Flat Hat February 2, 2016

VARIETY>> PAGE 8

PROFILES >> PAGE 2

Prewitt, help College pick up a 78-62 win in front of a packed Kaplan Arena.

AlumnaTarpey releases latest fashion mystery novel.

Shaunti Feldhahn ‘89 talks service with APO, Federal Reserve and writing.

Cutthroat couture

Vol. 105, Iss. 16 | Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Banking on success

The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper

STUDENT ASSEMBLY

SA discusses textbook plan

CAMPUS

Student contracts Zika

First reported case in Commonwealth of Virginia

Bill would allocate $5,050 SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR

Last spring when now Student Assembly President Yohance Whitaker ’16 campaigned, he promised an SA-sponsored textbook plan that would make textbooks more affordable for students.

As part of this promise, the SA senate introduced the “Save the Future of Humanity from Excessive Textbook Expenses” bill in their meeting last week.

This bill would allocate $5,050 from SA reserves for the purchase of open educational resource textbooks. For the immediate future, the bill would provide the Earl Gregg Swem Library with grant money to fund open educational resource copies of introductory course textbooks. These textbooks would be completely free for students who chose to use them online.

“When Catie and I decided to run we wanted to make sure we were aggressively fighting for and advocating for students,” Whitaker said.

“Part of where we see a good opportunity to make college more affordable is if we can work to make sure textbook costs are cheaper for students. Our hope is that if we are able to secure funds that we will allow entire departments to switch to the open resources, that William and Mary will be cheaper for students.”

Whitaker In the fall, Creative Commons Director of Global Learning Initiatives Cable Green participated in a forum on textbook affordability at the Earl Gregg Swem Library.

He advocated open educational resources as a means of saving money. Additionally, the physics department has already switched to using these open textbooks, and it is estimated that they have saved their students $1 million, according to Whitaker.

When senators introduced the bill last week, the funding was to be allocated for purchasing textbooks for five introductory classes.

Senators had not previously discussed the bill in committee and voted to hold it in old business. When it is reintroduced this week, it will be reintroduced with an amendment that will allocate all of the funding to supplying the psychology department with open textbooks.

“I think these amendments will give the bill more direction than it had previously,” SA Secretary of Academic Affairs See TEXTBOOK page 3

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of The College of William and Mary

Williamsburg

Zika Virus Risk Year Round

Seasonal

GRAPHIC BY ALEX WALHOUT/ THE FLAT HAT

Data about the Zika virus taken from the Center for Disease Control’s website.

SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR

A College of William and Mary student contracted the Zika virus while traveling in Central America during winter break, according to Vice President for Student Affairs Virginia Ambler ’88, Ph.D. ’06 in a campus-wide email.

The administration has consulted with staff at both the Centers for Disease Control and William and Mary’s Health and Wellness department and does not believe this exposure poses a health risk to anyone on campus.

The student is not currently experiencing symptoms and is expected to make a full recovery.

“The university learned about the diagnosis directly from the student, who is enrolled this semester,” Ambler said in an email.

Ambler continued by saying the administration wanted to provide students the most up-to-date information from the CDC and the Reves Center for International Studies.

The Reves Center posted the CDC’s travel alerts for the Zika Virus Jan. 28. This was before the College became aware a student had tested positive, according to International Travel and Security Manager Nick Vasquez.

“We have mechanisms in place to track William & Mary-related travel and the Reves Center will certainly work with anyone wishing to have more information or talk to someone who doesn’t feel comfortable traveling to a Zika infected country,” Vasquez said in an email on behalf of the Reves Center.

The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency Monday Feb. 1. This decision came in the wake of an Emergency Committee convened by director general Margaret Chan to gather advice about the severity of the health threat posed by Zika.

The CDC alert is Level 2, and recommends that travelers to affected regions practice enhanced precautions. The Travel Health Notices extend to parts of the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Cape Verde, Samoa and Mexico.

“Certainly Brazil is one of the countries most affected by the Zika virus, as well as Panama, Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala,” Vasquez said in an email.

Vasquez recommended visiting the CDC’s website for more information about affected areas.

The Zika virus is spread by mosquito bites and travelers are advised to protect themselves by covering exposed skin, using permethrin-treated clothing, sleeping indoors and using EPAregistered insect repellents.

Hospitalization is uncommon and only one in five people infected become ill. For those who do experience sickness, the most common symptoms of the disease caused by the Zika virus are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis, according to the CDC’s website. Symptoms are generally mild and last between several days and a week.

There is currently no preventative vaccine or medication that treats the Zika virus.

There is a link between the Zika virus in pregnant women and microcephaly, a serious birth defect in which the baby is born with an abnormally small head and underdeveloped brain. Although little is known about this connection, the CDC recommends pregnant women avoid traveling to affected regions.

Vasquez and the Reves Center are monitoring the situation on campus. Additional information is available by contacting the Student Health Center at (757) 221-4386.

SCIENCE

VIRGINIA

Students lobby for College in Richmond Virginia earns $120.5 Annual Road to Richmond jaunt focuses on student issues EMILY MARTELL FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR

A charter bus carrying College of William and Mary students departed Tuesday Jan. 26 for a day of meeting

legislators, touring and networking in Virginia’s capital.

The 20th annual Road to Richmond Trip took students of all disciplines to Virginia’s General Assembly building to lobby legislators on behalf of the College.

COURTESY PHOTO / FLICKR.COM

Hannah McKiernan ‘17 hands Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe specialized green and gold M&Ms.

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Organized primarily by the President of the Class of 2017 and Office of Government Relations intern Katherine Ambrose ’17, the event equipped nearly 60 students with green and gold M&Ms, legislators’ office numbers and a list of the College’s 2016 priorities.

The College’s 2016 General Assembly Session priorities include planning money for the first phase of a Fine and Performing Arts Complex. However, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe only recommended more funding for additional STEM facilities.

The College also seeks funding for the Center of Recurrent Flooding and Resiliency, a partnership between Old Dominion University and the College’s Virginia Coastal Policy Center to research sea level rise, to support ongoing building projects and an Engineering and Design initiative and to expand eLearning.

The Sunday before the trip, College President Taylor Reveley encouraged students to enjoy themselves, thank the See RICHMOND page 3

Sunny, High 52, Low 40

$8.5 mil to go toward flooding center ALLISON ROHRER THE FLAT HAT

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded the state of Virginia a $120.5 million grant, a decision which was heavily influenced by a 2013 report published by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. $8.5 million is intended to go toward creating the Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency to develop solutions to flooding problems caused by rising sea levels.

The grant proposal Virginia submitted was the product of collaboration among VIMS, Old Dominion University (ODU), the Virginia Coastal Policy Center at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Hampton Roads Local Government Center and the City

of Norfolk. This center will be based at ODU and is intended to facilitate a collaborative effort between local governments, academics and businesses to create and test location specific solutions to coastal flooding.

Dean and Director of VIMS John Wells said that the center would play an important role in shore protection, especially since, besides New Orleans, Hampton Roads experiences the highest relative sea level rise in the nation.

“There are many shore protection measures used throughout the world, and there is some excellent research underway on better predicting the rate of sea-level rise and the impact of storms,” Wells said. “The [center] will seek the most innovative ideas and, where applicable, ways to See VIMS page 4

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An all-inclusive living experience

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Mil with VIMS’s help

One student reflects on how the College of William and Mary’s new flexible housing policy is a step forward for not only LBGTQ students but for the College as a whole. page 5

College comes back

Down as much as 18 points, the Tribe triumphed with a 68-62 win over James Madison Sunday night. page 10

newsinsight “ Now it’s easier than ever to stay upto-date on all on-campus news.

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The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 2, 2016 | Page 2

THE BUZZ

So, stay in character. Be smart, nice, charming. That’ll matter a lot more than what you actually say. Just be yourselves, in short, be William and Mary students.

— College President Taylor Reveley while addressing students who participated in Road to Richmond

Banking on success

The Flat Hat Page 2 Spotlight

Alumna talks service with APO, Federal Reserve, writing AKEMI TAMANAHA // FLAT HAT ASSOC. VARIETY EDITOR

@theflathat

@theflathat

theflatchat A THOUSAND WORDS

It’s hard to pick a title to place before Shaunti Feldhahn’s ’89 name. She is an alumna of both the College of William and Mary and Harvard University. She is a former Federal Reserve financial analyst and a best-selling author.

Before she wrote books or worked for the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and the Federal Reserve, Feldhahn spent four years at the College engaging in what the community had to offer.

“

I felt like William and Mary did and still does a fantastic job of bringing students together. The feeling that you’re all part of a community makes everything else that you’re supposed to be doing there so much more easy and so much more productive.

— Shaunti Feldhahn ‘89

MORGAN MELLAS / THE FLAT HAT

CORRECTIONS The Flat Hat wishes to correct any facts printed incorrectly.

Corrections may be submitted by email to the editor of the section in which the incorrect information was printed. Requests for corrections will be accepted at any time.

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She played intramural sports, acted in a few musical theater productions and joined the Catholic Student Association.

She said the community feeling made all of the activities she participated in more enjoyable.

“I felt like William and Mary did and still does do a fantastic job of bringing students together,” Feldhahn said. “The feeling that you’re all part of a community and a supportive community … makes everything else that you’re supposed to be doing there so much more easy and so much more productive.”

Feldhahn also joined Alpha Phi Omega, the service fraternity.

She said while some of her fellow members viewed the fraternity as a good source of networking after college, she saw it as a chance to get off campus and serve the community.

Feldhahn said that the service opportunities with APO were eye-opening experiences.

Having grown up with parents who were in the Peace Corps, as well as having traveled to impoverished areas around the world, Feldhahn said she was always very aware of the need for international development.

Through volunteering with APO, she said she discovered that the same poverty

POLICE BEAT

existed just miles from campus.

Feldhahn said the discovery helped her get outside of herself.

