Vol. 107, Iss. 29 | Tuesday, February 13, 2018
The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
FACULTY
PART II: DISCOVERING DAVID DESSLER
“UNCONSCIONABLE INCARCERATION
FOR PRESUMED MENTAL ILLNESS”
Former professor faced multiple arrests, jail time after being placed on medical leave fall 2015; lawsuit alleges discrimination, harassment by the College MEILAN SOLLY // FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER AND SARAH SMITH // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR NOTE: This is the second segment in a series on former professor David Dessler. It describes events that occurred between Oct. 26, 2015, when Dessler was placed on medical leave, and December 2017, when he filed a discrimination lawsuit against the College. Future installments will provide an in-depth look at issues ranging from Dessler’s proposed student-faculty mental health initiative to the College administration’s handling of his case. Visit soundcloud.com/theflathat to hear the podcast version of this series.
In the roughly two years since former government professor David Dessler was placed on medical leave, he has been arrested five times, spent 77 days in jail and officially resigned from his tenured position at the College of William and Mary. This series of events, which began with Dessler’s 1984 hiring and culminated in a stream of cryptic emails sent to students, faculty and administrators (see part I: Discovering David Dessler), precipitated the unexpected end of a decorated professor’s teaching career and has raised questions regarding the College’s approach toward mental health issues. According to court documents, Dessler, who had previously been diagnosed with major depression, views his “continued arrest and harassment by the College” as retaliation for his proposed creation of a student-faculty mental health initiative in September 2015. Oct. 26, 2015, students in Dessler’s sections of Introduction to International Politics and Theories of the International System received an email from department chair John McGlennon, who reported that Dessler had been placed on medical leave and would be replaced by a new instructor. Although Dessler, in an Oct. 28 email, told students he had not been informed of this development, he agreed to take 120 days of paid leave (citing grief and fatigue following the recent death of his sister, as well as an ongoing divorce settlement) during a Nov. 2 phone conversation with Provost Michael Halleran. Feb. 28, 2016 — around the time his medical leave was scheduled to end — the William and Mary Police Department arrested Dessler for allegedly sending threatening emails to McGlennon. The messages came from an anonymous account and included passages such as “Let the terror begin!” and “You’ll stop laughing soon, I guarantee it.” Less than a month later, March 18, Dessler was arrested for a second time after sending an email to several College officials. According to court documents, this second arrest stemmed from Dessler’s alleged violation of the state’s cyber-stalking statute and resulted in strict limits being placed on his ability to communicate with College students, faculty and administrators. March 24, Chief Human Resources Officer John Poma contacted Dessler regarding the end of his medical leave. “We realize that these past few weeks and months have been difficult for you,” Poma wrote in the letter. “The university is taking the unusual step of extending your period of paid medical leave because of our sincere interest and hope that you have access to care to enable your return to work at W&M.” Over the next three months, Dessler remained on leave. He was arrested twice more, first for missing a bond hearing (May 11) and next for responding to former students seeking career advice, thereby violating his ban on contact with individuals connected to the College (June 22). At the end of July, Dessler contacted Poma to discuss the approaching end of his second leave. Citing Poma’s March 24 letter, he said he had sought medical care and intended to resume full-time teaching during the fall 2016 semester. In response, Poma stated that Dessler would not be able to return from leave until the College received “documentation from a qualified medical provider that you are able to resume your duties and perform the essential functions of your job and/or that you do not pose a direct threat of harm to yourself or others.” If Dessler could not provide a Family and Medical Leave return-to-work certification, his period of paid leave would end Aug. 9. Despite continued communication between Poma and Dessler, including a July 27 letter in which Dessler said he would “work to come up with yet another proposal to start a dialogue” and an Aug. 8 email in which Poma outlined Dessler’s options (do nothing, apply for long-term disability, retire, resign or seek to return to work), Dessler’s leave ended Aug. 9 without concrete plans to move forward. He retained tenure, but his employee status was listed as “inactive,” and his pay, insurance benefits and College email access ended within two weeks. In an Aug. 10 email to Poma, Dessler characterized the change in his employment status as “termination.”
“The university dismissed a tenured professor with an excellent 32year record without anything close to adequate cause or due process,” he added. “…I would therefore respectfully request that the required corrective action be taken immediately.” Sept. 8, three emeritus faculty members — former Provost P. Geoffrey Feiss, Chancellor Professor of English Emeritus Terry Meyers and Chancellor Professor of Sociology Kate Slevin — addressed the provost and Faculty Assembly in a letter arguing that Dessler had been terminated without a hearing, in direct violation of the Faculty Handbook and his due process rights. In an interview with The Flat Hat, Feiss said he felt the College administration was not following procedures outlined in the handbook, so he took action in hopes of preserving fundamental faculty rights. “This was essentially throwing out the Faculty Handbook and the principles and procedures that had been worked on for a long period of time as a contract between the faculty and the administration,” Feiss said. In response, Halleran denied the emeritus faculty members’ claims (citing Dessler’s retained tenure) and stated that Dessler was not eligible for a hearing. Jan. 13, 2017, Dessler was arrested by WMPD for the fifth time after sending emails to McGlennon and various College officials, including University Counsel Deborah Love. One email described the university counsel of an unidentified college being “strung up and strangled by the neck and she is choking and grasping for breath.” The email continued, “‘the Mentally Ill Winner who Put These Losers to Death’ will be watching the pain, knowing that both victims, whoever they are, are swinging back and forth, wishing they could do something, anything, but they are now dead, forever, and humiliated.” Unlike the previous four charges, which had all been dropped, the January 2017 charge went to trial in May. Ultimately, the judge deferred the case until May 2019. June 18, Dessler officially resigned from his tenured position,
BACKGROUND AND STUDENT PERSPECTIVES
See DESSLER page 3
“TREATMENT WORKS
AND THERE IS
ALWAYS HOPE HOPE.” -SAVINGPROFESSORDESSSLER.COM
GRAPHIC BY MEILAN SOLLY / THE FLAT HAT
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Advocates for Life, VOX install displays Demonstrations illustrate different views on abortion debate on Sunken Garden MADELINE MONROE FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
