The Flat Hat November 3 2020

Vol. 110, Iss. 10 | Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper

of The College of William and Mary

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COVID-19

Testing produces 19 false positives

Students subjected to quarantine protocol

ALEXANDRA BYRNE FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER

INDEX News Opinions Variety

Sports News

GRAPHIC BY CARMEN HONKER / THE FLAT HAT

Polls, pandemic, panic Campus navigates new realities of campaigning during COVID-19 CARMEN HONKER AND ALEXANDRA BYRNE // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR AND FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER

I

n preparation for the 2020 presidential election Nov. 3, the College of William and Mary’s campus has been abuzz with efforts to mobilize the student vote. From all sides of the political spectrum, students have been campaigning for local and nationwide candidates, conducting COVID-19 friendly phone banks and registering voters.

According to an Oct. 16 email about election preparations from College President Katherine Rowe, the College has a high rate of student participation this election cycle. In the email, Rowe cited a recent Student Assembly poll that demonstrated that 97.1% of students surveyed were registered to vote Nov. 3.

The members of the faculty affairs committee sent a message to students Oct. 30 acknowledging the tension and uncertainty surrounding the election. The email, which followed heated debate over Tribe for Life chalkboard messages earlier this month, called upon students to engage in respectful conversations regarding disagreements.

While some tensions have flared on campus, many students continue to funnel their energy into encouraging voting through student organizations like the College’s Young Republicans and Young Democrats. Additionally, the College has aided voter awareness efforts through the formation of the Voter Engagement Action Committee.

Officially formed during August and September of this year, The Voter Engagement Action Committee centers its mission around promoting voter awareness in a non-partisan manner.

Students, staff and community leaders comprise the committee in an effort to promote input across all sections of the College and greater Williamsburg.

The group’s core initiatives revolve around advertising key dates and deadlines related to voter registration and absentee balloting as well as where to vote early and where to drop off absentee ballots. The committee also made how-to videos about voting in Williamsburg and hosted text-banking sessions.

The group utilized staff and student listservs, social media and the personal networks of the committee members to spread voter awareness resources. Office of Community Engagement Associate Director Rich Thompson said that the Voter Engagement Action Committee relies on partnerships with other campus groups and offices to propel their efforts. During the semester, the committee worked with Student Leadership Development, Residence Life, the Campus Vote Project and the Campus Election Engagement Project.

“The composition of the Committee and their networks has been our main source of developing effective collaborations,” Thompson said in an email.

The forming of the official committee in advance of the presidential election speaks to the palpable significance of this election cycle, as Thompson explained that this year was the first time a committee of this sort was founded at the College.

“Again our main impetus has been to promote voter awareness in a NonPartisan approach,” Thompson said. “To the best of my knowledge this is the first year that a formal committee was developed in support of such an effort.”

Thompson expressed that the condensed semester and the COVID-19 pandemic pressured the committee to disseminate voting information and resources in a timely fashion.

“As we got into the compressed semester and this period of COVID we quickly realized that people’s time was even more precious,” Thompson said. “Therefore — we endeavored to get pertinent information out timely and provide resources/ programming that people to access at their discretion.”

Based on his own research and polling, Thompson said that he is confident that students and staff will be voting at a high rate in the election.

“From the data that I have accessed from 2018 W&M has one of the higher rates of student registrations and a history of voting compared to many US colleges/ universities,” Thompson said. “… I have also done some several straw polls of students that I work with and most — if not all told me that they have already voted or will be voting in the elections. Therefore, I am cautiously optimistic that W&M students & Fac/Staff will be voting at a fairly high rate for this election cycle.”

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Again our main impetus has been to promote voter awareness in a NonPartisan approach. To the best of my knowledge this is the first year that a formal committee was developed in support of such an effort.

— Rich Thompson

Inside Opinions 2-3 4-5 6 7 8

NextGen is a nationwide coalition of young people mobilizing for progressive candidates with a chapter that is active on the College’s campus. The group includes a NextGen fellow and about 20 club members and is directly affiliated with NextGen Virginia.

NextGen Virginia fellow Maddi Nicol ’21 said that her team works to register and pledge voters and elect progressive candidates. Nicol said that NextGen’s efforts have intensified during this election cycle.

“I wouldn’t say the goals have changed throughout the year, only that they have gotten stronger with the election approaching,” Nicol said in an email.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected and altered the approach of groups like NextGen in their efforts to organize student voters. Previous fall semesters would have been full of NextGen voter registration drives and events like petting zoos, pumpkin decorating and donuts on the Sadler Terrace to engage with students.

“NextGen’s work on campus has been different this fall semester compared to past semesters,” Nicol said. “Since everything is virtual, the usual events and activities we would be doing have changed a lot. In a typical semester we would be tabling/clip-boarding every day at Sadler and on the Sadler Terrace and we would hold monthly voter registration events.”

For this semester, Nicol has conducted all organizing virtually, using Zoom, social media and text-banking.

“Since we can’t hold in-person events, most of the work we have been doing is virtual,” Nicol said. “We have held a few class and club RAPs (stands for Register All People) where we went to zoom class and club meetings to register students to vote and we have done a lot of text-banking/phonebanking during our zoom club meetings and posting on social media to spread awareness and information.”

The virtual nature of most NextGen events impacted the number of people Nicol was able to help register to vote in person, but she said she was able to assist some students register virtually.

“I definitely was not able to register as many people in person as I would have in a normal semester,” Nicol said. “I socially distance-registered some of my friends in person but did not hold any major voter registration events. But I definitely talked to and helped people virtually register by answering DMs and texts people sent me about voting.”

Nicol said that she used social media to connect with students about voting resources, and that she has been impressed by the amount of people sharing voting information on their personal platforms.

“The voting engagement rate, in my opinion, seems to be a lot higher than a typical year,” Nicol said. “Just looking at social media I see so many people posting about voting and reminding their friends to vote and about deadlines, where in a typical year it usually felt like I/NextGen was the only one posting consistently. So even though I have not been able to physically interact with people and register them to vote on campus, it feels like engagement is super high and that people are very invested in this election.”

Nicol said that it is important for everyone who is voting on election day to make a solidified plan about how and when they will be voting, as it is easy to fall behind schedule. She underscored that in Virginia, everyone in line to vote by 7 p.m. when the polls close will still be able to vote.

Nicol expressed that she is hopeful that all of NextGen’s work will contribute to the voter turnout, although she said she is personally nervous about the weight that the election result holds.

“I’m not really sure what my outlook is — feeling pretty anxious and nervous, but hopeful at the same time,” Nicol said. “Hoping that all the hard work we have put in pays off and hoping that the citizens of this country make the right decision. This will definitely be an election that will change the history of our country, much like the 2016 election did.”

In addition to NextGen’s registration efforts, students at the College affiliated with campus political organizations like The College’s Young Republicans and

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After a round of campus-wide COVID-19 testing that began the week of Oct. 18, the College of William and Mary alerted students Sunday, Nov. 1 that 19 students received false-positive results. The affected students were contacted by the College’s case managers and subjected to quarantine protocols. Though the results have been confirmed to be false positives, the students will remain in isolation housing until they have been cleared by a case manager.

In an email to the campus community, COVID-19 Response Team Chair Sam Jones said that the positive results appeared to be outliers when compared to the results of census testing and ongoing wastewater testing. Jones noted that over 20 positive tests yielded from this round of testing did not align with the number of positives yielded from the two previous rounds of campus-wide testing.

The College requested that both Kallaco Health and Technology and Wisconsin Diagnostics Laboratories perform integrity reviews of the tests. It was determined that Kallaco accurately reported the data it received from Wisconsin Diagnostics. Ultimately, Wisconsin Diagnostics announced that 19 of the tests were reported as false positive as a result of a lab error. The 19 tests were repeated using the original specimens and all yielded negative results.

Currently, the number of active positives remains below 10. Fifty-one students in total have tested positive since August. Jones highlighted the College’s multilayered testing system and its ability to identify anomalies.

“Because of the personal attention that is applied throughout W&M’s multilayered testing system, their close scrutiny of the data enabled W&M to alert the lab and confirm accurate results,” Jones said in the email. “As intended, the different sources of testing data — from census and from wastewater — enabled the cross-comparison that prompted W&M staff to double check the lab’s results.”

Wisconsin Diagnostics released a statement indicating that it would take steps to prevent similar issues in the future, though it did not give specifics on the source of the error.

“Wisconsin Diagnostics Laboratories appreciates William & Mary’s vigilance and partnership in alerting us of the unexpected positive test results,” the statement said. “Through the university’s efforts, we were able to swiftly investigate, find the specific issue and adjust our lab processes to mitigate this type of error in the future.”

Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratories President Steve Serota said that the issue was not systemic and was due to reagent contamination from one well to another in the 96well tray in which specimens are tested.

“It’s not something that is systematic — it’s incidentspecific,” Serota said. “I would deem it to be very infrequent, but it is a possibility, which is why we have other tools in place to ensure efficacy as well. The positive side of the story is that due to really great work at William and Mary and at Kallaco in that ready flow of information, they were able to see that trend, immediately contact us, and we were able to go back to the source and revalidate all the testing to ensure it was accurate.”

Serota said that according to CLIA guidelines, the lab is required to keep samples for at least seven days. Moving forward, Wisconsin Diagnostic will review moderate upticks in low-prevalence clients like the College as opposed to treating all specimens blindly. Serota praised the College’s procedures and attributed the correction of the error to effective contact tracing and communication.

