The Flat Hat October 25 2023

Demolishing in Dec ’23

Becoming Freshmen Dorms

FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF

Saturday,

“As you know, an anonymous threat to campus was made on social media today and the university initiated a lockdown,” the statement sent to the campus at 4:46PM read. “ is action was taken out of an abundance of caution while William & Mary and Williamsburg Police attempted to locate a person of interest. Once police had the individual in custody, the lockdown was lifted. e safety of our campus community is a top priority, and we are grateful this incident was resolved safely and without injury.”

At 2:44PM, students, parents, and the greater Williamsburg community were alerted through an emergen cy noti cation system that there was an unknown issue on campus. e emergency alarm was also turned on and could be heard throughout the College.

“Anonymous threat to campus,” the rst message read. “Seek shelter immediately inside a secure location. More info to follow.”

Panic began to spread through campus during this time, with on-campus locations, such as the Sadler Center and Earl Gregg Swem Library, entering a shelter in place.

Events Assistant Meriem Hcini ‘23 was working in Sadler when the rst alert was sent.

LAT H AT

Residence Life announces changes to on-campus housing for 2023-24

were able to secure housing for this year.”

Wednesday, Oct. 12, Residence Life revealed changes to next year’s housing policy, including a reduction in available rooms. Following last year’s developments and challenges with housing, including an unprecedented waitlist of 600 upperclassmen attempting to live on campus and the announcement of the Housing and Dining Comprehensive Facilities Plan, finding housing has become a contentious issue for students and in local politics.

In the email, Residence Life announced the one-year closure of Monroe Hall for renovations, the switch of Dawson and Dupont Hall to freshmen housing and the suspension of same-room sign up. For the 2023-24 school year, the housing capacity will fall from 4838 to 4469.

“The number of beds available for rising Juniors and Seniors will fluctuate from year to year as we work toward completion of the Housing and Dining Comprehensive Facilities Plan,” Director of Housing & Residence Life Harriet Kandell wrote to The Flat Hat. “We anticipate that Fall 2023 and Fall 2024 will be the most challenging. As we open new buildings in Fall 2025, we will have much more space available.”

Residence Life anticipates having 1000 beds spaces reserved for upperclassmen; this number, according to Kandell, includes spaces in locations “such as special interest housing in Language Houses, Mosaic, Africana House, Fraternity & Sorority Houses and Resident Assistants.”

Kandell confirmed that Residence Life is expecting another large waitlist for this year.

“Each year we anticipate and are prepared for a waiting list for housing,” Kandell said. “With the closure of Yates and Monroe Halls for the 23-24 academic year we anticipate a housing wait list of potentially 400-500 students. While we cannot guarantee that all students initially placed on the housing wait list will eventually be offered on-campus housing, in past years we have been able to house all students who actively remained on the wait list, including Fall 2022. As of now for this fall we currently have around 160 undergraduate vacancies throughout campus. In Spring 2022 we had a waiting list of over 600 students. All of those students

ELECTION

As upperclassmen search for offcampus housing, many have spoken out against the general lack of housing options in Williamsburg, and even less that are affordable and within walking distance.

Giselle Boudreaux ’25 received her very last choice for a dorm last year, and did not want to gamble her choice by staying on campus this year, especially as she heard most housing options are leased in the

“I didn’t think too many people had started getting housed, and I thought there’d still be a lot of options, but I was wrong about that. And pretty much everything now that’s close to campus or a ordable is taken.

fall and room selection takes place in the spring. She began looking for off-campus housing in mid-September and started asking upperclassmen if they knew any options.

“In my opinion, it seems very early to be looking that early,” Boudreaux said.

Boudreaux was able to eventually secure an apartment within walking distance, though she says the process to sign the lease and pay the deposit was very fast-paced. Boudreaux does not have a car, so being near campus was vital.

“And so they got back to me eventually and basically all of the units were snapped up within like a week, a week and a half, and we got the very, very last one,” she said. “So

it was very hectic. It was fast, fast paced.”

Josh Shankman ’23 was hoping to find on-campus housing last year with his three other suitemates — two of whom were planning to study abroad — when they found out they were on the waitlist.

“We had never heard of them running out of space,” Shankman said. “...They had also increased their freshman class size and everything, so there was a lot of frustration, particularly with communication, because we felt like if we had known that… it might be difficult to get on-campus, we would have looked at our alternatives a little differently,”

Shankman was one of the last people able to sign a lease for one of the remaining doubles in Midtown Row.

“We ended up finding out at the time pretty quickly that there were like five doubles left in the entirety of the Midtown complex,” Shankman said. “And that was the, you know, no quads, no triples, just five doubles and a few singles. And so it was, you know, pretty scrambled of, ‘hey, everybody, call your parents, figure out if you can do this. Like, here’s how much it’ll be. You would need to know in the next two days whether we’re going to do this or not, because otherwise we’re going to not be able to sign because it’ll close up.’”

”While Midtown Row was developed with the intent to be student housing, its higher prices and further distance from the College do serve as a barrier for some students. Still, Midtown Row’s 600+ housing capacity makes it the largest apartment complex in close proximity to the College.

“So the standard pricing for Midtown, I believe in a quad is around $900 a month, which I think is typical of what you’ll find students paying if they’re living off campus in a house or a little farther away,” Shankman said. “The doubles at midtown are $1300 a month, so I’m paying an extra $400 a month to live, as opposed to what my option would have been had I known we weren’t going to live on campus, which kind of adds up over the course of a 12 month lease.”

Sydney Clayton ’25 only began looking for housing at the start of October, and her and her future roommates have not been able to secure any housing yet.

Students mobilize for the City of Williamsburg election

LULU DAWES FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

As the Nov. 8 election date nears, the City of Williamsburg and the College of William and Mary students prepare for two of the five city council seats to be up for grabs on the ballot. Despite no students running for the open seats, this election has seen a wave of student engagement.

Current city council members up for re-election and on the ballot are Mayor Doug Pons and Council Member Ted Maslin MBA ’80. Rick Overy and William and Mary Law School Professor Stacy Kern-Scheerer are running alongside them.

Caleb Rogers ’20 ran in 2020 and is halfway through serving his four-year term. Rogers says that in the last 14 years where students have been allowed to vote, there has been historically less participation when no College student is running. Since 2010, the last three times a student at the

Inside Opinions

Importance of using your voice as a student

Ted Maslin argues students should utilize their voice to advocate for the changes they want to see in Williamsburg

College has run, they have been elected.

“In all of those years, the years in which there has been a student candidate, there’s been a lot of participation,” Rogers said. “When there hasn’t been, there hasn’t been that same level of engagement. So looking at this year, I think it’s safe to say this is the most engagement the student body has been getting for a council race that does not involve a student, which really is historic.”

Candidates may have known this year would be different when an unprecedented high number of students attended a Sept. 12 off-campus debate. As shown in the debate and following student interactions, much of the student vote revolves around housing — a high-stress issue at the College.

As the College undergoes major housing renovations, demolishes many on-campus residence halls and accepts a higher number of freshmen, upperclassmen have spoken

out against the shortage of reasonably priced off-campus housing opportunities. Along with contentious town and gown relations — many of which were brought up at the council’s moratorium vote last year — some students feel unwelcome when they do find off-campus housing.

“With housing, you get finished with sophomore year and you suddenly have the ability to live off campus if you want… So then they start looking at the off-campus options and they’ve probably found that there aren’t a ton of options, or when there are they can be expensive,” Rogers said. “So Council has been excited about Midtown Row and open to and appreciative of students who are living in our neighborhoods. That has also led to, as a lot of students know, some consternation in the neighborhoods where you can have student houses living next to long-time owners.”

Our Williamsburg is a new

student-run organization on campus, which advocates for students to register to vote in Williamsburg and to get involved with local issues that affect them. With the immediate focus on the council election, Our Williamsburg has endorsed Rick Overy and Stacy Kern-Scheerer.

“We met with all the candidates and we chose two that we deemed most studentfriendly based on a couple of issues and so now we’re advocating for those candidates and for people to get registered to vote,” Matthew Berthoud ’25, one of the founders of Our Williamsburg, said.

The idea for the organization began when Berthoud and cofounder Charlie Unice ’25 began looking for off-campus housing.

“We’re looking for places to live next year, and we realized that the housing market is kind of tough around here, and there’s a lot of reasons for that,” Berthoud said. “There’s just sort of a limited supply.due to the three-

READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM

Inside Sports

Thousands of miles from home

Freeman Fellows embark on summer-long immersion program in Asia

Volleyball finishes off Hampton in Kaplan Tribe improves to 11-7 after weekend game, now above .500 in CAA play

- Sydney Clayton ʼ25

Inside Variety

Rise in student involvement,“Our Williamsburg” forms to advocate for student voices

LULU DAWES // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT

LULU DAWES / FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Closed for Renovation

Students express frustration at shortage of accessible, affordable off-campus housing

news insight

Looking at this year, I think itʼs safe to say this is the most engagement the student body has been getting for a council race that does not involve

student, which really is historic.

FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF

Man escapes from Eastern State Hospital Monday, Oct. 24, the Tribe Alert system emailed the College of William and Mary community about the escape of Christopher Matthew Feagin, 32, from the Eastern State Hospital. Feagin is also known under the aliases of Michael Lee Malone or Christopher Feagih.

“Virginia State Police are asking for assistance in locating Christopher Matthew Feagin, who escaped from Eastern State Hospital today. Feagin is described as a White male, 5ʼ9” and 135 lbs. He has pierced ears and multiple tattoos,” the alert read.

In a statement released on Virginia State Policeʼs Twitter, further information about Feaginʼs whereabouts is requested from the community.

“Christopher Feagin, 32, (AKA Michael Lee Malone or Christopher Feagih) is a white male with numerous tattoos on both arms, to include one of a skull with a womanʼs face on his face,” Virginia State Police wrote in a statement. Feagin escaped the hospital facility around 1:40 a.m. on Oct. 24. He has no recorded address, but was arrested by the Virginia Beach Police in August of 2022. Feagin also has known ties to the city of Lexington, S.C.

Due to Virginiaʼs medical policy laws, further details about Feagin are legally protected from public discussion. Though Feagin is not likely to be in the area, the emergency alert sent to the College community instructs individuals that, in the case of seeing him, to contact police immediately, as he could be armed and is considered dangerous. The Virginia State Police can be reached at 757-424-6800 or at questions@vsp.virginia.

A THOUSAND WORDS

Tee ball to TikTok: Bat Boys Baseball takes on the MLB

AAFREEN ALI // THE FLAT HAT

Juan Soto. Kyle Schwarber. Francisco Lindor. Justin Verlander. Any baseball fan could see them on the big screen or as a speck from the stands. For Liam Holland ’24, these players were mere feet away.

As one half of the baseball content platform @batboysbaseball, Holland has interviewed them all. A joint e ort with his friend Eric Shellhouse, a junior at James Madison University, @batboysbaseball has amassed almost 195,000 followers on TikTok and 77,000 on Instagram.

Childhood friends Holland and Shellhouse have always loved baseball, sharing their passion for the Washington Nationals and playing together for years on travel teams. However in their senior year of high school, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, leaving them without a formal league to play in. So in May 2020, they devoted their time to something new.

“So we basically just started making videos,” Holland said. “At that point, it was any videos you could think of. We would go out and play with our friends, do any kind of MLB analysis videos, little challenges — just anything you can imagine your friends screwing around on a baseball eld.”

After a year, the duo began lming content at stadiums. ey reached out to minor league baseball teams, working with four teams until their connection at the Fredericksburg Nationals gave them an opportunity with the Washington Nationals.

“Basically, through this connection, we were able to get this media access at the major league games and that’s how we started talking to all these players that we’re kind of recognized for,” Holland said.

Starting college at different schools less than a year after starting the accounts, the two had some initial doubts about continuing their endeavor.

“I was telling him multiple times, ‘I just don’t know if this is worth it, like we’re growing a pretty cool following, but maybe this was just a one summer thing,’” Shellhouse said. “And I didn’t know if I saw much of a future...And then I realized, ‘no, there’s a demand for this. ere’s an audience for this.’ And once Liam opened my eyes that this is actually a future career path for us… then it became a lot more serious to me.”

e duo strategized their way to success, learning to better understand content creation and algorithms. ey continue to spend time editing and uploading content daily.

“[Liam] would spend a lot of time watching videos, researching when to post, how often you should be posting, how many hashtags you should be using and what kind of hashtags you should be using,” Shellhouse said. “We, for a long time, struggled to nd what our niche was going to be… it was going to be baseball, but where in the baseball community?”

Now, the account is known for short interviews with major league players. Using their press passes, Holland and Shellhouse enter stadiums hours ahead to capture baseball’s pregame energy and speak with players warming up.

“When they come on the warming track, where we’re posted up, we basically say, ‘Excuse me, do you have a minute for a couple personality questions?’” Holland said. “A concise way to describe what we’re doing —

not just another basic interview that will take up a bunch of time, it’s just actual fun questions that will market these players and give them a social media presence.”

Asking players about anything from their walkup song to their favorite pregame meal, Holland and Shellhouse keep the tone light on their platform. To Holland, these interviews are a way to build a genuine connection with the players.

“I think being able, especially because of our style…to show the genuine respect we have for them,” Holland said. “I feel like we can speak for a lot of fans when we’re interacting with them…we want to hype them up and we’re spreading good vibes.”

Over the years, Holland has interviewed several greats and has had the chance to meet childhood heroes.

“My favorite, just because he’s known to many as the G.O.A.T, was being able to interview Mike Trout,” Holland said. “He came into the league in 2011 when I was in elementary school then and I’ve just seen him grow up in the league while I’ve grown up. at was really surreal because it was a full circle moment.”

When he’s not contributing to @batboysbaseball, Holland plays club baseball at the College of William and Mary and is recruitment chair for the Sigma Chi fraternity. Balancing these activities with his coursework as an international relations major and Spanish minor can be a challenge.

“[Eric and I] are both college students, it’s so hard to balance anything on top of classes because you still want to take academics seriously,” Holland said. “And with playo baseball going on right now, it’s the most important month of the year for baseball, especially in terms of being in the loop with MLB stu . Half of our communication is about what to post… because there’s strategy involved with like, players that are in the headlines, you want to post our interview with them.”

However, Holland’s coursework and content creation aren’t completely unrelated; he nds applications for his coursework in the realm of baseball.

“What I’ve learned in the international relations major here… can be applied to the baseball world because they have all these international relations with the countries that players come from,” Holland said. “ is summer I talked to players from 16 di erent countries… and a quarter of the league right now is from Latin America. So there’s a huge demand for Spanish speakers... rst o , to help the players get adjusted to American life, but also to market them because a lot of the time the Latino players aren’t highlighted…just because they can’t speak English.”

Holland predicts a bright future for @batboysbaseball, viewing it as a solid foundation for future endeavors.

“I think it’s gonna lead to something,” Holland said. “We’ve been told so many times that life’s about who you know, not what you know, and [in] the sports industry, you need connections to nd the right path. is has already opened up a lot of doors to where we both don’t know exactly what we’re going to do, but we trust that it’s gonna help us gure that out.”

Campus Carrot Top promotes sustainability at the College

From spray-painted compost bins to educational infographics, sustainability is becoming more visible on campus.

e emergence of these resources can be attributed to the e orts of passionate students such as Sydney ayer ’24.

ayer has pioneered the concept of modern sustainability at the College of William and Mary. She is the Student Assembly’s secretary of sustainability, a student liaison to the O ce of Sustainability and the Carrot Top of the Veggie Society.

“I hope that people can get used to the idea of living a more sustainable life because

they had access to it while they’re here at William and Mary,” ayer said. “I hope that when they leave William and Mary, they’re at least thinking about sustainability a little bit more.”

To ayer, environmentally-friendly activism is not about completely changing the lifestyle of others, but rather making a series of simple choices, such as learning more about compost bins and using reusable mugs when buying co ee on campus.

She began to explore improving sustainable resources on campus during her freshman year. ayer remembers the compost and trash bins over owing in her freshman dorm building, as they only had one public compost bin for the entire dorm.

When her community council proposed the creation of a trash committee, ayer was ready to o er assistance.

“There were four of us on the committee and we ended up creating all these names and different awareness things of how to properly put stuff in the compost bin,” Thayer said.

is initiative was the rst of many conservation e orts that ayer engaged in during her freshman year. She also started a composting Instagram account, created memes to spread awareness about how to properly compost and used the Green Fee Fund to bring another compost bin to the Green and Gold Village.

Liam Holland ʼ24 interviews professional baseball players for t housands of followers online

DANIEL KALISH / THE FLAT HAT

COURTESY PHOTO / LIAM HOLLAND

Liam Holland ʼ24 fist bumps Juan Soto. Holland has interviewed dozens of MLB players for his account @batboysbaseball which has over 195,000 followers on TikTok.

Sydney Thayer ʼ24 embodies environmentalism through Veggie Society, Student Assembly

ABIGAIL CONNELLY / FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

Taylor Robertson Business Manager Sarah Devendorf Standards Editor

Chris Schneider Video

Ryan Leventhal Webmaster

Erica Smedley Digital Media Editor

opinions

We’re Breaking Free: Getting Out of Daily Habits

FLAT HAT ASSOC. OPINIONS EDITOR

Every Monday and Wednesday, I wake up to my alarm (sound: radar, for those curious). I make the arduous trek (10-minute walk) to my 11 a.m. After that, I get lunch at Sadler with the same couple of friends, where I usually get one of the two same things (chicken nuggets or tacos, although self-serve at Global Kitchen has really upped it in my personal rankings). If I’m feeling studious, I go to the library. If not, which is about half the time, I go home and take a nap. Then, I go to my second class. I eat dinner. I do homework. If I have time, I hang out with friends.