Sunday, Feb. 11 students from Advocates for Life and Students for Life reinstalled their antiabortion display, which had previously been vandalized Jan. 21. at 7 p.m. on the College of William and Mary’s Sunken Garden. Daniel Sheaffer ’19 has since been charged with one misdemeanor count of destruction of property. A concurrent counterdemonstration was planned and installed by the College’s chapter of VOX: Planned Parenthood Generation Action at 9 p.m., also on the Sunken Garden. President of Advocates for Life Katherine Beck J.D. ’19 said that the reinstallation of the display served two purposes in that her organization would continue to spread its message and serve as a platform for free speech. “When we learned that the display was torn down at 12:40 a.m. and nobody saw what we were trying to communicate, remembering the lives lost since Roe versus Wade, first and foremost we wanted to still get our message across,” Beck said. “Secondly, for free speech, we also are seen as a symbol of free speech of that. We won’t be silenced advocating for the voiceless and that we really will come back if somebody tried to tear it down and that we’ll come back and continue to be respectful but continue to stand for our beliefs.” The reinstalled display used eight signs, one of which read, “We will not be silenced being a voice for the voiceless,” and another which stated, “A woman deserves autonomy over her own body from the day she exists.” According to Beck and other members of her organization, while the original Jan. 21 display had 3,000 popsicle sticks, the new display used 5,000 white flags, each flag representing the 12,000 lives lost to abortion since Roe v. Wade in 1973. “We also wanted to come back with something that would show that to make more of a statement and to show that we really are here to advocate for the unborn and we really do want to start a conversation,” Beck said. “We thought that the flags would really symbolize and make that statement. … The white [of the flags] represents the innocence of the unborn children.” Beck noted that after the vandalism incident, she had more undergraduates, law school students and members of the community offer their support and indicate their desire to help Beck’s organization. She viewed the incident as “a blessing in disguise.” “It’s been really encouraging both just having support that, even people that disagree, want to enter into a dialogue and that the [vandal] doesn’t speak for everybody and also it’s been encouraging just to be able to have so many other students come and support us,” Beck said. “It really has opened a conversation.” Vice President of Advocates for Life Matthew Revis J.D. ’19 said he believes that the reinstallation of the display provided another chance to convey the group’s message and to do so in a different light. “I think this is a great opportunity for people that either support or oppose our message to understand that the pro-life movement isn’t just about men in D.C. or men in government trying to promote their own views, but is the idea of enabling life from its early stages to its final breaths and protecting in a way that we all are the beneficiaries of mothers that chose to have a child,” Revis said. “If we can enable other mothers of future generations to do the same and support them not just in pregnancy, but in birth and in childhood … that’s an important thing we can all grow from and become better as a country, as a community, and as individuals as well.” Patrick Britti ’21, a member of Students for Life, an undergraduate student organization, noted that though the original display was vandalized, his organization was keen on maintaining “a rational discourse about it without letting emotions override any ability to See DEMONSTRATIONS page 4
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News Editor Nia Kitchin News Editor Sarah Smith fhnews@gmail.com | Tuesday, February 13, 2018 | Page 2
THE BUZZ
It was really important to us, being VOX, to show up and show that abortion is normal and people have them and we know people who’ve had them and we are people who’ve had them and we’re not going to let these individuals in our communities who we care about be shamed for the choices that they’ve made.
— VOX Social Media Chair Melissa Hudson ’19
Sanchis-Sinisterra isn’t afraid to fail
The Flat Hat Page 2 Spotlight
Hispanic studies professor opens up about grad school rejections, chasing her dream of life in New York City CAROLINE NUTTER // FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR
@theflathat
@theflathat
theflatchat A THOUSAND WORDS
CARMEN HONKER / THE FLAT HAT
CORRECTIONS In an article printed last week, “Augmented reality tours to enhance James Monroe’s Highland,” several paragraphs were mistakenly omitted from the end. A full version is available online at flathatnews.com. An article printed last week, “A Voice in Music: African-American students musicians discuss their lyrics, research and musical styles,” incorrectly stated that Jordan Gilliard was the sole founder of FLOW. Yemi Zewdu is also a founder of the group, which was incorrectly listed an an instrumental group, but has since become an a capella group. Jordan Gilliard was also misquoted at the end of the piece. The correct quote should read “Someone at the end [of our performance] who was part of the acapella community they were just like, ‘You know, that was the first time I really like just felt from a group.’” 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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Reminiscing on her arrival in the United States over 10 years ago, Hispanic studies professor Carmen Sanchis-Sinisterra admitted, “The Ph.D. was an excuse, the goal was New York.” After many application rejections, some time spent in the Midwest and a nervous flight, Sanchis-Sinisterra realized her dream of living in New York, and she hopes to be back there again after her time at the College of William and Mary ends this semester. Sanchis-Sinisterra obtained her first degree in English literature in her native country of Spain and then spent eight years teaching at a British high school in Valencia. “I learned most of what I know of being a teacher there … in the trenches of adolescence education,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said, speaking of her time as an educator in the secondary school system. Sanchis-Sinisterra had always been interested in living abroad and learning foreign languages. After almost a decade of teaching high school in Spain, she was eager for new experiences. As a young person, Sanchis-Sinisterra was fascinated by American culture and with New York City in particular. At first, she looked for jobs as a high school teacher in the United States, knowing that she wanted to continue in a career of education. She heard of the possibility to go to a U.S. college to teach Spanish and obtain a graduate degree from a friend teaching at the University of Iowa. “Apply to whatever schools you want, but also apply to Iowa,” Sanchis-Sinisterra recalls him telling her. And so, Sanchis-Sinisterra set her sights on the United States — more specifically, on New York City. “I applied to Columbia, I applied to NYU …” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “They didn’t accept me. But Iowa did, so I went to Iowa.” To Sanchis-Sinisterra, graduate school was an opportunity to explore topics that fascinated her. She obtained her graduate degree from the University of Iowa in Hispanic studies — focusing on film, culture and linguistics — all the while teaching Spanish. “I studied a lot, and enjoyed it a lot,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “From there, I knew I wanted to continue and keep studying.” She made up her mind to pursue a Ph.D. “But only in New York City,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “It was New York City, or I’d go back to Spain.” As a result, she applied again to New York University and to Columbia University, this time as a student. “Again, they did not accept me,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “And that’s not even the last time I’ve applied.” She was eventually accepted as a Ph.D. candidate at the City University of New York and studied as well as taught there. SanchisSinisterra taught at three of the CUNY campuses during her time in the city, spanning both the Brooklyn and Manhattan city boroughs. “I’ve always lived in Harlem,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “First East Harlem, then West. The city is my place. … I find it fascinating, fascinating, fascinating.” During her first flight to New York, she grew nervous. “I thought to myself, ‘What if I don’t like it?’” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. She could never have been more wrong, she said: her first few months were spent in a frenzy, trying to absorb as much of the culture as possible and avidly reading publications like The New Yorker, The New York Times and Time Out New York. Sanchis-Sinisterra said what she misses the most about New York is the ability to go to new art galleries, museums or performances every week when she is in Williamsburg. On one of her best cultural experiences in New York, SanchisSinisterra discussed an art show she found astonishing. “One of my favorite shows ever was a collection of the late work of Monet, when he was about to die, at the Gagosian Gallery, the most important gallery,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “I must confess, usually I see [art that has touched me deeply] at important art galleries … they are the only galleries that can put together that kind of art.” The Brooklyn Museum is also one of Sanchis-Sinisterra’s favorites because of its beautiful atmosphere and its feminist art section. Feminism and gender issues are her primary areas of research and her political passion. Despite the plethora of cultural and intellectual stimulation in the city, Sanchis-Sinisterra expressed the difficulty she had finishing her dissertation. “It was one of the worst experiences I ever had,” Sanchis-Sinisterra
COURTESY PHOTO / WM.EDU
Hispanic studies professor Carmen Sanchis-Sinisterra aims to live in New York.