Still, many students who received a false positive expressed frustration at the situation. Serota acknowledged this frustration but maintained that the College followed the proper procedures.

“While I understand that there is an immediate impact on receiving a positive result, I do want folks to recognize that these are out of an abundance of caution,” Serota said.

“We want to make sure the results are made available at the right time and as accurate as possible. Having a false positive in this instance, although it did require unknowing individuals to quarantine, it is substantially less impactful than a false negative which could have allowed the proliferation of the virus.”

Jones also acknowledged the disruption the false positives may have caused for students.

“In following William & Mary’s safety protocols for isolation and quarantine, we recognize and regret the disruption some students experienced,” Jones said. “At the same time, we are grateful for the fast, capable and compassionate response of the quarantine & isolation housing, case management and medical teams – and for the understanding and responsiveness of all the students impacted. The attentiveness and care of the testing team led to a more favorable outcome than what was indicated by the initial results.”

Inside Variety

Core values, approaches to activism differ among left and right-wing groups Aidan White ’23 says that right-wing political groups care about feeling they are right, while left-wing political groups care about helping those in need. page 4

See ELECTION page 3

Inside Sports

Liberty and Justice for All

ACLU of Virginia intern Alton Coston III ’23 fights for racial justice in his hometown of Richmond and advocates for civil rights across Virginia. page 6

Tribe Athletics saga continues

In an open letter from the women’s track and field team to the Board of Visitors and the College’s administration, the athletes committed to boycotting the upcoming season if the discontinued men’s teams were not reinstated as well. page 7

newsinsight “

News Editor Charles Coleman News Editor Lulu Dawes News Editor Carmen Honker fhnews@gmail.com

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The Flat Hat | Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 | Page 2

THE BUZZ

Typically we hear, ‘no one alive today was enslaved or an enslaver, so stop talking about reparations,’ a very true statement. But another true statement is that everyone alive today still lives under the lasting effects of the institution of slavery. It is part of the body, and the entire body must be addressed if healing is to take place.”

— Lemon Project Director Jody Allen Ph.D ‘09

FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF College announces revised pass/fail policies for fall semester

BRIEF BY ETHAN BROWN / FLAT HAT EDITOR -IN-CHIEF

A THOUSAND WORDS

ZACHARY LUTZKY / THE FLAT HAT

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

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

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JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT

Elaine Luria, a Democrat, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2018. She is now running in a tight race against former Republican Rep. Scott Taylor.

On the trail for a second term

Incumbent representative runs for re-election touting bipartisan, effective credentials ETHAN BROWN // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

In November 2018, retired Navy officer and small business owner Elaine Luria made waves in Tidewater Virginia by narrowly capturing the state’s 2nd Congressional District in a competitive election against congressman Scott Taylor. Two years later, Luria is once again locked in a tight race against Taylor — this time as the incumbent.

Luria’s victory made her the first Democrat to represent the district in almost a decade, after first-term congressman Glenn Nye lost his bid for reelection in 2010 amid a national Republican landslide. She beat Taylor by 6,000 votes in 2018, thanks in part to strong Democratic margins in Williamsburg, which went for Luria by several thousand votes. Four thousand, four hundred and eight voters in Williamsburg cast ballots for the Democratic insurgent two years ago, while only 1,787 supported then-incumbent Taylor.

During her first term, Luria has staked her congressional reputation on bipartisanship, working with representatives on both sides of the aisle to draft legislation. According to GovTrack’s 2019 report card, Luria’s commitment to collaborating with Democrats and Republicans made her 217th most conservative member of the House, almost exactly halfway through the House’s roster for the 116th Congress.

“I try to make sure I represent all of my constituents in the district,” Luria said.

“Eighty nine percent of the bills that I’ve introduced have been bipartisan and I’ve co-sponsored about 500 bills, and about 80% of those have been bipartisan.”

Luria has introduced 19 bills since 2019.

Of these, 11 have passed the House, seven have been signed into law and two more await a presidential signature.

Home to the world’s largest naval base in Norfolk, the 2nd Congressional District is firmly anchored in the United States armed services industry. A former nuclear engineer with the U.S. Navy, Luria brought her military service to Washington D.C., pursuing multiple pieces of legislation related to veteran’s affairs, disability assistance and memorials affairs as a member of the House’s Armed Services Committee as well as the vice chair of its Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces.

Looking back on her first term, among Luria’s most memorable accomplishments in Congress was her advocacy on behalf of Gold Star families, whom she helped secure more equitable access to widow’s and survivor’s benefits. She also led efforts to address inequities in the federal government’s treatment of Vietnam War veterans, which she spearheaded through her role as chair of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

“Within that, we’ve passed some landmark legislation last year, which was for blue water Navy veterans, who are Vietnam-era veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam and had been exposed to Agent Orange, but they had never received the same VA healthcare that veterans who served on land in Vietnam did,” Luria said. “... Obviously this is many decades

overdue, but we were able to correct that injustice and get them the VA healthcare that they deserve.”

Luria has also lobbied for enhanced environmental protections for the Chesapeake Bay since being elected, both by increasing federal funding allocations for bay cleanup and incorporating the bay into the American Conservation Enhancement Act, a bipartisan wetlands conservation bill.

Last year she lobbied for $85 million in bay cleanup funds — an increase of $12 million relative to previous years — and successfully got $90 million for this year.

“Travel, tourism, aquaculture, fisheries …

“

I try to make sure I represent all of my constituents in the district. Eighty nine percent of the bills that I’ve introduced have been bipartisan and I’ve co-sponsored about 500 bills, and about 80% of those have been bipartisan.

“

Friday, Oct. 30, the College of William and Mary announced revisions to the fall semester’s pass/fail grading policy. In an email sent to staff and students, Dean of Undergraduate Studies Janice Zeman altered the university’s grading scale by allowing students to take up to two classes on a pass/fail basis without restriction.

The new policy permits students to take two classes on a pass/ fail basis, including COLL courses and major requirements.

Students will be able to decide whether they take a class pass/ fail after receiving their letter grades. All undergraduate grades must be submitted by Monday, Dec. 7 at 9 a.m., and students will have until 11:59 p.m. that same day to modify their course grade to a pass/fail option.

Zeman said the College’s decision takes several factors into consideration, including the semester’s accelerated schedule and strains brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You are close to the end of an intense, seemingly relentless, and compressed semester,” Zeman said in an email. “We acknowledge the increased level of academic and environmental stressors you face daily and are so very proud of the way you have kept W&M a safe environment. Whether you are living on campus, in the Williamsburg area, or further afield, we understand that this semester has continued to provide significant challenges to learning.”

The announcement came just days after SA conducted a referendum asking students about their academic experiences during the semester as well as their perspectives on a revised pass/fail policy. In an Oct. 26 email encouraging students to participate in the referendum, Student Assembly President Anthony Joseph ’21 expressed how College students have struggled to navigate challenging course loads during a stressful semester.

“This semester has been stressful for our entire William & Mary community, and we know there is wide-shared interest to find the solution,” Joseph said in an email. “... In these uncertain times, it is good to know that we have one another to lean on.

As we close out this semester, let us think about what ties us together and dig into our compassion for one another.”

— Elaine Luria

the general health of the Chesapeake Bay is incredibly important for our region,” Luria said.

Despite her accomplishments, Luria acknowledged that some of her legislative priorities were unable to be fully acted upon given Republicans’ control of the upper chamber and President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign several bills passed by House Democrats. Bills Luria supported that have since been stalled on Capitol Hill include the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, the Equality Act and the Violence Against Women Act, as well as legislation to aid people protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

She also looks forward to pursuing supplementary protections for veterans of other conflicts in the 117th Congress if re-elected.

“There’s quite a few bills that the House has passed that the Senate has not taken up for consideration,” Luria said. “... On a personal level, we’ve passed some really

important legislation for Vietnam-era veterans this Congress, but there’s a lot more veterans who are younger and have served recently … we don’t need to be 40 to 50 years down the road by the time we figure out a lot of the toxic exposure issues.”

Passing legislation, communicating with constituents and campaigning have not been the only things taking up Luria’s time during her first term. Less than a year into office, Luria was drawn into Trump’s impeachment trial, and made waves for voting in favor of his impeachment alongside other freshman Democrats in conservative-leaning districts across the country.

Trump was impeached in the House in December 2019 almost exclusively on a party-line vote, though he was acquitted by the Republican-led Senate in early February. While Trump’s impeachment was swiftly overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic and has not played a significant role in his re-election campaign, Luria has sought to justify her vote for impeachment as clearly as possible to her constituents, a plurality of whom voted for the president four years ago.

Luria said that the president’s solicitation of foreign influence against a political opponent constituted an abuse of executive power, and that her support for impeachment was strictly guided by an adherence to her oath of office — not any partisan considerations in the 2nd District.

“I look at the oath of office I took as a member of Congress, the same one I took six times each time I was promoted within the military,” Luria said. “... Upholding the constitution requires that we ask the hard questions and hold our leaders accountable.”

Outside the Capitol Building and off the campaign trail, Luria recharges herself by spending time with her family, particularly given stressful circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her favorite quarantine activities have revolved around cleaning and improving her house in Norfolk, where she’s lived with her husband for more than 15 years.

