The Flat Hat March 8 2022

T HE F LAT H AT

Vol. 112, Iss. 1 | Tuesday, March 8, 2022

The Weekly Student Newspaper

of The College of William and Mary

flathatnews.com | @theflathat

STUDENT ASSEMBLY

SA passes Senate Committees Reform Act Assembly discusses, approves Slant Board Supply Act

DANIEL KALISH FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR

Tuesday, March 1, the College of William & Mary’s 329th Student Assembly passed three bills, including a major reform to the Senate’s committee system and introduced two bills.

NEW BUSINESS Sen. Taylor Fox ’24 introduced the Movie Under the Stars Act, which allocates up to $4,500 from SA reserves for a movie watching event on the Sunken Gardens in the spring semester.

Fox, along with Sen. Vicky Morales ’24, also introduced the Three More Compost Bins Around Campus Act, which allocates $410 from SA reserves for its titular purpose.

OLD BUSINESS The Slant Board Supply Act, sponsored by Sen. Hashir Aqeel ’25, passed with several “no” votes after 15 minutes of debate. Senators debated over the question of whether the bill, which allocates $280 from SA reserves for the purchase of four slant boards for use at the Student Recreation Center, would be setting a precedent of SA purchasing items for organizations that can purchase it themselves.

“I personally think that a $280 cost for equipment that will be reused over and over and over again and has a very long lifespan of use seems perfectly reasonable,” Sen. Mia Tilman ’24 said.

“In terms of the conversations…we had regarding what we should and should not be paying for and what the school should be paying for, I don’t think that debate has ever quite ended,” Sen. Eugene Lee ’23 said.

Lee also addressed claims that the payment is acceptable since it is a relatively low cost.

“You’re just establishing a precedent… where’s the cap for “it’s just ‘x’ amount? Is it $300, $400, $500, where does that end?”

Lee said.

The Senate Committees Reform Act, sponsored by Chair of the Senate Owen Williams ’23, passed unanimously. The bill decreases the number of Senate committees and additionally decreases the number of committees each Senator is on from two to one.

“I love this bill, I love this bill so much,” Tilman said. “I think it’s going to make things way more efficient, and I think I really like the idea of having senators who are very specifically in tune to one area.”

Finally, SA unanimously passed the Mental Health Panel Act, sponsored by Sen. Taylor Fox ’23. The act charges SA with organizing a wellness event where students can ask a panel of clinicians and wellness center staffers questions about mental health, as well as allocating $780 for refreshments, notebooks and pens for the event.

JUSTIN SHERLOCK / THE FLAT HAT

Members from the Student Assembly, Rainbow Coalition and the Russian House gather to give students and faculty members chance to speak out against the war; Russian Ensemble plays.

Speakers protest Putinʼs attack on Ukraine, share resources for support ANNA ARNSBERGER AND ABIGAIL CONNELLY // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITORS

Thursday, March 3, students gathered in Sadler’s Lodge One to show solidarity for Ukraine amidst the recent Russian invasions. Through musical performances, prayers and personal stories, members of the community expressed collective unity and sorrow concerning the attacks.

Representatives from Student Assembly, Rainbow Coalition and the Russian House organized this event to bring attention to the human aspect of the conflict in Ukraine and provide resources to act.

Co-president of the Russian House Kathryn Webb ’23 opened the floor and introduced the foundational beliefs of the organizations involved in the event.

“We wanted to clarify that, even though I think it’s pretty clear, we do condemn the violence in Ukraine.

And we wanted to also state that this is an anti-Putin event. This is not an anti-Russian event,” Webb said.

Speakers like Aubrey Lay ’23, organizer and Rainbow Coalition activism chair, recognized how the College of William and Mary’s response to the war has been largely intellectual and has failed to address the depth of suffering within the community and beyond.

“We felt like there wasn’t much of a voice being given to the students who are most directly affected by this, so we wanted to hold space for that,” Lay said.

The event began with a performance by the Russian Music Ensemble. Playing cheerful folk songs from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, the show was a celebration of the joy that exists in Eastern European cultures.

Following the musical performance, there was a two-minute moment of silence before community members took turns speaking about what the conflict means to them.

Russian studies professors Alexander Prokhorov and Elena Prokhorova condemned Vladmir Putin’s violent actions in Ukraine and his intentional spreading of lies about the Ukrainian government.

“As of today, there are 1 million refugees and many more are hiding in buildings, in cellars, in the subway. To justify the war, Russian propaganda calls for

the ‘denazification’ of Ukraine,” Prokhorova said.

Prokhorova elaborated on the danger of the situation in Ukraine, especially in regards to the intentional spread of misinformation through outlets which share propaganda.

“It is a war on historical memory,” Prokhorova said.

“It muddles up and dilutes the very meaning of Nazi crimes and Nazi ideologies. It is used to dehumanize people who Putin and his minions consider the enemy. And make no mistake, it is not just a war on Ukraine. It is a war on democracy, and it should concern all.”

Prokhorov shed light on the experiences of his friends in Ukraine and explained the importance of recognizing the overaching pattern of misogyny in Putin’s aggression.

“Before Putin unleashed the war, he made a joke, a rape joke, on Russian television. He said, ‘Like it or not Ukraine, it is your duty, my beauty.’ And I think the meaning reveals how much patriarchy is ingrained in this particular aggression,” Prokhorov said.

Following the professors’ speeches, Ezzie Seigel ’23 spoke about their family’s escape from Ukraine during the rule of the Russian Empire. They reflected on the hypocrisy of Putin claiming to “denazify” a country with a democratically elected Jewish president. For Seigel, Jewish families are all too familiar with violence and will never forget their oppressed histories.

“I think it’s very hard for people in America, since we haven’t had a war fought on our soil since the American Civil War, for people whose families don’t come from a background where they had to experience violence, to connect emotionally to very big things that are happening in other places in the world,” Seigel said.

Seigel was then joined by a representative from Hillel International in a Hebrew prayer for healing.

Throughout the evening, multiple students with various religious backgrounds, including Catholic and Orthodox Christian, shared prayers with the group.

While not Ukrainian himself, Bennett Meale ’24 told stories from his time living in Ukraine during the 2014 Maidan Revolution. Recounting acts of solidarity and perseverance he used to witness every day, Meale expressed confidence in the strength of the Ukrainian people.

“Over time, it was clear that despite everything, the spirit of the people was completely indomitable. And that’s always been the case with Ukraine. It’s been part of Russia, certain parts have been part of Poland, part of Austria Hungary, but they’ve continued to rise up again and again and anytime they can, they always seize their independence,” Meale said.

He also reflected on how this tenacity is best represented in the country’s national anthem, which roughly translates to “the glory and freedom of Ukraine has not yet perished.”

After the scheduled speakers finished, the floor was opened to members of the audience who were inspired to speak and share their own experiences.

Each personal story that reflected on family, friends and acquaintances still stuck in Ukraine was a reminder of the reality of the human pain attributed to this conflict.

For many who were involved, that was the overarching goal of the event: to fully reflect on the humanitarian effects of the war and to actively provide support to those who are suffering from it.

“As a school, if we claim to be internationally minded, we need to do that holistically. We can’t just engage intellectually with these issues, we also have to engage on a human level,” Lay said.

Still the speakers stressed that simply showing up for this event is not enough. They urged audience members to make donations, support refugee resettlement efforts, and counter misinformation.

“I’d like you to think about why you’re here and what you’re going to do about it, because being here is a great thing, but we need to take being here and make something concrete from it,” Webb said.

HOUSING

Future availability of gender-inclusive housing raises concern among students

Residence Life introduces new policy, replacing prior Flexible and Adaptive Housing policies HANNAH RAY FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR

Securing housing on campus for the 2022-23 school year has been difficult for students at the College of William and Mary.

Between waitlists and crashed housing portals, many issues have already plagued Residence Life staff and students. The issue that gender-inclusive housing will not be guaranteed for students has added to housing concerns.

Gender-Inclusive Housing replaced the Flexible Housing and Adaptive Housing processes this year. It is a new initiative introduced by Residence Life with direction and guidance from Lace Grant ’24, who is the undersecretary for LGBTQ+ affairs in

Index Profile Opinions Variety Sports News

Inside Opinions 2 3-4 5-6 7 8

Student Assembly.

After volunteering at Campus Pride as part of a Branch Out Alternative Break, Grant realized that the College’s Campus Pride Index score, which is currently a 3.5, could easily be improved through Gender Inclusive Housing Initiatives.

“I reached out to them, I believe, on the third of October last semester and they got back to me on the fourth basically like, ‘Oh my gosh, yeah, we’d love to work with you on Gender Inclusive Housing’, basically saying that they’ve already been wanting to do this for a bit now,” Grant said.

One thing that Grant wanted to emphasize to Residence Life was the importance of setting aside rooms with private bathrooms for the many students who signed up

Outgoing editor-in-chief bids farewell

Outgoing EIC Claire Hogan ‘22 reflects on her time with the Flat Hat, the great people with whom she got to work with and the capable staff to whom she is passing the reins. page 3

through the gender-inclusive portal. The list of gender-inclusive rooms is available online on the Residence Life webpage and was shared in presentations to students.

“It very much looked like there would be Gender Inclusive Housing set aside for people, which, as we now know, is not true,” Grant said.

In an emailed statement to The Flat Hat, Director of Housing and Residence Life Harriet Kandell explained the situation regarding roommate groups selecting Gender Inclusive Housing.