said. “All the issues possible, I had them.” In her ninth year working on her Ph.D., Sanchis-Sinisterra entered the job market again, focusing on positions a year out and giving herself 12 years to finalize her dissertation. When she applied to the College in 2015, Sanchis-Sinisterra admitted she didn’t know anything about it. Still, she applied for the job, even though it started much sooner than the other positions in which she was interested. When the College offered her the job, she was faced with two daunting prospects: finishing her dissertation much sooner than she had planned and leaving New York City. Because of a family medical issue, Sanchis-Sinisterra arrived days before she was due to teach three spring Hispanic studies courses. Her first semester was incredibly busy, Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I was in my office,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, I was in the library working on my dissertation. I was inspired by you guys. You kids work so hard, I wanted to work as hard as I could.” Sanchis-Sinisterra has been at the College for two years now teaching Spanish language and culture courses. The campus experience at the College is special to her. Unlike universities in the city, she said, professors can more easily form relationships with students. This phenomenon, she said, was compounded by the populations of students she taught at the CUNY colleges in New York, where the large number of working-class and firstgeneration students makes it difficult for students to have time outside of class to develop meaningful student-professor relationships. SanchisSinisterra said one of the things she loves about Williamsburg is living in the same area as her students, going to the same library, the same coffee shops and even the same grocery stores. This has also resulted in students feeling like they are able to come to Sanchis-Sinisterra for academic, professional or personal advice, including mental health issues. “I have suffered also … from depression and anxiety,” SanchisSinisterra said. “This has allowed me to become very close with a few students going through those.” One of Sanchis-Sinisterra’s proudest accomplishments at the College reflects her investment in the community: putting together a course for heritage Spanish speakers within the Hispanic studies department. Sanchis-Sinisterra is now searching for her next step. “I hate Williamsburg,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “I miss the cultural opportunities that a big city gives you.” She hopes to return to New York City, but is uncertain whether a job opportunity will arise there. But whether or not life gives her what she wants, she said, she trusts that life will give her what she needs. “Always, what’s best, what remains, what is most important, is the people,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “Colleagues and of course, students.”
POLICE BEAT
Feb. 9 - 12
1
Friday, February 9 — A verbal domestic charge was reported on Monticello Avenue around 5 a.m.
2
Friday, February 9 — Keandra Canady was arrested on a charge of driving with a suspended or revoked license on York Street.
3
Friday, February 9 — Pranksters foiled — A charge of annoying phone calls was reported on Mill Neck Road around 2 p.m.
4
Sunday, February 11 — Daniel McBride was arrested on charges of being drunk in public and using profane language on Richmond Road.
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Page 3
POLITICS
‘Compassion and hope’ guide School of Ed dual-language initiatives Professor Katherine Barko-Alva brings research background to legislative advocacy LEONOR GRAVE FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER
The future of education in Virginia — according to College of William and Mary School of Education professor Katherine Barko-Alva — is multilingual. Barko-Alva joined the College two years ago, and her research focuses on the construct of academic language, especially on English as a second language and duallanguage enrollment programs. She is also a member of the Virginia Dual Language Educators Network (VADLEN), where she serves on the executive board as the higher education representative. This semester, her passion for dual-language education is largely reflected in legislative advocacy work. The priorities VADLEN identified for this legislative session in the Virginia General Assembly include five specific ESL and dual-language-focused bills. Four originated in the House of Delegates: HB13, HB442, HB507 and HB1156. One, SB 238, originated in the Virginia Senate. HB13 aims to increase the ratio of full-time instructional positions for English language learning students. HB442 proposes that the Virginia Department of Education create and distribute accommodations for English language learners for Career and Technical Education assessments. HB 1156 would add a pre-k and k-6 dual-language endorsement option for licensure for teachers who meet a designated set of criteria. SB 238 would prevent schools from collecting demographic data on students in excess of what is required by current state and federal law. The chief patron of HB507 is Delegate Mike Mullin. When VADLEN reached out to Mullin about duallanguage programs, he took on the initiative, inspired in part by the dual-language enrollment program already
in place at Saunders Elementary School in the Newport News public school system. The bill would allow school divisions to use money from the Standards of Quality budget to hire duallanguage teachers to provide instruction for English language learners. Legislation currently in place requires schools with dual-language programs to fund them out of pocket. “My bill adds a discretionary aspect to the Standards of Quality, allowing school districts, if they want to, to spend some of the money they would usually spend on ESL on dual language for ESL students,” Mullin said. If the bill passes, beginning this fall students in Virginia will be able to make use of this funding if their school districts decide to adopt dual-language enrollment programs. “We need to recognize that the future of Virginia is becoming only more diverse and that we want to be able to embrace that and be able to help our students achieve the best they can in the 21st-century Virginia economy,” Mullin said. Barko-Alva said that dual-language enrollment programs are immensely valuable to both English language learners and native English-speaking students. “You put these two groups of kids together from the moment they reach pre-k all the way to fifth grade, going all the way until middle school and high school, and they become bilingual,” Barko-Alva said. “And there is that cross-cultural communication piece where they understand each other, because they’re growing as a family.” Dual-language programs ideally include a 5050 split both in the proportion of English language learners to native English speakers and in the amount of time each day taught in each language. Multilingual education is also close to Barko-Alva’s heart due to her
own educational background: her parents fled political instability in Peru and moved to the United States when Barko-Alva was a senior in high school. “I came to this country and didn’t speak English and it was a very traumatic transition,” Barko-Alva said. “I was 15 years old, I was placed in a classroom and everyone was talking to me and I had no idea what they were saying.” Hope and compassion, Barko-Alva said, are the guiding principles of her approach to education. Barko-Alva was the recipient of a McKnight Doctoral Fellowship, which allowed her to pursue a fully funded Ph.D. at the University of Florida and to work with Ester de Jong, one of the field’s foremost bilingual education scholars. Once it came time to apply to university jobs, Barko-Alva saw a unique opportunity in Virginia, where nine different school districts already had dual-language programs in place. “I wanted to be at the beginning stages of something so wonderful,” Barko-Alva said. VADLEN President and Director of Testing, CTE and world languages at Harrisonburg City Public Schools Jeremy Aldrich said the network’s long-term goal is that every public school student in Virginia has the opportunity be educated in English and another language. Aldrich said that while institutions of higher education like the College are often home to many philosophical allies, it is necessary that they too do the work of revising their teacher education policies to support multilingual options. This is precisely the type of work Barko-Alva is invested in. “When she came to William and Mary it was a godsend to us in Virginia,” Aldrich said. “And she just hit the ground running, immediately starting making an impact.” At the School of Education, Barko-Alva has worked
