The Flat Hat September 21 2021

T HE F LAT H AT

Vol. 111, Iss. 9 ¦ Tuesday, September 21, 2021

The Weekly Student Newspaper

of The College of William and Mary

COVID CASES

flathatnews.com ¦ @theflathat

PILE UP GRAPHIC BY CHARLES COLEMAN / THE FLAT HAT

ZACHARY LUTZKY/ THE FLAT HAT

Changes to quarantine, testing procedures cause confusion among students CLAIRE HOGAN // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

At the start of the fall semester, the College of William and Mary was sitting at under a dozen positives on its nearly fullyvaccinated campus. But within a week, the number skyrocketed to over 100, then over 200 shortly after. Now, students and faculty are questioning the safety protocols put in place by the College’s administration this semester, which include in-person classes, restricted access to testing and limited quarantine options.

QUARANTINE Lucia Eovino ’23 was sent to the Wyndham Gardens Hotel after testing positive for COVID-19. After her two free nights of hotel provided by the College, she had to pay for the rest herself, splitting the cost with her roommate.

“It’s an awful thing to say, but I almost wish I had gotten COVID last year, ‘cause at least everything’s online, so my classes are accommodating, and Richmond is open, and I don’t have to spend $20 on one meal just DoorDashing it,” Eovino said.

The hotel was $80 a night — $120 on Fridays and Saturdays — along with the cost of delivering food. When Eovino was quarantining, the College still lacked protocols in place to deliver food from the dining halls.

Other students, such as Nicki Ganti ’24, found the quarantining protocols disorganized and stressful. Ganti knew she had COVID-19 when she couldn’t taste her mouthwash or toothpaste in the morning, and she immediately reported her symptoms and was transported to the Holiday Inn with the promise that her first two nights were free. But she ended up using her own credit card to pay for the first two nights, hoping to be reimbursed later.

“I came in with the idea that I’d go to the hotel, the first two days would be prepaid, and that they were in contact with the hotel, because I didn’t make the reservation, the case manager did,” Ganti said. “So I came in with the idea that they knew my situation, that I could be staying anywhere from two to 10 days.”

But after the first two days, hotel staff called her in the

middle of her lecture, informing her that she had to vacate the room or pay for the rest of her stay immediately. And when she took a school-provided COVID-19 test on Sunday, she didn’t get her results back until Thursday. By then, she had already taken an athome test which came back positive. Along with these difficulties, Ganti also felt disheartened by the lack of contact from the College.

“They said in the email that we do get calls everyday to check in on us, but we don’t,” Ganti said. “The only time I’ve talked to a case manager or anyone, I’ve always initiated the phone calls, whereas last year they did check in on us every day.”

The College sent her a care package, but Ganti found its content unsatisfactory.

“It was all frozen meals, and my fridge doesn’t have a freezer, so I had to throw it out because I couldn’t preserve them,” Ganti said.

“But I appreciated the gesture” For many students, the financial burden of a hotel stay is prohibitive. But Chief Operating Officer Amy Sebring emphasizes that funds are available for students who need it.

“We indicate to the student, if you have a financial need, let us know,” Sebring said. “The university has HEART funds or other emergency funds that can help with your stay. We had a handful of cases where in those instances, we worked with the hotel and said the hotel would just directly bill us, so the student never gets charged.”

Additionally, Sebring pointed out the small number of students quarantined in hotels.

“The maximum, we’ve had one day where we had 17 students in hotels, so the numbers are really small so far, in total,” Sebring said. “Most of those are students who are just there for a night or two while they wait for mom or dad to pick them up, or wait for morning to drive in the morning, depending on if they’re able to transport themselves.”

TESTING Other students had difficulty getting tested in the first

place. Per the College’s guidelines, students have access to tests at the Sadler front desk or through the COVID-19 test vending machine, but only if they’re a confirmed close contact — defined as having spent more than 15 minutes unmasked within six feet of a COVID-positive individual — or have reported symptoms. For some students like Laura Pace ’22 who tested positive, she met neither of those conditions. Pace got tested for COVID-19 unintentionally, after going to urgent care for what she thought was an earache.

“I didn’t go to get tested, I got tested because they felt bad for me, pretty much,” Pace said. “If they’d let me walk out of there, I would have been walking around campus infecting people, which is kind of ridiculous.”

After her positive test on Monday, Pace filled out the Report COVID form, but by Wednesday she still didn’t have a case manager.

“I just think it’s kind of irresponsible to put a bunch of undergraduates on a campus with virtually no restrictions and say, ‘ok, it’s normal!’ and then people get sick and the university’s not responsible for that, in their words,” Pace said. “But they are, everyone here is paying to be here, and it’s their job to make sure everyone is safe, and they’re not doing that, and it’s super frustrating. I want to have a normal semester as much as anyone, but we can’t do that if they’re not taking COVID seriously.”

Though the College has 15 case managers and five more in training, the lack of communication from case managers is a common refrain among students who tested positive.

Amelia Levine ’24 also was tested off campus, using an at-home kit from Walmart to expedite the process.

“It’s really tough for me because I live out-of-state, I live in Connecticut, so I was like, ‘I’m going to need a lot of time to figure out what to do, because I can’t go home and risk my grandparents,’” Levine said.

See COVID page 8

CITY COUNCIL

City Council approves three-year pause on four-person dwellings applications Neighborhood Balance Commitee's proposal, Last Word column resurface town and gown tensions LULU DAWES FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR

Thursday, Aug. 12, Williamsburg City Council unanimously voted (5-0) in favor of a three-year moratorium on the city code that allows single-family unattached dwellings to rent to four unrelated people. The decision is a continuation of Williamsburgs’ twodecade long struggle with off-campus housing, resurfacing tensions between long-term residents and student renters.

The moratorium will pause homeowners’ ability to apply for approval with the City to rent to four unrelated people. While state and city code decree that only three unrelated individuals can live together, the City of Williamsburg passed a law in 2010 that stated an additional fourth person may be allowed in a single-family unattached dwelling if the home meets certain requirements.

The moratorium will not affect any homes that have already been approved by the City; it will only stop new houses from applying.

The proposed moratorium was first brought

student rental.

“Had that happened, we would now be surrounded with students to our left, our right, across from us and behind us at the end of Powell street,” Adams said. “...The absence of permanent residents strongly diminishes our sense of community. Obviously, we do not see our neighbors as often, it's harder to keep up with what’s going on, whether someone needs help … My house was a student rental whe we bought it. In fact, it was an unofficial fraternity party house. It could easily be one again. I expect a few Goodwins street houses to be on the market within the next 5 to 10 years. If the ratio of students to residents gets any worse, the street could easily become a student slum.”

The Planning Commision voted 3-2 against the recommendation of the moratorium to City Council. Despite this vote, the moratorium was still proposed to the council and was passed on Aug. 12.

City Councilman Caleb Rogers ’20 said that the council approved the moratorium in order to better evaluate the changes that newly developed apartment buildings in the area will

Inside Opinions

INDEX News Opinions Variety Sports News

up at the Williamsburg Planning Commision meeting on July 14 by the Neighborhood Balance Committee. Some members of the committee and Williamsburg residents spoke at the meeting in favor of the moratorium, saying that the transient nature of student renters hurts the neighborhood and that the fourth-person allowance has increased roads’ trash and traffic.

A resident on Goodwins street Flora Adams said that approximately half of the 31 residents on her street are students and they do not live permanently in Williamsburg when the College of William and Mary is not in session.

“When the four-person rule was passed it was considered a trial to be reevaluated after a few years; now is the time for that revaluation,” Adams said. “As far as I’m concerned, the four person permit has been a failure. A definite detriment to our old residential neighborhood.”

Adams mentioned her disapproval with the fact that the approval for four-person houses will transfer with owners if the house is sold, making them more appealing to investors. She also spoke of her fears when a house on her street went on sale as it could have become a

2 3-4 5-6 7 8

OAs are unpaid. It's (well past) time to change that

Katie Grotewiel ’22 is an Orientation Aide fighting for the College to pay its OAs, like other Virginia universities do, since OAs perform invaluable work for new students. page 3

have on students living off-campus. Rogers also stated that the mortriaum was placed in order to develop a rent ready program, which would increase landlord accountability and protect students.

“This is why the pause for the fourth person rule was put into place — more or so that we can take a step back, see some of the change from our new off campus housing stock, and then ultimately come back with I think protections for both students who are renting in the neighborhoods but also for the local community that may own in the neighborhoods to try to continue that sort of harmony that the Neighborhood Balance Committee was trying to find,” Rogers said.

Rogers stated that the three-year moratorium will not affect any students already living off campus, and that on average it would mean only six houses could not apply for a fourperson house approval. Currently, 38 houses in Williamsburg have been granted approval since the law was first passed.

Inside Variety

Echosmith Concert Review AMP brings indie pop band Echosmith to Matoka Amphitheter for 2021 Welcome Back Concert. page 5

Read more at flathatnews.com

Inside Sports

Head baseball coach leaves the College Brian Mann heads to alma mater Merrimack College for upcoming spring season as the new head coach. page 7

THE FLAT HAT

¦ Tuesday, September 21, 2021 ¦ Page 2

THE BUZZ

It was all frozen meals, and my fridge doesn t have a freezer, so I had to throw it out because I couldn t preserve them. But I appreciated the gesture.

FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF Dr. Anthony Fauci set to speak at Class of 2020 Commencement ceremony Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci will deliver remarks for the College of William and Mary’s Class of 2020 Commencement ceremony in October. Fauci will receive an honorary doctorate of science from the College and will speak virtually.

Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, an expert in biodiversity and founder of “Nature” on PBS, and Donald Patten, lawyer and former rector of the College, will also receive honorary degrees.

Fauci is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and has become known for his public health advisory role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He has advised seven presidents on domestic and global health issues and is known as the nation’s top expert on infectious diseases. Fauci previously hosted a community conversation with College President Katherine Rowe in February.

“Dr. Fauci exemplifies the value of service that runs so deep in our university,” Rowe said in a press release. “He’s a public servant, who studied classics before turning to medicine. This breadth serves him well as he helps our nation navigate the challenge of our time. He is the ideal person to speak to William & Mary’s Class of 2020, who completed their degrees and launched professional lives amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Lovejoy, who will receive an honorary doctorate of science from the College, is an ecologist and environmental policy advisor who has worked on the interaction between climate change and biodiversity for over 30 years.

READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM BRIEF BY CLAIRE HOGAN / THE FLAT HAT

A THOUSAND WORDS

ZACHARY LUTZKY / THE FLAT HAT

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

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

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Pioneering Esports

Marissa Chai Hibbert 22 recieves Gen.G Foundation scholarship for esports work MOLLY PARKS // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

COURTESY PHOTO / MARISSA CHAI HIBBERT

Marissa Chai Hibbert 22 was chosen as one of 11 students across the United States to recieve the $10,000 Gen. G Foundation scholarship for esports.

Marissa Chai Hibbert ’22 has been playing video games since she was five years old.

This summer, all of her time and effort paid off, literally. In August, Hibbert discovered she was awarded the Gen.G Foundation scholarship, a $10,000 scholarship to support women, people of color and lowincome college students in the fields of gaming, esports, entrepreneurship, content creation and journalism.

“We’re going to have mentorship programs,” Hibbert said. “We’re going to be connected with industry professionals.

So I’m really really excited for it.”

The Gen.G Foundation is a worldwide esports organization that helps young people interested in gaming develop into leaders of the gaming and esports industry.

“I think what really attracted me to the esports organization was that I liked how they were making a full commitment to diversity,” Hibbert said. “The esports industry and gaming in general is really tough for marginalized people and marginalized creators, so the fact that that is one of the pillars of their foundation is fantastic.”

Hibbert applied for the scholarship after seeing an advertisement for it on Twitter around final exams season in May. She had an interview in June, and then another final interview in August where she was notified that she had received the scholarship.

She recalled how it was one of the best surprises of her life.

“The funniest part about it was that I didn’t even know what the financial portion of the scholarship was,” Hibbert said. “It wasn’t until the announcement last week, later on in the evening that I looked and said ‘Oh my god.’”

Hibbert started to get into the esports side of gaming around when the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. That year, she joined the College of William and Mary’s esports interdisciplinary program.

After discussing esports with Lecturer of Speech Michele King of the JumpStart Data Science Summer Program, Hibbert was soon appointed as one of the heads of the social media for the esports interdisciplinary program.

The interdisciplinary program is different from the Esports Club on campus. Though at first the program started off as a project, it has now grown to become a space where

students can play on the varsity team and also take classes working towards a minor in esports.

Last year, Hibbert worked as the head of social media for the program, creating the fan portal and directing platforms such as their Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Twitch. This year, Hibbert’s role is changing with the program.

“Now that we are expanding, my position has changed a little bit away from social media and more towards outreach,” Hibbert said. “I show not only the William & Mary Community, but the Williamsburg area, Tidewater, Hampton Roads, all of Virginia, that esports at William & Mary exists.”

As an outreach director, Hibbert works on the management side of the esports program. She created the program’s website and is the only woman out of seven

campus “esports pioneers.” According to the program, esports pioneers are “student leaders who were selected to develop the esports landscape at W&M tailored to their area of expertise from financial and organizational outreach, media and communication to the varsity coordinator, academic specialist, and wellness advocates.”

“One of the most rewarding parts about the program is that I get to interact with people I otherwise would never cross paths with,” Hibbert said.

In addition to being the head of outreach and communications for the esports team, Hibbert is involved as the nominating chair for the Nu Chi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Hibbert is majoring in Business Analytics with a Data Science minor and concentration in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

After college, Hibbert intends to pursue her interests in gaming.

“My hopes are definitely set pretty high. I would love to work in esports after I graduate,” Hibbert said. “Either behind the scenes as a part of production or even being a broadcaster for events. I don’t know that I’d be much of a competitive gamer, but I definitely want to work in esports after I graduate.”

She also is interested in the cosmetics industry and beauty. Hibbert described how she would love to pursue a career where she could see the crossover between her two passions: gaming and beauty.

In addition to receiving the Gen.G Foundation scholarship, Hibbert also recently received a scholarship from the 1,000 Dreams Fund.

Hibbert was part of the first cohort of this scholarship, intended to highlight women and femmes in different industries — this year being gaming.

As her four years at the College come to a close, Hibbert is finishing on a reflective note, filled with gratitude and good intent for the future.

“Just do it,” Hibbert said.

“Ask somebody. Nine times out of ten there’s someone who knows something about what you want to know. Take risks, value your mental health, and do things with good intent.”

opinions

THE FLAT HAT

Opinions Editor Lucas Harsche Opinions Editor Alyssa Slovin fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat ¦ Tuesday, September 21, 2021 ¦ Page 3

GUEST COLUMN

GUEST COLUMN

I have an eating disorder, and the new Marketplace is triggering Anonymous FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

Content Warning: This artilcle discusses eating disorders.

EWART / THE F L A TH AT

Orientation Aides provide essential labor to the College of William and Mary. We introduce students to campus, often for the first time. We train them in campus policies and protocols (the Good Griffin medical amnesty policy, sexual violence resources on campus, how to get accommodations, etc). We are physically in the room with them when Banner crashes while they’re registering for classes, and we help them send emails to professors asking for overrides. We also help reassure families that their children are in good hands here, and for many that can be hard, especially coming out of a pandemic where they’ve spent the last year and a half living in close quarters with them.

Most new students are unaware of the extensive, violent history of our campus, and as OAs, I believe it’s our job to begin that introduction to our history. I find it critical for all members of our community to be aware of what has happened in this space that we are occupying so we can continue to occupy it, and often that first introduction happens during Orientation when we give our campus tours, talk about the Lemon Project’s work and discuss the student energy toward activism and organizing here.

As OAs, we are vital in guaranteeing the smooth transition into the new year for the College. But we don’t get paid at all. (Unless you count two neon yellow t-shirts, the potential for heat exhaustion, and dining hall food for 3 meals a day as “pay.”)

This Orientation, I was in Reves Hall along with three other wonderful OAs (my “COs”). We trained for 14-15 hours a day for three days (Monday-Wednesday) and a half day on Thursday, when Orientation began. During Orientation, my hours ranged from about 12 hours/day to 15 hours/day.

In total, this Orientation, I worked about 130 hours total for the College without pay. Some of my coworkers worked 17+ hour days, depending on their particular schedules, and our Orientation Aide Directors worked practically around the clock.

In addition to not having pay, we were also not provided with parking decals for the 10 days we had to be on campus. For students that drive to campus for Orientation, that means either paying for a scratch-off parking pass, committing to a $375 annual parking pass or risking expensive parking tickets through the week.

Yes, Parking Services was still ticketing, even during move-in, which they made very clear to us during training.

The vast majority of the budget for Student Transitional Engagement Programs is funded by new student orientation fees, $353 per student. As it stands right now, the STEP budget does not allow for room for OAs to be paid — just a $1,000 stipend paid to OADs split into two payments, one at the beginning of the summer and a second after Orientation. (Keep in mind, OADs are working from October of the previous year until August/September of the Orientation year. They are doing 11 months of work for $1,000, which does not even cover the labor cost of running interviews.)

In addition to our duties listed above, we also serve as mandatory reporters for issues pertaining to student welfare like Title IX and hazing, as well as serving as Campus Security Authorities per the Clery Act. In other words, during our time as OAs we have as much responsibility to maintain campus safety as a professor would in their classroom. We should be paid.

This Orientation, we decided to open up the conversation, generate a change in perspective. Lots of current students on campus are unaware that their OAs went unpaid for their labor. So those of us involved in this action (me, some other students and some folks from the William and Mary Workers’ Union) made about a hundred or so buttons that said “OAs ARE UNPAID.” Within the first few days, we’d run out, and I went home during one of my

ST NA IAN

First, some background — I’m in a phase of recovery called re-feeding. It basically means that I have to eat a lot of food to make up for years of starvation. During that process, I have to choose calorie and nutrient dense foods. Otherwise, I’ll feel full before I’ve gotten the energy that my body needs to recover.

Iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots won’t work for me. I need avocado, hummus, tomatoes and tortilla chips. Those foods tend to be heavier in terms of mass, which doesn’t jive well with the new policy at Marketplace.

Gone are the days when a large salad cost the same no matter what you piled into your plastic to-go container. Salads are priced by the ounce.

It took me years to internalize the reality that my weight doesn’t define my worth. Apparently, that privilege doesn’t extend to Marketplace meals.

My first week back on campus, I plopped a salad on the scale that clocked in at a whopping thirteen dollars. The cashier’s eyes widened.