Thereʼs only so many times you can sit in one of the slightly off-putting classrooms of Washington Hall without questioning your sense of reality. And so, I am challenging myself and others: over the course of your day, make a change.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have a separate but similar schedule. It’s familiar. It’s comfortable. I don’t have to work too hard. I always know what’s coming next, and best of all, I don’t have to plan. Sounds awesome, right? No decisions beyond the basics: What do I feel like eating today? Am I tired? It’s a toddler’s dream.

At a certain point, however, having everything laid out starts to feel less like convenience and more like complacency. After all, I am not a toddler, even if I do eat chicken nuggets at least twice a week. As a fully grown college student, I’m capable of making large life decisions. I can vote! I can build my credit score! I can eat vegetables with my meals! (That one’s for you, mom).

Do I actually follow the exact same pattern every day? No. But it sure does feel like it, especially when I’ve already been on campus for two years. There’s only so many times you can sit in one of the slightly off-putting classrooms of Washington Hall without questioning your sense of reality. And so, I am challenging myself and others: over the course of your day, make a change.

I’m not talking about a huge change. This is not an article proclaiming the wonders of selling all of your belongings and going backpacking through Europe. I’m just suggesting that we all remember we have free will. The future is not determined. You could go get ice cream right now. You could get up and scream. You could walk to class a different way. The world is truly your oyster.

Iʼm not talking about a huge change. This is not an article proclaiming the wonders of selling all of your belongings and going backpacking through Europe. Iʼm just suggesting that we all remember we have free will. The future is not determined.

Recently, I went to coffee in Colonial Williamsburg with a friend I hadn’t seen in awhile. As an ex-Brown Hall resident, I used to be on that side of campus all the time, but this semester I don’t think I’ve been farther than the Sir Christopher Wren Building. And so, when getting coffee, I was shocked. This whole side of campus exists! There’s a real live town with fun cafes and restaurants and confused tourists and also their dogs! This far into the semester, it’s easy to get sequestered in your ways. Especially with midterms, it often feels like there’s no room in your schedule to do things differently. But I promise there is. Spread your wings, little griffins. Explore new skies.

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

Email Lauren at lemeyer@wm.edu.

COMIC

Advocacy 101: Using the City as a Student Lab!

In an Oct. 11 Flat Hat article, Drew Stelljes Ph.D. ’07 stated that the College of William and Mary should be “a place where respectful dialogue takes place on challenging topics.”

In a recent meeting with student political groups, I suggested how students could develop advocacy skills while taking on real issues facing Williamsburg City Council boards and commissions. In-person attendance at these meetings is at an all-time low. This creates an opportunity for students to research an issue and prepare remarks to address the decision makers. Although this experience will definitely help government, social work and pre-law students, every student could find an opportunity during the budget season to advocate for funds to organizations or causes for which they have a passion!

I moved back to Williamsburg from the west coast in 2016 and searched for opportunities to give back to the community. I was a paramedic/firefighter and President of the Williamsburg Volunteer Fire Department when I was a student of the College.

My local advocacy began by chance when I attended a City Council meeting where the previous city manager proposed to renovate and expand the Williamsburg Police Department’s police station in its current location. I decided to offer my (unsolicited) advice during the public forum since I had experience planning public safety facilities for the City of Seattle.

I suggested that the City Council ask staff for other options and identified two reasons not to expand the current building: a) the site was not large enough to meet the needs of a contemporary police station, and b) all the vehicles currently under the station would

be moved up to the surface lot and take more parking spaces away from the library.

For years, I was the sole voice against this expansion. The media helped amplify my voice. The good news is that the city will now build a new police station adjacent to the Municipal Building! When the police department publishes the size of the new station, it will be obvious to everyone that the current site is not large enough to meet the police department’s needs. Even better, by tearing down the existing police station, we create more site plan options for planning a new library of the future!

There is an interesting development project which will be presented to the Planning Commission on November 16. This would be an ideal case for students to research, interview representative stakeholders and present recommendations to the Planning Commission and then City Council. This rezoning request involves property owned by the city adjacent to the College Woods and Berkeley Middle School. The sale price of the land is being discounted so that the developer will sell 10% of the condominiums at a lower price to help address the need for more affordable workforce housing. Environmental and traffic issues need to be addressed. Complicating the situation is that access to the site is from Strawberry Plains Road, which is in James City County but managed by the Virginia Department of Transportation! And since there is an established neighborhood next to this parcel, their concerns need to be given a voice. Stakeholders even include several judges!

So how can students take advantage of opportunities to find their voice and advocate in the public arena? Please email me: tedmaslin1683@ gmail.com.

Ted Maslin MBA’80 serves on Williamsburg City Council. He can be reached at tedmaslin1693@gmail.com.

Fuzzy #21: Costume Quandering

ARIANNA STEWART / THE FLAT HAT

Lauren Meyer

GRAPHIC BY SYEDA SAFDAR / THE FLAT HAT

GUEST WRITER

Ted Maslin

Hey... wanna play Spike?

Avi Joshi and Max Grill THE FLAT HAT

There we stand. Four guys, one net and one ball. When the ball soars after the first hit, our dance begins. We dive, we scream –– we win. Then, we start again. We’re not the only gladiators who engage in this incredible act of physical might, but we may be the most persistent. This game is in our blood. We play in the rain, under the beating sun and in the darkness of night. This game brings us together, and at times, tears us apart. The game... is spike ball.

Actually... spike ball is not that deep. It’s just fun, and our freshman dorm is weirdly obsessed with it.

Spike ball has been an ever-growing sport around college campuses for the past couple years. Many schools have leagues or clubs dedicated to this simple game, and at The College of William and Mary, places like the Sunken Garden offer the perfect setting for a game of spike ball.

One of the best aspects of spike ball –– and one of the reasons it’s so popular in our hall –– is that really anyone can play. We have a couple of guys on our floor who never played sports in high school, but it has never deterred them from hopping into a game. It is super easy to pick up, and once someone gets better and realizes how fun it is to play, it quickly becomes really hard to stop them.

Spike ball has also made us unanticipated friends. There have been tons of times where we’ve been in the middle of a game, and someone interested in playing comes over and hangs out with us. A few games will go by, and as we wrap up for the day, this new face quickly becomes a friend we’ll look for around campus.

For us and our friends in our freshmen dorm, spike ball has been a huge part of our semester this fall. It’s a stress reliever, gets us outside and also lets us blow off some steam when we all feel like banging our heads against a wall from one too many hours of biology or philosophy readings.

But most importantly, spike ball has given us a way to strengthen the bond between the guys in our freshman dorm: Camm Hall. We first started playing when Max got a Spike Ball kit for his birthday. At that time, all the guys including us had only known each other for about a week and a half. We were awkward –– we barely knew each other, and we were looking for ways to get past the stage of just sitting around and staring at each other. So, we started playing spike ball. Then we played some more. We kept playing so much, the game subconsciously worked itself into our daily routines. We couldn’t go through a day without going to the Sunken Garden and “spiking it up,” as

we call it throughout our floor. Someone would pop into the group-chat and ask, “Does anyone wanna Spike?” and without fail, at least three other guys would jump on the chance to play.

While we played, nothing else really mattered. There would be days we’d compete like our lives depended on it, and there were days where Max really only tried to set the ball using his head, much to his partner’s dismay. We’d laugh at each other when we’d whiff at the ball, but we’d also rush over to anyone who took a spill trying to keep a rally going. Inside jokes began to form, and quickly the joking around followed us back to our dorm long after we left the Sunken Garden. We became teammates, and we became friends.

With only a net, a ball and a speaker, a boring Monday became a day filled with laughs, music, sweat and new memories. Whether it was just thirty minutes or an hour (or some days, many hours), spike ball and Taylor Swift carried us all through days that seemed overwhelmingly endless.

Our love of spike ball has not just stayed on Camm’s first floor, either. People from the second and third floors come and play with us all the time. Because the game is so easy to pick up, most people start off playing very timidly and in just a few days, are diving on the ground with us. Eventually, the game becomes less about just making the ball hit the net and more about how hard–or soft in some cases–the ball needs to be hit in order to trip up the opposing team.

So if you ever see a rowdy group of Camm Hall Spike Ball lovers playing on the Sunken Garden, don’t be afraid to come play with us. We love teaching new people how to play, and if you already know how, then feel free to jump in. This game has not only given us consistent fun but also great memories –– memories filled with jokes, lots of grass stains and even more Taylor Swift. We would love to challenge you to a Taylor Swift sing-off and of course, a good ol’ game of spike ball.

AviJoshi‘26ishopingtodoublemajorinEnglishand Philosophy.BesideswritingforFlatHat,AviisinMetalClub aswellasanactivememberofPhiMuAlpha.Heplaysthe drumsandknowshowtocooklikeprettymuchanything. EmailAviatasjoshi@wm.edu.

MaxGrill‘26isnotevenremotelysurewhathewantsto majorin.HeisfromPhiladelphiaandloveswatchingthe Phillies,talkingaboutthePhillies,andreadingaboutthe Phillies.Inhissparetime,youmayfindhimengagedin anintensegameofSpeedChess.Ifyouwanttoplayhim, emailmbgrill@wm.edu.