as part of a team to implement a stand-alone ESL bilingual education program which will begin next fall. Through legislative advocacy work, Barko-Alva hopes that Virginia at least will see dual-language programs as viable, equitable education policies for ESL students. And she believes that those in her field have a similar vision for the future of education. “The people that I’ve encountered, are truly, truly committed to this notion of social justice and equity for our students,” Barko-Alva said. Students who have been involved in ESL programs at the School of Ed echo these notions. In his first year out of school, Thomas Northrup ’16, M.A.Ed. ’17, is teaching 2nd grade students at Bruce Monroe Bilingual Elementary School in Washington, D.C. He completed his dual certification in elementary education and ESL. For Northrup, teaching has been both a difficult endeavor and a rewarding one. “The students are able to make connections across languages,” Northrup said. “They are beginning to think meta-cognitively about language long before schools tend to teach those skills.” Hannah Basl ’17, M.A.Ed. ’18, completed the dualendorsement program in ESL and secondary science education with a focus on biology and hopes to be able to teach classes that include ESL students. “Science is already confusing enough as it is — I wanted to learn different techniques that would allow me to teach science to those who don’t speak the language,” Basl said. “The techniques we learn in the ESL program make any classroom stronger.” Though she will graduate this May, Basl is thrilled that the ESL endorsement is expanding into a standalone master’s program. “It’s a whole other window of opportunity for teachers interested in education equity,” Basl said.
ACADEMICS
Scholarship meets community at College’s first heritage Spanish class Hispanic studies class designed for students from Spanish-speaking households LEONOR GRAVE FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER
Language is about a lot more than syntax. Especially for children who grew up in Spanish-speaking households in the United States, language stands at an intersection of culture, history and heritage. This spring semester, 10 of these students gather in Tucker 220 three times a week for HISP 205, Spanish for Heritage Speakers, a new class in the Hispanic studies department designed specifically for students who are native Spanish speakers but have little formal Spanish-language training. The class is taught by Hispanic studies professor Carmen SanchisSinisterra; to her, this class has special importance and she has worked to make it a permanent fixture of the Hispanic studies department. Course objectives envision an environment that strengthens language skills and instills an appreciation for their individual cultures and language. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are prioritized alongside cultural projects and readings that relate to issues that are particular to Hispanic cultures in the United States. Last Friday Feb. 9, two students in the class presented on a topic they feel passionate about. For one student, that was Spanish dance. For the other, it was the acquisition of knowledge. When they finished presenting and the other students asked questions, the atmosphere was lively and participatory — visibly more relaxed than a typical language class. While all the students in the class share a background in Spanish, their experiences with the language are greatly varied. Some were born in the United States, some were not; some took Spanish as a second language classes in high school, some did not. Some also come from tri-lingual family backgrounds where Quechua or French is spoken in addition to English and Spanish. The students spoke highly of the class, with many of them saying that the class strikes a community-minded chord — while work in other classes feels individualistic, the work in this class feels
communal. Jennifer Albarracin ’18 echoed these sentiments. “There is a sense of mutual solidarity in this class,” Albarracin said, “that doesn’t exist in classes where the majority of students are white. The shared cultural background brings us closer together.” This class has been a long time coming. Sanchis-Sinisterra said she first heard the concept mentioned in a faculty meeting her first semester at the College. She decided to take things into her own hands since she already had experience teaching Spanish classes for Heritage speakers during her time at the City University of New York. Along with professor Paulina Carrion, who will take over teaching the class when Sanchis-Sinisterra leaves next semester, and the input of a group of Latinx students, SanchisSinisterra designed the course to align with a set of priorities that includes language skills alongside history and culture. Gisela Fuentes-Amaya ‘19, a psychology and Hispanic studies double major, was one of the students who participated in these feedback sessions. According to Fuentes-Amaya, these discussions brought to the forefront issues of mindfulness toward different Hispanic cultures and dialects of Spanish and the creation of an environment that allows for a respectful and inclusive discussion of cultural differences. This course, FuentesAmaya said, was necessary to the Hispanic studies department, which completely lacked a class that took the College’s Hispanic community into account. “Yes, it’s important that there are students who want to learn Spanish language and culture,” Fuentes-Amaya said, “but it’s also important to acknowledge the students here who come from a Spanish-speaking culture.” Fuentes-Amaya admits that she would have liked the option of taking this class earlier in her undergraduate career before she was done with her major requirements, but believes that the inclusion of this course is a crucial addition to the College. “This class fills in that need of learning about what other countries are going through, what perspectives they may have regarding other
countries and other people,” Fuentes-Amaya said. “… It gives you a more encompassing view not just of your own culture but the world.” Many heritage Spanish speakers, Sanchis-Sinisterra explained, have a low confidence level when it comes to language. “That is what makes the job beautiful — because you’re there to give them a wonderful gift, which is the appreciation for what they already have. Because it’s already there,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. Through outreach efforts with the Latin American Student Union and word-of-mouth among her past students, the course found its 10 current students, from a wide variety of majors. Another goal of this class is the creation of the Hispanic Portal, which Sanchis-Sinisterra described as a web resource for all things Hispanic on campus. “My final desire will be that you go to the [William and Mary] website and somewhere here,” she said, pointing to the options bar of top of the homepage, “you have ‘Hispanic Life.’” With everything the class does, Sanchis-Sinisterra hopes to consistently bridge the gap between academia and people. “The Hispanic community is fundamental to this country,” SanchisSinisterra said. “I want to think of ourselves, the Spanish department, as scholarship and community. It’s what we are already and what we want to keep being.” When her colleagues ask her about the class, she said, she often struggles with how to articulate what makes it so remarkable. “Our language, in particular [these students’] experience with language, is a very tricky experience,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “It’s an experience with something that is very precious, but at the same time has been marginalized. That’s a very precious and strong bond to have,” she said. She paused before relating a short anecdote that symbolizes what this class means to her. At the start of each class, she and the students reorganize the table in a seminar-style formation. At the end of class, she said, every student stays behind until all the furniture has been put back in its place. “They care,” Sanchis-Sinisterra said. “They really care.”