“You’ve got to watch it with the salads,” they said. “I won’t charge you this time, but you’ve got to watch it. It’s too heavy.”

Too heavy. My food was too heavy.

A dread settled over me akin to the nausea I used to feel every time that I stepped on a bathroom scale. Who did I think I was? Why couldn’t I serve myself food that weighed a normal amount? How could I consume this now, knowing the extent of its excess?

I ate the salad, slowly and painfully, because I want to get better, but it shouldn’t have been such a battle. I shouldn’t be subjected to a dining hall setup so antithetical to my recovery plan.

Marketplace employees aren’t the problem; the new policy is.

Marketplace should return to its original system or transition to an all-you-can-eat dining location. If nothing changes, students will continue paying too much money for not enough food. More disturbingly, W&M Dining will continue supporting a system that compels food restriction and shames food choices.

This author is a student at the College of William and Mary and has chosen to remain anonymous. If you would like to respond, email fhopinions@gmail.com.

FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

breaks to make another batch.

When parents saw on our buttons that we weren’t paid, they were nicer to us. There was less anger directed toward us for problems that arise during Orientation, like logistical issues with move-in or questions we can’t answer for them. Our new students, too, didn’t know that we weren’t paid. After all, most other major universities in the state of Virginia pay their orientation workers, so why would they expect the College to be any different? Even my professors who knew I was working Orientation were horrified to learn of the long hours we work without pay. They described it as “shameful.”

And let me be clear: the buttons were never meant to be the endall, be-all of this project. In years past, OADs and OAs have tirelessly tried to get OAs to be paid. Because of that we knew going into this year that this would be a long process, so we took Orientation to begin that process, to start that conversation, and cause a shift in the perspective toward OAs on campus.

Without us, new students aren’t able to register for their classes, learn about vital campus policies and protocols, or navigate campus often for the first time ever. Without us, the beginning of the year would be sheer chaos. Freshmen would be registering for 300- and 400-level classes with professors whose classes are 100% unfilled for a reason. They would get lost on their way from Reves to the Caf. New students wouldn’t know that they can seek help for a friend in medical distress after a night of drinking without fear of disciplinary action per the Good Griffin policy. We are essential GR workers for the College. And we should be paid.

AP HI And that’s a change that can and should C be fixed. And this is not the fault of the STEP office, either. This is on the administration, specifically those who set the budget (looking at you, Board of Visitors).

For some context: CNU pays their Orientation Leaders minimum wage, $9.50/hr. UVa pays their Orientation Leaders $2000 total. Virginia Tech pays theirs $2,500.

Why won’t the College pay theirs?

They rely on the constant supply of students willing and thrilled to be OAs. They bank on the fact that there will always be students ready to take up this position. A lot of the time, new students love their OAs and want to take their place in the next staff. The College is exploiting that desire to serve the community so that they can save some money.

At the College, if OAs were paid minimum wage for the hours worked in training and during orientation, it would be between $1200-$1500 per OA. For this year’s staff, that would amount to about $400,000. This year, the College decided to make other investments instead of pay for OAs: iPads for move-in that overheated almost immediately, resulting in a five-mile backup down Monticello Ave; new W&M pillowcases for every single new student; and new SodaStream machines in the dining halls because the College wanted to be ahead of the game in campus dining. Those purchases do not make sense when ~260 OAs do not get paid and the 10 OADs are paid practically nothing.

We can change this. But this isn’t something that can or should be done alone. Join me and the other OAs who refuse to tolerate exploitation and believe in the changes that we can make for future Orientation staff. This includes pay, proper training and break schedules, parking passes for the duration of Orientation, and safe working conditions (specifically in terms of COVID-19 and other public health crises). These are essential improvements that need to be made for essential workers on campus. It’s well past time these changes are made.

Katie Grotewiel ‘22 is from Richmond, VA, studying English and gender, sexuality & women’s studies. She is involved in Someone You Know, the Barksdale Treble Chorus, Nu Kappa Epsilon and the William & Mary Workers’ Union. When not in class or in org meetings, she can typically be found wasting time on the first floor of Swem with a dirty chai. Email Katie at krgrotewiel@email.wm.edu.

To view citations visit flathatnews.com.

AR

It took me years to internalize the relality that my weight doesn t define my worth.

Apparently, that privilege doesn t extend to Marketplace meals.

Katie Grotewiel

BY

Normal dining halls terrify me. The freedom of choice is overwhelming. Once, during my freshman year, I wandered through the labyrinth of The Caf for 15 minutes before walking out without any food.

Marketplace used to be a haven from my disordered thoughts.

Its á la carte dining did the work of portioning and selection for me — I always got an entree, a side, a dessert, and a drink. I didn’t have to think about it. I didn’t feel guilty about eating too much food.

I left feeling encouraged and strong.

But now, because of Marketplace’s changes, if I take enough food to satisfy my hunger and follow the meal plan prescribed by my dietician, I’m forced to pay extra or haggle with the cashier.

“I’ll let you take that cookie today, but next time, it’ll be extra.”

And all at once I’m a failure, too weak and dumb to follow the rules — if the powers that be set the price of a meal swipe at eight dollars, then surely any combination over that amount is gluttonous.

The thoughts swirl.

I throw the cookie in the compost bin.

I eat a Caprese sandwich with no chicken.

I go to bed hungry.

The new Marketplace setup has quickly come under campus scrutiny. Its eight-dollar meal swipe limit leads to longer lines and more expensive food. These are valid frustrations, but in the thick of anorexia recovery, my issues with the dining hall cut deeper.

My most scarring experience involved a salad. (Yes, it’s funny.

Eating disorders are awful, and they’re also hilarious. I cried over a jelly donut a few days ago. You can laugh about it with me. I give you permission).

OAs are unpaid. It’s (well past) time to change that

GRAPHIC BY SKYLER FOLEY / THE FLAT HAT

THE FLAT HAT

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

STAFF COLUMN

Page 4

STAFF COLUMN

Center offers Class of ’24 finally experiences convocation Wellness insubstantial and despite consistent weather postponements performative services light complemented the scenery, the seating area that I was in was very dim. It was hard to hear the president, along with other speakers. I felt like I kept on getting distracted by all the things going on around me. When all the students got up to sing the Alma Mater out loud, it was so dark that many people began to take out their phones and turned on the flashlight to read what was on the pamphlet. I wish that they put lights out in the back because it would have made the experience

much better.

Bushra Bablu

FLAT HAT ASSOCIATE OPINIONS EDITOR

One of the highlights from the ceremony was speaker Justice John Charles Thomas. I was moved by his speech, in terms of how he described our community and all the hardships we have been through. He was very inspirational, bringing back how consistently we are tested in our daily lives. He described the world as “ fragmented” and how all have different world views that surround us and confront us.

Toward the end of the ceremony, the different classes began to walk through Wren. The class of 2024 went through the building first. However, unfortunately, I was not aware of this and ended up walking through the building with the Class of 2025.

At the end of the walk, we were greeted by the upperclassmen, but since the event was prolonged, I could sense low- drained

It was almost time for me to leave the building. “Hey everyone, let’s take photos before we head out.” I heard someone say. I finished getting ready for the event and went downstairs. After I left the building, I met everyone outside. “Hey, you look amazing! Can’t wait to walk through the Wren Building.” I am currently a sophomore, class of 2024, and I was experiencing Opening Convocation for the first time with the freshmen, the class of 2025. Our Convocation had been pushed three times already.

Traditionally, Convocation is a celebration meant for the new class to walk energy from the crowds GRAPHIC BY SOPHIA CASSIDY / THE FLAT HAT through the Sir Christopher on the sidelines.

Wren Building to signify At the end of the beginning of the academic year and to officially welcome the Convocation, which lasted roughly from 8 p.m. to all of the entering College of William and Mary students.

10 p.m., I felt hungry and went to Wawa and got a late At first, I was very confused about why the Convocation dinner. Overall, I am glad that I was able to experience date kept on getting postponed and why students were Convocation, even though I had different expectations of notified towards the end of the day rather than the how things played out. beginning. My plans would constantly get changed. It was Bushra Bablu ‘24 is planning to double major in continuously postponed due to weather conditions, which government and economics. Bushra serves as an Associate was understandable since it’s Williamsburg. While walking Opinions Editor for The Flat Hat Newspaper and the Business toward the Sir Christopher Wren Building with other Manager for Flat Hat Magazine. Outside of The Flat Hat, students, I noticed there were green and yellow lights. This Bushra is also involved with One for the World and Women in was perfect and contrasted the night sky well. Although the Business. Email Bushra at bebablu@email.wm.edu.

STAFF COLUMN

College should bring back swim test, provide instruction to students who require it

Lucas Harsche

FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR

Content warning: this article addresses issues originating from racism As a campus lifeguard, one of my job responsibilities is to administer Campus Recreation’s swim test to prospective members of aquatic sports clubs, like sailing or rowing. For some students, the task is as simple as asking them to go on a light walk. For others, the swim and tread components are a valid source of anxiety.

As a lifelong swimmer myself, the question came to me: Why doesn’t the College — and most universities in the United States today — have a swim test for all of its students?

In asking this question, I am remiss in failing to address the past discriminations which complicate swimming pool accessibility across the country — and therefore the acquisition of proficient swimming skills. Like many public facilities at the time, swimming pools in the early 20th century were mostly segregated, either by law in the Jim Crow South or by societal pressure in the northern states.

