PROFILES >> PAGE 2
VARIETY >> PAGE 8
A dog day in Williamsburg
Prewitt, Tarpey helptheir College pickcompanions up a 78-62 win in front a packed Kaplan Arena. Pet owners parade canine down DoG of Street.
Vol. 105, Iss. 5 | Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Tech this out
Eric Brown ‘92 remembers the College triathalon, finding a thesis mentor.
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of The College of William and Mary
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MADELINE BIELSKI / THE FLAT HAT
On a street with(out) white houses
SEXUAL ASSAULT REPORTED ON COLLEGE CAMPUS The College of William and Mary Community was notified Sept. 18 of a reported sexual assault that occurred on campus. The campus-wide alert went out at 10:14 p.m. Sept. 18. informing students of the incident and that the alleged perpetrator had been identified. The William and Mary Police Department is investigating the report and a criminal investigation has been started. A follow-up email alert sent at 10:54 a.m. Sept. 19 stated that the alleged perpetrator is no longer on campus and, until the matter is resolved, is banned from all campus property. The investigation is still underway. “The university generally will not wait for the conclusion of any criminal investigation or proceedings to commence its own investigation and take interim measures to protect the reporting party and the university community, although the university will consider law enforcement requests to delay temporarily (generally no more than seven days),” said Title IX Chief Compliance Officer Kiersten Boyce in an email. — Flat Hat News Editor Amanda Williams
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College-owned houses have already been demolished. The College’s Master Plan would replace nine houses in Pollard Park with new, sustainable office buildings. The plan also calls for the construction of a multi-deck parking garage near Pollard Park. The three houses in Chandler Court would be demolished to make way for a road to connect the garage with Jamestown Road. These changes would be made in order to improve access to the Admissions Office and provide campus with more parking options. Chandler Court and Pollard Park homeowners’ organizations have protested the proposed changes, citing disruption to their neighborhoods and destruction of important historical resources. Chandler Court resident Roy Geiger ’72, M.Ed. ’77, Ed.D ’94 lives in
MADELINE BIELSKI / THE FLAT HAT
the house next to the home that his grandfather, philosophy professor J.R. Geiger, built in the 1920s. This house is where his father, Bill Geiger ’48 grew up. Geiger attended the College, serving as sports editor of The Flat Hat. He went on to work for Colonial Williamsburg, becoming director of craft shops. As a child, Geiger would frequently visit Chandler Court to see his grandmother Dorothy, a teacher at the Matthew Whaley School. Geiger said that many of the residents of Chandler Court were the widows of old faculty back then. “This is a quiet, peaceful beautiful enclave to come and visit,” Geiger said. “We go way back and have a deep affection, not only for the See HOUSES page 3
STUDENT LIFE
Students, administration tackle survey data Campus climate subcommittee assesses data from misconduct, NCHA surveys AMANDA WILLIAMS FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
The campus climate subcommittee recently released its findings and recommendations in the Prevention of Sexual Assault and Harassment Task Force Report. The report includes data from the campus-wide sexual misconduct climate survey and a campus health survey. The subcommittee activities focused on administering two separate campus surveys, focus groups and an open forum held February 2015. The recommendations were grouped under eight topics including climate assessment, culture, leadership, communication, student subpopulations, prevention and education resources, reporting and adjudication resources and faculty/staff training. The last three topics pertain to other task force subcommittees, and the
leadership and communication recommendations were incorporated into those recommendations set forth by the entire task force. The subcommittee spearheaded the distribution of the campus sexual assault climate survey to the College of William and Mary last fall. A key recommendation was the assessment of the campus climate with respect to genderbased discrimination and violence through a campus-wide survey every other year. Although this recent survey gave the task force adequate information, according to Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs and Director of Student Affairs Planning and Assessment Jodi Fisler, the subcommittee is looking into better options, including a recent survey piloted at Rutgers University at the request of the White House’s Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. “I think the idea of surveying the
Inside the Task Force Report
campus every other year is definitely worth it, because if things change we won’t have any way of knowing that they’re changed unless we continue to monitor that,” Fisler said. The Rutgers survey is comprehensive, but also much longer, according to Fisler. She said it is difficult to get comprehensive information without overwhelming the students. The recent campus climate survey by the College had a 27 percent response rate and Fisler said it took most people about 10 minutes to complete. Ultimately, Fisler said the survey was successful, but could be improved going forward. “We know a lot more about the people who are affected by it in the sense that they’ve survived some kind of assault or misconduct, but we really don’t know anything about who’s doing it, and that’s a big gap in our understanding,” Fisler said. “So that’s something that, [with] future surveys, I think we would need to be keeping tabs on.” Colleen Reynolds ’17 served on the
subcommittee alongside three other students, one faculty member, and four members of the administration. Reynolds said she disagreed with the format of the survey that went out to the College community. “I think the survey is not the one that should have been administered to students, it wasn’t as comprehensive as I think it needed to be, and at times there was language that I disagreed with in the survey,” Reynolds said. Both Reynolds and Rachael Kaufman ’15, who also served on the subcommittee, said they had negative views of the administration’s handling of sexual assault prior to working with the task force. Reynolds said that working with the task force was both inspiring and comforting because she saw the extent to which the administration cares for student safety. “I really had to self-reflect about my reasons for thinking the administration was an entirely malicious entity trying to avoid providing survivors the help See SURVEY page 4
Inside Sports
Inside Opinions
The importance of a multicultural education
Cloudy, High 80, Low 66
AINE CAIN // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CAROLINE NUTTER / THE FLAT HAT
COURTESY PHOTO/ WM.EDU
Preservation Virginia announced May 18 that the houses the College of William and Mary owns along Jamestown Road are amongst Virginia’s most endangered historic sites. These houses are slated for demolition in the College’s Master Plan, approved by the Board of Visitors February 2015. The Stetson House, Hoke House, Holmes House, Lambert House, Rowe House, Painter House, Matthews House, Faison House and Nelson House are all listed among the endangered houses. These houses are located in the Chandler Court and Pollard Park neighborhoods, which are listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. As a state university, the College is not beholden to the zoning or architectural review regulations that would otherwise protect the properties. Two of the 12
MADELINE BIELSKI / THE FLAT HAT
COURTESY PHOTO/ WM.EDU
Francesca Maestas reflects upon the significance of cultural diversity in her life and its essential role in collegiate education. page 5
Tribe comeback falls short
In its matchup against FBS foe Virginia, the College put forth a strong effort but ultimately fell 35-29. page 9
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We wander around our great ceremonies on occasion carrying maces — silver maces. We get dressed in stuff that would, for these occasions, normally be restricted to Mardi Gras or Halloween, and we don’t even feel goose-like while we do it. — College of William and Mary President Taylor Reveley at the Board of Visitors meeting
Page 2 Spotlight
Tech this out
Brown discusses College triathalon, liberal arts ELEANOR LAMB // FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
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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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Eric Brown ’92 first visited the College of William and Mary campus on his way from a high school debate tournament in Virginia Beach, Va. Brown’s favorite teacher, who doubled as his debate coach and a College alumna, stopped on the way back to show her students her alma mater. Brown, who hails from the small town of Warsaw, Va., made his second trip to campus during his senior year of high school. He recalled that his first impression was the campus’s close ties to history. “There’s something about [the College] that makes you feel connected to every part of American history,” Brown said. Brown’s beloved debate teacher and the school’s small size both drew him to the College. He noted the College was big enough to represent a diverse and talented array of students, but also small enough that close relationships with professors were possible. Brown spent his freshman year in DuPont Hall, which he said was enjoyable because of its close proximity to the Commons Dining Hall. Sophomore year, he felt the brunt of the housing bump, and was forced to live off campus. The following year, Brown found his way back on campus to the German Language House, before moving into Chandler Hall for senior year. Brown said he struggled in the academically rigorous, competitive environment. Brown particularly struggled with an 18th century poetry class in which the professor gave him a D- on a paper. Brown said that he had never received a grade that low before, which made him fear for his final grade. However, the professor worked with him throughout the rest of the semester, and Brown eked out a final A-. Like many juniors and seniors, Brown also encountered difficulty when trying to compile his honors thesis proposal. English and American studies professor Susan Donaldson was Brown’s professor at that time, and was working to set him up with an advisor for his thesis proposal. Brown recalled how dismayed he felt when the first professor Donaldson suggested told him he hated his proposal and refused to work with him. Scared that all his thesis work was for nothing, Brown returned to Donaldson. From there, she continued to work with Brown until he found a professor better suited to help with his project. “She was a brilliant mentor and teacher,” Brown said. “Her critical thinking is something I try to capture in the workplace.” Like many freshmen who are overwhelmed with opportunities during the activities fair, Brown noted he drifted from organization to organization during his first year without finding one that resonated with him. During his sophomore year, Brown joined a volunteer organization that offered
CITY POLICE BEAT
adult education classes for people from the community. The volunteers helped people with a variety of needs, such as learning to read and preparing for the General Education Development test. This experience allowed him to work with a variety of people from both the College and from the Williamsburg area. Brown also took time to enjoy the campus and its traditions. He clearly remembered jumping over the Governor’s Palace wall and running through the hedge maze more than once. When he and his group of friends first hopped the gate and traversed the garden, they were surprised by how easy it was. They then decided to do it a second time. They did not attempt a third try because Brown thought it would be tempting fate. “That one still sticks with me,” Brown said. Brown took time to enjoy the legal limits of the campus as well. Every evening after dinner, he would take walks through Colonial Williamsburg. Despite the
in the professional world. When Brown graduated with a degree in English in 1992, he was less nervous than most of his peers because he knew what he wanted to do. He was confident that he wanted a job in the technological world. After graduation, he moved to Silicon Valley with some friends in search of a job. In his first position as a college graduate, Brown worked for Sun, a division of Microsoft that is now part of Oracle. He subsequently held communications positions with Pandora, Skype and Yahoo!. Currently, he works in San Francisco as the vice president of communications for Lithium Technologies. He said he believes happiness in a job stems from finding a position that is compatible with one’s personal value system. “Know what you value. A liberal arts education gives you a lot of opportunities,” Brown said. “The ability to think and sympathize is something computers can’t do, which is lucky for humans. Create a job that works for your personal value system.”
