The Flat Hat October 11 2022

FOOTBALL HOLDS OFF NO. 6 DELAWARE AT HOMECOMING

Tribe overcome Blue Hens' second-half comeback in 27‒21 victory

Saturday, Oct. 8, William and Mary football (5-1, 2-1 CAA) defeated Delaware 27-21 (5-1, 3-1 CAA) in its annual Homecoming game at Zable Stadium.

“Our players had a never quit, never dieattitude,” said head coach Mike London.

After winning the coin toss, Delaware elected to receive the ball. The Tribe defense stood strong, forcing a three-and-out on the Delaware’s’ first two possessions of the game. To conclude Delaware's second possession, sixth-year punter Ben Dinkel booted a 60-yard punt to pin the Tribe on their own two-yard line.

“I remember walking out there for three plays and then walking back off. It felt good. It’s always good when it's three-andouts,” said senior cornerback Ryan Poole.

Immediately following a six-yard rush from senior running back Donavyn Lester for the opening first down of the game, sophomore quarterback Darius Wilson launched a pass to Lester on the right side of the field. The pass totaled 32-yards and advanced the Tribe near midfield. Several plays later, Wilson connected with senior tight end Lachlan Pitts up the middle of the field for a 26-yard completion.

Throughout the drive, William

and Mary ran a no-huddle offense on five plays.

Delaware managed to hold the Tribe at the edge of the redzone, bringing in sophomore kicker Ethan Chang for the field goal. However, one week removed from his 57-yard field goal, marking a new school record, Chang’s attempt was unsuccessful. Fifth-year defensive back Justis Henley blocked the 39-yard kick to keep the score even at zero.

On the opening play of the ensuing Delaware drive, sophomore linebacker John Pius sacked graduate student quarterback Nolan Henderson for a seven-yard loss. Only able to move the ball two-yard on the next two plays, Dinkel punted to Tribe senior wide receiver Caylin Newton at the William and Mary 40-yard line.

After a successful third down conversion to advance the Tribe into Blue Hen territory, the home team faced a third and long. Wilson rushed the ball up the middle, forcing London to make a tough call. He decided to keep the offense on the field for the short fourth down attempt, which proved successful. Wilson rushed up the middle again for another six-yard gain.

After several plays and a short break to begin the second quarter, the Tribe found their way into the Delaware redzone. On the first play of the second quarter, Wilson passed 16-yards to the left side of the field to senior wide receiver Caylin Newton for a first down. Two plays later on second and four, senior running back Bronson Yoder rushed towards the left sideline for the first score of the game. A successful kick attempt from Chang made the Tribe lead 7-0.

After another three-and-out for the Blue Hens, the visiting fan section became quiet. However, on the next Tribe possession, Wilson threw an interception to graduate student linebacker Drew

Nickles at the William and Mary 38-yard line, setting Delaware up in great position.

On the first play of Delaware’s drive, senior running back Kyron Cumby rushed to the right and all the way to the endzone for a 38-yard score.

On the kickoff return, sophomore wide receiver DreSean Kendrick ran 39-yards to start the next Tribe possession near midfield. Throughout the drive, William and Mary relied on their run game. Stopped at the Delaware 26-yard line, Chang came in to kick a 44-yard field goal and retake the lead 10-7.

After barely holding Delaware out of field goal range, the Tribe retook possession on their own nine-yard line with just under four minutes remaining in the first half. On third and six, Yoder rushed up the middle for a 28-yard gain. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, the Tribe relied on their ground game again, rushing five times in a row before calling another timeout. On first and 10, Wilson received the snap and shuffled the ball to sophomore running back Malachi Imoh. Imoh launched the ball to the right side of the endzone where Pitts secured the second Tribe touchdown of the game, extending their lead to double digits. The score at halftime remained at 177, sending a jolt of Tribe pride through the stands.

“In the first half, the legs were fresh and we felt good out there,” said Poole.

The Tribe began the third quarter with what initially looked like a three-and-out. After a 47yard punt from senior kicker Will Whitehurst, Delaware graduate student Zane Lewis muffed the return. He picked the ball back up but Newton forced it back out. Both teams scurried to grab the ball, but Tribe sophomore wide receiver JT Mayo got on top of it first at the Delaware 23-yard line. After four rushing plays, Wilson ended the drive with another rush to the left for another Tribe touchdown.

AidData bridges policy, academia

Bill

Melinda Gates

JOSEPH WEHMEYER

FLAT HAT

From outside, the appearance of e College of William and Mary’s Global Research Institute is unassuming. Masked by the residential-looking yellow three-story colonial house nestled near Colonial Williamsburg, the GRI houses a wealth of student and faculty research.

Housed on the second oor of the GRI is AidData — an independent interdisciplinary research lab. Inside, a small cohort of sta and student research assistants are lling a crucial gap in policy analysis research in the 21st century, having managed more than 90 grants and contracts worth more than $50 million from a variety of multilateral organizations, government agencies and private foundations since its inception in 2004.

Using data and technology, AidData studies resources, policy and investment around the world — aiding policymakers from Washington D.C., to London, to Brussels. eir Tracking Underreported Financial Flows methodology compiles information from datapoor environments to highlight the economic activity of countries which do not fully abide by global aid transparency measures.

Executive Director of AidData Dr. Bradley Parks described how the research lab provides previously unmet needs to the policymaking community, bridging a divide with academia.

“We are trying to do rigorous empirical research that is directly relevant to decisions that policymakers are trying to make,” Parks said. “A good idea that started in Williamsburg has spread very rapidly and very broadly around the globe.”

Parks also explained how innovations emerging from AidData made ripples through pre-established international distribution networks, starting with a partnership with the World Bank.

In the summer of 2010, then-president of the World Bank Robert B. Zoellick set out a goal to be able to track World Bank projects across the globe and provide feedback in live time through a smartphone app. Afterwards, the World Bank approached a group of faculty members from the College, Brigham Young University and Georgetown University, who then delegated a project to twelve student research assistants for the summer.

e students were asked if they could pinpoint the precise coordinates of World Bank projects in a single country: Kenya. By the end of summer, this small group had georeferenced, or matched aerial images to precise coordinates, for every World Bank Project in not only Kenya, but the entire world.

“It really opened the international community’s eyes in terms of what you could do with data,” Parks said. “Suddenly people were able to see with high levels of locational precision exactly what was happening and where, around the globe. e World Bank was kind of an early adopter. But then what happened was that this geocoding innovation exercise ended up setting an international standard.”

Alumni journalist panel discusses role of media in democracy

Saturday, Oct. 8, Associate Vice President for Student Engagement and Leadership Drew Stelljes Ph.D. ’07 moderated an alumni panel on democracy and the media as part of the College of William and Mary’s annual Homecoming weekend.

Alumni journalists David Culver ’09, Brendan Ho man ’02, Valerie Hopkins ’09 and Weijia Jiang ’05 virtually participated in a discussion on the role of the media in the event, titled “Presidential Conversation: Democracy and the Media.” e event started with an introductory discussion between President Katherine Rowe and Stelljes.

“ e human beings who founded this university, and together our country, grew their ideas here,” Rowe said. “Not as expansively or as perfectly as we want, but it is our business to expand them and make them more perfect.”

Stelljes talked about the Democracy Initiative, a comprehensive program aimed to make the College “a place where respectful dialogue takes place on challenging topics,” the College’s website says. A similar program exists at the University of Virginia.

He detailed the College’s partnership with the Constructive Dialogue Institute, a non-pro t organization that “operates to help us understand both the mindset and the behaviors of individuals across the world and across cultures, when they are met with stimuli that are challenging.”

“So the ambition here is to become known in this country where open debate thrives… We sometimes o end each other, and we can correct that,” Rowe said.

Stelljes and Rowe also mentioned Vision 2026 strategic planning. Stelljes said one of the pillars of the plan, democracy, is directly related to the topic of the panel.

Dean of Students Stacey Harris elaborated

Inside Opinions

on how the Democracy Initiative is a part of the strategic plan.

“So one piece is going to be, kind of saying, ‘Here are these incredible opportunities for the free exchange of ideas,’ and we’re going to say, ‘Here’s where they all are. ey already exist,’” she said.

After the introductory discussion, Stelljes introduced the panelists, who were all participating virtually.

Hopkins, a New York Times international correspondent, is based in Moscow, Russia. She covers the war in Ukraine, Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. While at the College, she served as Student Assembly president and also worked for e Flat Hat.

Hopkins discussed her experiences in Russia as it relates to the media and the freedom of the press.

