The Flat Hat December 7 2021

T HE F LAT H AT

Vol. 111, Iss. 13 ¦ Tuesday, December 7, 2021

The Weekly Student Newspaper

of The College of William and Mary

flathatnews.com ¦ @theflathat

CONSERVATION

IIC holds discussion on women in conservation Dr. Dicenta, Dr. Obasanjo share experiences in environmental field EMMA HENRY THE FLAT HAT

developmental disability and psychiatric health issues. Williamsburg lies under the jurisdiction of Colonial Behavioral Health led by Coe. The second legal factor contributing to overcrowding in Virginia’s public mental health facilities is the 2014 “bed of last resort” law, which was spearheaded by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath.

The law requires state psychiatric hospitals to admit patients under temporary detention orders if a bed cannot be found at another facility. TDOs are issued when a magistrate believes a person to be a harm to themselves or others, but they are unwilling to seek medical treatment on their own. Under a TDO, a person can be detained for 72 hours by law enforcement for emergency care before a civil hearing is conducted to determine whether that individual should be involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Around the same time as the passing of the “last resort” law, Deeds also created the Deeds Commission, the precursor to the joint subcommittee on mental health, which has continued its work in the state legislature through 2021.

Deeds said the law was intended to ensure anyone is guaranteed treatment in a crisis. His push for the bill came after a tragic incident in late 2013, in which Deeds was stabbed by his son Gus, a student at the College of William and Mary who then died by suicide. A judge had ordered an involuntary temporary detention for Deeds’ son in the days leading up to the incident, though no hospital beds were available. The last resort law thus sought to avoid similar situations, and Deeds said it is still good policy.

“That bed of last resort legislation was designed to prevent a problem that was occurring in Virginia,” Deeds said “A number of times it occurred, people that had been taken before magistrates and evaluated by qualified personnel and found to be a danger to themselves or others. But they were released. They were put on the street because there wasn't room for them. They couldn't find a bed for them. Well, that's just that's bad policy.”

Though on paper, the law met its goal of mandating beds for all those in need, Interim Clinical Director at Eastern State Steve O’Brien said it has backfired in a sense, causing TDO admissions at public hospitals to rise from 3.7 cases a day in 2013 to over 18 per day in 2021, an over 500% increase that has overwhelmed facilities like Eastern State.

“I think it was probably effective in achieving that goal under the current statutes and laws and codes,” O’Brien said. “But the other effect was greatly increased our admissions and census. And you can look back at 2014 as the time when a lot of those strains started happening in state hospitals.”

Additionally, even though private and public hospitals have the same civil commitment laws and treatment processes, private hospitals can turn away patients if their conditions are deemed too severe, whereas public facilities like Eastern State cannot.

“As far as psychiatric conditions, we have no exclusionary criteria,” O’Brien said. “And so we will get people that none of the other hospitals will treat.

Wednesday, Dec. 1, the Institute for Integrative Conservation’s (IIC) Student Leadership Council held their inaugural event “Trailblazing Women in Conservation.” The webinar, which was also livestreamed on Zoom, featured a panel of women who have made considerable contributions to the world of conservation and have consequently helped pave a pathway for underrepresented and marginalized voices to be heard within the realm of environmental and climate discourse.

The panelists included Dr. Mara Dicenta and Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo, who are both assistant professors at the College of William and Mary, and Senior Gender Advisor at Conservation International Kame Westerman.

Katie Ridder ’24, a conservation major at the College, introduced the panel and facilitated the initial discussion with the panelists, starting with a discussion about their backgrounds in conservation.

Obasanjo, an assistant professor of public health, started in the workforce as a veterinarian. She became interested in conservation after discovering the importance of the spread of diseases amongst wildlife and humans. Obasanjo then earned a doctorate in epidemiology.

“For me, I see that nature and having animals around us is a part of that wellbeing, is a part of that ability to do well and thrive,” Obasanjo said.

Dicenta, an assistant anthropology professor, started her journey in social work and started learning about conservation when she visited her home country of Argentina to learn about the eradication of beavers in Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia. Because Argentina had historically been involved in the attempted eradication of subversive people in the 1970s, Dicenta was particularly impacted by this concept of extermination within Argentinian conservation dynamics.

“I was shocked how our scientists were willing to eliminate an entire species,” Dicenta said, “...it became complicated, and I realized that conservation is about everything, about caring for nature but also trying to restore histories of colonialism and injustice, because conservation has always been linked to colonialism.”

After discussing their respective backgrounds, the panelists spoke about their professional careers, and the trajectory they took to get to where they are today. Westerman discussed her time in the Peace Corps, operating in Madagascar for about five years working on community based forestry, food security and marine enclosures. While working with a group of representatives to discuss octopus harvesting and enclosures, she noticed the lack of women as primary octopus harvesters within the discussion.

“Gender is so infused into how power and decision making happens … it wasn’t until that moment that I really, truly understood just how deeply embedded gender is in conservation and governance,” Westerman said.

Obasanjo said her passion for conservation was borne out of her love of human health, and she emphasized the importance of having different perspectives and voices within her field.

“The idea that you cannot make people healthy without having nature being part of what makes up their well-being,” Obasanjo said, “... everything is related to one another…my passion for conservation is really a passion for people, for people to lead better lives.”

The discussion then led to an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the field of conservation. Westerman began by talking about the growing body of research focused on linking gender inclusiveness to conservation outcomes.

“What it really points to is gender inclusiveness leads to better governance,” Westerman said, “So it’s sort of indirect, the conservation outcome.”

Westerman also emphasized that though this research is important, there has not been enough research done to make a distinct link between DEI, gender and conservation outcomes because there are many other factors that have not been studied.

Obasanjo also weighed in, mentioning ways in which she thinks inclusion is important in these conversations.

“The people most affected by the destruction of nature, which are usually poor people and

See MENTAL HEALTH page 8

See CONSERVATION page 8

JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT

GRAPHIC BY CHARLES COLEMAN / THE FLAT HAT

Eastern State Hospital struggles to recover from bed capacity decrease ALEXANDRA BYRNE AND CHARLES COLEMAN // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITORS Content warning: this article contains references to suicide and self-harm.

Friday, July 9, 2021, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, DBHDS, announced bed reductions at five of the state’s public mental health facilities, including Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg. In the months since, not much has changed for the strained, underfunded hospital. Likewise, support for supplementary, community-based mental health care is lacking.

Eastern State is the oldest public mental health facility in the country, operating since 1773. It is one of nine state-run facilities in Virginia, which collectively house 2,124 patients at a given time. Eastern State’s bed capacity usually numbers 302, but it was recently mandated to reduce that licensed capacity to 242 beds, operating at roughly 75% capacity despite an urgent need for bed space.

That capacity decrease order, issued by Commissioner of the DBHDS Allison Land, effectively halted new admissions to the hospital due to persistent staffing shortages. According to Assistant Director of Eastern State Dr. Dewey Jennings, without adequate staffing, the hospital cannot safely house its normal number of patients.

“The difference is with a hospital, any kind of hospital, you want to have a certain complement of staff to make sure you can safely take care of the patients and perform those duties,” Jennings said.

“Based upon what was going on, I think the decision was made higher up to look at those situations and say, maybe we should start closing beds to make sure we've got adequate staff to take care of the patients.”

This decision to limit bed capacity made by Land, who did not respond to The Flat Hat’s request for comment, was not universally supported.

Virginia State Senator Montgomery Mason ’89, D-Williamsburg, is a founding member of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the commonwealth in the 21st century and considers Virginia's mental health policy among his top priorities. He said that the decision to limit admission at the five facilities was unexpected and unwarranted.

“As far as how the decision was made to stop taking admissions, it was unilaterally done by the commissioner,” Mason said. “While I understand the concern of safety, we had had like 90 employees resign within a month period, we'd had 50-60 injuries.

You know, you were just putting people in dangerous circumstances. I understand, but to unilaterally close down accepting patients was something that I just don't know how she had the authority to do, right?

But did.”

At a capacity of 242 patients, Eastern State can accept new admissions as other patients are discharged. However, a number of legal stipulations have limited admissions and kept the staff at Eastern State overwhelmed and the hospital in crisis mode.

The first stipulation involves the difference between civil and forensic admissions. Since Eastern State is a public facility, it must take on “forensic” cases — patients referred to psychiatric care by court order. These individuals are usually referred from jails and prisons, or they are found not guilty in criminal cases by reason of insanity. The high number of

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forensic patients waiting for admission to Eastern State has meant admissions for civil cases — any other patients coming from the community — have effectively ceased.

Just because Eastern State is admitting forensic cases does not mean it has the capacity to admit all of them — there is a waitlist. In 2015, the average wait time for incarcerated individuals in need of a bed at Eastern State was 73 days, according to The Washington Post. That figure was brought to light after Jamycheal Mitchell died in the Hampton Roads Regional Jail, where he was being held while waiting for a bed at Eastern State by orders from a judge.

Mitchell was charged for stealing $5.00 worth of snacks from a 7-Eleven.