STAFF COLUMN

On the versatility of Wawa

Caitlin Noe FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR

If you are a student at the College of William and Mary, one thing is for sure — you will be going to Wawa at some point. For the few who don’t know, Wawa is a convenience store that is open 24/7. You will often find the store most busy on Friday and Saturday nights with hungry college students coming in after a night out.

Wawa may be the only walkable option for students open 24/7, but many students also go because the food is pretty good and the options plentiful. I first discovered it my freshman year at the College; my home state of Illinois does not have Wawas. Ever since then, my life has been changed. Due to the frequency of times I have found myself there, I thought I would share some of my favorite Wawa picks and essentials.

For breakfast, the breakfast burritos are good, but don’t get the lunch burrito. The bagel and croissant breakfast sandwiches available to grab and go are pretty good. The hash browns are also tasty. They are two for $5, so consider getting those as you rush to class. Also don’t overlook the bagel options, especially the everything bagel toasted with cream cheese, when you want a faster option than The Bake Shop or Aromas.

Onto lunch, get the bacon cheeseburger but not the fries. Try the buffalo breaded chicken strip sandwich, the BBQ chicken strip sandwich, and the chicken parmesan breaded chicken strip sandwich. If chicken isn’t your thing, consider the meatball parmesan sandwich and also try the bacon avocado club sandwich. As for the sides, consider the cornbred, stuffing and regular mac n cheese, but not the buffalo mac n cheese. Try the cheese quesadillas but not the chicken quesadillas. They often go too light on the cheese in the chicken version of their quesadillas. Lastly, get a bowl. My favorite is the three chicken strips with mashed potatoes or mac n’ cheese bowl, but skip the burrito bowl.

A few random additions to my picks include the soft pretzels near the checkout lines at Wawa. They are only $1. Wawa also has a fantastic selection of ice cream and candy for your sweet tooth. Don’t forget you can also just run into Wawa for some chips and pretty much every other convenience store snack!

As for drinks, get the macchiatos and lattes. The hot versions are okay, but the iced versions are better. My favorite is the iced salted caramel latte with oat milk. They are not Starbucks, but are cheaper. Also oat milk is more affordable at Wawa than other near campus and on-campus options. Skip the popping bubbles at Wawa and go get boba at a bubble tea shop. I would recommend Kung Fu Tea in New Town. But try the Wawa fruit smoothies — mango banana and strawberry banana are best!

Lastly, consider joining the rewards program and don’t forget you can use Express! Wawa may be most popular on Friday and weekends, but if you can’t stand the dining hall food one day, consider going for a random weekday meal. Treat yourself!

Caitlin Noe ’24 is a government major. In addition to working as an opinions editor for the Flat Hat, she is a member of Alpha Phi Omega, the service fraternity. Email Caitlin at cjnoe@wm.edu.

GUEST COLUMN

GRAPHIC BY ZOE DAVIS / THE FLAT HAT

Club Review Column First Edition: Satanic Mechanics

Neeltje Kackar THE FLAT HAT

Hiya, I’m Neeltje Kackar (Class of ‘26)! I’m writing a series of opinion articles for The Flat Hat intended to highlight some of the best clubs I’ve been to. My hope is that by writing these articles I can contribute to a sense of extracurricular connection among students at the College of William and Mary, and help peers find interests that they never would have had otherwise.

For those of you who don’t know, the Satanic Mechanics is a fairly large club at the College which is dedicated to producing a production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show every semester/year. On the evening of Sunday, September 11, I was walking around the second wing of the first floor in the Integrated Science Center when suddenly I heard loud whooping from the vents. I quickly deduced that the sound was coming

from upstairs, and the fact that the cheering was punctuated by music intrigued me. So, I went to the second floor classroom where my Data Structures class takes place every Monday morning, and lo and behold, there were at least 30 people in the room, with the aforementioned loud music and cheering taking place right before I entered.

After sitting on the side of the room for about 20 minutes, I began to understand what was happening: the exec team at the projector played a short clip of weirdly dressed people from YouTube, and then audience members went up and copied the YouTube people, as if they were auditioning for the role.

Every time that 3-4 of the auditioners finished their performance, the audience members conducted a blind vote for whoever acted out the YouTube clip best. In a strange urge, even though I had no clue what prize was being competed for, and even though I’d never performed anything theater-like for anyone, I

wanted to try.

At the first opportunity, when the execs asked for volunteers to come to the front, I dropped my bag at my seat and walked to the front. The exec team asked each of us to introduce ourselves and share a fun fact about us, and when it came to my turn, I shared the normal formalities.

Somewhat surprisingly, when I said I had absolutely no idea what the name of the club was, let alone what I was competing for, the audience not only laughed, but cheered. That was quite possibly the best reception I’ve gotten from any club for any reason, and I was ecstatic. Later in the evening, when I had mostly realized what was going on, I decided to audition again for a different video. However, I knew I was no good at acting out scenes, so I simply spun in a circle for two minutes. This netted some of the

biggest laughter of the night, and when I was done, I knew that even though I didn’t win the competition, this was going to be one of the best moments of my Every Club Journey™.

To recap: the Satanic Mechanics held an audition for character roles in their upcoming Rocky Horror Picture Show performance, and even though I had no clue what I was doing when I auditioned, it ended up being quite possibly the most fulfilling hourand-a-half in my college experience. Even if you aren’t interested in acting, I highly recommend you go to their auditions and their show at the end of the semester.

NeeltjeKackar‘26(she/ they)isaPhysics/Comp Scidoublemajor,andis aimingtovisiteveryclub/organizationatthe Collegebytheendofhersenioryear.Inher previouslittlefreetime,shelovestocode hobbyprojectsinPythonandRust,andshe loves to make sure her “Invite Me To Your Clubs” flyersareontopatSwemromas.Email her at misc@wmclubs.blog.

...suddenly I heard loud whooping coming from the vents.

...this was going to be one of the best moments of my Every Club Journey.

Thousand of miles from home

Freeman Fellows embark on summer-long immersion program in Asia.

Since 2018, the Freeman Foundation has sponsored up to 24 students from the College of William and Mary to complete eightweek internships in Asia. Through a rigorous application process, Freeman Intern Fellows are matched with one of the foundation’s international partners — ranging from government entities to private companies and non-profit organizations — and receive up to $6,000 to cover living expenses.

Professor Francis Tanglao Aguas, faculty director of the Freeman Intern Fellowships in East Asia Program and professor of Theater and Asian & Pacific Islander American studies at the College highlighted the program’s emphasis on cross-cultural awareness and self-reliance skills.

“Living and working abroad while receiving full funding to do so is, of course, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Aguas said. “We hope for our APIA-AMES Freeman Intern Fellows to have experienced how the diverse East Asian locations facilitate and foster work cultures and the relationships that these environments are able to nurture on a personal and professional level.”

For Sean Nguyen ’25, a history and public policy double major, the opportunity to navigate an independent life abroad drew him to the program.

“In the Freeman Fellowship, all the reins are on you: the independence, the degree of living in a foreign country and how you navigate and choose to spend your day,” Nguyen said. “All of that is up to your jurisdiction.”

Nguyen was matched with the Sant Maral Foundation in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where he conducted research on Mongolian legislation’s impact on Mongolian-Kazakh relations. In Mongolia, many Kazakhs migrated from the former Soviet Union and settled along the western border with present-day Kazakhstan. The geographic distance between Mongolian-Kazakhs and the capital is the furthest among all ethnic groups in Mongolia.

“Because that distance is so huge, there’s a large involvement of the Mongolian government on that individual body and entity,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen then drafted a report summarizing the findings that is currently under revision. Additionally, he conducted analyses of the polling data to spot inconsistencies and run quality assurances.

“For the most part, Mongolian legislation just does not impact Kazakhs,” Nguyen said. “They have a peaceful coexistence with the Mongolian government and Mongolia. I think in part because they’re so geographically distant, there’s just no need for the state administration to have any direct implication.”

During his internship, one of his main projects involved field research in Bayan-Ögli, Mongolia’s westernmost aimag, or province. Through his observations and interviews, he found that the most significant disparities existed in the education system.

“What we noticed is that in these public schools, teachers are oftentimes bribed, so they don’t need to teach well, and there’s not much emphasis on succeeding in the long-term,” Nguyen said. “But for [students] who are in private schools, they tend to be able to move up on the social ladder. And the goal for almost everyone I talked to is for them to leave Bayan-Ögli.”

As Bayan-Ögli continues to rank the worst on standardized tests yearly, there is little the locals can do about the flawed system.

“Oftentimes, this is also why people are very upset and bitter. The state education administration always asks, ‘Why is Bayan-Ögli always the worst consistently, year to year?’” Nguyen said. “And yes, you can fault the public education system. That’s largely why there’s so much social media discourse, like teachers complaining to other teachers, like, ‘Hey, can all just acclimate to better education?’ But that can’t happen right now because of how the public schools are set up.”

While he dedicated lots of time to his research, Nguyen also explored Mongolia to see everything the country had to offer. One of his most memorable moments was visiting the Gobi Desert.