After admitting to neglecting her garage for years, they’ve spent months organizing household supplies, building new cabinets, and clearing out space.

Luria said this cathartic exercise was especially meaningful during a turbulent election season, and that she feels ready for a new household project — one that’ll hopefully unfold during a new term in Washington.

“We got a dumpster and we literally cleared out the garage, rearranged everything, built some new cabinets, and now things feel a lot more organized and ready for our next project,” Luria said.

Editor’s Note: The Flat Hat met with Rep. Elaine Luria over Zoom for a 20 minute interview three weeks out from Nov. 3 to discuss her campaign and her accomplishments in the House of Representatives. The Flat Hat extended a similar interview request to former Rep. Scott Taylor’s campaign but did not receive a response.

Page 3

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

STUDENT ASSEMBLY

Lemon Project hosts discussion on reparations

Virtual 'front-porch talk' analysizes ways to promote healing of racial injustices

CLAIRE HOGAN FLAT HAT DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR

Tuesday, Oct. 27, The Lemon Project held a virtual panel entitled “Coates’s ‘The Case for Reparations" in collaboration with the Williamsburg Regional Library. On the panel were Lemon Project Director Jody Allen Ph.D ’09, Lemon Project Postdoctoral Fellow Jajuan Johnson and founder of the Historic Triangle chapter of Coming to the Table Laura Hill.

Coming to the Table is a national organization that holds open conversations about race, racial trauma and healing. Throughout the panel, Hill emphasized the need for an open and honest dialogue regarding racism and reparations.

“Our vision at Coming to the Table is the same as the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King,” Hill said. “In his 1963 ‘I have a Dream’ speech, King said, ‘I have a dream that one day the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will come to the table, will sit down at the table of brotherhood.’

And that is our aim. Every month, Coming to the Table chapters all over the country bring people together to have that very difficult and clumsy and uncomfortable conversation about race.”

Johnson echoed this sentiment regarding an open conversation, urging participants to hold “brave spaces” where participants are encouraged to be candid, but also held accountable for their contributions.

“Tonight we are creating a brave space about a topic with varying opinions, and that’s often misunderstood,” Johnson said. “In a brave space, complex conversations are welcome, but we are encouraged to practice radical empathy, where we are intentional in understanding the feelings and experiences of others.”

The panel’s discussion centered around “The Case for Reparations” by journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, in which Coates argues that America’s history of enslavement warrants some form of financial reconciliation for the descendants of enslaved people. Coates points to enslavement as

the root cause of the systemic racial injustices in America today, arguing that Black Americans deserve widespread initiatives to counteract the injustices of the past.

“Typically we hear, ‘no one alive today was enslaved or an enslaver, so stop talking about reparations,’ a very true statement,” Allen said. “But another true statement is that everyone alive today still lives under the lasting effects of the institution of slavery. Slavery and its aftermath is now systemic. It is part of the body, and the entire body must be addressed if healing is to take place.”

Discussions of reparations have increased following acts of police brutality against Black Americans in 2020. Hill argued that these murders, along with the impacts of COVID-19, have clarified the need for reparative work.

“The George Floyd murder revealed what we’ve known in the African American community: that we have broken policing and law enforcement systems,” Hill said. “Also, the Coronavirus pandemic unmasked our broken healthcare system, and African Americans are dying of Coronavirus at rates disproportionately higher than other groups.”

Hill compared systemic racism to a broken bone, arguing that reparations are an urgent and necessary step in the healing process for Black Americans.

“I broke my leg last year, and letting my leg stay broken was not an option,” Hill said. “When it’s a bone in your body, you understand that you need immediate medical intervention. Reparations are the intervention to repair our broken systems.”

Because systemic racism impacts all areas of life in the United States, reparations can take many forms, including scholarships, economic development initiatives or direct payments. Hill pointed to the Lemon Project as a form of reparations at the College of William and Mary.

“William and Mary’s Lemon Project is an example of a reparative project,” Hill said. “The first part of reparations is acknowledgement, a recognition of historical harm.”

Hill also cited ongoing reparations initiatives in national and state-level governments, such as the Harriet Tubman Community Investment Act in Maryland, or H.R.40 in the House of Representatives, both of which aim to study the lasting impact of enslavement on Black Americans. Hill urged Williamsburg to construct a reparations bill of its own.

“We are really hoping that, in the state of Virginia, that Williamsburg, which is the birthplace of America, will lead the way in reparations and racial equity,” Hill said. “The sad thing is that these laws to enslave, to disenfranchise and disadvantage people based on the color of their skin and their ancestry in the 17th, 18th, even the 19th century, many of these laws were passed right here in the Historic Triangle. These systems and these laws were intentionally designed to not work in the best interest of people of African ancestry.”

When asked about the potential for dismantling these laws and the systemic racism across the country, Hill remained optimistic.

“I don’t know that we will see it completely dismantled in our lifetime, but I think it’s important that every generation is tasked with making things better for the next generation,” Hill said. “I’m hopeful that we can dismantle the systems of oppression. And I’m also hopeful because I look at what’s happened over the past five months. Right now, more than a hundred Confederate monuments have been torn down, and would you have thought that was possible at the beginning of this year? No one would have imagined that happening. It just goes to show: all things are possible, and they can happen very quickly.”

Above all, Hill emphasized that reparations are simply overdue payments for the suffering inflicted by centuries of enslavement in the United States.

“Reparations are not a handout,” Hill said. “The work has already been contributed to our nation. The wealth of our nation was made on the backs of enslaved Africans, people of African ancestry. The move for reparations is not asking for a handout. It’s asking for what has already been paid through the sweat and tears of our ancestors.”

CAMPUS

VOX panel talks abortion rights, reproductive justice

Panelists examine history of debate, share personal testimonies, advocacy work LINDA LI THE FLAT HAT

Thursday, Oct. 29, the College of William and Mary’s Voices for Planned Parenthood — (VOX) — hosted a virtual panel for speakers to discuss why they support abortion rights.

VOX is a student organization that aims to raise awareness about reproductive rights and feminism or the feminist movement. This panel follows the recent controversy regarding anti-abortion rhetoric posted on the chalkboard outside of the Integrated Science Center by Tribe for Life.

“It’s essential to hear directly from members of our community on why they personally are pro-choice, and what that title means to them,” said VOX President Willa Moffatt ’21.

The panelists were Caitlin Dolt ’22, government and gender, sexuality and women’s studies professor Claire McKinney of the William and Mary Wesley Foundation's campus minister Max Blalock. The panel discussion was followed by a question-andanswer period.

Dolt launched the discussion by sharing her experience as an abortion rights advocate born and raised in Texas.

“The first thing that I want to raise is every single Planned Parenthood that I know of has protesters

and scary people with guns and cowboy hats in front of them all the time,” Dolt said. “That’s just [the] reality of the situation … My sex education when I was in elementary school … was about 15 minutes.

A medical professional — my school nurse — came in and told us that kissing gets you pregnant, that if you've got an STD, you will die, and we watched a live childbirth video.”

Recognizing the feeling of being “the rogue feminist in a large Catholic family” McKinney took the spotlight to discuss her perspective on abortions as a scholar and political theorist. While brainstorming her master’s thesis, McKinney became intrigued by the moral arguments over abortions and their role in feminist politics.

“Given how vested political conversations are on the status of women, it really came to the fore to me that advocacy on the part of abortion access is as much about a broader dedication to gender equity and gender freedom and not just a kind of question of one’s access to reproductive health care,” McKinney said.

Following McKinney, Moffatt read an anonymous student submission that detailed how the student helped a high school friend obtain an abortion to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

“Long story short … I took her to get an abortion," Moffatt said. "We told no one where we had been. I

was sworn to secrecy, and for the rest of her life, this girl must live with undue guilt for making the right choice for herself. She bravely defied what she had been taught, what her mother told her was a sin and what her father called an abomination, and she was able to do it because of safe access to abortion and women's health services.”

Blalock shared his views on reproductive rights from a Christian standpoint.

“From my perspective as simply a person and as a Christian, the most important thing is that it’s about trusting women, it’s about trusting women and doctors to make decisions that are in their best interest,” Blalock said.

He went on to detail some historical background to emphasize that the abortion debate today is largely a recent invention.

“This melding between right-wing Christianity and the pro-life movement is directly a result of the rise of the religious right in the late 70’s and early 80’s,” Blalock said. “And that coincided with Jerry Falwell Sr. and the rise of the ‘moral majority.’ But historically, the Christian stance has been that life begins at birth. I want to remind you that this is really a political stance … folks can pick and choose different verses that they say, you know, proves [their standpoint], but it's not there.”

Following the speakers' remarks, attendees asked

questions centered on having more productive conversations with anti-abortion groups. The panelists dissected the most common anti-abortion arguments and analyzed their basic premises, offering advice on when to engage. They also talked about the pro-life chalkboard tactic and efficacy of certain protest measures.

Suzanne Cole ’22, who attended the event, shared her thoughts on the speakers and topics covered.

Cole appreciated the inclusion of speakers from traditionally conservative states whose experiences contrasted with her upbringing in northern Virginia, which she categorized as relatively liberal.

“It can be easy for me to fall into that trap of assuming the rest of the country is just like where I live, and hearing Caitlin speak about the belligerent protesters outside Planned Parenthood in Texas was sobering to me,” Cole said.