“As part of the new process, students selecting Gender Inclusive Housing are able to create their own roommate groups and select into rooms with preferred roommates; however, they are not guaranteed

Inside Variety

Bird club flocks together to create community, learn about wildlife The College of William and Mary’s Bird Club unites avian enthusiasts through community-building and sustainability initiatives.

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Gender Inclusive Housing,” Kandall said in a written statement.

An email shared by Grant from Residence Life said that potential gender-inclusive rooms would also be available to samegender roommate groups. Additionally, if gender-inclusive roommate groups did not fill the room or if all rooms were taken, then Residence Life would have to move to their contingency plans.

Grant was shocked by this development considering transgender students could potentially be forced into uncomfortable, unsafe living situations if their housing was not guaranteed.

“This is basically the safety net for trans students, and William and Mary is just acting like there’s a contingency plan for trans

Inside Sports

See HOUSING page 8

Club ice hockey team takes home ACCHL win Club Ice Hockey (7-1) defeated Appalachian State to win the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League Championship. page 7

newsinsight

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News Editor Anna Arnsberger News Editor Callie Booth News Editor Abigail Connolleys fhnews@gmail.com

THE FLAT HAT | Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | Page 2

THE BUZZ

Over time, it was clear that despite everything, the spirit of the people was completely indomitable. And thatʼs always been the case with Ukraine. Itʼs been part of Russia, certain parts have been part of Poland, part of Austria Hungary, but theyʼve continued to rise up again and again and anytime they can, they always seize their independence.

̶ Bennett Meale ʻ24

FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF College updates mask mandates in accordance with CDC guidelines Effective Tuesday, March 1, the College will no longer be requiring masks in places other than classrooms or class labs during scheduled classes and/or lab activity.

Masks will also be required in some limited venues, including on public transportation in accordance with federal government mandates and in the Student Health Center. This decision will be assessed after students return from spring break and will be updated as the College makes future decisions.

“It is important to note that the new CDC scale anticipates that communities may go through periods of heightened COVID-19 activity during which it may be necessary to increase William and Mary’s COVID-19 protocols,” COVID-19 Director Amy Sebring wrote. “We will continue to monitor both our local community as well as our campus community in the context of the new CDC guidance.”

Additionally, the College will shift case management in order to prioritize supporting students and employees who have testing positive and providing test access when necessary.

READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM ABIGAIL CONNELLY/ FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

RYAN GOODMAN / THE FLAT HAT

Alan Kennedy joins The Collegeʼs public policy department after a career as a constitutional law attorney, criminal justice policymaker,and army reserves officer.

A THOUSAND WORDS

Lecturing to future leaders

As a lawyer, elector, military officer, professor, Alan Kennedy strives for justice EMMA HENRY // THE FLAT HAT

COURTESY PHOTO / KENNEDY HESS

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.

Feb. 22, the article “Professor Kelebogile Zvobgo hosts talk on gender violence” falsely stated that Professor Zvobgo was a “undergraduate assistant professor.” This was corrected to “assistant professor.” The article also falsely stated the title of the talk was “Gender-Based Violence and Public Attitudes Toward Punishment,” which was corrected to “Gender Violence and Public Attitudes Toward Punishment.” The article also falsely stated that Zvobgo thought of pursuing a PhD in “financial literature” which was corrected to “French literature.” The article also corrected facts regarding Dr. Chaundhry’s university and India being the most populous developing democracy in the Global South. The article was also reworded to accurately reflect the project’s objective as well as their research grants.

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Adorned with a large Black Lives Matter flag and scattered with books on critical race theory, Dr. Alan Kennedy’s J.D. ‘09 office tells you a lot about his passions, values and goals as a professor at the College of William and Mary. A lawyer, veteran, lecturer of public policy and captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, Brooklyn-born Kennedy began teaching at the College, his law school alma mater, in the fall of 2021.

Although Kennedy comes from a family of teachers, he said he never expected to end up as a professor.

“I came to this in a very circuitous route I went to college, and then came down here for law school immediately after college and thought ‘I’m going to be a lawyer.’ My dream was always to go into constitutional law and to defend people and to defend civil liberties and civil rights, and then reality hit,” Kennedy said.

Graduating law school during the Great Recession through the joint degree program (J.D./M.A.) in American studies, Kennedy began working for former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell as an attorney in the state government. Later, under current Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Kennedy had an opportunity to work on policy regarding criminal justice at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. After this experience, Kennedy pursued his Ph.D. During his Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado Denver’s School of Public Affairs, Kennedy was deployed mid-program to the Middle East from 2018 to 2019. Kennedy joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2012 and transferred to the Colorado National Guard later on. He most recently transferred to the United States Army Reserve as a captain and works with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

“I joined the army to fight fascism,” Kennedy said. “My great uncle was a volunteer in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade fighting Franco in Spain and then Hitler in Germany. My dad’s family is Jewish, so that inspired me to join the military. Ironically, I wound up fighting for constitutional rights in the military, and I’m very proud of that.”

Prior to his deplyment, Kennedy was initially placed as field artillery in Fort Benning, Ga.. A year later, Kennedy was sent to an officer candidate school, and the following year he was selected to go to school to become a Judge Advocate, part of the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps — the military justice branch — in 2014. As a JAG, Kennedy has had jobs as both a trial defense counsel representing soldiers and as an advisor to commanders, witnessing many things that he would like to see changed.

“You have to understand the institution and its rules in order to change them,” Kennedy said. “That’s where we talk about the intersection of constitutional and administrative law, it’s why I teach Critical Race Theory and talk about systemic racism. In many ways, I have tried to create change from within. It’s an uphill battle.”

Kennedy also engages in pro-bono work, which he says is one of the most interesting parts of being a lawyer. Notably, Kennedy worked as the lead attorney on the Hagig v. Trump case defending his friend Zakaria Hagig, a Libyan international student at the University of Colorado Denver who was subject to former President Trump’s “Muslim ban.”

His team sued President Trump to overturn the executive order as it applied to international students and won. Because of this case, every subsequent iteration of the Muslim ban no longer applied to international students.

“It was very exciting,” Kennedy said. “We filed that case less than thirty days into President Trump’s time in office.”

Most recently, Kennedy was chosen to be one of Colorado’s nine presidential electors for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Kennedy mentioned that former President Trump attempted to steal his vote.

“I actually intervened in a federal lawsuit on behalf of Mike Pence to pressure Mike Pence into doing the right thing — he did. That was a crazy lawsuit,” Kennedy said.

The suit, filed by Texas congressman Louie Gohmert and Arizona Republicans acting as fake presidential electors, tried to force former Vice President Mike Pence to steal votes and skew the election results

toward Donald Trump. The case was thrown out Jan. 1, 2021, five days before the attack on the United States Capitol.

“Fortunately, it didn’t work,” Kennedy said. “Democracy survived, barely.”

Also involved with public policy, Kennedy has helped write some notable policies, including a bill to ban bump stocks that the Denver City Council passed after the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nv..

Kennedy mentioned that he wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on gun policy.

“I always say that when we study law, we try to figure out what the law is; public policy focuses on what the law should be,” Kennedy said.

“I’m happy teaching students how to become policymakers, that takes most of my time. One of my courses is Law and Public Policy which I co-teach with Chris Byrne, the law librarian. That brings together public policy students and law students.”

Kennedy also teaches Introduction to Public Policy at the undergraduate level, and is working on creating a class related to race and public policy. He has also applied to teach both critical race theory and the First Amendment at the Washington Center.

Kennedy believes his teaching is in opposition with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s banning of CRT in schools.

“I’m sure that Gov. Youngkin would say that what I teach should be banned,” Kennedy said. “Unfortunately, we’re stuck with Gov. Youngkin for the next four years. I think it has been brought into stark relief how far we still need to go toward racial equality and equity in America. The United States still has not reckoned with the legacy of slavery.”

Further information regarding Kennedy’s opinions on Youngkin’s CRT ban and COVID-19 policies can be found in his recent opinion piece for The Flat Hat. In 2020, Kennedy received a reprimand from the commanding general for the Colorado Army National Guard, Brigadier General Douglas Paul, as well as other National Guard leadership, under Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1325.06 for attending a Black Lives Matter protest while in plain clothes.

Enclosure three, paragraph six of DoDI 1325.06 states that “members of the Armed Forces are prohibited from participating in off-post demonstrations under any of these circumstances,” the fourth of which states “violence is likely to result.”

“Brigadier General Douglas Paul said that Black Lives Matter protests are inherently violent. His chief of staff, Colonel Charles Beatty, said that Black Lives Matter protests begin peacefully, and devolve into violent clashes with the police,” Kennedy said. “Those statements are racist.”

These statements ended up being the basis for at least three investigations, two reprimands, and two negative evaluations against Kennedy, as well as a denial of an award and a delay of transfer to the U.S. Army Reserve.

“All because I peacefully protested with thousands of other Black Lives Matter protests on May 30, 2020, in a peaceful march from the state capitol down one of the widest boulevards in Denver. It ended with the police, without provocation or use of force, the police opened fire with clouds of tear gas on the protestors,” Kennedy said. “In basic training they tear gas you, so I knew what it was.”

The only reason why the military knew where Kennedy was on that day is due to a 2020 op-ed he wrote in The Denver Post criticizing the police response to the peaceful protest, stating that they “violated their use of force policy’s requirement to ‘give clear and concise verbal commands…prior to, during, and after the deployment of any less lethal weapon.”’