“I brought no hat, no sunglasses, not even sunscreen,” Nguyen said. “I was so silly for it, and it was somehow the most horrible and beautiful experience of my life. Just getting to be in the blistering heat, riding camels, hiking up large sand dunes and seeing overtop of the Gobi Desert.”

And within the span of two months, Nguyen established meaningful daily routines and connections with locals.

“Because I was solo-traveling, I made an active effort to interact with everyone to the highest degree possible,” Nguyen said. “For instance, there was this one day I was in the sauna at the gym, and I heard an English-speaking voice…. So I stayed in a 200-degree sauna for 40 minutes just to have a conversation with someone. And through that, I was able to develop a friendship.”

Mongolian hospitality especially left an indelible impression on his outlook on multicultural interactions.

“Now that I’ve been there, all I want to do is go back because it is a country that has, by far, the most independent and unique culture ever seen for around 3.3 million people,” Nguyen said. “It’s also one of the least dense. And yet, I was literally running into friends I met in Ulaanbaatar because it’s a close-knit space, and especially when you’re in the countryside, it’s so kin-based that I could just walk into households because I would be like, ‘Yeah, I know this guy.’”

Other Freeman Fellows chose to travel to different locations. Isabella DiFulvio ’23, a computer science and Asian and Pacific Islander American studies double major, interned at the Philippine Social Science Council in Manila. Along with another student at the College, her major task was developing a one-stop website that housed all the social science databases created by government agencies and non-government entities.

“[PSSP] really wanted to have some sort of application they can provide for social science researchers to allow them to access data,” DiFulvio said. “They previously had data spread around different organizations in the Philippines, but they never had a coherent, drawn-out map of where you could find what kind of data.”

Since PSSP did not have a full-time technical employee, or even someone knowledgeable in databases, the entire project

“

In the Freeman Fellowship, all the reins are on you: the indepen dence, the degree of living in a for eign country and how you navigate and choose to spend your day. All of that is up to your jurisdiction.

- Sean Nguyen

landed on DiFulvio and her partners’ shoulders. As a small non-profit organization, DiFulvio realized that her supervisor’s expectations had to be adjusted to accommodate their existing resources and timeframe.

“I was, like, ‘Well, this scope is huge,’” she said. “So ultimately, we had to change directions there, and we went with a website. My job was, from start to finish, to develop the design, think about what this website could be and think about what the requirements were.”

Naturally, DiFulvio had to follow a strict schedule to ensure the project’s timely completion.

“I developed the requirements myself and created a whole weekly mapping of what things needed to be done at which point — basically, a sprint cycle for myself,” DiFulvio said. “And then I developed [the website] with Grace, implemented it, tested it and got feedback from other people.”

Despite the tasks’ enormity, DiFulvio felt adequately prepared to take them on because of her previous internship experiences.

“There was an internship during the summer before this that definitely helped me with project management and developing requirements for myself,” she said. “I think I had the tools to do that from my experience at AdImpact — they were a very huge database company.”

Outside of work, DiFulvio had to quickly adapt to life in Manila, a sprawling metropolis where she didn’t know anyone and couldn’t speak Tagalog.

“I’ve had jobs before, but living in a whole different country alone is something I’d never experienced,” DiFulvio said. “It was really lonely. You have a lot of time when you literally know nobody in a country.”

Moreover, she had time to muse about the experience of being Asian American in Asia, where people often assumed she was Filipino until she opened her mouth to speak English.

“It was also really interesting how being an Asian American was in the Philippines,” DiFulvio said. “People were just so confused about me. They either assumed that I was Filipino, or they assumed that I was just a rich Filipino because the national language is English there.”

DiFulvio got to step out of her comfort zone and experience everyday life from a non-American perspective.

“The biggest thing I took away from the internship was how cool it is to be around people from a non-American-centered experience,” DiFulvio said. “Just being American, you’re taking for granted how, culturally, everything is surrounded by America. ... It was so cool to be in an environment that was completely different to me.”

A few thousand miles away in Cambodia, Pietro Marino ’23 was also embarking on his own journey. Marino, a government and marketing double major, has always had an interest in Asian cultures. Having studied Mandarin since the sixth grade and spent four weeks at homestays in Japan in 2017, applying to the Freeman Fellowship was a no-brainer for him.

“With the Freeman Fellowship in particular, I felt like it provided the best of both worlds in that I got that semester abroad experience, but I also got the work experience, the internship experience that I needed as a junior going into the summer,” Marino said.

Marino interned at the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His work contributed to the organization’s mission to fight corruption, bolster human welfare and protect the rights of citizens through promoting good governance.

“I was with two other people, but we kind of all did our own projects while working there,” Marino said. “My main focus was on grant management projects — so basically helping the non-profit apply for grants through USAID, Oxfam and a couple of other big aid organizations. I did a bunch of research on the environmental considerations for communities living along the Mekong River Delta.”

Marino noted that one of the perks of working at a non-profit is getting hands-on experience and forming close connections with clients. On his second day, Marino attended a local NGO conference where he got to network with other representatives and solicit new donors.

“A $1,000-2,000 grant for [local organizations] goes so much farther than it does in America,” Marino said. “Just thinking about all the opportunities and flexibility that they can do with that kind of money, and networking with them brings ways to collaborate together to get that funding. That was really valuable.”

Marino contrasted the fast-paced college lifestyle with the more laid-back atmosphere of a non-profit, which came as a bit of an initial shock. On a grant application for a Mekong River Delta project, for example, his supervisors took a hands-off approach and entrusted him with the entire process.

“I was like, ‘Do you have any materials that you want me to reference, any of your prior work that I should include?’” Marino said. “They were like, ‘No, whatever you come up with is what we’re going to submit.’ And as an intern, I was like, ‘Man, my application is the application that’s going to be submitted on behalf of ANSA.’”

Naturally, this level of responsibility comes with a degree of pressure.

“You want to make sure that your work is the best as you can make it,” Marino said. “Because I’m not only representing myself, I’m now representing the entire organization and [doing] things you would ever expect to do.”

In line with ANSA’s mission, Marino and his colleagues developed a social youth festival for rural residents to network with community leaders, NGOs and business stakeholders across a three-day conference. It is slated to start in early 2023.

“I think engaging the youth is such a great way to instill the type of values like social accountability, transparency and good governance that ANSA is trying to promote,” Marino said. “So, I think this would be a great out-of-classroom experience for Cambodian students.”

Like the other Freeman Fellows, Marino felt that forming connections with his city enriched the overall experience.

“By the end of the trip, I felt super comfortable in Phnom Penh, and it felt like my second home,” Marino said. “I had my main couple of spots — there was a burger shack that I would often go to and talk with the British owner. Having those one-on-one connections with people, whether they were expats or Cambodians, was really cool.”

When students return in the fall semester, Freeman Intern Fellows are required to enroll in a fall course called Freeman Fellows Think Tank.

“The think tank is where they practice being a Freeman Fellow, and not a traditional student, because they are given the agency to shape their time in the class,” Aguas said. “For the 2022 cohort, they have embraced ownership, so to speak, of the fellowship and organized as a team assisting me and my colleagues in spreading word and propagating the story of the AMES-APIA Freeman Fellowship.”

For students looking to apply for next year’s cohort, Aguas had the following piece of advice.

“We interview the applicants to dialogue with them on their readiness to be open-hearted, wide-minded, adaptable, flexible, resourceful and quick on their feet because living and working abroad for the first time for anyone is already challenging, and that grows exponentially with the current global challenges that create constant flux that our Fellow have to adapt and adjust to,” Aguas said.

Applications for the summer 2023 round of the Freeman Fellows Program open on Nov. 1, 2022 until Dec. 1, 2022.

LINDA LI // VARIETY ASSOC. EDITOR

COURTESY PHOTO // SEAN NGUYEN

COURTESY

PHOTO // ISABELLA DIFULVIO

COURTESY PHOTO // PIETRO MARINO

Bringing the past into the present

BAILEY LANGHANS

THE FLAT HAT

Thursday, Oct. 6, Earl Gregg Swem Library’s Special Collections held its rst open house since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The event showcased their new collection of American LGBTQ+ legal history, the rst of its kind. Everyone was free to examine and personally handle the material that lled the tables, which included everything from petitions to board games.

The new archive struck a chord within students, many of whom had never seen anything like it.

“When I was a freshman, Special Collections put on an event like this, and it was incredible, but I wasn’t able to go, and then the pandemic happened,” Rainbow Coalition co-president Aubrey Lay ’23 said. “Nothing like this has really happened since, so it’s been really exciting to bring it back.”

Lay also described the rich texture that in-person viewing brings to discussions of the archives.

“It’s really great to see more about the queer history of campus, because as much as I try to learn as much as I can by talking to folks who I know were really heavily involved with the queer community on campus like Professor George Greenia, seeing all this stu here in person, there’s a whole other story,” Lay added.

Many other students in attendance were members of the Lambda Alliance, another LGBTQ+ student organization, who came to the open house in place of their regular meeting. One member, Kate Jones ’24, expressed awe at a lesbian Sleeping

Beauty retelling.