Audience member Sam Cooksey ’22 also reflected on the panel and his takeaways.

“Contrary to stereotypes that sometimes portray people advocating for social justice as insular, uncomplicated or talking-point driven, this event was full of substance and lived experiences,” Cooksey said.

“There was a lot of discussion, not just of the issue of abortion, but also issues related to it, such as domestic abuse and the economic hardship that an unwanted child can [bring to] a family.”

ELECTION

Student organizations mobilize campus voters for 2020 election

Political groups encourage students to vote, campaign for congressional, presidential candidates

ELECTION from page 1

Young Democrats also sought to increase voter turnout on both sides of the aisle.

With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting traditional campaign activities such as canvassing, College Republicans President Tom Callahan ’21 said they have sought COVID-19 safe alternatives such as phone banking, inviting speakers and connecting students with internships at local campaigns.

“It’s been very difficult — it hasn’t been necessarily what we wanted, but we’re making the best of things,” Callahan said.

Though College Republicans does not formally endorse any candidates, Callahan identified Republican candidate Scott Taylor, who is running a tight race against Democratic candidate Elaine Luria in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, and Republican candidate Daniel Gade, who is running for Senate, as candidates for which College Republicans has campaigned. College Republicans does not formally endorse President Donald Trump and Callahan said the club’s membership is split when it comes to support for the president.

Young Democrats President Selene Swanson ’22 said her organization has also encouraged students not only to

vote but to also become involved in campaign work.

“The Young Democrats have been doing a lot of campaigning this year, both for national-level races — obviously the presidency — as well as races here in Virginia,” Swanson said. “The senate election and also the congressional election, which is very close in Virginia’s Second district. Because of COVID, we haven’t been able to do all the campaign activities we normally engage in, so our focus this year has been on reaching out to voters through phone calls and letting them know about the opportunity to vote that has changed a bit this year and it’s gotten easier to vote.”

Unlike College Republicans, Young Democrats does formally endorse all Democratic candidates. Swanson said that being mostly online has allowed the organization to work with a number of progressive groups on campus.

“Being online has made our events a lot more accessible, so we have seen a lot of engagement from students,” Swanson said. “It’s been rewarding to get engagement from other progressive groups on campus who are not necessarily members of the Young Democrats.”

One example Swanson gave was the Williamsburg Sunrise Movement’s efforts to triple voter turnout by asking students leaving the polls to text three friends to vote. The Sunrise Movement

pushes for progressive action on climate change and environmental issues and endorses candidates that support this action, but it is not necessarily affiliated with the Democratic party. Swanson said Young Democrats has also reached out to multicultural groups on campus following this summer’s reckoning with issues of racial injustice and the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.

“In the context of the events this summer, something I think I’ve taken from that and something I’ve tried to bring to my leadership of the Young Dems is that electoral politics is not where it ends,” Swanson said. “It’s not the end-all-be-all, but it’s an important element of it. Who is in power and who our elected officials are does make a difference. So it’s important for us to be out on the streets at protests — mobilizing that way, but it’s just as important for us to be showing up on election day.”

Young Democrats Vice President Owen Williams ’23 hopes that these connections will continue past the election.

“Our outreach and our partnerships with other campus organizations has definitely improved a lot this semester just because we’re all going through the same struggles of being online and it’s made the progressive organizations on campus rely on each other a lot more,” Williams said. “I think we’ve built some good partnerships this semester that will

hopefully continue in future years.”

After the election, both College Republicans and Young Democrats said their work will remain vital.

“You could say this is a beautiful thing or a not so beautiful thing about Virginia — we always have elections,” Callahan said. “We have statewide elections going on next year — we’re going to have House of Delegates seats up, state senate seats up. We’re probably going to move on to that. At the same point, we are pretty big on criminal justice reform, telehealth has been pretty big for us. We’ll continue to push for that. Those are some of the issues that are going to be at the forefront of our membership’s mind.”

In discussing criminal justice reform and telemedicine, Callahan mentioned working with Americans for Prosperity, which is a conservative advocacy group founded in 2004 by the Koch brothers.

Callahan also mentioned the recent debate over Tribe for Life’s chalkboard messages as it relates to political tensions on campus.

“There’s a lot of passion going around — a lot of anger, a lot of division,” Callahan said. “I certainly know from a lot of my conservative friends that I’ve spoken with on campus that they are very afraid to voice any dissenting viewpoint, even if it’s not necessarily totally dissenting but even a deviation from a norm — they’re afraid. That’s not necessarily unfounded, in my opinion. College Republicans has

always said that we’re a safe space for discussing conservative ideas.”

Swanson and Williams weighed the possibility of either a Biden or Trump victory, but concluded that this election is where the work begins.

“We’ve been very focused on moving away from campaign work as the sole focus of the club,” Williams said. “If Nov. 3 comes and Biden does win, that is amazing because we’ve worked so hard for that, but we’ve acknowledged that that’s when the real fight begins — that’s not when it ends. We would then be focused on pushing the administration as much as possible to follow through on all the campaign promises they’ve made.

We need to make sure we’re making real change for a lot of communities that have not been addressed by electoral politics in the past.”

Ultimately, the two organizations agreed on the importance of voting and ensuring that all students at the College have the opportunity to vote.

“It certainly is going to be a stressful time for me and for everyone else,” Callahan said. “I think the biggest thing is to make sure that everybody votes. We’ve seen a lot of division over the summer and a lot of tension even now, so I think making sure that we get everybody out to vote is going to be a really important thing. If you want your voice heard, you have to vote.”

opinions

Opinions Editor Chloe Folmar Opinions Editor Lucas Harsche Opinions Editor Alyssa Slovin

The Flat Hat

| Tuesday, November 3, 2020 | Page 4

STAFF COLUMN

STAFF COLUMN

Differing core values of left and right-wing groups’ show in their approaches to activism

Aidan White

FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER

The stark national divide between left-wing and right-wing politics was on full display at the College of William and Mary two weeks ago.

Two groups from two different ends of the political spectrum — Tribe for Life and the William & Mary Workers’ Union — pursued two very different organizing strategies that week, and we can learn a lot about the state of American politics by examining both groups closely.

When members of the College community look back on that week, the thing they will probably remember most is the back-and-forth over the Integrated Science Center chalkboard. When the anti-abortion group Tribe for Life claimed that the inflammatory and triggering statements they wrote on the ISC chalkboard were erased by prochoice students overnight, it sparked a campus-wide conversation about free speech and abortion.

Tribe for Life was faced with a unique opportunity to use this conversation to help their cause. As an organization that wants to end abortion, Tribe for Life could have used this moment to promote safe-sex practices and hand out free condoms. As an organization that claims they want to help women, Tribe for Life could have used this moment to raise awareness for the sexism and misogyny faced by female college students. As an organization that has endorsed Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, thereby publicly supporting a conservative politician, Tribe for Life could have used this moment to register first-time voters and help students request absentee ballots for the presidential election.

“While Tribe For Life used their power to grasp for an imaginary moral high ground with symbolic chalk art, the William & Mary Workers’ Union used their power to actively help a marginalized community.”

Needless to say, they did not do any of that. Instead, members of Tribe for Life rewrote their anti-abortion propaganda and spent all day Friday guarding the chalkboard. They sat there for hours, using viciously ignorant words to defend their beliefs, with one member of the organization even comparing reproductive rights to chattel slavery. Tribe for Life used their organizing power to spread hateful messaging and defend — of all things — a chalkboard.

As this was all going on, the William & Mary Workers’ Union was doing something very different. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the College’s downright disdain for protecting workers’ rights. Like Tribe for Life, the William & Mary Workers’ Union was being presented with an opportunity to further their cause.

The Union responded to this unique moment by designing masks that said “Protect W&M Jobs” and “Living Wage Now.” They sold these masks to students on a pay-what-you-can basis, with the funds going toward their organizing efforts. Selling the masks to students also allowed the Union to hand masks out to workers for free. They declared Friday to be “Fair Wage Friday” and asked students and workers to wear their Union masks. The same day that Tribe for Life was standing around a chalkboard and comparing abortion to slavery, the William & Mary Workers’ Union was ensuring that College employees had masks to protect themselves against COVID-19 and was raising awareness for the dangerous conditions in which College employees are being forced to work. While Tribe for Life used their power to grasp for an imaginary moral high ground with symbolic chalk art, the William & Mary Workers’ Union used their power to actively help a marginalized community.

I believe that the contrast between the recent behavior of Tribe for Life and the William & Mary Workers’ Union exemplifies a difference between right-wing and left-wing politics. I am categorizing Tribe for Life as a right-wing political group here because they have openly supported the confirmation of conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett. Right-wing political groups do not care if their words or actions are hurtful as long as they get to feel like they are right. Sometimes, they even brag about hurting people’s feelings and offending members of marginalized groups.

Meanwhile, left-wing activists are actually going out into the world, lifting up oppressed groups, and finding ways to help them. Left-wing political groups want to make the world a better place, while right-wing political groups just want to be right.

This divide will not end when this election ends. In fact, the results of this election will probably divide the political spectrum even further. So, we will all be faced with the choice between these brands of politics, and that choice is far more important than just a choice between candidates.

The choice between left-wing and right-wing politics is a choice between humanitarian organizing and hateful rhetoric. It is a choice between helping others for the sake of achieving justice and hurting others for your own gain. It is a choice between progressing toward equality and regressing into barbarism. Which will you choose?