COURTESY PHOTO / BRIANKELLEYART.COM Eric Brown ‘92 accepted the 2015 Groundswell award as Vice President of Communications for LIthium Technologies.
COURTESY PHOTO / TWITTER.COM Eric Brown ‘92 accepted the 2015 Groundswell award as the Vice President of Communications for LIthium Technologies for Consorbank.
Williamsburg sweltering late summer days or the frigid winter temperatures, he made a routine of this activity. “Every day I did walk up and down [Duke of Gloucester] Street, [in] hot weather, cold weather, rainy weather, with friends or alone. I loved it when all the tourists were gone. It was a great spot,” Brown said. Many students face uncertainty upon graduation as they try to make their way
This past July 4, Brown returned to the College for the first time in 10 years. Despite the few new buildings, he noted how little the campus had changed. He stated that it still felt as ingrained in history as it did when he first visited as a high school student. “What struck me was how much had stayed the same. [Duke of Gloucester] Street was completely the same,” Brown said. “It’s a very timeless place.”
Sept. 18-20 1
Friday, Sept. 18 — An individual was arrested for assault and battery of a family member on Merrimac Trail.
2
Saturday, Sept. 19 — An individual was arrested for possession of marijuana on Richmond Road.
3
Saturday, Sept. 19 — An individual was arrested on a charge of breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony on N Henry Street.
4
Sunday, Sept. 20 — Private property was reported damaged on Richmond Road.
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The Flat Hat
BOARD OF VISITORS COVERAGE SEPT 16-18
Board members review committee sessions
Full Board meeting covered Title IX compliance, new facilities, future budget MADELINE BIELSKI FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR
“Somehow we both got up this morning and both put on our blue -and-white-striped zoot suits and we both put on our official griffin tie,” Reveley said. “It was an absolute accident. I didn’t pay any attention to After welcomes and a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for Board of it until I actually looked at Michael and though ‘Good lord.’ Anyway, Visitors member Justice John Thomas, the full board of the College of everything is going well.” William and Mary BOV launched into opening remarks and committee President of Richard Bland College Debbie L. Sydow gave her updates updates on Friday, Sept. 18. to the full board. She pointed out that Richard Bland experienced a 20 Rector of the College Todd Stottlemyer ’85 offered his opening percent enrollment increase and that the school’s honors population remarks, highlighting the BOV’s retreat at Mt. Vernon in July. has risen 300 percent. Sydow stated that Richard Bland’s current focus “A lot of focus was on the William and Mary Promise, making sure is on improving academic excellence. that we have kept the 10 promises that we made when we passed the After Sydow’s statement, Chairman of the Richard Bland College William and Mary Promise in 2010,” Stottlemyer said. Committee John Littel gave the board a business-oriented perspective In regards to the BOV’s annual retreat, many members stated their on Richard Bland, discussing the 2016-18 budget and faculty and approval of moving the retreat to July, rather than August as it has been professional staff appointments. All the resolutions brought forth by in the past, because the move gives the College administration more Littel were passed. time to act on discussions during the summertime meeting. Stottlemyer Next, for the Committee on Audit and Compliance, Thomas also offered thanks to all who helped put on the BOV retreat. talked about the College’s efforts to adhere to Title IX Following Stottlemyer, College President Taylor Reveley requirements, as well as progress in the College’s audit. made his remarks to the full board. Thomas stated that the College has hired a Title IX “By all reports, and as far as that I can see, William and Mary compliance investigator, Carla Costello. is off to a really, smashingly successful beginning of its 323rd Moreover, Thomas addressed a new state law that year,” Reveley said. “Already an amazing amount of requires any responsible employee of the teaching and research and learning has been going College to report sexual assault to the College’s Somehow we both got on.” chief Title IX office, which means that training Reveley remarked on the number of initiatives up this morning and both is required for all responsible employees. He currently underway at the College, looking to also relayed information on the Compliance put on our blue-andaddress sexual violence, mental health and the officer’s report on the College’s adherence to white-striped zoot suits campus’ racial climate. He also commented on the Clery Act. College traditions and the success of this year’s When it comes to auditing, Thomas said and we both put on our opening ceremonies. that there were some issues with the audit of “One of the huge comparative advantages of official Griffin tie. It was an the Student Health Center, but that a better schools is the nature of our annual rhythms,” Reveley system was put in place to correct those issues. absolute accident. said. “We have the most wonderful beginnings For Athletics Committee updates, BOV — College President Taylor and endings. We have powerful traditions that members visited new sports facilities, including Reveley we exercise every year. We wander around our great renovations and additions to Zable Stadium and a ceremonies on occasion carrying maces — silver maces. new batting facility, earlier in the week. The Athletic We get dressed in stuff that would, for these occasions, normally be Committee also discussed the move of some larger conferences in the restricted to Mardi Gras or Halloween, and we don’t even feel goose-like NCAA and how this may affect the College’s athletics. while we do it. But those sorts of rhythms and ceremonies, including Chairwoman Ann Green Baise of the Committee on Administration, the predictable arrival of reinforcements, new students, new faculty and Building and Grounds discussed the construction work over the staff, really do add a richness and an elegance to academic life. When summer. they all go well at the beginning of the year, it’s particularly nice.” “Things are moving along, and I am so happy to say that we have Reveley also discussed the ideal weather for this year’s key fall events, sorority girls back in their house that has been redone, Chandler is up like freshmen move-in and the faculty picnic. Finally he commented on and running, so we have students where they need to be,” Baise said. the fact that he and Provost Michael Halleran had in fact shown up to the “We demolished Braxton, which was some sort of an eyesore on the meeting in the same outfit. back side of sorority court and there are some suggested plans of what
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Wolfe discusses admissions
CAROLINE NUTTER / THE FLAT HAT
Board of Visitors met in small commitees Sept. 16-18 to discuss College matters.
we should do with that ground area.” Baise brought forth five resolutions — including resolutions 9, 10 and 11, which addressed the creation of a wellness center that was discussed in the six-year plan. After seeing that there was some extra money in the budget last year, the wellness center was moved up and funding was secured. The wellness center is planned to take the place of the lodges, although the lodge housing The Daily Grind is expected to stay put. All of Baise’s resolutions were adopted. Chair of the Committee on Finance Kendrick Ashton Jr. ’98 reported on the state budgeting process. He moved for the approval of four resolutions, two regarding main campus and two regarding VIMS; all were passed. Chairman of the Committee on Academic Affairs Robert Scott J.D. ’68 gave his updates to the full board. He highlighted the success of the online MBA program, which has 50 students enrolled, and 60 are anticipated to enroll in January. Scott addressed the transition to the COLL curriculum, stating that the transition will continue as the GER system is phased out. He also discussed the Quality Enhancement Plan, which is part of the accreditation process for the College. He stated that the goal emphasized in this plan is to make sure that every student is prepared for the COLL 400 class. “Basically the notion is that students come to William and Mary from different cultural backgrounds,” Scott said. “Some are quite prepared for college; they know to knock on faculty doors, they know how to get help — others do not. And so the idea behind this plan is to make sure that we have resources available to make sure that every student is ultimately aware of the access of the systems, advice and advisors as they go through the curriculum.” The Committee on Academic Affairs also heard updates from the Office of Admissions and faculty liaison Elizabeth Barnes. All of the resolutions put forth by Scott were approved.
Board evaluates WM Promise data
College begins reaccreditation process Financial aid increases for in-state students AMELIA LUCAS FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
The Board of Visitors Committee on Academic Affairs convened Sept. 17 to discuss the College of William and Mary’s reaccreditation, the class of 2019 admission statistics, and an update from the faculty liaison committee chair. Committee Chair Robert E. Scott J.D. ’68 began the meeting by welcoming two new committee members. Moreover, Scott reminded the committee about its goal to make the College the best American liberal arts university. “The objective is not only to bring in the best students, and our admissions dean has done it yet again this year, but Scott also to hire, I think, the very best faculty that the market brings out,” Scott said. “Let me just review the elements of that latter goal: most importantly, is the continuation of the William and Mary Promise, which I think that we’ll all agree has been one of the most successful innovations in higher education in the last decade.” Provost Michael Halleran provided the committee with a brief update about the College, highlighting the weather that
he believes signals a successful academic year. Halleran then introduced Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs Susan Grover. Grover informed the committee about the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges decennial reaccreditation process. The College is a consenting member of SACSCOC, and the accreditation qualifies College students for financial aid. The process began two weeks ago when the College submitted the necessary document and will continue until a decision is received in December 2016. The Quality Enhancement Plan is another aspect of the SACSCOC accreditation process. The QEP that the College is creating focuses on ensuring that all students entering the COLL curriculum will be prepared for their senior capstone project. “What does that look like? In the national language of education, people talk about high impact experiences, which are those kinds of educational experiences that have been proven to do the most, to help students really move forward in their education,” Grover said. The final QEP will be submitted in January 2016 to SACSCOC. Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission Tim Wolfe ’95 M.Ed.
The Little Zion Baptist Church, Williamsburg, VA is looking for a pianist/choir director to play on the 2nd Sunday and 3rd Sunday of the month. Anyone who is interested should contact James Curtis, Chairman of the Trustee Board, Little Zion Baptist Church at 757-229-2179.
’01 spoke about the class of 2019 admission statistics. According to Wolfe, the outof-state applicant pool has been gradually increasing over the past few years, while the in-state applicant pool has plateaued. In-state applicants were admitted at a rate of 46 percent and out-of-state applicants at 27 percent for an overall acceptance rate of 35 percent. Moreover, Wolfe spoke about the Admissions Office’s ability to see accepted applicants celebrate their acceptance via social media. “We play up the #WM2019, their class at the time of their admission,” Wolfe said. “As we move forward with the process, as we send out, in late March, those admissions decisions check in with #WM2020. It’s always amazing to see the excitement and what these students are posting via Instagram, via Twitter.” English and American studies professor and Faculty Liaison Committee Chair Elizabeth Barnes updated the committee about the faculty assembly. Barnes said a newly designed faculty survey will be sent out this fall. Last year’s faculty assembly researched retirement incentives and concluded that no incentives should be offered. Additionally, the current assembly’s plans to discuss amendments to the faculty handbook for matters dealing with sexual harassment allegations during its meeting this month. Barnes noted that continuing issues the assembly will look into include integrating non-tenure eligible faculty, finding ways to promote and support students of color, and addressing mental wellness on campus.