Additionally, Mason said not all individuals in forensic cases are in need of inpatient psychiatric care, such as that given at Eastern State. For example, individuals charged for misdemeanor offenses, like stealing or failure to appear in court, may not need inpatient status, yet still receive it. If not for charges pressed against them in the legal system, their conditions would likely be better treated by outpatient care, like therapy.

“55 to 60% of Eastern State’s admissions are forensic,” Mason said. “35 to 40% of those are from misdemeanor crimes. They are being sent to Eastern State because they're incompetent to stand trial for the restoration so they can come back and stand trial.

For a misdemeanor crime.”

Mason said this trend occurs largely because law enforcement and court officials are not adequately trained to respond to low-grade crimes involving individuals with mental health complications.

Currently, Williamsburg police officers undergo 40 hours of crisis intervention team training, which Director of Colonial Behavioral Health David Coe said isn’t perfect, but effective in increasing capacity and confidence of officers.

This training, however, is not required for officers prior to being hired — so not all active officers are trained. A community member would have to know this training exists in order to request a trained officer respond to their call.

Public hospitals thus bear the burden of all forensic cases, since court orders do not allow individuals to seek alternative care in private facilities. Mason spoke on distinguishing clearer requirements for admittance at public institutions such as Eastern State and pursuing alternative community-based programs.

“So part of this is up front trying to determine how we can divert from state hospitals,” Mason said. “But here's the thing not to be lost — while getting the person the treatment they actually need, right? It's not just about opening up, freeing up a bed. It's about properly treating. And that's where the stresses and pressures on our community based programs, run by the CSB, come into play.”

Community service boards, or CSBs, are the 41 state-sponsored organizations responsible for establishing and providing behavioral and psychiatric health services within their respective jurisdiction. Each board is led by an appointed board of directors which holds responsibility for providing adult and pediatric services for substance abuse,

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Rebekah Cohodas '24 reflects on the public menorah ceremony

Cohodas shares that they believe that such celebrations should be more inclusive and reflect the diverse Jewish community on campus. page 3

Inside Variety

Inside Sports

Cycling through the years:

Mens Basketball

Members of the College of William and Mary's student-run Bike Alliance discuss evolution of their organization. page 5

The struggling Tribe failed to regain momentum last Saturday, Dec. 4 at Davidson, going down 15 at the half and ultimately losing 70-46. page 7

newsinsight

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News Editor Alexandra Byrne News Editor Charles Coleman News Editor Molly Parks fhnews@gmail.com

THE FLAT HAT ¦ Tuesday, December 7, 2021 ¦ Page 2

THE BUZZ

Before, the system was built upon the idea that communities would be your core care model, and the safety net for the community was the hospital and people in the hospital system. From a systems perspective, what I ve seen occur is that the community has now become the safety net for the state.

That s weird. But it s where we are.

̶ Director of Colonial Behavioral Health David Coe

FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF OTP to close for 2022-2023 school year Thursday, Dec. 2, Associate Vice President for Campus Living Maggie Evans sent an email to current One Tribe Place residents, annoucing that OTP will not be open for the 2022-2023 school year. The dorm is currently planning to reopen in August 2023.

While the dorm is closed for student housing, OTP will undergo two major changes. First, there will be building system upgrades, including several necessary projects that were identified in a recent engineering study. Secondly, an unoccupied portion of the building will be demolished, allowing for future site development. OTP only recently reopened in September 2021, after being closed for a year due to structural deterioration.

OTP is considered one of the most popular housing options for students, due to the private bathrooms and full beds in each room. Richmond Hall will be reopening for student housing for the next school year, after being closed in the 2021-2022 school year.

LULU DAWES / FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR

DANIEL KALISH / THE FLAT HAT

Student Assembly swears in new senator Daniel Bass 24 who will replace former Sen. Sailor Mao 24, passes three bills and intoduces five bills in this week s session.

SA swears in new senator, passes three bills

A THOUSAND WORDS

Student Assembly to bring back Steer Clear program, passes Winter Clothing Drive Act DANIEL KALISH // THE FLAT HAT Tuesday, Nov. 30, the College of William and Mary’s 329th Student Assembly swore in a new Class of 2024 Senator, introduced five bills and passed three bills.

Sen. Daniel Bess ’24 was sworn in at the beginning of the meeting, beating out 27 or 28 other applicants to earn the position, according to Sen. Mia Tilman ’24.

Bess replaces former Sen. Sailor Mao ’24 who resigned from his position earlier this semester.

New Bills

CORRECTIONS The Flat Hat wishes to correct any fact printed incorrectly. Corrections may be submitted in email to the editor of the section in which the incorrect information was printed. Requests for corrections will be accepted at any time.

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“

We re funding menstrual products to place in gender-neutral bathrooms around campus ̶ so two in Swemromas, one in Sadler and then one in the Wellness Center. In this bill specifically, all I m asking for is the money to repurchase those period products...part of why we re hoping to get this through now is that we can get that logistics side worked out and get those restocked over winter break so they re back for the

semester.

- Mia Tilman 24

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MOLLY PARKS / THE FLAT HAT

Sen. Taylor Fox ’24 and Sen. Shaunna Scott ’23 introduced The Fourth Annual Sankofa Gala Act, which allocates $11,550 for the Sankofa Gala which will be held this February.

“Sankofa Gala did not occur last year, so it’s coming back for this year, we really want to go all out,” Taylor said while discussing the bill.

Taylor described the Sankofa Gala as a safe space for Black students on campus and a place to celebrate students who work “without a title.” She also recommended that the Gala not be made mandatory to attend for SA senators, though interested senators may attend individually.

Fox also introduced The Warm Welcome Back Act, which charges SA with hosting and organizing an event providing drinks and snacks for students on the first day of Spring 2022 semester classes.

Sen. Mia Tilman ’24 introduced the Diverting from Single-Use Plastics Acts.

“If you guys aren’t aware, earlier this year, Governor Ralph Northam passed an executive order that basically bans higher institutions from buying single-use plastics,” Tilman said, “But … this happened basically right as orgs were budgeting, and I don’t think we can blame our orgs for not taking this into consideration, and not following state legislation closely…some orgs are running into situations right now where they say they’re going to buy utensils as is in their budget and are finding that they just don’t have enough money to be able to buy slightly more expensive compostable options.”

The bill would make up any costs incurred by student organizations having to buy more expensive sustainable options for plastic items.

Tilman also introduced The Period Act Part III to fund free menstrual products for students.

“We’re funding menstrual products to place in gender-neutral bathrooms around campus — so two in Swemromas, one in Sadler and then one in the Wellness Center,” Tilman said. “In this bill

specifically, all I’m asking for is the money to repurchase those period products…part of why we’re hoping to get this through now is that we can get that logistics side worked out and get those restocked over winter break so they’re back for the semester.”

Scott introduced The Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Bill, which allocates $5,000 to contribute to the speaking fee of Benjamin Crump for the Center for Student Diversity’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Program. “[Crump] has served as the attorney for Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, a lot of police brutality victims,” Scott said.

“The CSD is putting on this event and I’m asking for $5,000 to support him coming.”

Passed Bills SA passed The Feeding Students in Isolation Act, sponsored by Sen. Zach Outzen J.D. ’22, after a 30-minute debate over a potential violation of Virginia Code. The bill, which was endorsed by the College’s COVID-19 Response Team, allocates up to $2,000 to the Wesley Foundation and its Campus Food Pantry to buy food and groceries for students isolating due to COVID-19 and also creates an infrastructure for the transportation of that food from the food pantry to isolated students.

“I don’t want this to be something that admin can flex, saying, ‘look what was done,’” Tilman said while proposing an unsuccessful unfriendly amendment to the bill that would add a clause chastising the administration for their lack of action on the issue.

SA quickly skipped through debate to unanimously pass the Winter Clothing Drive Act, sponsored by Scott, which charges SA with advertising a clothing drive. Students can donate clothes to the House of Mercy through donation boxes which are set up in the Sadler Center and Campus Center from Nov. 29 to Dec. 13.

SA also passed The Steer Clear Revival Act, sponsored by Chair of the Senate Owen Williams ’23, which brings back the Steer Clear program for the spring semester. Steer Clear is a free, studentoperated transportation service for students walking home late at night, which shut down operations during the COVID-19 pandemic after failing to submit a budget to SA. Also at this week’s meeting: • SA President Meghana Boojala ’22 gave a large update to the Senate, discussing her presentation at the Board of Visitors’ November meeting which focused on the classroom experience and DEI efforts.

• Class President Yannie Chang ’25 reported that the Class of 2025 S’mores Mixer on Nov. 19 “went well.”

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Opinions Editor Lucas Harsche Opinions Editor Alyssa Slovin fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat

THE FLAT HAT ¦ Tuesday, December 7, 2021 ¦ Page 3

GUEST COLUMN

STAFF COLUMN

Social media explained Campus menorah lighting should be more inclusive and reflect diverse Jewish traditions on campus by a digital native Rebekah Cohodas

Enya Xiang THE FLAT HAT

Meta, formly Facebook, knew that Instagram was toxic for teens, as was revealed in the Wall Street Journal’s latest exposé. They knew from their very own data: for the past three years, Meta has been conducting studies on its teenage users.