Email Aidan White at amwhite02@email.wm.edu.

LGBTQ+ students face unique set of fears in advance of election down to this — why I could not avoid passing judgement on those who have different political opinions. As I mentioned, I am able to be tolerant up until a point, the point where rights begin to be taken away or ignored altogether. Simply put, neither candidate for this election is ideal, but one makes me fear for my future abilities as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

I am bisexual and proud, and hope to eventually marry and have kids, either through adoption or another method, but given how things are moving within the White House, as well as the addition of recently confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett, FLAT HAT OPINIONS ASSOC. EDITOR these might not be available to me in the next few years. Likewise, I have never been more afraid for The current political climate is difficult for everyone my livelihood than before; I feel transported back to regardless of party affiliation or policy stances, a time before there was any acceptance of LGBTQ+ although it most definitely weighs heavier on some people at all. more than others. Being a member of the LGBTQ+ As many people in Williamsburg experienced, there community has brought me a lot of queer joy and was recently a rally of cars in favor of President Trump happiness, as I finally feel accepted and understood, and his re-election, as well but it also incites a lot of queer fear as a part of a as a few other minor marginalized and demonstrations oppressed group. near the campus.

Although the I was walking College of William near one of these and Mary campus movements, wearing is fairly welcoming, my bookbag that there are still has both pride and moments where I feel preferred pronoun uncomfortable with pins. I was called simple things such as a f-g by one of the wearing a pride shirt MAGA-wearing or holding hands supporters. with a romantic Although this partner. This is in was not my first no way, shape or time being called form a product this particular of our school slur, it was itself, but simply most definitely a societal issue the first time in that is a product many years that of wider injustice this occurred, and inequality. and the most public.

I fully believe Given that I was very that people outnumbered, I was are entitled to immediately afraid, and their individual though I knew nothing political views would happen right then and stances, and there, I did begin to even if I do not wonder what life would look personally agree like after the election on with said views Nov. 3 and beyond. or even fully I am gay and I am a understand their human deserving respect reasoning behind and political equality, and them. What I GRAPHIC BY SUNNY AHN AND HEADHSHOTS BY KAYLA PAYNE AND I do not believe that these absolutely cannot ANGELA VASISHTA / THE FLAT HAT terms need be mutually condone are views that exclusive. I urge everyone utterly go against the rights of a group, such as racial to look within themselves and consider how they discrimination, gender oppression, pro-life groups and would want to be viewed as if they were queer like me, lack of equality for LGBTQ+ people around the world. and question how they might change their political Our country definitely has strides to go in terms of affiliations because of this. I can only hope that there ensuring freedom and rights for all, but in the last few are enough people who value freedom and democracy years, I have felt more overall stagnation and regression over that of wanting lower taxes or private healthcare or than positive growth and change. any other inane political minutia that doesn’t determine I recently had a conversation with a close family the rights of an entire group of people, especially when member about the upcoming election; they are fairly they were or will be voting this election. conservative, while I am obviously of a different Email Elaine Godwin at political alignment. The discussion essentially boiled sgodwin@email.wm.edu.

Elaine Godwin

INDEPENDENT GRAPHIC

Students should avoid losing sleep over delayed election results GRAPHIC BY SKYLER FOLEY / THE FLAT HAT

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

GUEST COLUMN

Waking up early adds peace to students’ lives, enables unique campus discoveries and dead silence does rising early maximize mindfulness, although this is true.

FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER Rather, rising early boosts peace because mornings on campus lavish the onlooker with loveliness. Step outside The librarian gave me a confused and searching stare when, your dorm around dawn and you will receive, freely-given, a in one of the early weeks of the semester, I impulse-checked-out multimedia masterpiece. Relatively empty brick paths ring with a book of poems called “Why I Wake Early” by Mary Oliver. At the conversations and choruses of campus birds; squirrels scurry the time, I was unsure why she was staring, but after spending to make way for the regal but gentle deer — far less bashful two months here and comprehending campus’s general attitude before the masses wake up — to grace the dewy grass. On clear towards “waking early,” I think I understand it now. mornings, the day breaks like a runny egg over the roofs of To pull a Jane Austen, it is a fact universally acknowledged academic buildings and the spires of Williamsburg, dripping that college kids like to sleep in. The College of William and golden goodness over the horizon. Even on misty mornings the Mary may be chock-full of quirks — even maddeningly so sunrise can be promising, blooming softly behind clouds and — but it is not unique in this. Sleeping in seems to be, still, through pervasive fog. overwhelmingly common.

All this beauty is accompanied I, however, have found mornings by a lack of activity. Sure, there’s on campus to be one of the best the crawl to the dining hall just kept secrets of the College. You before 8 a.m., and you’ll catch may wonder, then, why I choose a couple early runners and to discuss them at all. Why not bikers. Otherwise, our campus let them remain a little-known is delightfully still. It is empty gift? But I have a sense that, of the human hassles that easily regardless of what I disclose here, haunt daytime hours, yet it is full the allure of the early morning will — brimming, even — with bursts persist as a relatively well-kept of sound and color. The life of secret. Disregard my advice if you nature gleams out, separate from wish. The fact remains: mornings the stresses that hang like clouds on campus offer unparalleled peace over everyday college concerns. and quiet.

Try visiting the Botetourt I’m guessing you could use dock at dawn. Watch some peace. I would imagine that the first light dance you, too, find yourself perpetually over the Crim Dell pressed by stress as the final heat meadows. Walk of election season and the muck across the Sunken of final exams slink steadily Garden while stars closer. The current campus linger in the morning tensions are clear upon sky, and I promise simply opening social you’ll be amazed. Slow media, and the vivacity down and take in these of stress culture these simple splendors, as days is evident upon silly as it may sound. first stepping into Earl But you can only get out of Gregg Swem Library. It your head in this way if you takes no expert to rule actually get out of your bed. that peace could be How does one accomplish GRAPHIC BY TARA VASANTH / THE FLAT HAT classified a missing this, you may ask? I can only person on this campus. answer that you must force Mornings have been integral for me in maintaining a level yourself to do it: you must want that unfettered time so much head. Rising early and getting out of one’s room, under the so that you will sacrifice sleeping in for it. It is daunting to get right circumstances, is an easy method of finding rest. It’s up before your schedule requires, but it is worthwhile. counterintuitive, I know. It boosts peace, but not in the way you Don’t simply take my word for it. might expect. Not because you can easily find an empty seat in Email Sarah Soltis at the lounge and grind out the day’s work in pre-dawn darkness sfsoltis@email.wm.edu.

Sarah Soltis

STAFF COLUMN

Freshmen across campus struggle with limited socialization opportunities, academic stress work around the limits of Zoom classes by creating study groups and THE FLAT HAT scheduling one-on-one office hours with their professors.

On the first night I moved into For me, one of the most mentally college, I sat in my room alone on challenging parts of the freshman Zoom answering basic ice breaker experience this fall semester is the questions like, “what superpower accelerated schedule. All students would you want to have?” and are experiencing the stress that “what’s your favorite ice cream comes with a faster-paced semester flavor?” with only about six other with no breaks. girls who had moved in on my Professors are scheduling tests and floor. It was the first night of our quizzes on weekends to make up phased move-in process. This for lost instructional time and was when it fully hit me that if students are constantly playing a group of under 10 hallmates catch-up on Sunday nights. would not be able to meet in The high-intensity pace that person, this semester was the freshmen are working at going to be very different. is a significant adjustment Realizing I am a from most high schools. freshman, sympathetic The stress from the upperclassmen offer me accelerated schedule heartfelt lines like, “I feel compounded by the so bad for you guys” sheer anxiety of COVIDor “y’all have it rough 19 worries and the this semester.” They detailed pressure of adapting to a new stories of basketball games, Wren social environment is creating an Tens and packed basement unhealthy mental environment parties that we won’t be able for freshmen. Our college to experience this semester. community needs to do more Missing out on these social to provide a way for students to and community experiences alleviate some of the stress that is making the adjustment to comes from this new anxietycollege more isolating. provoking dynamic.

First year students are The freshman experience restricted to making friends during the COVID-19 pandemic within their dorm halls. has been difficult. However, the Capacity limits in dorm rooms and GRAPHIC BY ANGELA VASISHTA / THE FLAT HAT freshmen who are living on campus lounges force students to exclude are very lucky to have a somewhat friends from gatherings. There are way. Students are taking advantage normal experience compared to no athletic events or concerts to of outdoor spaces to gather with other college students who did not boost a sense of school spirit. Many their friends. Having an afternoon even have the option of coming on students are restricted by the tiny picnic on the Sunken Garden, campus. Freshmen can only hope the virtual boxes of Zoom when it comes playing volleyball and spikeball on sacrifices we make in our first year to developing relationships with Yates Field, taking long walks into will lead to a more social, interactive, their professors and classmates.

Colonial Williamsburg and doing inclusive and typical college All this while students like me yoga at the Matoaka Amphitheatre experience in the years to come. face difficult decisions when it are some ways students stay social in Email Molly Parks at comes to navigating interpersonal the Williamsburg outdoors. Students mmparks01@email.wm.edu.

Molly Parks

relationships during a pandemic.