For one year, Kennedy attempted to get any kind of redress from the chain of command to no avail. This eventually resulted in Kennedy writing and filing a lawsuit against the military for violating his First Amendment right to peacefully protest systemic racism. In January 2022, two Army Review Boards found that both Brigadier General Paul See KENNEDY page 8

opinions STAFF COLUMN

It is okay to walk across the Sunken Garden diagonally

Opinions Editor Adam Jutt Opinions Editor Caitlin Noe fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat

THE FLAT HAT | Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | Page 3

GUEST COLUMN

Lack of housing options underscores adminitration’s failure to consider the well-being of student body Alexander Wallace FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

Adam Jutt THE FLAT HAT

As an opinions editor of The Flat Hat, I like to think I have my finger on the pulse of campus. I read somewhere between two and five opinion articles every week. When you consider that I’ve been doing that for nearly three full weeks now — and on a couple of occasions last semester, I read articles simply out of interest — I think it becomes fair to assert that we would need a math professor to calculate just how many pieces I have perused over my time here.

With that in mind, the statement that I am uniquely attuned to the views of the student body becomes indisputable. As a result, I have developed some insights about the most common opinions held here. Not to sound pompous, but these insights are not the sorts of things someone would be able to glean without my aforementioned expertise. I will share here the three most popular, all of which may surprise you: a lot of people had strong feelings about this past Charter Day, a lot of people are less than thrilled with the housing situation on campus, and a a lot of people aren’t too fond of the dining hall food here.

I’m sure you’re not shocked by the contents of that list. What you should be shocked by, however, is an issue that is not on it. An issue that has never once been the subject of a Flat Hat article, despite its daily effect on thousands of students here. An issue of stigma, tradition, inefficiency and peer pressure. An issue that I wholeheartedly believe must be addressed before we can in good conscience focus on ways to improve the housing situation, food situation or anything else people care about (class registration, mask policies, you name it).

I am referring, of course, to the fact that the vast majority of people here refuse to cross the Sunken Garden diagonally and instead elect to stay on the brick paths, even when doing so lengthens their commute.

I would argue that, in at least 80% of cases, there is a diagonal path across the Sunken Garden that would get you to your destination faster than taking one of the formalized paths.

In fact, the only instance where there is not a more efficient diagonal path is a situation where your nearest entry point into the Sunken Garden corresponds to the exit point that is closest to your destination. In other words, if you enter the Sunken Garden from somewhere that was not the entry point nearest the place you are leaving, or if you exit the Sunken Garden and end up crossing a different exit point, you will have wasted time.

I first caught wind of the strange obsession with the straight paths one night last fall when I was crossing the Sunken Garden to get to my dorm. I was taking a diagonal route because — as tends to be true — it was the quickest. All of

a sudden a voice rang out, “Adam?” I turned, and standing on one of the paths was a friend of mine. Or so I thought. I approached him to say hello, but before I could greet him he proceeded to berate me for a good four minutes over my decision to cross diagonally. He asked if I was a crazy person. He asked if I thought my time was so valuable that I couldn’t spare ten seconds using the brick paths. He asked if I used to cut through neighbors’ backyards and swim through their pools when walking home from the school bus stop.

He was laughing as he said those things, but I could see fear behind his eyes. He was terrified that I had questioned the status quo.

You might be unconvinced that this stigma really exists. “Couldn’t this ‘friend’ of yours just have a weird thing against diagonal lines?” you might ask. Or, more to the point, “What evidence do you have that people systematically, irrationally choose the straight paths over the efficient paths?”

Firstly, observation. I sat in a chair in the Sunken Garden for twenty minutes Saturday, March 5, doing nothing but watching people cross. I saw at least a hundred people walk from one side to the other, and no one took a diagonal path. I think it is reasonable to assume that, for most, their “to” and “from” locations did not correspond to diametrically opposed entry and exit points. Secondly, experience. Whenever I have walked with a group across the Sunken Garden, the line leader has 99 times out of 100 taken us along the brick paths, even when diagonally would have saved time.

In fairness, efficiency is not the only relevant concern. If the grass is wet, I completely understand sacrificing a few seconds to keep your feet dry. If it is beautiful out and you are in no rush, I also understand the desire to soak in as much outdoors time as possible. But in many cases, neither of those standards are met. I have been part of groups that have stuck to the paths even under the scorching August sun and the cruel January wind.

People love to make jokes about how school teaches us things we’ll never need to know in the real world. “The Pythagorean theorem can’t help me file my taxes” is a common quip, for example. While it’s true that triangle side lengths aren’t important considerations on tax forms, the Pythagorean theorem is not fully useless. For one, it could help our student body avoid looking foolish as we systematically choose to walk across the Sunken Garden and then alongside it instead of walking boldly along our route’s hypotenuse.

Adam Jutt ’25 is planning on majoring in who knows what (maybe public policy and economics). Aside from being an opinions editor, he is a member of Club Tennis and involved with InterVarsity. Feel free to email Adam at adjutt@wm.edu.

COMIC

Fuzzy 8: Fuzzy the predator COMIC BY ARIANNA STEWART / THE FLAT HAT

To the administration of the College of William and Mary, I write to you once again with great dismay in regard to your treatment of the student body to which you are stewards.

Last year, I conveyed my immense disappointment with your handling of pass/fail policies, and now I must condemn the thinking that seriously, albeit temporarily, jeopardized the housing of six hundred upperclassmen in the coming academic year.

As of writing, there are 6,236 undergraduate students at the College.

An oversight that takes offline one of the largest dormitories, denying a tenth of the student body housing in the coming year, strikes me as callous and disregardful of students’ wellbeing. The purpose of this institution, of which we are all stewards, is “to make, found and establish a certain place of universal study,” as outlined by the Charter to which the College is still bound. I would have thought it obvious that eager students who want to partake in that “universal study” would have a mighty hard time doing so when they do not have a roof over their head. You have made the right decision in reneging on that decision and reopening One Tribe Place, but the damage to the trust which the student body has in you will not be easy to reclaim.

It makes it appear to many that you do not care about your students as people, only as a source of revenue.

The College is an institution that has given this country three presidents and four signatories of the Declaration of Independence, four Supreme Court justices, this state twenty-two governors and this world a constellation of luminaries. In this, it has much to be proud of. Where, then, is this pride when it comes to the treatment of its students? You feed them prison food in dining halls — I remember feeling that Sadler corned beef “tasted like depression.”

You house students in shoddy dormitories and make them study in decaying halls. You have cared not a whit for student health.

You have denied them proper mental

healthcare. You have denied students deeply necessary accommodations. You have denied them needed leeway as the world is strangled by a global pandemic.

And now you have the gall to deny a tenth of the student body housing in the coming academic year. You tell them to “search for spaces that are suitable to your personal budget,” not even bothering to consider that this could very well put immense strain on the finances of a significant portion of the students on your campus. It makes it appear to many that you do not care about your students as people, only as a source of revenue. In other words, it looks like you do not see them as human beings.

The damage to the trust which the student body has in you will not be easy to reclaim.

After so many things that guarantee student life have been cut, being restored — like several sports teams or One Tribe Place, for instance — only after massive public outcry, you should know that you come off as moneylenders in a temple of learning, as living embodiments of what Ambrose Bierce called “pickpocket civilization.” To students, it appears that they study at the mercy of Ebenezer Scrooge, with few if any ghosts of Christmas on hand to change his ways. I will likewise stress that caving in to public pressure is not synonymous with, or is read by the public, as sincere feelings of goodwill.

I protest in the strongest terms to the administrators of this august institution to reconsider the thought processes that brought this campus and this student body to such a situation. In the name of common decency, I plead that future policies from the administration start with the consideration that students are, first and foremost, human beings.

Yours faithfully, Alexander Ramos Wallace

Alexander Wallace ’19 has a bachelor’s degree in international relations. He is currently working for the National Science Teachers Association. He also writes about science fiction and fantasy for three different sites, and published his book, an anthology of short stories, in December 2021. Email Alex at alexwallace2@yahoo.com.

THE FLAT HAT

Tuesday, March 08, 2022

Page 4

STAFF COLUMN

Outgoing Editor-in-Chief bids farewell Claire Hogan

OUTGOING FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I pour my heart and soul into this paper for four years, and all I get is one lousy opinion piece? Ah well, better make the most of it.

Before I became the eleventy-first editor-in-chief of The Flat Hat, I was terrified that I would do a bad job. In my usual fashion, I downloaded half a dozen books on leadership before stepping into office, and I skimmed through all of them, searching for something that would prevent me from crashing this 111-year-old paper into the ground. Turns out, I didn’t need any of them. Not because I’m a particularly good leader, but because my staff was incredible. This paper boasts some of the most dedicated students on campus, people who are always pushing themselves and others to be better, do better, and report better. They have, in turn, made ME better, and I am inexpressibly thankful.

Over four years, this paper has shoved me, kicking and screaming, out of my comfort zone. My first ever article assignment was at the law school, a true reach for 18-yearold me, who had never interviewed anyone before, let alone in such an impressively intimidating setting. As someone who gets anxious ordering a cup of coffee at Aromas (WHY is there so little space to stand?), it was good for me. Over a hundred interviews later, I’m launching my career in journalism because this paper shaped the person that I became over my four years here.

