The Flat Hat September 7 2021

T HE F LAT H AT

Vol. 111, Iss. 7 ¦ Tuesday, September 7, 2021

The Weekly Student Newspaper

Freshmen feel the heat CLAIRE HOGAN // FLAT HAT EDITOR IN CHIEF

W

hen Dominic Genett ’25 arrived at the College of William and Mary for freshman orientation, he did not expect to be woken up in the middle of the night by the relentless Williamsburg heat. But his dorm, Eagle J in Green and Gold Village, lacks A/C, and the soaring heat index meant that his second-floor room was nearly unbearable.

“It just gets so hot, you wake up in the middle of the night,” Genett said. “I’ve had that happen to me five times now. That first night, I woke up at five, it was so bad I couldn’t even go back to sleep, I was just up at five.”

Genett is one of many freshmen at the College whose dorms remain un-airconditioned in the August heat. Though many students at the College recognize the lack of A/C as a common freshman experience, the particularly high heat index this August, as well as negative feedback from community members, caused the College’s administration to take action, installing A/C window units on the top floors of dorms such as GGV and Monroe Hall.

But for students like Genett, whose dorm room still lacks A/C, the side effects of excessive heat are painful.

“I started developing heat rashes,” Genett said. “Because I had a lot of sweat building up, it was very hot, and I noticed that parts of my arms where I had a lot of skin contact, like on my elbows, I noticed that those parts were starting to get itchy. And I was like, ‘oh is that a rash?’ and I looked it up and, oh, it’s caused by excessive heat. That explains a lot.”

Along with heat rashes, dehydration and nausea, Genett said

of The College of William and Mary

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College installs air conditioning units in some freshmen residence halls amid high Williamsburg temperatures

that the high temperatures in Williamsburg caused him to skip many optional events during orientation, opting to retreat to his room in an attempt to escape the heat.

“The heat wasn’t just a problem in the rooms, it was sort of a problem throughout campus,” Genett said. “So when I would go to the optional events, the heat just had me so exhausted, I would just go back to my dorm and I would just sit in my chair in front of my tower fan to cool off.”

For Jessi Cairns ’25 who lives in the same dorm, the heat negatively affected her mental health.

“I was so stressed out,” Cairns said. “I was just overwhelmed.

I was like, ‘I do not want to live here, how can I live here? How can I sleep?’ and then with orientation, I was dying. I don’t understand how anybody else wasn’t like, ‘whoa, let’s breathe for a minute.’”

Cairns’ third-floor dorm room has since received window A/C units for every room, but at the beginning of orientation, it was the hottest area of the building.

“Originally, you could easily feel the temperature difference walking down the stairs to the second floor, it was already a lot better,” Cairns said. “The first floor, it’s like, ‘ooo, this is kind of nice.’ The basement is amazing. So it’s a big difference.”

Cairns and her roommate used four fans, cooling towels and water misters to keep cool on the third floor, with limited success.

“If this was a house someone rented, this would not be suitable living conditions,” Cairns said. “It would be inhospitable.”

Beyond the lack of climate-control infrastructure, many

dorms like GGV lack water fountains, leaving the only source of water as the sinks in the bathrooms and kitchens.

“In GGV, there’s not any water filling stations that are close by,” Genett said. “There’s Commons, but that’s limited by card swipes, and even then, out of the three water dispensers there, only one of which I’ve had consistent luck with. We have the kitchen sink. That’s it. So if I want cold water, I have to go to Commons and remember which machine dispenses good water, or I have to hike to Wawa and get free water from there.”

Though the lack of water fountains remains a present issue, air conditioning units have been installed on the third floor of GGV, as well as other similarly un-air conditioned dorms. According to Associate Director of University News Erin Zagursky, the decision was not based on any particular heat metric, but rather because of complaints from the College community.

“The decision was based on feedback from residents, parents and staff members -- not a specific temperature or heat index number,” Zagursky wrote in an email. “Because such factors as the number of people in a building, the design of each structure and air flow can affect how people experience temperature, Residence Life and Facilities Management will continue to determine if such interventions are needed in the future on a case-by-case basis.”

Students like Genett point to student feedback as the catalyst for this change in policy.

See HEAT page 8

POLICY

John Quincy Adams Society sponsors Afghanistan policy discussion Speakers talk U.S. withdrawal, Taliban takeover, American involvement in Iraq

Thursday, Sept. 2 the John Quincy Adams Society at the College of William and Mary co-hosted “Iraq & Afghanistan: A Policy Discussion” along with the Center for Concerned Veterans. The talk was held in Tucker Hall and approximately 75 people attended.

Emma Ashford, an international security expert and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, was the keynote speaker. Ashford has also worked for the Cato Institute and has been published in the New York Times. Rosanne Rodriguez, a representative from the Center for Concerned Veterans Foundation, helped moderate the event.

The discussion mainly focused on recent policy decisions that the United States has made with regard to Iraq and Afghanistan, especially concerning the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the withdrawal of American troops from the country. The talk was also live streamed on the Center for Concerned Veteran’s

̶ Emma Ashford, Atlantic Council

2 3-4 5-6 7 8

Twitter account.

To begin the discussion, Rodriguez addressed the current situation in Afghanistan.

“I know everyone has seen a lot of the scenes coming out of Afghanistan,” Rodriguez said. “As an organization, we work with a lot of veterans and there’s a lot of emotions in the veteran community, in the military community. These are very sad images, but the American people, a lot of the American people, forgot that we had been at war still.”

Ashford started her discussion talking about the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, and how it relates to the upcoming 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

“I think it's a really important conversation, not just withdrawal from Afghanistan, but also the fact that we are rapidly coming up with the 20th anniversary of 9/11,” Ashford said. “And so it really is, I think, a watershed moment to start thinking about our involvement in these conflicts, how we sort of end that gracefully and See POLICY page 8

Inside Opinions

INDEX News Opinions Variety Sports News

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I think it's a really important conversation, not just withdrawal from Afghanistan, but also the fact that we are rapidly coming up with the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

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CALLIE BOOTH FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER

Removal of campus mailboxes causes extreme inconvenience without reason

Jamie Holt '22 provides a student review on the redesigned College of William and Mary Postal Services. page 3

Inside Variety

To 'yes and' or not to 'yes and' Acting troupe Shakespeare in the Dark performs debut interactive show "Sunken Barden". page 5

Inside Sports

Shut out in season opener The College of William and Mary (0-1) lost 0-43 against the University of Virginia last Saturday night, Sept. 3, on the road at Scott Stadium. page 7

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

THE BUZZ

Every student needs to be vaccinated, so I ve been very aggressive on this. We ve got to get rid of this COVID-19 as fast as we possibly can. I am very upset that 90 million Americans have not gotten it yet. Our children are back in school wearing masks because these people refuse to get vaccinated.

FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF SA announces mask mandate for upcoming outdoor events Monday, Sept. 6, the College of William and Mary’s Student Assembly Instagram account announced that masks will be required for convocation, the football game and the Echosmith concert. Convocation takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 8, while both the football game and concert will be on Saturday, Sept. 11. Despite all these events taking place outdoors, the recent rise in COVID-19 cases at the College has caused concern among students and faculty.

This announcement follows the Panhellenic Council’s decision on Sunday, Sept. 5 to change the first weekend of sorority recruitment to a virtual format.

It is unclear as of now whether the College administration will update the current number of COVID-19 cases among students on the online COVID dashboard, along with the safety policies.

BRIEF BY LULU DAWES / THE FLAT HAT

A THOUSAND WORDS

LULU DAWES / THE FLAT HAT

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

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

Aug. 24, the article “College attempts rebound from COVID cuts ranging from 2-12%” falsely stated, “Agouris shared that above 97% of the faculty and staff population have received the COVID vaccination, with few faculty choosing to leave their positions at the College.” This was corrected to “Agouris shared that above 97% of the faculty and staff population have been compliant with the updated vaccination policy by receiving the vaccination or listing a verified exemption, with few faculty choosing to leave their positions at the College.”

̶ Terry McAuliffe

Branching Out, Looking Forward

Meg Jones 22 reflects on her time at the College, prepares for life post-graduation CHARLES COLEMAN // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR As Meg Jones ’22 begins her last year at the College of William and Mary, she reflects on the meaningful moments that have shaped her past three years. Jones, who is double-majoring in government and sociology with a concentration in social problems, policy and justice, made sure to take advantage of as many personal and professional development opportunities as she could. From being an Orientation aide to conducting research in the sociology department, Jones has dipped her toes in a number of the countless opportunities that the College has to offer.

Among her various involvements at the College, Jones described her role as development coordinator for Branch Out Alternative Breaks as her most meaningful.

Originally joining the program to participate in community outreach, the experience also reshaped her understanding of social justice. Now, Jones is responsible for organizing partnerships with students and service opportunities.

“Alternative Breaks happen every fall, winter and spring break and build upon long-lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with local organizations to teach participants about a social justice issue and how community members are impacted,” Jones wrote in an email. “...I’m now the Development Coordinator for the organization and am motivated by my desire to teach other students about intentional and informed community partnership and to continually improve our program’s accessibility, anti-racist practices, and solidarity work.”

Along with this position, Jones has also been a resident assistant, Orientation aide, a member of the Students’ Rights Initiative with the Student Assembly and a Social Justice Policy Initiative Fellow with the Sociology Department. In her position as a fellow, Jones assists with research focusing on attaining an accurate history of Black residents in Williamsburg.

“I’m motivated by our work’s importance to the local community and unwriting of dominant, whitewashed narratives, as we research local Black history and the many instances of displacement and disenfranchisement the Black community here has been forced to overcome,” Jones said.

Through all of her experiences, Jones emphasized that the most important component of her success has been the community she formed. She attributes the positive environment that she found to the constant support she feels from everyone at the College.

COURTESY PHOTO / MEG JONES

Jones is a sociology and government double major and a social justice policy initiative fellow.

“I think what will stick out to me forever about this place is the wonderful, wonderful people here,” Jones said. “I can’t even pick out one particular experience, but at some point during my time here, everything just seemed to click. The people around me, from professors to friends to building services staff, genuinely wanted me to succeed and cared about my well-being in addition to that of those around me. I think that warmth has been so meaningful to me in too many instances to count.”

With regard to her academic pursuits, Jones is working toward fulfilling majors in sociology and government. She has a particular interest in inequities across education, housing and criminal justice that are based on racial and socioeconomic status. In terms of career aspirations, Jones is considering everything from pursuing a doctorate in sociology to working as a legal aid for groups that work to empower people to defend themselves in civil courts.

Whatever path she follows, it is clear that Jones will be an active member in her future community.

“I’ve already decided to take at least

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COURTESY PHOTO / MEG JONES

Jones (right) is the developmental coordinator for Branch Out Alternative Breaks.

a year to breathe and recuperate, as I’ve never really let myself stop and pick my head up,” Jones wrote. “...I want to give myself this time before heading back into schooling because I want to be completely sure — I’m big into gut feelings and internal clarity, and I’m really lacking it going into graduation. I’m trying to give myself some grace through this time ‘off ’ and really figure out where and what and who I want to be.”

Outside of her extracurricular and academic interests, Jones has a number of hobbies and passions that form part of her identity.

“I really love playing and watching soccer, especially women’s soccer -go Thorns,” Jones wrote. “I also enjoy running, singing and playing piano, melodramatically listening to Lorde on repeat, and vegan cooking and baking.

I’ve become a mean cross-stitcher over quarantine, and I’m also trying to become somewhat knowledgeable about ‘cinema.’

And, of course, I am very passionate about Halloween and am already planning my costume for this year.”

Throughout her time at the College, Jones has used a specific mindset to help motivate and encourage herself to do more. She described her positive mindset as a critical part of her success.

“Truly a huge question, but I think I consistently try to center community in what I do, so I’d say I’m most motivated by the fact that a better world is possible if only we choose to work together, build upon one another’s strengths, and center justice and kindness over all else,” Jones wrote.

Despite the immensely positive experiences Jones has had during her time at the College, she wasn’t without times of confusion and doubt. She described how the highs and lows she’s had helped shape who she has become.

“I think I just want to note that my W&M experience was by no means perfect,” Jones wrote. “In fact, I almost transferred my freshman year. ... I struggled a lot with my mental health, especially during COVID. And don’t even get me started on some particular decisions made by W&M admin over my four years. But I want to remind everyone that there are support systems out there for you, and seeking them out and asking for help are signs of strength!

We are all meaningful parts of this campus, and we all deserve to feel and help others feel like we all belong here. I hope that all reading this know that they are deserving of support and belonging, too.”

opinions College’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate: sound university policy Alan Kennedy

FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

In the absence of COVID-19 vaccination mandates by federal, state and local governments, universities in the United States are increasingly requiring vaccination in order to protect their students, faculty and staff from the coronavirus pandemic. Here, the College of William and Mary COVID-19 response team announced July 29 that vaccination against COVID-19 is mandatory for “all students, faculty, and staff,” with limited disability-related and religious exemptions.

No matter what the anti-vaxxers and pundits say, the College’s mandate is sound public policy.

The lesson is that voluntary enforcement is insufficient in the area of public health, just as it is insufficient in areas such as environmental regulation, gun safety and criminal justice reform.

Scientific studies from the Center for Disease Control indicate that unvaccinated people are about 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and are almost five times more likely to be infected than people who are fully vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccines are working, though the Delta variant is reducing effective rates and making booster shots necessary. As the CDC director said at a White House briefing, “This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk.”

And yet, for a vaccine that is free and readily available to most Americans, with relatively minor documented side effects, voluntary vaccination has been insufficient, and vaccination and mask mandates have drawn pushback, from disinformation spread online, to lawsuits by those required to be vaccinated, to violence threatened against school board members voting on mask measures.