AMANDA WILLIAMS FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
The Board of Visitors Strategic Initiatives and New Venture Committee met Sept. 18 to discuss a potential bioscience partnership and the College of William and Mary’s financial aid plans. After attendance was taken, committee chair Thomas Franz reviewed recent state-level development projects, including widening I-64 and an initiative to better the connectivity within the state through its ports. He said an industrial team from California is working to develop 10 million square feet of industrial space between Northern Virginia, Richmond, Va., Hampton Roads, Va. and Raleigh, N.C. Franz went on to talk about a bioscience initiative developed to help diversify the local economy. “This started … as a regional effort, from Richmond to the oceanfront, to come up with a diversification plan that focused on bioscience,” Franz said. “We developed a plan, from Richmond to the oceanfront, with the view of having multiple hubs up-and-down 64 focused on diabetes, heart — cardiovascular, [and] neuro … and we focused on how can we move in the direction of more data and analytics in those areas.” Franz expanded upon this plan and described its three parts: a focus on scholars and research, local incentives, and a suggested governance structure. He said that it has now expanded to the state level. According to Franz, the College is a good choice to participate because it would benefit from being closely connected to the medical field of science and the plan would require collaboration between at least two universities for funding. “It’s a powerful idea,” College President Taylor Reveley said. Following Franz, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Henry Broaddus broke down financial aid at the College, looking specifically at the William and Mary Promise. The Promise, initiated in 2013, is a form of aid for in-state students by locking in their first year tuition rate for the rest of their College career. “What this will reinforce, I expect, is that we have held our standing with lower income in-state students in a way that really qualifies as a success even though haven’t seen significant growth,” Broaddus said. “We have spread aid dollars deeper into the middle incomes segments of in-state students and that was very much by design. We knew with the increases in tuition middle class affordability was at risk.” Broaddus also said that there has been contraction in the number of out-of-state students receiving financial aid, in particular in the lower income brackets. “There are no gaps in in-state financial aid
packages,” he said. “We are committed to meeting all of the need in-state. Unfortunately we are not able to do that out of state.” Broaddus explained how financial need is determined, including the expected family contribution, which is a federally-determined amount of what a university can expect a family to pay to send their child to school. The difference between the expected contribution and the full price of education — including tuition, fees, room and board, and additional expenses determined by the university — is what the College tries to fill with grants, loans and work-study, according to Broaddus. A gap is an amount not met by any of the factors listed above. With out-of-state students, the College has a gap in those financial aid packages. After family contribution is factored in, the College can give up to 25 percent of the cost of tuition in grants. For students entering in fall of 2015 the average family contribution of students receiving aid was $25,000, while the full cost of education totaled about $56,000, meaning out-of-state students were eligible for up to $14,000 in grants. That leaves an $11,000 Broaddus gap on average after all else is included. Broaddus said that the gap is a consequence of the move to better meet aid needs for in-state students. Since the adoption of the Promise, the overall number of aid recipients has risen. For enrolling out-of-state students, there has been a decline in the total proportion that receives aid, especially for lower income brackets. Broaddus then compared matriculating versus non-matriculating out-of-state students who applied for aid. “We are seeing some losses, again they’re small numbers, on the out-of-state students, but they’re something that are a real call to action for us — not a complete surprise but something we continue to need to address through strategic use of the aid we have and especially by increasing what aid is available,” Broaddus said. The discussion then turned to how out-of-state students overcome that gap and how much it deters their enrollment at the College for another school that provides more. Reveley said that the wealthy schools in the country are able to make sure all of their students receive only grants, no loans. “If we were trying to do that, it would be over,” Reveley said. “We need to meet enough [financial aid need] to stay competitive and do what we ought to do for the families, and we aren’t even close. We aren’t even close in-state, but we’re a lot closer in-state than we are out-of-state.”
Page 4
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
STUDENT LIFE
Festival fundraises for Literacy for Life non-profit First annual celebration draws local vendors, bands, dance groups SARAH SMITH THE FLAT HAT
The International Food and Arts Festival, a firsttime event for Literacy for Life, took place Sept. 19 at the William and Mary School of Education. Food and craft vendors, dance groups and local bands filled the event 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to help raise money for the local nonprofit. According to Communications and Development Coordinator Allison Lenthall the event was planned with three goals in mind. “We wanted to raise money for Literacy for Life, which provides literary services completely free of charge to more than 700 adults from this area each year,” Lenthall said. “We also wanted to reach out to the community and spread the news about Literacy for Life. Lastly, we wanted to celebrate the diversity of the Hampton Roads area. Literacy for Life serves people from more than 60 different countries and this is a very international area.” Joy Johnson ’18, an intern for Literacy for Life, said that the event was a success. “Just from Facebook alone we had 700 confirmed guests,” Johnson said. “There was a great variety of
people there, and that made the festival really feel international. There were many demographics of people from elderly members of the Williamsburg community to adults, kids and students. I think the event really had the inclusive feeling we wanted it to.” Although plans for next year’s festival have not been finalized, some changes have been suggested. “I think as far as next year goes, we need a larger venue and more parking,” Johnson said. “That’s not really a bad change to have to make though. I think we would also like to broadcast more information about it in advance. We want this event to be something that people look forward to every year that is on their calendars in advance. We really want to form relationships with the community.” Lenthall emphasized the event’s important benefits for the nonprofit in terms of community outreach. “Since Literacy for Life offers their services completely free of charge, we generate income from sources such as federal and local grants, individual and corporate donations, as well special events,” Lenthall said. “Special events carry with them a benefit that is difficult to assign a
monetary value, and that is community outreach. Regardless of the financial success of the event, there has been enormous outreach to the Greater Williamsburg Community with this event that would be impossible to quantify. This is especially important for a service such as ours since our clients and tutors often learn about us via word of mouth.” Planning for the festival started in early spring when the staff and interns started having meetings to form ideas for the event. Since then, interns made fliers and broadcasted information on social media, as well as reached out to and formed relationships with community vendors. “We really wanted to go beyond the business side of things,” Johnson said. “We wanted it to be regular people so that there would be recognition of individuals in the community. We focused on cultivating relationships with the members of the community like the people who donated food and drinks.” The festival went beyond the students at the College, as groups from local high schools and middle schools also volunteered. These volunteers helped with everything from directing parking to
managing tables. “It was cool to see all sorts of different cultural performances come together,” volunteer Emily Daly ’19 said. “It was a great community event where people of all ages from little kids to the elderly were able to be involved. I enjoyed volunteering at the event.” Founded in 1975 by members of the College’s faculty who were concerned by the need for adult literacy programs, Literacy for Life now offers many programs for the Williamsburg community. Some of these include one-on-one tutoring in English, reading, writing and math. Another focus of the organization, according to their website, is helping people achieve individual goals. These include things such as studying for the citizenship test, learning how to manage finances and helping individuals learn how to communicate with medical professionals. “I just really think it’s important that all of the services are free,” Johnson said. “There [are] oneon-one tutors, so the learning is self-paced. It really focuses on the individuals who need help, and what they need.”
Historic houses to be demolished Campus climate surveys reviewed HOUSES from page 1
neighborhood. When he taught English and German at the College in the 1960s, he lived in the Lambert House, one of the buildings slated for demolition and named for a former Dean of Students. Alewynse lived in the house with Helgi, his German shepherd, who broke the glass panes around the front door so frequently while trying to rush the mailman, the school ended up nailing plywood over them. Alewynse moved back to his old neighborhood 16 years ago. “I always wanted to live in Chandler Court,” Alewynse said. “There’s a certain ‘je ne sais quoi.’ It has a reputation.” This reputation extends back nearly a century. According to an essay by professor and Chandler Court resident Brian Blouet, the Pollard Park and Chandler Court neighborhoods date back to the tenure of College President Julian Chandler. Chandler hired former Virginia Attorney General John Garland Pollard to teach law and government courses in 1922. Pollard purchased the land that would become Chandler Court. Faculty purchased and built houses on the property, including librarian Earl Gregg Swem, history professor Richard Morton, philosophy professor Joseph Geiger and chair of the chemistry department Robert Robb. Pollard Park resident, conservator and paint analyst Susan Buck, discussed the historical significance of the houses. “Each house architecturally may not be unique, but they are unique as a grouping,” Buck said. “There’s nothing else like that in Williamsburg that survives from that period.” Buck said that homeowners are
concerned about quality-of-life issues as well. “Instead of having a gracious residential area, you’d get a real institutional area,” Buck said. “Basically, this graceful balance between residences and College would be completely gone.” In 1994, the College sought to build a warehouse and a parking garage behind the neighborhoods. “Pollard Park and Chandler Court raised hell,” Alewynse said. “Finally they were able to get the City’s support to resist the College.” The plans were subsequently dropped and so was the bill. According to Preservation Virginia Director of Preservation Initiatives and Engagement Justin Sarafin, the neighborhood groups have met and corresponded with College representatives several times since Preservation Virginia listed the buildings as endangered. “The neighborhoods have asked the College to consider a moratorium on any future demolition of the wood-frame houses along Jamestown Road but no commitments have been made,” Sarafin said in an email. University Relations Vice President Brian Whitson stated that there is no immediate plan to demolish the houses. “What actually happens on campus — both in terms of construction and preservation — can diverge from the plan, depending on what funding allows and what needs emerge,” Whitson said in an email. “That said, the current plan as written has been approved by our Board of Visitors and is not open for revision at this time.” The residents of Chandler Court and Pollard Park have proposed several alterations to the Master Plan, including expanding Ireland
Street or Boundary Street to become a connector road, putting a moratorium on demolitions, make the parking garage one story below ground and one story above ground, and improving signage around the Admissions Office. “You need a donor, some kind of foundation support, some kind of government support, some kind of support that [is] obviously far beyond the resources of our neighborhood and the College,” Alewynse said. Buck said that she and her husband Colonial Williamsburg archaeologist Ed Chappell ’72 have offered to help the College find preservation architects. “Here you’ve got these really nice, solid, well-built structures that are all very graceful in their own right and you’d save money if you found the right preservation architect,” Buck said. Geiger said he hopes the neighborhood can achieve a compromise with the school soon. “I am about as green and gold as you could be….” Geiger said. “I can remember playing in the court, just like my grandkids played, just like Frances [Robb] and my dad played… I can remember some of the kids who played on the College baseball and football teams coming up and throwing the ball with us in the court. It was a different time.” Alewynse said that he doesn’t think life in Chandler Court and Pollard Place has changed too much since he first lived in the Lambert House. “I feel privileged to live here … because it is a privilege you do want to try to hang onto what makes it a privilege,” Alewynse said. “It’s more than buildings old, new or otherwise, but they’re part of it.”