This role makes you feel simultaneously like the most and least important person on campus, when you’re really somewhere in between — struggling to stay afloat just like everyone else. I had periods of deep paranoia fueled, in part, from the reality of administrators bringing up my name in conversations, looking at my social media pages, and generally being a nuisance when I was just trying to live my life. I had longer periods of joy, where I heard from people who loved our coverage and saw the impact that this paper can have on our little community.

And, of course, I had many long conversations about this institution, most of which went absolutely nowhere.

The relationship between The Flat Hat and the College of William and Mary is — at worst — antagonistic and — at best — skeptical. We have no formal journalism program here, nor any sort of administrative oversight, which is both a blessing and a curse. We’re a bit like that plant in the corner of your dorm room that’s survived despite you forgetting to water it half the time. We’re shown off when it’s convenient, then abandoned when it’s not.

That’s not to say that it was all bad. I have experienced a great deal of kindness from the College, and a wonderful amount of support, both personally and on behalf of the paper. But college journalism is naturally unfriendly; when you’re reporting on the institution that is singlehandedly controlling your livelihood, things necessarily get messy. Throughout my tenure, I was touted as a shining example of student leadership and initiative taking, while simultaneously being told to keep my nose out of things that didn’t concern me.

Since we’re largely left to fend for ourselves at The Flat Hat, the Editor must play both offense and defense at any given time, from any given side, on any given day. It’s exhausting, but I loved every minute of it. It’s been such an honor to serve this paper, and I will miss the long nights spent in the asbestos-laden basement of Campus Center, the flurry of emails and Slack messages that continually lit up my phone screen and the feeling of seeing my name in print.

But the paper is left in the hands of incredible people.

Incoming Editor-in-Chief Lulu Dawes ’23 is charismatic, hilarious and, most of all, she cares about this paper more than anyone else. Lulu has a keen journalistic instinct and a knack for page design, both of which far surpass my own abilities. I relied on her heavily throughout my tenure as editor, so I have full confidence in her abilities to lead this paper to greatness.

On Lulu’s executive team are Molly Parks ’24, Ashanti Jones ’23, Erica Smedley ’24 and Alexandra Byrne ‘23.

I am so proud of Molly, who became news editor as a freshman and has stepped up as an editor, reporter and leader in the paper. She has already shown a striking level of dedication and perseverance, and I know that news and sports are in good hands with her as their managing editor.

Whenever Ashanti is in the office, everyone is happier. She is smart, kind and diligent. As a variety editor, she worked tirelessly to increase the scope of our coverage and she wrote some absolutely incredible pieces. I know that she’ll use her new role as executive editor to elevate the variety and opinions sections because her thoughtful leadership knows no bounds.

I have always described Erica as “someone who sees what needs to be done and does it.” As our social media editor, she was industrious, timely and always on top of things. I have a personal fondness for the role of digital media editor (my role before Editor-in-Chief ), and I am excited that Erica is leading our digital coverage.

Alex is such an overachiever. Not only is she an international relations whiz and a stellar writer, but she is also the best investigative reporter that I know. Under her guidance, the news section has done more hard-hitting pieces (and submitted more FOIA requests) than ever before.

And I don’t even know the full scope of her achievements because, on one memorable occasion, I showed up to report on a Board of Visitors meeting, only to find her speaking at the front of the room on behalf of the Student Assembly. She is genuinely remarkable, and even though she is in France, she will excel as operations coordinator.

In the news section, Callie Booth ’24, Abigail Connelly ’25 and Anna Arnsberger ’25 are taking over as editors. Callie is a kindhearted, dedicated individual with incredible ideas and leadership potential. Abigail and Anna have already shown

striking prowess with page design and editing. Together, they make a fantastic team and I am so proud of both of them.

Nick Reeder ’24 is reprising his role in the data section, and thank goodness, because he is the best. Nick is always willing to go above and beyond his normal duties — I recall one memorable SA election night when we stayed on a Zoom call for three hours while waiting for results to come in — and he carries the invaluable data section on his back.

The sports section is left in the capable hands of Jake Forbes ’24. Jake wrote some fantastic pieces as a sports associate and, as long as Lulu doesn’t unplug his computer mid-page design, he will accomplish incredible things as editor because he cares for the College’s teams more than anyone else.

Caitlin Noe ’24 and Adam Jutt ’25 are our incoming opinions editors. Caitlin’s will be a familiar name for anyone who reads our opinions section, as her pieces are always timely and well-written. Adam’s writing is also delightful — I encourage everyone to read his piece on toilet paper to know what I mean. Opinions is always a tricky section to navigate, but I have confidence in their decision-making abilities.

The new variety editors are Madeleine Harris ’24 and Vivian Hoang ’25. Maddie stepped up mid-year into her role as editor, and she adapted to her new responsibilities with ease because she is calm and capable. Vivian is one of the strongest writers on the paper and I’m so glad she rose into a leadership position. Together, they will do great things.

Susie Stark ’24 is returning as copy chief, probably the most important role in the paper given the number of spelling mistakes and AP style violations which she catches every issue. Copy is a highly underrated section, without which the paper would completely disintegrate, and so I am also excited that Lucas Harsche ’23, our former opinions editor and an invaluable part of The Flat Hat team, is also our new copy chief.

Taylor Robertson ’23 is returning as business manager, hopefully making our paper less reliant on the College’s money and more organized in the realm of finances. Ryan Leventhal ’23 is also returning as webmaster, giving our poor website the love and care it deserves. Both of them are Atlaslike figures, doing the unglamorous but critically important work of holding this paper up behind the scenes.

Over four years, this paper has shoved me, kicking and screaming, out of my comfort zone.

Justin Sherlock ’23 is coming into dual roles as both photos editor and social media editor. As a talented photographer who has also showcased his Instagram prowess, I am thankful he joined the paper and I look forward to seeing more of his photos in print. He is a delightful member of any team and I don’t know how we managed without him.

Tara Vasanth ’23 and Yelena Fleming ’24 are our graphics editors, both of whom are incredibly talented artists as well as the nicest people I know. Yelena is also stepping up as podcasts editor (always a daunting task) and, as a podcast enthusiast, I am excited to see what she produces.

Van Monday ’23 is taking over as standards and practices editor, the second ever in the role at The Flat Hat. Van is a deep thinker, extremely ethically-minded and a genuinely great person. I know that, under Van’s leadership, the paper’s content will soar to new heights of accountability and integrity.

Linda Li ’24 and Ellie Kurlander ’24 have already made names for themselves as the new editors-in-chief of the Flat Hat Magazine. Both are talented writers with a strong artistic vision, and I know that their compassionate leadership will make the magazine better than ever.

And now, of course, I must bid a bittersweet farewell to the outgoing senior class at The Flat Hat, who became some of my closest friends over the past four years.

Rebecca Klinger ’22 was the first friend I made in college outside my freshman hall. Of the incoming dozen interns in the online section, only the two of us remained after fall 2018 because we were both too stubborn to quit. Becca is an enigma: both stoic and incredibly compassionate, vibrant and diligently organized. While I’m her superior in The Flat Hat, she was mine in the Botetourt Squat, Media Council and Sinfonicron because she’s much more of a media mogul than I am. We never did have that fight to the death, Flat Hat editor vs. Squat editor, did we, Becca? We’ll have to take a rain check for that for when you’re rich and famous.

Matt Lowrie ’22 is the best person I know, and the sole reason I retained the few shreds of sanity that I currently possess. Despite me continually putting him in awkward situations due to the opinion pieces that I kept writing (sorry), he managed to cement his inaugural role of ombudsman into the core of our paper, tackling our controversies and continually pushing us to do better. He thinks deeply about journalism in a way that I admire, and his impact on The Flat Hat is immeasurable. Under his watchful eye, our coverage dramatically improved, and it will continue to do so under the office that he created. From early-morning pancake breakfasts to late night discussions of journalistic ethics, I don’t know what I would have done without him. Matt became a close friend of mine in an alarmingly short span of time, but if you knew him, you’d understand why. He is the first person I told when I got an actual post-grad job offer, and I immediately received a breathless audio message in response because he had stopped mid-run to congratulate me. Because he’s just that kind of person.

Zoe Beardsley ’22 made my job easy, because she is competent, confident and one of the coolest people I know.

Her wit and charisma cannot be exaggerated — she lights up every room that she is in. She bullied me into watching four seasons of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and made me keep watching “The Wheel of Time,” both of which turned out to be delightful because she is right about most things (except about the proper way to play Mario Kart). The paper probably would have fallen apart without her on my executive staff because she is a level-headed voice of reason and a natural leader. She is the only person who could get me to willingly watch Saturday Night Live, and she can and will succeed at everything she does.

Adithi Ramakrishnan ’22 and I actually met in a sci-fi club (“skiffy” to its friends) our freshman year. Or so she says — I don’t remember this specifically, but since we’re both unapologetic nerds who can quote from specific episodes of Doctor Who, it seems on-brand for both of us. She has a remarkable way with words that makes me pause while editing her pieces, just so that I can savor the prose. She is my go-to-friend for recommending books and I have no doubt that she will be a famous writer someday, in whatever form she finds most suitable. Oh, and did I mention that she’s a brilliant science journalist and an effortlessly hilarious storyteller? Yeah, because she’s also good at everything, and it’s simply not fair.