“I thought about how much it would’ve meant to me, to see queer fairy tales as a kid,” Jones said.

Jones further expanded on the meaningfulness of having the College’s LGBTQ+ history archived, especially for queer students.

“I feel like people like to say queerness is a trend,” Jones said. “You shouldn’t need to prove it, but being able to have physical copies of all of the work that queer people have been doing for decades to centuries, it’s really awesome. It’s great for queer students to be able to learn about the history of Lambda Alliance and how long it’s been here, and to see solidarity of alumni and of students in the past.”

Other students also echoed the importance of the increased visibility of LGBTQ+ history that the archive brings.

“The evolution of queer interest groups on campus has been really interesting,” Issac Askin ’25 said. “I’ve been looking at a lot of yers from Alternative, which is the old interest group, like gay students in the eighties and nineties is really nineties grunge core, and it’s like wow, this is really fun to look at.”

Beyond interest in the material, Askin also noted the signi cance of the archive.

“I feel like a lot of people have a perception that gay people just appeared 10 years ago when gay marriage got legalized, which is obviously not true,”

Askin said. “So I think just having what paper history we do have visible is very important to reminding people of that.”

Marian and Alan McLeod Director of Special Collections Jay Gaidmore further elaborated upon Askin’s sentiment.

“I’ve always said that we have the white, cisgender male perspective covered, and we’ll continue collecting that perspective, but there’s other marginalized communities that we need to start documenting because they’ve always been part of society,” Gaidmore said. “They’ve been not only marginalized in the public sphere, but in the archival world as well.”

Gaidmore further explained that this method of gaining marginalized communities’ perspectives through the collection of physical materials provides hands-on interaction with the information — a unique experience not provided by museums or exhibits.

“I think a lot of people think that archives are not supposed to be touched. ‘You need to wear gloves!’ but it’s not true,” Gaidmore said. “We put stu out, we want you to handle them.”

These open houses enable students to interact with all this material and see everything that Special Collections has to o er, in hopes of more students, from any major or grade, utilizing this valuable resource that is accessible to all.

“My goal is to have anybody who graduates from

William and Mary never say, ‘Oh, I’ve never been into Special Collections,’” Gaidmore said.

Gaidmore further described the diligent work that Special Collections has been conducting to expand their archives to represent more groups and peoples.

“We’re making a concerted e ort to diversify holdings and to make up for lost time on things that should have been collected for years,” Gaidmore added. “We’re just trying to change that and show that the Special Collections is for everybody and that we represent society and culture.”

Gaidmore also noted that one struggle in gaining material for archives is the misconception of everyday items being unimportant, when in reality it is these items that archivists seek out the most.

“A lot of the materials that students were accumulating, they may think it’s very ephemeral, something like a yer they put on or a brochure they passed out at a march,” Gaidmore said. “So they just take that stu , and they’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t need that anymore,’ and they just throw it away, but we want to collect it…“Without the students, there wouldn’t be a William and Mary.”

Anyone who thinks they might have material to contribute, no matter how seemingly insigni cant, can contact Special Collections sta who are excited to work with any student or organization. They can be reached by email at spcoll@wm.edu or by phone at (757) 221-3090.

Due

pandemic and past social distancing restrictions, this was the rst large Homecoming event for many current students, but for others, this was a return to form. After almost two years where such large in-person events could not be held, many are excited to return to campus and share their school spirit. One of the key things that has remained the same about the College for several returners is the connections formed between students that transcend time. And with the many events during Homecoming Weekend centered around reunions and community, alumni and students are presented with opportunities to socialize across decades of students. Aanchal Goenka ’23 shared her experiences of encountering alumni both at the event and across campus.

“No matter what your year is

or what your major is, people are always willing to connect with you,” Goenka said. “At this event and other events … a lot of alumni walked out and just said, ‘Hi, how are you?’ and tried to understand my student experience, and they would introduce themselves and their years and what they studied. So I feel like it’s really fun to just connect with people.”

The College prides itself on its maintained relationship with alumni. With its high engagement and recent building of the alumni house, many are encouraged to return and witness all of the changes taking place across campus. It can be a bit of a shock for some alumni to see all of the di erences from their time spent here, but many, such as Je Spoeri, ’87, think it is for the best.

“I mean, the college is thriving,” Spoeri said. “It shows that we’re thinking about the future and trying to make sure folks are getting a similar educational experience that we had.”

Friday Night Fest also presented students and alumni with the opportunity to re ect upon their time and personal growth at the College, remembering all those years back when they were young adults fresh out of high school.

“I was thinking about everything and walking through and I got up to the Wren Chapel, and I got emotional,” Russ McClymont ’92 said. “I almost wanted to tear up because this place really does help shape your life.”

The setlist N’est Pas had curated

for the show consisted of both original songs and covers that the band had performed back during their time at the College.

“We de nitely wanted to play a nice slice of what it would have been like to be at a N’est Pas concert back in those late eighties,” Esten said. “And then we had to play a couple of our originals, for sure, including ‘Walk the Bridge.’”

Esten described how ‘Walk the Bridge’ and some of N’est Pas’ other original songs, featured places on the campus in the lyrics, such as the opening lines, “Autumn on the campus as I hurry to my class walking through the Sunken Gardens.” According to Esten, N’est Pas was formed in a fraternity basement. Because of their origin and the impact that the College had on Esten, he was inspired to continue following his passion in music.

“Well, for my career, for my life, I don’t think I could have prepared any better,” Esten said. “There I was, standing on stage at a microphone all over campus and then all over Virginia, and then all across the southeastern seaboard. So, when I look at it now, I say, well … I don’t imagine there’d be any way I would have been able to do it if I hadn’t had those ve years with N’est Pas.”

Another original song that is important to Esten is “Down Memory Lane”. The song is inspired by a concert N’est Pas did at the College back in 2008. Featuring the lyrics, “Play it loud/Let the bass notes hit the crowd/Let the music

HAT

take us home again/All the shows we’ve ever played before/Now we get to play one more before we’re out there on our own again.”

“On the airplane ight from Los Angeles, I was so moved by the fact that I was getting back together with these guys to play,” Esten recalls. “As often happens with me, I needed to put it to words, to make sense of it, to process all this, so I wrote a song.”

Prior to the Friday Night Fest, the members of N’est Pas had not reunited since 2008. Esten described how nice it was to see the other members and spend time with them onstage again.

“The core of it all is how much we love each other, and, more to the point, after all these years the proof is in the pudding,” Esten said. “You become who you are even more fully after a number of years, and each one of these guys, I think, is a fantastic human being.

For many, being a part of the Tribe is this sense of community and connections, which becomes nearly tangible when so many alumni are gathered together during Homecoming Weekend. Although the 2022 Homecoming Weekend has passed, this sense of pride has not escaped students and alumni. It continues to follow them as they return to their normal lives.

“You’ll meet people who went to William and Mary all over the country, or all over the world, really, and you’ll have this instant common bond,” Spoeri said. “And I think that means a lot when you’re out in the world.”

KATIE FITZGERALD

COURTESY IMAGE//

HERCZEG, UNIVERSITY MARKETING

Volleyball nishes o Hampton in Kaplan

Tribe improves to 11-7, above .500 in CAA play

JAKE FORBES FLAT SPORTS SPORTS EDITOR

William and Mary (11-7, 6-4 CAA) finished the weekend undefeated against Hampton (3-11, 0-11 CAA) at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe defeated Hampton 3-1 Saturday, Oct. 22 and 3-0 Sunday, Oct. 23.

The Tribe started the first set 4-1, but just took the opening frame 28-26.

Hampton won eight unanswered points to take a lead halfway through the set, but the Tribe answered with eight straight points of its own. Senior opposite Kaitlyn Ferguson recorded five of the Tribe’s 15 kills in the first set.

In the second set, William and Mary again started strong and never looked back, winning the set 25-19. Sophomore outside hitter Eleanor Stothoff hit .800 and the Tribe hit .458 in the set.

After two strong sets, William and Mary showed signs of weakness in the third. Hampton managed to hit .481 and win

the third set, keeping their chances of victory alive. However, the Tribe responded with an 11-5 lead at the start of the fourth set. Freshman middle blocker Ryann Love recorded an ace to end the set and the match.

Graduate student outside hitter Taylor Burrell led the Tribe with 13 kills and three blocks. Ferguson finished with 12 kills and three blocks.

The Tribe’s clearest advantage over the Pirates came on aces. William and Mary recorded six aces throughout the game, compared to just three for Hampton.

On Sunday, William and Mary appeared even more dominant, recording their seventh sweep of the season. The Tribe won the three sets 2520, 25-18 and 27-25.

After a steady first set, momentum in the second set swung back and forth. Hampton jumped out to a 6-1 lead to begin the set, but an 8-0 run from the Tribe set up the Green and Gold for a 2518 win in the second frame.

The third set was the closest of the day, with 13 ties and six lead changes. Stothoff recorded six kills in the final frame and the Tribe held Hampton to a 0.65 hitting percentage. On Sunday, the Tribe hit .309, compared to .134 for the Pirates.

