The Flat Hat November 15 2022

Annual

Hourly earnings as compared to male, non-Hispanic/Latinx and wh ite employees, respectively

Internal study conducted in May 2021 indicates significant discrepancies in College, Sodexo staff earnings based

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. The most updated version can be found at flathatnews.com.

An internal university report obtained by The Flat Hat identifies significant salary discrepancies among the College of William and Mary’s faculty, staff and contracted Sodexo dining hall workers, along the lines of gender, race and ethnicity. According to the report’s executive summary, associate professor of sociology Caroline Hanley authored the report for the Women’s Network, who Provost Peggy Agouris had asked to assess salary equity at the College.

“Among W&M employees, there is evidence that women and workers with Hispanic/Latinx, Black, and Multiracial identities are paid significantly less than their peers within broad job categories, net of experience and operational/classified status,” the report’s executive summary reads. “…. We see large and significant pay gaps by race, ethnicity, and gender among Sodexo employees who work on the W&M campus, and these cannot be explained by having managerial/ supervisory job responsibilities. There is also strong evidence of a racial pay inequity: Black or African American and Multiracial Sodexo employees earn significantly less than their peers, net of detailed job category, experience, and gender.”

Hanley confirmed in a written statement to The Flat Hat that she authored the report and sent it to Agouris in May 2021. The Women’s Network did not respond to a request for comment.

The Report’s Findings

The report estimates that on average, female faculty and staff are paid $7,327.09 less annually than male employees. On average, Asian and Pacific Islander American faculty and staff are paid $3,601.45 less annually than white faculty and staff, multiracial faculty and staff are paid $6,024.07 less annually than white faculty and staff, Black faculty and staff are paid $8,879.10 less annually than white faculty and staff, and Hispanic/Latinx faculty and staff are paid $11,308.77 less annually than non-Hispanic/Latinx employees. Faculty and staff did not include contracted Sodexo dining workers.

CAMPUS

Saturday, Nov. 13, Democratic congressional candidate David Kim spoke at the Commonwealth Auditorium in the Sadler Center. Kim is running to represent California’s 34th district in the House of Representatives.

During the one-and-a-half-hour event, which the Asian American Student Initiative organized with support from the Government Department, Kim discussed his experience as an openly queer Korean American progressive running in a district with one of the largest Korean American populations in the country.

California utilizes a top-two primary system, in which candidates of all parties compete in the same primary election, with the top two candidates who recieve the most votes advancing to the general election. Kim is currently facing incumbent democratic candidate Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D) in a rematch.

After growing up during the 1992 Los Angeles riots — a period of civil unrest following the acquittal of LAPD officers charged with using excessive force in the arrest of Rodney King — Kim was inspired to work to better represent his community. Many Korean American-owned businesses were damaged during the riots.

As one of the few Korean American students in his community growing up, Kim said he made a point by running for student government positions. Kim also

One section of the report breaks down the average earnings of different identity groups as a percentage of white men’s average earnings in the same job category. According to this section of the report, Black women working in non-managerial jobs at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are paid only 65.47% of what white men working in the same job category are paid. Asian and Pacific Islander American men working in executive or professional positions at VIMS are paid 64.91% of what white men in the same job category earn,

while Asian and Pacific Islander American women are paid 57.50% of what their white male colleagues earn, according to the report.

The largest pay discrepancy alleged by the report is among multiracial men working in executive or professional positions at the College’s main campus, who are paid less than half — about 45.36% — of what their white male colleagues earn.

The report also compares the College and Sodexo salaries to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which estimates that a full-time living wage for a single adult living alone in Williamsburg would be $16.33 per hour, or about $32,600 per year. According to the report’s findings, the average hourly wage for Sodexo employees at the College falls

works as an immigration attorney and a member of the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council, where he also served as president.

“Even though I am the one that they make fun of for smelling like kimchi or garlic… You know what? Forget about that, I think we need representation,” Kim said.

Kim cited his Asian American identity as a primary source of motivation. However, Kim’s view of representation extends beyond only working for others who are similar, but also involves working for every member of a community.

“The bigger and greater element is this deeper awareness of what where all of us are in this world, in this place, in the society and understanding that we didn’t choose what families we were born into, what classes you were born into, what background, communities, or levels of education,” Kim said in reference to his vision for community activism.

Kim first ran for the House of Representatives position during the General Election in 2020 against incumbent Gomez. Gomez outraised Kim by nearly seven times the amount in 2020. Kim noted that he does not take “special interest money” and instead runs a grassroots campaign.

“So my opponent, for example, he takes more corporate PAC and special interests money than a majority of members in Congress,” Kim said. “He’s like one of the top, and that would even be like Lockheed Martin, military defense contractors, from

Adam Jutt ’25 writes about how on-campus organizations should have more competition.

ANNA ARNSBERGER /

on race, gender,

below a living wage at $15.15 per hour.

Additionally, the report identifies five job categories where some College faculty and staff earn less than a living wage: executive/ professional main campus employees, instructional main campus faculty, non-managerial main campus employees, executive/ professional VIMS employees and non-managerial VIMS employees.

Administration Response

Administrators did not acknowledge the May 2021 internal salary equity report when asked about pay equity studies at the College. Both Agouris and College spokesperson Suzanne Clavet say that efforts to address pay equity with the College’s University Human Resources are ongoing.

“Faculty and staff are central to William & Mary’s identity, mission and value,” Agouris said in a written statement to the Flat Hat. “With that in mind, University Human Resources partners with executive leadership in on-going efforts to explore and enhance health, welfare and compensation options for faculty and staff across the enterprise.”

Clavet said that the consulting firm Gallagher conducted an external review of employee salaries in 2020, but said that no studies have been conducted since then. It is unclear whether the Provost’s office shared the findings of the May 2021 report with university communications.

“Gallagher, a consulting firm, conducted a general staff compensation study for William & Mary based on market value, position and duties in 2020,” Clavet said in a written statement to the Flat Hat. “No additional studies were conducted in 2021 or 2022.”

The report recommends that Agouris and the administration should share the findings with College employees.

“More work is necessary to communicate the results of this study within the W&M employee community,” the report’s recommendations section reads. “Existing research shows that organizations with transparent evaluation and pay determination practices have lower rates of pay inequity across racial, ethnic, and gender lines.”

private prison, from big pharma, … from Pfizer.”

According to campaign disclosures, Gomez, a former labor organizer, received contributions from various labor political action committees, Pfizer, the nonprofit progressive PAC ActBlue and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Lockheed Martin, a leading defense corporation, contributed $2,000 to his campaign in 2021.

For the 2022 cycle, Kim received $250 from a local Los Angeles PAC, the East Area Progressive Democrats. Kim did not receive any PAC contributions in 2020. Despite Kim’s Korean American background, he did not receive an endorsement from the first Korean American Democrat elected to Congress, Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey. After Andy Kim endorsed Gomez, David Kim cited bullying and incumbency advantages as factors in the endorsement. Vice President Kamala Harris, a former senator from California, as well as the first Asian American and African American vice president, also endorsed Gomez.

Kim also spoke about a conversation he had previously had after the 2020 election with Rep. Andy Kim, when he was informed about a congressional tradition where incumbent members of Congress go up to each other and request endorsements before any challenger enters the race.

“Andy, in the last cycle, told me, ‘David, if you run again in 2022, let me know, and I won’t give Jimmy my endorsement.’” Kim said. “I did, I texted him, I

called him, but he still endorsed him.”

Attendees of the event reflected on Kim’s conversation with the College community.

“I thought the event went well,” Director of AASI Jeffrey Gu ’25 said. “This event was very intentionally catered towards people that are interested in coming, so everybody that was here I hope had a good time.”

Gu also thanked AASI’s deputy director Sean Nguyen ’25, who moderated the Q&A session.

Anshu Sharma Ph.D ’26 said he also appreciated David Kim’s willingness to come and speak, particularly on the basis of economic issues and challenges facing outsider candidates. He expressed desire to see more events similar to this which showcase the representation of people of color at the College.

“To me, this is a fundamental part of what the College is about,” Sharma said.

Other attendees expressed similar remarks regarding their appreciation for Kim’s visit to the College, and agreed that there should be similar events hosted in the future.

“I’m really appreciative that he had the time to come down to speak with the William and Mary students,” attendee Prestin Tran ’26 said. “I think he offers really, really good insight into what congressional campaigning is like.”

As of Monday, Nov. 14, 76% of the votes for California’s 34th district have been counted. The Associated Press has not called the race. Gomez is currently leading with 52.4% of the votes to Kim’s 47.6%.

Sports Advocating for reproductive rights Vox hosts annual proabortion talk with panel of six speakers.