While Meta has repeatedly withheld its research and evaded touchy questions, in 2019, researchers reported internal findings that teenagers consistently blamed Instagram for increasing anxiety and depression. They discovered that social media especially harmed teenage girls. Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.

To appear both spontaneous but thoughtful, polished but casual, and unique but approachable. Presenting this perfect version of yourself is a thankless task. What is perhaps more perplexing is that most teens don’t want social media to go, including college students like me. I, however, have yet to see TED Talk speakers or university professors really display an understanding of what social media is for us digital natives.

What they do get right is the power for boundless connection and its foe, FOMO (gawky millennial slang for “fear of missing out”). But I argue that it goes beyond wanting to be a part of something. Instead, social media creates a sense of solidarity.

When your friends and classmates share an idea or photo, it reminds you that other people are experiencing their life in real time — along with you. You are forced outside your own head. It is basic reciprocity: you share something personal, and in return, someone shares something personal with you. This experience creates understanding about and with others but, of course, it can lead to dangerous self-comparisons and have negative mental health effects.

What they do get right is the power for boundless connection and its foe, FOMO (gawky millennial slang for fear of missing out ). But I argue that it goes beyond wanting to be a part of something. Instead, social media creates a sense of solidarity.

Meme culture brings solidarity to an extreme by layering irony upon irony.

Blow up a common minor inconvenience into an existential crisis, or play down a moral dilemma into a trivial matter. Take your pick. It creates unity in the same way that fans flock around Star Wars, but takes twice the amount of contextual knowledge. In our weekly seminar class, I and the other students in the St Andrews Programme watch Professor Holmes, the program director, try to decode grainy pictures with hideous typefaces. Yes, we love the chaos of it.

The College of William and Mary’s Yik Yak is student solidarity at its finest, which is also what they don’t tell you on the college tours. Anonymous users can write text posts called “Yaks,” and users can either upvote or downvote other clever Yaks. The free marketplace of ideas at work. (You can read a recent Flat Hat article about a College student’s Yik Yak experience here.)

I won’t be deleting social media anytime soon — sorry to disappoint anyone who still remembers the Gulf War. But what I did do was make my social media space into my own authentic world. I stopped caring and started sharing the memories that I love. I turned off app notifications and like-counts on posts. When I feel bad about what I see, I throw my phone to the side. I laugh about my mistakes and show my audience which people and issues matter the most to me.

Think of it as an opportunity to allow others into who you are. You are the curator of your own exhibit.

Enya Xiang ’25 is a history major in the William & Mary/St Andrews Joint Degree Programme. She is from outside Philadelphia and writes for the opinion section. Outside of The Flat Hat, she is part of William & Mary’s Innocence Project Club and enjoys kayaking and writing limericks. Email Enya at exiang@email.wm.edu.

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FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

On Monday night, the Chabad of Williamsburg hosted a public candle lighting in the Sunken Garden. This event was posted in “Student Happenings” to invite Jews and non-Jews.

To my fellow Jewish students, I want to share my concerns about the messaging of this public menorah lighting event. I felt ostracized by much of the sentiments of the event and want to make one thing clear: I do not believe that this represents the beliefs of the Jewish student body on campus.

This event was arranged by the Chabad of Williamsburg rather than any student Jewish organizations on campus. It does a disservice to the organization of Hillel at William & Mary by attaching their name to an event that was in many ways the antithesis of what the student body represents. For starters, the event featured only men, mostly Orthodox, which matches the traditional beliefs of gender roles in a Chabad, but does not reflect the Hillel. Our Hillel has equal roles among genders both in leadership and religious practices to reflect both modern times and the pluralistic nature of various sects of Judaism from its students coming together.

Furthermore, the messaging surrounding the speakers was highly problematic to Jews who do not endorse the Orthodox Hasidic movement.

Calling up a student to light the candles with the explanation of his selection on both his basis of involvement with the Chabad synagogue and also for COURTESY IMAGE // WM.EDU wrapping tefillin daily paints a narrow picture of what it means to be Jewish and what to emulate.

Personally, as a woman, the tradition of wrapping tefillin is not intended for me, and celebrating an act reserved mainly for Orthodox men is exclusionary of differing gender identities. Of course, choosing to wrap tefillin is a personal choice and should not be judged, but choosing which types of Jews we publicly praise should be scrutinized for its larger implications. Second, as an agnostic Jew (yes, we exist), I take serious issue with the notion that Jews do what is “right” primarily because G-d said so, not because it is the morally correct thing to do.

Jews are not morally-neutral robots following orders, yet this is the notion presented to the public in the speech by Rabbi Heber.

To the non-Jewish members who had the opportunity to come to the candle lighting and to those who did not, I am saddened that this is your exposure to the Jewish people of

the Williamsburg area. Although not always in agreement with the leaders of the Jewish people and their actions, I still claim Judaism as a part of my cultural identity, and this event falsely represents many Jewish people. I am grateful that a campus that has experienced antisemitism lately hosted an event that exposes non-Jewish people to our culture, but not like this. Not in a way that does not explain the meaning of the holiday. Not in a way that excludes many Jews from the narrative. Not in a way that appears publically to be inclusive and welcoming, but falls short in action.

The Hillel executive board also saw a need to bring in non-Jews to our cultural events to expose people to Judaism in a welcoming and engaging way. We, too, are planning an event open to the campus in conjunction with Challah for Hunger and Alpha Epsilon Pi, both of which are other Jewish organizations on campus. The difference is that this would be planned by the Jewish students on campus with the intention of presenting an image of Judaism that reflects the modern diversity of relationships held within Judaism as expressed by the students themselves.

However, most concerning was the proselytizing nature of much of the rhetoric.

Chanting “am yisrael chai” and collecting people’s contact information under the guise of a raffle not only reinforces harmful Jewish stereotypes, but harms the messaging of the Jewish people. For clarification, “am yisrael chai” means the “Jewish people live,” which is in the spirit of Chanukah and has nothing to do with the state of Israel, but could be easily misunderstood by people attending. I have experienced multiple interactions with antisemitism on this campus, and harmful rhetoric only fuels the fire.

This is not what Jews stand for as a whole. I want to celebrate Chanukah during a time of the year when Jews can feel ostracized from the general Christmas spirit of society. Not convert you. Not push my political agenda on you. Not collect your contact information.

Please know this: the Jews at the College of William and Mary are accepting and diverse.

Rebekah Cohodas ’24 is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in public policy. In addition to serving on Hillel board, Rebekah is a member of Tribe Guard and conducts research in a psychology lab. Email Rebekah at rncohodas@

COMIC

Fuzzy 5: Fuzzy’s Greek life journey continues COMIC BY ARIANNA STEWART / THE FLAT HAT

THE FLAT HAT

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

STAFF COLUMN

Page 4

STAFF COLUMN

the catch: there Should you stay in Williamsburg for the Here’s are no books at the Yule Log Ceremony? new College bookstore

Alyssa Slovin

FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR

As the semester comes to a close, you may feel as if you can’t get off campus quickly enough. You’re sick of the food, you cannot handle any more work and you want to enjoy the simple pleasures of showering without shoes. However, even if you are counting down the days until your last final, I propose that you stay on campus through the Yule Log Ceremony, even if that means staying an extra few days.

Yule Log is an annual tradition at the College of William and Mary, not just an interesting dessert on your holiday table.

The event is Dec. 18 this year, and it is usually on the Saturday in between finals weeks every year.

Everyone gathers in the Wren Courtyard — bundled in coats, hats, and scarves.

Religious groups share their traditions, choirs sing and the College president reads the crowd a holiday book.

At the end, just when you feel like you can’t stand the cold air anymore, you take a sprig of holly and throw it onto the blazing Yule Log COURTESY IMAGE / WM.EDU for luck and good grades.

Listen, is Yule Log really that monumental of a ceremony? No. I’ll be real with you. But that doesn’t mean that you must evacuate campus beforehand at risk of being seen there by your classmates. It’s a reason to celebrate. It’s a reason to get together with the people special to you. It’s a reason to drink hot apple cider and sing. It’s cheesy, but it’s true. You might not be missing something that important — you won’t actually fail

your exams without that sprig of good luck — but you’ll be missing out on your last chance to be a part of the College community for the semester, and you won’t get that chance again for about a month. Why are you so desperate to miss out on the fun?

I remember my first Yule Log, getting together with my freshman hallmates and standing in the sea of students, listening to The Gentlemen of the College sing Christmas carols and President Katherine Rowe read “The Snowy Day.” We were so cold, but we stood by the fire while we waited in the longest line to throw our holly into the fire, and it felt worth it. It was our last hurrah before we each started leaving for the semester, one by one.

The next year, I remember, we got smarter. We found a way to work our way much closer to the front of the line, so we could make our way to the hot apple cider much quicker. Also, we enjoyed a nice dinner at Oishii, making something exciting from our goodbye for the semester.

This year, I’ve noticed more than ever that the student body is eager to take shortcuts to leave campus as early as possible, which is especially easy considering how many classes are virtually accessible now. However, even if you have the option to take your finals at home or if your last final is on the Thursday before Yule Log, I still encourage you stay long enough to enjoy the tradition.

What’s the rush to leave campus so desperately?