SURVEY from page 1
they wanted and deserved,” Kaufman said in an email. “I think that it is often easy to demonize the administration and then use that as a reason to not collaborate or work with them. Although I definitely think the administration has taken some serious missteps while I have been out of college, I ended up finding through my work on the task force that this is more due to unawareness of student wants and needs with regard to the issue rather than malicious intentions.” Kaufman said she was initially invited to join the committee after Fisler discovered that she was researching campus sexual assault for her thesis revolving around how speech about sexual assault can affect actions on campus about the issue. She said the leaked Sigma Chi letter and the reaction to it prompted her interest because of the significant impact it had on the College’s culture. “One of the more applicable conclusions of my thesis is the need to match administrative language in the sexual misconduct policy to the language used in freshman educations programs about sexual harassment and assault,” Kaufman said in an email. “I found that there were serious discrepancies in how administrators talk about sexual assault and then how students are taught about the issue when coming to W&M. From informal interviews with students and linguistic analysis of these documents, I think that this discrepancy in language is one of the reasons why there is so much student
distrust in the administration’s actions with regard to sexual assault issues.” In regards to campus culture, the recommendation included the creation of a message to address gender-based violence and discrimination that would be spread throughout the campus community, particularly by the administration. Fisler said that the subcommittee also discussed the possibility of creating a mandatory oath similar to the honor pledge promising to treat their fellow classmates with compassion and respect. According to Fisler, a common response from students was that they didn’t hear the administration discussing the issue directly. “We just felt like it needed to be clear that the administration, whatever entities within the administration that refers to — the president [Taylor Reveley], Ginger Ambler — whoever students want to hear from, are being consistent and talking about it in a way Fisler that people are actually able to hear that these are the expectations we have for the community,” Fisler said. Two major activities of the subcommittee were the two surveys — the campuswide climate survey and the National College Health Assessment —which were sent out to 4,000 randomly selected undergraduates and all full-time graduate students. For the campus climate survey, although the response rate was 27 percent of the whole population, Fisler said
she does feel confident that this represents the campus as a whole. She said she doesn’t want people to extrapolate the data to a specific number of cases. “Even though I do think we can say with a fair degree of confidence that 2 percent of the population has experienced rape, I would not want to say that means this number of students on campus have experienced rape,” Fisler said. The NCHA had a 37 percent response rate among undergraduates and also allowed for data to be grouped by subpopulations including undergraduates versus graduates, Greek life-affiliated or not, athlete or not, sexual orientation and class year. Unlike the climate survey, the NCHA included questions regarding alcohol, such as, “Have you ever done more sexually than you had planned because you had been drinking alcohol?” Respondents were split into two groups: one including reported non-drinkers and one excluding them. Despite the known “red zone” of college freshmen spanning orientation to Thanksgiving, which data shows is a time that they are at a higher risk of assault, all other class years answered affirmatively at a higher rate than freshmen. The NCHA did not assess whether the experiences were consensual or not. “That issue about consent when alcohol was involved is something that really needs to get hit on with the new education and prevention efforts because we heard that a lot and I feel like if alcohol is involved they’re not sure what that means,” Fisler said.
opinions
Opinions Editor Annie Sadler fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat
The Flat Hat | Tuesday, September 22, 2015 | Page 5
STAFF EDITORIAL
Fighting for history
KRISTIE TURKAL / THE FLAT HAT
GUEST COLUMN
In pursuit of a multicultural education
Francesca Maestas FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNIST
The first time I heard of Vanuatu was sometime between six and 10 years old, after my father taught my little brother and me a game. We had an interactive globe he would spin around, randomly pick a country from and say out loud while we tried to guess its capital. Still, the game served to instill an interest in the seemingly unknowable world that lay beyond our kitchen table. It is incredible how a simple game, which costs virtually nothing compared to college tuition, can impact a child’s education. I grew up overseas, where I went to schools in which students generally start learning languages as far back as kindergarten. Consequently, coming to the College of William and Mary as a “quasi-international student,” I was hoping for more exposure to different cultures. There is no doubt that wonderful organizations and institutions exist, but there is a lack of movement and energy, which doesn’t seem to meet the demand of those who want more diverse options. Although our cultural organizations are great ways to connect with others and learn about a specific region or heritage, they generally do not transcend into the world of global studies, where students from China, Colombia or Canada can learn about Egypt, Korea or India. In addition, the annual events and fundraisers sometimes do not connect the diverse world cultures represented in our college, although one must recognize it is very difficult for single organizations to acquire enough money and labor for more immersive experiences. In that case, why not turn to William and Mary institutions? Well, our language department is generally better than at most colleges,
but it lacks power. Learning a language is one of the best ways to discover the wonders of culture, but in this “globalized” nation, the emphasis on language education in public schools is quite pitiful, limiting the depth of the exposure to foreigners and making it difficult for many aspiring college students to feel encouraged enough to take up the challenge. Additionally, study abroad programs, apart from being expensive, can sometimes provide limited exposure depending on the program and how the students take advantage of the experience. This forms barriers against having a truly cultural experience, unless you have an outlet in which you can learn about culture in a place where knowledge flows easily. One nascent club that has stood out to me has been the International Cultural Exchange (ICE). This organization moderates cultural knowledge between international students and American students and offers an affordable way to learn about assorted cultures. I attended the first interest meeting (email ice@email. wm.edu if interested), where officers Nick Kousen and Yuito Ishikawa suggested using themed discussions, led by club members themselves, to present either their native country, ethnic region, place they live(d) or place they studied abroad. Furthermore, ICE offers a place where students who are interested in studying abroad, but are unsure as to where, can explore regions of the world and connect with international students who could help orient them and vice versa. In other words, it serves as a bonding agent for uniting diverse cultures and a medium in which international students can learn about the United States while American students learn about other countries. Vanuatu (its capital is Port Vila) is home to an incredible variety of marine life, reptiles and birds as well as its 300,000 residents. As a Pacific island nation, it is becoming increasingly threatened by global warming, although most people in the world have never heard of the country and rarely think of its future. In a world that is becoming progressively globalized, we must begin to focus on learning beyond our borders. This starts with education, and we must demand a more multicultural one which doesn’t simply ooze, but instead cascades out of the walls of our college, the lectures of our professors, and the minds of William and Mary students. Email Francesca Maestas at fhmaestas@email.wm.edu.
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There is no doubt that wonderful organizations and institutions exist, but there is a lack of movement and energy, which doesn’t seem to meet the demand of those who want more diverse options.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR From day to day, action-to-action, we observe our actions based on the rituals we perform. These are the very basic things we do every day that make up our very being. Whether it’s perfect class attendance or perfect party attendance, we show ourselves to the truest extent each day. However many believe that, in everyday life, there is a higher power in play, a deity working. We go through our daily lives assuming that everyone sees our public actions, but no one sees all of our actions. No one knows the entirety of our being. This, in some ways, is a blessing and, in others, it is not. We wish someone could see that brother with a disability and how much you love and care for them, instead of the party animal that seems to know no other life. We wish someone could see the passionate lover desperate for a companion, instead of the virgin scholar perpetually alone. We even wish sometimes someone, anyone, could see both. See everything we do, so they could know our true person; know the person we wish others could see. This person, usually given the name of God in some form, would see us for what we truly are even if it differed from who we thought we were. This is where I believe piety began, where religious fervor and virtue stem. We believe that something can see us in our truest form, whether man, god, creature or the general universe; we all believe that something can see our actions, our soul. So we try to impress them, so as to inflate our ego. We want and wish for their approval. We beg and plead for it, so as not to feel their wrath. Now I beg of you, this is far from a cry to atheism and
The College of William and Mary’s plan to demolish nine houses on Jamestown Road, named endangered historic sites by Preservation Virginia, goes directly against the wishes of the Williamsburg neighborhoods involved and the value of history on which the College prides itself. The College’s master plan for the area would include new sustainable office buildings and a road to provide better access to the Admissions Office parking lot, but a better plan which preserves the houses is available and should be pursued. While sustainability and the need for more parking are valid concerns, the historical integrity of these houses is far more valuable. Demolishing these historic sites is not the way to go about a sustainability movement on campus. Moreover, the construction of a parking garage and a new road do nothing for sustainability efforts — especially when the College has the ability to renovate these buildings into more sustainable office space without demolishing them. Additionally, the College’s choice to overlook the historical value of these properties (notably after Preservation Virginia has named them some of the most endangered historic sites in the state) would be a direct contradiction to value the College often emphasizes as a defining part of its identity. While these houses don’t hold the same campus-wide familiarity or grandeur as the Sir Christopher Wren Building, they still maintain their historical significance as an integral part of the Williamsburg and College communities for those who grew up with them. These houses were built by professors at the College in the early twentieth century as lodgings, and many people have precious memories tied to them. The College needs to take the historical value of these buildings into account when assessing its master plan decisions. Another salient point regarding the decision to demolish these houses is the disregard for the neighborhood councils’ concerns. In addition to the loss of historically significant sites, both the Pollard Park and Chandler Court neighborhood councils have protested the College’s plans due to the potential disturbances of construction, light pollution and traffic. These are community members who not only tolerate but genuinely support the College, and to disregard their concerns will tarnish the College’s relationship with the wider Williamsburg community. There is something to be said when the construction of a road and parking garage, endeavors that seem highly corporate in nature, override the concerns of valuable community members. The College appears to be taking the easy way out by opting to demolish these buildings rather than renovating them. With both the homeowners’ associations and Preservation Virginia already weighing in on the issue, the College should feel the responsibility to mobilize its outreach abilities to alumni and others with connections to these houses to help preserve them. The Board of Visitors needs to take these concerns seriously and be open to compromise — not only to maintain good relationships with the Williamsburg community and the College’s reputation for valuing history, but because, simply put, the preservation of these sites is the right thing to do.