The need for competition between clubs

names Crain Rookie of the Year Freshman completes season with

T HE F LAT H AT Vol. 112, Iss. 12 | Tuesday, November 15, 2022 The Weekly Student Newspaper of The College of William and Mary flathatnews.com | @theflathat

// THE FLAT HAT Korean-American attorney David Kim shares experiences as congressional candidate

THE

‒ The May 2021 report reads

insight

FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF

Community expresses support for UVA after recent shooting Sunday, Nov. 13, a shooter at the University of Virginia killed three and injured two other students. The University identified the fatalities as Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, and DʼSean Perry, who were all members of the UVA Football team.

Members of the College of William and Mary community have been expressing their condolences and support for UVA after the shooting.

“On behalf of the student body, Student Assembly sends our love to the UVA community,” Student Assembly President John Cho said in a written statement to the Flat Hat. “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those impacted by this senseless act of violence. We stand with UVA and are here to support however we can.”

Additionally, the Sir Christopher Wren Building was adorned in blue and orange lighting on the evening of Nov. 14 in support of UVA. An image of the building was shared on the official social media accounts of the College and President Katherine Rowe.

“Even as our community mourns Alexʼs passing, the community at our sister institution in Charlottesville is experiencing the heartbreak of their own today,” Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler said in an email sent to students. “Please do reach out to one another and to campus resources for support as you need it. The Dean of Students Office, the Counseling Center, Residence Life, campus ministers, and my office remain available. Counselors can be reached anytime by phone at 757-221-3620.”

“We have the capacity to do real work”:

EMMA HENRY // FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR

Aubrey Lay ‘23 has been involved with LGBTQ+ social issues since high school, first serving as the co-president of his school’s Pride Alliance. Now, Lay is in a new leadership role as co-president of the Rainbow Coalition, a student organization dedicated to the LGBTQ+ student population which hosts various social, educational and activism events at the College of William and Mary.

Lay first became involved with Rainbow Coalition during his sophomore year.

“Before I was ever involved in anything queer on campus, I joined the bhangra team,” Lay said. “It was sophomore year with COVID and everything being so destabilized, I felt like I needed to do something. I saw the applications that were up and I thought, oh I might apply for this. I hadn’t really been to Rainbow Coalition events at all my freshman year. But then I really enjoyed trying to be able to give back a little bit.”

During his first year with Rainbow Coalition, Lay mentioned how educational events were unable to meet in person, meaning many were held in a virtual format. Though Lay is passionate about in-person events, he noticed that the virtual format allowed many people to attend events anonymously, expanding the reach for queer educational resources.

Some events Lay has helped to organize include last fall’s screening of “Budjang”, a movie that highlights transgender experiences in the Phillipines, with the filmmaker Rhadem Musawah speaking at the event, and the Over the Rainbow Gala that was held this past September.

“Now we’re able to have these kinds of events, you know, to hold space for the queer community on campus and create an environment where people can just celebrate who they are and what they do and dress how they want to dress,” Lay said. “We got to highlight student drag performers, student poets from Inside Out Theater, we had Syndicate dance. So really just highlighting student talent, highlighting the community and creating a safe space. It was really wonderful.”

Lay also emphasized other organizations that aid Rainbow Coalition in creating a community on campus, including Lambda Alliance, the Center for Student Diversity and a QTPOC (queer and trans person of color) organization that is currently in progress. He is passionate about how student voices can create spaces to advocate for student needs and community, as well as appreciative of how the CSD and administration support Rainbow Coalition, though he believes there is always room for improvement.

“Especially when it comes to trans and nonbinary students on campus advocating for their needs when it comes to adaptive housing, having the correct names on tribe cards, having

their correct name used in class, there can be pushback and administration and professors are not always going to be open to that. But they’re trying, which is something, and I think it’s up to us to continue advocating for what we need out of that relationship.”

“Especially when it comes to trans and nonbinary students on campus advocating for their needs when it comes to adaptive housing, having the correct names on tribe cards, having their correct name used in class, there can be pushback and administration and professors are not always going to be open to that,” Lay said. “But they’re trying, which is something, and I think it’s up to us to continue advocating for what we need out of that relationship.”

L ay has also found many other ways to support LGBTQ+ people across the country and the world. During his sophomore year, he worked for LGBTQ+ Ukrainians in America, an organization dedicated to aiding and supporting LGBTQ+ Ukrainians living in the United States. rough this organization, he was able to conduct interviews and do research regarding the spread of disinformation within Ukraine from Russia regarding the LGBTQ+ community.

“There’s a lot of falsehoods that are being spread, a lot of false equivalencies essentially claiming that LGBTQ communities, identities, and movements are a Western fabrication, that they’re not indigenous to Ukraine,” Lay said. “And the implication or the explicit call to action being made there is that Russia is the protector of those traditional family values that the West is trying to erode in Ukraine.”

Lay mentioned, in reality, Ukrainians have been a leader in the realm of LGBTQ+ issues in Europe, making this false narrative dangerous and used as a justi cation for war crimes within Ukraine.

Along with this work, Lay is passionate about intersex awareness and activism, using his own medical experiences and personal story to aid him in educating others about how to support intersex people. Last week, Rainbow Coalition invited intersex activist Marissa Adams to campus, and they have also participated in a postering day of action with other intersex activists for the past two years.

“What intersex people face in this country is, essentially, forced surgeries from birth that are really just set up to perpetuate a cisgender binary and don’t necessarily have any grounding in actual health outcomes or wellbeing in many cases,” Lay said. “My felt experience of having undergone that kind of an operation when I was really, really young is really painful and it’s hard to talk about and it’s scary. But I really want to create an environment where intersex people on this campus can know that their bodies aren’t broken, that we are whole to begin with.”

Donaldson Writer-in-Residence presents debut nov el

ELLA MACLEAN THE FLAT HAT

Thursday, Nov. 10, the College of William and Mary’s 2022 Donaldson Writer-in-Residence Kelli Jo Ford read an excerpt from her debut novel “Crooked Hallelujah” at the Reves Center for International Studies. “Crooked Hallelujah” was long-listed for numerous awards like the Story Prize, the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Prize. Ford’s writing is inspired by her personal experiences growing up as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

“Crooked Hallelujah” was initially conceived as short pieces. After holding on to each story for a long time, they were interwoven into a full-length novel. English and American studies Associate Professor Arthur Knight described the effect of this format.

“I like, as a reader, getting to do that imaginative work of connecting the different chapters and sometimes having to sort of fill in your own sense of what could have happened in this big gap between chapters,” Knight said.

“Crooked Hallelujah” spans many years, following the life of a mixed-blood Cherokee woman named Justine, and eventually that of her daughter Reney.

“The book was inspired by the relationships between the women of my family. Like Reney, I grew up in a household with four generations of Cherokee girls and women, and had a really close relationship with my mom but especially my greatgrandma,”Ford said.

“The book was inspired by the relationships between the women of my family,” Ford said. “Like Reney, I grew up in a household with four generations of Cherokee girls and women, and had a really close relationship with my mom but

especially my great-grandma.”

Ford read the portion of the novel which takes place in Eastern Oklahoma’s Indian Country during the 1980s. Ford’s prose sang with rich, vivid details, highlighting the fascinations and tribulations of everyday life. The excerpt begins with Justine, Reney and another young woman applying makeup in a bathroom while discussing their hopes for the future.

“We’ll be in our own place before we know it,” Ford read from the perspective of Reney. “We’ll probably get a pink Cadillac and drive to Dallas and then dine with Mary K herself.”

Justine and Reney’s current circumstances are not without their challenges. The other women in their family, Granny and Lula, differ from Justine with regard to their views on religious customs and a woman’s modesty of appearance and manner.

Ideologies of race and sex, as Iʼve been trying to suggest, bin d a common root and operate according to similar logics in these new uses of biolog y to define personhood and social status. This is an important dimension of how gender has changed in the context of colonization.

̶ Dr. Susan Stryker

Aubrey Lay ʼ23 promotes LGBTQ+ rights via Rainbow Coalition, advocates for intersex individuals

JUSTIN SHERLOCK / THE FLAT HAT

Kelli Jo Ford shares excerpt from “Crooked Hallelujah,” explains complications of culture, family, growing up

COURTESY PHOTO // AUBREY LAY

Lay has emphaized the importance of education, discussion about intersex individuals.

The Need for Competition Between Clubs

Adam Jutt

FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR

“Competition is the lifeblood of democracy.”

I’m pretty sure someone once told me that quote, accrediting it to some ancient Greek philosopher. I don’t remember who that “someone” was, but the quote is so deeply embedded in my soul that I’m sure I was told it at some point. Google doesn’t seem to recognize it, however, which casts a serious shadow of doubt on whether it was ever actually said by a famous philosopher. In fact, when I Google “competition is the lifeblood of democracy greek philosopher quote,” the first thing that comes up is an Aristotle quote that has nothing to do with competition, though to its credit it may be the worst political take I have ever read: “In a democ racy, the poor will have more power than the rich because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme.” This guy is known for having smart thoughts?