“It’s really easy, I hate to say it, it’s really easy in high school and college to be very self-focused,” Feldhahn said. “It’s understandable, but becomes a bad habit that will hurt you when you’re trying to get a job or do something that matters where you have to be others focused.”

While at the College, Feldhahn majored in government and minored in economics.

She said she was inspired to pursue government and economics by a professor at the College named Julius Mastro.

“He was one of those kinds of professors who had done everything, seen everything, lived it and came to being a professor later,” Feldhahn said. “[He] had worked in government, had done all of these things.

He was a twinkly-eyed kind of guy that became really a mentor.”

It was Mastro who put Feldhahn in touch with people on Capitol Hill after she graduated.

She served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and got a masters in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

She said her time at Harvard was essential to her future career at the Federal Reserve.

“I ended up doing a masters in public policy with a concentration in business, so it meant that all of my core classes were in the Kennedy School and all of my electives were at the business school,” Feldhahn said. “So it was a natural next step to go to work for the Fed.” Writing a book, however, was not a natural next step for Feldhahn. She said she had always admired people who felt they were born to write a book, but had never

considered herself one of them.

“The big joke was that every single professor, every single job I had, both in undergraduate and graduate school the one thing they all said was, ‘You really need to work on your writing.’ It’s actually kind of amusing that I ended up being a bestselling author,” Feldhahn said.

One of her most successful books, “For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men,” has sold over 2,000,000 copies.

Feldhahn said she came up with the idea for this book while working on a novel where one of the main characters was a man.

Realizing that she had no idea what this male character might be thinking, Feldhahn said she began asking the men her life how they thought.

“We’d be out to dinner with another couple. I’d just go to the other guy and I’d say, ‘Okay I’m writing this book and here’s this scene. What would you be thinking if this was you?’” Feldhahn said. “It was helpful for the novel, but I realized, whoa, wait a minute, the stuff that I’m hearing from these men is actually really, really important. It’s stuff that we as women just don’t know and it affects us every day.”

The success of “For Women Only” inspired a series of similar books. Feldhahn has written books for men, couples, young adults, parents and women in the workplace.

She said she has enjoyed doing research for her books and speaking to people across the country about her findings.

For Feldhahn, helping people by writing books has been the most rewarding experience among her various careers.

“I’m a person of faith,” Feldhahn said.

“And I feel like this is something that God just built me for.”

COURTESY PHOTO / YOUTUBE.COM

Author Shaunti Feldhahn ‘89 has worked for the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and the Federal Reserve.

Jan. 29-31 1

Friday, Jan. 29 — An individual was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on Richmond Road.

2

Saturday, Jan. 30— An individual was arrested for larceny on Scotland Street.

3

Saturday, Jan. 30— An individual was arrested for indecent exposure on York Street.

4

Sunday, Jan. 31 — An individual was arrested for public drunkeness and use of profane language on Virginia Avenue.

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

SPEAKER

Page 3

BOARD OF VISITORS NOV 18-20

Annual talk focuses on Russia’s decline Reves Center hosts Celeste Wallander for 2016 Address on International Peace SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR

Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Russia and Central Asia on the National Security Council Staff, Celeste Wallander, delivered the 2015-16 George Taylor Ross Address on International Peace Jan. 28.

Her talk, titled The Russia Challenge in 2016, focused on Russia’s decline.

The George Taylor Ross Address is an annual talk held through the Reves Center for International Peace.

Wallander argued that Russia is a declining power in the international system. Due to its slowing economy, its loss of energy as a lever of influence and its ideological incompatibility with current world order, Russia is not currently a threat to the United States.

Wallander divided her talk into three parts, providing evidence of Russia’s decline in the international system.

“The Russian economy in 2016 has sunk from sixth in the world to thirteenth,” Wallander said.

“The foundations of any country’s power is the economy. The Russian economy is not going to provide that foundation for power. I believe what we are seeing is a Russia in decline over the coming decade.”

When talking about Russia losing energy as a lever of influence, Wallander noted that Russia is no longer keeping up with the technology for transporting and selling natural gas, which means many countries no longer depend on Russia for energy.

Wallander, and the administration with which she works, blames Russian President Vladimir Putin and his leadership for the current decline of Russia’s economy and power.

According to her, his leadership sees the

United States and the international system as incompatible with the Russian national interest.

For that reason, Putin has failed to fully implement the terms of the World Trade Organization and really allow Russia to be integrated into the international order.

“Coming into the speech not having a very strong background in international politics, I was still able to get a really clear sense of Dr. Wallander’s understanding of what is happening in Russia and suggestions on how we should deal with it,” audience member Katie Ault ’19 said. “I thought she was extremely knowledgeable in all facets of the subject, and even not knowing that much myself I was really able to take away a new appreciation and understanding of the political events that are happening all around us.”

Joy Johnson ’18 said she attended the event because of her interest in Wallander’s background.

“I’m personally interested because I think it is a great opportunity to have someone so high up in international relations who works directly with President Obama here,” Johnson said. “Honestly, her credentials go back so far, so to have someone like Celeste Wallander come to William and Mary, that was a must go, have to see event.”

In Wallander’s address, she also discussed the causes of the 2012 Ukraine crisis.

She sees this crisis as being a result of Putin’s fear that Ukraine would join the European Union. He pressured Ukraine to join his Eurasian Economic Union, a free-trade area and customs union that requires member countries to adopt a common external tariff system, leading to the protests in Ukraine.

“The Ukraine crisis is not a Ukrainian crisis,” Wallander said. “It is a crisis of Russian power and Russian purpose and its incompatibility with the rules of the international system where Ukraine was a sovereign nation that had the right to expect that its neighbor would respect its territory.”

After addressing the different causes of Russia’s decline, she gave strategy recommendations on how to deal with Russia.

She argued that Russia is not a threat to the United States because today’s international system is very different from the one the Cold War emerged from.

In her strategy recommendations, she summarized that Putinism is bad for Russia, that Putin does not currently face any legitimate competition and that the United States will be dealing with the Russian challenge for at least another ten years.

She argued that while the United States must be aggressive in dealing with Russian leadership, that it should also leave the door open for Russian civilians like students and doctors and scientists.

She asserted that the United States needs to

deter further Russian aggression in Europe, and discussed how the sanctions placed on certain Russian individuals and sectors as part of the Minsk agreement are helping in that endeavor.

Additionally, she explained that the United States needed to pursue a strategy that would allow cooperation with Russia.

“We need to have a strategy that both deals with an aggressive and challenging and sometimes dangerous Russia and a policy that also leaves open the door to Russian policy because Russian society is not the problem,” Wallander said.

“Someday there may be a chance for a better future where Russian citizens themselves will be able to use their talents and skills and their capacity and what they have learned in the past 25 Soviet years to integrate themselves in the world system.”

COURTESY PHOTO / JOY JOHNSON

Celeste Wallander delivered the 2015-16 George Taylor Ross Address on International Peace at the Reves Center.

SA bill to allocate $5,050 for textbook affordability Whitaker advocates for future plans to lower financial barriers for students

TEXTBOOK from page 1

Shannon Caietti ’17 said. “For transparency reasons, I think it is good that we amended it. I hope it will get passed and that these amendments will allow it to make more of an impact.”

Additional amendments to the bill will provide for marketing measures that will raise student awareness about the option of open educational resources.

A third amendment will also include a congratulatory statement to the physics department.

As the Executive Appropriations Committee has already begun the process of developing next year’s SA budget, the next step will be to have a budget amendment passed that will include a pocket of funding for open educational resources that will allow this policy to be sustainable over the years.

Since the spring semester’s registration add/drop period is over, this bill will first affect students taking courses over the summer.

The bill will impact students in introductory courses.

However, this is just the first step in what Whitaker said he envisions the SA can do to advocate for students in terms of making the College of William and Mary more affordable.

“I think that the primary goal of Student Assembly is to advocate for students and their needs and rights,” Whitaker said. “Part of making college more affordable is pushing the government to make more funds available for financial aid. When we have a stronger support for financial aid, we decrease the barriers for higher education. We make William and Mary

and other institutions more affordable for more families throughout our nation.”

According to Whitaker, the second component of his vision for the future includes SA going after textbook publishing companies that have monopolies on college textbooks.

He said he believes that in the future, SA can advocate and make sure that college is more affordable by showing students that they have other options than expensive textbooks.

SA Chief of Staff Sutton MacQueen ’16 advises the academic affairs

department and played a role in holding conversations with students, administration and library staff to develop the bill. She too said this was an important issue for SA to get involved in.

“I think textbooks are expensive; college is expensive,” MacQueen said.

“I think it is definitely a great thing to be able to give an alternative to that.

Also, to be frank, in conversations with Cable Green it is clear that this is where a lot of other schools are heading. This just seemed like the right move and SA was the right way to do it.”

Students lobby for arts, mental health, sexual assault policies Road to Richmond enables students to connect with governor, General Assembly RICHMOND from page 1

legislators with the M&Ms or “W&Ms” and take advantage of the opportunity to speak with legislators.

“I always hear that the William and Mary students, when they roam the halls of the General Assembly, are more impressive than other schools’ kids,” Reveley said. “That’s because you all are smart, nice, charming.

So, stay in character. Be smart, nice, charming. That’ll matter a lot more than what you actually say. Just be yourselves, in short. Be William and Mary students.”

On the way to Richmond, Hannah McKiernan ’17, who interned for Senator John Miller (D-1st) during the spring of 2015, explained the layout of the General Assembly building to the students and described how to find the legislators’ offices.

After arriving at the General Assembly building, the Road to Richmond team congregated in rooms

to watch a live stream of the House and Senate Sessions and discuss lobbying strategies. Students broke off into small groups, researched their assigned legislators, and rehearsed quick speeches.

After the sessions ended, students dispersed to meet the legislators by their offices.