Regardless of region, people of color across the country often faced threats, harassment and, in far too many cases, violence from white patrons. Black patrons in particular were also thought to pose a threat to white people at swimming pools via racist stereotypes concerning hygiene and that Black men could not be trusted around white women, much less while they were in swimwear.

As public pools across the United States were subsequently integrated, “whites fled to the suburbs, where they built private,

member-only pools.” Whether by expensive membership fees or requiring residence in predominantly white neighborhoods, these private pools perpetuated the exclusion of non-white people at pool facilities. As with so many of the injustices of racism, the damaging effects of these policies are still observable today: ”[a]ccording to a 2017 USA Swimming Foundation study, nearly 64 percent of Black children and 45 percent of Latino children can’t swim, compared to 40 percent of white children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reports that between 1999 and 2010, Black children drowned in swimming pools at a rate of up to 10 times higher than their white peers.” It is for these reasons that countless universities across the United States, including the College itself, removed swim tests from their requirements for graduation.

backyard pool parties, even snorkeling! Does a university seeking to prepare well-rounded students really wish to continue keeping such experiences out of the reach of those who did not learn from a young age how to swim?

Second, swimming is also a crucial skill that has the real potential to save lives. Put aside, for now, the fact that our campus has a large lake frequently used by students without proof of swim level. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning “is one of three leading causes of unintentional injury death among persons aged ≤29 years,” and that “implementing and evaluating community-based interventions, including those promoting basic swimming and water safety skills among disproportionately affected racial/ethnic groups, could help reduce these disparities.” Thus, while I do support the verification of acquired swimming skills via a test, I believe that it would be very elitist for the College to simply force those unfamiliar with swimming to learn the necessary skills on their own, especially one which claims “belonging” as one of its core values. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, I remember guarding for a learn-to-swim class available even to adults at Adair Pool: why not reintroduce this program on a larger scale as part of a student’s tuition?

In its statement of values, the College also claims that one of its GRAPHIC BY GEORGIA WESTBROOK / THE FLAT HAT core values is “flourishing,” wherein With all of this in mind, you may rightly it seeks to “empower those who live, learn, wonder why this privileged white kid still and work here to make choices toward a considers swimming skills a valuable healthy and fulfilling life.” With swimming component of a well-rounded education providing a lifelong opportunity for both and swim tests a requirement to consider health and fulfillment, why would the College reinstating for graduation. not seek to empower students by equipping First of all, swimming is a lifelong skill, and them with such beneficial skills? As a campus therefore one that is not subject to “missed lifeguard, it would be my pleasure to lend my opportunities” in regard to age, making it skills to whatever form that endeavor takes. that much more valuable as an available Lucas Harsche ’23 majoring in History. method of exercise. As much as my inner In addition to The Flat Hat, Lucas is also the nerd hates to admit, our bodies require just treasurer for both Swim Club and Active as much exercise as our minds in order to Minds, and plays violin in the Symphony reach the best versions of ourselves. Plus, Orchestra. Email Lucas at lmharsche@email. there are so many amazing life experiences wm.edu. that can be had through swimming: beaches, To view citations visit flathatnews.com.

Claire Hogan

FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Content warning: this article mentions mental health and suicide On the chalkboard outside the Integrated Science Center, there’s a poem called “The Cats Will Know.” It’s dedicated to Paul Soutter, a student at the College of William and Mary who died by suicide in 2015. I must have stood at the chalkboard a dozen times, reading the poem over and over. And every time, it makes me angry.

It’s a running joke among the College community that the McLeod Tyler Wellness Center is a bit “woo woo.” I’ve written before about their panacea-like claims regarding essential oils, not to mention their ongoing reiki practices and vague “wellness” platitudes. People joke about huffing essential oils to “cure their depression,” a dystopian blend of the Gen-Z humor surrounding poor mental health and the legitimate grievances against the Wellness Center itself. We joke about it because it’s easier than facing the real truth: that the Wellness Center isn’t funny, because people have died.

Institutional memory is short at a four-year college — any students who were around in 2015 have long since graduated, so nobody on campus can remember why the Wellness Center was built. But I can tell you why: it’s because four students died in 2015 due to ongoing mental health crises. The Wellness Center started construction in the fall of 2015, just six months after Soutter’s death. The Wellness Center is inextricably tied to the mental health crisis here, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at their services.

When asked about Soutter’s death in the Washington Post in 2015, Associate Vice President for Health & Wellness Dr. Kelly Crace “cautioned that it is easy to over-connect academic stress and the risk of suicide.”

Frankly, I believe Dr. Crace; he obviously has more expertise on the matter than I do. But don’t you think that the College — the institution where students live, work and study almost 24/7 — has at least a modicum of responsibility for their mental health? Even if it’s an underlying mental health struggle rather than academic stress, the College has a responsibility to uphold the health of all of its students. And that’s simply not happening.

The Wellness Center might seem sleek with its indoor waterfall, meditation rooms and essential oil diffusers, but at the end of the day, it’s a series of performative wellness services without any real changes to the culture and practices of this institution. But whenever students try to critique the wellness facade, to roll up the yoga mats and have a serious discussion about mental health, they are shut down, over and over again.

Last semester, our newsroom published a piece about involuntary hospitalizations — in the past six years, 195 students were hospitalized for mental health reasons, 84 of which were involuntary. Students who talked about suicide or self-harm were shipped off campus to avoid the inconvenient press of 2015 and sent to facilities with questionable COVID-19 protocols and lackluster funding, often against their will. The writer of that piece had to FOIA request the data we published, a lengthy process which ensured that the number of hospitalizations was accurate, as the data came directly from the College itself. I thought that our piece would create change on campus, perhaps inspiring a revision of the hospitalization policy. It did not.

In fact, members of my staff informed me that during Orientation Aide training, Dr. Crace alluded to our article, saying it was ill-intentioned and misinformed. We are not misinformed, Dr. Crace, you just don’t want to face the truth.

This is a pattern that happens over and over again, where students raise their legitimate grievances only to be shut down and gaslit. When students want better access to medications or more counselors or changes to academic policies, they are told they are stupid, incorrect and have no chance at making change here. Because how dare we critique the institution where we spend all of our time.

People had to die for the Wellness Center to be buil t, and yet it remains on campus as a monument to the flagrant proliferation of “wellness culture” and as a band-aid to institutional change. As much as I love a good yoga class, it won’t help someone in crisis, and neither will hospitalizing them against their will.

To quote from the poem on the ISC chalkboard, “You will hear words old and spent and useless like costumes left over from yesterday’s parties.”

We are tired of your old, spent, useless words. We have asked again and again for real change, and we have been met with handfuls of oils, care reports and talks about “authentic excellence.” People have died, and it’s not funny anymore.

Claire Hogan ‘22 is a CAMS major and religious studies minor. Outside of her role as Editor-in-Chief of The Flat Hat, she is in Tribe Scribes, Tribe Guard and The Botetourt Squat, and she works for the Studio for Teaching and Learning Innovation. Email Claire at cahogan@email.wm.edu.

To view citations visit flathatnews.com.

variety

Variety Editor Ashanti Jones Variety Editor Grace Olsen flathat.variety@gmail.com

THE FLAT HAT

| Tuesday, September 21, 2021 | Page 5

ECHOING IN A NEW SEMESTER

JAMIE HOLT AND REBECCA KLINGER / THE FLAT HAT

AMP brings indie-pop band Echosmith, alternative duo Nox Holloway to Matoaka Amphitheater for 2021 Welcome Back Concert VIVIAN HOANG // FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER Beneath a crescent moon and twinkling stars, a normally tranquil Martha Wren Briggs Ampitheatre at Lake Matoaka hummed to life with flashing neon lights, pulsing music, dancing bodies and voices singing in unison. For one night, headlining act Echosmith, an indie-pop band composed of three siblings from California, along with up-andcoming alt-pop duo Nox Holloway, gave students the chance to let loose at the College of William and Mary’s annual fall concert Sept. 11. The event was sponsored by the College’s Alma Mater Productions, a student-run organization that organizes many major campus-wide events, and abided by the College’s COVID-19 policies.

To kick off the night, opening act Nox Holloway performed a mix of covers and original songs, starting with their own, slowed-down renditions of hit songs such as the Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” and the Kid LAROI’s “Stay” featuring Justin Bieber.

Though little pockets of students here and there could be spotted grooving along to the music, there seemed to be an aura of general disinterest as Nox Holloway’s attempts to engage with the audience largely fell short.

However, about midway through Nox Holloway’s 45-minute set, a group of particularly zealous students sprinted to the base of the stage and began dancing and cheering, prompting dozens of other students to follow in hot pursuit. Within minutes, a horde of students had formed a mosh pit. Nox Holloway launched into an acoustic cover of “Riptide” by Vance Joy, which was immediately well-received by the crowd. Students lit up the Amphitheatre with the slow sway of their phone lights and joined Nox Holloway in singing along to the feel-good summer classic.

The duo eventually wrapped their set with several unreleased songs such as “Montana” from their upcoming EP, “If Only The World Didn’t Spin So Much,” which is set to release Sept. 24. In an impressive recovery from the first half of their performance, Nox Holloway continued to maintain the high energy from the crowd even when performing their unknown original pieces; it was clear that the duo felt most in their element when they played their own songs.