At the national, state and local levels, vaccination rates have stagnated, despite incentives that have included $1 million drawings, free beer and even free cannabis in some jurisdictions. The lesson is that voluntary enforcement is insufficient in the area of public health, just as it is insufficient in areas such as environmental regulation, gun safety and criminal justice reform. For those who study policy, failure of voluntary enforcement is disappointing but not surprising.

Only 52% of the U.S. population (63% of adults over 18) is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Virginia has only marginally higher vaccination levels, with 56.4% (67.5% of adults over 18) of the population fully vaccinated. In many local jurisdictions across the country, less than half of the population is fully vaccinated. However, in a welcome contrast to low levels of COVID-19 vaccination elsewhere, College community members have not missed their shots.

As news editor Molly Parks observed in the Aug. 24 issue of The Flat Hat, vaccination levels at the College jumped about 20% for students and employees after the mandate’s announcement to an impressive 93% vaccination rate among students and 90% vaccination rate among faculty and staff members. Such nearly universal levels indicate widespread compliance with the mandate and suggest that members of the College community recognize the public health implications.

Moreover, the College is in good company regarding mandatory vaccination. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, more than 800 college and university campuses, including dozens of Virginia higher education institutions, now require COVID-19 vaccines for at some or all students, faculty,or staff, and Fox News reported that the number of schools with a mandate “continues to grow, after the FDA granted full approval to Pfizer’s two-dose coronavirus shot.”

The College’s mandate is also on sound legal footing, especially after a trial judge, unanimous appellate panel and Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a federal lawsuit by students who had challenged Indiana University’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. The students had argued that the university’s mandate violated their constitutional rights to “bodily integrity, autonomy and medical choice,” despite availability of religious, ethical and medical exemptions.

Notably, in affirming Indiana University’s policy, Judge Frank Easterbrook, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, cited the case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905). In Jacobson, the Supreme Court upheld a smallpox vaccination mandate by Cambridge based on a Massachusetts authorization law, noting that U.S. public schools long required vaccinations for diseases, and highlighting the “evils of a smallpox epidemic that imperiled an entire population.”

In the Indiana University mandate appeal, the appellate court held that universities may impose measures designed to protect their community members from evils of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Each university may decide what is necessary to keep other students safe in a congregate setting,” wrote Judge Easterbrook. “Vaccination protects not only the vaccinated persons but also those who come in contact with them, and at a university close contact is inevitable.”

Alan Kennedy J.D. ’09, Ph.D., is a lecturer of public policy. Email Alan at ahkennedy@wm.edu.

To view citations visit flathatnews.com.

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

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

GUEST COLUMN

Removal of campus mailboxes causes extreme inconvenience without reason Jamie Holt

Now, my colleagues on The Flat Hat and I have been back this past week to find less horrible lines, but there FLAT HAT PHOTOS EDITOR is one other major issue in the new system that I’d like Let me start this off by saying that I in no way am to bring up: there is no way to determine how important placing any blame on the staff and employees of the a package or delivery may be. The email you receive for postal service window. They provide an invaluable that Amazon package you’ve waited for all week is the service to our community and work tirelessly to provide same notification you’d get for a free Kilwins promotional us with our mail. But if we’re going to discuss the new coupon. So instead of being handed your ever-sosystem at the post office, then simply put, there are important mail, you’re given something that will most some problems. likely go in the trash and you’re left to just come back Now, speaking as a senior, I will admit that I and many and try again. While I know the mailboxes will not be of my peers are pretty stuck in our old ways. I mean, look reopened (which would just return us to the old system), at the reaction to changes at Marketplace (I don’t think I feel this could be simply fixed with a few different they’re that bad, but that’s an argument for another day). email options that students could receive. While being In regard to the new mail system, I’m sure that I am too specific in regards to the piece of mail would be not the only one who was frustrated to find a 30-to-40unbearable for the employees due to the sheer amount of minute queue when trying to pick up packages last week. mail received every day, even just simply differentiating Yes, people returned to campus and everyone was trying between “you have a package” and “you have a letter” to get their stuff, but the wait was almost unbearable. would help leaps and bounds in my opinion.

I walked in only to give up and try again another day.

While I am writing this simply as a customer of the The few times that I did decide to wait, shuffling one tile system and have no idea how the internal workings of forward solicited a reaction akin to scoring a goal in a our post office function, I feel that this implementation soccer game. couldn’t be that hard to achieve. This would help students decide if they need to go visit the postal window today or if they could wait for another piece of mail to arrive or possibly just wait for a better day, cutting down both waiting line times and student frustration. Not only that, but I would hope this would make the jobs of the staff a little less stressful as I am sure they can be when the line wraps up and around the spiral staircase in the Sadler Center (not an exaggeration, I promise).

Jamie Holt ‘22 is a senior double majoring in photojournalism and French & Francophone Studies. She is a photos editor for The Flat Hat, a photographer for Tribe Athletics and a member of the Panhellenic community.

GRAPHIC BY TARA VASANTH / Email Jamie at jtholt@email.

THE FLAT HAT wm.edu.

INDEPENDENT GRAPHIC

New students have the world at their disposal GRAPHIC BY TARA VASANTH / THE FLAT HAT

THE FLAT HAT

Page 4

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

STAFF COLUMN

The resurgence of the Instagram photo dump: let’s #MakeInstagramCasualAgain our world, and it’s even changed the way some of us pick out our clothes for the day, decide what to do, who to hang out with — the FLAT HAT COPY CHIEF list goes on.

However, I am also forever thankful for the ways that social A few months into the pandemic, I texted a close friend about media has given me a glimpse into the lives of people I would Instagram. Virginia had a stay-at-home order and classes were otherwise only know as the girl who sits two rows behind me in over, so what else was there to think about, I guess? When it was no my government class, or the guy who was in my voting bloc one longer safe to see our friends and family in person, all eyes turned year at a high school Model United Nations conference. Instead to digital spaces. Instagram became one of the platforms that no of seeing curated and edited posts of friends at a party or at longer served as an extension of ourselves, but what we relied on brunch (not that I am hating on the occasional brunch ‘gram), I’ve to tell our stories. From the confines of our own homes, we became enjoyed scrolling through photo carousels of haphazardly-thrownour online depictions of ourselves — every post and comment a together midnight snacks and blurry shots from your backyard or way of signaling to our communities that we were alive, that we your dog’s face at a funny angle. I see people’s priorities in their were still interacting with the world around us, no matter how posts. I see their heart and soul in the “mundane” (but not so different it looked. mundane for them) and random moments they choose to share But something changed as a result. with the world; the small insights and glimpses into lives I would We noticed the Facebook-ification of Instagram, and I don’t know nothing about otherwise. mean the fact that Mark Zuckerberg and co. acquired the photoI understand the irony in my bashing “curated” content despite sharing app back in 2012. I noticed that people in my age range, the fact that photo dumps are to an extent curated, as well — but I college-age students from think there’s some fun in their late teens to midthat. Out of all the photos twenties, started posting you took this summer, less and less about their why did you choose the everyday lives and only 10 that you did for this posted during those more post? I’ve especially ‘grammable moments — loved how this summer football games, weddings, has been particularly birthdays, brunch — what inviting for this kind of happened to pretty leaf content. The optimism Instagram? (Pretty leaf that vaccines have brought instagram: the idea that mixed with a (though you could see something somewhat misguided, cool, take a picture of it somewhat premature, but because you think it looks understandable) countrycool, like a pretty leaf, and wide itch to move past just put it on Instagram lockdowns and mask because why not). mandates has made people Maybe I just live in the appreciate life more. We’ve past, back to a time where realized that life is too we were in middle school short to see a pretty sunset, and shared a little too take a photo of it, and not GRAPHIC BY SYDNEY KEHOE AND HEADSHOTS BY ANGELA VASISHTA much on Instagram. But share it because some of AND KAYLA PAYNE / THE FLAT HAT I miss the innocence and us have not yet signed on the fun of that. I’ve always been a big proponent of taking pictures to the #MakeInstagramCasualAgain movement. I hope people in all and videos of every moment — the good, the bad, the mundane. walks of life continue to post their cut-up fruit and mirror selfies at We’ve seen how the pandemic has warped our sense of time.