Emily Walker ’16 and Katie Conley ’16 met with the chief of staff for Speaker of the House of Delegates William Howell (R-28), the delegate for Conley’s district. As seniors, the two said they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to go to the General Assembly.

“This is an event I’ve known about since my freshman year and I’d always wanted to participate,” Walker said. “I’m a government major so I was interested in seeing hands-on the state government process. It’s never really been convenient with my schedule, so I was like senior year, last opportunity, I

COURTESY PHOTO / WM.EDU

Delegate Monty Mason ’89 addressed students after their tour of the Executive Mansion during the Road to Richmond event.

don’t care if I have to miss class.”

Although students touched on some of the College’s priorities, they mostly spoke about the importance of mental health and sexual assault awareness.

“I think it went really well, actually better than I expected, and we were able to have very gratifying conversations,” Walker said.

Meanwhile, Kathleen Bryant ’18 had the opportunity to meet Delegate Mark Levine (D-45th) as he prepared to defend House Bill 995, a bill to allow localities to adopt their own minimum wages.

After leaving the General Assembly building, the student lobbyists crowded on the steps of Virginia’s Executive Mansion, the residence of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, to wait for the governor to arrive for a photo.

After smiles, handshakes and words of encouragement, students were welcomed into the mansion by McAuliffe himself for a tour and a history lesson.

Ambrose said she was pleasantly surprised by the governor’s extended visit.

“It was so spur of the moment and wonderfully gracious of him,” Ambrose said. “I was expecting more of a meet and greet, photo, maybe shake a few hands and he would have a lot of work to do and leave us, but he was polite and he definitely took the time to answer some more questions and invite us into his literal home, which was so awesome. And in case people didn’t think the political side actually had real people behind it, I think that’s what they got to see.”

After the tour of the Executive Mansion, students met Monty Mason ’89 (D-93rd), a former government major at the College.

He talked to the students about current bills, life as a legislator and students’ connection to the legislative process.

“This is a crazy life to lead,” Mason said. “And you may or may not want to lead it. But there’s some issue

that we will touch on this year that you care about.

Something that’s important, whether it’s to your family, your life, your future job, your community, or something you’re passionate about, we are going to touch on it.”

The Road to Richmond team then walked to the Library of Virginia where they were treated to a reception with Reveley, legislators, members of the administration and alumni.

Students listened to Reveley give an address to the crowd.

Reveley thanked the General Assembly for supporting the Lewis B. Puller, Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law and encouraged them to fund the planning of Phase One of the proposed Arts Quarter.

He noted that the College has already funded STEM programs.

“We’ve been building STEM buildings, science buildings, like crazy ever since the turn of the century and we’ve done a great job of that,” Reveley said.

“Since we’ve really gotten into the building of STEM facilities, the number of STEM majors at William and Mary has increased by 55 percent.”

However, he said the College needed to transition funding to the arts.

“We’ve got great programs in music, theatre, dance, visual arts,” Reveley said. “They are doing their respective things in facilities that even a dog would regard as inadequate. We’ve got to do something about that.”

Hours after the sun had set, students boarded the bus to travel back to Williamsburg, full of food from the reception and stories about their lobbying experiences.

Ambrose said she was pleased with the result after months of planning, coordinating with legislators, running busses and advertising to the student body.

“It was a lot,” Ambrose said. “But it turned out to be very successful in the end.”

Page 4

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

STUDENT LIFE

Six College students found online start-up Crisea sells various LED products, including bowties, hats, shower heads ALLISON ROHRER THE FLAT HAT

A College of William and Mary international finance class inspired Kent Rollins ’18 to found Crisea, an online start-up that sells LED products at discount prices. While the company is based out of Rollins’ home in Richmond, fellow students Daniel Hansen ’18, Tyler Treakle ’18, Neil McLean ’18, Kyle Perigard ’18 and John Murphy ’18 assisted in Crisea’s founding and help with its current operations.

Rollins said he realized that he could create a website to sell his products at a much lower cost than major corporations do because his company would not have the same overhead costs.

He registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the IRS, opened a separate bank Rollins account, and the company was born. Crisea is based out of Rollins’ home in Richmond because the College prohibits students from basing companies out of dorm rooms.

Treakle’s role in Crisea involves negotiating with factories via email.

He looks for products that he thinks college kids would find cool and that are often expensive

because they are rare in the United States. The company also saves on shipping by buying products in bundles.

Rollins stated that Crisea uses several online platforms to market its products, including social media advertising and search engine optimization.

Rollins said most of their web traffic comes from Imgur advertising, and they have had a couple hundred dollars worth of traffic in the last five days.

“The best marketing is when you say, ‘Hey I have this cool product and it actually made my life better and this is how it helped me as a human being,’” Rollins said. “You have to connect on a more personal level.”

In the future, Murphy said the company hopes to expand their inventory by selling LED dog collars and watches.

The Crisea team also plans to expand their product of the month club, which offers a new product to members each month at a lowered price.

Murphy said that the company would like to establish a lifestyle brand centered around their love of LED lights.

“We didn’t have LED in our life beforehand,” Murphy said. “It has been a revolutionary change in the way we live, and we can’t go back.”

Hansen said he heard that it is easier to negotiate with wholesalers if you have a name

because it makes you look more official. He said the name they chose has impacted the traffic their website receives.

“I was thinking about Crimea and I thought

of Crisea (pronounced the same way) and it worked,” Hansen said. “We think 8 percent of our traffic is from Russia because people mistype Crimea and end up on our website.”

COURTESY PHOTO / CRISEA.CO

Crisea sells a variety of products, including shower heads, LED bowties and knit hats and uses Imgur for advertising its site.

Center will develop solutions for rising sea levels

Partnership between VIMS and ODU will continue with center’s establishment

VIMS from page 1

bring them to market.”

Associate Dean of Research and Advisory Services at VIMS Mark Luckenbach said he believes that public universities have an important role to play in finding flooding s o l u t i o n s because of their Roggero research capabilities.

The new center is meant to transform this research into practical information for local governments and businesses.

Luckenbach said that the center’s communications specialists will be especially important because they will be responsible for fostering collaboration between scientists and the community to raise community awareness of the issues the center addresses, and to incorporate community priorities into possible solutions.

The VIMS report, called the

“Recurrent Flooding Study for Tidewater Virginia,” came out in 2013, after the Virginia General Assembly created a joint resolution directing VIMS to draft a report on recurrent flooding in the region.

This resolution was followed by the Assembly’s creation of a joint subcommittee on recurrent flooding.

Marine Science Supervisor Molly Roggero wrote the report and said the impetus for the General Assembly’s resolution was the increased concern over flood damage and flooding in local areas.

She said that the HUD grant will have a positive effect on the state. “[The grant is] a great opportunity for Virginia to address some of the problem areas,” Roggero said.

Such areas primarily include the issues of recurrent flooding that will be addressed through the new center.

According to Luckenbach, the partnership between VIMS and ODU that led to the schools’ collaboration on this center began with their collaboration on another project also related to sea level rise called the Hampton Roads Sea Level

Rise Preparedness and Resilience Intergovernmental Planning Pilot Project.

The partnership on this pilot project led to the two schools’ collaboration on the HUD grant proposal alongside the Hampton Roads Governmental Center and the City of Norfolk.

The 2013 VIMS report was heavily featured in this proposal, which was submitted by the Virginia Department of Health and Human Development.

When the state received the HUD grant, ODU and VIMS went to the recurrent flooding joint sub-committee in the General Assembly to argue for the introduction of a bill to create the center. This bill has yet to be passed, but Luckenbach said he thinks there is good chance it will be.

“I am really encouraged by the wide range of stakeholders and government levels that are coming together to address these problems,” Luckenbach said. “I am excited by the role that public universities have to play in this. By being really responsive with education and research and services that we provide to communities to address these problems.”

COURTESY PHOTO / VIMS.EDU

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science Gloucester Point campus is located across the York River.

Interested in joining

The Flat Hat?

Come to an interest meeting Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. at the Flat Hat Office located in the basement of the Campus Center.

opinions

Opinions Editor Julia Stumbaugh Opinions Editor Jenny Cosgrove fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 2, 2016 | Page 5

GUEST COLUMN

Examining Zika

Talia Schmitt FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNIST

GRAPHIC BY DANI ARON-SCHIAVONE / THE FLAT HAT

An all-inclusive living experience

Quinn Monette

FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER

The administration’s decision to open gender neutral housing represents an important step in creating a more welcoming and safe college. The move demonstrates an appreciation for the needs of people of all gender identities, especially to students whose identities do not align to the binary long written into the makeup of college campuses and, indeed, into the College of William and Mary.

Despite its limited rollout, the implementation of flexible housing is a step above lip service to equity across the spectrum of gender expression. The option will only be offered to upperclassmen and graduate students and will not include optouts or alternatives for freshmen.

Still, the very fact that flexible housing is offered at all constitutes progress. Currently, students living in campus housing are divided by biologically-assigned gender, regardless of actual identification. This places gendernonconforming students in uncomfortable and potentially unsafe circumstances; according to The Atlantic, LGBTQ students experience significantly higher rates of sexual harassment and assault.

Over the regular course of campus life, students run into situations that cause dissonance, anxiety and conflict. Sexspecific residence halls and bathrooms serve as reminders that certain people, certain identities and even certain bodies do not belong. These features of campus that some of us view as normal or unremarkable are actually ideological, promoting very precise, historically-rooted ideas about what it is to be male or female. This has led to the designation of gender neutral restrooms at an increasing number of schools, including

the College. Flexible housing is a necessary extension of that effort.

Opponents will argue that the new housing options are nothing more than an invitation for opposite-sex romantic couples to live together. That was part of the reason Residence Life decided against enacting a gender neutral policy in 2010. To reject gender neutral housing just on that basis, however, would be to ignore the all-toopervasive problems LGBTQ students encounter.