However, students are finding creative ways to move past these current issues. Freshmen are getting involved in various clubs and organizations. Personally, I have come to realize that rushing a sorority helped me meet freshmen in other dorms and many upperclassmen in a safe and healthy

Page 5

GUEST COLUMN

College students should consider advantages of political tolerance Troy Cullen

FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

To my fellow liberals: We tend to pride ourselves for our tolerance of others: tolerance of all races, religions, genders, sexual orientations and cultures. In most cases, we have lived up to those ideals. But there is one area in which I believe many of us are failing miserably: tolerating those with different political views from us.

Even as I write this, I can already see your eyes rolling. Why should you tolerate racists and bigots who would never tolerate you? Let me be clear: I do not suggest that all liberals are guilty of such intolerance, but based on my experiences in person and on social media, I believe this problem is widespread. I also do not think “both sides are just as bad.” I am a proud liberal Democrat. I believe that Donald Trump is literally the worst president in American history.

But if I believe this, then how could I possibly advocate tolerance for those who support the president? The answer to that question is long, complicated and unsatisfying, but I think that it holds a truth that is essential for the survival of our nation. People are more than their political views. Who a person decides to vote for is but one of countless character-defining decisions that person will make in their life. Many Trump voters are parents, volunteers, essential workers. Many serve in the armed forces, sacrificing their lives so that you have the freedom to vote for the candidate of your choice, whether it is one they support or not.

Can you honestly say that each and every Trump voter you have met is an evil person at heart? Maybe you tell yourself: “Well, my Trump-supporting grandparents have terrible political views, but they’re still good people overall. But most of those other Trump supporters are racist monsters.” Is it possible, then, that at least a sizable portion of Trump voters are more like your flawed-but-good-hearted grandparents than the fanatical, racist conspiracy theorists you see on TV and videos on social media titled “OMG Racist Trump Supporting NAZI gets SCHOOLED by BLM Activist! MUST WATCH!!!!”

Perhaps many of us liberals have fallen into the trap of gross generalizations and stereotyping that we loath so much in our opponents.

The truth is politics is pretty complicated. Finding “facts and logic” is a whole lot harder than the pundits and social media preachers would have you believe. Say you are certain that the following statements are true: that man-made climate change is real, that pulling out of the JCPOA Iran nuclear deal was a mistake. If I told you that everything stated above was a lie, how would you know whether you were right or not? Why do you see those issues the way you do? Where do you get your information from?

Which people in your life, or through the screen, influenced your opinion?

Honestly, I’m pretty confident the above statements are true, but even I can’t say for certain; no one can.

Nobody knows for certain what the “objective truth” is, and all anyone can do is learn, think and make an informed decision. Making the wrong decision wouldn’t make you an evil person. So why should this logic not apply to Trump voters?

Before you write me off as a fence-sitter, I need to make one important distinction: people like those who carried Confederate flags, swastikas and assault rifles into Charlottesville are worthy of your condemnation.

Many Trump voters are malicious racists, but many are not, and to place everyone who voted for Trump in the same category as his most radical supporters is as inaccurate as it is dangerous.

I do not ask you to temper your passion. I do not ask you to tolerate Trump and his policies which have wrought so much destruction upon our country. I only ask that you channel your rage at the politicians responsible for this crisis, and not your family, friends and neighbors. There will almost certainly be violence after this election regardless of the outcome, and as violent as Trump’s supporters can be, that doesn’t mean that we liberals are incapable of wrongdoing.

Even if you personally will not partake in violence, we need to be aware of how our words and actions — whether around the dinner table or on social media — can build hate and incite catastrophe. Every mention of “I hope Trump dies,” “Trump supporters getting COVID is natural selection” and “all Trump voters are fascists” we utter moves our country one inch closer to destruction. Again, I do not suggest that all of us liberals are guilty of such actions, but in this era of hate and chaos we find ourselves in, it wouldn’t hurt for all of us to take a moment of self-reflection to consider whether or not we are contributing to the problem — myself included.

No matter who wins this election, Democrats and Republicans will still share the same country, and we will have to find a way to peacefully live with each other.

If not, our enemies around the world will continue to rejoice as they watch us Americans tear each other to shreds. If Biden wins this election but we still can’t find a way to reconcile our people, the country may survive, but our nation will fracture and die.

Email Troy Cullen at tacullen01@email.wm.edu.

variety

Variety Editor Gavin Aquin Hernández Variety Editor Matthew Kortan flathat.variety@gmail.com

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, November 3, 2020 | Page 6

LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL COURTESY IMAGE / ALTON COSTON III

American Civil Liberties Union intern Alton Coston III ‘23 fights for racial justice in hometown, advocates for civil rights across Virginia NINA RANESES // THE FLAT HAT June 19, Alton Coston III ‘23 walked up to the Robert E. Lee Memorial in his native Richmond, Va. Following weeks of protest against police brutality and systemic racism, the monument was covered with a rainbow of spray-painted messages from the statue’s base to its concrete floor.

“I remember first walking on the grounds of the Lee monument and seeing the spray paint, the writings and the drawings and thinking ‘this is what democracy looks like,’” Coston said. “This is what ‘we the people’ actually means, as opposed to when it was first drafted in the Constitution. When people were voicing their opinions on what was happening nationally, as well as in their own backyard in Richmond, it made me proud.”

Juneteenth — or June 19 — is the holiday that commemorates the day in which the last enslaved people in the United States were informed of their liberation. Being from Richmond, Coston has driven past Monument Avenue a number of times in his life. He had the opportunity to speak at the site, in front of a huge crowd, in a moment he called “nothing short of sensational,” as he realized what this experience could mean for the legacy of his ancestors.

Civil rights advocacy has been an integral part of Coston’s life for as long as he can remember. This summer, he worked as a policy advocacy intern at the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.

He was able to tackle some of the very issues that he advocated for as he spoke in front of the Robert E. Lee memorial on Juneteenth. A public policy and Africana studies double major, Coston is always on the lookout for opportunities to further his understanding of advocacy work and the legislative process. What started as a Google search last winter became what he refers to as the greatest internship

experience he has ever had.

Like most internship programs operating in a pandemic, Coston had to work remotely. Equipped with a laptop given to him by his office and an ACLU email address, Coston worked in the state legislative process, analyzed the Virginia prison system and Richmond police force and even wrote several blog posts for the ACLU of Virginia website.

One of the most eye-opening projects he worked on involved researching the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Virginia’s prisons.

“I was able to understand Virginia’s prison and jail system a lot more comprehensively than I had before,” Coston said. “COVID-19 was worse in prisons and jails than it was out in the real world, yet people in prisons and jails can’t do anything about it.”

Coston said that his office set up a hotline where family members could call in and describe to him and his colleagues the conditions their incarcerated family members lived in.

“The graphic things that we heard and received were absolutely astonishing,” Coston said. “One of the quotes I won’t forget was someone telling us, ‘I’m here to serve my time, I’m not in here to die.’”

His time at the ACLU of Virginia showed him how much influence third-party organizations can have in the policy advocacy process, especially in the area of civil rights. As a public policy student, being able to understand the political process in a hands-on manner was an unforgettable experience for him.

“My internship allowed me to see things that the average citizen wouldn’t.

I did not realize the ACLU of Virginia had that much power or authority,” Coston said. “I saw just how much authority the ACLU of Virginia had regarding civil and first amendment cases and how much

power saying ‘we’re from the ACLU’ has, especially in prisons.”

As his internship came to an end, he regarded his colleagues as mentors. He learned that he did not have to have a legal background to fight for civil rights causes, just the drive and passion for advocating for policies that ensure them. At 19, he was the youngest intern in the office, but he believed that his age was a great asset to the work he did over the summer — especially when he remembered the importance of young people in civil rights advocacy.

“I was the youngest person on each and every call, but in the same vein, I was also the person that inspired the most,” Coston said. “I’m a trailblazer. Every political movement and protest is started by young people. That passion that is found in young people, I believe the ACLU of Virginia saw in me, and that is part of the reason why I believe I was selected.”

Coston said that his work with the ACLU was emotionally heavy but worth it all the same. Between the Black Lives Matter protests in his hometown and learning more about the injustices faced by incarcerated people in the commonwealth, Coston said that working at the ACLU as a Black man could at times be conflicting, but he knew that advocacy work was worth it for the impact it could have.

“Oftentimes, even at the ACLU of Virginia, I was the only Black person in the room,” Coston said. “In the same vein you had people who were true allies and who weren’t doing this work for performative reasons. You had people who were truly knowledgeable of the issues that Black and brown people face.

That’s what drove me to continue to show up. I am able to enlighten people on my experiences, while people with legal backgrounds had the tools to help Black and brown people.”

sports

Sports Editor Zoe Beardsley Sports Editor Nathan Seidel flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, November 3, 2020 | Page 7

Tribe Athletics saga continues

Women’s Track and Field announces boycott of season unless men’s team is reinstated

LEXIE HIESTAND FLAT HAT SPORTS ASSOC. EDITOR After a month of controversy surrounding the decision to cut seven athletic programs, Tribe Athletics announced it would be reinstating the women’s gymnastics, swim and volleyball teams to comply with Title IX regulations. Oct. 25, the women’s track and field team decided that the reinstatement of the women’s but not men’s team was unacceptable.

Twenty-six women’s track and field athletes signed an open letter to the Board of Visitors and administration refusing to compete for the Tribe until the institution revealed its decision-making process and reinstated all of the discontinued men’s teams.