Back to the topic at hand, though, the fact is I’m not sure anyone famous ever claimed that competition is the lifeblood of democracy. I sincerely wish I could remember who it was who insisted the contrary way back when, either to chew them out for lying to me or to learn who told them that a Greek philosopher said that competition is the lifeblood of democracy and continue working backward until we reach the quote’s inception. Also, if I had time left over after that investigation, I would want to get to the bottom of the meaning of the word “lifeblood.” In my opinion, it is a very silly word that should not exist, and yet all academic sources I have consulted agree that it does. Unfortunately, I don’t quite have the free time to pursue either goose chase.

So, maybe competition is not the lifeblood of democracy. That doesn’t mean it can’t be a lot of fun.

The College of William and Mary has many clubs and student organizations. More specifically, the College has many clubs which are not the only club on campus of their respective cat egory. A cappella groups are a prime example, the last time any one counted it seemed we had roughly eleven such groups at the College. Or, take improv groups — we have six of them, I believe. As a slightly different type of example, let’s examine the politi cal groups on campus. Young Democrats, Young Independents, College Republicans, College Socialists, and probably more asso ciations of young or college-aged (never both) politically likeminded individuals meet regularly on this campus. I could give more examples of club-categories, but I am not going to do that. Whether that is because I assume you understand the point by now or because I lied and actually can’t think of any more catego ries of club which lend themselves to my imminent argument, you’ll never know.

My argument is that the various clubs in categories at the College should annually compete with one another. The type of contest would, obviously, be fashioned to the type of club. The a cappella groups would have an annual riff-off, the improv groups would have an annual improv-off, the political groups would have an annual debate-off, the literary magazines would have an

annual literary magazine-off, the religious organizations would have an annual religion-off (wait no scratch that one), the dance groups would have an annual dance-off, etc. I do not feel quali fied or motivated to detail what each of those specific contests should look like. The way I picture it, the exec boards of each pertinent group would come together to discuss and plan them. However, there are a few elements that each contest absolutely must incorporate. They must be well-advertised and open to the public. There must be a clear winner. And, there must be a trophy of some sort, which the winning group gets to keep until next year’s competition.

Now, I recognize that these events are easier to concep tualize for some categories of club than others. The riff-off or improv-off could be planned by a toddler in five minutes, while designing an unbiased system to determine the winner of the political debate-off would require a methodology deserving of publication in the American Political Science Review. Similarly, I will not pretend I have the faintest notion of what a literary magazine-off would entail. That said, I think each category of club could ultimately figure out how to make it work, and it would have some clear-cut advantages for everyone involved. First, for the clubs involved, it would represent a brilliant oppor tunity to showcase their talents to a wide swath of campus, which includes potential new group members and potential new audience members or subscribers. Second, for the audi ence, it would represent free entertainment and an opportunity to compare groups before getting involved with one. Finally, it would bring our community closer together; people with simi lar interests who otherwise might not interact due to disparate group allegiances would have an opportunity to get to know one another better and learn from each other’s strengths.

The main potential downside of this plan is, the way I see it, groups taking it too seriously and getting upset if they don’t win. Maybe instead of bringing all the groups in a given cat egory together, this tradition would lead them to antagonize one another. This concern would be especially relevant in the debate-off, as differences between political groups are more protuberant than the differences between iterations of other group categories and because — for some unknown reason I think political scientists should research — the category “poli tics” tends to sow division of a more vitriolic type than the cat egories “song” or “laughter.” I cannot in good faith declare that this downside is negligible or unlikely to materialize. All I can do is urge you to evaluate the costs and benefits; maybe some ten sion is worth it if it means the lifeblood of democracy will course more richly through our campus.

AdamJutt’25ismajoringineconomicsandmath.Aside frombeinganopinionseditor,heisamemberofClubTennis andinvolvedwithInterVarsity.FeelfreetoemailAdamat adjutt@wm.edu.

FLAT HAT OMBUDS

Nakamitsu THE FLAT HAT

Reading, watching or listening to the news is an important way for students to be able to engage with both their own community and be aware of events around the world. Much of the information out there, however, can be heavily biased depending on where we get it from. Social media is an increasingly popular way for college-aged people to stay informed. What is the value of social media as a news source, and what could be the harm? How do we assess the level of bias in the information we consume?

With the demanding workload of the College of William and Mary, many students may struggle to find the time to be engaged with news and current events. Students may turn to quick, digestible sources of information, such as social media. This is not uncommon for many college-aged people, a survey by Reuters of 12 countries found that 39% of 18-24-year-olds get most of their news from social media. Visual platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok are the three most popular social media platforms where young people get their news.

There can be many benefits to getting some news from social media. The main appeal is that it is quick, digestible and widely accessible. Anyone can easily make an account on social media and gain access to tons of content for free, while many articles from new sources are often blocked by a paywall. Additionally, many young people spend so much time on social media that getting your news from it is easy and convenient. Many reputable and trusted news sources also have their own social media page, which can broaden the news platforms’ readership and get young people interested in current events.

The problem is that news from social media can easily contain misinformation and be biased, and the advanced algorithms can make it hard for us to tell what information is reliable. Some young people are seemingly aware of this, as a survey by Ofcom showed that 30% of people acknowledge that news from social media is less reliable. The prevalence of social media in this day and age makes getting some news from it can be somewhat unavoidable for most young people. A Pew Research Center survey found that when asked fact-based questions on current events, those who used social media as their primary news source scored significantly lower than those who got their news from radio, print and news websites. Those who use social media are also much more likely to hear conspiracy theories concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the flip side, the same study found that 40% of young people either often or actively avoid news altogether. Many feel as though the news they see is so often negative that it affects their mood. As disheartening as what we see in the news may be, it is still important to be engaged with what is going on in your community and around the world. Many also distrust the news they see, as 37% of respondents do not trust the news most of the time.

This is not to ignore that a significant portion of young people, about 34%, do get their news from actual news platforms. This raises the question of what news source is the most trustworthy and unbiased. There is a difference, however, between bias and misinformation. Bias is simply the writer’s skewered perspective on a certain topic. This does not mean the information presented is necessarily untrue, it simply means that the writer is inclined toward a certain opinion. Misinformation, on the other hand, means that the work is either partially or completely fictitious, and not based in fact in any way. It is difficult to eliminate biased language in writing, and personal opinion will always in some way come across in human writing. However, there are ways readers can assess the level of bias in their news. Organizations such as AllSides rate the most popular news platforms on their level of political bias, and community feedback allows individuals to rate whether they think their rating is accurate. For example, sources such as Breitbart are heavily right-leaning whilst Forbes tends to be toward the center of the political spectrum.

I urge any student to examine where they get their news from, whether it is reliable or biased in any way. Getting news from a variety of sources and then forming one opinion may be the best way to eliminate being overly influenced by media bias.

Fuzzy 24: Fuzzy Questions Thanksgiving Holiday

COMIC BY ARIANNA STEWART / THE FLAT HAT

Where should you be getting your news from? What is the most unbiased news source?

Alexandra

COMIC

GRAPHIC BY SYEDA SAFDAR / THE FLAT HAT

and Social Media Misinformation

Novak FLAT HAT ASSOC. OPINIONS EDITOR

The social media app YikYak is used across campuses all over the United States for students to share gossip and openly express ideas. More specifically, every couple of weeks some event blows up on the app, often spreading rumors that cement themselves as fact. Where rumors used to spread by word of mouth, they can now permeate a campus within a span of hours on YikYak. This is not to say that YikYak can’t also be a valuable source of information. It can be a simple place to post a question and quickly have it answered by a peer, instead of having to physically go ask around. However, it is a double edged sword that the College of William and Mary campus should use with a grain of salt.

This phenomenon is not specific to the College, though. It is a specific example of a broad trend across social media, where anyone is able to broadcast their message without traditional restrictions. The constitutional right to speech and press, combined with the advent of social media, facilitated the ability of anyone to establish themselves on a platform. Instead of relying on traditional press outlets that often miss more localized or niche news, apps such as Twitter or Facebook quickly and succinctly deliver information to younger audiences. Even I often rely on Twitter to deliver information while waiting for class or in between homework assignments.

Apps such as Twitter or Facebook quickly and succinctly deliver information to younger audiences

Traditional news outlets require a degree of impartiality and high literary quality. Social media, though, drops those requirements and opens up their platform to potential hate speech or other negative messages. For all the benefits social media provides,

it also strengthens the influence of people such as Alex Jones or Andrew Tate.

Freedom of speech is an important liberty to check injustices and government wrongdoings, but I believe there needs to be a critical inspection of how that interacts with the promulgation of hate speech. Alex Jones’s being ordered to pay 1.44 billion dollars for promoting conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook and Andrew Tate’s ban from most platforms are steps in the right direction, but there needs to be preventative measures, not reactive. There is no law dictating that social media apps censor hate speech or lies — it is their obligation to monitor the impact users on their sites can have on the population, elections and the overall development of society. Social media was created as a way to keep in touch with friends and family, but it has evolved into another news outlet, and therefore should be held to the same standards as established outlets.