Often the negative rhetoric that surrounds gender inclusiveness is a shroud for homophobia or transphobia. These feelings can come from a place of hatred and vitriol, true, but they can also come from misunderstanding. We are surrounded from an early age by reminders of what male and female should look like. These signs are present in stories, toys, movies and public facilities. They help establish the way we think and the way we see the world. They are part of our education, in a general sense.

Binary discourses (which are omnipresent, not the exclusive domain of sex-segregated halls and bathrooms) advance, in a very subtle way, certain ideas about sex and gender. With enough repetition and reinforcement, these ideas crystallize into attitudes. Sometimes these attitudes are relatively innocuous — other times, though, they are employed to justify personal and physical violence.

Transgender people are victims of an obscenely, disproportionately high rate of hate crime and murder, often with overlapping motivations or indices such as race and class. Even after trauma, victims are routinely misidentified and misrepresented by police and media.

This may all seem extraneous to what goes on at the College; hate crime and murder are not daily happenings here. I would argue instead that even though such transgressions are part of our past and possibility, what’s most important here is the ideology that underlies more visible, sensational forms of bigotry.

Part of the effort we must engage in to produce a more open and kind society includes grappling with the markers and narratives that yield injustice. Housing, which is such a vital resource in a person’s life, is chief among them. For a long time these resources have been the implements of intolerance. Transformed, however, and turned around, they can be the tools of equality.

Email Quinn Monette at qpmonette@email.wm.edu.

“

Binary discourses (which are omnipresent, not the exclusive domain of sexsegregated halls and bathrooms) advance, in a very subtle way, certain ideas about sex and gender.

COMMENTS @THEFLATHAT

“

It is true that Jefferson was an 18th century man, who had many of the same beliefs as everyone else from his era. But he was also part of a group of revolutionary thinkers whose ideas led to the egalitarian society we have today. Take him out of history, and we might very well be living in a time where slavery is still almost universally accepted.

— Max Blanche

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Some of you may have been asking yourselves what you’ll be doing when you’re 323 years old. Well, I can tell you right now that your birthday party will not come anywhere near to what the College has in store for William and Mary’s three hundred and twenty third birthday extravaganza this year. The College is going all out for a two-day birthday extravaganza. Starting right at 4 a.m. on Friday, February 5th, students will be lucky enough to attend a school-wide Charter Day Ceremony Celebration commemorating some of the most notable events that happened in 1693: the first women’s magazine “The Ladies’ Mercury” was published, Dom Perignon invented champagne and William and Mary was officially chartered. What a year for history!

Some highlights of this year’s ceremony will include an address from Ellen Stofan ‘83, NASA’s chief scientist. Additionally, on Saturday Feb. 6th at 2:30 p.m. the men’s basketball team will

face off at home against Delaware. This is a Gold Rush game, and there will be free t-shirts for every student. This game will be televised, so get ready for your 15 minutes of fame!

Finally, you have the opportunity to see yourself on the big screen! By using #wmCharterDay on Instagram, you have the potential to get your own pictures projected before the Friday Ceremony.

If all of these incredible opportunities aren’t what really floats your boat, just wait, because our very own Griffin will be celebrating with us during lunch hours at the Caf! I honestly don’t know what more you could want. This year’s Charter Day Ceremony promises to continue the incredible traditions that we love about William and Mary.

— Charter Day Student Chairs Email at cppinkerton@email.wm.edu.

Last week, Vice President of Student Affairs Ginger Ambler sent out an email warning students that Zika, a mosquito-borne virus associated with birth defects, has hit campus. Insect-borne illnesses are becoming more and more common in a changing climate in which conditions welcome mosquitos and other insects. As consequences of global warming become more apparent in our daily lives and hit our campus, we, as students, will have a greater role to play in the fight against climate change. First, we will need to educate ourselves on the environmental issues at hand. Second, we will need to prevent some of the most devastating scenarios associated with inaction.

“

Insect-borne illnesses are becoming more and more common.

To find out more about Zika’s interplay with climate change, I called Dr. Nick Vasquez, the College of William and Mary’s travel doctor. He eased some of my initial concerns. First off, Zika is non-communicable, meaning it’s not transmitted via sneezes and coughing; you need the mosquito bite itself to contract the virus. So, the student on campus who has Zika is not a threat to the rest of the student body. Secondly, only one out of five people who get Zika actually feel symptoms. The symptoms of birth defects like abnormal head shapes are only possible for the baby inside a pregnant woman who contracts the disease. Other side effects for the layman are symptoms like fever and rash. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has more information on those.

Vasquez did warn that every year brings along new illnesses, and many health experts are concerned that global warming is likely to bring about more frequent diseases.

Extreme weather patterns such as heavier rains and warmer climates, both believed to be associated with climate change, allow mosquitos carrying diseases like Zika to thrive due to the ideal wet environments for breeding and warmer temperatures for survival.

When I heard about Zika in South America, I was concerned because I have travel plans to Ecuador and Argentina. Vasquez said Zika has reached Ecuador, a common destination for College students. My initial thoughts were that perhaps I should sit these trips out and wait for the flood of diseases to pass.

But then it hit me — the harsh reality is that experts anticipate these kinds of mosquito-borne illnesses to only increase in the future due to climate change. Therefore, “waiting it out,” is not feasible. The balancing act of safety and resilience is a hard line to walk.

And even that luxury of choosing not to go to diseaseridden areas will soon no longer be an option as diseases start coming here, to the States. In a world where U.S. citizens love to travel, it is naive to say that diseases will just stay in South America or Africa; they will come back with American voyagers.

“

Experts anticipate these kinds of mosquito-born illnesses to just increase in the future due to climate change.

Here at the College, we now have a new level of responsibility. We need to be educated not only on what we are majoring in, but on the effects of climate change.

We need to read up on new diseases and find ways that we as college students can make a positive impact. The effects of climate change go beyond mosquito-borne illnesses into a world of unprecedented heat and rising sea levels. On everyday levels, choices about what we can eat and where we can live will change.

So what can we do? Everything is ultimately connected.

Little changes in your lifestyle like walking more, consuming less meat, or voting for candidates who take strong stances on environmental issues are all ways to directly or indirectly reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which lead to the warming of the planet. So yes, these problems sound big, but little decisions that you make do play a role in combatting this global problem.

Email Talia Schmitt at tjschmitt@email.wm.edu.

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Page 6

Missing memorials

Thomas Briggs

FLAT HAT ASSOC. OPINIONS EDITOR

In the wake of the Thoma Jefferson sticky note incident, it has become popular to say that our school’s reverence for its great intellectuals whitewashes their wrongdoings. This has always seemed a bit naive, as it ignores both how and why we honor them — not as infallible idols, but as fellow human beings whose radical ideas and actions remain influential.

So while I’m not unsettled by the presence of some statues, the lack of others strikes me as quite strange.

The College of William and Mary makes a very profound effort to laud every donor, and to leave no name unmentioned if it contributed to the well-being of our institution. This is done in many ways, and with the names of buildings, the various effigies of our great alumni and the countless plaques on every brick donated to the school, it would appear that not a stone has been left unturned.

Except in the case of the stones placed by the College-owned slaves.

The Lemon Project deserves admiration and praise for its efforts in documenting the College’s relationship with slavery and racism. But besides this, mention of the contributions of the slaves to the College has been relegated to a rather hard-to-access Swem Wiki article. There is not one mention of them on Wikipedia, nor in the brief history of the College online, nor in physical form on campus, even though their contributions have been well-documented.

Each class’s donations to the school are carved into the walkways around the Sunken Garden, donors’ names are inscribed on various buildings, plaques and classrooms, yet the slaves receive no recognition, no dignity.

Oddly enough, dignity is often used to justify the lack of a slave memorial, with many saying that it would tarnish the reputation and legacy of both the school and its notable alumni. But is it just to memorialize alumni and donors without recognizing the contributions of the slaves who built and maintained our school?

Responses to that question generally follow in one of two ways. The first is that statues and memorials are usually given by donors and not commissioned by the school. This completely avoids the point at issue: the slaves themselves were the “donors” (an understatement, I know), and their unpaid labor and stolen capital is within every brick they placed on our school grounds. Can anyone with a clear conscience say that this stolen life, liberty and labor doesn’t merit greater recognition than writing a check?

The second point that has inevitably been made simply restates the original objection, expressing concern for the reputation of the school and its alumni. I ask again: Would a memorial to those subjected to kidnapping, exploitation and forced labor (all to the past and future benefit of the College) really poison this legacy? The question seems to answer itself.

The Lemon Project and similar research efforts are indispensable in maintaining the living identity of the College as an institution of progress. However, there is also value in having a tangible, physical representation of something. If documentation alone was a sufficient reminder of our legacy, nothing would be more superfluous than statues of Jefferson and his contemporaries, some of the most well-documented figures of history. Physical representation (such as a statue or memorial) serves a different purpose — it evokes the visceral and the personal, allowing the present to be in the presence of the past.

Email Thomas Briggs at tdbriggs@email.wm.edu.

STREET BEAT

?

What do you think of the gender-neutral housing?

“I saw the thing that said they highly discourages people in relationships rooming together. That’s good. It’s college, you never know how long you’re gonna last. That’s my advice for the kids — don’t room with your significant other.”

Remi Pool ‘18

“I think it’s a big step forward in making sure everyone feels included at the College.”

Isabel George ‘18

?

“My sister’s the one who did that. I’m so proud of her. She’s Marianna Stepniak. I’m very proud of her. It’s a great thing.“ Caroline Stepniak ‘19

GRAPHIC BY DANI ARON-SCHIAVONE/ THE FLAT HAT

GUEST COLUMN

Why Bo Burnham’s show must stay sold out

Jordan Wyner FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNIST

Last Monday, tickets for comedian Bo Burnham’s Charter Day show in Phi Beta Kappa Hall sold out after only a few hours.

This sudden scarcity is the result of a policy to give not only students, but faculty, staff and the residents of Williamsburg an equal opportunity to purchase a ticket.