“It’s the basis upon which people’s ideas and opinions are formed,” Hopkins said of the role that the media plays in democracy in the United

States and internationally. “I arrived yesterday and was met by someone who didn’t know that Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian activists had won the Nobel Peace Prize.”

She said there is a very severe shortage of unbiased information in Russia, which has been going on for two decades.

“I think I don’t need to say very much more than without the media, we don’t have a democracy, and you may actually wind up with a more warmongering authoritarian leader,” she said.

Culver added that citizens and professionals are needed to sustain a democracy.

“You have citizen journalists and you have those of us who are career journalists“but all have become equally important,” Culver said. “ e challenge is going to be, going forward, breaking through that voice, because there's a lot of it, and making sense of it all.”

Inside Sports

Womenʼs soccer ties Monmouth after holding two goals

Junior

insight

Man arrested in Earl Gregg Swem library for trespassing

On Sunday, Oct. 9, the William and Mary Police arrested Isaac Anthony Arnold. Arnold is a 41-year-old male who lives in Yorktown, Virginia.

Arnold was arrested in the Earl Gregg Swem library, which was packed with students and visitors for Homecoming Weekend.

Arnold had been previously banned from the William and Mary campus due to prior disruptive behavior. He was transported to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail and detained at 1:05:00 PM on Sunday, Oct. 10.

Arnold violated Virginia statute 18.2-119 (Virginia Crime Code TRS-5709-M1) which prohibits trespassing after being forbidden to do so.

The Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail serves the York County, the James City County and the Cities of Williamsburg and Poquoson. Arnold is not an employee or student at the College.

“It’s about diversity and learning about one another”

ANNA ARNSBERGER // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

Few people would have even considered ying to an event in the middle of 2020, during the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. But when a former student asked Dr. Kimberly Weatherly to attend her wedding, Weatherly knew that she had to be there.

is invitation was not unusual for Weatherly, assistant director of the Center for Student Diversity, whose career is centered around building relationships with students.

“That’s the biggest joke, that I’m one of those administrators where they always hear, ‘Where are you going?’” Weatherly said. “I’m like, ‘To a wedding.’ ‘Who’s getting married?’ ‘One of my students.’ I literally get invitations because I know my students, I have a great rapport with them.”

Weatherly has worked at the College of William and Mary since 2017, and in that time has led the CSD in providing programming and resources for historically underserved members of the College. From sponsoring cultural heritage events to leading diversity, equity and inclusion workshops, the work of the CSD is focused on engaging the community.

“The students really need us. They enjoy us, they use us, we know them, we build rapport,” Weatherly said. “No place is perfect, but we try really hard and we don’t always get it right. But we try really hard and then we pivot and we make sure that we’re very student oriented.”

Much of Weatherly’s student-forward ethos is the result of her own experiences in higher education. Originally from Cleveland, Weatherly attended Eastern Michigan University for her Bachelor’s Degree, Hampton University for her Master’s Degree and Benedictine University for a PhD. Her time at Eastern Michigan especially impacted her.

“I attended a predominantly white institution,” Weatherly said. “I had a center just like this where they nurtured us, where we had mentors. I was one of the first minority peer advisors in that program and minority peer advisors, their focus was programming for diverse populations… I was a young black

woman with three white women roommates. And, you know, it’s about diversity and learning about one another.”

From her open door policy to always listening to students, many of Weatherly’s current practices are inspired by the departments at Eastern Michigan.

“They started programs when it was needed,” Weatherly said. “They always were current on best practices, because sometimes I’ve worked in institutions where sometimes you’re behind. That’s one thing about William and Mary, a lot of times we are on the cutting edge.”

Weatherly emphasized the importance of shifting approaches to keep up with new generations.

“Each class, probably every three to four years, is totally different,” Weatherly said. “People don’t realize that. So your needs and the issues of the world also change, meaning your needs change and your lens changes.”

Despite her formative undergrad experiences, Weatherly fell into the higher education field somewhat accidentally. While finishing up her master’s degree, Weatherly interned at Hampton’s freshman studies department under Director Amanda Murray.

When Weatherly was offered a job to fill in for a coworker on maternity leave, she knew it was the right decision to continue at Hampton.

“I was like, I’m tired of school, tired of being broke,” Weatherly said. “I’m going to sit out one year and I’ll go back and get my doctorate. And I ended up working in freshman studies and the rest is history.”

Weatherly eventually got her PhD in education from Benedictine University. She then worked as director of multicultural a airs at Columbia College Chicago before moving to the College.

Weatherly had previously familiarized herself with the Williamsburg area when she was working at Hampton, during which time she occasionally came to study at the College’s library

She was also drawn to being at a traditional campus with international recognition and the chance to develop the CSD.

Deciding to go for it, ready to made a positive impact

Newly-elected Class of 2026 President Zoe Wang ’26 is ready to step into her role and enact the change her class wants to see. Winning 55.9% of the vote in a runo ballot after a highly contested election ended in a tie, Wang says her personal philosophy is what led her to even run for the presidential position.

“If I’m going to do something, I’m going to go for it,” Wang said. “So I wanted to go for it.

Despite being sick when she nally received the call that she had won the run-o election, Wang says she feels very honored and wants to ful ll her role to the best of her ability.

“I was literally like in bed with chills, body aches…It was so bad I had a fever, but… I felt incredibly… like happy and grateful that I won… It’s like a huge responsibility that people have given me,” she said. “This is something that other people trust me to do, so I want to do that well.”

As an intended international relations and public policy double major, Wang is wasting no time getting involved around campus. Wang currently holds the charge d’a aires position in the travel Model United Nations team which is run by the International Relations Club. Wang is continuing her high school experience with Model United Nations into college.

“I’m really excited about that… I was away from the campaign for four days because I went to New York for a MUN Conference,” Wang said. “And I loved the Conference, so I decided to apply and then I got the position which is super fun.”

During her sophomore year of high school, Wang attended a MUN conference at the College of William and Mary, which gave her a good rst impression of the school, saying she “really liked the vibe” here on campus.

“Maybe it was the architecture or I just liked the people here,” Wang said regarding her sophomore year visit. “I got an impression that the values here at William and Mary are really strong and align with

Wang

visited the College

her sophomore year..

my own… And then when I came here over this summer… the people here were just so nice and I wanted to go in-state… so I was like, ‘William and Mary is the perfect t.’” Wang rst became interested in the idea of participating in Student Assembly after talking to some current members and after serving in her high school’s assembly.

Dr. Kimberly Weatherly reflects on work with the Center and discusses her open door policy

COURTESY PHOTO / KIMBERLY WEATHERLY

Weatherly discusses the impact of her experiences in higher education on her approach to implementing a student-foward ethos in the Center for Student Diversity.

Wang shares intentions and goals for her role as newly elected Class of 2026 President

College should take deeper look at hazing pr ogram

After the tragic passing of Adam Oakes in February 2021, the Virginia state legislature quickly and unanimously passed Bill 439, otherwise known as “Adam’s Law.” With the passing of this bill into law, it required universities to receive extensive hazing training and then in turn train the students. As of this year, all College of William and Mary students looking to join some organizations have to go through this training.

Looking back on my freshman year, I thought I could be more involved on campus, so I did just that. I looked to join more organizations on campus, but to do that I first had to attend this new hazing training. I walk into James Blair Hall at 7:30, ready for the hour and a half program that would educate me on the dangers of hazing. The problem is, I feel like I didn’t learn anything from it.

The program was adopted from the University of Virginia and was centered around getting students to recognize what hazing is and call it out when we see it. One of the issues with this is that it is extremely unclear what the school sees as hazing. During the training session we were shown various activities and asked if they constituted hazing, but the administrators running it wouldn’t say if we were right or not. While it is defined in concrete terms on the school website, in practice there are various uncertainties on how the school will react.

The school’s approach of having us, as students, define hazing in our own terms is a falsehood if they don’t plan to stand by that process when a case comes up. I am not

The problem of car related deaths in America

Stanley Wang

mass shooting

in America,

the “right amount of gun control”

it

saying that the definition of hazing should only be in the hands of the student, but that the school should not lie about who has the power in the relationship.

The College’s main weapon to deter hazing is a reporting system that alerts them when a hazing incident happens. Thinking about this in broader terms, this will not deter hazing happening, but make it harder and harder to find. Organizations will just become more secretive with how they conduct themselves and administer their hazing processes. If the goal is to eradicate the practice of hazing, more effort should be put into shifting the culture at the school and within the organizations instead of doling out punishment after punishment. There are a few ways to go about this, and while none of them will work overnight, it is an important process that could create more concrete and lasting effects on the community. One of which could be hosting workshops that build programs that instill the beliefs that hazing purportedly does in a safer manner. This also establishes transparency between the school and the organizations, dissipating the aforementioned secrecy. To prevent future hazing related deaths, there has to be a cooperative effort in doing so, not further entrenching the hostility and antagonism between the two sides.