You’re about to be home for a month, leaving all of your relationships and college lifestyle behind. Your last memories of the semester should not be sleeping on the third floor of Earl Gregg Swem Library the night before a final. Go out in style, throw your holly into the fire and sing the Alma Mater one last HEADSHOTS BY KAYLA PAYNE time before the spring semester.

Alyssa Slovin ‘22 is an English and marketing double major.

Besides her work at The Flat Hat as Opinions Editor and Flat Hat Magazine as Editor-in-Chief, she is involved in Sinfonicron Light Opera Company, The Gallery and Active Minds. Email Alyssa at amslovin@email.wm.edu.

To view citations, visit flathatnews.com.

STAFF COLUMN

We need to update the Sunken Garden Lauren Meyer THE FLAT HAT

COURTESY IMAGE / WM.EDU

The last time I went to the Sunken Garden to hang out was sometime last semester, when my friends and I decided to have a picnic, brought food and blankets, and quickly realized that the ground was wet and there were wasps. It’s safe to say that we didn’t stay for very long.

It seems like everyone on campus is always expounding upon the Sunken Garden’s virtues, hailing it as the greatest gift of the College’s campus, the backbone of our campus society, and my question is, “Why?” Genuinely.

I know we are not necessarily known as a super social school, but are we serious? Are we all actually buying into the idea that the Sunken Garden is the peak of a William and Mary student’s casual daily life?

The Sunken Garden is ugly. The grass is almost always either dead or wet (I’m not even touching on the subject of the Homecoming tent), and it’s quite honestly just a giant green void. I implore you to look up pictures

of the Sunken Garden — tell me if any of them really seem like a place that you, a college student, would willingly go to hang out. Especially the picture on the College’s website. It would be laughable if it weren’t so sad.

Both the administration and brainwashed students like to boast about how the Sunken Garden is a prime spot for people to hang out in between classes, but most of the occupancy during the day seems to be solitary students scattered about, a limited number due to the severely low amount of Adirondack chairs. Through my observation over the past week, the highest number of people I saw at one time ion the Sunken Garden was 16, which isn’t a bad number, but out of 6,000 undergraduates, it’s not really a number to boast about.

The thing is, it wouldn’t be that hard to remedy the banal existence of the Sunken Garden. Put in more chairs. Maybe add some permanent seating, like a low stone bench surrounding the edges — it wouldn’t disrupt people’s frisbee or spikeball games. We could add a nonproblematic statue. A small water

feature (something that this campus is severely lacking — fountains). Maybe even some flowers on the sloped edges, so that the place would live up to its name, an actual garden instead of a pit.

People don’t want to spend time in places that aren’t enjoyable to be in. Although the Sunken Garden is in a convenient location, nothing else serves to incentivize students to utilize it. The addition of fire pits last year was a great step in the direction of making it more accessible in the cold months, but a lot more is left to be desired on the aesthetics front.

It’s a shame too, because the Sunken Garden is a focal point of our campus, and it is in no way living up to its potential. Just think of how nice it would be to see an actually pretty lawn in the middle of our campus, instead of the ugliest stretch of grass that you’ve ever seen.

Lauren Meyer ’24 is planning to major in anthropology and minor in history. Outside of the Flat Hat, Lauren is a member of Swim Club and is also an avid Swiftie. Email Lauren at lemeyer@email.wm.edu.

Lucas Harsche

FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR

I was very saddened last spring when I learned that the William and Mary Bookstore planned to move locations for this fall semester. For me, the bookstore’s old location was a walkable enough distance so that each trip did not feel too burdensome in of itself, but was also removed enough from the College’s bustling campus to become a place of comfortable retreat. Books from every genre and subject imaginable, all available for both my mind and occasional well-spent dollar to wander in relative peace and quiet.

Thus, for the majority of this semester, I awaited the new bookstore’s opening with eager anticipation, constantly checking their social media and walking by the location whenever I got the opportunity. When it finally opened last month, it was clear that there was plenty of College apparel to satisfy any student’s holiday shopping, but the lack of a cafe and — most heartbreaking for me — books, leaves much to be desired.

Moving the William and Mary Bookstore from its location at Duke of Gloucester and North Henry Street to the Triangle Building on Prince George Street was a mistake on the university’s part, and I lay it at their feet in order to avoid misdirected frustration toward the very helpful bookstore staff.

The justification for this move, according to Cindy Glavas, director of William & Mary Auxiliary Services, “reflects W&M Bookstore’s continued adaptations to the sale and delivery of university textbooks and course materials while recognizing the value of in-person shopping for W&M merchandise and supplies.” I am not quite sure what “adaptation” is in place that was not already there before, as the old bookstore already offered online ordering and in-person pickup of textbooks. While the new bookstore no longer offers in-person shopping of textbooks, this was not an option employed by many students anyways considering how quickly certain textbooks become unavailable.

One of the major benefits promised as a result of this move was the location. It’s true that the new bookstore is now conveniently located next to Luck Kee Hair, the new Bake Shop marketed as making up for the lost cafe, and also one of my local favorites, Rick’s Cheesesteak Shop (not sponsored, I’m just a fan.)

Despite these perks, the only seating offered for any partakers in The Bake Shop is outdoors, so your desire to sip coffee and study like you could at the old bookstore is at the mercy of Williamsburg’s totally predictable weather patterns.

Additionally, the new bookstore is honestly not that much closer to campus than it was before. While the original location in Merchants Square required a 15-20 minute or so walk at a quick pace from the back of campus (Botetourt, Randolph, etc.), those students who live back there still have to cross through the forest trail or circumvent around Ukrop Way in order to get to the Richmond Road side of campus in the first place before proceeding down Armistead Avenue to the bookstore. Maybe on paper it was indeed a shorter distance, but in practice, that’s not the case.

The Virginia Gazette reported that, while the old bookstore occupied a space of 25,000 square feet, the new bookstore occupies a 3,875 square feet, less than a fifth of the original size.

Returning to the case of the missing books, you might reasonably suggest that such a problem can be solved with an expansion to the new building. Unfortunately, the new location is significantly smaller than the old bookstore’s area in Merchants Square. The Virginia Gazette reported that, while the old bookstore occupied a space of 25,000 square feet, the new bookstore occupies 3,875 square feet, less than a fifth of the original size. Not only that, but the bookstore now has neighbors in its new location at the Triangle Building, thus making a possible expansion even more unlikely. It is true that there are a few bookshelves in the store dedicated to faculty publications and College-related books, but the days of genre-dedicated bookshelves by the dozens, tables dedicated to Founding Father publications, and leisurely perusing whatever catches your eye appear to be over.

At this point, I believe that the best that the College can do is to expand the bookstore’s website to offer books of various kinds — fiction, nonfiction, poetry, you name it — and offer in-store pickup for those as well. Now that I am privileged enough to have a vehicle on campus, a quick drive to the Barnes & Noble in New Town is always possible. However, there are still thousands of students — especially underclassmen — who need a place only a couple minutes’ walk away in order to destress and read what they want to for a change. While there are some ways that the new bookstore can offer that, it just won’t be the same as it used to be.

Lucas Harsche ’23 is majoring in History and minoring in accounting. In addition to The Flat Hat, Lucas is also the treasurer for Swim Club and plays violin in the Symphony Orchestra. Email Lucas at lmharsche@email.wm.edu.

To view citations, visit flathatnews.com.

variety

Variety Editor Ashanti Jones Variety Editor Maddie Harris flathat.variety@gmail.com

| Tuesday, December 7, 2021 | Page 5

COURTESY IMAGE / CHARLOTTE RUSSELL

THE FLAT HAT

Members of the College of William and Mary s student-run Bike Alliance discuss evolution of organization VIVIAN HOANG // FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER the back rider is tasked with warning the group for cars approaching from the back.

Russell and Laird also make sure that all the riders are maintaining a similar, manageable pace so that the group stays together and rides safely. Both Russell and Laird emphasized that the Bike Alliance is not designed to be competitive but rather social and fun, so bikers of all experience levels are encouraged to join on the rides.

“We do try to keep it more casual,” Russell said. “We’re not racing each other, we’re here to have fun. If you can ride up next to someone, you just chat because we’re not going at a super fast pace. It’s definitely a social thing.”

In order to facilitate such social interaction, Russell and Laird always schedule in a lunch break at a local eatery along the ride, allowing bikers to both enjoy new foods and discover hidden gems in the greater Williamsburg area that they would have never otherwise visited.

“We try to go to these restaurants that you may not know about, like Charly’s Airport, which is just an airport with a cafe on it, so you can see planes take off while you’re eating sandwiches,” Laird said. “And they do their own barbecue and make their own bread and everything, so it’s pretty good.”

“Our favorite place is called Spoke + Art, it’s this bike-themed cafe in Williamsburg,” Russell added. “I didn’t know about it until I started doing Bike Alliance stuff, it’s so cool. We’ve been able to go to so many cool places that without a car you probably would never see.”

Laird also highlighted the personal connection to nature and history that Bike Alliance members are able to gain as one of the greatest benefits of participating in the rides. For Laird, who first began biking in his hometown in Connecticut during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as a means of escaping boredom, long bike rides offer the opportunity to reimagine the space you call home and gain a greater appreciation for the sights around you that you may have otherwise never have noticed.

