe led the Camels in nearly all major stats, with 33 shots to their 28, 17 turnovers to their 20 and 21 ground balls to their 18. The Tribe also outshot the Camels 16-6 in the second half.
Key in Campbell’s early lead were seven first-half free position shots to the Tribe’s four, but second-half defensive intensity won the day for the green and gold. The 12 goals given up were the second fewest for the team all season, with senior goalkeeper Elsa Rall surrendering just one score in the second half and freshman defender Caroline Hertzberg notched four caused turnovers. No Camel player scored more than three goals in the contest. Redshirt freshman Julianna Sanchez and freshman Sam Bischoff scored three apiece for Campbell, and freshman Rasa Welch added two more. The win moves the Tribe to 3-3 on the year with one more game before conference play begins. The College will attempt to move above .500 Mar. 27 vs. Radford at 4 p.m. The Highlanders are 0-8 on the year and lost 5-15 to the same Campbell team Mar. 13.
NICHOLAS MEYER / THE FLAT HAT
Junior Belle Martire posted seven goals and an assist versus Campbell, and her eight draw controls moved her total to 24 over the previous three
Page 8
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
CAMPUS
College bookstore announces move to new location Duke of Gloucester Street Barnes & Noble plans relocation to Prince George CALLIE BOOTH FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR
The College of William and Mary Bookstore, operated by Barnes & Noble, announced Mar. 9 through their social media accounts that they would be relocating before the start of the fall 2021 semester. The bookstore will close at its current location in Merchants Square in midJune and plans to reopen before the start of the fall semester. The new location on Prince George Street will be in the Triangle Building, located between the College’s Sorority Court and the Williamsburg Regional Library. The Triangle Building is also home to other merchants including The Bake Shop Bakery and Coffee Bar and Rick’s Cheese Steak Shop. This new venue will be smaller than the Merchants Square location, and there will be a smaller selection of merchandise in the store. Additionally, the new location will no longer have a café located in the store. However, bookstore general manager Susan Lemerise said the new location will provide advantages that the current one does not. “The smaller space will mean that our physical offerings are more limited, but we are excited to
offer new outdoor seating where our customers can gather and also to be in close proximity to other businesses in the Triangle area, where customers can grab a cup of coffee or a quick meal,” Lemerise said. Director of the College’s Auxiliary Services Cindy Glavas said the move will balance student and community needs. “The move reflects the Bookstore’s continued adaptations to the sale and delivery of university textbooks and course materials while recognizing the value of in-person shopping for W&M merchandise and supplies” Glavas said in a statement. “We hope the move will be well received by students due to its proximity to student housing and the core of campus. By partnering with existing Triangle Building tenants and providing outdoor seating areas, we hope this will become an off-campus hub for students.” April Sage ’24 initially had mixed feelings when she learned about the bookstore switching locations. Sage said that she likes the current location of the bookstore in Merchants Square, due to its ease of accessibility and location close to campus. “At first I was like ‘oh, well I think that’s good, maybe it’s moving to a bigger location,’ and it’s good that it will still be in a location near campus,”
Sage said. “But now I’m not sure how I feel about it in a good way because I just think it’s currently in a good location being located in a tourist area.” Sage also plans on using the outdoor areas that are planned for the new location. “At the location it’s at now, there are more people around outside due to its location at Merchants Square and with tourists being there,” Sage said. “At its new location, it might be less busy.” Ultimately, Sage hopes that the move will not cause any major changes to prices at the bookstore. “With it moving, I hope that they do not raise prices to gain money or anything to offset any costs due to moving,” Sage said. With the store moving into a smaller location and the elimination of the café, there is a possibility that some employees’ contracts could be terminated. “We are still making staffing decisions and having these conversations with our employees,” Lemerise said. “Our bookstore team is truly the heart of our store, and we are working together to figure out next steps.” After the bookstore vacates its current location, the retail space will be marketed and leased through Thalhimer, a real estate agency operating on behalf of Colonial Williamsburg’s Merchants Square. At this time, there is no information as to
what business will fill the vacancy. When the bookstore closes prior to the move this summer, patrons of the College’s bookstore will be able to buy items online. “Through our website, bookstore.wm.edu, our customers will be able to purchase their course materials, access commencement items and find all of their favorite W&M merchandise,” Lemerise said. “We also have a mobile app that customers can download to access all of these same items.” Glavas also detailed additional plans to assist with the move between locations. “We are planning a number of upcoming sales in the W&M Bookstore and potential ‘pop-up’ locations on campus,” Glavas said. Glavas emphasized that graduating seniors would still be able to get graduation materials from the bookstore, as well. “We understand that this is a big change for our customers, and we are doing everything in our power to make this move as seamless as possible for everyone,” Lemerise stated. “We hope that our closer proximity to campus and the outdoor space we plan to create will help to turn this new location into a gathering space for students, who we know are eager to see a fall semester that allows for more socializing with friends than the semesters past.”