The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Flat Hat. The editorial board, which is elected by The Flat Hat’s section editors and executive staff, consists of Madeline Bielski, Emily Chaumont, Kaitlan Connor and Isabel Larroca. The Flat Hat welcomes submissions to the Opinions section. Limit letters to 250 words and columns to 650 words. Letters, columns, graphics and cartoons reflect the view of the author only. Email submissions to fhopinions@gmail.com.
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COMMENTS @THEFLATHAT
nowhere near trying to topple religious teachings, but I believe people act in ways that they feel their god would approve of, hence stemming piety. Piety is the act or acts that lead a person to good standing in their religion. A pious person would generally be a good follower of that religion and do the things that the religion and god ask from its followers. We ask, in return, that we are admitted certain rights for our actions, we ask what we can do to appease or please this leader of our being. Piety, virtue and fervor all stem from the idea that what we do, we do because the all-seeing being, the person who knows our soul, as far as we can tell likes it. We do good works and lead a good life in hopes that the god or gods will look favorably on it when our time comes to move on. If the person you admired most, or the person you wished saw the true you was suddenly able to see every aspect of your life, like the storyboard of a movie, what would they think? Would they be amazed? Disappointed? When religion comes down too it, when piety is examined, our true efforts of good works, those of virtue are in fact not for that all seeing being but a vain attempt to turn those we adore into the all seeing and all knowing. Good works are good, and should be continued. But the next time you something for someone else, ask, “Why?” Ask, “To what end?” and remember, “There is no limit to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.” Regardless of the reason or if your receive credit, pious acts and good acts in general benefit everyone here at the College, including yourself. Email O. M. Telmore at o.m.telmore@gmail.com.
There are still many unanswered questions. With one pending case, no rape charges, and no convictions, the proclamations that he is a rapist are unjust and defamatory. The accusers waited decades; the rush to condemn him absent any verified evidence is premature and contrary to our system of justice. — Kathy Darrow on “College will not rescind Cosby’s 1993 honorary degree”
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Page 6
GUEST COLUMN
A plea for forgiveness Danny O’ Dea
FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNIST
Dear Dean Gilbert, I am an OA. I am a student leader. I am a member of Greek life, I believe in sexual equality and I have seen firsthand the horrors sexual assault can bring. And I am sorry. You came into that room to apologize to us for being crass, tactless. You humbled yourself for us, and we burned you alive for it. You received a trial by fire, and we were wrong. We made it seem like you were there supporting the assaulters and blaming the victims. You weren’t. In fact, if there’s anyone on campus who can speak objectively on the issue of sexual assault, it’s probably you. You, who see dozens of these cases a year. You, who can identify the patterns and sense the warning signs a mile away. You, who work the most thankless job on campus, where on a good day you get a predator punished and a kid who might be normal, but on a bad day get a kid who will never ever be the same again. One has to imagine there are more bad days than good. You tried to speak with us objectively about an issue we can only see personally, and we crucified you for it. What we want to hear when this issue comes up is that it’s going to be okay, every predator will be punished and there is never any gray area, even and especially when concerning alcohol. But you told us the truth. And we couldn’t handle it. I won’t apologize for everything; you were crass. You were tactless. But, unfortunately, you were right. Of course it is never, ever the victim’s fault. But there are ways to make it difficult to become a victim. “Don’t drink the punch if you don’t know what’s in it,” you said. “How about we teach men not to rape people!” we replied. You looked lost, and then you lost us. We shouted, we cried, we walked out. In a way, we certainly were right — sometimes it’s damn hard to talk about these issues. But we forgot the most important thing: when it comes to sexual assault, it isn’t about what happened to us or our sister or our best friend. It’s about what hasn’t happened to them yet, and making sure it stays that way. You were the only one who remembered that. You wanted us to look out for each other, be careful about what we drink and make sure we were safe. You just didn’t say it quite the right way, so we burned you alive. I watched people I love, respect and care very deeply about misrepresent, tear apart and vilify you, and if I’m being honest, I’m worried they will do the same to me. But I couldn’t sit by while these people — intelligent and respectable adults — refuse to see you as anything but a villain. I wish I had stood up for you earlier, but when you get back from your “extended indefinite leave” I hope to tell you this in person: Dear Dean Gilbert: I’m sorry. Email Danny O’ Dea at djodea@email.wm.edu.
COMMENTS @THEFLATHAT
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While at WM two of my friends and I were drugged and assaulted. It took begging and filing police reports to get the administration to even send out an email warning students of the possibility of date rape drugs on campus. Ginger Ambler’s office absolutely did not care about us, only that WM not look poorly in the media. They even spoke with local news channels and repeatedly said ‘everything’s fine, the students were just drinking heavily’ (we were not). In the end they sent out a warning email that essentially said, “Ladies, remember to watch your drinks! Avoid the punch bowl!” and that was the extent of the ‘support’ we were shown. WM has a lot of work to do in dealing with instances of sexual assault. That starts with overhauling Ambler’s entire office. Because when it’s taken as a given that the ‘punch bowl will be spiked’ and that ‘ladies’ need to watch their drinks — then you’re asserting that sexual assault is the norm and you should just watch your back so that the next person gets it and not you. That’s despicable. Without exploring the intersections of race, gender, sexuality etc. that come into play and having a compassionate leader who cares for victims, it will not get better. And for that reason, I am not proud of my alma mater. — “Anon” on “Dean apologizes for Orientatin Aide training speech”
BY BRIAN KAO / THE FLAT HAT
GUEST COLUMN
Letting a laudable past speak for itself
Hannah Boes and Mallory Tucker FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNISTS
Over the course of the past two weeks, we — Mallory Tucker ’15 and Hannah Boes ’14 — have internalized personal feedback and analysis regarding a presentation given by Dean of Conduct Dave Gilbert during Orientation Aide training this fall. As recent alumni, members of HOPE and co-founders of The Haven (hyperlink The Haven), we continue to hold very near and dear to our hearts the issue of sexual violence prevention and intervention at the College. Neither of us is a stranger to critiquing the College of William and Mary’s approach. We were disturbed to listen to reports that Gilbert’s language served to not only diminish the gravity of his topic, but also to insult and offend through insensitive analogies and scenarios in what was described as an overall heteronormative and blasé attitude toward a serious issue. While we laud the fellow students who have the courage and right to speak out when a campus official’s actions and language affront our community, we also wish to offer an additional perspective on the ways in which Dave Gilbert’s decadelong service to the College has also been in service of progress and justice. Each of us has worked closely with Dean Gilbert on the issue of sexual misconduct on the campus and find very concerning the way in which this presentation has drawn into question his commitment to his job. We agree that his work ethic around sexual misconduct reaches beyond laudable. Through partnership on The Haven’s volunteer training last spring, Hannah remembers Dean Gilbert’s willingness to give up a weekend to educate the volunteers on the adjudication process as well as the attentiveness with which he approached both his preparation and presentation. In working with Dean Gilbert on the Task Force to Prevent Sexual Assault and Harassment’s subcommittee on Investigation and Adjudication, Mallor y witnessed him lead the charge on a comprehensive, survivor-focused revision of the College’s adjudication policies and process. Mallory specifically remembers Gilbert reinforcing their committee’s goal of improving procedures for survivors above all else, even giving up weekends and personal vacation time to do so. Dean Gilbert has been specifically criticized for inappropriately infusing humor, analogy and stereotypical scenarios in his recent presentation. We feel it is important to note that Dave Gilbert is a higher education professional, not a public speaker or trained instructor. We believe this is why Eric Garrison, Assistant Director of Health Promotion at William and Mary and experienced educator, was able to successfully lead a presentation to students that compared sexual consent to sharing milk and cookies — to the praise of a Flat Hat columnist and many students. We argue that Dean Gilbert may have failed in this vein partly due to his typical no-nonsense approach, which actually supports the survivors and other students he serves. In working with Dean Gilbert as a silent supporter to survivors going through the adjudication process, Hannah remembers his
attention to detail, validating tone and overall relentless commitment to honoring the needs of all students involved. A survivor who went through the adjudication procedure this past academic year said of her work with Dean Gilbert, “Without Dean Gilbert’s support, I wouldn’t have gone through with the investigation. He made me realize that I shouldn’t be afraid to stand up for myself and that I deserved to feel safe at my school.” William and Mary’s process is not without fault, and Dean Gilbert displays an unique humility in his willingness to openly discuss his goal of improving the system he represents. We have witnessed Dean Gilbert actively seek opportunities to learn and grow in his professional role at William and Mary and in doing so vocalize instances where his perceptions have been wrong or outdated. For example, Mallory recalls a conversation with Dean Gilbert in which he discussed attending an educational conference about dating violence, through which he recognized a need to grow in his understanding of the issue. Dave Gilbert is a professional who is willing to be critical of William and Mary, his office and especially himself, a quality confirmed by this current community concern. In Gilbert’s expressed apology after his presentation, published in The Flat Hat, he said, “I certainly was misunderstood. For that I bear the responsibility” We hope that when students hear his apology, they will hear both of those statements together as one. For this reason, we are confident that Dean Dave Gilbert is capable of learning from this experience and growing from it. If given the opportunity, we feel that Gilbert will emerge not only as the supportive advocate we know him to be, but also a better and more sensitive campus ally. Finally, we wish to highlight how Dave Gilbert has shown professional resilience throughout his decade of service to William and Mary, and especially in the face of his recent criticisms. Despite prior publications in The Flat Hat regarding his Orientation Aide presentation, and the ensuing negative comments by alumni and current students, Gilbert continues to do the work he has done tirelessly over the last year. This included appearing to present to Haven volunteers during their fall training, even going so far as to give up his lunch with family on a Sunday to continue hearing the volunteers’ questions and concerns. “I honestly think he did a great job,” said Amanda Olsen, Haven volunteer and member of HOPE. “I still feel weird knowing he said the things he did, but I think, with time, he will once again be seen as an ally and advocate. I really thought he tried so hard to be thoughtful and respectful at training”. We feel that Dean Gilbert would agree with many who have criticized him that students have a right to hold their administration, faculty and fellow students accountable when one of them uses harmful language in an important campus dialogue. We come to Dean Gilbert’s defense today in the name of our shared commitment to the safety, support and empowerment of all survivors. We hope to impress upon people who have used this event as a characterizing symbol of his overall approach to his work that these criticisms can have long-term repercussions. Namely, labeling Dean Gilbert as insensitive and ineffective could strongly dissuade survivors from seeking the help and justice they deserve. We strongly encourage a more nuanced perspective of this and any administrator. Our primary goal remains supporting survivors and their allies at the College, and beyond. If you or someone you know is struggling with this issue, we encourage a look at the diverse campus resources available to you. Email Hannah Boes at hhboes@gmail.com and Mallory Tucker at mallory@tuckersystems.com.