Unfortunately, I had class during the ticket sale window and ended up among the many who, despite our admiration for Burnham’s idiosyncratic, innovative style of comedy, were unable to procure that strip of paper that guarantees us entry to his show.

My subsequent disappointment stems from two primary sources. First, since I was the only one of my friends to not purchase a ticket, I have to live with the potential reality of sitting in my room while all my friends communally enjoy Burnham’s comedic riot. I’m supremely confident that I’m not the only student who faces this issue. The second reason — which rests at the foundation of my dismay — is that I will be unable to experience Burnham’s mastery in person.

Indeed, he has transcended the role of mere comedian and, consequentially, has emerged as a hilarious critic of popular culture, social conflict, music, gender relations, sexuality, religion and even the form of

modern comedy; in fact, Burnham delivers his energized critique of modern society through the persona of a “more arrogant, stuck-up version of himself” that is, surprisingly, theatrically introspective.

The mass of students who also feel the frustration I have described have petitioned for the relocation of Burnham’s show from PBK to Kaplan Arena. While this solution adequately addresses the problem of limiting seating, it raises more substantial difficulties. First, having worked on several lighting crews for PBK main stage productions, I can easily predict the numerous logistical complications that may emerge if Burnham’s show is moved to Kaplan on Charter Day. Specifically, since there is a basketball game in the arena a few hours before the planned time of Burnham’s show, it is blatantly unreasonable to expect that a crew could sufficiently install and test Burnham’s potentially complex lighting and sound design within a few hours. Furthermore, the crew would have to rehearse the entirety of the show several times before the actual performance to ensure quality. Since this process would doubtlessly be rushed, safety would be compromised. Regarding the arguably more significant topic of aesthetics, moving the show to Kaplan would damage the artistic essence of Burnham’s performance since, despite its apparent theatricality, the introspective style demands a more intimate performance space. Kaplan’s behemoth nature operates as a contradiction to the spirit of such a space.

Therefore, although I share in the disappointment of my fellow students who may not directly revel in Bo Burnham’s comedic ingenuity, I confidently declare that moving his show to a larger, more accommodating space would generate several practical and aesthetic difficulties that are, frankly, not worth the effort to correct.

“

Moving the show to Kaplan would damage the artistic essence of Burnham’s performance since, despite its apparent theatricality, the introspective style demands a more intimate performance space.

? ?

How do you feel about the Bo Burnham tickets selling out?

What are your thoughts on the new full-time psychiatrist?

“I think it’ll probably be good to have someone who has knowledge of medicines that people are gonna take, someone who does that for a living.

I think that’ll probably be a really good thing for people who need that resource.”

“I was lucky enough to get a ticket fairly easily. I actually thought the lines would be longer.”

?

Anna Maximova ‘18

“I’m an RA and it’s really great to see the Counseling Center expanding, especially for students who will sometimes need more extensive care, and the Counseling Center couldn’t give it to them.

It’s great that they can do that now.”

“It’s crushing, because I was really close to getting a ticket. But I completely understand as someone who does comedy that you don’t wanna play to a large venue.”

Meg Collins ‘18

Brianna Meeks ‘18

“A lot of people on Yik Yak were saying stuff like ‘I’m willing to pay 40 dollars if anyone’s willing to sell their Bo Burnham tickets.’”

Savannah Bailey ‘19

Perri Nelson ‘19

?

“I’m so excited about it.

It’s very much needed on this campus in particular.

Glad to see that the College is stepping up and doing the right thing.”

Claire Seaton ‘18

variety

Variety Editor Sam Dreith Variety Editor Sarah Ruiz flathat.variety@gmail.com // @theflathat

The Flat Hat

| Tuesday, February 2, 2016 | Page 7

Training the

Tribe

Students share their exercise expertise through their roles as personal trainers HALEY SNOWDEN THE FLAT HAT

Fitness can be hard, and for those whose main form of exercise is sitting up five times to hit the snooze button, getting in shape can seem downright impossible. But whether it’s to follow through on New Year’s resolutions, reach a goal weight or even just to improve overall health, the Campus Recreation Center at the College of William and Mary is home to an entire host of personal trainers who are there to help.

Although students may know the Rec’s personal trainers for their exercise knowledge, some may not know that that many trainers are students themselves.

In order to become personal trainers, the students participate in a rigorous, 12-week program hosted by the College to prepare them for the American College of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer Exam. In doing so, trainers become acquainted with basic principles of anatomy, physiology and kinesiology.

Assistant Director of Fitness and Wellness at the Rec Jennifer Fisher said that students with a particular exercise niche are particularly desirable as trainers.

“It’s important for the trainers to want to teach others and be willing to put the work in,” Fisher said. “Depending on whether or not they are kinesiology majors, they may have to study more on their own to learn about exercise science.”

The aid that the student trainers give to their clients is highly personalized, with routines and workout plans centered around each client’s fitness assessment data.

“I’ve always loved working out and challenging myself physically, and that obsession really took off when I came to college and had access to an amazing (free) gym and fun classes!” Christina Alcorta ’16 said in an email of her inspiration to become a personal trainer.

“I knew another girl in my sorority was a personal trainer and she seemed like she loved it, so that really piqued my interest.”

Mitchell Polizzi ’16, who serves as both personal trainer and personal training supervisor, is the first point of contact for new clients, matching each with a trainer based on his or her individual goals.

“Personal training requires a lot of knowledge about exercise science and human physiology, but what makes this job special are the clients,” Polizzi said in an email. “Throughout my time I have built lasting relationships with many of my clients. We also have the awesome opportunity to work with the professional staff and graduate assistants that are so often underappreciated because they are working behind the scenes to make everything

run so smoothly at the Campus Recreation Center.”

Beyond helping clients — the ranks of whom range from peers to professors — the trainers often help each other.

“Working with the other student trainers has been such a blessing and a ton of fun. I’ve learned so much from them because we all bring something very unique to the table,” Alcorta said in an email. “I’ve learned a lot more about lifting and HIIT [High Intensity Interval Training] workouts from my coworkers in the past two years and it is so rewarding to be able to put this newfound knowledge into practice. We all work so well together, and everyone is so motivated that it really doesn’t feel like a job.”

Regardless of background, the trainers’ favorite part of the job

“

Personal training requires a lot of knowledge about exercise science and human physiology , but what makes this job special are the clients.

—Mitchel Polizzi ‘16

COURTESY PHOTO / CHRISTINA ALCORTA

Personal trainer Christina Alcorta ‘16 deadlifts 300 pounds with her trainee.

is the meaningful experiences they get to have with their clients.

They said watching people with all levels of fitness make progress and overcome personal challenges is extremely rewarding for them According to Alcorta, one of the most memorable experiences in her career as a trainer came during her first semester teaching the Zero to 5k Small Group Training Program. Halfway through the four-week program, Alcorta took participants for the longest run they had attempted, almost the full 3.12 miles.

“We were nearing the end of our run and I could tell they were all getting super tired, but they didn’t give up and walk, even up a long hill,” Alcorta said. “They ran all the way back to the Rec, and I could have cried, I was so proud of them. A few weeks later I watched them all run their first 5k and I was ecstatic for them, and in disbelief at how far they had come in just four weeks.”

In spite of experiences like these, Polizzi said the job of the personal trainer is not without its own inherent challenges.

“I love having my clients box and I always hold the target pads, but on one occasion my client actually missed the target and hit me right in the shoulder,” Polizzi said. “I was perfectly fine, but she was horrified and couldn’t stop apologizing.”

So should you ever find yourself in the position of wondering if your trainer is actually trying to kill you, keep in mind that the trainers very often put their own lives on the line to help people attain the fitness level of their dreams.

CONFUSION CORNER

The art of Snapchat: what you snap shows who you are Interpreting your friends’ stories can give you insight into their deepest thoughts

Sarah Salem

CONFUSION CORNER COLUMNIST

Let’s get one thing straight: Snapchat is arguably the greatest and most painfully underrated form of social media ever made. Something about a non-permanent messaging program makes life so much more exciting. Looking to brag about a grade on a test without sounding too pretentious? Snap it. Eating a piece of pie while doing math homework, and the pun opportunity is too good to not share, but not good enough that your 1,000 Facebook friends will care? Snap it. Wearing an outfit cute enough for a mirror selfie, but worried about posting a painful #ootd Insta? Easy solution; snap it!

Snapchat combines the wit of Tumblr, the artistry of Instagram and the energy of Facebook all in one beautiful app. Nothing beats the emotional high of someone telling you, “Your story was so fire!” Nothing can stop the tears from streaming down your cheeks as the 24th hour comes and your humorous story of your dog howling at falling snow is gone forever (cleverly captioned “Me when I find out Mooyah is closed,” of course).

There’s no other place where you can comfortably post a video of you crying over your chemistry notes as the voice of Swem warns of closing soon, or where you can capture the moment when your philosophy professor is being extra profound on your course syllabus (“The schedule is subject to change, as we all are”).

Snapchat is a creative tool, and every snap is a work of art. However, because it is still a social media outlet, every snap is also an opportunity to create a façade exclusive to social media. This does not mean, however, that people’s rawest, purest selves are completely masked by the ‘Chat. You

can still tell exactly who a person is simply by watching their Snapstories on a regular basis. And if you can’t, please feel free to consult the guide I have made for you: — A story with (usually filtered) selfies: This person either likes how they look enough that they want their entire contact list to know … or is feigning self-assurance. They’re going to get a confidence boost either way, however, because everyone always looks 10x better on Snapchat.

— A story with pictures of food: This person both wants you to know they’re well-rounded enough to know how to cook, and wants you to be jealous of how much food they can eat without gaining weight (if they actually eat it, that is).

— A story with a soundtrack: Whether they provide the vocals or they use an actual track, this person is as dramatic as it gets. Sometimes they finally finish a paper and blasting “Freedom” by Aretha Franklin seems necessary. Other times, a friend is going out-of-town and they need the penny-whistle solo from “My Heart

Will Go On” to wail in the background during their departure. They did theatre in high school.