Social media was created as a way to keep in touch with friends and family, but it has evolved into another news outlet

YikYak is no exception to this. Even though the worst it does is spread rumors about local populations, its trends can be expanded and multiplied on bigger platforms. I have no solution to the current spread of misinformation and hate speech, but that does not mean one does not exist.

Using YikYak as an example, we could all do better by using a critical eye when seeing information on its platform and not assuming its accuracy.

Seth Novak is a sophomore majoring in government, is in Sigma Pi and loves public transportation and bikes! Email Seth at stnovak@email.wm.edu

WISE

Kackar GUEST WRITER

Hiya, I'm Neeltje Kackar ’26! I'm writing a series of opinion articles for The Flat Hat intended to highlight some of the best clubs I've been to. My hope is that by writing these articles I can contribute to a sense of extracurricular connection among students at the College of William and Mary, and help peers find interests that they never would have had otherwise.

For anyone majoring in STEM, woman or not, WISE is basically a dream come true! It's an extremely welcoming and friendly club that offers networking, career advancement, lectures from experienced faculty, and more. Even though it's definitely targeted towards women, the meetings and faculty lectures are useful to all genders.

On the night of Sept. 12, 2022, I was just finishing up a meeting of Lazarus Rising (a homeless education service club; review to come!) in Tucker Hall 310 when I realized that I still had 5 hours left in the night, and no more clubs to visit. I quickly opened up TribeLink to view the Events page, and in a stroke of luck, I saw the WISE interest meeting announcement at 7:30 p.m., approximately 30 minutes before the meeting started. I immediately started walking over to ISC 1280, with no clue as to whether I'd even be allowed into the meeting.

When I arrived about 20 minutes before the start, the club president was the only one there. She was busy attempting to get her slides to display on the projector, so I tried slipping in quietly, yet she still noticed. She was extremely friendly though, and she didn't make me explain my presence. After a few minutes, other people started trickling in. By the time the interest meeting had officially started, there were about 35 people, though I hear normal meetings are 10-15 people. As with many clubs, exec had prepared a slideshow with info about the club and their exec team. Once that was over with, we moved on to a Jeopardy game themed around the letter W (because WISE starts with a W, I presume). If I recall correctly, the questions were surprisingly difficult. On average the teams got like 60% of the questions correct, which shows you that this is a club that takes knowledge seriously (however, even if you aren't a trivia nerd or STEM-oriented, they'd still welcome you). They even had food as a prize for the winning team!

I'd like to take a moment to applaud the organization and efficiency that WISE's exec team showed. The Jeopardy game was one of the best planned Jeopardy games I've played, even better than many teacher-run games. The Jeopardy rules were not followed to the letter (for example, every team got to answer every question, and points weren't taken off for wrong answers),

but they executed their own rules consistently and fairly. In addition, they managed to get through a full game on a 5x5 board in something like 30 minutes, a time surpassed only by Archery Club's interest meeting, and even then it was only surpassed by a minute or two.

Overall, I think WISE was an enthralling club with an amazing interest meeting, and I definitely plan to return in the future. It's friendly to newcomers and returners alike, and it provides a pretty good networking opportunity for STEM majors like me.

NeeltjeKackar'26(she/they)isaPhysics/CompScidoublemajor,andisaiming tovisiteveryclub/organizationatW&Mbytheendofhersenioryear.Inherprevious littlefreetime,shelovestocodehobbyprojectsinPythonandRust,andshelovesto makesureher"InviteMeToYourClubs”flyersareontopatSwemromas.Emailherat misc@wmclubs.blog.

Neeltje

Seth

COURTESY IMAGE / YIKYAK

I'd like to take a moment to applaud the organization and efficiency that WISE's exec team showed.

Shining a light on the College’s First-Generation

Students Organization

ADAM JUTT // FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR

Community, empowerment and awareness are three of the words most fundamental to the mission of the First Generation and Low Income Student Organization at the College of William and Mary. Founded in 2020 by Jonathan Diaz-Ramos ’21, Vanessa Guzman ’21 and Tyler Patton ’21, FGLI has become a deeply integral part of many of its members’ time at the College as a space where they can navigate the challenges associated with being first generation, low-income, or both on campus together.

On campus, only nine percent of the class of 2026 are first generation according to the Office of Admissions, which is small when compared to the national average of about 33%. Additionally, roughly 17% are Pell-Grant recipients while the national average totals to approximately 33%.

“I remember when I came on campus, I felt kind of lonely,” FGLI co-president Orley Estrada ’23 said. “And it was due to the fact that I couldn’t really identify with a lot of the students on campus who were high income.”

Estrada’s sentiment was shared by other members of FGLI, such as Communications and Membership Chair Stormy Smith ‘23, who explains how daunting the lack of knowledge coming in is for first generation students .

“It was really hard my freshman year,” Smith said. “I felt like it was hard to find a community of people because everyone was much more upper class. They had a much better handle on college in general and the ins and outs.”

A large part of the reason FGLI is so meaningful to its members is that it represents a community with whom members can relate to on their shared

experiences at the College.

“I’ve gotten so close with so many of my exec board members and general members who just come to the meetings every week,” Smith said. “It’s so nice to just have people who understand where you come from and your background.”

As important as community building is, it is not the only important aim of FGLI. Empowerment is another critical guiding principle of the organization.

“I would say the overall goal is empowerment,” Estrada said. “We want to empower FGLI students to feel accepted, welcomed on community on this campus specifically.”

FGLI empowers its membership in a very direct way by hosting empowerment sessions, where members are encouraged to confront common issues faced within the FGLI community head-on.

“We have empowerment sessions, which are where we kind of talk about issues within the FGLI community or just things like imposter syndrome or stress culture, things of that nature,” Smith said.

In addition to empowerment sessions, Smith described many other types of events FGLI has put on, such as workshops that teach college-related skills like declaring a major, making a resume, and getting involved with research. They also host nonacademic focused activities geared at social and mental wellness.

One of the most memorable events among members that FGLI has organized to date was a guest lecture from Mari Carmen Aponte, former United States ambassador to El Salvador, as a joint initiative with the College’s Latin American Student Union.

“She talked about her experiences growing up as a minority student and how

she, as a Hispanic individual, came into law school through affirmative action,” Estrada said, “And she said that when she grew up, she had a stigma — she thought she wasn’t worthwhile as an individual going to these prestigious schools that she went to. And all of the students in our organization identified with her because they’re the first people in their family to go to school — specifically college.”

Estrada was not the only one to highlight how special Aponte’s story was.

“That was just a really powerful event in a lot of ways, so many people came together for that event,” FGLI Advocacy Chair Hannah Dow ’23 said.

FGLI also makes a concerted effort to spread awareness about the difficulties first generation and low-income students deal with on campus. Many of the initiatives FGLI puts on have awareness as a major focus.

“We just kind of try to raise awareness of what struggles students face on campus because we understand that they’re not top of mind for people who haven’t had that experience,” Dow said. “We recently just did an initiative where we got 300 FGLI stickers that say ‘I support FGLI,’ and we went up to our professors and were like, ‘Hey, can you put these up in your office?’ It just helps to see something, that even if you’re not a FGLI student yourself, it says you support them and that was amazing.”

Another crucial aspect of FGLI is the relationship between the organization and the administration here at the College, specifically President Katherine Rowe. FGLI works diligently to advocate for and communicate the advantages of policies that support first generation and low-

income students. This work has borne fruit in some areas, but there are still many areas where members would like to see continued change.

“The administration does respond to us,” Dow said. “I just hope FGLI students know that they have a community and that I truly believe the administration wants to support them but needs our help.”

The biggest win that first generation and low-income students have seen with respect to policy is the recent announcement of a Pell Grant scholarship by the College, which covers full tuition and fees for in-state Pell Grant-eligible students.

“I think our constant communication with President Rowe has been really great,” Estrada said, “I think we have seen that President Rowe has taken a big initiative in trying to help FGLI students — specifically this scholarship policy where they’re going to give in-state tuition to FGLI students, which has come in part because of our student organization making her aware of this are these issues.”

As this policy will surely lead to an influx of FGLI students at the College, FGLI members want to make sure these newcomers know that there is an open space for them.

“With the Pell Grant, I think it’s even more important to have that recognition of ‘it’s okay, no stigma’ and ‘we have a club for you, come join us,’” Smith said.

Members say still more work needs to be done in recognizing the needs of FGLI students. The $40 lockout policy, for example, was frequently criticized for placing a disproportionate burden on FGLI students.

“I think this lockout policy that the

Advocating for reproductive rights

ELLIE KURLANDER // FLAT HAT ASSOC. VARIETY EDITOR

school initiated systematically creates a barrier for FGLI students,” Estrada said.