Cryptic Dessler emails cause concern among some students Students, faculty members comment on professor’s openness on mental health writing that he felt this was the only way to avoid continued arrest and harassment by the College. Sept. 28, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission closed an investigation into Dessler’s claim of discrimination by the College. In its “Dismissal and Notice of Rights Memo,” the EEOC said it had been unable to conclude that the information obtained violated given statutes. The memo continued, however, to explain “this does not certify that the respondent is in compliance with the statutes. No finding is made as to any other issues that might be construed as having been raised by this charge.” Dec. 27, Dessler filed a discrimination lawsuit against the College. According to the Sept. 28 EEOC memo, the commission’s dismissal of the case gave him the right to file this suit. Inthecomplaint,DesslerallegedthattheCollegeviolated his First Amendment right to free speech, declined to grant due process protections associated with termination and failed to provide reasonable accommodation for a disclosed mental disability. Dessler further claimed that the College’s actions stemmed from his proposed creation of a joint student-faculty mental health initiative. The day Dessler filed his claim marked 798 days since the Oct. 21, 2015 email that resulted in WMPD removing him from campus. The last time he had met with students in person, Oct. 26, 2015, was 793 days ago. Dessler had spent 77 of these 798 days in jail, including 45 on charges that were later dropped.
Student perspectives When former government professor David Dessler decided to go on paid medical leave in November 2015, it was not clear to his students what the next steps would be. Some worried they would not receive credit for the class, while others worried that he would not return in time to be their major adviser. One thing his former students did not expect was that the series of cryptic emails that began Oct. 21, 2015, would continue until he filed his lawsuit in December 2017. As one student, Jonathon Skavroneck ’19 said, the events of that first semester were “bizarre.” Although the barrage of emails initially slowed down when Dessler went on medical leave, they picked back up in February 2016, when Dessler was arrested for allegedly sending “threatening” emails from a Torbased email provider, which allows for anonymous communication. The College of William and Mary’s Police Department determined that these emails were from him because of references to Star Trek, a franchise of which he was a known fan. In March 2016, Dean of Arts and Sciences Kate Conley emailed the students in his Introduction to International Politics class, addressing an email that some received from the same Tor-based provider. In reflecting on the events of his sophomore year, Nick Flanagan ’18 said the College did not do enough to inform students about what was going on. He said that he and his peers mostly received Dessler’s side of the story through his frequent emails, but had little context for the legal matters, including his arrests, which Dessler discussed.
Flanagan said that he was unsure what to do at the time, although he was aware that some of his peers were discussing the emails on social media. In retrospect, he said that any action he took would have been to support Dessler, whom he saw as an intelligent and respectable professor. Flanagan also said that he was hoping to take another class with him in spring 2016.
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I never thought any of the [emails] were threatening or creepy or scary, but a lot of them were a dude who was dealing with a lot of stuff, a whole thing with his mental health, Nick Flanagan ‘18
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DESSLER from page 1
“I never thought any of them were threatening or creepy or scary, but a lot of them were a dude who was dealing with a lot of stuff, a whole thing with his mental health,” Flanagan said. “In the context of the situation, it was super weird. If somebody wrote [the emails] as a post on a blog, you’d read that and be like, ‘I am super understanding of that,’ but in that context, it was like, what the hell is going on?” The last time Flanagan received an email from Dessler was July 1, 2017. “I received like six emails that day … these ones were much more reasonable [than those from October 2015],”
Flanagan said. “These ones are weird in the context that it had been so long, I almost forgot about this. It’s two years later, I had forgotten about all that. I think he was told not to interact with us in any way. I don’t think it was fair to do that.” Skavroneck also said that he read the emails, but did not further engage with them. “They didn’t evoke any strong emotions in me, other than memories of what happened that fall,” Skavroneck said. “I wasn’t too concerned about them either. I considered forwarding them to college administration, but [decided] against it because they were harmless messages that we could all just ignore.” Both Flanagan and Skavroneck remember Dessler discussing the campus’s climate relating to mental health — and Flanagan said that many of the problems Dessler described are ones that he too perceives as affecting students. According to Flanagan, Dessler would often relate psychiatry to real-world lessons. Flanagan said that one of his biggest takeaways was that something unexpected, like Dessler’s sister dying from cancer, could happen at any moment. Flanagan said that Dessler also identified problems at the College, and asked students to share their experiences with heavy workloads and busy exam periods. Flanagan said that a few years later, he still believes students at the College are not equipped to handle exam weeks. Skavroneck said that he remembers Dessler discussing mental health, and that he believes Dessler wanted to promote discussion about the stigma surrounding mental health.