Transitioning to student-to-student interactions, if a student is in trouble, the school recommends calling the police and letting them handle the situation. In the case of intoxication, this will usually lead to an ambulance being called. Seeking medical attention is critical for anyone experiencing alcohol poisoning, but the costs associated with an ambulance are exorbitant. The cost alone is enough of a disincentive for most to forgo a call and instead try to solve the situation themselves. If this is the College’s only solution to helping a student in need, they are virtually leaving us to our own devices. I understand this is a large ask for the College, but it must also be understood that if they only provide us with one option, there has to be structure along with it, not simply telling us what we should do.

That was the problem I felt throughout the entire training session. It seemed as though the school provided this hazing prevention program solely to say they did and check off the box. With no structural changes being made to how they handle hazing and the program itself being borrowed from another school, it seems like little thought was put into the implementation. I encourage the school to take a deeper look into how it can help students, because as it currently stands, little is being done.

SethNovakisasophomoremajoringingovernment, isinSigmaPi,andlovespublictransportationand

or nothing at all. In this

bans, licensures,

analogy is often made to the situation with cars: cars are similarly dangerous tools used daily in American life whose operation requires obtaining licensure. Others argue that cars are more immediately necessary to the American lifestyle, so their licensing requirement implies a need for even more extreme limitations on guns. I ask: where is the furor over the necessity of cars?

If the high rates of gun deaths signal something needing to be changed, do know that America also leads the OECD for road deaths by far — in 2020, we tripled the rate of second place Canada. You are, in fact, almost twice as likely to die in a car accident than by any form of homicide.

If what concerns you about gun control is the possibility of being in a mass shooting and the entailed lack of control, know that America is also a leader in pedestrian deaths. This time, we beat second place Ukraine by nearly fivefold (and Canada by a factor of twenty). If we converged to the OECD average, that would represent over 18,000 lives saved per year.

The reason for this disparity lies indubitably with our reliance on cars — you are more likely to die in a collision when you are colliding with a two-ton object.

Perhaps these deaths have not caught the national imagination because accidental deaths are not quite so heinous as those from murder. However, if deaths by accident are less heinous because they are a function of random chance instead of intent, are we not then more to blame for perpetuating the system making accidental death a certainty?

Defense of this car-centric infrastructure typically varies between the lines of free choice, enjoyment and its importance to the American identity. These are oversimplified arguments, however, and car-centrism is, in fact, incompatible with American values.

It is hard, for example, to imagine a low-income family choosing to spend a fifth of their income on transportation or for their enjoyment of being stuck in traffic. This is a choice made for them by the paucity of alternatives in a system that requires cars or else claims their ability to work. Neither is this eventuality the result of households’ free choices. This is a system designed and built along government policy lines and the repeated decision to invest in boulevards, not buses.

Neither is it that only low-income households spend so much for basic transportation. Factoring in the purchase cost, insurance costs, maintenance, gas and licensure, the average American spends about $9,000 a year on car ownership. This is over a fifth of the

median individual income of about $42,000. Again, it is hard to justify expenditures of such magnitude on the sheer joy of driving alone. Instead, these are costs reflecting the necessity of cars in a system designed only for cars. When you need one to buy food or get to work, there is no other choice. In a world where cars are the only reliable way to get around, these costs represent a tax for getting daily deeds done.

This, of course, has mammoth implications for social mobility. Those who cannot afford a car and its upkeep are denied access to job opportunities, medical care and grocery and retail choice. This harms not only the standard of living for the less fortunate, but also their ability to better their lives. If we value merit and one’s ability to better oneself, alternatives are a necessity. Cheap public transportation would mean an easier climb for the average American and more disposable income for his unluckier cousins to spend on food, clothing and shelter.

It is not just the wallets of American households that suffer either. Costs of construction and upkeep hamper city budgets and restrict the services they can afford to provide. This is especially so because the weight of cars means roads break down particularly quickly and require constant and expensive resurfacing.

At the state and local level, highway construction and maintenance expenditures alone total about $200 billion. This is the fifth-largest source of expenditures and nearly four times what we spend on housing and community development. Excluding the recently signed $500 billion infrastructure bill, the federal government typically spends on the order of $150 billion in direct expenditures and transfer payments, of which over 40% goes to funding highways. The Netherlands, meanwhile, spends about $5 billion annually on all infrastructure. Extrapolating expenditure per capita, that equates to about half of what our state and local governments spend on car infrastructure alone.

These costs come back to us in the form of higher taxes. That is, maintaining the system that works so poorly requires additional money out of your paycheck. Alternatively, these higher costs represent fewer and lower quality government services: less affordable housing, fewer parks, poorer maintained libraries. The societal toll is ceaseless.

Despite this, it appears most Americans are oblivious. If we are to stay a democratic and meritocratic society, though, this is a pressing issue we cannot let escape our attention. The first step, then, must be to question the role cars and roads should play in our future, to ask: if it is part of the American identity, why? The responsibility of beginning this dialogue, I turn over to you.

StanleyWang’23isinvolvedwithrowing,GreaterCityandCitizens ClimateLobby.EmailStanleyatsjwang01@wm.edu.

“ If the goal is to eradicate the practice of hazing, more effort should be put into shifting the culture at the school... instead punishment after punishment ”

How to talk to your professors outside of class

Andrew Hoffman

For a long time now, I’ve been having different variations of the same nightmare. I’m sitting at the reception of my own brother’s wedding in a beautiful white-tablecloth ballroom. The lights begin to dim to Etta James’ “At Last” (or Elton John’s “Your Song,” or sometimes Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years”), and he takes the center floor to have the first dance of his new marriage. Then, as I turn my head leftward — always left, never right — I suddenly notice that I’m sitting next to my professor.

Even as I type this, just thinking about it, my palms begin to sweat, my heart races, my breath becomes erratic. It’s not the same professor each time. Sometimes it’s a teacher from high school. But they’re always sitting there, silently, giving me a cordial smile and a pleasant “Hi, Andrew. How are you?”

I rarely remember what happens next, except for the vague perception that I made a billion devastating social blunders. Should I not have asked how they know my brother? Was that rude? Did I come on too strong? Why did I tell that story?

Last semester, my nightmare literally became reality. I was at a urinal in Blow Memorial Hall, doing my business, when I looked over my left shoulder and saw my professor doing his. Seeing someone I know in the bathroom and seeing a professor outside of class both independently rank on my list of Top Ten Social Fears. For both scenarios to occur in the same moment caused every mental faculty I had to rupture and explode.

I panicked. Should I say hi, I thought. I don’t want to be rude. But “Hi”? Just a mere “Hi, Professor?” This man is a champion of liberal arts, a fountain of knowledge, Andrew. He will not be satisfied with your mere hello. What are you, an idiot?

My professor silently made his way over to the sink, and when I turned around and began to zip up my pants, we suddenly made eye contact through the mirror. He wore a gasping expression, and I realized that this was as awful for him

STAFF COLUMN

as it was for me.

I needed to get out of there. I needed to cut the tension with something witty and amicable, something casual but spectacular. I needed to say something genius. But as he dried his hands on a paper towel and I buckled my belt, the unfortunate words that tumbled out of my mouth– the words I will never be able to take back — were:

“Geez, professor! We’ve gotta stop meeting like this!”

I regretted it instantly. The line itself is bad, but the delivery was even worse. I said it loudly, with emphasis and a chuckle, like I was on a bad sitcom and there was a live audience in the stalls.

“Yeah… yeah, I guess we do,” he said. He then gave a frantic, nervous laugh, bolted through the door, and we never spoke again.

I’ve stayed up long nights thinking about why I said this. It’s true, we had seen each other in the bathroom before, but why would I mention that? Why would I say that? I don’t think I had ever before, in my entire life, said “geez.” Why was this the right time to try it?

Geez, professor! Weʼve gotta stop meeting like this!

But the inner-workings of the human mind are a mystery. And I will never know the answers to these questions.

I don’t fear my professors, but there’s something paralyzing about seeing them outside the classroom. When I ran into another, he asked me how my weekend was, and I gave a five-

minute response that involved a nuanced review of the new Batman movie. Another time, I gave the key details of an obscure unsolved colonial murder. My friend once saw her professor after class and fell down a flight of stairs, injuring her knee, but pretended she was fine, thinking it would be less embarrassing.