“I think an important part of being a William and Mary student that gets neglected often is where we actually are,” Laird said. “Like, we live in one of the oldest, most historical parts of this country. Along these rides, you’ll see the ruins of a church from the 1600s or the burial grounds of a Revolutionary War era soldier, like there’s a lot of natural beauty that’s worth checking out.”

Laird also stresses the importance of not only the natural topography of the land around you, but also truly understanding those who occupy that land as well.

“You also get to interact with some of the people that live in the area too, which I think is an important part for anybody who’s trying to get to know this area, like that’s not something you should neglect, because we’re sharing this space with the people that live here,” Laird said. “So I think biking is a really good way to connect with the area that you are living in.”

Along with hosting group rides, the Bike Alliance functions as an educational resource, offering clinics to equip any interested cyclists with greater cycling knowledge and skills.

“We did a cycling skills clinic for students where we were trying to get them comfortable riding on the road, how to do minor repairs on their bike and just sort of getting them ready to go on group rides,” Russell said.

To expand upon these educational initiatives, the Bike Alliance is also looking to implement an intermediate cycling skills clinic in the spring as well as a mountain bike clinic in which an outside expert would come to campus and either show students how to use a mountain bike or take more advanced bikers out to the different mountain biking trails around Williamsburg.

The Bike Alliance also helps students with bike maintenance and repairs.

According to Russell, local mechanic and owner of Red Barn Bicycles Robert Maye comes to campus about every three weeks on Monday afternoons to assist students with any and all bike-related concerns, all free of charge.

Though the Bike Alliance advisors and student leaders are tasked with such a vast variety of responsibilities, it is clear that ever yone involved loves the work they contribute to the c ycling community in Williamsburg and is excited to continue developing new initiatives.

Both Russell and Laird named their most recent ride to the Chickahominy Riverfront Park as their most rewarding memory related to the Bike Alliance thus far. Each noted that the day served as a fulfilling watershed moment in which they were able to witness their hard work come into fruition as they looked around and realized they had managed to build a solid, close-knit community of cyclists on campus.

“Something that really hit home is when I saw two members that have gone to the rides exchange numbers and be like, ‘we should definitely hang out sometime, we should definitely go on a ride sometime,’” Laird said. “That was really nice for me to see that I was connecting people in that way and that through this club, you can make people feel like they belong here and that they could do something that they love.”

“We’ve done so much, like from our first ride we had maybe seven people, but our last ride had 14 or 15,” Russell added. “It’s slow growth, but it’s really rewarding. It’s a lot of fun to see. And we look really cool.

We’re just like a giant group of cyclists on the road wearing bright colors.”

Laird especially emphasized the satisfaction he derives from being able to impart his own skills and passion for cycling to others and watching them improve over time.

“It’s just really interesting to see how much more technical people can get, how much faster people can get, how much more confident they feel on the road,” Laird said. “I think part of it also is that I taught my little sister how to ride her bike when she was younger. And that was a moment I really cherish with her, and I love sharing a skill with someone or seeing them grow as a person.”

Similarly to the student leaders, Thompson also enjoys being able to help new cyclists learn and grow, expressing the fulfillment he gets from being involved in the Bike Alliance.

“It’s been so much fun working with the students, helping them maximize and reach their potentials and develop as cyclists but more importantly, helping them develop their leadership and collaboration skills and broadening their connections in the community,” Thompson said. “If you work in student affairs, that’s what you live for, providing students the opportunity to exceed their expectations and discover strengths that they didn’t know they had, so I love it. Plus, I get to ride my bike. That’s the best part.”

Though the ride to Chickahominy Riverfront Park was their last ride for the semester due to the incoming colder weather, the Bike Alliance is far from done with their work on campus. In terms of upcoming initiatives, the Bike Alliance is looking to offer students e-bikes to rent, hold a charity bike ride, host a hill climbing competition in which cyclists compete to bike up Compton Drive in the shortest possible time for a cash prize, implement vending machines with bike equipment around campus and much more.

Until then, keep an eye out for QR codes posted on bikes around campus with more information on how to get involved with the Bike Alliance and consider taking some time out of your Saturday next semester to join Russell, Laird and Thompson on a ride — they swear you won’t regret it.

Cycling through the years

It’s a Saturday morning — 10 a.m., to be precise. Most students are likely still sleeping to recover from Friday night shenanigans or just barely dragging themselves out of bed to catch breakfast at one of the dining halls. But for the Bike Alliance, the day has already begun — with a 10-28 mile bike ride. As the sun creeps its way up to the sky to signal the transition from morning to afternoon, the Bike Alliance can be seen well on its way through its weekly group bike ride, members chatting freely as they cruise through the greater Williamsburg area.

The Bike Alliance, a group of students, staff, faculty and administrators who are passionate about cycling, is led by a combination of students and professional advisors as a loose affiliation of the Office of Parking and Transportation Services.

Richard Thompson, James Keeter and Bill Horacio III serve as the main advisors who help provide a framework in regards to cycling programming and guide student leaders in their responsibilities.

“I work with the student leaders to help them learn the aspects of best practices to lead rides, how to design routes and how to develop engagement,” Thompson said. “I also work with them on program development and planning.”

As someone who has been involved with the Bike Alliance since its inception, Thompson also offered insight into the beginnings and history of the Bike Alliance. Thompson credited the work of founding members Gabriel Morey ’16 and Brianna Buch ’15 as well as Erica Schneider ’18 for laying the groundwork for the Bike Alliance to become the budding group it is today.

“They were extremely passionate, and they made a lasting impact, which has been generational,” Thompson said.

“That’s why the program honestly has survived and done as well as it has.”

According to Thompson, examples of such impacts include the implementation of bike fix-it stations and bike lanes around campus that continue to be used today. To uphold the legacy of bike advocacy these alumni left behind, the Bike Alliance is working to include more student input in its initiatives moving forward.

“This year is really a focus on how we can impart more direct student leadership into the program, with the development of the Student Employment program,” Thompson said.

Enter Charlotte Russell ’24 and Drew Laird ’23, the first paid student leaders under the Student Employment program underneath Parking and Transportation Ser vices.

“Our main goal is trying to get students — both undergraduate and graduate — and any member of the wider William and Mary community involved in exploring Williamsburg by bike, which is a sustainable method of transportation,” Russell said. “We’re really just trying to show them the area and bring them to new places as well as show them how to safely cycle in a group and have fun while they’re doing it.”

Together, the pair undertake an impressive array of responsibilities, including creating promotional materials and social media content related to the Bike Alliance, promoting sustainability and bike safety on campus and maintaining rental bikes that are offered for student and faculty use.

Their largest responsibility as student leaders, however, is organizing weekly group bike rides with members of the Bike Alliance, which begin at Sadler Terrace and generally span between 10-28 miles off campus. In addition to planning out the routes in which the group travels, Russell and Laird directly oversee the rides to ensure that everybody stays safe and enjoys the ride. According to Russell, one of the two will ride in the back while the other leads the group from the front ; the front rider’s primary job is to use hand signals to direct the group on where to turn and warn of upcoming debris while

Page 6

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

A night in the SwamP

THE FLAT HAT

The College of William and Mary s Metal Club presents live music benefit concert ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN // CHIEF FEATURES WRITER

ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN / THE FLAT HAT It’s Saturday night in Lodge 1, and the lights are dim. The chairs and tables have been pushed to the sides of the room, leaving an open floor in front of the stage that’s the prime spot for a mosh pit. A spotlight shines on the stage, revealing a teal drum set and electric guitar. As the first band steps onstage to start their soundcheck, loud music echoes throughout the venue and down the halls of the Sadler Center. It’s time for A Night in the Swamp, presented by the College of William and Mar y’s Metal Club, to begin.

Dec. 4, the Metal Club presented A Night at the Swamp, a musical benefit show for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. The bands performed from 8 p.m. to midnight in Sadler Center’s Lodge 1 to a crowd of students from the College and the local area.

According to Metal Club’s president Alex Kim ’23, the Metal Club traditionally puts on shows in the fall and spring semesters titled “MetalFest,” but hasn’t been able to over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming in as president of the club, Kim was determined to put on a show this semester.

“My goal, regardless of how many people show up to the club or how much membership we get, was to put on a Metalfest, in some way,” Kim said.

A Night in the Swamp isn’t exactly a Metalfest, per se: the event featured bands across the musical spectrum, based both at the College and in Richmond and Northern Virginia. Kim said the Metal Club’s members reached out to friends in order to recruit bands for the event, in addition to bands composed of members from the club. Word of the event spread, and the lineup went from three bands to six.

Grocer y Store, the band that opened the show, is a rock band based in Richmond. Straitjacket, a band composed of College students of which Kim is a member, plays hardcore punk ; Ampliphobia, a Fairfax-based band, leans more towards rock and roll. The remaining three bands that performed, which are all Richmond-based — Nuclear Deathcount, Asylum213, and R.O.T.W.L .C.F.T.S.C.B.M.H. — play thrash, an avant-garde style of rock and grindcore, respectively.