— A story with an extreme face close-up: Slightly different from the S.S.S. (strictly-selfie story). This person exudes confidence to the point that they do not care what you think of them — to prove it, here’s a zoom-in on their nose.

— A story documenting Netflix binges: This person either relates to Leslie Knope on an unparalleled level, is dealing with a harsh breakup by burning Jim and Pam’s perfect relationship into their eyeballs, or really wants you to know how great their taste in TV is.

— A story consistently including videos at a party: Either this person is very “srat,” or they just want you to think their life is more exciting than it actually is. It’s usually the latter.

— A story exclusively of cats: Actually pretty straightforward. This person has a lot of cats and doesn’t want you to forget it.

Whether you’re on Snapchat or not, one thing is for sure: Those 10 minutes

you spent thinking of a witty caption made you that much smarter and more creative, and those are 10 minutes you know you won’t want back.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find a reason to utilize the Charlie Brown theme in my next story.

Sarah Salem is a Confusion Corner columnist who is not afraid to use the occasional extreme close-up snap.

GRAPHIC BY / KRISTIE TURKAL

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Page 8

Turning fashion Into Fatalities

Alumna releases latest novel in her new Costume Shop fashion mystery series

LIZZY FLOOD FLAT HAT ASSOC. VARIETY EDITOR

If you are having trouble deciding on your dream job after graduation, maybe try combining two of your separate interests — even if they are radically different. This worked for alumna Diane Vallere ’89, who merged her love of writing and fashion to craft a career writing fashion mystery novels.

Vallere has published several mystery series, including the popular Style & Error series.

According to Vallere, most of her novels are influenced by the 20 years she spent working in the fashion industry, a career that began immediately following her graduation from the College of William and Mary.

“

I had grown up reading Trixxie Feldman and Nancy Drew and series like that, so I always wanted to do it, but there was just never an idea.

“The first job I had I literally worked in a mall,” Vallere said. “Because I graduated and my parents were, ‘Okay, it’s time to go get a job.’ And I didn’t have a concrete plan of what I wanted to do so I went to the mall, and I started working in sales. From there, I moved up into management.”

Vallere eventually moved to Texas to be a part of the Neiman Marcus Executive Development Program, a 12-week training program that prepares participants to be assistant buyers for the company. When Vallere became a buyer, she began her writing career as well. Her job required her to fly several times a year, something she was never that comfortable with.

“I didn’t love to fly and I had to fly about seven or eight times a year,” Vallere said. “So I started writing on the plane so I didn’t have to think about the fact that I was flying, and that’s how I wrote my first couple of drafts of manuscripts.”

Though her transition into writing grew out of her fear of flying, Vallere said writing mystery novels was something she always had in the back of her mind.

“I had grown up reading mystery series,” Vallere said. “I had grown up reading Trixie Feldman

and Nancy Drew and series like that, so I always wanted to do it, but there was just never an idea. So when I got the idea that was a former fashion buyer who turns amateur sleuth, I kind of stuck all that together, and when I wrote it, I thought, ‘I want this to be a book, I want this to be a series and I want to pursue this.’”

Eventually, V a l l e r e decided to leave the fashion world to focus on writing full time.

The manuscripts she wrote on the plane turned into her Style & Error Mystery Series. Two more series followed after that, and her newest series, Costume Shop Mystery, comes out this year.

When not busy writing, Vallere works with the writers’ organization Sisters in Crime.

“I got involved in Sisters in Crime, which is a nonprofit organization that advocates for women mystery writers,” Vallere said. “And that was huge when I got involved in them, because writing is very lonely. And all of a sudden, it wasn’t lonely anymore because I met so many people who had been where I was or were behind where I was, but you know we had just a variety of experiences and that became huge.”

Vallere was previously head of the Los Angeles chapter of Sisters in Crime and currently serves as Vice President of the organization.

Sisters in Crime’s main goal is to educate women writers about writing and marketing skills, Vallere said, but they also try to ensure

that women crime writers have the same opportunities as male crime writers. The organization’s Monitoring Project plays a big role in this.

“They go out and monitor how many reviews are being given to men mystery writers versus women mystery writers,” Vallere said of the Monitoring Project. “And they compare that to how many books are being published by each to see if it is equal. They’re kind of checking the contract terms to see that what’s being offered is fair.”

The lack of diversity in the publishing world is a problem that has, in the past months, prompted hashtags such as #readwomen and #readdiversebooks on Twitter and other websites.

“I think what it comes down to, even just for any author, is it’s all about visibility and discoverability,” Vallere said. “And the people aren’t going to read your book unless they know that it exists. So that’s the number one thing.”

While the publishing industry continues to struggle with diversity and gender issues, Vallere said it is an overall exciting time in the book world. She said self-publishing has made it “a great time to be a reader” because of how many new and exciting books are now available.

Vallere credits her time at the College with teaching her how to be comfortable with standing out.

A native of Pennsylvania, Vallere was recruited for

swimming by the College and majored in fine arts. She loved the school after visiting for a weekend, but as an out-of-state student, she said, she had trouble adjusting at first.

“Being an out-of-state student, I kind of didn’t fit the mold immediately because, you know, Pennsylvania is not Virginia,” Vallere said. “And so many of my friends, so many people that I knew were from Virginia, and there definitely was a different style and there definitely was a difference in our backgrounds.”

It was this initial discomfort that led to Vallere realizing she liked standing out and being different.

“So I guess it really was at William and Mary when I started to embrace what made me unique instead of being upset that I didn’t fit in,” Vallere said. “And I embraced it, and that really became when I developed my own style the most, and became more independent, and became more okay with the idea of following my own instincts.”

Vallere said any new student who feels they do not fit in right away at the College has no reason to worry.

By the time she graduated, she said, she had found her niche and now remembers her time at the College fondly. Her advice to others is to not worry about being different.

“

So I guess it really was at William and Mary when I started to embrace what made me unique instead of being upset that I didn’t fit in. And I embraced it, and that really became when I developed my own style the most...

“It’s okay not to be like everybody else because there are other people who feel the same way,” Vallere said. “And sometimes the thing that makes you different is the thing that makes you unique and that becomes your, you know, your great thing.”

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Sexiquette tips for the spontaneous student

Keeping the spice in your love life while keeping the roommates out in your hallway

Katelyn Reimer BEHIND CLOSED DOORS COLUMNIST

Today, I would like to talk about sex etiquette, or, as I like to call it, sexiquette. Please do not misunderstand me; this is not a manual on how to have really quiet, scheduled, “sexy” times. This is simply an exploration of some topics you may want to discuss with your roommate.

People often have a lot to say about other peoples’ sex lives. I generally prefer for people to mind their own business, but, unfortunately, sometimes we make it their business.

If your roommate walks into your room, as is perfectly within their right to do, and you are there having sex with someone, then your sex life has suddenly become your roommate’s business. After all, it is their room too.

So how do we avoid this perfectly uncomfortable

situation? Simple. It is proper sexiquette to communicate with your roommate about when they might open the door and encounter you and your partner’s naked butts. It is not proper sexiquette to say to your roommate: “You can’t sleep here tonight, I’m having sex.” That’s not polite.

However, you could say something like, “Hey, I was thinking about having my partner over tonight, and we might like some privacy. Is it cool if we take over the room for a little while?” Chances are, your roommate will probably be okay with it, provided, of course, that you do not ask this of them all the time.

In the interest of preventing your sex life from becoming scheduled, there are alternatives to the aforementioned conversation that allow for more spontaneity, while remaining considerate of your roommate. As cheesy as the sock-on-the-door technique is, establishing some kind of signal that your roommate understands can be a perfect way to spontaneously warn your roommate that they might want to knock before entering the room.

I have a dry-erase board on my door that I once used to write a message to my roommate when I was about to engage in some unplanned sexy time in my room. It said something along the lines of, “WARNING: There is a possibility that sex is

happening in this room right now. Please knock!”

Now, my roommate happened to have a sense of humor, so the explicit nature of that message

“

The most important thing to remember when you have a roomate is this: You need to communicate with them if you intend to use the room for sex.

was perfect for making her laugh and choose not to disturb us. Nevertheless, it is simple enough, if you have a dry-erase board, to write a note to your roommate that says “Please knock!” so they don’t immediately barge in. Or, as long as your roommate knows what it means, you could put your tie/scarf/ whatever on the doorknob. You could even shoot them a quick text to tell them: “Hey! Just a heads up: I’m with my partner, so you might want to knock on the door when you come back!”

There is, however, one non-negotiable sexiquette no-no when you have a roommate.

Under absolutely no circumstances is it okay for you to have sex in your roommate’s bed. Why you would even want to do that is beyond me.

Nevertheless, it has happened (not to me, I think … ), so it is important to establish that this is just plain disrespectful, even if you clean the sheets afterward.

The most important thing to remember when you have a roommate is this: You need to communicate with them if you intend to use the room for sex. This is something I would recommend talking about before having sex in your room.

Stay tuned for more sexiquette tips, coming soon to newsstands near you.

Katelyn Reimer is a Behind Closed Doors columnist who is quickly running out of socks.

sportsinside

The Flat Hat

| Tuesday, February 2, 2016 | Page 9

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Tribe goes 1-1 in rollercoaster weekend

Without Rendle, College falters vs Charleston, scorches Northeastern two days later SUMNER HIGGINBOTHAM FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR This weekend provided two very different answers to the same question: how would William and Mary (13-7, 4-5 Colonial Athletic Association) recover from losing sophomore center Abby Rendle, the team leader in points, blocks, and defensive rebounds, for the season?

On Friday, a dismal 55-51 loss to College of Charleston (7-11, 2-5 CAA) gave one answer. However, a resounding 69-62 victory over Northeastern (7-13, 2-7 CAA) delivered an entirely different verdict on the team’s potential for the remainder of the 2015-16 season. Even head coach Ed Swanson is unsure of what to expect.