A main cause of both the discontinuation and reinstatement of the seven varsity sports, as well as the Women’s track and field team’s open letter, is Title IX. Title IX is a law that protects students from gender-based discrimination. In terms of athletics, the test to determine whether universities comply with Title IX policies is three-fold.

The school must show they provide equal athletic opportunity in proportion to enrollment, show commitment to expanding programs to the underrepresented sex, or show they accommodate the interests of the underrepresented sex in the present program.

In other words, the College must demonstrate that the opportunity to participate in varsity sports is consistent with enrollment numbers across genders.

Before program cuts in 2020, the Tribe Athletics program housed 20 teams: 10 men’s and 11 women’s teams.

A larger roster equates to more opportunities for participating. For example, the football team, with 102 players on its roster, demonstrates more opportunity than men’s tennis, with 10 players.

The cuts showed similar proportions between men’s and women’s teams, around 25 percent of total enrollment.

However, athletes from women’s swimming, gymnastics and volleyball brought threats of legal action to the College for failing to meet the Title IX test of providing athletic enrollment consistent with student enrollment.

The lawsuit shifted the College’s language from that of financial concerns to that of Title IX concerns. This can be seen in Interim Athletic Director Jeremy Martin’s Oct. 19 email to the William and Mary community announcing the reinstatement of the three sports.

“After further review conducted in response to an impending lawsuit, it was determined that the discontinuations and related roster adjustments for

remaining sports were not likely to accomplish the goal of equity in participation by next fall,” Martin said in the email. “Therefore, as interim athletics director, I recommended to President Rowe, who affirmed, that women’s gymnastics, women’s swimming and women’s volleyball will continue as NCAA Division I sports.”

This language can be compared to the earliest announcement of the seven varsity sports being discontinued.

“However, the costs … have become unsustainable,” College President Katherine Rowe said in the sent email announcing the cuts on Sept. 6. “The pandemic has made these budget constraints acute and has brought us to a point of reckoning.”

In addition to showing the change in justification for cutting the programs, Martin’s email presented a new explanation for cutting the men’s teams.

Martin explained the teams were cut to increase equality between men’s and women’s programs going forward, as new opportunities for women would be slower and harder to come by.

The women’s track and field team took issue with this change in justification. Apart from issues of transparency, they found that using sex as a basis for reinstating teams was inherently discriminatory.

In response to the changes, they decided to write an open letter where they announced their decision to boycott the upcoming season.

“We will begin a campaign of passive resistance to the unfair practices and policies of the College’s administration, including the dishonest manner in which these decisions were arrived at,” the letter states.

“As such, you can expect to see us front and center voicing our concerns about these issues; you can expect us to take our argument to our student body, to our faculty, and to our alumni; what you should not expect is for us to show up in uniform, representing this institution, until this matter is resolved.”

The members of women’s track and field believe that their boycott will reduce the College’s ability to legally comply with Title IX. Track athlete Lauren Finikiotis ’21 described the their motives for the boycott.

“They need us to compete on the basis of Title IX,” Finikiotis said in a written statement. “Without a women’s track team, the school would be facing a major violation in the very law they used as justification to cut our men’s team.”

When asked how the boycott will affect Title IX, Martin did not provide a response, stating that the College will soon be releasing information regarding Title IX.

It still remains unclear whether the boycott will damage the College’s attempts to reach Title IX equity and if the athletes must compete for participation to be achieved.

Twenty-six of the 43 total athletes signed a letter, refusing to compete for the Tribe until the men’s teams are reinstated and the university shares the process by which it decided to cut the teams in the first place.

“We are doing the very thing W&M has ingrained in us,” Finikiotis said. “I believe that the administration has greatly underestimated the Women’s team. By protesting, we are using the privilege we have to stand up to the administration and demand change.”

Finnikiotis hopes the boycott shows the school that they should value their female athletes not just for Title IX compliance but also for their successes.

“Through their actions, the administration has told their female athletes that they are only valued for their gender not ability,” Finnikiotis said. “We will not be minimized to a number. Through their actions, the administration is telling the entire student body that Title IX is only an obstacle to achieving their own agenda. This decision is telling for the treatment of gender equity across campus.”

The 17 athletes on the women’s track and field team who chose not to sign the letter will still have the ability to compete in the spring.

Finikiotis did made it clear that she and other members of the track team do not believe Tribe Athletics has created an open and welcoming environment for athletes to speak out.

“We respect the decisions of our teammates to compete and will support them no matter what,” Finikiotis said.

“However, it is important to note that many students who did not sign the petition did so in fear that the administration would retaliate against them and revoke scholarships. People are afraid to speak up, including fellow athletes from different sports, because of the way the athletic department has instilled fear into anyone who disagrees with them.”

By the spring, the team hopes the issue is resolved and that they will be able to compete together alongside the men’s team.

As for the administration’s response to the news of the boycott, Interim Director Martin declined to give much detail.

“We respect our student-athletes’ right to express themselves and encourage them to use their voices in a thoughtful manner,” Martin said in a statement. “I appreciate their support of fellow student-athletes and will look forward to engaging them in the near future.”

TIMELINE OF ATHLETIC CUTS SEP. 3 SEP. 18 SEP. 23

THE COLLEGE ANNOUNCES THE DESICION TO CUT SEVEN VARSITY SPORTS PROGRAMS IN A LETTER, CITING BUDGET AND TITLE IX CONCERNS

OCT. 6

HUGE RESIGNS AS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR; JEREMY MARTIN NAMED AS INTERIM REPLACEMENT

FORMER DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS SAMANTHA HUGE ADMITS TO COLLABORATING WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS ON THE LETTER AFTER PLAGARISM CONCERNS ARE RAISED

OCT. 19

THE COLLEGE REINSTATES WOMEN’S SWIMMING, GYMNASTICS AND VOLLEYBALL, INVOKING TITLE IX AS THE REASON

COLLEGE PRESIDENT KATHERINE ROWE SENDS AN EMAIL TO THE COMMUNITY EXPRESSING HER REGRET OVER THE LETTER

OCT. 25

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD DELIVERS OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT ROWE, ANNOUNCES A BOYCOTT OF THE UPCOMING SEASON UNLESS THE MEN’S TEAM IS REINSTATED

THE EXTRA POINT

Pandemic halts College golf season, increases sport’s recreational popularity COVID-19 reinvigorates sport’s demand, play historically rises due to social-distancing opportunities MADISON ELLIOTT THE FLAT HAT When COVID-19 first came to Virginia last spring, its arrival corresponded with the beginning of the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship golf season.

At the time, collegiate golfers across the nation were scheduled to compete in what many believed would be a normal season.

However, within weeks of the nation’s first confirmed COVID-19 case, any spark of hope was quickly snuffed out as both cancellations and cases accumulated by the masses, leaving not only the golf community, but also the rest of the world in complete dismay.

At first, the pandemic was obser ved from afar. However, once it became prevalent in the United States, spring sports, including varsity golf, were the first to be canceled.

Prior to any restrictions, William and Mar y concluded play Feb. 16 at The Invitational at Savannah Harbor in Savannah, G.A . hosted by the Tribe,

where the team placed 14 of 19 for the 54hole event.

Following the men’s event, the Tribe wrapped up play March 10 at The River Landing Classic hosted by North Carolina Wilmington in Wallace, N.C. The team finished with a final round score of 301 (+13), placing nine of 12 amid a strong field.

These two tournaments would mark the end of the 2020 golf season for the Tribe.

With the abrupt halt, many university golf programs, including the College’s, were left looking to the fall 2020 semester for a fresh start.

Although the start never came for the Tribe, golf courses still remained open for recreational play throughout the summer months, allowing many newcomers to take up the sport and former players to rekindle an old passion.

While uncertainty has reigned over the world of sports within the past year, the game of golf has adapted rather quickly to these unusual circumstances.

From the removal of rakes in sand traps to inserting pool noodles inside the cup,

golf courses have gone to great lengths to ensure the health and safety of their players by limiting human contact on the course.

It is not a foolproof system, but it could be the best solution we have for now.

The pandemic might have changed the way the sport has traditionally been played, but it certainly hasn’t deterred golfers from flocking to the courses.

According to a report from the National Golf Foundation and Golf Datatech, total golf rounds played across the country at the start of 2020 were up 25.5 percent compared to rounds played in 2019.

Often referred to as a “dying sport,” the game of golf may have a global pandemic to thank for its rapid rise in popularity.

Speaking of popularity, one of golf ’s most sacred events that draws in millions of viewers around the world each year, will also be directly affected by the pandemic.

The annual Masters Tournament, held on the second Sunday of April at the exclusive Augusta National Golf Club, was forced to reschedule, thus altering the history of a tournament that hasn’t been postponed since 1946.

Famous for its well-manicured grounds and vibrant azalea blossoms, the timing of the event is paramount to the course’s traditional image.

However, with the recent postponement, fall weather conditions will result in a different view of Augusta National for the first time in 86 years, adding to the list of firsts that 2020 has brought.

Although the Masters may not look or feel the same without spring weather and the natural allure associated with April in the south, postponing the tournament to the fall was deemed necessary to keep competitors safe.

Similarly, other courses across the nations must also continue to make adjustments in order to conform to these modern trials and tribulations.

While there is no easy road map, golfers are hopeful that the safety measures and strict social-distancing guidelines in place will continue to be effective by keeping players safe in the coming months.