Another friend had a similar experience. She was typing something on her phone when she ran into her professor — physically ran into her professor — in Colonial Williamsburg.

“Oh, sorry professor!” she said, but he gave her a blank stare in return and walked off in the other direction.

She thought it was odd, so later that week she jokingly brought it up at office hours and apologized again.

“Ah, yes, that!” he said bluntly. “I just have a policy. I don’t acknowledge my students outside class or office hours. It’s just embarrassing for both of us.”

I think this rule might be extreme. I like all my professors and enjoy talking to them. (Especially the ones who happen to read through the Flat Hat opinions articles. Those professors are the best!) But in the long months I’ve had to process “We’ve gotta stop meeting like this!” the nightmares have heightened, and I’ve realized that sometimes it is embarrassing to both.

We all want to seem distinct and interesting, but that doesn’t mean you need to tell your professor why you started collecting baroque eggs, or the last time you replaced a wheel on your car. And yet, as I write this, I imagine such conversations are happening in coffee shops all across Williamsburg — awkward, terrible conversations about Shakespeare, or the architecture of Argentina, or the chemicals in a can of Coca-Cola. These are conversations in which angsty college students are trying to impress their professors with their intelligence, instead of talking to them like humans.

So sometimes a mere “How are you, professor?” is enough.

And if you happen to be in the bathroom, it’s better to stay silent altogether.

AndrewHoffman’24isagovernmentandpublicpolicydouble majorfromChicago,IL.EmailAndrewat ajhoffman01@wm.edu.

The James Blair statue needs an associated tradition

joke-writing skills and I have done it out of primal desperation.

The topic Will has given me for this article is the statue of James Blair, founder and first president of the College, which sits in a small courtyard between Chancellors Hall and James Blair Hall.

Before we dive into my James Blair statue opinion, I’ll address a couple questions I feel might be on your mind at this point.

only carved in 1993, by art and art history professor Lewis Cohen, but feels as though it could be much older. I have no major issues with it.

Adam Jutt

EDITOR

Not to toot my own horn, but I have a friend named Will. He has red hair, likes soccer and tennis, is from New York and is a chemistry major. Those qualities of his are of little importance to this article. There is one quality of his, however, which was absolutely vital to this piece’s existence: his ability to name things.

I’ll back up a few steps.

To me and most others who write regularly for the section, the hardest part of writing an opinion article is coming up with the basic idea: the “rosebud,” as we affectionately refer to them. Once a rosebud comes, turning it into a thesis statement and subsequently turning that thesis statement into a few pages of words isn’t normally too bad. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a solid rosebud in six months. So, imagine my delight when earlier this week I had an epiphany; I shouldn’t be desperately brainstorming rosebuds every time I am scheduled to write, I should just come up with an external system which gives me rosebuds whenever I need them. A metarosebud, if you will.

Will, my red-haired New Yorker friend from earlier, is my meta-rosebud. In other words, he is my bottomless cookie jar, full not of cookies, but of opinion article topics. In other words, he is my own personal gumball machine, operated not by coins but by verbal request and supplying not gumballs, but article topics. In other words, I can just make him tell me what to write about.

As I’m sure you recall, a few paragraphs ago I mentioned his impressive ability to name objects. While that probably confused and intrigued you at the time (the result of an advanced communications technique called a “hook”) hopefully now its utility is coming into focus. Every time I need to write, from now until I die, I can lean on Will for inspiration. To ensure relevance to this community, he has been instructed that his topics must relate to the College of William and Mary. Importantly, he is not to give me an opinion about the College, just name something relating to the College. I am the one who must turn it into an opinion. You know how some comedians challenge themselves to write punchlines and then set-ups for those punchlines? It’s a lot like that, except they do it to sharpen their

Q1. “Do you feel that this new method to crank out opinions is inherently disrespectful to the integrity of the opinions section, as the section was made as a platform for those who feel passionately about issues and you are co-opting it as a haven for definitionally random, form-oversubstance content?”’

A1. No.

Q2. Do people at the Flat Hat really refer to the basic topics underlying opinions articles as “rosebuds?”

A2. Not at the time of my writing, no. I think it would be a cute addition to our vernacular, though.

Okay, now it is finally time for my James Blair opinion.

To preface my opinion, it must be acknowledged that this particular statue is — arguably — the hardest statue on campus about which to form an opinion. The James Monroe or Thomas Jefferson statues would have been easy targets, due to their heavily controversial namesakes, and the griffin statue would have been an even easier target, for two big, bulbous reasons, but the James Blair statue comes with no such obvious angle of attack. (Of course, one could make the incredibly fair argument that, considering the College’s reliance on slavery at the time Blair was president here, he is just as problematic as Monroe or Jefferson).

As I said, the statue sits between two halls, James Blair and Chancellors. It is surrounded by four benches and pretty shrubs.

It is dark gray in color, on a lighter gray pedestal. It depicts Blair in a flowing robe, looking to his right and clutching nondescript books in his right arm. It was

In fact, as a statue, I kind of like it. I sat in front of it for approximately three hours this past weekend while writing this piece, and throughout that block of time nothing stood out to me as particularly repulsive. He looks serious and serene, but not condescending. His robe is undeniably cool. The pedestal is not disproportionately large for the statue (looking at you, Monroe). Admittedly, his right thumb is a little bit on the long side and bends in places it shouldn’t, but it feels mean to hyperfocus on that.

What is my opinion relating to the statue, then?

Simply, that it is absolutely criminal that we don’t have a fun, cheesy tradition relating to it. It is a large statue of a figure indelibly tied to the College — arguably more than any other — located in a pretty courtyard of which it is the centerpiece, and yet it is not a feature of the campus culture at all. A tradition surrounding Blair would elevate his symbolic significance to the campus, act as a new facet of unification for our community and just be a lot of fun.

Colleges and statue-based traditions are deeply entwined ideas in the American upper-educational framework. Every college worth its salt has a statue of a figure whose toe is rubbed, whose butt is kissed or whose exterior is painted or otherwise regularly defaced. Now, to be perfectly clear, I am not saying that we should mimic any of those specific traditions.

In fact, I think that copying a different school’s tradition would be worse than not having one at all. A creative new tradition, however, could be awesome. I am not so arrogant as to believe I am capable of coming up with “the one”; there are over 6,000 of us here, surely it should be a question left open to input from everyone over the next weeks or even years. That said, here are some ideas to get the ball rolling.

1. Every finals week, we tape a speaker to his head which plays Davis Daniel’s 1994 hit song

“William and Mary” on loop.

2. The first Friday of every month, we hold a “poll by sticky note” where a two-choice question is asked to the student body (such as “Caf or Sadler” or “study at Swem or Slice”) with one option corresponding to the color yellow and the other to green. Students vote by placing a sticky note of their choice’s color on Blair.

3. Every four years in the spring, we hold a “Blair Battle” with teams of three representatives from each class year (I don’t know how they would be picked). Each team gets one of the four benches around the statue, obviously, as they compete in the College related trivia. The winning team gets their class year engraved in the pedestal somewhere.

Like I said, those are just a few examples of the type of thing that would drag the presently underutilized statue into a state of relevance in our hearts and minds. Plus, it would make for great tour fodder, which is half the reason college traditions exist to begin with.

As has been established, this was my first article with a topic given to me by my redheaded friend Will. At the time I enlisted his help, I thought I was a genius. I thought that forcing him to give me topics would eliminate all of the challenges associated with opinions and leave me with just the fun part — writing. Unfortunately, as I reached the third hour of staring at the statue, without the foggiest notion what I should say about it, it occurred to me that treating a red-haired friend as a gumball machine of topics, at best, has no effect on how much is required and, at worst and more probably, it just makes the process harder. Plus, it introduces a weird power dynamic into the relationship.

That said, I think the statue tradition idea isn’t half bad.

AdamJutt’25isplanningonmajoringinmath andeconomics.Asidefrombeinganopinions editor, he is a member of ClubTennis and involvedwithInterVarsity.Feelfreetoemail Adam at adjutt@wm.edu.

Colleges and statuebased traditions are deeply entwined ideas in the American upper-educational framework

REACHING SUMMITS NEW

The Rock Climbing Club at the College of William and Mary builds bonds at weekly meetings

MILES MORTIMER // VARIETY ASSOC. EDITOR

Swiftly moving up rock climbing walls with deceptive ease in the College of William and Mary’s Campus Recreation Center, members of the Rock Climbing Club gain a unique work out and an incredible community. Many in the club emphasize how the intensive and energetic exercises, in tandem with the support of their peers, can help with stress and anxiety.