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The Flat Hat
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
CAMPUS
Charter Day honors College’s 325th birthday
Ceremony celebrates anniversaries of African-American, women residential students SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
While students, faculty members, administrators and alumni gathered to celebrate the College of William and Mary’s 325th birthday, there were two other anniversaries of note: the celebration of 50 years of African-American students in residence and that of 100 years of women in residence at the College. As the campus community came together Feb. 9 in Kaplan Arena to hear from College President Taylor Reveley, Chancellor Robert Gates ’65 and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, these anniversaries were at the forefront of the Charter Day celebrations. According to Reveley, these anniversaries are vitally important to this academic year and to the College’s overall history. “Since first term began last August, we have been remembering and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the arrival on campus of three intrepid freshmen, three brave young women who were the first African-American students to live in our residence halls,” Reveley said. “They were the first to fully integrate William and Mary — Lynn Briley, Janet Brown Strafer and Karen Ely. These alumnae arrived in September 1967, persevered and graduated four years later in 1971.” When Gates, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense who now serves as the College’s chancellor, came to campus in 1961, there were virtually no students of color and the state of Virginia was segregated. “When I graduated in 1965, as I recall, there was
one part-time African-American student,” Gates said. “Two years later, Lynn Briley, Janet Brown Strafer and Karen Ely arrived. Through their grace, perseverance and courage, they taught powerful lessons at this place founded as a place of universal learning. Together, we have made strides along the path of inclusivity, a path we must continue to travel. As I told the men of Morehouse College in my commencement address of 2010, ours is an imperfect nation that has and always will be a work in progress.” Reveley also said that 2018 marks the beginning of the College’s acceptance of women. Feb. 12, 1918, the Board of Visitors adopted a resolution allowing women to be admitted which was shortly approved by the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. Sep. 24, the first women enrolled as students at the College. “It is hard now to even imagine the Tribe without women,” Reveley said. “When they came in September 1918, they saved a college short on students and tuition because of the first World War’s appetite for our male students. William and Mary led the way for co-education in Virginia, as it has led the way in American higher education in so many respects.” In addition to the 50th anniversary of African Americans in residence, Gates also talked about scholarships — without one, he said, he would not have been able to attend the College. Reveley agreed it is critical that there continue to be scholarships for students like Gates. As he said, providing these scholarships is a matter of national interest. Scholarships and financial accessibility as a whole
were themes that Northam touched on in his keynote address. As he accepted his honorary degree, Northam said that education, particularly higher education, is something that is important to him both as a parent and as governor. His son, Wes Northam ’10, attended the College before going to Eastern Virginia Medical School, and Northam said that he and his wife were happy with their son’s education. “We could not tell the story of Virginia or the story of America without William and Mary,” Northam said. “… Education is a huge economic driver. Colleges and universities like William and Mary attract talent and investment to their community and to the state.” Northam also commended the College for instituting and maintaining the William and Mary Promise. “As parents, and now as governor, I appreciate the educational experience Wes had at William and Mary and the university’s efforts to keep tuition affordable for students,” Northam said. “I want every Virginia child to have the same opportunity for a good start and a good education. … We need to make sure that the same opportunity exists in every corner of Virginia.” Joining Northam in receiving honorary degrees were two philanthropists, Frances McGlothlin ’66 and Hunter Smith ’51, and Trudier Harris, the first African-American faculty member to receive tenure. Harris studies AfricanAmerican and Southern literature and teaches at the University of Alabama. McGlothlin and Smith donated to several campus projects including the Pi Beta Phi House renovation, the Alumni House renovation and the Zable Stadium renovation. Smith’s donations also provide
funding for freshman seminars. Following Northam’s speech, it was time for another part of the annual Charter Day celebration — the presentation of awards to students and faculty members. This year, Jordan Gilliard ’18 received the James Monroe Prize in Civic Leadership and Likhita Kolla ’18 received the Thomas Jefferson Prize in Natural Philosophy. Two faculty members, anthropology and Asian and Middle Eastern studies professor Jonathan Glasser and Africana studies and English professor Joanne Braxton were also recognized. Glasser, who was not present at the Charter Day ceremony, received the Thomas Jefferson Teaching award. Braxton won this year’s Thomas Jefferson Award. Closing out the ceremony was a rendition of “Happy Birthday” by a capella group No Ceiling. “Now as birthdays go, the 325th is worth a special celebration, but, in all reality, it’s not actually all that momentous,” Reveley said. “It’s like the 25th birthday for any of us — nice, but a pale shadow in comparison to our 21st, much less our 50th. So, William and Mary really beat the drums and sounded the trumpets when it turned 300 in 1993, and I imagine the Tribe will get in high celebratory mode for its 350th and then go absolutely bonzo for the 400th in 2093. But now, it’s the 325th. So let’s just say ‘well done alma mater of the nation, well done beloved William and Mary. You are magnificent, an iconic American institution, with a past rich with significance for our country and a future of enormous potential for the Commonwealth, country and world. We are very proud of you. You have never looked better at 325.’”
POLITICS
Gates ‘optimistic’ about future despite current state of politics in US Chancellor discusses national security, climate issues with Reveley during Charter Day SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
When College of William and Mary Chancellor Robert Gates ’65 took the stage of Commonwealth Auditorium the evening of Feb. 8 to discuss the national political climate, he had one resounding message — that he was optimistic about the future, and others should be too. The former secretary of defense joined College President Taylor Reveley to celebrate Charter Day with a question and answer session for the second year in a row. Like last year, the pair discussed potential threats to national security, current affairs and White House happenings. Reveley began by saying that the United States seems to be locked in conflict and divisive politics, and followed by asking if Gates was optimistic about the future. Gates said that he was optimistic, primarily because he has confidence in young people entering the workforce. Gates said that one thing he would like to see more of from these young people is volunteer work, particularly once they have graduated college. Next, Reveley dove into asking about potential threats to national security. Reveley asked Gates how he thought the United States should respond to the threat posed by North Korea. Gates, who served under former President George W. Bush and former President Barack Obama, said that he believed Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, was coming from a reasonable place. Additionally, Gates said that he does not believe the United States can “give North Korea a bloody nose” without facing retaliation. For this reason, he said he has mostly seen civilians arguing for military action while those in the military advise proceeding with caution.