In discussing this same policy, Dow reiterated the role of the FGLI student organization as an intermediary between the administration and FGLI students.

“The lockout policy came out and it was like, ‘Alright, clearly someone was forgotten in this,’” Dow said. “And so it’s our job to go to the administration and say, ‘Hey, what about us?’”

Another step that FGLI would like to see be taken, especially in light of the fact that the first generation and low-income student population will continue to grow over coming years, is the creation of a staff position exclusively focused on supporting FGLI students.

“I don’t think people realize we have a faculty advisor for FGLI, but we don’t have any administrator that’s solely dedicated to helping FGLI students,” Dow said. “And yet it’s such a distinct identity that I think there needs to be that one person that people can go to.”

In all, the FGLI student organization is a tight-knit community of individuals that focuses on empowering and advocating for first generation and low-income students on campus. Despite being a very young club, it has had a tremendously positive impact, both internally through the many events it puts on and on the campus at large through meetings and dialogues with administration. This impact will undoubtedly continue to grow as more FGLI students come to the College, join the club and further the FGLI mission of making the College a welcoming and supportive place for all.

Thursday, Nov. 10, the College of William and Mary’s VOX: Planned Parenthood Generation Action hosted their annual Pro-Abortion Talk. The event featured a panel of six speakers consisting of students, administrators and members of the Williamsburg community who shared their perspectives on the state of reproductive rights.

VOX is a student-led organization advocating for reproductive rights and justice.

“VOX is very much not just an abortion club,” VOX President Becca Gaylin ’23 said. “We do a lot of stuff in the realm of reproductive justice. We’ve done environmental work, we do work with abortionå funds, we do stuff with people who already have children hearing their perspectives, we do a lot of fundraisers. It’s really just a very welcoming space for people of all different backgrounds who want to come together on this mission.”

The event began with a reading of the William & Mary Land and Slave Acknowledgements by DEI chair and event moderator Jada Bonds ’25. Next, Gaylin addressed VOX’s decision to rename the talk.

In previous years, this event was promoted as a Pro-Choice Talk. However, executive board members shared the reasoning behind the shift toward a ProAbortion narrative.

“Being pro-abortion is, of course, not encouraging every single person out there to get an abortion,” Gaylin said. “It is the belief that people should have access to

abortion as a health care service and that abortion services are a right everyone should be guaranteed. It’s supporting people who get abortions for whatever reason that may be, and trusting that the people making choices for their own bodies, their own lives and for their own families are the best holder of knowledge in that domain, and that it is ultimately their decisions and their lives at stake.”

Gaylin continued by explaining how the notion of choice limits the narrative surrounding reproductive rights. Even in states with progressive abortion laws, marginalized communities –– often people of color, people from lower socioeconomic statuses and individuals who don’t fit into the gender binary — lack access to abortion services.

“We firmly believe that there is no choice where there is no access,” Gaylin said.

The shift in phrasing also serves to destigmatize the word abortion.

“Abortion is not a dirty word,” Gaylin said. “One in four women have an abortion in their lifetime. So a lot of people are having them all the time, as we know.”

Following Gaylin’s remarks, Bonds introduced the evening’s first speaker, Kaylin Brown ’24. Brown, who is currently pursuing a degree in Elementary Education, emphasized his love for kids, but explained that he

holds no desire to have children of his own. Brown continued by expressing his frustration with medical professionals who fail to take his requests for effective, long-term birth control seriously.

“I can’t do what I want to do with my body, and that’s really distressing,”

protestors on college campuses. While Sloane’s readings highlighted the relationship between the arts and proabortion activism, the next speaker, Mary Wesley Foundation’s campus minister Max Blalock, took a religious approach.

Blalock began by reading a statement issued by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1971, which explicitly condoned abortion in certain cases. According to Blalock, the shift towards a pro-life stance occurred in accordance with the rise of the religious right in the late 1970s. Blalock explained how being proabortion and placing trust in pregnant people aligns with the teachings of Christianity.

“The two greatest commandments are to love God and love your neighbor as yourself,” Blalock said.

Following the theme of religious freedom, the next speaker, Cameron Morris ’25, approached the topic of abortion from a Jewish studies perspective. She discussed the role of Jewish women in pioneering birth control advocacy in the early 20th century.

“Jewish women were some of the first and most influential activists in the United States for the reproductive freedom movement,” Morris said.

Morris continued by framing the topic of reproductive rights as a religious freedom issue.

“The Talmud explicitly states that the life of the woman takes precedence over the potential life of the fetus,” Morris said. “In Jewish law, it is key that the rights of the fetus are secondary to the rights of the pregnant person all the way up to the moment of birth.”

Brown said.

The next speaker, Tara Sloane ’25, read two excerpts from “Choice Words: Writers on Abortion,” a book of poetry that collects contemporary and historical narratives relating to abortion and reproductive rights.

The selected readings first included a story by Desiree Cooper, which chronicled the journey of women of various ages and backgrounds traveling to get an abortion. The next reading, “Moo and Thrall” by Dana Levin, discussed the absurd spectacle of pro-life

“Loving your neighbor as yourself means all of our neighbors. When it comes to people who are able to get pregnant, they should have the same access to health care, the same freedom of decision-making and the same autonomy of their body and doing what is best between them and their physician.”

“It’s about trusting people who can get pregnant with their physicians and with their community to make the best decisions for themselves. For me, that’s what loving your neighbor as yourself means,” Blalock continued.

Morris explained that the phrase “right to life” used by anti-abortion activists obscures the principles noted in Jewish law.

“The right to be born is relative,” Morris said. “The right to life for existing persons is absolute. Rabbinic law has determined that human life begins with birth.”

Morris concluded by stating, “This Jewish studies lesson was to point out the fact that the attacks on Roe vs. Wade and the attacks on abortion are a clear and purposeful attack on the religious rights of Jewish people.”

JUSTIN SHERLOCK // THE FLAT HAT

COURTESY PHOTOS // STORMY SMITH

Diving into Marine Science Society

SAMANTAROY // THE FLAT HAT

Sailing through the Atlantic Ocean to whale watch, going on backstage tours in aquariums and catching jelly sh in the Crim Dell: members of the College of William and Mary’s Marine Science Society have participated in a vast array of aquatic activities.

MSS is an academic club that is not only for students who are minoring in marine science, but for anyone fascinated by the complex ecosystems and mysteries of the medium that take up about 70% of the planet we call home.

“It’s a space where you can talk about how much you love the ocean, and you’ll just be in a room full of people who understand,” MSS Social Media Chair Lindsey Smith ’23 said. “ ey may not agree that, like, eels are the best, but they can see where you are coming from.”

During weekends, activities tend to be smaller and allow for members to get to know each other more personally. e club in general fosters a strong sense of community around marine science — a subject that is relatively niche.

“Everybody’s really interested in marine science and that’s a very speci c niche kind of interest,” Anna Detweiler ’26, a new club member, said. “It’s nice to see other people also interested in the same thing.”

Some club activities are aimed at encouraging marine science careers, including working closely with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. e School of Marine Science at VIMS is the graduate program in marine science for the College, located 30 minutes away from campus in Gloucester Point.

“VIMS has been really encouraging undergraduates to come, explore and gain experience in research,” MSS president Grace Weeks ’23 said.

MSS hosted tours of the VIMS campus and invited professors and graduate students to discuss their research. One of the club’s most coveted experiences was the ability to ride the RV Virginia, a research vessel owned by VIMS.

“We got about 30 students that were able to ride this research vessel, which is an experience that not many researchers can even get, so that was really cool,” Weeks said. “We got to do a few research methods activities on the boat.”

This activity was championed and secured funding by professor Christopher Hein, one of the club’s advisors and an associate professor at VIMS.

“Chris Hein has been really great at trying to expand the marine science minor and making undergraduate research at VIMS more accessible, so we have been promoting that through our club,” Weeks said.

e other advisors bring their expertise and diverse backgrounds to the club, allowing members to gain further experience and knowledge into the subject matter.

“Jon Allen runs the Marine Invertebrate Lab on campus, but since he is on sabbatical right now, Randy Chambers is in his place,” Weeks said. “He’s the environmental science professor that works with terrapins in Matoaka.”

Another experience that the club hosted was shing for jelly sh in the Crim Dell, a fun activity that allowed members to look at these small organisms. Many on campus a ectionately refer to them as “the crim jellies.”

“We went to catch some of the little jelly sh,” Smith said. “ ey were like the size of the tip of my pinky, and we were catching them with Tupperware and then just putting them in buckets.”

e club also does trash cleanups around the College’s campus.

is past semester, MSS teamed up with the Geology Club to do a cleanup of Lake Matoaka. e lake is surrounded by a 600-hectare watershed which is owned primarily by the College. Over the course of several decades, the lake has not only borne the brunt of standard pollution like litter, but also heavy sediment and nutrient pollution.