“The actual rock climbing itself as a workout is really good for stressed out students, because you have all your friends around you cheering you on, and you’ve got an intense HIIT workout,” Mia Carboni ’25 said. “It’s like a burst of dopamine once you get to the top of the wall, and then you get to come down and again get congratulated by your friends.”

Although the Rock Climbing Club may seem intimidating to prospective members, both new and veteran members alike all collaborate together in order to work towards the same goal of making sure any student at the College interested in the activity is able to perform to the best of their ability. Many longtime members of the club recalled, despite any initial concerns, how great their first experiences with the organization were.

“The climbing community just really took me in wholeheartedly, I went on a trip with them within my first month and immediately it felt like I had a family,” said Erin Ramsey ’23, the president of the Rock Climbing Club. “They put such an emphasis on learning and accessibility and availability, and that’s really what the core of the club is about. It’s been really cool to see that carried on through the generations since I’ve been here.”

Even though a few members of the club have been doing rock climbing since long before their time at the university, most have only truly gotten into it in recent years.

“I started at a very beginner level and now I’m less of a beginner, and it’s really fun, and it’s fun at any level,” Carboni said.

In fact, members of the group point to the club’s openness and acceptance of all skill levels as one of their favorite parts of it.

“People are very supportive and you don’t need to be a great climber, it’s just for if you want to hang out and climb for a little bit,” Josep Ocampo ’25 said. “That’s what I like about it, it’s very inclusive.”

And regardless of how much experience in rock climbing one has, they will still be able to make and create lifelong friendships and connections through the club all the same. The bonds created in the tight-knit club often extend outside of the hours of the organization and become staples of a member’s college experience.

“I’ve gotten really close really fast to a lot of people in the club and a

lot of people who come climbing because it’s just such a collaborative sport,” said Will Florentino ’24.

“When you need a belay and someone just offers you a belay, that’s a chance to meet someone new and make some new friends that way, and help each other up the wall, give each other some tips and tricks and maybe then you get lunch after.”

These strong friendships can be especially helpful to younger members who are just starting out with college life as it allows them to begin their university experience by being mentored by older students of the college.

“It’s been really nice to have those older connections,” Peyton Whirley ’26 said. “It’s just nice to have people in a different circle besides just freshmen in my classes and people in GGV. They have good advice about classes they’ve taken and handling work and what else to do around campus.”

And even if a member is feeling tired for any reason during a meeting and elects not to engage with the rock climbing wall a lot during a particular day, they are in no way prohibited from making the great connections the club is known for.

“A lot of people come here and just talk during club meetings,” Ocampo said when discussing the inviting and relaxed nature of the organization.

With everything mentioned above, the Rock Climbing Club is not just an enjoyable activity for students to partake in, but also a method for making new friends and learning about how to succeed in college.

Because of how much the club offers its members, the only limit to what a member can gain from it is how involved with it they are.

meeting how great of an experience it is for all who show up.

“The climbing has just become this vehicle for everybody, no matter who you are or what background you have,” Josh Miner ’24 said. “You’re able to have conversation and engage in an activity with new people you’ve never met and give them that trust to belay you or let you know how you should proceed on a route. You can form a connection with someone you otherwise wouldn’t have.”’

At the end of the day, when

“You get back what you put into it. The people who take the most out of it are the ones who come to the meetings and go to the social events, but also are climbing,” Rock Climbing Club

Vice President Patrick Doyal ’24

Over the rainbow with the College

MEHRABI

Friday, Sept. 30, an environment bursting with music, chatter and celestial decor lled the Sadler Center as attendees gathered for the rst annual Over the Rainbow Gala. The gala was an event organized by the Center for Student Diversity, Rainbow Coalition and Lambda Alliance to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community at the College of William and Mary. Held right before October, the event also kicked o this year’s LGBTQ+ History Month.

In the introductory speech, co-organizer and co-president of Rainbow Coalition Aubrey Lay ’23 explained the significance of the event title. “Gala” was originally short for the Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association, now called the Crim Dell Association, which is an LGBTQ+ alumni organization that has advocated for change since the ’70s. For Lay, calling the event a “gala” reflected its celebration of both history and progress.

“Now, obviously, it’s so much more expansive than just gay and lesbian people,” Lay said. “Likewise, this is an event that’s here to celebrate all kinds of progress that we’ve made and have yet to make.”

Guest speaker and Dean of Students Stacey Harris said she could relate to this message. According to Harris, who remembered being assigned a separate dorm room because of her sexuality when she was in college, being able to celebrate events like this one marks a step in the right direction.

“When I look back at college, there were struggles and a lot of assumptions and stereotyping,” Harris said. “And so I’m so thankful for what’s changed, and I know we have much more to go. It was lovely walking into that space. I’m glad it has progressed so much.”

Joey Upadhyay ’23 said he attended the gala because he knew any event promoted by and for the queer community would be fun. Upadhyay said it demonstrated progress most clearly by how the reception table included more than just the gay and lesbian pride ags.

Best

“I really liked that they had the ags on the table that you can get,” Upadhyay said. “There are queer events where that is a thing, but I feel like at this event, it was more present and more readily available — which was really nice.”

Assistant Dean and Director of the CSD Dr. Kimberly Weatherly said recognition of the widened LGBTQ+ community was also manifested in the gala’s take on event royalty. Instead of electing a “king” and “queen,” gala goers voted for “celestial bodies” titled the Star, Sun and Moon.

“I think my second favorite part was when we came up with the Celestial Court. This would be, now, our tradition,” Weatherly said. “It’s also a court that welcomes everybody, it’s very inclusive. It’s not just the King and Queen. It is indicative of the community.”

Entertainment included poetry recited by the Inside Out Theatre troupe, performances by event co-hosts and drag queens Daya B. Tease ’23 and Brooke N. Hymen ’22 and a dance number by Syndicate. For Weatherly, what made the gala unique compared to other LGBTQ+ identity celebrations were these outlets for creativity, stretching across academic, cultural and social.

“I’m very creative, and I love the opportunity for people to showcase,” Weatherly said. “So what better way than for this population to incorporate poetry, drag queens, dancing, all of the arts, but to have a gala?”’

Jason Dean Robinson M.A. ’24 of Inside Out Theatre performed his poem “Dear Elliot Page,” an ode to transgender identity. He also recited a piece authored anonymously by another member of the community. For Robinson, the gala’s goal of giving members of the queer community a voice coincides well with Inside Out’s use of the arts such as poetry to offer a unique lens into diverse experiences.

“It’s just a space where poets can come together, especially poets from marginalized communities, to share their poetry and have a space where they can be their most authentic selves in a nojudgment zone,” Robinson said. “And maybe share

podcast

Lilly Doninger ’24 and Kendal Sanders ’24 have taken their love of conversation to create a space in which they can discuss any topic at length together without judgment. Advertised as the podcast to listen to while doing laundry, No But Yeah covers“anything that we’re just curious about ourselves or that we’ve had conversations about in the past” as described by Sanders.

As fate would have it, Doninger and Sanders both spent their freshman year living in Green and Gold Village. Notorious for not only frequent run-ins with roaches and the occasional cold shower, the close quarters of GGV can also lead to the blossoming of close friendships.

Sanders met Doninger one night after being invited into her room by another friend who also lived in the Gri n A dorm building.

“From that moment, I just knew we were going to be tight,” Sanders said.

However, it was not until April 2022, almost a year after becoming friends, that Sanders and Doninger came up with the idea to start a podcast together, and No But Yeah was born.

After Doninger and Sanders downloaded the necessary recording software, they booked a room at the Earl Gregg Swem Library, recorded their first episode, and it was uploaded an hour later.

The format of the podcast has evolved since the rst few episodes that were more structured beforehand with speci c talking points.

“I feel like lately we’ve just been free- owing, and that’s been so fun,” Sanders said.

Yet throughout each episode runs a common theme relating to pop culture that connects the di erent topics that are discussed.

“It’s pretty heavily in uenced by whatever we’re listening to or watching,” Doninger said. “TV shows usually bring up a lot of good points for us to hit.”’

Right now, Doninger and Sanders plan to invite people they know personally and want to hear their thoughts on a speci c topic as well as any “campus superstars,” as Doninger put it.

Doninger and Sanders credit their shared sense of humor and strong friendship dynamic for how well they are able to maintain conversation during their

podcast episodes.