COVID-19
Students at the College begin to receive COVID-19 vaccination Walgreens Pharmacy counts students living in residence halls as eligible for vaccine despite state guidelines VACCINE from page 1
made an effort to reach communities that have been disproportionately affected by the virus — particularly communities of color — as vaccine access is tinged with privilege across the country. Nationwide, cases of COVID-19 are on the tentative decline, and the Biden administration is confident it will meet the goal of vaccine availability to anyone who wants it by May 1. Some states, including Alaska and Mississippi, have already lifted all eligibility requirements. Other counties in North Carolina and Arizona are urging residents to make appointments to avoid the waste of vaccines. As vaccine scarcity transitions to vaccine skepticism, some health officials believe simplifying eligibility could be the answer. Even for those who have been eligible since the start, skepticism over the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness remain. Among healthcare workers nationwide, 30%
ZACH LUTZKY / THE FLAT HAT
Williamsburg residents wait in line to recieve their dose of the COVID-19 vaccination at the Williamsburg Vistors Center, Friday Mar. 19.
say they do not plan to receive the vaccine or are undecided, according to a new Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Vaccine hesitancy also falls along partisan lines: Democrats are more likely than Republicans to trust and receive the vaccine. Another issue health officials are facing is hesitancy among Black communities, who are skeptical of the vaccine due to a history of exploitative and inhumane medical experiments conducted on Black sharecroppers, particularly during the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which ended as recently as 1972. But for many students at the College, skepticism is not the issue, which is why they are jumping on appointments wherever they can find them. As vaccines become more available, the nation’s next challenge will be meeting the threshold for herd immunity — around 85%. Until then, masks and social distancing will remain the norm.
CAMPUS
College celebrates 100 year anniversary of first Asian student APIA program and campus community commemorate legacy of Asian and Asian-American students Professor Francis Tanglao Aguas had been conceptualizing the idea of an Asian Centennial since he first found out about Art Matsu ’27. Matsu was half-Japanese and was initially believed to be the first Asian student at the College. However, plans for the centennial were pushed forward after an important discovery. “When Mosaic Fellow Shayna Gutcho and her team rediscovered materials on Chen Pu-Kao, [class of ] 1923 in October 2019, our plans accelerated by 4 years, since Chen was admitted in 1921,” Aguas said. “And I could not imagine a collaborator as astute as Professor Deenesh Sohoni to work together in our efforts to make it happen.” Director of APIA and co-chair of the Asian Centennial Professor Deenesh Sohoni has been working closely with Aguas to research and plan events to broaden the community’s understanding of Asian-American history, both in Williamsburg and the United States as a whole. “We wanted to organize a whole bunch of events commemorating [the admission of Pu-Kao Chen] but also establish a platform to talk about race at William and Mary, and more broadly, the role of Asian Americans in that discussion,” Sohoni said. “The idea is to look at the pioneering students at William and Mary [...] and contextualize their lives within the
historical period.” Sohoni wants students to acknowledge that Pu-Kao Chen enrolled at the College during a time where there was rampant antiimmigrant legislation in the United States, with a specific anti-Chinese element to it. He and his team are working with the law school as part of the Asian Pacific Middle Eastern Research Project to examine the laws that were in place around the time that Asian students began enrolling at the College. He is also working with researchers at Earl Gregg Swem Library to learn more about these students and what their campus life was like. These findings will later be presented as exhibits in Swem. Additionally, Sohoni and his team are working with the William and Mary School of Education to integrate more Asian-American history into the Virginia K-12 curriculum. He is working on creating a specific unit for students that will cover this side of history, which Sohoni feels is often overlooked. Assistant Professor of English and APIA Studies Dr. Benedito Ferrão, one of the research fellows for the Asian Centennial, believes that the College’s place as both one of the oldest universities in the country and a predominantly white institution makes it all the more significant that they acknowledge not only Asian history, but that of other races in regards to the school. “The centennial recognition of the
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I believe this objective to be salient to the current situation of antiAsian hate and violence. Our hope is that the events and programming that we offer through the Asian Centennial will go a long way in humanizing our Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern communities to the rest of the country.
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CENTENNIAL from page 1
̶ Francis Tanglao Aguas
admission of Pu-Kao Chen, William and Mary’s first known student of color at a time when the university did not admit Black students, is significant in highlighting a historical moment,” Ferrão said. “It also reconfirms the work our program strives to do in employing a pedagogy of antiracist education that connects the discipline of ethnic studies with lived experience, past and present.” Ferrão also hopes to increase the community’s understanding of AsianAmerican history through literature. He wants to find authors and writers who are from Williamsburg and part of the APIA community. He plans to use his time as a research fellow to increase awareness of this on-campus and in the surrounding area. “I have always thought of literature as a chronicle of history, even if its method of recording the past and present is fictional,” Ferrão said. “To say something is fictional does not mean that it is inherently untrue. Rather, it may be an alternate way to tell a story, especially if it is about a community whose presence is marginalized. Learning about the APIA community, and its part in the multiculturality of the United States, is not only a course of study in heritage for those that may identify as APIA; it is equally an education that must be undertaken by those who wish to learn about undoing the very racism they may unwittingly participate in.” All three professors stressed is that
this is not just about Asian-American history, but about all racial history in the United States. “Even when Asians were being allowed [to enroll], it was occurring in a period where African Americans were not allowed to come to William and Mary for another three decades,” Sohoni said. “We do want to engage with that, and so part of the Asian Centennial is working with the Lemon Project and thinking about Asian Americans’ place in the racial hierarchy, in William and Mary, in Virginia, and the United States.” Another subject that the APIA wants to bring to light with this celebration is how it connects to the recent uprising in anti-Asian sentiment and violence in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. While all three professors acknowledge that the sentiment did not start with the pandemic, they note that it exacerbated the issue, and that it is especially important now to educate the community on Asian history. “I believe this objective to be salient to the current situation of anti-Asian hate and violence,” Aguas said. “Our hope is that the events and programming that we offer through the Asian Centennial will go a long way in humanizing our Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern communities to the rest of the country.” Details about future events related to the centennial will be posted online throughout the year.