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We hope to impress upon people who have used this event as a characterizing symbol of his overall approach to his work that these criticisms can have long-term repercussions. Namely, labeling Dean Gilbert as insensitive and ineffective could strongly dissaude survivors from seeking the help and justice they deserve. We strongly encourage a more nuanced perspective of this and any administrator.
variety
Variety Editor Emily Chaumont Variety Editor Sarah Ruiz flathat.variety@gmail.com // @theflathat
The Flat Hat
| Tuesday, September 22, 2015 | Page 7
Wren: The College’s cornerstone
CAROLINE NUTTER / THE FLAT HAT
The Sir Christopher Wren building has housed the entirety of the College, a Civil War hospital and the entire Virginia state government at different points in its history. The Wren is the country’s oldest academic building that is still in use.
After surviving three fires, two wars and many renovations, Wren showcases College’s living history SARAH RUIZ FLAT HAT VARIETY EDITOR
There used to be a time when the whole of the College of William and Mary could fit into one building. The Sir Christopher Wren Building — then simply known as “the College” — was built sometime between 1695 and 1700. In accordance with the charter, the entirety of William and Mary consisted of only one president, six professors and a hundred scholars, more or less. The College has grown, yet the Wren remains a living building, and it houses functioning classrooms and faculty offices. One such office belongs to the Director of Historic Campus, Susan Kern, who is in charge of preserving the College’s historic buildings. Kern said she highly values the building’s continued use. “I marvel at this building every day when I walk in and out of it and spend time in it, that it is so majestic and so old and that we have it to use,” Kern said. The Wren is the United States’ oldest academic building but it was not always used for education. It served as a field hospital in two wars, and functioned as the Virginia capitol twice.
“It’s really fascinating to me to think about what rooms they used and how this building actually functioned as the Virginia government,” Kern said. There were other moments in the building’s history, however, that threatened its existence. The Wren suffered through three fires in its time: once in 1705, just five years after its construction, and again in both 1859 and 1862. According to Kern, one professor’s account from the night of the 1859 fire tells the story of College President Bejamin Ewell rousing the grammar school boys from their beds on the second floor, and then rescuing important artifacts from the burning building. Among those artifacts were portraits of James Blair and his wife, the College seal and the Charter itself. “The official apparatus of the College is saved during that fire,” Kern said. “The descriptions of all of that suggest an attention to the history of the College, and also give us this insight into how people are using the spaces at that moment. That’s a particularly exciting window into what must have been a terrifying night for lots of people.” In 1881 the College building was again threatened when the school was forced
to close its doors due to lack of funds until 1888. During these “silent years,” President Ewell continued to ring the Wren’s bell at the start of every academic year. Associate Director of Historic Campus Kimberly Renner said these moments of disuse are a testament to the building’s endurance. “In my mind, during those times when the Wren was not in use, I picture the building lying in wait, confident that its time will come again, and indeed it did,” Renner said in an email. The building is still standing due to the extensive renovations that went on in the 1920s and 1930s. During this period, steel I-beams were added for support and concrete was added for fireproofing. “I am grateful for the Rockefeller restoration of the building. It was a very aggressive restoration, but it’s one of the reasons we get to use the building as we do,” Kern said. This trade-off between historical preservation and continued use is something Kern said she must consider when making decisions about the Wren. “Protecting the building is priority number one, but enabling its use in ceremonial ways is probably number two,” Kern said. “We are looking at that right
now with a wheelchair lift that needs to be replaced. We may have to put a ramp on the building for much of the fall while we’re waiting for the wheelchair lift. It’s not going to be pretty, but we also have an obligation to students and visitors to provide them access to the building.” These compromises are what make it possible for classes to still be taught in the Wren. Today, the building hosts religious studies and philosophy classes. According to religious studies professor Alexander Angelov, teaching in the Wren presents unique challenges and opportunities. “It’s a positive challenge,” Angelov said. “Teaching in a very modern building you can just use all kinds of technology without problems ... [It] just brings you back into this traditional style of teaching … you are just out there having a conversation with students, with a chalk in hand and a board behind you.” Angelov said Wren’s openness to the public sometimes allows for unusual interruptions in his classes. “Every so often,” Angelov said. “You are sort of lecturing and all of a sudden a door opens and a there is a tourist coming in. I just find that to be sort of inspiring … sometimes they will even ask you to sit in
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Don’t be a pretender, talk to your partner Faking it ‘til you make it isn’t the best policy for your orgasms but pleasurable. It is a distinct lack of pleasure. Recently, I have spent a lot of time considering this question, and I have come up with many answers for why the practice of faking climax is so widely spread.
Katelyn Reimer BEHIND CLOSED DOORS COLUMNIST
There are times in life when you just have to fake it ‘til you make it. Sex should never be one of those times. Yet, faked orgasms continue to happen far too frequently. As demonstrated to us in one of my favorite movies, “When Harry Met Sally,” it is almost too easy to fake an orgasm. What intrigues me is not how to fake orgasm, but why people do so in the first place. So, why do we do it? It solves nothing. By faking your climax, you do not reach your peak of sexual pleasure, and your partner does not know you did not experience it, so the sex never gets better, and you wind up in a vicious cycle of faking it and hoping that if you just keep faking it one day you will make it. But you don’t. And you won’t. Because your partner thinks they are satisfying you, so they will continue to do what they think is making you feel good, when, really, they’re making you feel kind of good at best (and really not good at worst). So I’ll ask again: why do it? Just talking about faking it and never making it makes me feel dissatisfied, so I cannot imagine that we do it to achieve pleasure. Those of us who have faked orgasm before know it is anything
“
Don’t deprive yourself of the wall-paperpeeling pleasure that a truly great orgasm can give you. Talk to your partner.
First, a lot of people feel bad when they do not orgasm. They feel guilty; they think they should be able to reach this peak. It can be difficult and embarrassing to admit to your partner that you are not achieving your sexual climaxes. You don’t want to make your partner feel bad for not being able to make you orgasm, especially if you think that it is your fault that you are not reaching that climax (which, by the way, is usually not the case). Also, people don’t know how to talk about it, how to tell their partner in the middle of sex they aren’t totally feeling it. I’ll admit, it can be really hard to do.
There is this general perception that talking about the sex you are having with your partner is awkward. Let me tell you though, it really does not have to be. The most sexy and intimate moments I have ever experienced have begun with phrases like, “Does this feel good?” and “I want you to touch me there.” Sometimes all it takes to get you where you want to be is saying, “Wait, no, not there — there.” If you are struggling with climaxing, be explicit. Say exactly what you want. Come up with words or phrases (that are easy to say during sex) to communicate what feels good, what doesn’t feel great, and when you just want to be done. It can be as simple as “yes,” “no,” and “stop,” but you can come up with something more personal if that helps decrease any sense of awkwardness for you. A very wise person once told me that sex should always be about “toe-curling orgasms.” Sex should be about feeling so good you have to grab hold of something to keep yourself together. It should be about two (or more, whatever floats your boat) people coming together with the intention of blowing each other’s minds with how out-of-this-world good they make each other feel. Faking orgasm is not an effective means to that end. Don’t deprive yourself of the wallpaper-peeling pleasure that a truly great orgasm can give you. Talk to your partner. If you need to spend some time really learning each others bodies, do that. If you need to try something new, do that. Really, truly great sex takes work, and it takes work from both sides. But, boy oh boy, the reward makes that work totally and completely worth it. Katelyn Reimer is a Behind Closed Doors columnist who wants her toecurling pleasure to be 100 percent real.
[on] the class and so then your class opens up to this larger community.” For Renner, mixing present-day use and historical interest is part of what makes the Wren such a vital building to the College and the community. “The Wren Building is very unique in that it is a historical monument to the past at the same time that it is also an important part of present-day William & Mary,” Renner said in an email. “I hear students often refer to it as the heart of our campus, and I couldn’t agree more.” With nearly 323 years of history under the building’s belt, Kern said she hopes the Wren will continue to educate and inspire long into the future. “We would like to think that what we are doing with the building now will ensure it will be here 323 years from now, at least,” Kern said. “I think preserving the building for people who haven’t even been born yet is absolutely important here. We are merely its caretakers right now.”