Jamie Holt ’22 is an immensely talented photographer and a caring friend. Her photos make you drop everything to look at them because they always paint a nuanced picture. She is a force to be reckoned with — a perfect mix of professional and humorous. Jamie is humble to a fault and she always underestimates her own professional prowess despite the fact that everyone around her is in awe of her talent. She is a jaw-droppingly good photographer, a fantastic writer and a delightful person to be around. I have full confidence in her ability to follow whatever dream strikes her fancy.

Charles Coleman ’22 made production nights my favorite night of the week. As news editor of two years, he glued the section together through the pandemic with his easygoing attitude and relentless work ethic. Charles and I have the same major — CAMS, if you feel like Googling it and questioning our life choices — and we have spent many hours commiserating over the classes we’ve taken, which made me feel much better about the whole situation. I will miss the dozens of misspelled words he scattered across his page designs, the tupperware containers full of pasta he brought to the office, and the cuttingly-accurate remarks that would make me cry laughing on Monday nights.

Nina Raneses ’22 was the best copy chief that anyone could ask for. Despite our insistence that “you don’t need to edit this piece right now” and “it can really wait until tomorrow,” Nina was a relentless force of raw editing power. If we laid down all the Oxford commas she removed from articles and placed them in a line, it would probably stretch from the Campus Center basement all the way to Boswell Hall and back. Beyond her copy expertise, Nina is a compassionate leader, and you can usually find her busy doing yet another favor for a friend or coworker.

Nathan Seidel ’22 will be sorely missed on the paper, especially for his profound knowledge of arcane sports terms and a seemingly endless love for the College’s teams, even the ones that seldom see victory. Nathan had a talent for coming up with the best sports headlines: “Tribe humps camels” will always be a personal favorite of mine. He is ruthlessly efficient, funny and delightful.

Judith Hahn ’22 stepped into her role as podcast editor, a notoriously tricky position, and produced some fantastic audio content during the pandemic. Given her penchant for good ideas and her hardworking attitude, I know that she will succeed wherever she ends up.

Alyssa Slovin ’22 has truly put in the work at this paper and on the magazine. She has a great eye for visuals and page design, a strong sense of ethics and a compelling talent for writing, which made her the best opinions editor (and magazine editor-in-chief ) that anyone could ask for. I will miss her on-point outfits and discussions of squishmallows, as well as her effortlessly beautiful pages that she churned out like an absolute beast.

Gavin Aquin Hernández ’22 was only on the magazine’s staff this past year, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the years of hard work he put into this school’s publications.

He is ambitious and good at what he does and he will be missed, especially at the magazine, which he shaped as editor alongside Alyssa.

I also have to mention Emma Ford ’21 and Kim Lores ’21, both of whom graduated last semester. Emma is incredibly diligent and an all-around team player, from her roles as news editor, managing editor and then operations coordinator, she did it all with ease and grace. Kim and Emma were an unstoppable SA beat reporter team, who sacrificed many hours every week for their vitally important job. We’ve missed them dearly this semester.

And I’d like to extend a personal note of gratitude to Sean Willner ’19 and Maggie More ’20, former Flat Hat digital media editors, as well as Ethan Brown ‘21, the 110th editor-in-chief of this paper. Sean was the first person who taught me how to edit videos, a skill that made me employable. Maggie believed in me more than I did myself.

And Ethan guided me when I came into this role, letting me commiserate and celebrate with him in equal measure.

Thank you all.

Institutional memory is short. Four years from now, nobody will remember the scandals that wracked our class.

But The Flat Hat remembers. We are, above all, an archive of this university’s faults and a timeline of things (slowly) getting better.

We are an invaluable resource, made by students, for students. We make mistakes. We have no advisor. We don’t get paid. It’s just us out here, doing our best.

And somewhere in the eye of the never-ending storm that is college journalism is an Editor-in-Chief who read half a dozen books on leadership. And she’s ready to retire.

Stabilitas et Fides.

Claire Hogan ‘22 is the outgoing editor-in-chief of The Flat Hat, and she’s allowed to be sentimental about it. Email her at cahogan@wm.edu.

variety

Variety Editor Vivian Hoang Variety Editor Madeleine Harris flathat.variety@gmail.com

THE FLAT HAT | Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | Page 5

JUSTIN SHERLOCK // THE FLAT HAT

Members of the College of William and Mary bird club use binoculars and other equipment to observe, photograph and listen to different species of birds and various other wildlife around the College campus forests and the surrounding Williamsburg community.

Of the same feather: bird club flocks together to create community, learn about wildlife The College of William and Mary's Bird Club unites avian enthusiasts through community-building and sustainability initiatives.

MILES MORTIMER // VARIETY ASSOC. EDITOR If you ever find yourself walking around campus on a Friday afternoon, there is a good chance you will run into one of the fastest growing clubs taking a walk on campus: the College of William and Mary's Bird Club. As their name suggests, the Bird Club is focused on everything about birds, and every Friday, the members of the club gather at their designated meeting spot and spend an over an hour walking around campus observing the birds on campus.

“It’s nice to look, laugh, and enjoy nature,” Christina Sabochick '22 said. “It definitely keeps your mind really active since you’re out identifying and listening to the sounds and trying to figure out what is around you, so I think it adds a very cool aspect to being in nature since you’re actually engaging with it.”

Throughout their walks, the members of the club will use and share pairs of binoculars in order to get a better view of the avian wildlife they encounter. Some of the more experienced members of the club even try to identify the birds from afar using the binoculars to improve their knowledge about birds.

However, the weekly walks are not the only endeavors undertaken by the club. Once a month, the members of the club go to a special location off campus to see new wildlife and new areas of nature.

“A lot of times we will leave early in the mornings, and occasionally we will do an overnight trip,” Club President Tara Malloy '22 said. “We’ll basically spend an entire day just birding or looking for birds, and then we usually get some food to relax.”

Although the physical expeditions can be fun for those interested in learning more about birds, the weekly walks — and especially the monthly trips — can be a large time commitment for members every week. In addition, the bird enthusiasts of the club do not want to have their discussions and interactions just limited to just the scheduled events.

As a remedy for both of these issues, the Bird Club has a very active club GroupMe that has over 235 users for members to discuss all things birds. Members of the club enjoy using GroupMe, and it is used for everything from funny humor to identifying the wildlife in pictures.

“There’s people interacting with each other every day, sharing news articles or sharing silly stories about birding or bird culture, and a huge thing is people sending the photos that they take to share with the group,” Sabochick said. “When we are all home for break, people will send what they are seeing from all over the country, like some people from the West Coast who send really cool shots from out there.”

Thus, while many members come for the birds, they often stay for the great social interactions the club provides. The sense of community fosters during the events is a highlight for many members — one does not need a pair of binoculars to observe the lifelong bonds that are formed between the active members of the club.

“My favorite part of Bird Club is the social aspect of it as a lot of people in the club I would consider to be good friends at this point even if we don’t see each other much outside of bird club,” Genevieve Kennedy '23 said. “It just fosters a sense of community and lightheartedness, and it’s a good way to learn and get out there.”

This social aspect of the club is clearly one that resonates with a large number of members as the activities hosted by the club open members up to so many new experiences that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

“I think Bird Club really allowed me to come out of my shell a little bit more,” Malloy said.

“I always think our trips are some of the most monumental bonding experiences, you just gain this bond, and you can’t just be too quiet and not interact, you get into it, and you get so many connections that you normally wouldn’t have gotten.”

Members of the Bird Club have joined for a variety of different reasons. Some members knew very early on that the Bird Club was the perfect fit for them while others are just now getting into it.

“I wanted to join because I had had interest in birds and birding before coming to college but never really had the gumption to figure out how to do it,” Kennedy said. “But one of the things that I had noticed on activity day was that there was a bird club here, and it was really cool to come and it has been really welcoming.”

In addition to fun walks and engaging social events, the Bird Club partakes in more serious matters relating to the safety and health of birds on campus and in the area. One initiative that members participate in is walking around campus and searching for buildings that contain potential hazards to avian wildlife. If they do find an issue, they will attempt to raise awareness about it and help in whatever way they can to fix the issue. The club notes that buildings with a high number of windows are particular offenders and sometimes alumni of the club will donate money and resources for solutions.

Another focus of the club is bettering general environmental sustainability to not only promote the well-being of birds, but also the well-being of the ecosystem as a whole.

“Birds are everywhere, and they are a good environmental indicator, and they also affect so much that many don’t realize,” Malloy said. “Just bringing that awareness of specifically birds and sustainability is a cool aspect of the club.”

But regardless of whether the members of the club are attempting to solve a serious issue relating to the health of birds or just posting funny pictures in their group chat, the incredible relationships formed will only continue to grow. And despite whether one has a significant amount of experience with birding, or is just starting out as a beginner, the William and Mary Bird Club is more than happy for anyone on campus to join their GroupMe and attend their weekly walks as it is not only the knowledge of birds, but also the lifelong social connections that the members of the organization cherish so closely.

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THE FLAT HAT

Tuesday, March 08, 2022

Violent Delights

The College of William and Maryʼs acting troupe Shakespeare in the Dark performs ʻ90s inspired adaptation of Romeo and Juliet ELLIE KURLANDER // VARIETY ASSOC. EDITOR

Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Williamsburg, Va. where we lay our scene. Friday, Feb. 25, Shakespeare in the Dark presented their winter show “Romeo and Juliet.”

A pun on New York’s Shakespeare in the Park, the student-run classical theater group has been performing in Early Modern English since 1997.

Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is a tale as old as time. The play is found in the curriculum of nearly every middle school English course — and how can we forget about the numerous blockbuster renditions? Who didn’t swoon when Leonardo Decaprio smoldered his way across the screen in Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 adaptation? Needless to say, this is a story that has been performed countless times with countless interpretations. Going into the performance, I was curious to see how SitD would put their own spin on the production. I am happy to report that the show exceeded my expectations.

SitD advertised their performance as “Romeo and Juliet” with a ’90s twist, and I believe they delivered on this promise. The modernized version of the play equipped itself with costumes that transported the audience back 25 years and a ’90s soundtrack that featured hits such as “No Scrubs” by TLC and “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls.

Performed in the Sadler Commonwealth Auditorium, patrons were greeted with a thrust stage setup. The set design was very minimal, consisting of a single bench, a red backdrop and a black curtain to enter and exit the stage.

While the set was scarce, the actors utilized every inch of the stage and managed to transport the audience to the Italian city of Verona.

One of my favorite aspects of the performance was the opening monologue. Rather than have one actor deliver the lines, the monologue was split among three characters. The actors burst onto the stage with high energy and performed the lines as if they were townspeople gossiping about the fate of the star-crossed lovers. This choice was a welcome change and invited the audience to fully immerse themselves into the performance.

Another unique characteristic of the performance was altering the genders of several characters from the original text. Romeo was played by Payton Robinson ’25, and the character was referred to by she/her pronouns. This

casting decision applied to several other roles, most notably with the character of Tybalt, played by Miranda Huffer ’22.

Unfortunately, the famed party scene where Romeo and Juliet, played

by Natalie Tubia ’25, meet for the first time was lackluster. The life-altering, love at first sight moment felt like an afterthought and did not live up to the building anticipation. However, the incredible balcony scene made up for the party’s mishaps. In this scene, Robinson and Tubia’s chemistry shined. Robinson perfectly captured Romeo’s awkward mannerisms and enamorment with Juliet. The scene was well-acted, well-paced and it was clear that both actors understood the weight that their lines held.

A defining characteristic of Romeo and Juliet is its classification as a tragedy. With this in mind, I was pleasantly surprised by SitD’s ability to hit all of the comedic beats.

“I laughed a lot. It’s always fun to see that Shakespeare is actually very funny.

Even the tragedies have a lot of humor in them,” Eliza Trost, a SitD alum, ’20 said after the show.

An especially comedic piece was Erik Wells’ ’23 portrayal of the Apothecary as a low-level drug dealer. Wells wore a black hoodie and brought the character to life through his shifty body language and palpable paranoia. These features not only modernized the play, but also added much-needed humor to the otherwise somber second act.

Despite its comedic moments, “Romeo and Juliet” is still a tragedy above all else. One of the most powerful scenes occurred when Lord and Lady Capulet, played by Sam Suslavich ’22 and Savannah Nichole ’22, respectively, discover Juliet’s body and presume her dead. Lord Capulet flawlessly captured the emotions of a grieving parent. The scene seemed to drag on for an uncomfortable amount of time, an excellent choice as the audience was forced to experience the gravity of Lord and Lady Capulets’ loss.

While each member of the ensemble offered a unique take on their character, there were four standout performances. The first was with Anthony Piccoli ’22 and their portrayal of Nurse. Piccoli demanded the attention of the audience and was a definite scene stealer. Their costume

was quintessentially ’90s, consisting of flame-printed tights and a bright yellow mini-dress. The Nurse is written as a comedic role, but Piccoli amplified it tenfold. During the party scene in Act 1, Piccoli’s shameless “dance like nobody’s watching” attitude was hilarious. You could tell Piccoli was having fun, enhancing the audience’s overall enjoyment of the play. Much like Lord and Lady Capulet, Piccoli also managed to showcase his incredible acting range. At the drop of a hat, Piccoli could switch from a self-aware gossip to inconsolably devastated.

Another standout was Joshua Mutterperl ’24 and his portrayal of Mercutio. It’s hard to hate Mercutio — he speaks his mind, and his eccentricities always make him enjoyable to watch.

Fortunately, Mutterperl did not miss. Mutterperl looked comfortable delivering his complex dialogue, and his stage presence was magnetic.

Mercutio is arguably one of the most physically demanding roles, but Mutterperl remained energetic and displayed convincing stage fighting abilities throughout the night.

Lastly, the two leads, Robinson and Tubia, were natural performers.

Both actors offered some of the most unique versions of Romeo and Juliet that I have ever seen. Many interpretations of Romeo portray the character as brooding and self-serious, but Robinson managed to add several comedic elements. Robinson also perfectly captured the essence of a teenager in love. She didn’t shy away from portraying Romeo as awkward and impulsive, a refreshing take.

Tubia mastered the ’90s look with her pigtails and butterfly clips. In addition to her spot-on costume choices, I appreciated Tubia’s interpretation of Juliet. Tubia maintained a sweet naivety in her portrayal. She made a wise choice in not trying to pass the character off as older or more mature.

It is easy to forget that Juliet was only 13 during the events of the play, but Tubia walked this line masterfully.

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend checking out one of Shakespeare in the Dark’s three performances that they put on each year. They are an incredibly talented and entertaining group, and they provide a fantastic way for theater lovers to spend a portion of their evenings.

RYAN GOODMAN / THE FLAT HAT

Reclaiming the Stage: Pink Tax Comedy Takes the Mic Emerging onto the College of William and Maryʼs comedy scene is all-new, gender-inclusive comedy troupe Pink Tax Comedy

NAOMI FRASER // VARIETY ASSOC. EDITOR Let’s face it — white, cisgender, heterosexual men dominate comedy. They are the prominent players in all sections of the genre, highly represented in standup, sketch and improv comedy. For those who do not identify with this group, entrance into the comedy world is marked with additional discouragements and challenges to overcome. The newly formed Pink Tax Comedy club recognizes this reality and has set out to challenge it by creating a space for underrepresented gender identities to engage in comedy at the College of William and Mary.

Renee Ritchey ’24 began conceptualizing Pink Tax Comedy during the fall 2021 semester. Tired of feeling left out of the comedy scene, Ritchey sought to create a safe space for underrepresented gender identities to produce and share laughter on campus.

“I grappled this idea for a while,” Ritchey said.

“Like, what if I had a space for people who identify as women, who identify as nonbinary, and who are transgender, to have a safe place to explore comedy without ever feeling like they have to serve a particular role? Having their identities like celebrated and then, you know, being the ones who tell the jokes for once — not being the receiving end of it.”

Pink Tax Comedy’s commitment to raising underrepresented groups from targets to presenters of comedy is one reason that member Pelumi Sholagbade ’24 believes the club will be a significantly positive addition to campus.

“I think there’s this trope associated with stand-up,” Sholagbade said. “Of like, this like cis-het white male standing up and talking about all his problems with women, or like titling his special like ‘Triggered’ or something and talking about, like, how SJWs are ruining comedy or something. And I know that that kind of is like the comedy world outside of William and Mary, and I’m not saying that it applies to any of the comedy groups here. It’s just, I thought it was really cool to cultivate a sort of comedic space specifically for underrepresented genders where we can kind of push the envelope, so to speak, of, like, what comedy entails and who it can be for.”

Currently Pink Tax Comedy is not an official club, but

the team members are actively working to change the group’s status. They recently submitted their constitution on which, as team member Madelyn Bergin ’24 shared, the entire team had a hand in working.

“Initially, Renee had kind of written one, but then she kind of realized, you know, I want this to be something that all of us can work on together,” Bergin said. “So, even though it’s going to be a bit more work to make it a

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collaborative effort, I think that was really important to all of u s .

So we wrote it together.”

N o w the nine-member team is waiting for the Student Leadership Development Office to approve the constitution so that they can move on to the next step. In the meantime, the Pink Tax Comedy members have been getting to know one another, having fun and thinking about how they want to present their organization. As of now, Pink Tax Comedy does not have one specific comedic style they will adhere to, but, according to Sholagbade, the group may not need one.

“Well, the cool thing about being an affinity-based group, as opposed to being like a format-based group, is

that we kind of get to play with a lot of different formats, which is what we’re in the process of doing,” Sholagbade said. “I think we’re going to offer stand-up. I think we’re also focusing on sketch comedy. Whether or not it’s going to be short-form or long-form, I’m not sure yet. We’re very much still in, like, the brainstorming process of things.”

For Pink Tax Comedy, the format in which they present their comedy is second to the inclusion of a diverse group of individuals on stage.

“I look forward to really just putting on a show and just having like a space for people to really enjoy because I think like, I don’t know, I think there’s definitely like a niche for us,” Bergin said. “I’m really excited for that — even if it’s not like for everyone.

That’s really okay. I’m not really interested in making absolutely everyone laugh. I’m really just looking forward to like, making people feel like they have a space to laugh in.”

While Pink Tax Comedy is not yet fully established on campus, the members of the group are still able to imagine what their club will become and the impact it will have in the years to come.

“I think all of us want this to be something that outlasts us,” Bergin said. “And so I’m looking forward to hopefully just kind of keeping an eye on it, like after I’ve graduated, and like seeing where it goes. Hopefully, there’s like, you know, as a broader framework, we can offer things like workshops for people so they can start to learn, like, what doing comedy is like.”