After Nox Holloway exited the stage to thunderous applause from the audience, the dreaded waiting period set in as the audience anxiously anticipated Echosmith’s arrival.

Soon enough, their desires manifested into a

glorious reality when Echosmith finally made a blazing appearance on stage. Through the haze of the multicolored neon lights falling all across the stage emerged lead singer Sydney Sierota, along with her bandmates Graham Sierota, Noah Sierota and a backup guitarist who was standing in for Jamie Sierota, who left the band back in 2016.

The first song that the crowd really resonated with was “Bright,” a heartwarming love song and one of Echosmith’s most popular songs from their debut 2013 album “Talking Dreams.” Sierota’s clear, soothing vocals captivated the audience, who swayed together to the bittersweet melody of the song, lost in nostalgia for the simpler times of 2013 and held by the warm embrace of Sierota’s voice.

In addition to performing songs from “Talking Dreams,” the band also played several songs from their latest album “Lonely Generation,” released in 2020. Before performing the album’s title track, Sierota noted that the song, which was about the lack of genuine connection between people in an increasingly technological society, felt even more relevant now than ever with the advent of COVID-19 physically barring people from being with one another.

“I don’t feel so lonely now here with you guys though,” Sydney joked with a smile before breaking into song.

Such engagement with the crowd continued throughout the night as Sierota often made jokes about never attending college and complimented the crowd on their singing abilities.

Sierota also paused about midway through the performance to introduce her bandmates. Though the strong familial bond and stage chemistry between the group was evident throughout the entire performance, it especially shone through as Sierota took the time to complement each of her brothers with genuine sincerity.

“This is my younger brother Noah. He looks really good in yellow. I mean, who looks good in yellow?

Not me!” Sierota exclaimed.

The band also intermittently performed a couple covers in between their original pieces, like “When You Were Young” by The Killers and “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, the latter of which elicited an especially strong crowd response as people instantly recognized the hit song from 2019.

As their hour-long set began to come to a close, and the audience’s energy was rapidly climbing towards its peak, Echosmith finished their

performance with “Cool Kids,” their most popular song, that had initially launched their careers and the song that audience members had been demanding to be played all night. As soon as the familiar opening notes played, a sea of raised arms and jumping bodies swept over the Amphitheatre as students let themselves go wild one last time before the night was over.

Pausing before the last chorus, Sierota took a moment to connect the song’s message about wanting to desperately fit in with the unsureness of and mental strain brought on by the pandemic, preaching values of inclusivity and belonging in the face of pressures to conform.

“I doubted myself more than ever this year,” Sierota said. “You are not alone if you’ve ever felt that way.”

And then, riding out one last high, Echosmith launched into one last triumphant chorus of “Cool Kids,” with seemingly every person in attendance screaming out all of the lyrics.

Echosmith’s main-character-energy-producing songs that harness the youthful spirit of growing up seemed to be the perfect pick-me-up during a time of increasing insecurity. All throughout the night, the desire to reconnect with others lay tangible in the air, and Echosmith’s performance gave students the ability to return to a near normalcy for just a couple of hours, tuning out the stresses of everyday life in a pandemic and instead tuning into Echosmith’s upbeat tracklist.

“The concert was amazing, it was really nice to be with people again,” Emma Sliwinski ’22 said.

Live Chair of AMP, Delaney Stuart ’23, expressed her pleasant surprise at the amount of people that came out to the concert, especially because there was a home football game and sorority recruitment happening at the same time that day.

“The turnout was way better than we thought, it was a good turnout,” Stuart said. “We were happy, people were up and enjoying it.”

For others, the concert was an opportunity to be exposed to new music. Grace McGregor ’22 said that even though she hadn’t known many of Echosmith’s songs going into the concert, she left the concert wanting to know more.

“Honestly, this kind of opened me up to the rest of their music,” McGregor said.“I feel like I’ll listen to it now.”

“Overall, I think the general consensus is that this was a really cool experience,” Sliwinski said.

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Page 6

laughin’ on brix

THE FLAT HAT

JENNA MASSEY / THE FLAT HAT

Comedy group Trippin On Brix performs first show since two-year COVID-19 hiatus

T

JENNA MASSEY // THE FLAT HAT

hursday, Sept. 16, after an almost two-year hiatus and a last-minute postponement of their comeback show, comedy group Trippin’ On Brix performed “Unlimited Brixsticks” for an enthusiastic full house at Ewell Hall.

The performance, which featured alternating sketch and improv routines, began with a prerecorded segment starring the “gentlemen of Brix.” Wearing formal attire and speaking stuffily, Tate Stevens ’22, Erik Wells ’23, Josh Mutterperl ’24 and Eamon Raftery-Sweeney ’24 discussed the shortcomings of pandemic safety on the College of William and Mary campus. However, it was later revealed that the sketch was not set in the present but during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. The opener was the only part of the show that referenced the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision that was significant to several members of Trippin’ On Brix.

“I’m glad that other than the first sketch, we didn’t really do anything like, ‘Isn’t COVID crazy?’

COURTESY PHOTO / TRIPPIN ON BRIX like that kind of SNL stuff,” Wells said.

“That was something we really talked about, that we wanted to have something that acknowledges everything, how crazy it is, and then do a normal show,” Mutterperl said.

The first live segment of the performance was an improv exercise starring the “Bricklings,” first-time members of the group, and Sophie Albimino ’22. Raftery-Sweeney left the room while Erin Cearlock ’24, Mutterperl, and Albimino took audience suggestions regarding the premise of the bit; Raftery-Sweeney was late for work, and he would have to formulate his excuse from the pantomiming of Cearlock and Mutterperl. Before Raftery-Sweeney returned, the group determined that his tardiness had resulted from him pooping his pants on the third floor of Earl Gregg Swem Library with Jesus Christ. Raftery-Sweeney handled the challenge with grace.

“Well,” he began, after watching Cearlock and Mutterperl mime bowel movements for several seconds, “I was having a very rough morning…”

After concluding “Late for Work,” the group performed “ADT,” a sketch about the consequences of an overzealous home security system. Then they shifted to an improvisation called “Director’s Choice.”

“Director’s Choice” featured Trippin’ On Brix senior Megan Rudman ‘22 directing the Bricklings in a film noir scenario. The bit allowed two of the group’s newest members to show off their physical comedy chops. Mutterperl performed well as a man suffering from both rabies and herpes, and Cearlock was lively in her miming of a GoPro camera attached to her rear. “Director’s Choice” was an audience favorite, and while the performances were outstanding, I found I was most impacted by my observations of the Trippin’ On Brix members who were not part of the routine. Julia Savoca Gibson ’22, Albimino, Stevens and Wells watched Rudman and the Bricklings perform from the sidelines, each radiating affectionate reverence. Especially regarding their newest members, Trippin’ On Brix emanated a sense of camaraderie that has been painfully absent throughout much of the pandemic.

“We got a lot of love for the Bricklings,” Savoca Gibson said. “I was so excited to have them there.”

The fourth part of the show, “Olive Garden,” was most relevant to the title of Brix’s performance, though breadsticks were a running gag throughout several other segments. Raftery-Sweeney played a death row inmate who was taking his last meal at Olive Garden and abusing the restaurant’s unlimited breadsticks guarantee to avoid execution, while Rudman, Savoca Gibson and Albimino acted as his horrified companions. The breadstick motif continued in “One Swipe,” which mocked the new meal swipe policy at Marketplace. Wells shined as an uncompromising dining hall employee who was determined to charge a student two meal swipes for adding a breadstick to her entrée. Though he was confined to a podium for the role, his condescending gesticulations and animated expressions made for a very commanding stage presence.

With five segments completed and four to go, the Trippin’ On Brix crew maintained their momentum for the remainder of the show, channeling energy from an adoring audience as they showcased their comedic mastery. The final improv activity of the night, “Textual Healing,” was the most reliant on audience participation. It forced Stevens and Rudman to communicate with an increasingly exasperated Savoca Gibson using only text messages from the phones of audience volunteers.

“It’s a really fun one, but it’s really risky,” Stevens said. “It all depends on the audience member having a good text chain on their phone. There were times when Megan was talking, and I saw gold, and then I couldn’t figure out a way to fit it in.”

Despite the difficulty of the improvisation, the segment was met with great enthusiasm. The combination of insight into an audience member’s private life and the group’s fearless line deliveries kept the audience energized.

“This was my first time attending a comedy show at school, and it was so fun to see the community together,” Cypress Ambrose ’24 said. “I loved it and will definitely be back.”

“Unlimited Brixsticks” was a bright spot in a tumultuous start of the school year, and the Trippin’ On Brix crew was practically glowing after the show, maintaining comedic banter as they discussed their performances.

“It’s been a year and a half, so this might as well have been my first time performing,” Wells said. “But seeing all the people out there felt really good.”

“Coming back from the hiatus was a little nerve-wracking, but once you’re onstage, everyone is so kind,” Albimino said.

Besides their comedy, one aspect of the show that stood out was the fact that Trippin’ On Brix was the first comedy group at the College to livestream their performance to accommodate any pandemic-related concerns.

“That’s why we’re the best sketch and improv group on campus,” Raftery-Sweeney said. “It’s lonely up at the top.”

sports

THE F LAT HAT ¦ Tuesday, September 21, 2021 ¦ Page 7

Murphy leaves Tribe, returns to alma mater COURTESY IMAGE / TRIBE ATHLETICS Murphy oversaw multiple winning seasons while in Williamsburg, including a 33-22 (.600) record in the 2019 season with wins against Virginia and James Madison and a 32-25 record in 2017, including winning the CAA championship.