HomeGoods and blurry shots of their friends.

I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I left for spring break I come to you, as a person who is so perpetually online and sophomore year, the world changed, and suddenly I am gearing up rolls their eyes when people become preachy about social media for the final moments of my undergraduate career. use, to say that this is one of the best social media trends to come But in the past year, when social events were put on hold and from what has been a dark time for us all. Not only do photo there were no longer ‘grammable moments to share besides those dumps encourage us to live in the moment more, but they allow of years’ past to both reminisce and look forward to a future where us to preserve what would otherwise be forgotten pieces of time, we could hug and dance and eat and be merry with our friends and I think we will all want to remember how we felt in weird again, all we had were photo dumps. times like these.

I think it’s naive at this point to imagine a life without social Nina Raneses ‘22 is a government major and serves as The Flat media. As someone who was raised on these apps, I understand Hat’s copy chief. She is also a copy chief for Flat Hat Magazine and (and have experienced and studied) how social platforms have writes for the APIA studies program’s journal, Art & Hatsuye. On forever changed the way that children develop and the way that campus, she also works as a resident assistant and in the Cohen they socialize. I know social media has brought a lot of evil into Career Center. Email Nina at caraneses@email.wm.edu.

STAFF COLUMN

Changes to Marketplace meal swipe system complicate and limit student food options

Nina Raneses

Alyssa Slovin FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR

It seems that the College of William and Mary can never leave well enough alone. After a year of take-out containers at the campus dining halls, my friends and I could not have been happier to return to fairly normal dining, since virtually every student and staff member is now vaccinated. However, after stepping foot into our favorite dining hall, Marketplace, it immediately became clear that the system was different.

Marketplace has always been a unique dining hall.

While Center Court at Sadler Center and Caf have always been all-you-can-eat style, Marketplace allots one entrée, two sides and a drink for a meal swipe. Well, at least until this semester. Now, meal swipes equal $8 the minute you step into Marketplace — nowhere else — and we’re now even more limited as to what we get for a swipe at this dining hall than before. This change is not only an inconvenient new organizational system, but it also drastically changes what you can get for a swipe. For example, the other day, I got a rice dish with vegetables and tofu from the new Oodles station. In the past, this would presumably be considered an entrée, and I would be able to get two sides as well as a drink. Now, after asking good ol’ Christian From Marketplace, I could either get one cheap side or a drink, not even both. This drastically reduces the food we can get for a swipe.

Due to my busy schedule, I always like to make sure I’m getting enough food at the dining halls to sustain me until my next meal, and considering the price of a meal plan, as well as the fact that the system is supposed to make dining easy for college students, this change does not work for most students’ lifestyles. Every time I’ve been at Marketplace, I hear the buzz of students asking their friends what they’re supposed to do and complaining about the drastic change. Lines are much longer because the changes are confusing, and they also make the checkout process take longer overall.

I should clarify that students are not confused because they are not paying attention. It’s confusing because not everything is marked by price. For example, when I got fajitas at the entrée box, there was no price to be seen, so I had to just guess how much I thought it was worth and decide any extra food based on that guess. When I tried to ask about the price, no one could give me a straight answer. Not everything is labelled, and if the dining hall is now dependent on pricing, that’s not something we can just overlook and pretend doesn’t matter.

STAFF COLUMN

Studying in DC offers many internship opportunities for students, but program is often misrepresented

Caitlin Noe FLAT HAT OPINIONS ASSOC. EDITOR

I knew I wanted to participate in the College of William and Mary’s DC program prior to attending the College. As a government major, finding a college with an excellent government department was important to me. I also wanted proximity to DC based on the assumption that I would eventually want to complete an internship there. I had considered the urban settings of American University and George Washington University, but both of those schools lacked the college community feel that I wanted.

When I heard about the DC program at the College, I was very excited. It meant I could have both the feeling of a college community and the DC internship experience I wanted as a government major. I had high expectations going into the program this past summer.

My experience in DC met some of those expectations. Internship experiences varied but I heard mostly positive things from others about their internships. I interned with the National Criminal Justice Association and loved it. Additionally,

the program found us incredible apartments in good locations in the city. We also were able to room with others in the program, so we had a built-in group of people to explore the city with throughout the summer. But the program has two main flaws in the way it is presented to students.

First, it is advertised to seem like the Washington Center would do more to help its students find internships. The website boasts that each student in the program will have a “guaranteed” internship. The Washington Center provided students with a database with a fairly extensive list of internship opportunities last spring. The list was helpful in the sense that it gave us somewhere to start. However, the list included many internships that were extremely competitive. I was able to secure an internship from that list after applying to about 30 places. The applications were very time-consuming and exhausting on top of my heavy spring semester course load. Some people did not even get an internship from that list in the spring. I know of at least five people who did not have internships when we arrived in DC. The “guarantee” was not guaranteed in a timely fashion. I believe everyone ended up getting one eventually, but some people were in DC for about a month before they did.

Second, the class element was never properly explained to students.

I was under the impression, as were most other people in my class, that over the summer we would be taking an intensive two-week speaker series course and then would complete an

internship for academic credit for the remainder of the summer. However, we were assigned a good amount of classwork on top of our internships.

We had to write a memo almost every weekend and a 10-12 page paper, while working between 20-40 hours a week. I feel I could have handled this work better if I had been more prepared for it. We were given the syllabus of how much schoolwork we would have about three days prior to our internships. It was also frustrating that the amount of classwork was not explained because it cut back on the time we could spend enjoying the city. However, this was not the case for everyone. My American Politics course was more rigorous than the other two courses offered through the DC Summer Institutes, but the Washington Center never mentioned this difference in workload between the classes. These aspects of the program are important to keep in mind when considering participating in a William and Mary DC Summer Institute. The DC program should do a better job of explaining and preparing students for what the program actually entails. I would only recommend it to people who are aware of the elements of the program the DC center does not adequately explain to students interested in studying in DC. It can be worthwhile, but it is also very intense.