Stothoff improved on her performance from Saturday, recording 18 kills on a .438 hitting percentage and two blocks. Ferguson recorded an additional 11 kills and two blocks. Love hit .556 and recorded an impressive six kills and six blocks.

Sophomore setter Amy Schwem and graduate student setter Emma Minnick carried William and Mary in the assists category, recording 17 and 15, respectively. Minnick recorded nine assists in the first set alone.

With the two victories at home this past weekend, the Tribe improved its home record to 6-2.

Next weekend, the Tribe heads north to Towson (20-1, 9-1 CAA), the CAA preseason favorite, for two more matches.

Tribe dominates CAA-foes Towson

FIELD HOCKEY Field hockey shuts out Towson Tigers 4-0

KELSI PUTNAM FLAT HAT ASSOC. EDITOR

Friday, Oct. 21, William and Mary (9-7, 3-3 CAA) defeated Towson (4-11, 0-4 CAA) 4-0 at home on Busch Field. The team honored its eight seniors and two graduate students ahead of the match-up.

The Tribe started strong on the defensive end, preventing the Tiger offensive from advancing past midfield. Neither team managed a goal through the first four minutes of the game. The Tribe excelled at keeping the play downfield, but despite their seven penalty corners, they were only able to convert one of the opportunities into a goal. Senior midfielder and forward Sally Snead played a role in many of the penalty corner opportunities. Towson freshman goalkeeper Tessa Scheenstra recorded five shots on nine shots for the Tigers to keep them alive in the second half.

In the remaining minute of the first quarter, graduate student forward Aidan Rossman managed to convert a penalty corner with a reverse chip shot from the top of the circle.

Many members of the Club Field Hockey team were in attendance.

“We are doing very well.,” Senior Will Hamlett, a member of the Club Field Hockey team and fan of the varsity team, said during the game. “There are a lot of opportunities with our corners,

but their goalie is impressive. We are doing very well because the ball hasn’t come to our half of the field at all.”

Just over three minutes into the second quarter, the Tribe struck again. Senior midfielder and forward Lauren Curran scored on another penalty corner after a tip from senior defender and midfielder Tabby Billingham. The score marked Curran’s 11th goal of the season. She recorded five shots throughout the game.

Building on their momentum, the Tribe scored its third goal of the game off another corner.

Graduate student midfielder and forward Aubrey Scott King netted her first goal of the season. The rest of the first half went scoreless for both teams, despite three shots taken by William and Mary, two being off of corners.

In the first half, the Tribe drew 11 penalty corners and recorded five shots on goal. The third quarter saw some more action toward the middle of the field, as the Tribe scored their fourth and final goal of the game. Billingham assisted senior defender and midfielder Amber Bode, marking her first career goal. The Tigersmanaged only two shots on goal throughout the game, but junior goalkeeper Maddie George saved both shots, recording a shutout for the Tribe.

The Tribe will travel to American (8-6, 4-2 CAA) in Washington, DC on Saturday, Oct. 29 for its last regular season game.

William and Mary scores 30 points in first half against Towson Football routes Towson 44-24, improves to no. 11 in FCS

LEXIE HIESTAND CHIEF SPORTS WRITER

Saturday, Oct. 22, William and Mary (6-1, 3-1 CAA) traveled to Towson, M.D. to defeat Towson (2-5, 0-4 CAA) 44-24. The Tribe scored touchdowns in every quarter of the game.

The Tribe displayed its variety of plays and positioning throughout the game. Its variety allowed the Tribe to score five touchdowns on the first six possessions of the game.

“Everyone was highly involved,” head coach Mike London said in a post-game press conference, “It was a great team win.”

Some of the touchdowns mirrored plays Tribe fans have witnessed all season: sophomore quarterback Darius Wilson making use of his running backs and tight ends to score on the first drive of the game. Sophomore running back Malachi Imoh, sophomore quarterback Hollis Mathis and senior running backs Donavyn Lester and Bronson Yoder, all contributed to rushing down the field. The team totaled 300 rushing yards throughout the game.

“There’s so many guys that can tote the rock in a way that we want the play to be done,” London said.

Lester scored the first Tribe touchdown of the game on a one-yard rush.

On its second drive, William and Mary scored again. This time, the Tribe relied on its passing game. On the third down from the Towson 12-yard line, Wilson passed deep to senior wide receiver Caylin Newton.

For both of these early touchdowns, sophomore kicker Ethan Chang’s extra point attempts were good. The quarter ended 14-3, favoring the Tribe, and with a Tribe possession heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter began with one of the most bombastic plays of the game. The Tribe reached the redzone, but Towson held the visiting team on third down. On fourth down, Chang came onto the field with redshirt freshman punter Andrew Piercy. Piercy took the snap and tossed downfield to Chang for the 17-yard score.

“We talked about some of those things: how we could impact what they do, if they’re overly aggressive, if they don’t make sure to leave gaps or allow us to out-leverage them,” London said. “So, we just had to call it, ‘Okay, here’s the situation, we’re going to go ahead and do it.’ We practiced it, wanted to get it on film, so everyone else in the league knows we will do those types of things. The play was executed the way it should be.”

For the fourth Tribe score of the game, the Tribe went back to relying on its rushing. A long run from Mathis and a deep pass to Newton pushed the Tribe into scoring position. Lester ended the drive with a three-yard touchdown run to extend its lead to 24 points.

A Tribe interception began the team’s next drive earlier than anticipated. This time, the team adopted a no-huddle strategy, trying to make up ground in the last three minutes of the first half. William and Mary failed to reach the red zone, but a 42-yard field goal from Chang gave the visiting team a 30-3 lead over Towson after the half.

The Tigers received the ball to start the second half, but failed to convert on its drive, so they punted.

Despite starting at its own 17-yard line, the Tribe only took one play to score again. Wilson found senior tight end Lachlan Pitts, who carried the ball 83 yards for the score. It marked Pitts’s fourth touchdown of the season — the most of any Tribe tight end since 2007.

“That play was indicative of his skillset: a guy that can block and a guy that can catch,” London said. “It’s great to have him. I think he’s one of the better tight ends in our conference — if not the best.”

Towson made the most of its second possession of the quarter. Keeping the Tribe on its toes with no-huddle shotgun plays, the Tigers used redshirt senior quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome and junior running back Joachim Bangda to force its way down the field. Pigrome scored the first Tiger touchdown of the game with a six-yard run.

Redshirt freshman running back Martin Lucas scored his first touchdown of the season

halfway through the fourth quarter. The drive was short, but effective, and yet another name ended up on the scoresheet.

The adaptability of this team, combined with the talent of its players, has allowed the success in this season so far. After this game, eleven different players have scored Tribe touchdowns: a variety that has proved difficult for opponents to anticipate time and time again.

“I just thought a lot of players played well,

and it was a testament to the coaches, getting the guys ready to play, to come out with a win,” London said.

With the victory William and Mary improves to no. 10 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. The team’s 6-1 start is their best since 2009.

The Tribe return to Zable Stadium Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. to face CAA rival Rhode Island, who they are currently tied with in the conference rankings.

JUSTIN SHERLOCK / THE FLAT HAT

Members of the volleyball team celebrate after winning a point against George Mason on Saturday, Sept. 10. The team defeated Hampton 3-1 and 3-0 this weekend.

Student Assembly hosts city council candidate forum

Williamsburg city council candidates debate town-and-gown relat ions, student engagements, transportation

Wednesday, Oct. 19, the Student Assembly hosted a Williamsburg City Council candidate forum in the Sadler Commonwealth Auditorium. The forum provided candidates a chance to highlight their position on key issues ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Candidates Stacy Kern-Scheerer, Richard “Rick” Overy, current council incumbent Ted Maslin MBA ’80 and Williamsburg Mayor Doug Pons were all present.

John Cho ’23, president of Student Assembly, and Marley Fishburn ’24, secretary of public a airs for Student Assembly, moderated the forum. The moderators granted candidates three minutes for an opening statement, three minutes per question and four minutes for closing remarks. The candidates discussed their quali cations, relationships between students and permanent community members, the housing crisis and student political involvement.

Overy provided the rst opening statement, emphasizing his expertise in business.

“As a William and Mary business graduate, as an employer in town, as a longtime resident and as past chair of the Economic Development Authority, I believe I have the nance and budget experience that we need on city council as we navigate our top priorities going forward,” Overy said.

He also touched on the growing tensions between students living o -campus and residents.

“That is an area which I’m sorry to see has deteriorated since I was a student, but I believe it can be improved,” Overy said.

Maslin provided the next opening statement and highlighted his past e orts as a member of the council. He noted his work to prevent the previous athletic director from terminating seven of the College of William and Mary’s varsity sport teams.

“I was the rst elected o cial to push back,” Maslin said.

Maslin also recounted his e orts to aid students academically and professionally.

Kern-Scheerer detailed her professional background as a legislative lawyer for the United States Senate. She currently teaches at the College of William and Mary Law School and works as the director of Clinical Programs and the founding director of the Immigration Clinic.