Page 8
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
FEATURE PHOTOS
MORGAN MELLAS / THE FLAT HAT
GABBIE PACHON / THE FLAT HAT
Williamsburg goes to the dogs JOHANNA FLASHMAN / THE FLAT HAT
This past Saturday, Williamsburg was filled with cuddly canines for “Dogs of DoG Street.” CW’s new mascot, Liberty, was in attendenance and all proceeds from the event benefitted the Heritage Humane Society. JOHANNA FLASHMAN / THE FLAT HAT
MORGAN MELLAS / THE FLAT HAT
The Triangle: food, drinks, atmosphere
PHOEBE BRANNOCK / THE FLAT HAT
Triangle’s small plates make a big impact PHOEBE BRANNOCK FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER
Nothing says cocktail hour and hors d’oeuvres quite like the silhouette of a martini glass cradling a solitary olive. The image evokes the suavity of grand parties seen in black and white films starring Katherine Hepburn, but the simplicity of the triangle on a stem resonates with modern edginess. Such is the black, white and red sign above the door to the Triangle, a small plates restaurant, bar and music lounge on Prince George Street. Entering the establishment is like stepping into a motif of fun nouveau, something familiar infused with a riff of liveliness. Dark floors and walls stand in contrast to long curtains as crimson as Chanel’s “Pirate” lipstick. A well-stocked bar sits along the back wall facing a bandstand platform surrounded by glossy and smooth, wooden planks for dancing. A sea of plushy booths and big tables to accommodate large parties
separates the two. The entire space craves the tinkling of ice in glasses, the chirp of multiple conversations, the click of pumps against the dance floor, and the late-night energy of unbridled enthusiasm. The menu parallels the concept encouraged by the design of the space. A long cream-colored stiff paper denotes almost two dozen options for small plates. Each dish would be at home in your mother’s kitchen, but it would feel a little overdressed, more sophisticated than the average fare. Ordering a smattering of menu options facilitates conversation as groups discuss what to share. Conversation sparks again sporadically as each dish makes its way to the table. The affair revolves around trying one thing, then another, and deciding to order additional plates to compare. Meanwhile a live musician with bright red hair played in the background as my companion and I began to taste forkfuls of pasta coated with creamy sauce. Macaroni and cheese carries high expectations and bubbles with gooey nostalgia from childhood memories. The white cheddar sauce clings to the curls and ridges of the cavatappi pasta, but the recipe lacks much of the unctuous texture that additional cheese would create as the satisfying strings of melted cheddar intertwine with the fork tines. A refreshingly acidic arugula, fennel, radish and orange salad cleanses our palates between the carbrich pasta and fried eggrolls. The eggrolls, cut to resemble the restaurant’s namesake, won my vote for favorite dish of the night. Four little wedges waded in a shallow pool of what the menu termed “Baja sauce,” a balanced spicy and velvety take on a traditional red pepper romesco. Each packet contains house-made chorizo sausage and shrimp. The piquant chorizo almost overwhelms the delicate flavor of the shrimp, but biting into a cream-dipped brittle pastry with a meaty interior fulfills an important textural requirement. Next we turned our palates to Mahi-Mahi fish tacos. A stripe of roasted red pepper ornamented bright green cabbage atop the pieces of fish. Wedges of lime adorned the square plate, and the dish benefited from the stimulation of the citrus juice for an extra layer of flavor. The fish itself had a tender, flaky texture and did not fall willy-nilly from the taco during the journey from plate to mouth. Thus, to a reasonable tune of about $30.00 for the four dishes, we enjoyed an evening of delightfully portioned samples, civilized music and nimble conversation stemming from our surroundings. Despite a few minor snafus — our interactions with the hostess were brusque and awkward — I would return for a casual meal with a large group eager to try dishes on the cusp of their comfort zone. New restaurants tend to experience a phase of uncertainty before they find their pace, before wait-staff and kitchen function effectively and before designers have added enough downy surfaces to balance acoustics. The Triangle’s atmosphere, menu and bar appear well-placed in a college town, and it has potential to become an establishment for an unflagging late-night crowd.
CONFUSION CORNER
Not everybody knows what the future holds
No need to know where your life is headed, just take things one step at a time
Cameron Murphy
CONFUSION CORNER COLUMNIST
“So, what are you going to do with your life?” If you’re anything like me, this question makes you cringe. You probably get it from extended family members, who you only see in person a few times a year and whose main form of contact is liking every single one of your photos on Facebook. Maybe you get it from your parents’ friends, who also seem to enjoy liking your photos on Facebook (which is why I avoid posting any pictures featuring a red solo cup). In any case, asking the question seems innocuous enough, but for those without a solid academic or career plan, it’s probably one of the easiest ways to induce uncomfortable sweating. Unfortunately for me, there’s no marketable career related to my most recent hobby: snapchatting bad puns about European Enlightenment
philosophers…and Diderot my goodness, isn’t that a shame? I’m also fairly certain that I can’t spend the rest of my life watching “Friday Night Lights” and tearing up over Tim Riggins, another of my frequent activities as of late. I have to figure out something realistic and logical. Sadly, many of my most passionate interests are expensive and recreational (skiing, competitive mac and cheese eating at Blue Talon, splurging on deluxe pedicures so I get the hot rocks treatment), and while I have majors in mind, I have no solid career ideas. Frankly, every time someone asked me about post-graduation plans over the summer, I wanted to Voltaire my hair out. At a place like the College of William and Mary, it’s easy to feel like everyone else has their life together. Personally, with a slew of pre-med friends, I am constantly in rooms full of wannabe-Meredith Greys and Cristina Yangs, people full of drive and big,
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detailed plans. (Also like Meredith and Cristina, they are flawless, which is another blow to my self-esteem but a benefit for my Instagram photos.) For me, feeling accomplished means staying at the gym longer than 30 minutes, remembering to floss at least once a week or going a whole day without tripping over a brick. If I manage to do all three, it’s a momentous occasion worthy of rewarding myself with a trip to Wawa. To put things into perspective, it’s 10 a.m., and I’ve already tripped on bricks twice. So back to the question: What am I going to do with my life? The truth is, I have no idea. The harder truth to accept is that I’m not that worried about it. I’ve gone through fleeting phases of thinking I could be a lawyer (not confrontational enough, dislike the sound of gavels), a doctor (stomach lurches at the sight of blood, more about wanting to meet my own
So, what are you going to do with your life?
McDreamy than actually practicing medicine) and a teacher (little kids need constant attention, and adolescents are the worst). Instead of feeling guilty over my lack of direction, however, I’ve chosen to embrace it. Maybe it’s okay not to have an answer to the question of what you want to do. Maybe it’s okay to take dance classes because it’s college, and when else are you going to learn to have “Moves Like Jagger?” Maybe it’s okay to set little goals, like managing to take out the recycling before you resort to hiding empty boxes of Cheez-Its in the lounge. If you need to see that not everyone has a life plan organized in a Lilly Pulitzer planner, look no further. In fact, I don’t even own a planner. I say yes to things I want to do and no to things I don’t; I take classes that sound interesting and avoid ones that include the words “group work.” I’m open-minded and flexible, and I’m prepared to let the chips fall as they may. The question that used to induce stress and heart palpitations is now one I can answer — what am I going to do with my life? Great question, and I’ll let you know when I do. Cameron Murphy is a Confusion Corner columnist who wishes her friends enjoyed getting pun-filled Snapchats about Enlightenment thinkers.
sports
Sports Editor Nick Cipolla Sports Editor Sumner Higginbotham flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports
The Flat Hat | Tuesday, September 22, 2015 | Page 9
FOOTBALL
29
COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETCS
Sophomore wideout DeVonte Dedmon added two touchdown receptions the Tribe’s Saturday defeat.
35
Effort not enough
Tribe goes the distance with Cavaliers, falls 35-29 at U.Va NICK CIPOLLA FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR As William and Mary turned the ball over on downs with less than two minutes remaining in Saturday’s game, the Cavaliers’ 35-29 victory over the Tribe was engraved into the record books. But for the entire game, the outcome was all but certain as the College stood its ground at Scott Stadium against Football Bowl Subdivision opponent Virginia in a near-upset bid. “I was extremely pleased with our effort,” head coach Jimmye Laycock said. “There were plenty of things we’d like to have done better or more, but I thought we gave great effort. We hung in there and we played our butts off. Virginia wasn’t giving us anything, we were earning it.” Knowing full well that it was the underdog — as one expects when pitting a Football Championship Subdivision team against an FBS team in a Power Five conference — the Tribe (1-1) put up a solid fight, only losing by a single touchdown. The day began with a William and Mary drive and a 7-0 lead. After initially falling to third down and a lone yard to go, sophomore wideout DeVonte Dedmon caught his first pass of the day for the first down. Dedmon would prove a popular target for junior quarterback Steve Cluley after the receiver didn’t appear in the Tribe’s opener at Lafayette two weeks ago. After the first down, senior tailback Mikal Abdul-Saboor carried for 21 yards into Virginia (1-2) territory with 41 yards remaining to the end zone. On the next play, Cluley threw a high pass to Dedmon, who miraculously held onto the ball through pass interference as he fell onto his back. The College seized an early 7-0 advantage, quickly silencing the over-40,000 Cavalier fans there. Virginia answered with a touchdown on its first possession, while the Tribe defense held U.Va to four third downs, the conversions were always made, allowing the Cavaliers to steadily move the chains all the way to the College three-yard line, where Virginia’s Matt Johns completed a pass to Connor WingoReeves for the score. With 3:44 to go in the first quarter, the game sat tied at 7-7. On an incomplete pass during the College’s second drive, pass interference was ruled in its favor, granting it a first down in enemy territory. It proved to be “one step forward, two steps back,” as the next two plays saw a loss of six yards and a false start penalty. Back to the Tribe 45-yard line, Cluley handed off to junior running back Kendell Anderson for a 16-yard rush on 2nd and 21. At the start of the second quarter, Cluley took a snap on 4th and 3 and was immediately surrounded by Virginia defenders. Looking to his right, he lobbed up a pass across his body to the left, which met an unguarded sophomore tight end Andrew Caskin who then ran untouched for another touchdown. At 14:50 in the second quarter, the College led 14-7. Virginia felt the pressure as the visitors pulled ahead. The Cavaliers’ Taquan Mizzell, a dominant rusher and receiver throughout