And because COVID-19 cases are predicted to rise again, golf courses may provide one of the only mental and physical escapes from the madness.

Page 8

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

DATA

FEC data demonstrate overwhelming Democratic campaign support among College employees College staff donate to presidential candidates, action committees in high-engagment election ETHAN BROWN AND MATT LOWRIE FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND FLAT HAT DATA ASSOC. EDITOR

According to Federal Elections Commission data, College of William and Mary employees cumulatively donated $127,380 over the past two years to political campaigns and interest groups with the median donation being just $10. Donation rates in 2020 have already outpaced contributions from College staff made in 2016 during the last general election by more than $10,000. An overwhelming majority of donors chose to support Democratic candidates and political action committees (PACs).

Using publicly accessible FEC data, The Flat Hat compiled data tracking political donations from individuals who listed the College as their employer. The Federal Elections Campaign Act states that individuals donating to candidates and PACs should provide information about their employer if their donations exceed $200 during a calendar year, though many include this information on smaller donations as well. Between 2019 and 2020, records indicate that 505 individuals listed the College as their employer on donation forms, which include student employees, non-academic staff and faculty.

Since Jan. 1, 2019, College employees have contributed to campaigns and PACs. A sizable portion of this amount went to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates and their affiliated committees, many of whom launched their primary campaigns last year.

Among these candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden raked in the most money from College employees, who gave $10,784 to his campaign since 2019. Within the same timeframe, Sen. Bernie Sanders earned $5,174 from College staff, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar came in third place with $3,800, of which $2,700 came from a single 2019 donation from former adjunct faculty member and former FBI Director James Comey ’82.

The most popular recipient for donors is ActBlue, a non-profit organization that connects Democratic and progressive causes with individual online donors. During the past two years, College employees have donated $67,510 to ActBlue, eclipsing the second most popular recipient Biden for President by more than $50,000.

Since Jan. 1, 2015, ActBlue has received nearly $125,000 in donations from College staff, comprising about 55% of all donations in the past five years. College employees have cumulatively donated over $305,000 over this same period of time. Between 2019 and 2020 donations to ActBlue nearly doubled among College employees.

A prominent trend within FEC filings data is College employees’ overwhelming preference for Democratic candidates and affiliated organizations. Of the 10 most popular recipients, nine are explicitly related to Democratic candidates or causes.

Other notable recipients in the top 10 list include Elaine for Congress, a committee set up on behalf of freshman Democratic Rep.

Elaine Luria, whose congressional district includes Williamsburg and the College. The only non-partisan recipient ranking in the top 10 is the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee, which lobbies on behalf of Greek organizations at the federal level.

Government professor and James City County Board of Supervisors member John McGlennon said that donations to candidates and PACs are just one of the ways that College faculty members, as well as the general public, have increased their political engagement with campaigns in recent years.

“A clear trend over the past several years, and especially since 2016, has been increased activism among the general public,” McGlennon said in an email. “Activism of all forms are up, whether donating and working in campaigns, marching in support of causes or to protest policies or actions, and almost every other way. Faculty and staff at William & Mary, and universities generally, have been among those who are increasingly active.”

McGlennon also said that donations to Democratic causes and candidates have become dominant among College faculty based primarily on two demographic and political trends: the College’s academic staff has gotten younger who tend to lean more liberal

than older generations.

Additionally, McGlennon said that conservative staff members at the College have struggled to embrace contemporary Republican candidates on account of their attitudes towards issues such as climate change and the pandemic, which weakens the incentive to financially support these candidates’ campaigns. “... Part of this is a reflection of newer faculty, who represent younger age cohorts which are generally more Democratic, and part is due to a widening divide between the parties on both educational attainment levels and acceptance of science,” McGlennon said. “So some of the change is due to younger faculty, but the other part is that some formerly Republican faculty have left the party due to the anti-science rhetoric of Republican leaders on COVID-19, climate change and other issues.”

FEC data provide some empirical evidence for McGlennon’s comments. College employees have only donated $391 to Republican candidates and PACs in the past two years, a meager .3% of total donations. These donations went to WinRed, a fundraising platform affiliated with the Republican National Committee.

In addition to contributions to explicitly pro-Republican platforms, College staff also donated $811 to the Lincoln Project, an organization created in late 2019 by Republicans who oppose President Donald Trump and his affiliates. Combined, these platforms have accrued only slightly more than $1,200 from College staff in the past two years — substantially less than amounts received by comparable Democratic groups.

A lack of financial support for Republican causes among the College’s staff could also reflect Virginia’s increasingly blue tint in national politics. Biden is expected to win Virginia with little difficulty Nov. 3 and barring an unexpected election result for incumbent Sen. Mark Warner this cycle, all statewide elected officials will continue to be Democrats come next January. This pattern suggests a broader political shift in the Commonwealth that extends beyond the College — though many similar trends are visible in Williamsburg and James City County.

“Two main factors explain Virginia’s move toward the Democrats: an increasing diversity in the population, and the shift of suburbanites, especially suburban women, toward the Democrats,” McGlennon said. “Virginia is a very suburban state, and the suburbs themselves are becoming far more diverse, reinforcing the trend.”

Methods: Using contributions data from the Federal Elections Commission, The Flat Hat compiled and analyzed political donations from all individuals who listed the College of William and Mary as their employer between Jan. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2020.

ELECTION

Voters cast ballots in national, local elections after long race

College students head to the polls, vote in three contests, two statewide amendment questions ETHAN BROWN FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

After a contentious election season, College of William and Mary students will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3 to vote in several contests up and down the ballot. In addition to selecting presidential and congressional candidates, voters will be able to respond to two Virginia amendment questions, one addressing partisan gerrymandering and another regarding tax exemptions for veterans.

Unsurprisingly, the 2020 presidential election is the marquee contest on this year’s ballot. President Donald Trump has faced a strong challenge from former Vice President Joe Biden, who looks likely to overperform former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s showing four years ago. Biden enters Election Day with almost an 8% lead in national polls, though close races in several competitive states — most notably Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida — still provide Trump with a credible path to victory in the Electoral College.

Virginia, which gave Clinton a modest victory in 2016, is not competitive in the presidential election this cycle. According to political forecaster FiveThirtyEight, Biden has a 99% chance of winning Virginia’s 13 electoral votes as of Nov. 2 and is expected

to earn 55.6% of the statewide vote. Neither major candidate has devoted significant time or resources campaigning in Virginia; Trump hosted one campaign rally in Newport News, Va. in late September, but pundits speculated the event was primarily intended to reach voters in North Carolina, who overlap with the Hampton Roads media market.

Down ballot, incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Warner is also up for reelection. First elected in 2008, Warner barely held off a challenge from former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie in 2014, but he is expected to comfortably coast to his third term.

In a recent Washington Post poll, Warner led his Republican opponent, professor and retired United States Army colonel Daniel Gade by almost 20 points.

As the current vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Warner is poised to lead the committee if Democrats take the Senate come January 2021.

Arguably the closest race on Williamsburg ballots this year is the House of Representatives election for Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, which covers all of Virginia Beach and Williamsburg, portions of Norfolk and Hampton as well as several counties along the Chesapeake Bay. Rep. Elaine Luria is vying for a second term against her predecessor, Republican former congressman Scott Taylor, in one of the most

competitive House elections in the country.

Like dozens of other Democratic freshmen in the House, Luria narrowly claimed victory two years ago despite her district’s conservative leanings. The 2nd Congressional District has a partisan voter index of R+3 according to the Cook Political Report, indicating a slight preference for Republican candidates at baseline, and it narrowly supported Trump in 2016.

If Luria emerges victorious, strong margins among College students voting in Williamsburg will likely be at least partially responsible for electing the incumbent to her second term.

Aside from presidential and congressional races, Williamsburg voters will also face two proposed amendments to Virginia’s constitution. Question one asks voters to approve or reject a constitutional amendment that addresses partisan gerrymandering by transferring redistricting authority from the Virginia General Assembly to a new statewide redistricting commission, which would consist of eight Virginia General Assembly representatives as well as eight Virginia citizens. The amendment also permits the Supreme Court of Virginia to draw district boundaries if the commission fails to do so in a timely manner.

Enthusiasm for the amendment is fluid and does not fall strictly along party lines. While the Democratic Party of Virginia formally opposes the amendment,

some of the state’s Democratic federal representatives — including Sen. Tim Kaine and Rep. Don Beyer — have mobilized on behalf of the proposal, as have many Republican state legislators. Polling on Question one is limited, so the amendment’s fate Nov. 3 remains unclear. If the amendment fails, Democrats intend to use their majority in the General Assembly to redraft proposals for a non-partisan redistricting strategy.

Virginia voters will also decide whether to approve Question two, a proposed constitutional amendment that would permit permanently disabled U.S. armed services veterans to exempt automobiles from state and local taxation. According to Ballotpedia, current Virginia law allows local jurisdictions to collect annual taxes on personal motor vehicles. The amendment would tweak existing law by allowing veterans with permanent disabilities related to their service to avoid paying local vehicle value taxes, conditional on whether the automobile is owned and used primarily by the eligible veteran.

While College students will likely have their eyes glued to the presidential election on Tuesday night and beyond, almost all races on the ballot may become significant, either by altering congressional control in Washington, D.C. or influencing political power in Richmond in the years to come.