Caitlin Noe ‘24 is a Government and Psychology double major. She is also a member of Amnesty International and Film Society. She participated in the DC Summer Institute American Politics program this summer. Email Caitlin at cjnoe@email.wm.edu.

It s not a way to solve any problems that concern students besides a way to get us to pay more for something we used to get for less.

If the school wanted to make this change, they should have made this information public before students had to choose their dining plan. For students who eat at Marketplace a lot, they could potentially run out of meal swipes much earlier than they expected. It’s not just a change in organization at the dining hall, it’s a change to all the portions.

Potentially, this could have been a good change if meal swipes in Marketplace could now count toward everything. This dining hall has a whole section of sushi, candy and snacks that students cannot count toward a meal swipe, and they must now use their dining dollars or Express to buy those instead. If I could now get sushi or a Starbucks iced coffee along with a meal swipe, I could definitely see this system paying off for students. But that’s not the case. It’s not a way to solve any problems that concern students besides a way to get us to pay more for something we used to get for less. Even water costs money there, and I have never been to a restaurant or cafeteria that charges for tap water before. Even at Starbucks, a store known for price gouging, a venti water is free.

I’m not going to lie and say I’ll never go to Marketplace ever again, because I love its convenience and selection, but it is just another example of a change at the College that complicates student life for their own benefit.

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.

variety

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

THE FLAT HAT

¦ Tuesday, September 7, 2021 ¦ Page 5

To ‘yes and’

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/T HE FL AT HA T

COURTESY IMAGE / S--! My Glasses, by ANTA GUEYE

or not to ‘yes and’

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T LU

Acting troupe Shakespeare in the Dark performs interactive scene festival as fall 2021 debut MADELEINE HARRIS // FLAT HAT VARIETY ASSOC. EDITOR Saturday, Sept. 5, the College of William & Mary’s acting troupe Shakespeare in the Dark made its fall 2021 semester debut in the Crim Dell Meadow with an interactive scene festival titled “Sunken Barden.”

At the beginning of the event, club co-president Sam Suslavich ’22 declared to the crowd gathered to form a line and draw a character out of a hat. The characters were from various Shakespearean plays such as : Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Love’s Labour’s Lost. Once each participant was assigned a character and a play, they divided up into their respective casts. They then had only 30 minutes to learn the scene and rehearse it with their choices of blocking, props and costumes.

Co-president Maggie Sheridan ’22 shared that this was the club’s first time ever running this event.

“We basically grabbed a bunch of props and costumes and hoped for the best,” Sheridan said.

“I’ve been doing a numbers game in my head for how many scenes I was going to have to prepare this whole week, and apparently it was the exact correct number. So we lucked out.”

The participants took full advantage of what the Crim Dell Meadow had to offer set and propwise. Many different impromptu props and set pieces from a picnic table, to a lamp post, to trees and even dirt were utilized during performances.

In Hamlet, when the gravedigger was happily digging graves, he tossed dirt behind him as it was shoveled. Some audience members were in the splash zone, though they didn’t seem to mind because of how entertaining it was. Another creative use of the area occurred in Love’s Labour’s Lost. Immediately when the scene began, the audience member portraying Longaville embodied the spirit of Mar vel’s Spider-Man as he climbed up a tree to the lowest branch that must have been at least six feet off the ground, and pretended to take a nap.

A favorite moment of the crowd occurred when the participant playing Feste in Twelfth Night was tasked with singing a verse of Shakespeare.

They chose to sing “What is Love” by Haddaway and the entire audience started clapping to the beat of the song. It really showcased the community and camaraderie Shakespeare in the Dark offers at their events.

Club secretar y Joshua Mutterperl ’24, shared that Shakespeare in the Dark rehearsals are a space where you can freely experiment, determine what is good and what is bad, as they have the freedom to make mistakes.

“It is important because I think a lot of times when you do theater in certain groups, it’ll be like, ‘I have to play it safe because I have to seem good all of the time,’” Mutterperl said. “It’s okay to try something and be like, ‘Oh, no, that didn’t work.

I’ll do it right next time.’”

Additionally, Sheridan explained that there are very few characters in Shakespeare where the actors’s gender is vital to the plot of the

performance, so it makes their shows welcoming to gender nonconforming actors.

“Shakespeare doesn’t have time to rhyme ‘he’ or ‘she’ anyways, so you don’t have to worry so much about that,” Sheridan said.

Club secretary Cecelia Eure ’22 added that another benefit of performing Shakespeare’s work as a student-run organization is that his work is in the public domain, so the performers and director can change parts of it without having to worry about legal issues.

“It’s free, so that gives us the liberty to do whatever we want to with it, which I think is like the most fun part,” Eure said.

Suslavich explained that because there was such an unexpectedly large turnout, the festival ended up going 30 minutes over the projected end time. He shared that he was not only surprised by the number of people, but also by how much fun he ended up having in the simultaneously relaxed but energetic setting.

“Today was a fun time,” Suslavich said. “I hope that people who participated just enjoyed it and are excited to continue doing theater in college.”

Shakespeare in the Dark is very flexible in how they select their performances. The typical process is that club members propose their ideas for a show and after deliberation among the club they decide which route to take and get started working on the chosen show. They’ve had shows set in ancient Greece, the 1920s, a radio play in space and a 1600s period piece. Sheridan shared that the different contexts can help the audience understand the Shakespearean language more easily.

To hear more about Shakespeare in the Darks upcoming events and meetings, check out their Instagram page @shakespeareinthedarkwm or their Facebook page Shakespeare in the Dark.

It s free, so that gives us the liberty to do whatever we want to with it, which I think is like the most fun part

Page 6

THE FLAT HAT

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

live from williamsburg: 7th grade sketch comedy

7th Grade Sketch Comedy presents first show of school year titled Bicurious George TEDDY CHUNIAS // FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER

TEDDY CHUNIAS / THE FLAT HAT

Vivacious, high-octane, scintillating. All words that can be used to describe 7th Grade Sketch Comedy’s opening show of the year.

Friday, Sept. 3, flocks of twamps descended upon Ewell Hall to watch the 7th Grade Sketch Comedy’s performance of Bicurious George. After weaving through the labyrinth that is Ewell, there was a long line of excited patrons waiting to see the show. With 15 minutes left until the start of the show, there was such a large crowd that the only spots remaining in the room were standing room only. The group was shattering expectations, and the show hadn’t even started yet.

Sitting in the theatre waiting for the show to begin, there was a palpable energy produced by the crowd and the aura of 7th Grade Comedy. There was a sense that this was going to be an event — something we have all been sorely missing and wanting for so long.

Not only did 7th Grade Sketch Comedy maintain the energy throughout the night, they amplified it. The 11-member cast served up a litany of sketches, resembling a higher-tempo Saturday Night Live.