Seven-year head coach leaves behind legacy of camaraderie, bright future for 2022 season LEXIE HIESTAND FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR Friday, Sept. 3, Athletic Director Brian Mann sent out an email to subscribers of the Tribe Baseball program breaking the news that Head Coach Brian Murphy would be leaving. Accepting the head coach position at Merrimack College, Murphy will return to his hometown and alma mater for this upcoming spring season.

“While I know his decision to leave was a difficult one, in the end, the opportunity to return to lead his alma mater and move closer to family was too great to pass up,” Mann wrote in the email. “We wish him the best of luck and thank him for all his contributions to Tribe baseball.”

Murphy and the Tribe part on amicable terms.

Everyone from the administration, athletics program, baseball players and the general public alike will miss him, but by and large, the response to his decision has been overwhelmingly positive and understanding.

“There’s been nothing but support inside the office and from the community,” Associate Sports Information Director John Moyer said.

Murphy has worked with Tribe baseball for eight years, seven of those as the head coach. After his transition to head coach in 2014, Murphy led the Tribe to its first ever regular season conference title.

His performance won him the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year award. Two years later, the Tribe saw action in the CAA championship tournament, before moving on to a National Collegiate Athletic Association regional final appearance. Murphy, again, won a coaching award for that year: VaSID Coach of the Year.

In the 353 games Murphy has coached for the Tribe, he maintained a record just slightly under half: .496. In the Tribe’s conference, that percentage increases to .504. He was incredibly consistent at maintaining excellence at the collegiate level.

However, the team itself believes Murphy’s legacy with the Tribe comes not from the awards and outstanding performances, but from the work he has put into the baseball program. Though the team has used Plumeri Park since its dedication in 1999, Murphy worked incredibly hard to improve the facilities and grounds. The park’s manicured maintenance speaks to how hard Murphy worked to garner recognition and rewards for Tribe baseball’s performances throughout his tenure.

“Speaking on behalf of the entire team, we’re just really grateful for what Murph has done for this program,” graduate student LHP Justin Pearson said. “It’s really amazing what he has done to grow this place so much from when he first got here ... watching our program grow, and being able to get a really nice scoreboard, get a really nice wall, really nice hitting facility, really nice locker room. All these things that we’ve been able to get because of the hard work that he and his coaches and the success of the previous teams is just really impressive to me.” Murphy emphasized discipline, both academic and athletic, as well as fostering a close-knit team. That team culture was more than just accidental — the close bond of the team directly contributed to success on the diamond.

Because of his coaching style, that culture will not easily be overridden by his replacement.

“There was sort of a steadiness with Murph, but that’s not necessarily lost.” Moyer said. “I don’t think too much of that tradition and culture that Coach Murphy built is going to be lost, but memorialized.”

For all his emphasis on responsibility, Murphy was best described as a soft-spoken man. He was a coach who watched over and cared for his team.

“He was a super humorous guy, something that maybe doesn’t come across as much because he’s quieter,” Moyer said. “A real, strong family man, great coach to work with, always positive, and really one of those coaches who had the student-athletes’ best interests in mind.”

Murphy’s quieter nature allowed him to watch his team closely. He made sure he was getting the best effort out of everyone. Murphy was constantly making small adjustments to the team based on what he saw in practice.

“Coach Murph had a very specific style of coaching where he was almost always evaluating,” senior outfielder Matt Thomas said. “He was one of those coaches where only if you talk to him, he would talk to you and give it to you straight. So, Coach was a little bit more reserved in that sense.”

Because he played his cards close to his chest, Murphy left a lot of responsibility to his players throughout the season. Players learned to measure their ability independently, which meant Murphy’s decisions to put players in positions of more responsibility (higher in the batting order, putting in a pitcher in a bases-loaded situation, starting a new player, etc.) did not come as a surprise.

“For the most part, Coach Murphy was really expressive in what your role would be, like at the beginning of the season,” junior outfielder Joe Delossantos said. “In terms of being very transparent, we would know — it was more a type of self-evaluation thing. You know what you bring to the team. You know what you can do, and he let those types of things play out.”

The reservation or quietness of Murphy was not a detriment. In fact, his laid-back approach allowed the team to foster a culture of closeness and leadership among themselves. He gave the team a long rope, allowing them to independently connect, but at the end of the day, he had provided the vehicle of support for those bonds to be built. Without his coaching style, there is no doubt that the team culture and strength would be drastically different.

That type of self-sustaining bond will persist — even after Murphy leaves.

“Where he also respects the older guys, since he wasn’t ever the most vocal leader, he would lean on the groups of older guys, expect them to set the example for the team, be able to get everybody to rally around something,” Pearson said.

Older players on the team helped Murphy in encouraging a team culture.

“In terms of how you’re seen in Coach Murph’s eyes, a lot of it depends on how you play. Coach Murph loves a guy that always plays hard.” Thomas said. “And then, there’s also something to be said for how he treats his seniors and his upperclassmen who have been around the program for a while. He has a lot of respect for guys that have put the time and effort in for four years. He respects guys that have gone through it for the long haul.”

Murphy’s coaching style also allowed the guys to stay close beyond the field, and even beyond William and Mary. When the news broke about Murphy leaving the Tribe, Tribe baseball alumni made the effort to contact current players and gauge their reactions.

“I think Coach Murph left behind a program and it’s much more than the guys that are in the locker room from year to year.” Thomas said.

“When all this stuff was happening, and Coach Murph was leaving, I had multiple guys that aren’t even a part of our team anymore, that have graduated and gotten real jobs, reach out and say like, ‘Coach Murph’s really leaving?’ He left an impact on every single team that he coached. It’s not just the guys that are in the locker room right now that are experiencing losing Coach Murph, it’s also the guys that have played here before and moved on and graduated.”

The baseball program’s success was driven by those close bonds between the team — on, off and beyond the diamond. That dynamic of empowering the older guys on the team to be leaders was not just an accident. Murphy actively fostered team bonding through pre-season activities called Team Day. “We had this thing called Team Day, and basically, we would pick like four or five teams, and the captains, or leaders of those teams, would usually be older guys, and we would have a team draft.” Delossantos explained. “I think that, at least in my time here — and I hope we do it this year — that was really the biggest way, or the first step for me, getting to know pitchers or hitters that I even may or may not have hung out with that often.”

This explanation came after a question about how Murphy integrated pitchers and hitters under a “one team” mentality. Several guys emphasized Team Day, graduate student RHP Will Moore gestured to the shirt he was currently wearing from a Team Day past, and Delossantos gave an overview of the concept.

“The point of Team Day is, obviously, the big headline is to compete. We go play a bunch of different sports, and we want to compete against each other.” Thomas tagged on. “The other point of team day is to put people in uncomfortable spots and make everyone find a way to contribute to their team. So, not everybody on the team is going to be good at soccer, but the point of team day is that we all have to find a way to contribute to our team during

that soccer game, or during that dodgeball game, or during that basketball game.”

The excitement about Team Day and its lasting impacts on the team camaraderie was clear. Murphy had truly come up with a way to foster team spirit between disparate defenders with the concept of Team Day. Murphy’s creation of the team culture was intentional and a testament to his coaching style and ability. But it went beyond forming friendships.

Bonds formed in practice (and on Team Day) directly contributed to performances on the field.

He let the team make those connections almost independently, which made that camaraderie stronger in games.

“It was on us to build our team’s chemistry, and you can literally see, in the years where our team has been successful, you can just look at the senior class and just look at who those groups of dudes were, and if they were able to get us all to come together, like hang out outside of baseball, be around each other all the time, that translated to success,” Pearson said.

“Those were some of the years that our teams were really, really good.”

More directly, Murphy’s emphasis on getting the most out of his team is evident in how he approached game days and responsibility. Success was a function of how close the team was and how much responsibility Murphy allowed players to have. The team was thankful for Murphy for fostering those values.

“While there were specific guys that might play every day, or pitchers that might start on Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday, like our weekend rotation, he never, in my opinion, counted people out to where they didn’t have a role,” Thomas said.

“He wanted to keep everybody engaged because through the course of a 50-60 game schedule, anything can happen. It’s just the next guy mentality, the next guy steps up, and people need to be ready to go for that.”

Team culture goes deeper than friendships and bonds of the players, strong as those may be.

Murphy prioritized discipline as well as leadership and camaraderie as part of the culture of the Tribe, in order to see lasting success on the diamond. That discipline came in two forms: academic and athletic.

“Academics definitely came first in Murph’s eyes.” Thomas said. “Coach Murph really did put an emphasis on our academics, and wanted to make sure we were always doing the right thing in the classroom. Some guys would go play pro ball, but a lot of us are going to go get jobs after this and we can’t just be a baseball player. We got to be a lot more than that.”

Murphy made sure to emphasize academics even before players joined the Tribe.

“He was always having us send our transcripts to him, asking how our grades were,” senior RHP Rojo Prarie said. “A lot of the recruiting process was picking guys he knew would succeed.”

Despite being described as soft-spoken, Murphy had no hesitations about speaking about the importance of academics at William and Mary.