“We’re just always asking each other random questions or hypothetical situations, and I feel like we push back on each other when there is something that we don’t agree with,” Doninger added.

In agreement, Sanders expressed that the two frequently have seamless conversations.

“When we get started on a topic, it’s just ow, ow, ow, ow, like just really good banter,” Sanders said.

However, what can disrupt the ow of a conversation

THE FLAT HAT

things that they maybe wouldn’t share with other people, or explore identities that they wouldn’t be able to, through poetry and writing.”’

Robinson said the gala not only means a lot for the College’s queer community at present, but also for years ahead. Specifically, he said he found promise in the teamwork used for preparing the event.

“I think that’s a re ection of this building, especially the CSD, coming together and the di erent organizations starting to collaborate more,” Robinson said. “I’m hoping this is a representation of what it’s going to be like in the future, where instead of being a heavily over-booked campus where many organizations compete for space, it’s working together within a large space where everybody can be represented.”’

Weatherly added that hosting this celebration was especially crucial in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. She emphasized the importance of providing a community-building opportunity following the long-term limitations posed by social distancing.

“No one has really thought about it, but this year — this class — had not seen events because of the pandemic, so, they did not have anything to go on from before because those people had graduated out,” Weatherly said. “There was no passing of the baton. That’s why I’m really hands on this year, to make sure we recapture some of the traditions we had and that we start new ones.”’

Laura Rilee ’25 harkened to this community aspect when she said she attended the event to meet new friends. Rilee, who found out about the gala from the CSD Instagram page, appreciated how it provided a space for understanding. She said this sentiment of solidarity shined from something as simple as attendees’ appreciation of pronouns.

“If you’re not in a specific queer space, then it can feel awkward to bring up topics like pronouns,” Rilee said. “The second nature of saying ‘Hi, I’m Laura, my pronouns are she/they’ is like ‘wow’ to me.”’

According to Tease, it is these bonds that lend the gala its power. She said its strength as a social event lies in leaving attendees with lasting support through new friendships, mentorships and resources.

“It would feel successful if people feel as though after tonight, they know who to look out for and know who sees them. Who to go to to feel seen, to feel heard,” Tease said. “And knowing that they are now familiar with one of the wonderful resources that speaks for the minority voices that are part of this demographic that does all they can.”’

Harris said one of those resources is the Dean of Students O ce. She said the involvement of her o ce as a service continues beyond the gala, to serve as a safe space no matter the occasion.

“One of my hopes is that students will just come here, like you came today,” Harris said. “They won’t just come here because there’s a problem. That they’ll get to know me and my team as just people they can come nd. My hope is that students will come nd me and say, ‘Let’s take a walk. Let’s go out for co ee.’”

The gala was attended by around 145 people, including students, CSD employees, student workers, speakers and organizers, according to Lay. There was a 30 person waitlist, as well.

Weatherly shared that these attendance levels are one indication of the event’s success.

“We’re just... we’re overwhelmed by the turnout,” Weatherly said. “So, we’re just going to grow bigger and larger, and most of those people came even though Hurricane Ian was there.”

Tease said the gala meant just as much to her as a co-host as it did for participants. She explained that at the end of the day, she strived to leave a positive impact on all of those who attended.

“I don drag, and spend the three to four hours that it takes to get into it, so that hopefully somebody goes away from this number feeling invigorated, feeling excited,” Tease said. “Feeling as though ‘I can do that,’ so walking away from this hoping that I’ve touched somebody here in that way is the world to me.”’

behind “No But Yeah”

get what we’re saying, even with all of our frilly little, girly language.”

The title also represents the duality of Doninger and Sanders’ opinions on several of the topics that they discuss each week, in which they often take the middle ground.

“It’s okay that you disagree with something but also agree with something at the same time, like I feel like we as humans shouldn’t be choosing one side or the other on so many issues,” Doninger said.

“All human beings are social theorists, we’re all making observations, and I think we all have authority to talk about our reality and our interactions and relationships,” Sanders said. “No But Yeah is just giving space to do so, and making other people super aware that they too have something to bring to the table, something that they can agree with or disagree with.”

So far, their audience is mainly made up of fellow students at the College of William and Mary. However, No But Yeah has received recognition beyond the College, which has opened the door to some unique opportunities, such as Doninger’s internship as the podcast editor for the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum. Doninger’s friend in her sorority recommended her to the director of the organization, who fell in love with their episode on Love Island and o ered her an open intern position.

The two further expressed the profound ful llment they derive from the new connections that they have made through their podcast. Sanders and Doninger delighted over meeting fans of their podcast in real life.

“I think that something that gives us so much joy is when we’re out, and people that we don’t even know will just come up and be like, ‘you guys have the podcast, I loved that episode,’” Sanders said.

Sanders also talked about the importance of these new connections after a time of COVID-19 isolation.

“Especially because we had such a hard freshman year where I felt like I was so closed o to everyone at William and Mary, like it does make me feel like ‘Oh my god I nally have the college experience, people know who I am,’” Sanders said.

are small colloquial pauses such as the word “like,” which is where the title of their podcast, No But Yeah, gets its inspiration from. Sanders noted that No But Yeah is a play on these colloquial pauses that make up “girl talk.”’

“A lot of people are always like, ‘Oh, because you say ‘like” too much you’re not intelligent,’ or because you have these stupid ller words whatever you’re saying isn’t important,” Sanders said. “Lilly and I get into some deep topics, some serious topics sometimes, and you’re still going to listen anyway, you’re still going to

Doninger describes No But Yeah as a “vocal journal,” or an open environment that encourages discussion of myriad topics from di erent perspectives.

“I feel like the idea is to think about the things you haven’t thought about and challenge them,” Doninger said. “Kendal and I also have very di erent perspectives on a lot of issues because we come from very di erent backgrounds.”

Sanders further discussed how No But Yeah serves as a platform for diverse perspectives.

As for the future of No But Yeah, Doninger and Sanders want to eventually incorporate more audience feedback. Currently, they have an Instagram account (@ nobut.yeahpodcast).

“The thought is that maybe one day, that would be more of a forum for commentary,” Doninger said.

Doninger and Sanders are hopeful for what is to come with No But Yeah.

“There’s no limit to what we can do, I feel like this podcast has proved that if you want it just go and get it,” Sanders said. “If you have something that you’re passionate about, literally just go for it.”

The

of William and Maryʼs Center for Student Diversity, Rainbow Coalition and Lambda Alliance host gala celebrating LGBTQI+ students and allies

sports

Women’s soccer ties Monmouth after holding two goal lead

Zier, Crain each score in first half against top defensive opponent

LEXIE HIESTAND CHIEF SPORTS WRITER

Sunday, Oct. 9, William and Mary (6-5-4, 2-13 CAA) tied Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival Monmouth (10-2-2, 3-1-2 CAA) 2-2 at home on Albert Daly Field. Despite early goals in both halves, William and Mary could not hold on to their lead.

“I would say on the one hand, we were really disappointed because I think we did enough to win the game,” head coach Julie Shackford said. “We need to show a little more leadership and maturity in those last 15, 20 minutes to close out a game.”

As Shackford’s comment suggests, the game overwhelmingly favored the Tribe for the first three quarters of the match. Even within the first five minutes of the game, the Tribe had scored.

Graduate student forward Cricket Basa hustled down the field and passed up to freshman forward Ivey Crain. With a crossgoal pass, Crain sent the ball flying to junior midfielder Kenna Zier, who helped the ball find its home in the back of the net.

“I think we came out strong, and we attacked

well,” Zier said.

The rest of the first half remained scoreless, but not uneventful. Crain managed two more shots on goal, but Hawks goalkeeper CassieCoster stopped both attempts. Both women were awarded CAA distinctions earlier in the week: Coster for Defensive Player of the Week and Crain for Rookie of the Week. This week marks Crain’s third week in a row on the CAA list of honors, with another Rookie title and one for Offensive Player of the Week in the bag.

The Tribe was highly mobile in the first half. The team seemed to be everywhere, dogging the Hawks on defense, or playing an uncontested passing game on offense. They stuck to a consistent strategy of Ps: passing, pressure, and physicality.

Senior Zoe Doughty played goalkeeper and playmaker, defending against three Hawks corner kicks. Both Hawks shots of the period went wide, but Doughty’s heads-up play was critical to letting the offense maintain pressure.

“I think we came out as a unit. I think the other team knows that we out-possessed them, we out-played them,” Crain said.

The beginning of the second half mirrored the first: within three minutes, the Tribe had scored another goal. This time, Zier assisted on Crain’s goal, bringing the Tribe’s score up to 2-0.