The group was able to hit a range of emotions in their show. According to Bilal Mahmood ‘23, the group’s performance was raunchy at times, but the group was also able to keep the audience hooked through more serious sketches.

Through a mixture of well-set-up sketches and then short slap-stick or puns, 7th Grade Comedy captivated the audience in a non-stop display of comedy at its finest. Their performance could have easily passed as a professional comedy show. Even though everyone was wearing masks, I felt the most connected with fellow students that I have since the pandemic started. There was something about being a part of the audience and the collective consciousness of the night that wouldn’t have been possible last semester.

Hollis Bannister ’24, who had watched 7th Grade Comedy’s pre-recorded show in April was impressed with the energy the group brought in-person.

“I was expecting similar vibes to the pre-recorded show, but 7th Grade Comedy was much funnier, higher energy and exciting live,” Bannister said.

Clearly the relationship between the performers and the audience was the main difference Friday night. The performers fed off the crowd and the crowd fed off the performers. A beautiful demonstration of the importance of a collective event to the wellbeing of a community.

The crowd favorite seemed to be “Grilled Cheese,” a rather risque sketch involving a director who claimed to have done the deed plenty of times presiding over a sex scene.

What ensued was an absurdly contrived sex scene, which was seemingly written by someone who had never experienced sex before. The scene started off with one actor saying deadpan “I am ready to penetrate” and the other saying “I am ready to receive.” The two actors then proceeded to talk about what position to use because “there are so many and I know all of them.” They decided upon “the doggy way, where we have sex like the animal.”

The only person in the sketch who raised objections to the bizarre sex scene was the assistant director, but his cries for a realistic sex scene were met by bewilderment from the actors and crew that saw no problem with how the scene was written.

The scene’s absurdity climaxed with the actress doing the bridge pose and the actor awkwardly flailing underneath her. It was a sight to behold. The assistant director, who was visibly shaken at this point, abruptly cut the scene and attempted to call out the director for never having had sex before. Yet, the actors and crew chastised the assistant director for ruining a perfectly good scene. At this point, the assistant director saw the writing on the wall and asked each actor and crew member if they had previously had sex with the director; to which each responded by placing their pointer finger on the side of their mouth and brandishing a coy look.

The answer to the assistant director’s question was all too clear.

“Bicurious George” was comedic genius from start to finish and my words cannot even do the the comedy showcase justice. I would recommend attending 7th Grade Comedy’s future performances if you are interested in laughing for 50 minutes straight at witty, unconventional comedy with an energetic flair. At only $1, the price of entry is more than worth it.

sports

THE FLAT HAT ¦ Tuesday, September 7, 2021 ¦ Page 7

FOOTBALL

VOLLEYBALL

Cavaliers blank Tribe in opener

Tribe loses nail-biters

College shut out in 43-0 domination

JAKE FORBES FLAT HAT ASSOC. SPORTS EDITOR

JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT

Graduate student Julia Brown amassed 21 kills and eight blocks in a five-set thriller against Akron, but the Zips recovered from a 2-1 set deficit to capture the pivotal fifth set and the victory.

Brown s heroics not enough as Tribe falls to Zips, Eagles LEXIE HIESTAND, NATHAN SEIDEL FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITORS The Charlottesville tournament road trip did not pan out well for Tribe volleyball. It went in with a 2-0 record, and left with its record back to .500 after falling to Winthrop (1-3) and then another loss versus Akron (4-2) the following day.

Though the Tribe started out strong against the Eagles in the first set, seizing and maintaining an early lead, it faltered later in the match for an overall loss of 1-3.

Winthrop kept the first set within three points, but the Tribe—led by junior libero Anna Porter’s dominant serves and digs, and graduate student Julia Brown’s kills—held on narrowly to the lead.

Eagle Nikkia Benitez led a surge late in the first set, allowing the Eagles to catch up by four during the match point, but the Tribe claimed the 25-23 victory.

The second and third sets appeared nearly identical.

Withrop got an early lead, and

the Tribe never regained its momentum. The Tribe stayed close until the 13-15 mark, when Winthrop went on an unchecked run. The Tribe then plateued at 16, for matching final scores of 25-16.

The Tribe regained some momentum in the fourth, but it was not enough to force a fifth set. Though the Eagles took a lead again, the Tribe actually did manage to surge ahead--the first lead change of the match. It did not last long though, and the Eagles eventually won out with a 25-20 victory.

Brown had another impressive double-digit kill performance, and Porter and senior hitter Anne Louise Seekford contributed majorly to the stat sheet as well with 20 and 12 digs respectively, continuing their impressive totals on the year.

The tournament continued the next day, where the Tribe dropped another match against Akron (4-2). Despite a virtuoso effort from Brown that included 21 kills and eight blocks, Akron bested William and Mary (now

2-2) in a five-set match to knock the College back down to a tied record on the year.

The Zips started out hot, opening up a 9-4 lead in the first set, and kept the momentum, capturing the set 25-11 and holding the Tribe to a .000 hitting percentage to boot.

Things looked grim for the Tribe after the Zips opened up a 7-3 lead in the second set, but the Tribe fought it back to 15-12.

The teams traded points for the next several exchanges and one of Brown’s many kills tied it back up for the Tribe 21-21. The second set remained deadlocked until 24-24 when sophomore middle blocker Sabrina Malcolm nailed a kill and Seekford recorded an ace to level the scoreline at 1-1.

The Tribe kept the momentum going to begin the third set, scoring the first three points thanks to a kill and block from Brown along with an ace from redshirt sophomore outside hitter Sydney Taylor. The Zips were on their heels for most of the period, falling back 18-13 and prey to

another kill by Brown to make it 2-1 Tribe.

The fourth set was tight all the way through, with the Zips gaining a 22-18 advantage after being down 11-7. The Tribe scored four straight to tie it back up, but the Zips went 4-2 over the next six points to force the pivotal fifth set.

The final set was also neckand-neck, showing 10-10 on the scoreboard. But it was the Zips who pulled it out, scoring five of the next seven points to take a 15-12 win in the set and 3-2 victory overall.

Brown led the Tribe with 21 kills.

Malcom and Seekford contributed eight and six, respectively. Brown also paced the College with eight blocks, and senior outside hitter Lauren Merrill added four. Senior setter Amy Schwem recorded 28 assists, and junior libero Anna Porter notched 14 digs. Seekford also recorded 12 digs.

The College returns to action next Friday, Sept. 10, at home against Hampton as it attempts to get back over .500 for the year.

The Pirates are 1-3 in their 2021-

William and Mary (0-1) lost 0-43 against Virginia last Saturday night, Sept. 3, on the road at Scott Stadium.

“The goal is always to win the game, no matter who you’re playing,” Head Coach Mike London said in a press conference. “There’s a lot of good things, but obviously there’s a lot of things we need to work on as well.”

After winning the coin toss, the Tribe opted to start the game by receiving. Virginia forced a quick three before flexing their muscles on special teams. The Wahoos returned senior Will Michael’s punt well into William and Mary territory, setting up an easy field goal to jump ahead with an early 3-0 lead.