“This is how we are helping the community and beautifying it,” Smith said.

Lake Matoaka cleanups are an activity the club was able to continue during the COVID-19 years, since it was outside. Before the pandemic, the club worked on making bracelets to sell in order to fundraise for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. CBF is a regional non-pro t, whose mission is to nd solutions for the pollution that is degrading the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. Given that the College is in the Chesapeake Watershed, the club found it important to support the cause.

“We spent a good chunk of our meetings making these bracelets that we were planning to sell for a Chesapeake Bay Foundation fundraiser,” Weeks said. “COVID hit, and we didn’t get to sell them. So for the past year, we’ve been really working on selling those by tabling and then giving all of that money to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.”

Additionally, MSS has gone on behind the scenes tours at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center and whale watching at Virginia Beach.

Weeks feels as though MSS and the College have a great relationship because of the faculty.

“ ere’s so many great faculty that work with marine critters, whether they be in biology, chemistry, or any sort of STEM classes,” Weeks said. “ ey may not even work at VIMS, but we have a great connection with them.”

Looking into the future, Weeks wants to change things up and come up with new club activities and projects. Going forward, the club is looking to continue increasing their social media presence, including creating a TikTok to increase student engagement. At the end of the day, the club aims to get more students involved in marine science.

“I always leave Marine Science Society smiling, and I think my goal is just to keep doing that and allow others to have that feeling,” Smith said.

vegetarian or restricted food’s communities.

Toss out the cotton cobwebs and surelyexpired candy corn, it’s time for the best and most quintessentially American holiday of the year: anksgiving. Unlike any other commercialcash-vacuum holiday, anksgiving is the one day a year where people have permission to stu themselves with crumbly, savory and hearty dishes, with absolutely no judgment. I can think of no other holiday that dedicates an entire day to celebrating the good values of family, friendship, thankfulness and of course — food.

Taught in American school systems since elementary school, anksgiving is commonly conceptualized as a 1621 “feast” shared between the pilgrims of Plymouth Rock and the Wampanoag people. According to this narrative, the day was a celebration of the harvest, giving thanks for the benedictions of the past year and gathering grains for the harsh winter ahead. However, recent years have brought greater awareness to the ctitious nature of this tale and the way in which it overlooks the millions of indigenous peoples on Native lands that were slaughtered and oppressed and still are by colonial settlers. ough the holiday continues to be celebrated by many, it has evolved greatly over the years in accordance with changing social and cultural standards.

With many students across the United States trekking on home to celebrate the federal holiday with their family, niche cooking traditions undoubtedly sprout every autumn. Whether it be an accidental unskinned turkey that resembled a hairless cat or an over-spiced stu ng that turned out delicious, the fusion of cultures and coastal norms make for the most unique and cherished customs.

Across the world, the holiday has manifestations of the “harvest feast”, with countries such as Saint Lucia, Grenada and Liberia observing the holiday as a national celebration. e Canadians have their own version of the holiday, celebrated a month earlier on Oct. 10, while Brazil celebrates their “Dia de Acao de Gracas” on Nov. 4. While the American staples of mashed potatoes, mac and

cheese, turkey, cranberry sauce and stu ng are common patterns in the anksgiving diet, each culture mixes in their own variations of dishes as well. In Canada, a glazed ham is often seen on the table, while the “farofa” — a sort of maize served as a side dish — is common in AmericanBrazilian celebrations, the traditional mashed potatoes often swapped for Mexican rice.

At the College of William and Mary, students have found ways to fuse their many cultures into the anksgivings spent on and o campus. One of these cultural dishes is the stu ed acorn squash, commonly seen at the anksgiving table of Patrick Haney ’25.

“It’s this indigenous dish that we always make

Rachel Sheldon ’24, who enjoys traditional Amish foods at their table.

“Amish tradition is ham loaf and ham balls,” Sheldon said. “We also have shoo- y pie and chicken croquettes.”

Students on campus celebrate in whatever way they can before the actual break, whether it be dinners and events hosted by clubs or potlucks on the Sunken Garden. Interestingly, students in the College’s Joint Degree program with St Andrews University, are nding ways to celebrate the American holiday both at the College and abroad.

“I’m in the JDP program so I was there at that time last year,” Amanda Senk ’25 said. “And I did anksgiving with friends — British people — and they made me Shepards Pie, which is really bizarre. But it was so, so good. So I’m going to continue that tradition. Hopefully when I have anksgiving with my friends this year, we’ll actually try it.”

Typically, students on campus do makeshift anksgiving in apartments and dormitories alike. e idea of a anksgiving on campus, using whatever materials and goods available is a great excuse to gather a community of college friends and express gratitude before the chaos of going home.

“When I’m at college, we do ‘Friendsgiving’ with our friends, where we all kind of just bring our own dishes and everything,” Sheldon said. “So that’s a good way to still keep up that anksgiving vibe.”

In terms of easy meals for the remaining time of break after anksgiving, nothing is better than a loaded up leftover sandwich.

While my anksgiving experience has been “cultural” only in the sense that I venture down to my family in the South, the di erences in what is served are quite evident from north-east to south. Traditional dishes such as hushpuppies, biscuits and cornbread stu ng incorporate the classic southern recipes into the meal. Especially in my New York hometown, substitutes such as the infamous “tofurkey” or vegan stu ng and gravy are becoming popularized to be inclusive to the vegan,

because my family is Mestizo,” Haney said. “And so it’s a squash type of dish with ground beef in the middle and some other spices.”

e indigenous dish itself is inspired by the Native American ree Sisters farming tradition’s crop of winter squash, corn and beans, combined into a native dish served as a homage to the original harvest.

Other students cook meals inspired by religious communities, such as the family of

“ e best thing is a anksgiving leftover sandwich,” Senk said. “So, you take your leftover turkey, leftover stu ng, cranberry sauce, veggies, whatever you have, add them on to some toasted bread with mayo. And it’s the best thing ever.” is is the holiday to get creative, so seize the opportunity if you’re feeling inspired. I wish for everyone reading this to have a anksgiving full of delicious meals, fond memories and to nish it o with a fabulous postprandial nap.

COURTESY IMAGE / LINDSEY “SMITTY” SMITH

The

College of William and Maryʼs biggest aquatic enthustiasts sea-ze the day by interacting with, protecting underwater wildlife

SONIA

GRAPHIC BY KARINO GIBSON THE FLAT HAT

COURTESY

Passing game plays increased role in victory Football defeats Villanova 40-12 at home

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

Crain named CAA Rookie of the Year

Freshman completes season with nine goals

JAKE FORBES FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR

When William and Mary women’s soccer freshman forward Ivey Crain arrived in Williamsburg, head coach Julie Shackford had high expectations for the young player, but did not quite know how much she would excel at the College.

“You never quite know how freshmen are going to perform their first game,” Coach Shackford said. “But in the first game she was shot out of a cannon. I call her the ‘live wire’ because she is always where she is supposed to be and finds a way to score.”

Crain finished her first season with 24 points on nine goals and six assists, the most points since 2011. Her nine goals are the most by a true freshman at William and Mary since 2005. Last month, Crain was named the CAA Rookie of the Year and a member of the All-CAA First Team.

“She is a great kid, a great teammate and has an awesome energy about her that attracts teammates and coaches,” she said.

After qualifying for the CAA tournament for the first time since 2017, the seventh seeded Tribe lost to second seeded Drexel 2-1 in the first round. During the game, Crain managed three shots, with one on goal. She also received credit for the assist to graduate student Cricket Basa, who scored the only Tribe goal of the game. Crain played 87 minutes against Drexel.

Reflecting on the season, Crain views the team’s home opener against Virginia Tech as a pivotal game for her personal growth as a player.

“Scoring twice in one of my first couple games here at William and Mary made me feel like I could really make a difference and help the team,” Crain said.

KELSI PUTNAM FLAT HAT ASSOC. SPORTS EDITOR

Saturday, Nov. 12, William and Mary (9-1, 6-1 CAA) football bested Villanova (5-5, 3-4 CAA) 45-12 during the Veterans’ Memorial Game on Senior Day. The Tribe had one of its best showings this season and highlighted its overall offensive and defensive strengths.

The offense ended up with 582 yards, marking a season-high and program best since 2010. Sophomore quarterback Darius Wilson led the Tribe with 211 passing yards and three touchdowns, marking an unusual reliance on the Tribe passing game.

Wilson also broke away from the defense in a 55-yard run in the second quarter to score the Tribe’s third touchdown of the game. On the ensuing Tribe drive, Wilson passed to sophomore wide receiver Tyler Rose who scored the 87-yard touchdown.

The Tribe defense had another strong performance, holding Villanova to just two field goals through the first 55 minutes of the game. Additionally, the defensive line limited Villanova’s rush game to 138 yards, compared to the Tribe’s own 371

rushing yards. William and Mary averaged 4.9 yards per carry on the ground.