Kim said that metal music is hard to define because it contains so much variation. He said that it usually features a metallic, gritty guitar tone, but can be both fast and slow and can be broken down into several alternative subgenres.

“To someone who’s never heard it before, I’d say: picture a mosh pit,” Kim said. “It’s music that you could picture fueling a mosh pit.”

As the bands performed on the Lodge 1 stage, students danced along, forming a mini mosh pit in front of the stage. Students nodded their heads to the beat, pumped their fists and clapped to the music.

Admission to the show was free, but donations were recommended to benefit the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. Kim said the group unanimously agreed on the charity early on in the planning process.

“I knew from day one I wanted it to be a charity show, because we had the money to pay bands to come in,” Kim said. “Palestinian relief and aid is a great cause.”

Kaylee Garrison is a senior at Cosby High School in Richmond, Virginia, who attended the show. Her boyfriend is a member of the band Grocer y Store. She said she was looking for ward to experiencing the different styles of music on display at the show.

I really like the energy, and ever yone coming together and having a good time,” Garrison said. “I’m just excited to see the differentiations between all the bands, and how different the music is.”

Ian First, a student at Northern Virginia Community College, is a member of Ampliphobia who attended the show. First said he was looking for ward to performing for a live audience; the band has had a few shows over the past few months, but was put mostly on hold during the pandemic. The band performed its usual set, which included a crowd-pleasing cover of a popular song from the show “Spongebob Squarepants.”

“We do have … a cover of ‘Gar y Come Home’ that always goes hard,” First said.

Kim said the club is thinking about putting on another show in the spring, but plans are still on the horizon. His main goal with the event was to create a fun and safe space for students to enjoy a musical evening.

“A lot of alternative music … tends to attract people that might feel marginalized or disenfranchised,” Kim said. “I know that’s true in the punk scene: it tends to attract people that view themselves as social outcasts, or have been neglected by whatever institution or system that’s supposed to be supporting them. So, I think that … especially concerts like this can be validating spaces, they can be comfortable spaces. Like a refuge.”

MIDDLE EASTERN MUSIC TUNES INTO CAMPUS The College of William and Mary s Middle Eastern Music Ensemble returns to oncampus performances of Arabic music with classic Middle Eastern instruments HUDSON FORTNEY // THE FLAT HAT Friday, Nov. 12, the College of William and Mar y Middle Eastern Music Ensemble had their first in-person performance since before the pandemic in the Ewell Recital Hall, hosting Johnny Faraj as a guest performer.

The ensemble formed in 1994, making it the third Middle Eastern music ensemble ever on a college campus in America. The group began to manifest around the catalyst of the ensemble, the director of the group professor Anne Rasmussen. Studying ethnomusicology at UCL A , professor Rasmussen had learned to play the oud and experience Arab music groups, a fact of interest for students wanting to learn or continue to play Arabic music.

“Students at William and Mar y found out I could play, and they wanted to start a little group, so we started a little group,” Rasmussen said. “And it became a bigger group, and that’s what happened.”

Since its humble beginnings, the Middle Eastern Music Ensemble has had numerous guest performers and has even been able to travel to the sources of its music a few times. Professor Jonathan Glasser, a member of the ensemble since 2006, said those are some of his favorite memories from his time with the group.

“Probably one of my favorite experiences was bringing two close friends from Morocco,” Glasser said. “People I first got to know doing my dissertation fieldwork, and having them come here twice, once in 2012 and 2016 ...We’ve also gone with the ensemble to Oman, and to Morocco to kind of return that visit, in fact.”

When asked about the evolution of the group since its beginning, Rasmussen said it’s constantly changing — always gaining and losing members with the coming and going of students to and from the College. “ The ensemble is always evolving … the minute it gets good, all the good people graduate, Rasmussen said. “ You know, you’re always losing your best musicians … but this year ’s group, they’re all at rehearsals, they’re all into it, they’re good musicians, they’re wonderful people, so I’m pretty excited about our concert.”

Haytham Alsayed ’25 has been able to use his training in opera while also learning new instruments he’s always had an interest in through the ensemble.

“When I came across the Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, it immediately caught my attention,” Alsayed said. “Joining would give me the opportunity to play the oud and sing in Arabic. I knew it would be a great fit for me because it had the potential to combine my passion for singing with my childhood dream of learning to play an Arabic instrument.”

The concert itself was an amazing demonstration of the ensemble’s skill, with ever y part of the ensemble working together without the help of a conductor. Rather, throughout the performance, Rasmussen played the qanun, occasionally giving signals to soloists whose parts

were coming up, and conducted ver y little. The rest of the group played together in sync, listening to each other to stay perfectly in time. There was an over whelming sense of freedom in the music. Unrestricted by either conductor or strict sheet music, ever yone just played — and played incredibly well.

“I think for a lot of people who have a background in Western classical music, or band music and things like that, it’s a big breath of fresh air, because it is much less authoritarian,” Glasser said. “ There’s a lot more improvisation; there’s not somebody conducting, and we do use some written music, though that’s really a ver y loose guide to what you actually want to play. So it really has a ver y distinct vibe, and it’s a huge amount of fun.”

Echoing this sentiment, Alsayed commented on how the pieces they perform are a collaborative effort from the entire group.

“Since traditional Arabic music doesn’t really have much concept of harmony, our sheet music just contains a notated melody and instructions for which rhythmic pattern should be played by the percussion section.” Alsayed said. “ There isn’t typically any designation of different parts to different instruments, so we work together to decide which instruments will dominate which phrases and sections.

We basically craft the sound of the piece from the ground up using the melodic line and rhythmic pattern as a blueprint.”

Beginning with the second song, the whole ensemble too began to sing in Arabic. Alsayed also had a few vocal solos, hypnotizing the audience with his beautiful singing, and supported by the collective vocals of the ensemble.

About halfway through the concert, the guest performer, Johnny Faraj, was introduced. He sat at the far end of the front row percussion section playing a riqq. Both Rasmussen and Alsayed gushed about him and the impact of his presence on the ensemble.

“My favorite experience thus far was the concert with our guest artist, Johnny Farraj,” Alsayed said. “It was wonderful getting to work with and learn from him, and his passion for his art truly inspired all of us.”

“To bring somebody like Johnny to hangout with us, to sit with us, to collaborate with us, not just as a speaker that, you know, we’re going to read their article and then they’re going to give us some talk, right, but someone that’s going to sit down and play music with us, and then offer that music to the ensemble, is really important.” Rasmussen said. “The ensemble is a really great platform to be able to bring people together.”

After the last song, there was an encore performance in which the director encouraged the audience to clap, sing and dance along. Many of the audience members joined, adding to the collaborative spirit of the ensemble. After ward, the director thanked ever yone for coming, and the audience gave a standing ovation.

sports

THE F LAT HAT ¦ Tuesday, December 7, 2021 ¦ Page 7

BASKETBALL

JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT

Despite head coach Dane Fischer s emphasis on getting games off to a better start, the Tribe fell behind 19-6 and then 33-14 against Davidson, who held the College to just 26% shooting and 23% from three for the game, numbers well below season average.

Struggles with quality shots persist, Tribe drops to 1-8

Kochera, Covington potential bright spots for showdown with ODU on Dec. 7 NATHAN SEIDEL FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR The struggling Tribe (1-8, 0-0 CAA) failed to regain momentum last Saturday, Dec. 4 at Davidson (6-2, 0-0 A-10), going down 15 at the half and ultimately losing 70-46.

The College shot 26% from the field in the contest and just 23% from three, while the Wildcats made nearly 46% of their shots.

Davidson also outrebounded the Tribe 49-29 and outscored the College 30-8 in the paint. The Tribe big man duo of sophomore forward Ben Wight and freshman forward Langdon Hatton managed just six points and four rebounds between them, proving no match for the Wildcats’ frontcourt of 6”10 Luka Brajkovic and 6”9 Sam Mennenga, contributing to the significant statistical deficits in the contest.

“Their size gave us some problems,” head coach Dane Fischer said. “Brajkovic was terrific down on the blocks, and all of their bigs did a great job of rebounding and being

a presence defensively. We really struggled to get anything inside against them.”

Getting off to a better start was a focus of the game, as well as not falling behind early, but this proved challenging with the Wildcats scoring the first nine points of the game and going up 19-6 with 11:37 left in the first half. The lead was extended to 3314 with 4:01 to play in the period, and the Tribe managed to close the gap to 35-20 by intermission.

“We didn’t have the right focus and intensity from the start, which really put us in a hole,” Fischer said. “Against a really good offensive team, the last thing you want to do is give them easy baskets and let them get in a groove.

Unfortunately, we did that.”

Among the few bright spots in the loss was the continued offensive re-emergence of sophomore guard Connor Kochera, who dropped 18 points and nine rebounds on 6-14 shooting.

Sophomore guard Yuri Covington added 14 points including six free throws and freshman guard Julian Lewis chipped in eight

OPINION: THE EXTRA POINT

Basketball must change efforts

Tips from 2018-2019 may help Tribe improve LEXIE HIESTAND FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR The Tribe has opened their season with a dismal 1-8 record. Their average loss score is 69.4 to their opponents’ 87.6. They are shooting 34% on the season. From the free-throw line, they average 66.8%. Broken down by half, they free throw 56.2% and 69.8% respectively.