After giving up a field goal on Virginia’s opening possession, the Tribe defense took a stand and kept the Wahoos off the board until the middle of the second quarter when quarterback Brennan Armstrong rolled out left and ran into the endzone for a touchdown.

Late in the second quarter, the Tribe recovered a Virginia punt fumble on the Wahoo 13 yardline. However, the Tribe was forced to punt on fourth down. An unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the Tribe back 15 yards and redshirt freshman Ethan Chang missed the field goal from 42 yards out.

Virginia closed out the half with a 75-yard drive, pushing them to 17-0 at the half.

“We’ve got to worry about what we’re doing, not what they’re doing,” London said.

“That happened, it pushed us back, and we missed the kick.”

William and Mary’s defense stood strong at the start of the second half, forcing a key three and out from the Hoos. On their ensuing possession, freshman Darius Wilson threw to redshirt freshman Tyler Rose for a 20-yard completion, the longest of the night for the Tribe. Later in the drive, William and Mary faced a fourth down with two to go situation and kept the offense on the field. However, the Tribe were penalized for delay of game, and Virginia blocked Chang’s 36-yard field goal.

Virginia sealed the game with three touchdowns and a field goal on their next four possessions. The Wahoos finished with a total of 545 total yards, compared to just 183 from the Tribe. Armstrong finished with 339 yards, two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns for Virginia.

“We’ve got a long way to go, and it was a great opportunity to see what you need to get fixed and how you can fix it,” London said. “So make the corrections here and get ready for our next opponent.”

William and Mary will host Lafayette at 6 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 13 at Zable Stadium.

THE FLAT HAT PASSIONATE ABOUT SPORTS OR JOURNALISM? COME HELP THE SPORTS STAFF COVER THE TRIBE!

EMail us: flathatsports@gmail.com

FIELD HOCKEY

Tribe falters after early lead Nittany Lions go on 6-0 run after first quarter JAKE FORBES FLAT HAT ASSOC. SPORTS EDITOR William and Mary (0-1) lost 7-2 against No. 16 Penn State (2-0) on Sunday, Aug. 29 at Busch Field in its season opener.

The Tribe jumped out to an early lead when sophomore Mollie Schuma scored in the fourth minute. Junior Lily Saunders ran the ball up the left endline and passed it to junior Lauren Curran, who redirected it towards the crease.

Schuma took control of the ball and scored underneath the goalkeeper. The goal marked Schuma’s first collegiate score and Curran’s first collegiate assist.

However, the Nittany Lions wasted no time as Sophia Ladieuz scored one minute later off an assist from Meghan Reese.

The score flip-flopped one more time. The Tribe jumped out in front again after a goal

from Saunders in the 13th minute. Junior Tabby Billingham centered a pass from the right endline after a foul and Saunders redirected the ball up over the goalkeeper. The Tribe ended the first quarter with a 2-1 lead.

The Nittany Lions took control in the second quarter, scoring four unanswered goals to take a 5-2 lead at the half.

Anna Simon scored the first three goals, all of them from penalty corners. Reese added the fourth goal at the end of the half.

The Nittany Lions scored once in each of the last two quarters to make the final score 7-2.

Penn State outshot the Tribe 18-8 and totaled 11 penalty corners, compared to four from the Tribe. Senior goalkeeper Kimi Jones finished the game with five saves for the Tribe.

William and Mary will return to Busch Field to host No. 8 Virginia at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4.

JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT

Despite the Tribe s defensive effort, the Nittany Lions caught fire in the second half, scoring five goals en route to the 7-2 win.

Page 8

THE FLAT HAT

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

COVID-19

Governor candidate Terry McAuliffe meets with college officials

College leaders join in community discussion, encourage students and Virginians to receive COVID-19 vaccine LULU DAWES FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR

Tuesday, Aug. 24, Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe sat down with community leaders, health advisors from the College of William and Mary and local representatives to discuss the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations. McAuliffe, who has put an emphasis on implementing vaccine mandates in Virginia schools and workplaces during his campaign, held an open dialogue to discuss the College’s overall experience with the pandemic and their success handling cases and vaccinations.

“Every student needs to be vaccinated, so I’ve been very aggressive on this,” McAuliffe said.

“We’ve got to get rid of this COVID-19 as fast as we possibly can. I am very upset that 90 million Americans have not gotten it yet. Our children are back in school wearing masks because these people refuse to get vaccinated.”

College President Katherine Rowe, as well as Student Assembly President Meghana Boojala ’22 and Graduate Council President Richard Reksoatmodjo, were in attendance to represent the College. In addition, three of the College’s COVID-19 Response Team leaders also participated in the open exchange, including Chief Operating Officer Amy Sebring M.P.P. ’95, Tribe Athletics Chief Medical Officer Virginia Wells and Chief Technology Officer Corinne Picataggi.

Virginia Senator Monty Mason ’89 and State Delegate Mike Mullin were also present.

“It was great to have such leadership in the room,” Boojala said. “I was thankful to get the direct perspective of so many experts. I think everyone’s policies, between William and Mary, the local delegation, the state and Richmond are very aligned in a lot of ways in terms of whether to mandate the vaccines, how to support those underserved communities, and I think it’s really exciting to see everyone aligned in that way.”

McAuliffe kicked off the discussion by asking the eight representatives if they were governor, what would they do going forward regarding the pandemic?

Reksoatmodjo responded first, explaining the importance of remote learning and applauding the support he received from graduate advisors during the transition to virtual classes. Boojala followed up on his point, noting that many students might

LULU DAWES / THE FLAT HAT

Terry McAuliffe, Katherine Rowe and serveral officials of the College held a discussion in the Entrepreneurship Hub.

struggle with remote learning due to home life and Wi-Fi issues and that the College’s hybrid model was able to accommodate a wide array of students.

Rowe pointed to the fact that the College’s response and ability to adapt to the pandemic was reflected in this year’s large application pool.

“It became so evident that the choice of modes was actually the key success factor,” Rowe said regarding the College’s decision to offer remote and hybrid-style classes for the 20-21 school year. “...We had a 23% increase in applications.”

July 29, 2021, the College’s COVID Response Team mandated that all students, staff and faculty must be vaccinated, unless they have an appropriate exemption.

Students who remain unvaccinated without appropriate exemption will be academically withdrawn, and staff and faculty will be placed on unpaid leave or terminated.

As of Aug. 23, 90% of staff and faculty and 93% of students report being vaccinated.

Outside the College’s campus however, the rates remain significantly lower. According to the Virginia Department of Health, only 57.3% of the Commonwealth’s population is fully vaccinated.

“I’m happy with where we are on our campus,” Wells said. “In order to achieve herd immunity, we need to be at a 90-93% vaccination rate, which is

where we are. So that’s great. But we need to be there for the state, for the country.”

While the discussion mainly focused on the campus’ and the greater Williamsburg area’s experience with vaccinations and the virus, McAuliffe briefly mentioned other policy platforms for his campaign, including increasing teachers’ salaries and rebuilding public schools.