Villanova graduate student kicker Matthew Mercurio scored the two field goals for the Wildcats from 45 and 26 yards, respectively.

This game proved to be historic, as the Tribe’s 33 point victory was the largest point differential against Villanova since 1999. William and Mary also took better care of the football on Saturday, as it did not turn the ball over for the third time this season. Turnovers plagued the Tribe in each of their last two games against Rhode Island and Hampton. It also marked a season high in points and team rushing yards.

Senior running back Bronson Yoder celebrated his final regular season home game with 133 rushing yards, making it the third game in a row that he rushed for over 100 yards. Yoder only needs 28 more yards to join the 1,000 yards club this season, which would make him the first player since 2016 to join the club. Additionally, Yoder is tied for 9th in program history for total games with 100+ rushing yards.

The Tribe’s next game is at Richmond (8-2, 6-1 CAA) on Saturday, Nov. 19th.

William and Mary scores 116 points in victory Tribe wins by largest margin since 1943

LEXIE HIESTAND CHIEF SPORTS WRITER

Thursday, Nov. 10, William and Mary (1-2) picked up their first win of the season against Mid-Atlantic Christian (2-1). With a final score of 116 -40, the 76-point differential is the largest the Tribe has recorded since 1943.

Almost every member of the Tribe played (and scored) in their match against the Mustangs. Having a large enough point margin to sub in players who normally would not have seen game time kept all of the Tribe well-rested and potent. After 10 minutes, the Tribe led with a score of 3012. 82 points throughout the game came from bench players.

Senior guard Miguel Ayesa, despite not starting, recorded the most minutes and points. After entering the contest five minutes into the first, he shot backto-back three-pointers. His shooting continued to shine, as he went on to bank a total of seven three-pointers. He shot 80% on field goals, as well.

Junior guard Jake Milkereit had the highest minutes-to-points ratio, totaling only 16 minutes but scoring 21 points.

Most of his points came from a variety of shooting positions, everywhere in the paint, out of the paint and at the free throw line, where he made five of six attempts.

Both Ayesa and Milkereit notched

career highs in point production. Ayesa’s seven three-pointers in this game mark the seventh highest total in Tribe history.

The freshmen on the team similarly got a feel for the game flow, all playing over ten minutes. Freshman guard/forward Jack Karasinski went 5-8 in field goals and netted both of his three-pointer attempts, totaling 12 points. Freshman guard Chase Lowe made 4-5 field goals and two free throws.

Overall, the Tribe had matching shooting percentages for field goals and three-pointers, at 61.9% and 61.5% respectively. Their free throw average was 70.9%.

The Tribe’ dominance was written all over the stats sheet, from points in the paint, where they led 42 to the Mustang’s 16, to second chance points, totaling 29 to zero, to fast break points, leading 11 to four.

For the fans, it was refreshing and reassuring to see this performance early on in the season. After last season’s woes, and this season’s rocky start on a loss, the Tribe’s success in this game, almost tripling the Mustang’s score, seemed sweeter.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t carry their momentum to Virginia Tech where they lost 94-77 on Sunday, Nov. 13. The Tribe will try to recapture some semblance of a winning record at American (0-2) on Wednesday, Nov. 16.

The freshman ranked second in the conference in points and third in goals throughout the season, but led the conference with 15 points in league play. Among all NCAA freshmen, Crain finished fourth in points and tied for fifth in goals scored. Those statistics translated to 62nd and 59th in the country overall. Halfway through the season Top Drawer Soccer ranked Crain at No. 51 in their list of top-100 freshmen.

“She is already a leader in terms of her production,’’ Shackford said. “Our recruits all talk about her.”

Crain finished the regular season with a shot accuracy of 62.2%, good enough for 16th in the country.

“Everyone on the team was excited knowing they had someone to rely on to be dangerous and give us a chance every game,” Shackford said.

According to Crain and Shackford, team chemistry played a key role in the team’s success this year.

“My first impression of the team was that it was a very family-like environment which made it easy to transition from my high school in Georgia to a college in Virginia,” Crain said. “The chemistry was always there and improved as the season went along.”

Crain emphasized the important role of Shackford and the rest of the coaching staff on creating a welcoming atmosphere.

“The encouragement, leadership and passion that all of our coaches have for the game and team is a critical part of who we are as a team,” Crain said.

Shackford echoed a similar sentiment about Crain, too.

Throughout the season, Crain was named CAA Rookie of the Week three times. In late September, she was named the CAA Offensive Player of the Week after her three combined goals against Stony Brook and Hofstra. In the match against Stony Brook, she fired off a season-high seven shots, three of which were on goal and one made it past the goalkeeper.

“I am honored and humbled because there are many players that were amazing candidates they had to pick from,” Crain said about all her CAA accolades.

With an eye to next season, Shackford believes Crain can significantly build on her rookie campaign.

“We are going to work on her technical skills so she can improve her passing, and also get her stronger in the weight room,” Shackford said.“She has potential to score double or triple what she did this year if she can get the little parts of her game sharper.”

Zooming out to the prospect of the team’s success for next season, Shackford remains optimistic.

“We are very excited for next fall and for all of the studentathletes our team has recruited,” Shackford said.“The next step is more consistency and playing with a championship attitude every day.”

Crain hopes to carry the team’s momentum from this season into next year.

“My expectations are extremely high for this team next season because of the work ethic and foundation that this team has built in the last couple years,” Crain said.“I believe that we will continue to grow as a team and can’t wait for next season.”

SAMUEL LI / THE FLAT HAT

Senior running back Donavyn Lester rushes with the ball during the Tribeʼs 40-12 win over Villanova on Saturday, Nov. 12. He finished the game with 68 rushing yards.

SAMUEL LI / THE FLAT HAT

Junior forward Noah Collier leaps for the ball at tip-off against Mid-Atlantic Christian Univsersity on Thursday, Nov. 10. He finished with 12 rebounds.

COURTESY IMAGE / TRIBE ATHLETICS

Freshman Ivey Crain runs upfield during the Tribeʼs tie against American on Sunday, Sept. 4. She finished the season with 23 points and nine goals.

Author, professor lectures on sex, race in colonial America

ursday, Nov. 10. author, historian and professor Dr. Susan Stryker spoke in Tucker Hall about the case of seemingly-intersex indentured servant omas/ omasine Hall in a contemporary conceptualization of race. Stryker’s lecture, titled “On the Interrelatedness of Sex and Race Classi cation in Colonial Anglo-America” was hosted by the American studies, history and gender, sexuality and women’s studies departments, along with the Alma Mater Institute for Studies in Early American Culture at the College of William and Mary.

Stryker was introduced by Dr. Leisa Meyer, director of American studies and professor of history, American studies, and gender, sexuality and women’s studies at the College.

“Susan Stryker is Professor Emerita of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Arizona Tucson,” Meyer said. “Since retiring from the U of A, she has been a Presidential Fellow and Visiting Professor of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies at Yale in 2019–2020, Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair in Women’s Leadership at Mill’s College from 2020-2022, and a Mata Sutton Weeks External Faculty Fellow at Stanford University Humanities Institute, where she started in 2022 and is going through 2023.”

e work of Stryker in gender and sexuality studies is exhibited in her involvement as a co-director of the Emmy-winning documentary lm “Screaming Queens: e Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria” which was released in 2005. is lm approaches the topic of Gene Compton’s cafeteria riot of 1996 and was co-directed by Victor Silverman. She

CAMPUS

JOSEPH WEHMEYER THE FLAT HAT

Thursday, Nov. 10, TEDx@William&Mary hosted its annual event in the Brinkley Commons Room at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business.

TEDx@William&Mary is an independentlyorganized event aimed at inspiring and elevating student and alumni voices at the College of William and Mary. e W&M TEDx Committee hosts talks under the license of TED, a nonpro t media organization seeking to discover and share powerful ideas.

is year, Maddie Cross-Kaplan ’23, Salaar Khan ’24, Farhat Nishat MBA ’23 and Taiana James ’22, shared personal stories under the theme “Free to Fail,” encouraging others to recognize the success which can come from failure. e event was 14 months in the making after last year’s presentation was postponed, marking the organization’s rst event since March 2021.

TEDxWilliam&Mary Marketing Chair Erin Liebe ’23 discussed anticipating surrounding this year’s event and theme.

“ e most ful lling part, that I’m most excited about, is that these stories that people will be sharing in their talks are very vulnerable and well thought out,” Liebe said. “I’m excited to see people share their stories to an audience that I think needs to hear this overarching theme that it’s okay to fail. We could all use to hear that sometimes.”

e W&M TEDx Committee co-directors Aravind Sreeram ’23 and Chloe Kinderman ’24 opened the event, contextualizing the theme before speakers presented.