“He would acknowledge too, a degree from here is a big deal,” Pearson said. “It’s something we should be proud of. He always said you should prioritize school. If you have a class that extends a little bit into practice, as long as you communicate that with him, he literally has no problem with it. Just, making sure that you prioritize school, while also being able to focus on baseball, too.”

Murphy won three straight awards from the ABCA for academic achievement — the Team Academic Award — in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Murphy not only spoke extensively about academics, but turned those words into actions.

“Academic achievements were recognized usually right before a practice,” Delossantos said. “Basically, he would acknowledge those guys, take a quick picture, and then your picture goes up — we have an academic achievement board in the locker room — and basically whenever you make it, you go up. It’s something that was definitely taken seriously.

I think that to some degree, your dedication that you showed in the classroom also kind of represented who you were, what you did out on the baseball field.”

In terms of discipline, Murphy also showed his expectations for the team with his actions.

“I remember my freshman year, I asked Coach

Murph, like, we’re going to all these schools, some of them play at almost, like, rec fields and have grounds crews,” Moore said. “I asked, why don’t we have a grounds crew. And he was like, as long as I’m here, we’re never going to have a grounds crew. I want all of us to work together to maintain this thing.”

“He always lets us know like, this place is ours,” Pearson said. “We have field duties at the end of practice, where all of us do a certain part of the field. We pick up the bullpen, guys will pick up the facility. We don’t have a grounds crew. It’s our field, and he always taught us like, if we want things done right, we just do it ourselves. We’re really grateful for what he’s done for this program and what he’s done for all of us.”

The team has come to terms with Murphy’s decision to leave, partly because of those values he instilled in his players. As Delossantos says, he really wanted his players to leave the Tribe as men.

So, the players understood that leaving was more than baseball.

“His decision was more than just for the job, the money, it had to do with family,” Delossantos said.

“And so yes it left us with the empty feeling, but we kind of had to understand that it was more than just baseball for him and for us.”

“I think we’re definitely wishing him good luck up at Merrimack,” Moore said. “We certainly understood the decision. At some point, family takes precedence, and no one held that against him.”

So, what’s next for the Tribe? What happens now that Coach Murphy has left?

“The team he left behind isn’t just burnt to the ground,” senior infielder Cole Ragone said. “He left behind a good program, and it’s moving in the right direction.”

The team is hopeful for the upcoming spring season. They will miss Murphy, but the coach’s lessons and values remain, allowing the team to pick up where they left off.

The Tribe is currently searching for a new head coach, but in the meantime, assistant coach Pat McKenna has stepped up into that interim head coach position.

“Coach Murph left, and Coach McKenna took over as the interim head coach, and, to be honest, he’s done an absolutely amazing job.” Thomas said.

“I think a lot of us would love for Coach McKenna to take that head job, if he is able to get it. The reason for that is because he knows us, and he knows how we play, and how we gel as a team. The worst thing that could happen right now, is that someone comes in and reinvents the wheel again.”

The team has been in talks with the administration about the search for a new coach. All they want right now is consistency, especially with the high turnover rate of baseball coaches recently at William and Mary.

“We’ve had, at least in my career, I’ve had four or five different strength coaches; Coach Casey left during my time, and we’re on our third volunteer assistant — actually, make that four volunteer assistants, since our new coach just left, too,” Thomas said. “What we’re looking for is just some stability. Right now, we’re looking for someone to come in there and just add to our energy and keep allowing us to develop and become closer as a group right now.”

Even without a head coach, the players feel confident about the upcoming season. After all, the team remains close — Murphy’s formula for success.

Murphy prepared the Tribe well for when he leaves.

Murphy will be remembered by the public for the success he brought to the Tribe baseball program.

He will be remembered by the administration for the improvements he brought to the Tribe baseball facilities. But, for the players, he will be remembered for the team culture he brought to the diamond.

Murphy allowed the players to become as close as they are, and he shaped nervous recruits into eloquent, disciplined players. His contributions to Tribe baseball cannot be underestimated just because he wasn’t a vocal coach. His success speaks to the validity of his approach.

Thomas wrapped up with a quote that sums up how the team feels about Coach Murphy’s decision to leave.

“We definitely thank Coach Murph for believing in us and giving us a chance to play baseball at a high level, at a great school, and honestly, for bringing us all together,” Thomas said. “Coach Murph is moving on to a different school, but we’re going to be friends forever, and that’s thanks to Coach Murph.”

Page 8

THE FLAT HAT

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

ADMISSIONS

Do student athletes come from more privileged backgrounds?

Athletes have higher hometown median household income, many families spend thousands on club sports ALEXANDRA BYRNE FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

The college admissions process has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, particularly at elite universities where parents are ready to pay millions to get their kids in the door. As the parents of Operation Varsity Blues face trial over the coming months, the coaches, tutors and exam administrators that made the manipulation possible are also under investigation.

Most students admitted through the scandal were pegged as talented recruited athletes, except they weren’t. How these parents cheated the system, though, has been a question involving a network of coaches and athletic officials, putting university athletic departments in the hot seat.

The College of William and Mary was not implicated in Operation Varsity Blues, and there is no evidence that any students have bribed their way into the College.

Still, in the aftermath of the college admissions scandal, other perfectly legal methods of gaining an edge in the admissions process have been criticized. Certain subsets of prospective students — notably legacies and athletes — are said to come from wealthier backgrounds and have an easier time gaining admission to the nation’s most prestigious institutions.

Students and parents across the country have made claims about the ‘athletic advantage,’ both at the College and at other institutions, whether through colloquial arguments or data-backed opinions. The consensus is usually that recruited athletes, with the backing of coaches, have their applications easily moved to the elusive ‘yes’ pile.

But is this assumption fair?

Dean of Admissions Tim Wolfe said that yes, recruited student athletes do receive recommendations from coaches before an admissions decision is made.

But Wolfe said the advantage isn’t that simple.

“As a Division I NCAA institution, we need to realize that that essentially means these student athletes that are being recruited by our coaches and, in turn, the athletic department — what that really means is these are students that have a national, I think sometimes you could say even international, caliber-level talent,” Wolfe said.

While athletes fill out the same application and receive the same offer of admission from the Office of Admissions itself, the office does provide “preliminary feedback” on prospective recruits.

Not all students with “international caliber” talent would receive the same treatment, however. Wolfe said that the difference between an applicant who is an athlete versus a world-class debater would be in the evaluation of talent.

“I’m going to have a hard time saying equal footing because it depends on how that information is presented and vetted,” Wolfe said. “In terms of athletics, you have a situation where we have professional staff and evaluators and coaches who are able to say that this is a student with this national-level talent.”

Wolfe emphasized that athletes at the College undergo rigorous recruitment, not just for their sport, but they must also live up to the College’s academic standards. He said the admissions office recruits holistically for a class, working with Tribe Athletics to ensure both entities’ standards are met.

“And to do that requires us to work together,” Wolfe said. “What makes that a challenge and no easy task is recognizing that that includes both the competitive landscape involved in recruiting student athletes at the Division I level, while also ensuring that our incoming student athletes are prepared to succeed academically when they get to the university.”

On the athletic side, recruitment usually takes place at showcase tournaments, which bring together club and travel teams across the country to demonstrate their skills in front of college coaches and recruiters.

Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance Paul Cox said roughly 90% of athletes at the College are recruited, meaning they have had some contact with coaches prior to applying.

“Recruiting is obviously going to be different sportby-sport, but a majority of what it’s going to be is these larger showcase events where it’s just easier for a coach to get to a big event where there’s multiple teams from different locations,” Cox said. “They’ll just sit down and observe there and evaluate based off that. If they spot somebody who has the talent they’re looking for and

who they think may be a good fit for William and Mary.”

From there, recruiters ask prospective athletes about their academic record before requesting an evaluation from the Office of Admissions on a candidate’s admissibility.

Due to expenses related to athletes attending showcase events, Cox said the athletic department still recruits at high schools.

“There’s not just these club sports, but the high schools that have it as well,” Cox said. “Coaches can still get to the high school events and tournaments — they’re still going to all of those. Some of the bigger showcase events is where it’s happening, but it’s also coming from high schools.”

Director of Student Activities at Langley High School Geoffrey Noto said recruiters rarely visit his school.

“The majority of the recruiting, except for football, goes through club and travel programs,” Noto said.

“That recruiting is happening outside of the school.

Right now, we have some college football coaches coming through — we’ve had some kids go to William and Mary and play football before — but that’s really the only sport where they actually make appointments, come to the building, meet with kids, talk about their programs.”

Socio-economic Background While the admissions process for athletes may be remotely similar to that of the non-athlete, potential advantages for prospective student athletes do not solely begin when the applicant has the first conversation with a college coach. The journey to becoming a college athlete begins at a young age, and the resources required to participate in elite sports are costly.

The Flat Hat collected data on hometown median household income and high school type for all College athletes, according to public information and rosters.

The analysis concluded that College athletes, on average, come from more socioeconomically privileged backgrounds as compared to the average non-athlete student at the College.

The average hometown median household income for all College athletes is $96,981.89. The median is $86,420. The College does not collect household income data for individual students, nor for individual athletes. That said, this figure is significantly higher than the nationwide median household income of $68,703.