Pink Tax Comedy aims to create a safe space for and amplify the voices of those who have been excluded from the comedic stage for far too long. The club was not, as Ritchey emphasized, formed to create division or promote discrimination — a criticism Ritchey has received from a few people on campus. Pink Tax Comedy is about shining a spotlight on underrepresented gender identities in comedy and allowing them to explore and share their talents with those at the College and beyond.

“I’m just like hoping to like, shake things up a little bit,” Ritchey said. “Make people laugh, and just create a really awesome, supportive group that people are going to be like, ‘Yeah, that’s awesome. I wish I could join that.’”

sports

THE F LAT HAT | Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | Page 7

CLUB ICE HOCKEY

Club Ice Hockey wins ACCHL Championship

Graduate student Bob Berner scores winning goal in overtime to defeat Appalachian State

KELSI PUTNAM FLAT HAT SPORTS ASSOC. EDITOR Club Ice Hockey (7-1) defeated Appalachian State on Saturday, Feb. 27 to win the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League Championship.

Even though The Tribe had previously defeated Appalachian State 5-3 in October, they remained focused heading into the game.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said junior Nat Raudenbush, the team goalie and tournament MVP. “We were kind of worried that they didn’t bring their whole team here before, so we thought they would have their whole team at playoffs, which they did, and it was definitely a tougher game.”

The Tribe came out strong in the first period, scoring the first goal of the game.

However, sophomore Josh Nixon thought the team lost focus in the second period.

“We tried to kind of play the style of

hockey that they wanted instead of what we were used to.” Nixon said.

William and Mary allowed two goals during the period and needed a strong third to take home the hardware.

The Tribe utilized the second intermission as a chance to refocus.

According to some players, the general sense was ‘We can’t lose this game, we’ve come too far.’” William and Mary managed to tack on another goal in the final period to send the matchup into overtime.

Ahead of the overtime period, Nixon told the team to be aggressive.

“Take the chances you can get,” Nixon said.

Early in the first overtime period, graduate student Bob Berner scored the winning goal.

“It was the perfect shot,” Nixon said.

“There was no better set up, it was that perfect shot right in the top corner.”

The men’s club hockey team has come

a long way in three years. The team won just two games during the 2019-2020 season. Raudenbush attributed the team’s improvement to better chemistry.

“We are more of a team now than we were before, on and off the ice,” Raudenbush said. “As a group we are much closer than we were before. You want to play for each other when you are all friends with each other.”

Nixon is looking to next season with high expectations.

“Our leaders in points are returning so we’re really looking good for next year and we really hope we can at least win another championship,” Nixon said.

According to Raudenbush, the team’s recent successes will incentivize greater structure among team operations. In particular, he pointed to the implementation of tryouts, increasing the team’s Instagram presence and getting new jerseys to make them more cohesive.

JOSH NIXON / COURTESY PHOTO

The team poses with the ACCHL trophy following their win on Saturday, Feb 27.

WOMENʼS BASKETBALL

College mounts comeback, falls short in final minute Womenʼs basketball scores 11 points in first half, take form in second half comeback JAKE FORBES FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR

JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT

Graduate student Riley Casey looks for an open teammate during the teamʼs 49-45 loss versus Elon on Saturday, March 5.

William and Mary (10-19, 5-13 CAA) fell to Elon (12-11, 9-9 CAA) 49-45 in their final game of the regular season at Kaplan Arena last Saturday, March 5. After trailing by 18 points early in the third quarter, the Tribe tied the game with several minutes remaining, but their efforts fell just short of a victory.

The entire Tribe offense struggled offensively in the first half, scoring only 11 points in 20 minutes of play. Shooting just 16% in the half, William and Mary faced a 15 point deficit at the break. As well, the team gave up possession on 11 occasions.

“At halftime, I told the team to take a deep breath before leaving the locker room,” head coach Ed Swanson said. “We were down 15, but it felt like 30 because of how much we were struggling offensively. When you don’t see the ball go into the basket, it really affects other parts of your game.”

Swanson’s halftime speech proved effective, as the Tribe outscored Elon 34-23 in the second half. Graduate senior Riley Casey and redshirt senior Sydney Wagner combined

for 21 points in the second half. Graduate student Kate Sramac also played a key role in the second half, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Sramac drained a three pointer from the left corner to tie the game with 2:10 remaining.

The Tribe had multiple chances to take the lead on the ensuing possession, but they were unable to convert. On Elon’s next possession, senior Brie Perpigan converted a layup to regain the lead. Perpigan sealed the deal for the Phoenix after draining two foul shots with less than five seconds remaining in the game.

Despite the disappointing outcome, Swanson was happy with his team’s performance in the second half.

“The second half was a different ballgame,” Swanson said. “We got more movement, we saw the ball going in a little bit, and we started attacking the basket more. A really difficult first half, but I’m really proud of the team in terms of showing a lot of grit and battle in the second half.”

The Tribe will travel to Philadelphia on Friday, March 11 night to face Delaware in the first round of the CAA Championship.

WOMENʼS TENNIS

Saric wins in singles match, not enough to beat Cyclones Tennis suffers close losses in final sets NATHAN SEIDEL THE FLAT HAT Despite another standout performance from senior Mila Saric at the No. 1 spot, William and Mary (3-6) suffered a one-sided defeat Sunday, March 6, against Iowa State (9-0) in the last match before spring break.

At the No. 1 singles spot, Saric has become accustomed to facing off against the nation’s best, having just downed the 79th ranked player in the country from Charlotte, Nc..

Across the net in this contest was the Cyclones’ 51st ranked Thasaporn Naklo, who dished out a quick 6-1 blow to Saric in the first set.

However, Saric rallied in the second and third sets, claiming them 6-4 and 6-3, respectively, to pull out the comeback win.

The other matches were far from blowouts, with each of the top five going three sets, but outside of No. 1 each Cyclone prevailed in the deciding set. At No. 2, freshman Hedda

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Gurholt lost the opening set in a tiebreaker and rallied to claim the second set 7-5, but dropped the decider 6-2.

At No. 3 singles, junior Elisa Van Meeteren also fought back after a 6-2 first set defeat with a tiebreaker win in the second, but fell 7-5 in the decider. At No. 4, junior Raffaela Alhach won the first set in a tiebreak but dropped the second and third 6-2, 6-2.

The Tribe was unable to capture a doubles win in the afternoon, dropping No. 1 doubles 6-4 and No. 2 doubles 6-2.w The team will take the court next during spring break, traveling across the southern state line to take on East Carolina on March 16 and attempt to earn its fourth win of the season. It then has a wealth of conference plays after that, facing familiar foes like UNCW, Charleston, Drexel and Delaware before the Colonial Athletic Association Championship takes place at the end of April.

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RYAN GOODMAN / THE FLAT HAT

Freshman Ine Stange prepares for a hit during her match on Saturday, March 5 at the Millie-West Tennis Facility.

Page 8

THE FLAT HAT

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

CAMPUS

Global Research Institute hosts talk on current Ukraine crisis

Political experts talk about politics, history that led to the Feburary Russian invasion of Ukraine WILLIAM KOBOS FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR

Tuesday, March 1, The College of William and Mary’s ’s Global Research Institute hosted a panel discussion on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The event was moderated by GRI Director Mike Tierney and featured Vice Provost for Academic and International Affairs Steve Hanson, government professor Amy Oakes, and Lincoln Zaleski ’20, a junior program manager at the AidData research group. There were more than 600 attendees in the St. George Tucker Theater venue and the concurrent online livestream.

The talk lasted for around 90 minutes and began with the panelists giving prepared presentations before engaging with each other’s analysis and fielding questions from in-person audience members. The live audience included The College’s students, professors, alumni and students from other universities.

Tierney said the event had been organized on short notice, but that it was critical for the GRI to provide the discussion as a service for the wider campus community.

“This is the biggest thing in the world, not just for people who study IR,” Tierney said.

“This is the biggest thing in the world for everyone. And so, you know, there’s plenty of commentary on television and on the internet, but there’s something special about being at a great university where you come together as a community to talk about the things that affect your community. ” According to Tierney, the discussion originated as a spur-of-the-moment idea, and he credited GRI Director of Programs and Outreach Rebecca Latourell with masterminding the logistical effort of getting the event up and running. He also pointed to Zaleski’s inclusion as a way to increase the diversity of perspectives offered by the panelists.

Hanson, a globally recognized expert in

Russian and post-Soviet politics, began the talk by speaking to the broader significance of Russia’s invasion.

“This is the biggest war in Europe since World War Two,” Hanson said. “I definitely don’t want to discount that there have been armed conflicts in this period. But the scale of what we’re seeing now is something that none of us in our lifetimes have seen, except for those who really are quite old now. And it will change your life, for sure.”

Hanson also recognized the significance of the attack on Ukraine and the massive numbers of both casualties and displaced Ukrainian citizens.

“Let’s also state really clearly, because unfortunately the Putin propaganda machine tries to say otherwise, that this was an unprovoked assault on Ukrainian democracy by an autocratic imperial power,” Hanson said. “Mass casualties and refugee flows are already underway.”

Hanson identified four possible endpoints that the conflict could approach, referencing the idea that, despite the Russian military’s overwhelming numerical and material advantages, its low morale and tactical incompetence could result in Ukrainian victory.

“At least one argument, and the Pentagon made it today, is that some Russian soldiers are so unwilling to kill their Slavic brethren that they’ve emptied their own gas tanks to block the tanks from advancing,” Hanson said.

According to Hanson, a long and violent occupation is much more likely.