“In a society that has intuitively idealized success at every step, we want to emphasize the diverse ways in which our unconventional journeys shape who we become,” Kinderman said. is year, our talks will show you how there’s no success without failure.”

Cross-Kaplan spoke rst, challenging the audience to reframe mental health struggles as a common human experience and allow others to o er help in times of need. Cross-Kaplan’s talk covered her personal experience receiving treatment for an eating disorder and feeling unable to talk about it. A close friend o ered advice on how to confront her mental health struggles.

“No one was asking me to rescue myself,” Cross-Kaplan said. “But I needed to participate in my own rescue.”

is also the co-producer of “Forever’s Gonna Start Tonight” (2009), a documentary lm about a transgender performer and HIV-positive individual who works at nightclubs and lounges.

transgender people,” Meyer said.

Stryker is also a published author of a range of books, including her piece “Gay by the Bay: A History of Queer Culture in the San Fransico Bay Area” (1996) co-authored by Jim van Buskirk. Stryker also wrote a sequel to this book, titled “Queer Pulp: Perverted Passions from the Golden Age of the Paperback” in 2001. Both of these books were nominated for a Lambda Literary Award.

Stryker is currently continuing her work on her next book, titled “Changing Gender,” which is under contract to Farrar Straus Giroux, as well as developing a variety of new lm and television projects.

“I draw from both scholarship and cultural theory to inform the stories that I tell in my book about gender-changing people over the last 400 years, through which I demonstrate how the social system of gender itself has changed over time,” Stryker said. “I build an argument for why, here in the late anthropocene, gender needs to change further still.”

Stryker read a chapter from her new book and explained the history behind omas/ omasine Hall’s experience as an intersex individual in the colonial era. According to historical records, an individual named omas Hall, who presented publicly as a man, arrived as an indentured servant from Plymouth, England to work in the tobacco elds of Virginia in late 162

“My original contribution here is to bring this well-trot historical narrative into dialogue with history of race and racialization, as well as

She encouraged others to seek help in times of need instead of su ering in silence. Cross-Kaplan grew to understand that advice in the context of her own grief, while mourning the passing of a friend last year.

“I didn’t have to try and do this all on my own, but I needed to let others help me,” CrossKaplan said. “I’m here today because a lovely human decided to let me in on her journey of participating in her own rescue, so that I could do the same.”

Salaar Khan spoke second, sharing his own experience of being legally blind and disabled in his talk: “ e Courage to Continue.” Having

are or what a few people tell you, you can be successful. The only real failure is giving up altogether,” he said.

Khan connected this narrative to his own experiences and involvement in politics since he was 13. He has advocated for disabled students in public, economic opportunities for immigrant families and engaged young people in politics. He has gone from volunteering on campaigns to working with lawmakers and being the youngest person to ever represent Virginia at the Democratic National Convention.

After the event’s conclusion, Khan discussed his motivation for speaking in this role.

late twenties, su ering immense pain throughout her three-year recovery. She persisted and succeeded afterwards.

“I was paralyzed, I was on a wheelchair, but I’m here,” Nishat said. “I want to communicate with others, I want to encourage, even if it’s a drop of faith, hope, motivation or encouragement, to contribute to those people who need it.”

Taiana James rounded out the talks, relating her independent research studying the dynamics of bacteriophage infection to larger thoughts on life.

In particular, she focused on connecting life to lysis, a process in which bacteriophages, or viruses, escape their host and find new opportunities to grow.

“To me, lysis correlates to liberation,” James said. “Once you feel like a place is not good enough for you… you have to become liberated. You have to give yourself the courage to leave a situation, you have to feel free to fail, free to change.”

Sreeram and Kinderman closed out the event, inviting fellow executive W&M TEDx Committee members Liebe, logistics chair Dean Waters ’25, and sponsorship chair Jack Hayes ’24 on stage, thanking the audience and applauding the team for the work put in to organize this event.

Aja Bauer ’26 attended the TEDx@ William&Mary event and shared her reasons for attending.

“I realized the topic was very pertinent to me, speci cally being a freshman,” Bauer said. “I feel like I really learned a lot and I’m honestly really glad I came.”

Additionally, Bauer highlighted the diversity of stories that were shared by speakers.

overcome his challenges with the support of those around him, Khan discussed his dedication to serving others younger than him dealing with the similar struggles.

“Disabilities come in all shapes, sizes, and ages,” Khan said. “And I think that last part is especially important to remember because too often we forget about the young people with disabilities, who sometimes have to carry the heaviest burdens.”

Khan encouraged others to persevere in the face of adversity.

“Regardless of what your circumstances

“I’ve been thinking about talking more about my disability and trying to hopefully help others in any way I can with it,” Khan said. “If even one person feels better after watching that, I’m glad I did it.”

Farhat Nishat discussed overcoming the fear of failure in several stages of her life. After growing up in one of the least developed states in India, she earned a medical degree and pivoted to a business management career.

“I took an unconventional path for a female doctor in India,” Nishat said.

She survived a life-threatening accident in her

“Even though my story doesn’t quite look like what theirs is, I can still relate that to my own and see how success might be coming and that failure is okay,” Bauer said.

Regarding next steps, Waters expressed excitement about TEDx@William&Mary’s opportunity for growth.

“One of the things I’m excited for is building the team back together to brainstorm and make this event happen, as well as getting a lot of student and faculty speakers,” Waters said. “ e mission of TEDx is always to have anyone who has something that they want to say to have this platform to get their stories out to the world.”

EQUITY from page 2

The Flat Hat could not find any evidence that the report was ever shared with College faculty and staff.

Chancellor professor of physics David Armstrong, who was president of the Faculty Assembly for the 2020-21 academic year, said that he and the rest of the Faculty Assembly were never shown the report.

“There was no report presented to the Assembly on salary equity by the administration during that (very challenging) year,” Armstrong said in a written statement. “I would be interested to read such a report.”

Rowe was asked about a salary equity study at the Oct. 11, 2022 Faculty Assembly meeting, but she did

not reference the May 2021 report in her response.

“Supposedly as a result of the Ivy Planning Group report, we had to do a diversity training and there’s going to be a salary equity study,” associate professor of English Suzanne Hagedorn said to Rowe at the meeting. “It said that salary equity study was going to be done as a part of Vision 2026. That was in February, it’s October now. When is that salary equity study going to happen?”

“So, I’ve heard these objections and I have answered them,” Rowe said in response to Hagedorn. “We’re going to work through, I hope, with faculty assembly, salary equity questions as part of the work that we need to do this year.”

Hagedorn was referring to the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Strategic Assessment, which was conducted by the Ivy Planning Group in 2021 to identify barriers to eliminating systemic bias at the College. Hagedorn told The Flat Hat in a written statement that she does not feel Rowe addressed her concerns about salary equity at the Oct. 11 meeting.

The revelations in the salary equity report , though now over a year old, come amid increased labor organizing efforts on campus. Sept. 15, Sodexo dining hall workers at the College went public with their plans to unionize to demand better pay and working conditions from Sodexo, with significant community support. The union announced Oct. 24 that Sodexo

officially recognized them.

Sept. 26, 214 faculty members sent an open letter to Rowe asking for more transparency and employee participation in administrative decision making following concerns of Vision 2026.

“The faculty have seen our elected representatives marginalized, our perspectives dismissed, and our involvement in university governance largely eliminated,” the authors of the open letter wrote. “We all acknowledge that William & Mary faces significant challenges. If the road ahead is daunting, all of us must work together in ways that move us forward without losing our essential character. We hope you will accept this message as both a challenge and an opportunity

to work in common purpose.”

Although the administration has yet to publicize the findings of the May 2021 salary equity report, Hanley said she is hopeful that the College will address the issues raised in it.

“My sense is that this administration knows pay equity is a problem on campus and would like to make progress on the issue,” Hanley said in a written statement to The Flat Hat. “Students may not remember this, but in 2019 President Rowe raised the wages of permanent W&M employees to $12/hr. (Of course, that wage is still well below a living wage and it did not include the contract employees on campus.) And I don’t think the Provost

“ is type of laundry list of accomplishments, however impressive, doesn’t make clear how deeply in uential Professor Stryker and her work have been in developing and creating the eld of transgender studies. And I would argue further in expanding and making more livable and viable LGBTQ studies, queer studies, and histories for

Dr. Susan Stryker discusses intersex indentured servant in colonial Virginia through a contemporary lens

TEDx@William&Mary holds annual event highlighting personal growth

Four students shared stories under “Free to Fail” theme, encourage overcoming adversity to succeed

Administration says efforts of pay equity are ongoing, minimimum hourly pay fails to meet living wage

JUSTIN SHERLOCK / THE FLAT HAT

University of Arizona Tucson professor Susan Stryker presented her research on gender in colonial Virginia.

RYAN GOODMAN / THE FLAT HAT

Students share their experiences with personal challenges throu ghout their life, how they use adversity to motivate them in ot her areas of life.