the day, lost two yards courtesy of a tackle by senior linebacker Luke Rhodes. On the next play, Johns threw an interception, caught by freshman linebacker Josh Dulaney on the Virginia 32-yard line. On this surprise drive, the College was unable to score another touchdown, but was able to kick a successful 43-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Nick Dorka, padding the lead to 17-7 with 12:16 to go in the half. Virginia didn’t take long to respond, using both Mizzell and Jordan Ellis for respective 36 and 39-yard rushes for a Cavalier touchdown credited to Ellis. The Tribe now led 17-14. The College pulled off its fourth consecutive scoring drive with its next possession, Dorka kicking another field goal for the 20-14 lead. Not wanting to risk failing to score, the kick was made from 21-yards out instead of going for the touchdown on 4th and goal on the four-yard line. The momentum shifted sharply as Virginia established its first lead of the game with its next drive. Johns made a 26-yard touchdown pass to Canaan Severin to tie the score at 20 points apiece. With the extra point, the Cavaliers took a one-point advantage. They would retain the lead for the remainder of the contest, but that didn’t stop William and Mary from executing a strong comeback bid in the fourth quarter. Both teams had an additional drive before the break, but neither scored. The College punted 60 yards on 4th and 6 while Virginia was intercepted by senior safety HoustonCarson as time expired. At the beginning of the second half, Virginia was set to receive the ball. However, Laycock and the Tribe had other plans, instead attempting an onside kick recovered by sophomore safety Keanu Reuben. After review of the play, the College was awarded possession. Nothing came of the drive, but it added momentum for the visiting underdogs. That momentum didn’t last long as Mizzell took off for an 80-yard run to the end zone off a screen pass from Johns on the second play of the drive, putting the Tribe at a 28-20 deficit. The College started to falter as Abdul-Saboor’s rush lost yardage, Cluley was sacked and junior punter Hunter Windmuller’s 62-yard punt was returned for a 74-yard touchdown by Maurice Canady. When the dust settled, the heavily favored Cavaliers shined with a 35-20 lead with 25 minutes remaining. Virginia drove again to pad its lead after the Tribe punted on its next drive, but the College defense put pressure on Johns and the receivers resulting in consecutive incompletions. On 4th and 10 on the Tribe 29, Virginia’s Ian Frye attempted a 46-yard field goal but hit the left upright. Roughing the kicker was called on the College, resulting in another chance for Frye, this time a 41-yard attempt. He missed once again, this time hitting the other upright. With a drive that went through the last five of the third and the first five of the fourth, the College drove into scoring range once again. After a dismal incompletion intended for Dedmon on 4th and 5, a penalty flag
was thrown, declaring Virginia roughed the passer. Now with a first down on the U.Va. 16, Abdul-Saboor took several carries to reach the one-yard line. After a timeout, the Tribe used a double-reverse trick play in hopes of scoring where senior receiver Christian Reeves, who then threw to Cluley waiting in the end zone. Unfortunately for the Tribe, the pass floated too long, allowing defenders to smother Cluley as he tried to catch the pass. The College defense held strong to force a punt on 4th and 11 with the Cavaliers still on their one-yard line. Houston-Carson blocked the punt and earned a safety, the score now at 35-22. Cluley spoke on encouragement and persevering through the final quarter. “You never want to think you’re out of a game,” Cluley said. “I thought we came out in the second half a little slow, fell behind ... We handled the adversity well and we rallied as an offense to put forth our best effort.” The last scoring drive of the game was big, as it made the comeback seem like a legitimate possibility. Faced with a 4th and goal from the four-yard line, Cluley found Dedmon cutting to the corner for his second scoring catch of the season. At 35-29, the College stood a score away from the upset. The Tribe quickly forced a three and out on Virginia’s ensuing possession, highlighted by senior defensive tackle Tyler Claytor’s sack of Matt Johns, the first sack of 2015 for the Tribe. With three minutes left, the College took possesion with the game on the line. As Abdul-Saboor had been pulled from the game twice due to injury, the College elected to solely rely on Cluley. Cluley hit his first pass for a first down. However it was followed by four consecutive incompletions due to the Virginia blitzes, which should have spelled the College’s demise. However, a holding penalty was called on Virginia, giving the College one more chance with a first down and 33 yards to the end zone. On the next play, Cluley was sacked and fumbled. Senior offensive lineman Jared Templeton recovered the ball, but eight yards were lost. Cluley then threw three passes to Dedmon, only one of which was complete. The final pass on 4th and 7 sailed high, sealing the College’s fate. Statistically, the College played well. Abdul-Saboor ran for 100 yards off 22 carries. Cluley went 23 for 36 with no interceptions and three touchdowns for 226 yards. Dedmon led the College receivers with 80 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns. “If the Tribe really wanted to win, they would have scored another touchdown,” analyst Michael Choi said. The game was extremely close with the College only two yards below Virginia’s 373 total offensive yards. Overall, the College was pleased with the performance if not the result. “We came to play, we weren’t holding anything back,” Laycock said. “I didn’t come up here to play it close if I could. We came and did our best to win ...we came pretty close.” William and Mary returns to Zable Stadium for its home opener next weekend against Stony Brook. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
COMMENTARY
A Pyhrric defeat College’s risky plays keep game close
Sumner Higginbotham FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
As Virginia quarterback Matt Johns took a knee to close out the final seconds of Saturday’s game, the shuffling of silent fans leaving Scott Stadium drowned out the few half-hearted cheers. The Cavaliers’ fight song played and only the band locked together arms to sway. All in all, the 35-29 Cavalier victory over William and Mary seemed more like a funeral procession than a football game, in which both sides departed with their own brand of defeat. But what a game it was. Tribe fans can hardly look back and wonder what could have been. The usual impulse to doubt, to question or to become the offensive coordinator for just one play and make that obvious call that should’ve been made — Saturday’s performance is simply immune to all and every criticism. The Tribe tried everything and anything to win the game. Absolutely everything. The College came into Charlottesville wanting to walk off the field as victors, and everyone watching knew it. Head coach Jimmye Laycock took risks that would have made a riverboat gambler fold. He paid for some of those decisions too. The Tribe rushed power versus power three times with two yards to pay dirt in the fourth quarter, as conventional football wisdom dictates. When that didn’t work, Laycock called a double-reverse trick play for senior receiver Christian Reeves to pass to junior quarterback Steve Cluley in the end zone. Yet going against the traditional approach still fell short, just inches short of the goaline. Laycock flipped through every page of the playbook: a shovel pass to senior tailback Mikal Abdul-Saboor on 2nd and goal, read-option with Cluley and AbdulSaboor from the pistol and shotgun, naked bootlegs and the long ball to sophomore wideout Devonte Dedmon off play action. Abdul-Saboor was caught from behind on the shovel pass; Cluley took huge hits on options to pitch and read, fumbling on one exchange, and Dedmon saw the ball batted away by excellent coverage. A strip-sack on one quarterback bootleg looked to be the Tribe’s last play, had it not been for Jared Templeton’s recovery from being the only Tribe player amongst a pile of orange and blue. Twice the Tribe offense turned the ball over on fourth down. But just as some gambles fell short, some paid off. On the opening drive, Cluley challenged the Virginia secondary, projected to have three All-Atlantic Coast Conference picks, with a 41-yard touchdown strike to Dedmon. The Tribe converted twice on fourth down: one a back-throw arching pass on 4th and 9 with Cluley surrounded by Cavalier lineman that landed in the arms of sophomore tight end Andrew Caskin, who strode down the sideline untouched for 37 yards. The College also blocked a punt for a safety. The second half began with a risky William and Mary onside kick — failure would spell a short field for a shaky College defense that surrendered huge plays to close the half. But it worked. The game unfolded with a script designed for a Hollywood football film. As if to foreshadow an astonishing defeat, U.Va. kicker Ian Frye, once in discussion as one of the best kickers in the nation, missed twice in the third quarter. But he didn’t just miss. From 46 yards, the ball clanged off the left upright. Surely a five-yard roughing the kicker penalty would allow Frye to redeem himself. But from 41 yards, the ball instead struck the right upright and bounced away. It was more than a miss; it was the college football equivalent of divine intervention. That miss was Michigan vs Appalachian State in 2009, it was Alabama vs Auburn in the 2013 Iron Bowl, it was a microcosm of the frustration of the head coach Mike London-era Cavaliers. It was one of those miraculous things that shouldn’t happen, but always foreshadowed a game that would always be remembered. Clearly the underdog, William and Mary had the perfect storm. A safety off a punt block, a fourth and goal touchdown pass to Dedmon with five minutes left, the first three-and-out created by the first Tribe sack of 2015, and all of a sudden, the Tribe stood poised for an upset, down six points with three minutes left to defeat Football Bowl Subdivision foe U.Va., with just 46 yards to immortality. But the final fourth down pass hit the dirt rather than the receiver. It wasn’t meant to be. U.Va. walked away dejected and remorseful. The Cavaliers weren’t only supposed to win, they were supposed to demolish the little Football Championship Subdivsion school. They didn’t even come close to crushing the Tribe. London won’t keep his job, and students won’t come to games. Although the scoreboard said otherwise, the Cavaliers were a defeated team, whereas the Tribe went back to WIlliamsburg pleased with its performance. For the Tribe, it’s back to FCS football and the goal of the Colonial Athletic Association title. Although the loss is burned into memory, there is one thing that is certain: William and Mary fought every second of that game, and left everything out on that field. Every member of the Tribe should be proud of that game.
COMEBACK DENIED — SCORING DRIVES OF THE GAME Tribe 7 — UVA 0 — 12:57 1st quarter William and Mary junior quarterback Steve Cluley throws 41-yard pass to sophomore wideout DeVonte Dedmon.
Tribe 7 — UVA 7 — 3:44 1st quarter U.Va QB Matt Johns completes 3-yard pass to fullback Connor WingoReeves in endzone.
Tribe 14 — UVA 7 — 14:50 2nd quarter Cluley throws pass under pressure to sophomore tight end Andrew Caskin for 37-yard TD.
Tribe 17 — UVA 7 — 12:16 2nd quarter Sophomore kicker Nick Dorka makes 43-yard field goal after the Tribe intercepted the ball.
Tribe 20 — UVA 21 — 1:46 2nd quarter Johns passes to WR Canaan Severin for 26-yard TD run.
Tribe 17 — UVA 14 — 11:23 2nd quarter
Tribe 20 — UVA 28 — 12:29 3rd quarter
U.Va tailback Jordan Ellis
Johns throws screen pass to TB Taquan Mizzell, who runs 80 yards for TD.
rushes 39 yards to score.
Tribe 20 — UVA 14 — 5:07 2nd quarter Dorka successful on 21yard field goal attempt after Virginia holds College at 4-yard line.
Tribe 20 — UVA 35 — 10:00 3rd quarter Cavalier cornerback Maurice Canady returns punt 74 yards for TD.
Tribe 22 — UVA 35 — 8:57 4th quarter Team safety as senior safety DeAndre Houston-Carson blocks punt attempt on 1-yard line.
Tribe 29 — UVA 35 — 5:18 4th quarter Cluley gets a 4-yard completion to Dedmon for the College’s last TD.
FINAL — Tribe 29, UVA 35 Despite another late drive by the College, Virginia prevented the upset and took a knee with just over one minute remaining on the clock.
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