“My work at the law school lies at the intersection of teaching and serving the community by providing pro-bono legal representation to vulnerable and underserved members of our community,” she said.

HOUSING

“I am dedicated to community cohesion, both physically connecting space, but also positive relationships between residents and city leaderships,” Kern-Scheerer said. “I strongly believe in transparency, humility, accountability, and solving issues through teamwork and consensus building.”

Pons rounded out the opening statements by discussing his previous e orts on the council, as well as his professional experience.

his response, Pons discussed the need to improve communication with students on expectations such as trash pick-up.

Overy disagreed with the other candidates.

“I think the relationship has deteriorated signi cantly,” Overy said.

He speci ed Indian Springs Road and Burns Lane as the main locations of tension.

“The one thing students and residents can agree on is that parties belong back on campus,” he said.

The moderators then asked candidates about the student housing crisis. Kern-Scheerer emphasized the need for collaboration between the College and the city.

“We do not want to be in a situation where the city is left to grapple alone with the di cult questions of student housing,” Kern-Scheerer said

Kern-Scheerer stated her support for lifting the moratorium on the four person exemption to the three-person rule. She also detailed her support for improved transportation in the Williamsburg area, and safe housing options.

Pons countered Kern-Scheerer, explaining that lifting the moratorium will have a minimal e ect. While on the council, Pons worked to increase the height and density limitations for buildings. He believes e orts to increase housing capacity should be focused on campus, as highlighted by the College ten year plan.

“I think there is great initiative among the administration at the college to make sure that happens,” Pons said.

“Several years ago I saw a need, an opportunity, to convert my hotel into apartment complexes geared towards a ordability,” he said.

The moderators rst asked candidates about their perspective on how relations between students and the broader Williamsburg community can be improved.

Maslin believed relations are mostly positive, and emphasized the importance of introductions between students and their neighbors.

Kern-Scheerer echoed Maslin’s sentiment.

“I think there is a lot of mutual respect between students and yearround residents,” she said.

However, she acknowledged that issues do arise. Kern-Scherer noted her support for greater data on town relations to determine areas where relations could be improved.

Pons stated that relations are better than they have been in years. In

Overy agreed with Pons, stating that e orts to increase housing capacity should center on safe, attractive, on-campus options.

Maslin noted his concerns regarding the College ten year housing plan.

“William and Mary must be held responsible for providing quality, a ordable housing for freshmen and sophomores, as well as those upper class students who want to live on campus,” Maslin said.

The moderators then asked candidates how students and family members can become more involved in local politics. Pons explained his annual letter to students at the start of the year, welcoming them to the Williamsburg community.

“Come to city council meetings, join our social media networks, too so you can see what is going on and how to be engaged,” Pons said,

READ MORE ON FLATHATNEWS.COM

Students express fustration at lack of off-campus housing options

Changes in 2023-24 on-campus housing result in upperclassmen fears of being waitlisted, Williamsburg housing shortage

HOUSING

getting housed, and I thought, there’d still be a lot of options, but I was wrong about that. And pretty much everything now that’s like close to campus or affordable is taken. So like I’ve heard, I haven’t confirmed this, but I heard like Midtown is full and you can’t really get anything if you’re not on the waitlist. And there’s like all the houses near campus, they’re either already leased or like passed down through sororities or other organizations, so if i’m not in that organization I don’t have access to it.”

A representative from Midtown Row confirmed that there was already a waitlist for next year’s housing.

“We do have some spaces available, but they are going fast. A fully leased complex will happen in the upcoming weeks….” the representative wrote to The Flat Hat. “There is 100s of students on the waitlist. Many waitlisted students from interest in Spring ‘22, Summer ‘22, and early Fall ‘22 are working with the leasing team to find the

best fit as our current students are finalizing their housing options for next year.”

Clayton, like many other upperclassmen, says she feels frustrated at the lack of housing availability in Williamsburg.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to get on-campus housing really because there’s the huge freshmen class… and I think they’re probably gonna admit a lot more students for the next year or two,” Clayton said. “... So I figured it’d be pretty impossible to get on-campus housing and I know that they stopped doing the same-room sign up. I think that was like the only guaranteed way to stay on campus but can’t do that anymore either. So it’s just been like not really having a backup plan and just trying to find like any available option that I can.”

Conor Sokolowsky ’23, who serves as the only student on the Williamsburg City Council’s Planning Commission, says the commission is looking into a ordable housing options for Williamsburg residents and also students at the College.

“My biggest goal is to just increase student

voice in city matters, because right now, a lot of times students are sidelined, even though they make up over half of the population in Williamsburg,” Sokolowsky said. “.... We were here before the country was even founded, let alone the city. And a lot of older residents have like really tough times living with and around students, and I’d just like to resolve those tensions.”

Sokolwoksy says even when students can secure off-campus housing, the three-person housing rule (only three-unrelated people can live together) and predatory landlords make it more difficult and less affordable for students.

“A. it makes it more affordable, more people can pay to live in a house, and then B. it uses up all the space,” Sokolwoksy said, in reference to the three-person rule limiting housing options. “.... The property managers are a little bit aggressive and predatory to students. They don’t maintain correct property upkeep because they’ll know there’s like more than three students living in a place, and they’ll kind of hold that against them to not do that.”

Residence Life is also trying to address some of the issues finding off-campus housing, with Kandell saying that they’re sharing the room selection process much earlier than last year and hosting off-campus housing fairs.

“We also want to share that while being waitlisted can initially be distressing, last year we were able to o er housing to 100% of those that actively remained on the list by August 1, 2022,” Kandell wrote to The Flat Hat. “The housing market is very uid for both on and o campus options. As students make plans, they remove themselves from the waiting list. Students will withdraw from the process for a variety of reasons such as study abroad opportunities and other changes to individual circumstances. When this happens, students will be contacted with an o er of either a Room Selection time slot or a housing assignment as these spaces open.”

These o -campus housing fairs will occur as follows:

- November 11, 2022 between 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Sadler Center

- February 3, 2023 time and location TBD

- February 22, 2023 time and location TBD

“I think making something fun and making something relatable and silly or making it a meme brings more attention to it than an infographic ever would,” Thayer said.

She chose to make composting an exciting endeavor rather than simply informing everyone about the bene ts of using it. In turn, her e orts resonated with those around her who shared the same sentiments and the relatability of her content helped her compostfocused movements take o

“By the end of the year, I really realized that I was passionate about sustainability and I started applying for anything that was sustainabilityrelated,” Thayer said.

She promptly took on the role of Secretary of Sustainability for the Student Assembly and expanded the impact of the Veggie Society club.

Thayer’s role as the Secretary of Sustainability is her way of conveying student opinions on resource-friendly policies to the administration.

“It’s really one of my biggest goals to make sure that students have a voice in those conversations,” Thayer said.

“Making sure that students have a seat at the table in conversations is pushing William and Mary on towards a more sustainable future.”

Thayer’s work with the administration to foster a more sustainable student environment goes beyond closed-door conversations. She emphasizes the importance of starting with small areas

the College community. Thayer has worked with the Reves Center to create more ecologically-focused abroad opportunities, as well as with facilities management to expand student access

Veggie Society.

“We founded the Veggie Society, which is all about promoting mental, physical and environmental wellness,” Thayer said. “So, creating a community

her goal of building community around vegetables being accessible and entertaining at the forefront of her work.To Thayer, encouraging others to make sustainable choices and be mindful of what is being consumed is a major factor in creating an eco-friendly community.

“So, I think one of my biggest sustainability tips is every time you buy something, think about where that item is going to end up,” Thayer said.

Thayer hopes to encourage the student body to keep sustainable alternatives in mind when buying and consuming different products.

“I don’t think that every single person is going to be as gung ho about sustainability as me or be as committed to it, but if every single person thought a little bit more about sustainability and what they could do to make a sustainability change, that would do a lot. And so I hope that everyone has something in the back of their mind… something that they could do to be more sustainable,” Thayer said.

of the student body and administration and moving towards normalizing a more sustainable lifestyle. In turn, she has used her position to spark conversations with many parts of

of people who are really committed to all those ideas is really important to us.”

When hosting fun activities surrounding vegetables, Thayer keeps

As Thayer continues to serve and support a sustainable way of life at the College, her e orts have encouraged numerous students and organizations to go green. To stay updated with Thayer and how she continues to help support a clean and eco-friendly campus, check out the Veggie Society and Student Assembly on social media.

to composting. Her work also helps raise awareness among students about sustainable living, specifically through her role as the “Carrot top,” or president, of the

Sydney Thayer ’24 emphasizes composting, sustanability in her campus involvemnets

Thayer leads Veggie Society as Carrot Top, works with administration to advocate for more sustainable options for students on-campus

RYAN GOODMAN / THE FLAT HAT

City council candidates spoke to students and addressed their policies that might affect students.

COURTESY IMAGE / SYDNEY THAYER

As the Secretary of Sustainability for Student Assembly, Sydney Thayer ʻ24 has helped advocate for more composting bins to be placed in high-traffic areas around campus.

SUSTANABILITY from