“The dirty little secret in Washington is the biggest doves wear uniforms, because they’ve been there and they know what the consequences are,” Gates said. “They’ve seen the blood and they’ve seen the gore. They’ve seen innocent civilians killed. And anybody who does not think that is not an inherent part of war has not been there and does not understand.” When an audience member asked Gates if global warming should be considered a threat, he said that while it doesn’t pose a threat now, it will pose a threat in the future in two ways. According to Gates, it poses a threat for the future in how it impacts developing countries in terms of poverty and disease. He also said it could be seen as a threat in how there are many military facilities that are built on the coast, which one day could be in jeopardy due to sea-level rise. Reveley also asked Gates about immigration, something Gates had discussed before in his life in the context of the armed forces. Gates said that he believed most people supported the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy and that he would support further legislation to protect those students protected under DACA. “All the kids are really vulnerable … the long term solution was to throw it to Congress and make it legal … but politicians don’t take into account the impact on the young people and their families of the uncertainty,” Gates said. After Reveley finished asking questions, the floor was opened to audience members to ask questions. One individual asked Gates what he thought potential opportunities and risks associated with technology and artificial intelligence were. Gates said that though he is not the most well-versed in technology, he believes people should not be afraid of the technology itself. To him,
technology is not a concern as long as ethically-minded humans are at the forefront of technological development. Another audience member asked Gates questions about the future of the Kurdish independence movement, and what role the United States should play. He said that there are many nation-states threatened by Kurdish independence, so he would like to see Iraq evolve into a federal structure that gives more autonomy to the Kurds as opposed to seeing the Kurds continue to drive for independence through military action. One audience member, Adam Kearney ’20, asked Gates what he thought should be done about China’s encroachment into the South China Sea. Gates said that he believes the United States hasn’t figured out a strategy to deal with this aggression, and noted a difference between freedom of navigation and innocent passage. “Instead of having freedom of navigation, we did innocent passage,” Gates said. “That’s where you go through territorial waters of a sovereign state as a passenger ship, freedom of navigation treats it as international water. We didn’t do this for the first years, but we finally did a freedom exercise at the end [of Obama’s presidency]. We see a mix with this administration. We are now at a point where I don’t think we really have a strategy.” Kearney’s question was reflective of his academic interests — he attended the question and answer session, he said, because he is a government major and wanted to learn from Gates about international affairs, politics and foreign affairs. “I learned a lot for sure,” Kearney said. “I wouldn’t say there is any one takeaway for me, just I have a general broader understanding of international affairs and defense politics specifically.”
VOX’s display aims to reassure students who have had abortions Students agree with importance of raising awareness, promoting constructive conversations DEMONSTRATIONS from page 1
have a true conversation.” “That’s the whole point of this — to have a conversation,” Britti said. “It’s not to anger or make anyone angry or anyone sad. … I think it’s good that a lot of the organizations like VOX have actively denounced the destruction of the first one and have organized true counterprotests.” Because the organization’s previous display was vandalized, the College offered to provide security to prevent another incident from occurring, according to Beck. She noted that the new display would be up until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13. VOX Social Media Chair Melissa Hudson ’19 said she believes that because Advocates for Life went through the College to get its initial display approved, the Jan. 21 vandalism “was not the best response.”
“However, that being said, the vandalism and the response to the vandalism has at least opened up a dialogue on this campus that often goes undiscussed maybe about abortion and about showing up for people who’ve had abortions or for people who seek abortions and figuring out the best way to support those individuals,” Hudson said. For Hudson, VOX’s main goal in engaging in a counter-demonstration was to illustrate that abortions are a common occurrence and individuals at the College have had them. “Part of what people found really upsetting about [Advocates for Life’s] first demonstration was that there are people on this campus who’ve had abortions and that has had a really positive effect on their lives,” Hudson said. “By having this demonstration from this pro-life group, in the middle of our campus, it appears as though it’s designed to be very shaming towards individuals who’ve had abortions. It
SYDNEY MCCOURT / THE FLAT HAT
Sign quoting Alice Paul with 5,000 white flags from Advocates for Life and Students for Life’s demonstration on Sunken Garden.
was really important to us, being VOX, to show up and show that abortion is normal and people have them and we know people who’ve had them and we are people who’ve had them and we’re not going to let these individuals in our communities who we care about be shamed for the choices that they’ve made.” According to Hudson, VOX decided to incorporate 186 popsicle sticks for the estimated number of people who die from unsafe abortions worldwide every day as a response to the initial demonstration done by Advocates for Life and Students for Life. VOX’s demonstration also includes signs with messages like “ProChoice is ProLife” and “Criminalizing abortion doesn’t stop abortions. It stops safe abortions.” VOX Vice President Jessica Seidenberg ’19 said she believes the anti-abortion display “demonstrates a misunderstanding of human needs as well as a misunderstanding of what it means to give someone autonomy over themselves.”
“I think the fact that it was put on by a group of law students on a primarily undergraduate campus is intrusive,” Seidenberg said. “I think the initial demonstration was intentionally low key so that most people wouldn’t think that it was licensed so that they could create a bigger deal out of it than it initially was.” A member of Young Democratic Socialists of America Samuel Nussbaum ’21 believed that VOX’s counterdemonstration shows students who have had abortions that they can find support in the College community. “[The counterdemonstration is] an illustration that, if you put some more sexist, ‘pro-life’ ideology, you’ll get a response to ensure that the people who have had abortions who do want access to abortion, access to reproductive care for women, we are there for you,” Nussbaum said. “There are people at William and Mary there for you. It’s not just them.”