“Already, we’ve seen Ukraine will fight and fight forever as long as that kind of regime is in place,” Hanson said. “I can’t even see a puppet regime of the Lukashenka type being installed because there would be nobody around Kyiv to support such a regime. Of course, the Russian opposition would have to be crushed as well because to do the occupation, you also have to silence any voice in the Russian Federation who would oppose.”

Hanson’s third and fourth options both relied on a domestic backlash to Putin’s aggression.

“One option is that one of the generals says, ‘you know, I’m not marching on Kyiv, I’m marching on Moscow, I’m going to take my dreams and go the other direction.’ Even if it didn’t succeed, it would weaken the regime considerably,” Hanson said.

Hanson raised the possibility that even oligarchs who are unhappy with the Putin regime may join in on such a rebellion.

Finally Hanson outlined the fourth option.

“The other, of course, is that the sanctions and anger at this regime might lead to some serious popular uprising there,” Hanson said. “We have seen protests against the puppet regime in the Russian Far East against particular acts of corruption, against disastrous fires and the like, so that could be galvanized in the future.”

He then went on to explain the role of Western countries in this conflict.

“The key to Western success in any of these scenarios is for us to remember why we are able to contain this at all, and that is the solidarity with the entire West has shown in a remarkable way. That has to be sustained in what could be some really turbulent times ahead,” Hanson said.

Oakes presented a significantly more pessimistic outlook on the Ukraine crisis, which she said was a common theme in her foreign policy talks.

“I’m a security person, and I see my job as trying to think of all the bad things that can happen in the world,” Oakes said. “My talks are depressing.”

She focused her analysis on the scenario of the war turning into a protracted conflict that will test the Western resolve to sustain the kind of extreme sanctions that both the United States and Europe have imposed.

“Sanctions are essentially a game of chicken,” Oakes said. “Who’s going to give up first? For whom are the costs going to be so high that they’re going to make concessions?”

Oakes predicted that, in such a metaphorical game of chicken, the United States would be the

first NATO state to give up.

While Oakes and Hanson presented diverging visions of the role Ukraine could play in uniting or dividing the West, Zaleski drew from his experience analyzing data from Russian state media outlets to draw conclusions about the growth of the irredentism.

“We’ve been looking at Russian propaganda for the last six years, specifically focused on all of these countries on its border,” Zaleski said.

“Ukraine has six times more mentions than any other country. And that shows that Russia has cared very deeply about what goes on in Ukraine for the entire measured timeframe.”

Many audience members appreciated the variety of perspectives included in the talk.

After the event, Rory Federochko ’22 included his thoughts about the panel.

“I thought it was very interesting to see the range of intellectual diversity here, since pProfessor Hanson and professor Oakes had really different perspectives when it comes to the United States and stuff,” Federochko said.

Audience member Ben Navarro ’25, whose father is a first-generation immigrant from Moldova, also appreciated the new ideas each of the speakers presented.

“As someone who had considered myself already very informed about the issue, I’m pleasantly surprised that I managed to find so much useful discourse here,” Navarro said. “I personally had never heard the perspective that it’s possible that Moldova might be the next target. So that was almost kind of a shock and also something that I just hadn’t really considered.”

Navarro ultimately emphasized the significance of presenting analysis in this format.

“I think what’s important about a meeting like this is that the active discourse that you have from questions here is different information than what you’re going to get from a drafted and edited article that’s put out in the news,” Navarro said.

HOUSING

Gender-inclusive student housing options potentially not guaranteed

Students raise concerns regarding inability to obtain preffered housing, possibility of separating from roommates HOUSING from page 1

not get to share that happiness.

“I hope that it’s the same for everyone. I don’t want me to have a good experience, but for someone

Housing Initiative but overall thinks that the development of Gender Inclusive Housing is a step in the right direction.

“I know it used to be much

Vogel said.

The Gender Inclusive Housing portal is not that different from the same-gender housing portal, according

“

There isnʼt a contingency plan for trans safety. Itʼs either weʼre safe or weʼre not.

“

safety,” Grant said. “There isn’t a contingency plan for trans safety. It’s either we’re safe or we’re not.”

Max Vogel ’23 is a student that selected gender-inclusive housing for the next academic year.

Vogel echoes a similar concern.

“That’s kind of a bad policy to have because they should be making more of an effort in order to accommodate people based on their needs,” Vogel said. “They should just be able to accommodate everyone. And if they can’t, then they should work to make an effort to accommodate the people that they can’t.”

In the same statement to The Flat Hat, Kandell stated that no students had been denied from obtaining Gender Inclusive Housing and that multiple Gender Inclusive Housing rooms were still available at the end of room selection.

Vogel is content with his housing in a Gender Inclusive Room but is still fearful that other students who might

̶ Lace Grant else to have, like, a really awful one,” Vogel said.

Considering the waitlist for oncampus housing, Vogel feels concern over the future of the Gender Inclusive

harder to get access to in the past because you would have to submit a specific application to it, you know?

But now they’ve made it a lot easier for just anyone to get access to it,”

to Vogel. The student selecting it would just have to fill out the living space with a roommate group before signing up for a room. However, the room selected by the student is not guaranteed.

“I think it’s overall a positive, I think they’re definitely moving in the right direction to better accommodate people, but it’s like a really, really slow process,” Vogel said.

Kandell also said that the Residence Life office is committed to providing a safe environment for all its students.

“While Residence Life knows that not receiving Gender Inclusive Housing may be particularly distressing for some students, the office is committed to providing a safe living environment for all of its residents and will work with students to determine what options may be available,” Kandell said.

Grant says that they will continue to monitor the situation for the rest of their time here and work with Residence Life on Gender Inclusive Housing.

“As long as I’m here, I’m going to make sure that not a single damn student gets forced into a single gender hall if that be dysphoric to them or dangerous. No one deserves that,” Grant said.

CAMPUS

Professor Kennedy’s extensive background, careers guides his approach to teaching

Public policy professor ranked Top 40 Young Lawyers in America by American Bar Association

KENNEDY from page 2

and Colonel Beatty made false statements, and unconstitutionally targeted his Black Lives Matter protest participation and his First Amendment rights.

The case continues today, as the military has not fully removed all negative documents from Kennedy’s file and continues to keep the violation of DoDI 1325.06 on the books. Kennedy is not only attempting to remove the negative files, but also to overturn DoDI 1325.06 entirely, a process that has been going on for nearly a year. This case is also the reason why Kennedy was recently named one of the Top 40 Young Lawyers in America by the American

Bar Association.

“They’ve told the court that members of the military don’t have any constitutional rights,” Kennedy said. “There’s not much case law in this, the military’s lawyers admitted before the court that it was a matter of first impression, which means it’s the first time that this regulation is directly challenged in federal court.”

Kennedy added that the military was particularly harsh in this case because they disliked the content of his speech, stating that the Department of Defense continues to defend this unconstitutional regulation and deny that it has anything to do with systemic racism.

“Saying that Black Lives Matter protests are

inherently violent is an attack on the movement itself,” Kennedy said. “It’s a denial that systemic racism exists. And as long as the military punishes Black Lives Matter protest participation, and not the generals who violate people’s constitutional rights, racism will continue to exist.”

Kennedy is not the first member of the military to participate in protest, and he is not the first member of the military to write op-eds.

This is, however, the first time this provision has ever been applied to a member of the military.

“The military has tried to silence me,” Kennedy said.

“My response has been to exercise my freedom of speech. The reason we have had so much success is

because of the visibility of our case.”

No longer an attorney in this case, Kennedy has now taken a step back as plaintiff, with three attorneys now representing him pro bono.

“It’s so hard to hold institutions accountable,” Kennedy said. “It costs almost five hundred dollars to file a lawsuit, that doesn’t even include attorney’s fees, that’s just the filing fee.

And then, from there, we’ve been in court for almost a year without a decision yet.”

Kennedy said that the court case is currently looking successful, with the military removing the reprimand in response to the Army review board decisions. However, the second negative evaluation has not been removed,

which is another careerkilling piece of paper which could prevent him from being promoted to the position of major. Kennedy believes that a ruling in his favor would set precedent that the regulation his team is challenging is unconstitutional as well as protect the right to protest.

“This is so much bigger than me. This case is about recognizing that racism is real, and that members of the military have constitutional rights,” Kennedy said. “The First Amendment means that we defend the speech with which we disagree, so that we have the freedom to express our views, and speaking truth to power is the essence of the right to peacefully protest.”

Kennedy believes this

reprimand would never have been issued had he attended any other protest, but emphasized that his struggle pales in comparison to those impacted by racially motivated police abuse, specifically mentioning the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain and Amir Locke.

“There are members of the military who participated in insurrection on January 6 who have not been punished as much as I have by the military,” Kennedy said.

“Every member of the military took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States. Some people have forgotten that, some people have forgotten their oath. If the military doesn’t defend constitutional rights, then

it’s just people with guns.”

Passionate about constitutional rights, a large reason why Kennedy teaches at the College is because of its emphasis on academic freedom.

“If I’m not making somebody uncomfortable, I’m probably not creating change,” Kennedy said.

To students, Kennedy suggests pondering how they will change the world, and he hopes he can inspire students to do so.

“I think it’s exciting to watch students at the College figure out what they want to do with their lives, how they want to change the world, fortunately that’s my job. I have the best job in the world,” Kennedy said.

“I expect to be here a very long time, they’re going to have to drag me out.”