“We work well together!” Crain said of her and Zier’s partnership. “I don’t know how many shots I had, but I had been waiting for it long enough that I knew it was going to come.“

With a solid lead, the Tribe let up on pressuring the Hawks, who seized the opportunity. At 57:33, Hawks forward A’Liah Moore scored, breaking through the Tribe’s defense in front of the goal, and putting the ball past Doughty into the far corner.

The momentum shifted. The Hawks’ bench became louder and the Tribe seemed unconfident in the midfield. The Tribe began to play man-toman defense, which proved less effective.

“I think we got a little bit shaken up when we just sat back and defended, so I think we just needed to go at them and get more goals,” Zier said.

The shift in play led to a Hawks goal late in the second half. Monmouth defender Ava Allen shot a high corner to tie the game.

With less than five minutes left, the Tribe

could not find enough energy to rally. The tie extends the Tribe’s not-winning streak of two ties and a loss at home.

“We’re a very attack-minded team, and when we are confident, that’s when we play our best,” Crain said.

The Tribe travels next week to face more CAA rivals. Both teams, Elon and Towson, are currently ranked above William and Mary in the standings.

“I think we finally have the scoring down. We just need to figure out how to keep the lead and defend as a unit better,” Zier said.

Coach Shackford repeated those same comments, saying what she would be coaching on for the week to come.

“I will be working on winning and maintaining leads, managing games, finishing games out for sure,”Shackford said. “When you have a two-nothing lead, you manage the clock, you manage the types of balls you’re playing, you use the corners of the field. Killing the game. That’s what I call it. Not getting frantic or frenzied.”

The Tribe plays next Thursday, Oct. 13, at Towson at 7 p.m. It will be their third to last game of the regular season.

Football improves to no. 11 in FCS rankings with win

FOOTBALL from page 1

Now down by three scores, Delaware became desperate to put points on the board on their next drive. A series of no-huddle plays threw the Tribe off guard. On the drive, the Tribe defense committed several costly penalties that advanced the Delaware down field. Henderson ended the drive with a short pass to senior wide receiver Jourdan Townsend to pull the visitors within 11 points. However, freshman placekicker Garrett Bennion missed the extra point.

After a Tribe three-and-out, Delaware was ready to build on their momentum. Contrary to the Tribe offense, Delaware elected for seven pass plays and just one rush play. From the Tribe’s three-yard line, Henderson ended the drive with a short left pass to graduate student wide receiver Chandler Harvin. A successful two-point conversion withstood official review and closed the Tribe lead to just three points.

Delaware’s offense then took over from their own 13-yard line. After Pius recorded another sack on Henderson, the quarterback ran up the middle for a 20-yard gain. On the next play, Henderson passed 27-yards to the left where he found Townsend again in Tribe territory. London called a timeout to slow down the Blue Hen offense.

However, London’s timeout failed to phase the red hot visitors. Delaware junior running back Marcus Yarns rushed for 33-yards to the Tribe endzone. While the Delaware fan section erupted into cheers, a yellow flag lay on the field. A facemask penalty on Delaware nullified the touchdown, leading to a sigh of relief from the Tribe fan section, including National Football League star Cam Newton.

Two plays later, Henderson rushed up the middle for another 23-yard gain to the redzone. But on third and six, Delaware fumbled the

ball, turning possession back over to William and Mary and changing the entire atmosphere of Zable Stadium.

Taking over control, William and Mary gave up two offensive penalties, setting them up for a third and 11. But, Wilson managed another long pass down the middle to Mayo to bring the Tribe to the center of the W&M logo at midfield. Delaware held the Tribe at the 32yard line, bringing in Chang for another field goal attempt. However, Chang missed the kick, keeping the score at 24-21.

With less than five minutes remaining in the game, the Tribe defense held strong on third and six, forcing a Delaware incompletion. From their own 43-yard line, head coach Ryan Carty decided to go for it on fourth down. Another incomplete pass from Henderson put the Tribe back on offense.

Yoder began the drive with four straight rushes, prompting a Delaware timeout. Unable to convert on third and long, Chang came back on the field for another field goal attempt. This time, he converted from 41-yards out to extend the Tribe lead to 27-21.

With one minute 45 seconds left in the game, Delaware began their final drive. Facing a fourth and long, Henderson passed down the middle to graduate student tight end Bryce de Maille for a pivotal first down completion. On third and one, Delaware called a timeout to stop the clock at 33 seconds. Yarns then rushed up the mile for a 14-yard gain. Unable to move the ball to the redzone, Delaware made a last-ditch effort in the final seconds of the game to score a touchdown.

However, after four lateral passes and two fumbles on the play, Tribe junior defensive lineman Nate Lynn recovered the ball to end the game at 27-21.

“At the end, I thought they might have gone for a Hail Mary,” London said. “It got kind of dicey out there for a moment, but we practice

for that all the time.”

William and Mary outrushed Delaware 271 to 128 yards. The Tribe also nearly doubled Delaware in time of possession.

After a week off, the Tribe will return to action next Saturday, Oct. 22 at Towson (2-4, 0-3 CAA).

“What a great time for the bye week to come so we can take care of ourselves, develop some younger players that will probably have to play for us as we go down the second half of the season, and to come off a positive experience like tonight’s is great,” London said.

COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS

Members of the William and Mary womenʼs soccer team celebrate after a goal during their 2-2 tie at home against Monmouth on Sunday, Oct. 9. Junior Kenna Zier and freshman Ivey Crain each scored during the first half of the game.

Lecture addresses question of “becoming evil”

Dr. James Waller

Wednesday, Oct. 5, the William and Mary School of Law hosted Dr. James Waller, professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College and the director of academic programs with the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. Waller is a widely published author of six books, most notably his award winning “Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing” and “Confronting Evil: Engaging Our Responsibility to Prevent Genocide”.

Waller is also the curriculum developer and lead instructor for the Raphael Lemkin seminars on genocide prevention at the Auschwitz Institute. The Raphael Lemkin seminars have trained over 5000 governmental officials and security systems officials all over the world.

Waller has lectured at multiple universities and institutions, including the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies at the Appalachian State University, which hosted a discussion in commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz by a division of the Red Army’s First Ukranian Front in January of 1945.

“Prof. Waller widely researches, teaches and consults for memorials, research centers, universities, government, and nongovernmental institutions around the world,” the Center said in an online description.

Waller was introduced by Dr. Nancy Combs — a Robert E. and Elizabeth S. Scott research professor, Ernest W. Goodrich professor of law and director of the Human Security Law Center.

“This is the inaugural Human Security Law Center event, and I suspect it is the inaugural Criminal Law Society event for this year. In any event, we are very happy to partner with the Criminal Law Society and I’m very grateful to the student board, to both groups, for all the assistance they’ve provided in bringing your speaker today, who is Dr. James Waller,” Combs said.

Waller began his lecture by prompting attendants to shift their lens of focus from a legal perspective to a psychological one in order to address the lecture’s central question: How is it that ordinary people come to commit genocide and mass atrocity?

“To do that, I’m well aware that most everyone in this room is coming to this with a legal lens, and I need you to turn that off for the next 45 minutes,” Waller said. “You can turn it back on

CAMPUS

when class starts. But I need you to join me in thinking about this through a psychological lens. I am a trained social psychologist whose interests over 30 years have skewed towards psychology of large scale mass violence, typically in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Waller then showed attendants a brief video with no sound that was from Liep ā ja, Latvia in 1941-42 and explained the contextual history behind it.

“In 1941 to 42, as the Holocaust was unfolding throughout the east, German armies went through these territories,” Waller said. “They conquered villages, towns and cities, and behind them came one of four groups, operational units called Einsatzgruppen. The Einsatzgruppen’s job was to round up all the opponents in the village, mostly Jews, but also Communists, people they suspected were not being sympathy to Nazi practices, to round them up and tell them that they were being transported elsewhere for their own safety and security, only to find out that the transportation was just a couple of kilometers outside of town, to a ditch, to a ravine, to a grave that had been dug the night before.”

The execution of individuals in this face-to-face manner claimed the lives of over 1.25 million, most of which were Jewish, prior to the construction and opening of any of the death camps in the East. There is a significant amount of photographic evidence of these executions, as well as one video that was filmed during one such round of executions and shown during Waller’s lecture.

“On this day of Yom Kippur, which is holiest day in the Jewish tradition, we remember the 6 million Jews who weren’t lost, who were killed in the Holocaust, who weren’t misplaced, they were actively killed,” Waller said. “And here, we remember 1.25-1.5 million who were killed in this way, this face-to-face, very intimate way of killing.”’