Those stats are pretty hard to look at. To some, this season of Tribe basketball is simply a rebuilding year.

Those statistics surely exemplify that train of thought: we have a young team, with relatively inexperienced players. However, even rebuilding years must build skills for the team to use in future seasons, and right now, that growth is not visible on the court.

This is not the first time the Tribe has opened with a sub-.250 record in recent history. In 2018-2019, the Tribe began 2-9. Over the course of the season, they finished 14-17 (10-8, CAA). It wasn’t a winning record, but their late-season performance was enough to get to the Colonial Athletic Association Championship tournament, where they lost in the quarterfinals.

To see how the Tribe can regain the reins of the 2021-2022 season, we must look back to the 2018-2019 season. The 2018-2019 season suggests interesting strategies to implement to improve current Tribe play.

This current spell of losses is not a product of playing extraordinary opponents. These losses are not the product of the Tribe having one of the youngest teams in the nation. The Tribe must look for sustained effort and whole team play in matches, according to 2018-2019.

First, the Tribe needs focus in big moments. So many games this season have been decided by a pivotal lead change. The Tribe has missed the go-ahead free throw, leading to a possession change and opponent scoring tear (American). Or, the Tribe’s lead has been chopped by the opponent, and they lose momentum (Howard).

When it matters, the Tribe is indecisive. They take the first shot, instead of waiting for a more quality basket.

Compare that to 2018-2019. In the turning point of the season on Dec. 8, 2018, the Tribe found itself trailing by one to Hampton with a little more than three minutes remaining. A few baskets later, and the teams were tied at 69 with a minute and a half left. Then-junior forward Nathan Knight dunked a basket on a breakaway, was fouled and converted on the ensuing free throw to put the Tribe up 3. More than just assuming the lead briefly, the Tribe was able to capitalize on Knight’s contributions to top the Pirates, 76-71.

How does one coach a team in stressful moments?

How does one simulate high stakes in practice? Head coach Dane Fischer has his work cut out for him. This sort of momentum mindset coaching must happen.

Drilling routine shots is fine, but wins will come from practicing in-game scenarios.

Second, the Tribe must rely on a full team effort.

Lots of buzz was made about sophomore guard Connor Kochera after his breakout freshman year, netting several CAA awards. Fischer and fans alike looked to Kochera to lead the team in point production for the 2021-2022 year.

Currently, Kochera is averaging just over ten points per game. Last season, he averaged over 13.

But Kochera is not to blame for the Tribe’s success — or lack thereof — this season. Kochera is a talented, twoway player, but he is not the next Knight. He doesn’t need to be. But, because the 2021-2022 Tribe does not have a point sponge, the rest of the team must contribute.

Looking to 2018-2019, stories came out in the summer about then-redshirt junior guard Matt Milon.

The previous season, he averaged 13 points per game, at a shooting percent of 45. Those numbers eerily mirror Kochera’s.

At the beginning of the season, Milon faltered in his point production. After the first few games, his team caught him and stepped up. Knight and freshman Chase Audige made headlines for points. Milon did not exceed expectations at first — after a period of readjustment, the Tribe began to win.

Milon finished the season matching his stats from the last. The full team effort helped bolster his own production as well. Without the responsibility laying on his shoulders, he could produce better quality shots and help the team where it mattered.

Kochera, along with the 2021-2022 team, has had a less than expected performance to open the season. If 2018-2019 tells us anything, it says this can be mitigated through the rest of the Tribe stepping up to help.

Kochera has created opportunities for others to shoot, and deswpite their short collegiate careers, the Tribe must step up to the plate as well.

The Tribe plays next on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at home against Old Dominion. If their current record tells us anything, it is time for the Tribe to adopt a new strategy.

That strategy should come from the success of the 20182019 season: capitalizing on high-stakes moments combined with a full team effort.

along with five boards.

Fischer also praised Kochera’s defense after the game. Placed on the Wildcats’ leading scorer, Hyunjung Lee, he held him to seven points below his season average on just 3-8 from the field.

“Where he was really good today was on the defensive end,” Fischer said. “He was on Lee most of the game and really did a good job of making him work.”

Covington also earned postgame praise for his consistent offensive effort in an otherwise very challenging game for the College on that end of the floor.

“He did a really good job attacking,” Fischer said about Covington. “He did that a lot when we were struggling to get anything at the rim. He was able to drive the ball and got himself to the foul line. That was good to see for him.”

The Tribe will try to right the ship this Tuesday, Dec. 7 in a matchup with in-state rival Old Dominion at 7 p.m. The game will take place in Kaplan Arena and also be broadcast on FloSports and local Cox television stations.

LOOKING AHEAD Dec. 7 7 p.m.

Men’s Basketball vs. ODU

Dec. 8 7 p.m.

Women’s Basketball at Hampton

Dec. 9 7 p.m.

Men’s Basketball vs. Hampton

Dec. 10 6:30 p.m.

FH

Men’s + Women’s Gymnastics Green & Gold Meet

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Email flathatsports@ gmail.com

Page 8

THE FLAT HAT

Tuesday, December, 7, 2021

MENTAL HEALTH

VA mental health system in crisis, public hospitals overwhelmed

Mental health facilities desperate for funding, lawmakers say they re doing their best to balance priorities MENTAL HEALTH from page 1

So naturally, we end up with people who are more aggressive. Aggression is generally an exclusionary criteria for, say, a private psychiatric hospital.”

As a result, instances of violence against staff are especially prevalent in public facilities. In the 10-day period between July 1 and July 9, just before the capacity reduction announcement, there were 63 serious injuries among both the patients and staff within these facilities, which could range from fractures, eye injuries and permanent disability.

With fewer staff, those who remain at Eastern State face increasingly unsafe working conditions.

In July, daily incidents or injuries to employees at facilities statewide were reported to average 4.5 per day. At Eastern State, “code” situations — crisis incidents or emergencies — happen often.

“It could happen daily, or it could happen every couple of days, or you could have a multiple in a day then go a few days, but it’s common enough that, yes, it’s happening,” O’Brien said. “You know, more often on a day than not.”

To mitigate difficult situations without resorting to physical force, Eastern State formed a crisis prevention response team last year. The team consists of a group of professionals trained in verbal de-escalation.

“Their sole job is to meet with the population, move through the population and help people that are having a really rough day,” Jennings said. “And we think it’s been very successful. To the point that we believe it’s led to some decreases in code situations here at the hospital.”

Ideally, O’Brien said, private hospitals should be handling 100% of civil admissions, whereas state-run hospitals would handle forensic cases and patients in need of long-term care, rather than patients who are not acutely ill. In the past, he said, private hospitals have acted as a funnel, taking all admissions and transferring patients in need of longer term care to state facilities. This arrangement is no longer the case.

Instead, hospitals often continue to house patients even after they are approved for discharge, since there are not adequate community resources to ensure their continued care. Patients who experience difficulties upon release, such as homelessness, are placed on extraordinary barriers lists. Until these patients are able to find placement in a local group home or other community-based solution, they stay at the hospital, potentially for years.

However, Vice President of Communications for the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, VHHA, Julian Walker noted private hospitals are consistently handling a majority of both voluntary and involuntary psychiatric patients. VHHA is an organization that represents 110 private hospitals across the state.

“Those hospitals continue to handle all of the vast majority of total behavioral health inpatient hospital admissions across the board,” Walker said.

“And you can break that down, or sort of separate that by category ... So our members handle all of the voluntary admissions in the commonwealth. Our members also continue to year over year handle the vast majority of the involuntary commitments.”

While Eastern State had to increase its operations to treat the influx in patients, it was not funded proportionately. With state funding trending downward for inpatient public mental health hospitals, Jennings and O’Brien said Eastern State has struggled to be competitive in recruiting staff. A nationwide shortage of healthcare workers has worsened the situation in an already-difficult sector. In order for Eastern State to increase bed capacity back to its normal level, Jennings said it needs more funding from the state to up the pay scale for direct care staff — staff that work face-toface with patients.

Currently, the average salary at Eastern State is $55,714.14, a figure that includes the highest paid individuals. The highest paid staff are physicians, with a salary of $288,337. On the other end of the spectrum, food service technicians are paid as little as $20,748 a year, or $9.98 an hour. But more funding won’t come until next year’s state budget at the earliest, which will not be up for approval

CHARLES COLEMAN / THE FLAT HAT

until July 1.

Some members of Congress have recommended limited redirecting of funding to establish community resources. Press secretary for Rep. Rob Wittman (VA-01) Sarah Newsome pointed to Wittman’s proposal to use remaining COVID-19 relief funds for the establishment of a crisis receiving center as an alternative to hospitalization.

Wittman represents the congressional district in which Eastern State lies.

“I am happy to express my enthusiastic support for the establishment of a Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Center in Prince William County to provide much-needed access to mental health services to the over half-a-million residents of Prince William County and surrounding areas,” Wittman wrote in a letter to the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee Virginia House of Delegates. “The establishment of this Center reduces the dependency on the stressed hospital system. Furthermore, it reduces the impact on public safety officers and staff.”