“I have 18 very specific proposals, and I would love your input, ideas, to make it better, whatever we have to do,” McAuliffe said. “I won’t make today political, but my opponent has no plans.”

Running against McAuliffe on the Republican ticket is business-outsider Glenn Youngkin.

Youngkin’s campaign website does not feature any policy platforms; however, he has suggested in media appearances decreasing taxes and even eliminating the state income tax, which accounts for over 70% of the state’s revenue.

“I have made the choice to get vaccinated and encourage everyone to join me in doing that, but ultimately it is a personal decision to do so,” Youngkin said in a written statement to The Flat Hat. “Virginia is already struggling to recover from the pandemic due to failed Democratic leadership, and now Terry McAuliffe wants to ‘make life difficult’ for Virginians, businesses, and schools by issuing a government mandate that attempts

to bully them into complying with what McAuliffe and the government thinks is best, and that will clearly evolve into closing down businesses, schools, and locking down Virginia again.”

Despite Younkin’s claim, there is little to suggest that a government mandate will lead to businesses and schools closing — in fact, the Virginia Department of Health website states that as more people are vaccinated, the more people can “slowly return to doing the things we enjoy.”

While Virginia schools and businesses do not currently have a state-issued COVID-19 vaccine mandate, most K-12 and higher education institutions already require students to receive vaccines against diseases such as polio, hepatitis and whooping cough. These diseases, which were once extremely prevalent and harmful in the United States, have been virtually wiped out due to mandated vaccines and herd immunity.

Similar to McAulliffe, Youngkin reached out to the College and met with Rowe on the same day.

“We’ve been pleased to welcome multiple gubernatorial candidates to campus recently,” College spokesperson Suzanne Clavet said in a written statement. “We’re grateful to share our university’s preparations for a healthy semester as well as highlight the efforts of our higher education colleagues around the commonwealth.”

Boojala closed the discussion by attributing the campus’ successful response to the pandemic to the students’ engagement and devotion toward their community.

“I wanted to be here today because William and Mary has really led our educational institutions in dealing with the COVID crisis,” McAuliffe said. “I am so proud that they’ve come out, they’ve always had masks required inside and outside, and now they’re requiring every student to be vaccinated. So they’re leading the way, you know, we’ve got to keep our schools open here in Virginia. I’ve got to build a strong economy as governor and the only way we’re going to be able to do that is to end this horrible pandemic. And if everybody followed the way William and Mary has, we’re gonna be able to do this a lot quicker. They’ve been great. They’re a great example for the rest of Virginia.”

The gubernatorial election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Incumbent Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is unable to run, as Virginia does not allow governors to serve consecutive terms.

CAMPUS

Residence life installs air conditioning units in response to complaints A/C units installed Botetourt, Green and Gold Village and Monroe Hall following freshmen move-in

HEAT from page 1

“There were several events where people in Green and Gold Village were chanting, ‘who are we? GGV! What do we need? A/C!,’” Genett said.

However, additional A/C units are few and far between, largely because of the limited power systems in older campus buildings.

“As Residence Life told residents in an email, the power and ventilation systems in these buildings were not designed to be able to sustain window units in each room,” Zagursky wrote.

“Doing so could cause power outages and other issues, including increased mold and mildew growth.”

Residents in halls with increased A/C window units were instructed to avoid using high-energy appliances, like microwaves or hair dryers, while the A/C is running, signaling the temporary nature of the solution.

However, students like Genett point to the looming threat of climate change, making this temporary solution untenable for the future.

NICK REEDER / THE FLAT HAT

.

“As global warming becomes more of a threat, these situations are only going to get worse from here,” Genett said. “Class of 2026? I’m pretty sure some of them are actually going to die next year.”

However, Zagursky says the College is working on a long-term plan to address the problem of lackluster infrastructure.

“While the steps taken to address the extreme heat are temporary, the university is finalizing a master plan for residence halls that will provide permanent solutions to these issues,” Zagursky wrote. “We expect that plan to be completed in fall 2021 and published on the W&M website. In the meantime, if students have concerns, they may contact living@wm.edu.”

But for students like Cairns, who lived in an un-airconditioned GGV, drastic measures are needed.

“I think it’s time for that building to go,” Cairns said. “I love the community, everybody in my hall is really nice, but the hall itself, it maybe could be used for a different purpose, but not for living.”

POLICY

International security expert talks US involvement with Iraq, Afghanistan Policy-focused discussion examines the current dynamics with US military influence and intervention

POLICY from page 1

what we learned through the process, you know, so I guess, in terms of broader lessons from you know, from Afghanistan from Iraq.”

During the discussion, Ashford described the three main points that contribute to why the war in Afghanistan lasted so long without any significant progress that can be assessed after almost 20 years of military occupation.

Ashford argued that military intervention in middle-eastern countries tends to be self-perpetuating and that the United States’ interventions will continue to remain present until we reach certain goals.

Secondly, Ashford discussed how the United States’ military operations in the Middle East tend to have very broad goals, which allows troops to remain in these regions for extended periods of time. She also explained how throughout a conflict, the US will tend to expand their reasons for staying in that conflict, which will perpetuate how long troops remain on the ground.

Ashford continued by discussing the quick pace of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in the summer of 2021.

She described the variety of opinions on the event and her belief on how the situation could’ve been handled better.

“It’s perhaps surprising that the government in Kabul collapsed so

fast,” Ashford said. “And I think that puts the administration on the back foot in terms of what they can safely do to evacuate first American citizens, be cardholders, and then sort of Afghans on special visas. But I also think that a lot of the criticisms about the withdrawal have been perhaps arguing or positing that there is some perfect counterfactual for this one a lot better.

You know, for myself, I can really only see one scenario in which this was substantially better. And it’s the Biden team 10 months ago, opened up visas much more widely.”

Ashford then shifted the conversation to focus on the policy decisions in Iraq. Ashford described the current state of US troops in Iraq,

and the Iraqis’ official stance on the presence of these troops.

“And so in Iraq, you know, this is the situation that Biden says that we are shifting to so there’s about 2500 troops in Iraq right now,” Ashford said.

“That number is not really expected to change in the coming years. It’s just that those troops will be in advisory roles instead of combat roles. And the reason for this shift is actually commodity, one of the key domestic politics. Last year, the Iraqi parliament passed a bill calling for the expulsion of US troops, partly because the proUS parties abstained, but you know, they still passed it. And the Iraqi prime minister has been under a lot of pressure to push back and to get us

troops out of the country, Iraqi people mostly oppose for the most part, US troops remaining.”

At the conclusion of the discussion, the audience had a chance to share questions and comments. Charlotte Walters ’24 enjoyed attending the talk and learning about new views on this timely issue.

“I just thought it was an interesting perspective,” Walters said. “This has been something I have been trying to follow in the news and we see a lot of different, varying things, and this was a very interesting and concrete way to get a perspective and I felt like she had a lot of good points about the topic.

Overall, I feel like I learned a lot and it was really interesting.”