Waller then asked what questions a psychologist might ask when watching a clip of such an atrocity and explained that as a psychologist, the discussion ranges from the human behaviors of victims, rescuers, bystanders and perpetrators.

“We’re also talking about the behavior of perpetrators,” Waller said. “How did the perpetrators come to understand that what they’re doing in their mindset is the right thing to do? To not do it would be the wrong thing to do. What are they thinking? How are they justifying their own actions?”’

In the past 30 years, Waller has been working to answer questions such as this. Waller began teaching in Berlin, Germany, and worked with archival material like videos, photographs, trial and interrogation testimonies and bystander accounts and perpetrator accounts. Due to the psychological aspect of his work, Waller was inclined to begin conducting his own interviews in order to gain further insight into the thoughts and experiences of perpetrators, as well as survivors, witnesses and bystanders.

Waller has done face-to-face interviews with over 225 alleged or convicted perpetrators of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in areas throughout Latin America, Africa and Bosnia-Herzegovinia.

“When I do those interviews, I also take the time to speak with survivors, witnesses and bystanders, because I want to hear from them ‘How do you think someone came to commit these types of atrocities?’ because many times the people who committed the atrocities are people they knew,” Waller said.

When addressing the question of the mindset of a perpetrator, Waller told the story of interviewing a perpetrator of the massacre of over 5000 individuals at the Nyamata Parish Catholic Church in Ntarama outside of the capital city of Kigali during the Rwandan genocide.

“The first time I visited Rwanda was four years after the genocide and at most of the churches, the bodies just laid where they had fallen,” Waller said. “Today, Rwanda has reclaimed most of those physical remains and they’ve left the clothing here, displayed in various ways, throughout these places of memory.”’

Most of those killed in the massacre were children and women. The church was converted to a memorial in April of 1997 and now houses many articles of clothing of victims, as well as execution instruments and skeletal remains.

“I was back in Rwanda, in a prison, interviewing a perpetrator and I didn’t get his charge sheet before he came out,” Waller said. “We started the interview cold, and a couple minutes into it he said something that triggered something for me in memory. A couple minutes later, I knew exactly what it was, just by coincidence. I was interviewing the person who was responsible for organizing this massacre in Ntarama.”

During this discussion, Waller asked attendants to describe what

Students organize Justice for Iran protest in wake of global movement

Members of College community gather to show solidarity in wake of anti-government protests in Iran

Wednesday, Oct. 5, students at the College of William and Mary organized a rally in support of current anti-government protests in Iran.

Approximately 50 students, sta of the College and community members gathered at the Sunken Gardens to listen to a series of speakers advocating for global justice.

Amir Shariatmadari ’24 organized the rally in light of Mahsa Amini’s death while in custody of the Iranian morality police for not wearing her hijab properly. Amini’s death caused a wave of protests against the Iranian government starting in September.

“I’d like to begin by answering the question, why am I here speaking?” Shariatmadari said during the protest. “I asked myself this multiple times on the upcoming of this event, and quite frankly it’s hard to narrow it down to one reason. On one hand I’m tired, I’m tired of seeing my people, my relatives, my family and multiple generations of a country being oppressed, having their rights and freedoms taken away.”

Shariatmadari used the Instagram account @wm_justice_for_iran to announce the demonstration and provide information about applying to speak at the event. Four students, including Saayeh Zarei ’26, and Professor Stephen Sheehi spoke at the event, in addition to Max Blalock of the Wesley Campus Ministry.

“What I’m going to discuss with you all today it’s truly unfathomable to believe is still happening in our world in 2022,” Zarei said. “If you aren’t aware of what’s going on, a 22 year old Kurdish-Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, passed away on September 16th after being violently injured by Iranian morality police for not wearing her hijab properly. Since her death, hundreds of thousands have taken to

the streets in protests all around the world. Those protesting in Iran are being arrested and killed, just in their attempt to gain basic human rights.”

choice in the United States. Professor Stephen Sheehi used his voice as an Iranian-American professor to emphasize solidarity for Iranian women.

They will teach us about feminism. They will teach us about struggle. That’s not our job. Our job in solidarity is to do what they need us to do and amplify their voices.”

Students of all backgrounds came to show their support for the protesters of Iran and to listen to rsthand accounts of how the speakers’ backgrounds contributed to their thoughts on the current situation in Iran.

“While I’ve been following the protests in Iran, I had been unsure as to how I could show support for the protests and those who are impacted,” Mia Tilman ’24 wrote to the Flat Hat after attending the demonstration. “I learned about the demonstration over Instagram and knew my friend Saayeh would be speaking, so I decided to attend to support her and hear more from those who are impacted. I hoped to support the people in our community by at the very least showing up and ensuring that their voice is heard by being an audience for them to share their thoughts with. There was obviously so much that I didn’t know and I had so much respect for everyone who shared their experiences and their emotions.”

Shariatmadari also was shocked at the attendance of the protest, as it was organized only in the few days leading up to the protest.

Major themes from the speakers included the importance of supporting and uplifting the voices of Iranian voices, and how the worldwide protests in support of Iranian women have been empowering for members of the Iranian diaspora. Additionally, multiple speakers discussed how the choice to wear a hijab for women should be a choice, and they are happy that they or their family members have that

Presidential Conversation focuses

“We want to come together in an act of solidarity, just like we came together in an act of solidarity for Palestinians and the Cubans,” Sheehi said. “So I want us to properly think about why we came here to support the Iranian people. Right, and how do we do that? You want to do that by elevating Iranian women’s voices. We have nothing to teach them, we are not going to teach them about feminism.

social media

“I expected that around 10 people would show up given the fact that the demonstration was organized on such short notice (less than a week),” Shariatmadari said in a written statement. “Having a lot of people show up, many of who I did not know, was a pleasure. I am happy that people took the time out of their day to learn, or at least listen about what was going on in Iran.”

Shariatmadari also discussed during the protest how the current Iranian government does not represent Islam.

Journalism alumni discuss their experience working in media, ho w it affects global governments

challenge is going to be, going forward, breaking through that voice, because there’s a lot of it, and making sense of it all.”

Culver is a CNN correspondent based in Los Angeles. He graduated from the College with a major in Hispanic studies and a minor in Middle Eastern studies.

His video report on the COVID-19 pandemic in China in January 2020 received more than 211 million views on Facebook.

Hoffman said the media is similar to the structure of the United States government, in that it is representative of the people.

“It’s often thought of as a monolithic institution,” Hoffman said. “But the

media itself is also a mechanism to stand in for the public interest and then for the constituents that these politicians are representing.”

Hoffman is a freelance photographer based in Kyiv, Ukraine. He is a cofounder of Prime, a global collective of photographers.

Its clients include major outlets such as The Washington Post, NPR, Politico and the BBC.

“As members of the media,” Jiang said, “I think it is our duty to provide the tools and the information to the public to be able to engage in that way, so that they can process arguments and make informed decisions.”

Jiang has been the Senior White House Correspondent for CBS News since July 2018. She had several notable clashes with former President Donald

Trump, with one instance of him calling her question “nasty.”

She said people often look to the media for confirmation of their own biases instead of looking for information. Because of that, she thinks journalists have to provide the best and most accurate information so that people can get closer to making their own objective thoughts, a necessary process to sustain democracy.

Jiang, who graduated from the College as a philosophy major, said nothing could have prepared her more for her journalism career than a philosophy degree. A philosophy education, she said, helped her to “sift through all the noise” and “to present all sides of an argument and leave it to the public to make up their own minds”

about life-changing decisions.

Hopkins also discussed her conversations on American democracy with some Kosovan people while she was living in the partially-recognized European state. She said while they were shocked when Trump won the 2016 presidential election, they were still confident in the strength of American institutions. Six years later, however, they are worried about the state of American democracy, and for their own state as well.

“‘This country that we looked up to for so long,’ you know, ‘what can happen to us when this is happening in one of the oldest democracies in the world?’” she said.

Hopkins cited the College as being a source of preparation for her journalism career.

She said she volunteered in Romania as part of the College’s service programs and received a grant from the College to stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the discussion, Hoffman presented some of his photographs relating to the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution and the war in Ukraine. He explained that one of the protestors in the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution came to him and told him to leave.

“‘You should move back, this is a war now,’” Hoffman said, recalling what a protester said to him. “It was a protest that turned into a revolution, and this was the moment it became a war.”

After the discussion, the panel took questions and comments from the

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misogynistic