Only 6.5% of athletes receive Pell Grants, compared to 12.14% of the overall undergraduate student body. Pell Grants, which are determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, are often awarded to families with an income below $50,000 — and often below $20,000 — but they do not capture all students who are considered ‘low income.’ Likewise, 9.87% of athletes identify as first-generation college students, as opposed to 11.43% of the student body. While athletes are less likely to receive Pell Grants and identify as first generation, this does not mean all athletes are wealthier than the average student. Rather, in the aggregate, athletes skew higher in income than the student population as a whole.

There were several teams that had particularly high average median household incomes, including lacrosse, with a MHI of $128,479.21. Men’s tennis has an average MHI of $131,910, though over half the team is composed of international students, for whom MHI was not calculated.

While often considered among elite universities, the College’s athletic demographic does vary from other elite private colleges, such as the Ivy Leagues.

First, the College is a public institution. Like the rest of the student body, athletes are more likely to be from Virginia than any other state. While the overall student body is roughly 64% Virginians, only 45% of athletes are in-state students. Student athletes were most likely to come from Virginia Beach (14), Richmond (12), Vienna, VA (9) and Alexandria, VA (8). Other states that send a significant number of athletes to the College include Pennsylvania (10%), New Jersey (8%) and Maryland (6%). These demographics differ from those of the Ivy League schools, however, which see more significant concentrations of athletes from Connecticut’s Gold Coast and Fairfield county, New York’s Westchester county and Boston’s wealthy suburbs.

Second, the College recruits fewer athletes than Ivy League schools. Despite having similarly sized student bodies, Princeton has more than double the number of student athletes. The Ivy League sponsors

28.42

% of athletes are from private high schools

versus 21.78% of the student body

top states for student-athletes:

VA

PA

34 sports, including fencing, ice hockey, squash and rowing — sports with high costs and larger barriers to entry. In contrast, the College fields 20 teams. The Harvard Crimson revealed in survey data of the class of 2022 that 68.8% of recruited athletes’ families make above $125K. While the exact household income is not available at the College, only 22% of College athletes have a hometown household median income above $125K. Thus, disproportionately richer student athletes make up a greater part of the student body at Ivy League colleges.

Despite these differences, Ivy League schools and the College both heavily recruit athletes from Northern Virginia — mainly the affluent suburbs of Washington D.C. Three of the top 10 richest counties in the United States are located in Northern Virginia: Loudoun County (MHI $134,464), which is the richest county in the country; Fairfax County (MHI $115,717); and Arlington County (MHI $110,388).

The Private v. Public Divide There are 461 athletes at the College, according to public rosters. Roughly 28.42%, or 131, of those athletes attended private high schools. For the student body as a whole, that percentage is 21.78%. The median private school full tuition for College athletes was $24,500, barring financial aid and scholarships.

Nationwide, about 7.24% of college students attended a private high school. At some schools, such as Barnard, Washington and Lee, or Notre Dame, the percentage of students coming from private schools hovers around 50% or more. On the lower end of the spectrum, the University of California system matriculates fewer than 14% of in-state students from private schools.

While some public schools are better funded than others due to higher property taxes in the area, tuition money grants private schools the ability to invest in robust resources. Most private high schools boast a 100% four-year college acceptance and matriculation rate and many place students into elite colleges.

Private schools often have more guidance counselors to support students in the college admissions process, whereas public schools must assign on average nearly 500 students to one counselor.

While tuition fees often rival those of private universities, private schools say they give anywhere from 1.5 to 4 million dollars in financial aid annually.

The percentage of students receiving financial aid at these schools varies greatly — falling between 15 and 80%, with students receiving varying amounts in grants and scholarships based on demonstrated financial need.

Despite the prevalence of privately educated athletes at the College, the two high schools that matriculated the most student athletes are both public. Langley High School, a public high school in Fairfax County, currently leads the pack with six athletes. Blacksburg High School follows with five athletes.

Among private schools, Trinity Episcopal (full tuition $25,800) sent four athletes, and Georgetown Visitation (full tuition $32,600), The Bullis School (full tuition $49,740), St. John’s College (full tuition $22,100) and St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes (full tuition $44,830) all sent three each.

But for the most elite athletes, potential high school tuition is only one of many costs.

Noto, who has overseen Langley’s athletic department for 11 years, said club sports are nearessential for aspiring college athletes.

“I would say every single kid who has gone on to play Division I and Division II has played that sport outside of the high school,” Noto said. “Yes, every single student

NJ

— they’re not just playing their sport for their school, they’re playing outside of their school. At Langley, 90% of kids who play a varsity sport and play meaningful minutes also play that sport for a club team.”

The fees associated with club sports, from travel expenses, tournament entry fees and coach salaries, can be high.

“The out-of-pocket expenses at the high school level is minimal compared to club,” Noto said. “You’re talking ten thousand dollars a year to be on a club team. We have a lot of girls, for example, who play volleyball here, who are really good volleyball players, and then also every weekend they are going to New York, Philadelphia, Orlando — and those costs must be exorbitant.”

The Data, Explained Athlete hometowns and high schools were aggregated from team rosters, which are publicly available. Of high schools that were private, or otherwise charged tuition, tuition and financial aid figures were drawn from school websites. All median household income figures were derived from official U.S. census data.

While the data points come from individual athletes, no athlete’s information has been singled out in this story. Instead, all data has been discussed in the aggregate or anonymously. Figures for the student body in its entirety were provided by the College’s Office of Institutional Research.

Large-scale data figures can give insight, but there are also realities that they may not capture. A first caveat is that while full tuition numbers are discussed in relation to private high schools, not all students who attend private high schools pay full tuition. Private high schools often provide scholarships to students with demonstrated financial need, which often cover all or most of the sticker price.

Private schools may not be the only place in which privilege manifests. Charter schools, magnet schools and elite public schools are all tuition-free high schools that provide students a similar wealth of resources and opportunities that poorly-funded public schools may not provide. Public schools are also funded by property taxes, and thus areas with higher incomes and more expensive homes have better-funded public schools.

Likewise, the median household income is an overall statistic — it does not reflect individual household wealth, but is rather a good indicator of the socioeconomic status of a family living within that town or city. For large cities in particular, MHI may not be as useful since there are disparities between neighborhoods. For example, in New York City, which has sent three current athletes to the College, the overall MHI is $63,998. That number does not represent, however, the fact that the highest MHI in the city, in the 10282 zip code of lower Manhattan, is $250,000+. On the other hand, the lowest is in zip code 10454 in the Bronx, of which the MHI is $21,447.

While not all towns and cities experience such vast wealth disparities, this example demonstrates that MHI is not fully representative of any individual’s wealth. To determine the wealth inequality within a place, statisticians typically use a Gini coefficient, though this measure is not widely available for individual towns and cities. MHI is the most used and most collected indicator of socioeconomic status, and thus it is used to represent relative wealth in this dataset.

The data does not include the MHI for international athletes, since this data would not be collected by the Census Bureau and would thus be inconsistent with domestic MHI data.

COVID-19

Students, faculty, staff feel burden of unclear COVID-19 protocols

Early semester spike in cases prompts outdoor mask mandate, quarantine guidelines cause confusion COVID from page 1

Levine ended up quarantining in South Carolina, in a home owned by her family. She too struggled to keep in contact with her case manager. She was assigned a case manager on Sunday, who told her they would be in contact the next day. By Wednesday, she still hadn’t heard back, leaving her to conduct contact tracing on her own. This lackluster response made her question the College’s COVID protocols.

“I think going into the semester, we should have had COVID tests to submit, and then once we got here, submitted another COVID test,” Levine said. “I think the mask mandate indoors was

good, should have been enforced a bit more, maybe. People are wanting to get back to the normal college experience, and there’s nothing William and Mary can really do about the off-campus parties and stuff like that.”

Faculty, too, have had difficulties finding tests in the Williamsburg area.

Biology Professor Margaret Saha wanted to get tested after a student who had visited her office hours tested positive.

But when she went to get a test, access was limited.

“I actually went on the website for every single pharmacy within a twentymile radius of Williamsburg,” Saha said. “There was no test available until Saturday or Sunday. And so I started

getting a little bit concerned about, how is a faculty member, who maybe doesn’t know of a close contact but they just don’t feel really safe, how are they going to get tested?”

Although the College is not offering prevalence or at-will testing, Sebring says the situation is being closely monitored.

“We’re still evaluating with the Public Health Advisory Team as to what role prevalence testing should play for this year,” Sebring said. “CDC guidelines really shifted on this and are saying that unless you’re symptomatic or have been a close contact, testing isn’t really serving the same role that it did last year.”

FACULTY RESPONSE Despite the complicated and

confusing COVID protocols, many professors, such as Saha, are excited to be teaching in person.

“We should be in person, I’m so glad we’re in person, and I just wanted to dance in front of the classroom the first time I had my larger bioengineering class, it was just so nice to see everybody,” Saha said.

However, faculty members bear the burden of communicating COVID information alongside teaching material.

“I’ve been in contact with a lot of students who have been very frustrated not knowing the ways that they should respond to the ever-growing case numbers on campus,” Saha said.

“So I have been reading every email that I get and trying to guide them

to fill out the correct forms, but I’m still hearing that not every student is getting the attention that they deserve.

And when students are frustrated, they’re obviously not focusing on the academics, the classes, so that’s frustrating for us as well.”

Saha records all of her classes to make students more comfortable while quarantining, making sure that everyone is able to keep learning despite COVID. “Students have family members who are sick, they have unvaccinated siblings, this Delta variant is nothing to fool around with, for many individuals,” Saha said.

Read more on flathatnews.com.