During his time in office, Wittman has often voted against increasing funding for healthcare resources.

Recently, he voted down a 2019 bill calling for workplace protection for healthcare workers, and in 2013, he co-sponsored a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In the long-term, Jennings and O’Brien said a shift toward community mental health care would prevent reliance on state institutions in general.

“The state of Virginia is going to have to make some decisions about how to expand the capacity of our mental health system,” O’Brien said. “It’s time.

And lawmakers are going to see that, and we really see some support over the next several years. You know, there’s a lot of plans that have been put into place that are moving forward right now. And those need to continue to come to fruition, as well as a continued expansion, so we don’t have the reliance on state institutions.”

For Deeds, revamping the state’s psychiatric care will require both increased support of existing programs, such as System Transformation Excellence and Performance VA, and the expansion of community-based services. STEP is a plan that was created by DBHDS in 2017 with the aim of increasing accessibility to mental health services, improving support to Virginia’s CSBs and providing patients with an array of resources.

The plan was to initially provide $8.9 million in funding from Virginia’s General fund dollars and Terry McAuliffe’s Governor’s Access Plan. However, the full expansion of the program has yet to occur, an issue which the program’s website attributes to inconsistent support and unstable funding.

Deeds also highlighted the need for investment in CSBs. “It seems to me that the most efficient money we can spend, and it’s going to take money upfront, the most efficient money we can spend is to dramatically rebuild our CSBs, invest in people that work there,” Deeds said. “Make sure those jobs are

rewarding. Make sure we have enough people in every CSB in Virginia. And, you know, keep people out of crisis and keep them out of hospitals.”

Coe said CSBs, like hospitals, are in crisis. Instead of referring to the system as broken, Coe said it was incomplete due to underfunding.

“That’s real simple,” Coe said. “The answer is no, the funding is not adequate. Virginia is pretty famous for not funding things adequately.

I would hope they would do this one differently.

I’m not optimistic … I’ve been doing this work for 31 years, and 31 years has not given me reason to be optimistic.”

Along with the need for immediate fixes, policymakers and community advocates are calling for implementation of longer-term solutions. These include alternative care options, new government programs and an increase in community based treatment.

Mason said state action on mental health has historically been reactionary, such as policy implementation following the mass shooting at the Virginia Tech in 2007 and similar changes after the Deeds incident. Mason views the subcommittee on mental health as a way to ensure sustained action.

“It’s an effort to make it an ongoing, continual conversation that we have, in order to face the challenges we need to address and try to make the system better,” Mason said. “And we’re always going to have challenges, always going to be resource constrained, but we can’t just address it through tragedy.”

Mental health initiatives inevitably compete with other budget priorities, meaning they often receive less funding than their proponents request.

“The budget is a negotiation of all, this is just one element of it,” Mason said. “It’s a negotiation of all that funding … I could come up with 10 places that are going to come in and request that and show a noted need that they need 250 million dollars.”

Mason specified the bolstering of the few Crisis Intervention Team Assessment Centers, or CITACs, as a possible solution to overcrowding in hospitals, and has pushed for the eventual implementation of additional CITAC programs across the state.

CITACs operated under the jurisdiction of the local community service board. Mason hopes these programs will be instrumental in redefining Virginia’s mental health care system.

Already operating at various public and private hospitals and health centers in Virginia, CITAC programs provide alternative assessment and support options for mental health crises that may have been previously handled solely by law enforcement. With CITACs, officers who identify individuals they believe are struggling with mental illness can direct them to healthcare professionals.

In Williamsburg, Riverside Doctors Hospital’s emergency unit has a CITAC team that operates from midnight to noon.

Coe said the CITAC unit has reduced the burden of handling crisis cases for Colonial Behavioral Health.

“And it really has allowed law enforcement to not have to spend so many hours sitting and waiting, you know, with folks in the emergency room while they’re in custody,” Coe said. “So that has been utilized by all four of our localities.”

Additionally, a new emergency number, 988, has been established nationwide in a similar attempt to divert mental health crises away from the police. If called, a local representative will provide resources under three designations: trained staff members to speak with, dispatch of a mobile crisis team and/or crisis stabilization programs that consist of short-term observation such as hospitalization.

Williamsburg does not currently have a mobile crisis team, which are designed to respond to 988 calls, but Coe says Colonial Behavioral Health intends to have a team up and running within the next year.

Though Mason emphasized urgency surrounding mental health reform, he said budget negotiations are a barrier to adequate funding.

According to Mason, in response to the Behavioral Health Commission’s request for $37 million to expand these programs and similar efforts, they were provided just $10.5 million. Deeds echoed the difficulties in funding community mental health resources.

“If you look at the maps, every Virginia locality, basically, is a medically underserved area in the niche area of behavioral health, and the needs are so dramatic,” Deeds said.

An upcoming project in Williamsburg called Hope Family Village adopts a radically integrated view of community mental health care to address this deficit. The village is essentially a neighborhood, situated on 25 acres of Eastern State surplus land, where people with mental health conditions can live with their families and care for one another. Vice President and Director of Hope Family Village Lisa Randolph said the project is the brainchild of a family support group run by the National Alliance of Mental Illness’s Williamsburg chapter, which began developing the idea in April 2014.

“There was a very common theme that came up over and over again in the support group and that was having our loved ones live in a community of caring and acceptance, a place that was safe,” Randolph said.

Many in the group, including Randolph, had loved ones hospitalized in the past. The idea behind the village is to avoid the need for inpatient care altogether.

“The state is at an all time crisis and Eastern State has such a staffing shortage that they’ve actually reduced the number of beds that are available,” Randolph said. “So we started thinking about what a community might look like and at the same time, we also discovered something called cohousing.”

Cohousing is a setup in which residents live in private homes clustered around public spaces, where they share meals, collectively care for the neighborhood and engage in shared activities.

Randolph said Hope Family Village is the first cohousing community dedicated to mental health in the country. Though Randolph acknowledged that the village is small scale — it will house just 25 families — she views it as a model for similar communities across the country.

“Our plan is to be a model community,” Randolph said. “Then as we’re writing grants, a lot of times you can find innovation funding for new models. So our goal is to sort of pitch this as an innovative model and to use our little Hope Family Village in Williamsburg as an experiment, as a grand experiment. And start to document some results and to prove that the concept works. As a kind of proof of concept.”

With a new governor preparing to start his time in office, Virginia’s mental health care systems continue to face uncertainty. For Coe, the entire system needs to be reimagined.

“Before, the system was built upon the idea that communities would be your core care model, and the safety net for the community was the hospital and people in the hospital system,” Coe said. “From a systems perspective, what I’ve seen occur is that the community has now become the safety net for the state. That’s weird. But it’s where we are.”

CONSERVATION

Panel talks women in conservation, encourages young women in the field Experts, professors share experiences, emphasize need for more opportunities for women of color

CONSERVATION from page 1

people, need to be the ones at the table in the discussion, and, for me, I don’t see that often enough,” Obasanjo said, “...if you are not at the table, you’re the one being eaten.”

The discussion moved to the topic of barriers the panelists had faced while working in conservation. Dicenta mentioned that, as a social scientist and woman, she had not been heard in discussions with men. She also emphasized the importance of keeping one’s individuality when starting work in a male dominated space.

“I did my PhD in an engineering school with one of the lowest diversity rates in

the US...it was really tough and I had just moved to the U.S.,” Dicenta said, “so I was not heard at the time because I didn’t speak the language, and I don’t mean English, but the language of cultural jokes and the language of social capitals.”

Westerman acknowledged her privilege as a white woman in this space, and mentioned that she has spent most of her career helping to support underrepresented women build their conservation leadership.

“I think really focusing on indigenous and rural women...there’s so much knowledge and they are so critical to the fabric of society, and yet, unfortunately, because of patriarchal societies and other sort of structural barriers, they’re

just not able to engage in the same way that men might be able to, or that non-indigenous people are able to,” Westerman said.

The people that are rocking it in conservation are more and more women ...conservation is made by everyone, it shouldn t just be these white men, Dicenta said.

In terms of advice for current seniors looking to join the conservation field, Obasanjo encouraged students to be hopeful.

“If the first opportunity that comes your way is not the job in conservation you

want, or it’s not even in conservation at all, get in it and use it to get the skills that will move you to that job and seeing how you can then network that skill you gained into a job in conservation,” Obasanjo said.

“The people that are rocking it in conservation are more and more women,” Dicenta said, “...conservation is made by everyone, it shouldn’t just be these white men.”

To Westerman, conservation is not as simple as counting trees.

“It’s about the people that depend on the trees and live around the trees,” Westerman said.

Westerman believes that getting handson experience with organizations like AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps is essential

to success within the conservation field.

Obasanjo helped wrap up the discussion by emphasizing the importance of minority women in conservation, mentioning that many students in her classes could not name the first woman of color to win a Nobel Peace Prize for a topic within the field of conservation, Dr. Wangari Maathai.

“People don’t talk about minority women in the public space that worked in conservation,” Obasanjo said, “...most minorities and people of color, when they hear conservation, they think that the people want to keep the world for themselves...what we need is the voices, the ideas, the people because everyone’s unique experiences are different.”