“We’re learning on the fly; we haven’t practiced with four guards out there at the same time” Swanson said.

“Injury happens beginning of the year or preseason, you have time to fix it, when it happens at unfortunate times… [compensating] has to be a full team effort; we have to be scrappier. We’re not going to look at one player and say ‘Kasey Curtis you got to replace stats.’”

Rendle’s absence to a broken ankle was very noticeable against the Cougars Friday. The Tribe did not get into any sort of offensive rhythm until a brief spell in the third quarter. Charleston led at the end of the first quarter 17-14, and maintained the lead all the way to a 3026 halftime margin. Though William and Mary shot decently in the first half at 35.5 percent, the Tribe faced a considerable rebound deficit, one which would grow to a final advantage on the boards of 49-33 for Charleston.

“We were just rushing and panicking on the offensive side” Swanson said. “We didn’t finish a lot of plays off, they beat us by 16 on the glass … I think that’s the story of the game.”

Of those 49 Cougar rebounds, 16 of them were offensive rebounds, allowing Charleston to tack on 14 second-chance points. The Tribe also committed 20 turnovers, despite having led the CAA in turnover margin for several weeks.

In spite of the poor ball security, the College strung together a 9-0 run in the third quarter to briefly claim the lead.

Freshman guard Bianca Boggs, who earned her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 boards, knocked down a three-pointer within the Tribe’s offensive burst.

A decisive lead proved elusive for both squads as the quarter ended in a 45-45 tie.

With the game coming down to the wire, the Tribe doomed itself with a putrid 2 of 11 shooting in the final frame of the game from the field, losing 55-51. The College also didn’t produce from what was left of the team’s bench, adding just four points outside the starting five. Junior guard Marlena Tremba played the entire game, while Boggs played 38 minutes, reflecting the unpleasant reality of having three players injured: Rendle, freshmen forward Ali Engelhardt and sophomore guard Jeanne Gaumount.

“We couldn’t sustain any momentum,” Swanson said. “We rushed a great deal, we got to get back to work. It’s tough to play 40 minutes, but we’re different, we have to figure it out.”

Fast-forward to Sunday, and the Tribe looked to have figured a few things out, namely how to shoot from the perimeter.

The College scorched the Huskies from the arc, hitting 10 of their 18 three-point attempts, tying the team’s best shooting percentage from three on the season at 55.5 percent.

The Tribe also reduced turnovers by half, a key improvement that was not lost on Swanson.

“When you minimize your turnovers, your defense plays better,” Swanson said. “Friday night, the turnovers were uncharacteristic. If you’re turning the ball over there’s a lot of three on two breaks, two on one breaks. Overall, [we had] better guard play.”

William and Mary and Northeastern played it close the whole way through.

The College outscored the visitors 18-13 in the first quarter, only to be outscored by the same tally in the second quarter. The teams entered the fourth quarter tied yet again, this time at 49. Junior guard Latrice Hunter played a major role in the Tribe’s success, a new tactic in the Tribe’s strategy as Hunter, normally a point guard, was on the court as a shooting guard with fellow point guard sophomore Jenna Green.

Hunter, who finished 5 of 8 from three and managed two steals, appears to have adjusted well to her new role.

“I like it, it’s more freedom,” Hunter said. “It’s kind of hard because other teams do have some bigger players.”

Hunter essentially put the game on ice with three consecutive triples in the fourth quarter, as the Tribe stormed ahead to 61-54 with five minutes to play.

The Huskies drew within two with under a minute, but Tremba sank a three to dispel any notions of a comeback. Northeastern had no similar success from the arc, shooting just under 30 percent as the

Huskies dropped their fifth straight in a 68-62 win for the Tribe.

“We had to play small with our man defense, a lot of times we had four guards out there,” Swanson said. “Bianca played great defensively.”

Going forward with primarily four guard sets, Swanson isn’t making excuses for the Tribe continually losing the rebound battle, as the Huskies took

the category 40-29, despite the height disadvantages with just one forward.

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog,” Swanson said. “I really believe that rebounding is a decision… we’ve got to fight more.”

The College travels to Raleigh, N.C. next Friday to take on Elon with tipoff set for 7 p.m.

COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS

Often playing as the sole forward, junior forward Alex Masaquel earned a double-double Sunday.

SWIMMING

Tribe drowned out in fierce competition at S.C. Men’s team narrowly loses to ECU; both College teams dusted by No. 23 South Carolina in tri-meet HENRY TROTTER FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER Dual-meet defeats to Eastern Carolina and South Carolina masked a set of strong individual performances, with the Colonial Athletic Association Championships on the horizon. The men’s team lost narrowly to both teams — 151.5-142.5 against East Carolina and 179-107 to South Carolina On the women’s side, the Tribe (6-5, 2-2 CAA) lost both matches as well, dropping to ECU 180-107 and to South Carolina with a 175-110 score..

Against No. 23 South Carolina, the College men’s team faced former Tribe head coach McGee Moody. Although the Tribe’s lack of a diving team potentially decided the ECU match, the College (7-3, 3-0 CAA) was no match for the Gamecocks, a team with 19 qualification times for the NCAA Swimming Championships in March.

However, the Tribe managed to take 13 out of the 28 total events, with strong performances by seniors Will Manion and Billy Russell. Manion could not be stopped in the two backstroke events, swimming 49.63 in the 100-yard back and 1:49.35 in the 200-yard back. The senior is 17-0 swimming backstroke in dual meets and is up to 20 wins on the season. Only 11 other Tribe swimmers have tallied as many.

Russell, meanwhile, won the 200-yard free with a time of 1:40.49 and passed 1,000 career points. Other Tribe winners include senior Jeremiah O’Donnell, who out-swam ECU in the 200-yard breast (2:05.47) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:53.98), taking him to 18 wins. Junior Joe Eiden won the 100-yard free in a time of 45.69, and sophomore Tommy Kealy beat ECU in the 200-yard fly, swimming the event in 1:54.28.

The relay teams also put in strong performances; the 400-yard free relay team of Manion, Eiden, Russell and sophomore Kyle Neri set a dual meet record in 3:03.67, while the 200-yard medley (swum by Manion, Neri, O’Donnell and senior Justin Barden) came second against ECU and USC. On the women’s end, senior Jessie Ustjanauskas continued to dominate in the butterfly stroke, breaking her third dual meet record in three weeks.

She zoomed to a 2:03.10 time in the 200-yard fly (breaking her own record, although she did not win) and won the 100-yard fly in 56.13 seconds, putting in a convincing bid to defend her third CAA Swimmer of the Week award, which she received last week in the win against Davidson.

Continuing the theme of powerful relay performances, a team of Ustjanauskas, freshman Katie Sell, sophomore Annie Valls and junior Jaimie

Miller trounced USC in the 200-yard medley, while the same team (with sophomore Jess Crowley replacing Valls) beat USC in the 400-yard free relay.

Other swimmers also put in impressive individual performances. Junior Sophie Rittenhouse took home the 200-back in 2:02.80, while the Miller sisters teamed up to dominate the Gamecocks in the freestyle events (junior Jaimie winning the 100-yard in 51.89 and freshman Annie winning the 50 in 24.1).

For some of the team, just one race remains; the swimmers not selected for the CAA Championships will swim at the Carolina College Invitational

February 5-7 at North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Frontrunners such as Ustjanauskas, Manion and Russell will look forward to the CAA Championships in Richmond at the end of February.

The NCAA Swimming Championships take place in mid-March. No Tribe swimmers competed last year, but this year Manion has squeaked under the 100 back qualifying time by .02, making him eligible for the “B Standard” race in the event.

Depending on individual results in the upcoming competitions, other Tribe swimmers may join him in NCAA competition.

COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS

Senior Jessie Ustjaunauskas broke her duel meet record in the 200-yard fly, passing her previous mark by .43 on Saturday.

TENNIS

College men unbeaten at home, women split on the road Tribe men drop Coastal Carolina 6-1, sweep Howard, while women beat Elon 6-1 Friday, lose 4-3 to N.C. State Saturday VANSH BANSAL FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER William and Mary came away from the weekend with a combined 3-1 result.

The men are off to a roaring start at home this season, having swept Sunday’s doubleheader over Coastal Carolina and Howard at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.

Meanwhile, the women split two matches in North Carolina, defeating Colonial Athletic Association foe Elon 6-1 Friday before falling 4-3 to North Carolina State Saturday.

The men won five of the six singles matches against Coastal Carolina, led by sophomore Christian Cargill, who beat Vuk Velickovic at the No. 1 spot.

Apart from Jabor Al-Mutawa’s victory over William and Mary junior Addison Appleby, the Tribe won its matches rather handily over the Chanticleers.

Although the top doubles partnership of senior Scott Huang and sophomore Ryan Newman lost, the College received two 6-3 wins from its second and third pairings. Cargill and classmate Lars de Boer won both their singles and doubles matches in the contest, paving the way for a 6-1 victory.

The Tribe carried its momentum into the afternoon, winning every match and obliterating Howard 7-0. No match was closer than a 6-2 score line, and both Cargill and de Boer ended the day with four victories. William and Mary still has four more games left in the current home stand. The College will play two matches this weekend, playing host to Radford and Penn.

The No. 42 women’s team also claimed a 6-1 victory, led by freshman Lauren Goodman who won both the top singles and doubles matches. While several matches were close contests, only Elon’s Suzanne Zenoni landed a

victory over her Tribe opponent. Senior Julia Casselbury and sophomore Cecily Wuenscher cruised to 6-1 and 6-0 wins in their respective matches. The top two doubles pairs — Maria Groener and Laura Goodman, and Maria Faure and Cecily Wuenscher — both won comfortably at 6-1.

In neighboring town Raleigh, the College suffered a stinging loss to N.C. State. Senior and No. 91 player Elizaveta Nemchinov returned to the top six for the Tribe, losing a nail-biting contest to No. 35 Martina Frantova.

Only Faure and Casslebury won their matches, giving the Tribe just two

singles victories for the weekend.

The first doubles match, played again

by Goodman and Groener for the Tribe, ended in a 5-5 draw, with the ladies keeping the highly ranked Frantova at bay. The College won the other two doubles matches, with Casselbury and Wuenscher notching the first win of their partnership this season.

The women will now host two nationally ranked sides this coming weekend, as No 28 South Carolina and No. 64 Wake Forest travel to Williamsburg, Va., Saturday and Sunday. These opponents are a combined 10-0 this season.

sports

Sports Editor Nick Cipolla Sports Editor Sumner Higginbotham flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports

The Flat Hat

| Tuesday, February 2, 2016 | Page 10

Baltimore no more BASKETBALL

Colonial Athletic Association men’s tourney heading to Charleston for 2017-19 NICK CIPOLLA // FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR

AT H NS AT O FL MM E H CO /T A A DI LL ME PO KI CI WI K IC Y N TES

BY R C OU HI C AP ES GR AG IM

The Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championships are heading south starting next year, moving from Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore to North Charleston Coliseum outside of Charleston, S.C., according to a Jan. 28 press conference.

Baltimore has played host to the CAA men’s tournament since March 2014.

For 2017, 2018 and 2019, the event moves to the warmer, more touristfriendly area of Charleston, less than 10 miles from the College of Charleston.

The Cougars do not play at the North Charleston Coliseum for their home games (they play at TD Arena, on campus), but are technically playing host for the next three years. This is a shift from the past few years, in which the tournament has taken place at a true neutral site in Baltimore and a semi-neutral site at the Richmond Coliseum from 1990-2013. The location in Richmond eventually became truly neutral after Virginia Commonwealth stopped using it as the team’s home court in 1999, the Richmond Spiders left the CAA in 2001, and VCU left the conference in 2012.

“March Madness is coming to the Charleston area, and the CAA athletic directors have voted to conduct our 2017, ‘18 and ’19 Men’s Basketball

Championships … in the Charleston area,” CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager said. “We couldn’t be more excited.”

The vote and contract deals have been in the works for several months, as the current agreement between Royal Farms Arena and the CAA ends after this year’s tournament. The venue is about the same size, with a capacity of 11,000 compared to 11,271 in Baltimore.

Charleston has only been a CAA member since the 2013-2014 season, but as the southernmost program in the conference, it is an attractive location to select as host due to the warmth many teams wouldn’t enjoy at home in early March. Its status as a tourist destination doesn’t hurt either.

“The Men’s Basketball Championship is our showcase championship out of 22 championships,” Yeager said. “It’s going to bring along national television and thousands of fans from campuses.”

The journey will be a bit longer for William and Mary at 437 miles to the Coliseum from Kaplan arena rather than just 197 miles to Baltimore.

The Tribe looks to make its third consecutive finals appearance in the Championships after falling to Delaware in 2014 and Northeastern last season. This last run to Royal Farms Arena goes from March 4-7 during the College’s spring break.

“Charleston is one of the great places in the nation to visit and I am confident visiting fans throughout the CAA will have a terrific time here,” College of Charleston Athletics Director Joe Hull said.

The next day, an announcement was also made about the future of the CAA Women’s Baksetball Championships. The change in locations is a bit different, as three on-campus sites were announced rather than a neutral location. Currently the championships are held at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. The CAA has used the location since the 2011 tournament after switching campus sites every two years for most of women’s basketball’s 32year history in the CAA. James Madison will be the first to host, hosting in 2017. Drexel will host in 2018, while Delaware’s campus will be the site of the 2019 Championships.

The reversion to on-campus sites was based on attempting to craft better fan experiences, as stated by Yeager.

“We are excited to bring our showcase women’s basketball championship back to campus to be played in front of our most loyal fans,” Yeager said. “The annual site selections are designed to help promote women’s basketball throughout the conference, creating exciting experiences for our teams and fans. We’ve had a tremendous run at the Show Place Arena and look for that success to continue on campus.”

The Show Place Arena holds 5,500 spectators, while the JMU Convocation Center has a capacity of 6,426, the Daskalakis Athletic Center (home of the Drexel Dragons) holds 2,532, and the Bob Carpenter Center at Delaware seats 5,000.

The College’s women’s basketball team travels to Upper Marlboro for the final time March 9-12 for the conference tournament.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Second-half effort boosts Tribe over JMU

Biggest comeback of 2015-16 acheived Sunday night in Kaplan Arena via strong defensive presence NICK CIPOLLA FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR

William and Mary hosted one of the biggest games of the year Sunday night in Kaplan Arena, defeating James Madison on live television in the biggest comeback of the 2015-16 season so far. The Tribe prevailed 68-62, delivering the Dukes their first road loss despite being down by as much as 18 points during the first half.

“Something we really needed, big step for our basketball team,” head coach Tony Shaver said.

“We’ve been in the lead at halftime a number of times and not played the way we wanted. Today we were horrendous for 20 minutes, [JMU] was very good for 20 minutes. For our guys to stay together, stick together, come out and play as hard as we did and see the execution level reach another stage was really important for our club.”

Games against the Dukes (16-7, 6-4 CAA), one of the biggest rivalries for the College (15-6, 7-3 CAA), are normally hard-fought. Sunday’s game had Colonial Athletic Association implications as well, as the two teams entered tied for third place.

With the win, the Tribe holds down second place with Towson while JMU remains in third.

Coming off a win at Delaware Thursday, the College started slowly, scoring just eight points for an early one-point lead with 17 minutes and 46 seconds before halftime, and then proceeded to enter huge scoring droughts. After senior forward Sean Sheldon sank a jumper for the eighth point, the Tribe did not make a shot for almost three and a half minutes. The drought was stopped by a layup from sophomore guard David Cohn. During that span, four different College players attempted three-pointers, all missing the mark. Both teams were missing shots, as JMU only scored five points during William and Mary’s cold streak.

The Tribe stayed cold after Cohn’s shot, the Dukes opening a large gap over 3:55 of clock through a 13-0 run to the 10:30 mark. All of the points came from beyond the arc, the last becoming a four-point play when sophomore guard Oliver Tot fouled Dukes guard Ron Curry beyond the three-point line. The score sat at 25-13 after junior guard Omar Prewitt ended the run with a threepointer of his own. However, the Dukes weren’t done extending their lead, increasing it to 18 with the score at 31-13 with 8:55 to go before halftime.

“We knew we weren’t playing how we should be at halftime,” Prewitt said. “We were letting their shooters get too many open threes defensively and we were doing a lot of uncharacteristic things offensively.”

The comeback began early for the Tribe, as Shaver altered the defense from man-to-man to a 3-2 zone, giving the College more control of the perimeter to stop the barrage of outside shots.

Appearing surprised by the shift, JMU was unable to score for the final four minutes of the half while the Tribe cut its deficit to 12 points by the buzzer, most of the shots coming from the charity stripe and in the paint. At the break, the Dukes led 38-26.

“I thought we did a nice job finding the shooters, matching up with the shooters,” Shaver said. “The only thing we didn’t do a good job of in the zone is rebounding the ball.”

The Tribe stormed out of the locker room, poised and prepared to take back the game on its home court. One minute and 20 seconds into the half, the Dukes’ lead dropped to single digits for the first time since the 12:36 mark of the first half.

William and Mary didn’t stop there, cutting the lead to seven with a steal and fast break dunk by senior forward Terry Tarpey, hyping up the crowd of 3,681.

The Tribe continued its run until it took its first lead since the first three minutes of the game, dominating the floor to go ahead 41-40 with 13:27 to play. The 15-2 run from the whistle put the College up 43-40 before the Dukes broke their scoring drought after over six minutes of clock ran off.

The two teams continued to exchange the lead for several minutes, neither getting an advantage of more than three points until the final two minutes. Defensively, the game became much more physical with fouls and close coverage, preventing scoring for long stretches to those final two minutes. When the two-minute mark hit, the Tribe began its killing blows, junior guard Daniel Dixon hitting a clutch three-pointer from a Sheldon feed to go up 60-55.

JMU brought back its perimeter offense, desperate for three-pointers. The Dukes sank just one of five attempts from range in the final two minutes and only took two shots inside the arc, a successful jumper and a last-second lay-up. The free throw line became the nail in the coffin for the Dukes, the College drawing fouls often, adding six points off 100 percent accuracy via Dixon and sophomore guard Greg Malinowski as the entirety of Kaplan Arena stood on its feet. Time ticked down and Dixon took possession after JMU’s final lay-up, sealing the victory.

Statistically, the bench wasn’t utilized as much Sunday, only adding nine points. Both teams sparred evenly in the paint, notching 28 points apiece. William and Mary reduced its turnovers,

only allowing seven while forcing 15 and scoring 16 points off of them. During the second half, the College improved from 32 percent from the floor to 56 percent. The Tribe also hit 11 of 13 free throws in the second half to go 16 for 22 for the game. Dixon led the team with 17 points, Prewitt right behind at 16. Rebounding was low at just 32 to JMU’s 41.

On the defensive side, William and Mary stole the ball eight times in the game while keeping the Dukes to just 10 for 31 from the floor and 2 for 16

from three in the second half.

“I think we understand that, as a club, if we don’t defend, we can’t challenge for a championship,” Shaver said.

The Tribe travels to Boston for a Thursday tilt at Northeastern before returning to Williamsburg to host the second annual Gold Rush game Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against Delaware as part of this year’s Charter Day festivities.

Several promotions including 6,000 t-shirts are planned for Saturday’s game.

VANSH BANSAL / THE FLAT HAT

Junior guard Daniel Dixon was a perfect 6 for 6 from the free throw line in Sunday night’s 68-62 win over rival James Madison.