SYDNEY MCCOURT / THE FLAT HAT
VOX’s sign from counterdemonstration lined a sidewalk on Sunken Garden adjacent to reinstalled anti-abortion display.
opinions
Opinions Editor Brendan Doyle Opinions Editor Kiana Espinoza fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat
The Flat Hat
| Tuesday, February 13, 2018 | Page 5
GUEST COLUMN
COLL classes too broad
Taryn MacKay
FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNIST
BY KAYLA SHIRLEY / THE FLAT HAT
STAFF COLUMN
Unpaid internships worth the sacrifice
Kiana Espinoza
FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR
Over winter break my sophomore year, I had a sudden epiphany that I could not spend another summer in the slow-paced southern town that I called home. I proudly told my parents and anyone else who would listen that I was finally going to live in Washington, D.C. to try my hand at being a city girl with an important job. I had it all planned out: I would take the metro, wear pencil skirts and maybe even buy another second-hand blazer. What I didn’t know at the time was where to start — or even when. I came back to school early to set up an appointment at the Cohen Career Center. I figured, at the very least, it could tell me what kind of internships a sophomore English major should be applying to and where to look for them. Ahh, but I was young and naïve. I thought six months was plenty of time. I thought that internships would pay. In my meeting at the Career Center, I learned that something like 90 percent of internships are gained through networking. But what does networking even mean? My dad is a truck driver, so he couldn’t exactly set me up with a publisher. Who was I supposed to network with? Since I could not produce a list of people who had connections relatively close to my career goals, I ended up spending months scouring the Career Center website for jobs — or even worse, googling to find jobs — and asking friends to review my resume. I must have applied to over a dozen positions, in the middle of scholarship renewal and midterm season, which made it even more stress inducing. I was also very nearly the victim of an employment scam (because no matter how real a company is, the contact on a job listing site just might not be who they say they are). Again, I was duped by the naïveté of my oh-so-recent youth. After all that, I finally received a message from Smithsonian
Folkways, the record label of the Smithsonian. As glamorous as that sounded, I felt entirely disenchanted, especially when I re-read the application to find that it paid a whopping $0 for the entirety of my summer. Despite my disappointment, I went through with the interview. I had resources: my savings and an aunt just outside of Washington who offered me free housing. I figured I could make it work. And I did. I worked two jobs last summer, one an extremely tiring hostess job, and the other my exciting Washington power position that mainly involved typing and listening to music. I do not say all this to scare anyone. I just want to make it clear that internships are hard, especially those that are unpaid. With the amount of money I spent on food and the metro, I worked constantly just to break even — with the privilege of free housing, I remind you. But that experience taught me a lot, which I will break down as friendly advice. One, if you’re interested in interning, start thinking about it early on. Now isn’t a bad time to start if you haven’t yet. Two, tell everyone you know about it, especially people who have interned somewhere before; lots of times we just don’t know about the connections that we have. Three, networking can be just as important when looking for a place to live, not just a place to work. Sometimes you have to rely on family and friends if you can’t find a paid gig. Four, don’t underestimate a job without a fancy title or connection. My restaurant job in the middle of Dupont Circle introduced me to so many great people. I met tourists, executives and just all-around interesting people who taught me about my long-term goals more than my office job ever did. I discovered my passion for communication working with my fellow Salvadoran staff and translating for Spanish-speaking guests. Overall, the interning process is a stressful part of college for lots of us who are stuck in the middle, trying to figure out postgrad plans and hone our passions alongside our skills. No matter how stressful it becomes, I advise you to trust yourself, your skills and your instincts. We all made it to this school, and we are all incredibly intelligent and capable. So, whether you apply to a restaurant job, a paid corporate position or a small-scale unpaid internship, take the time to remind yourself that you are worth all the effort you put in, and I think that makes the hard parts so much easier. Email Kiana Espinoza at kaespinoza@email.wm.edu
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I just want to make it clear that internships are hard, especially those that are unpaid.
The idea of COLL classes is appealing and interesting. Introductory courses into specific subjects that also explore the skills necessary in further education and the workplace, such as presentation or research skills, are beneficial for college freshmen, when everything is new and different. The small class size allows freshmen a more comfortable setting in which to get to know each other, their professors, their skills and their interests. This, at least, was my impression of COLL classes when I first heard about them. However, so far, I have been severely disappointed in my COLL classes, and it doesn’t seem that I’m alone in this opinion. Rather than feeling like I’m delving deep into a subject while developing valuable skills, I’ve felt confused as to what I am supposed to be learning or doing. The classes are interesting but incredibly unstructured, and I have often struggled for instruction. Coming straight from high school, where structure is the name of the game, it’s difficult to deal with. The strange thing is, this hasn’t been a problem in any of my other classes, even in my lecture-style courses. There is always a feeling that there’s a goal to be working toward or an underlying theme to the course. In my other courses, there is a semblance of structure. I know what I’m supposed to read, what papers I’m supposed to write, and what presentations I’m supposed to give. The professors know what I should be doing. I don’t think this is the fault of the professors of my COLL classes; I think my professors are just as confused as I’ve been. The idea of the COLL class is appealing, but the implementation is shoddy, and it’s probably due to lack of communication. I fear that the administration put these classes in place without any actual instruction to the professors, because most of the time professors don’t need instruction — they know what they’re teaching, and they understand how their courses work. But these courses aren’t supposed to be like every other college course, and throwing them at professors with the message of “figure it out” has left both the professors and the students floundering. The great majority of professors, while they enjoy teaching, have never actually received formal educational training. There needs to be a groundwork laid out in these COLL classes for
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There needs to be a groundwork laid out in these COLL classes for what specifically the professors should explore... what specifically the professors should explore — not subject-wise, but skill-wise. These subjects might include what types of citations should be taught, whether research or opinion papers should be attempted, whether presentations or creative projects should be required, or whether students should engage in group work to introduce working with a team in a more formal setting than a high-school classroom. The problem is not the professors but the confusion around what needs to be taught in a COLL class other than the guiding subject matter. Every professor is teaching something different to try and fulfill the requirements of the COLL, meaning the students – rather than learning ground skills helpful later in life – all learn something different and wholly confusing, and learn it badly. So, while the idea of COLL classes is one that shows an interest in student preparedness, the actual execution has been almost the opposite, which is as disappointing as it is unhelpful. Email Taryn MacKay at tmmackay@email.wm.edu
STAFF COLUMN
Underrepresented majors are deserving of equally inclusive spaces
Ethan Brown
FLAT HAT OPINIONS ASSOC. EDITOR
This semester, I have back-to-back afternoon classes in Jones Hall and Tucker Hall Tuesdays and Thursdays. Although it fits in poorly with my weekly schedule, Tucker’s architectural beauty persuaded me to take an English course because I wanted to experience the hall’s aesthetic appeal firsthand. I adore having a class in Tucker, but lately, my 10 minute sprints have grown remarkably bitter. The vastly divergent facades of Tucker and other academic buildings around campus are increasingly difficult to ignore, and they cast severe doubt on the College of William and Mary’s commitment to students of all academic disciplines.
Tucker is the epitome of sleek, modern design. The classrooms are clean and well-manicured. The hall’s multiple glass windows provide sweeping panoramas of Old Campus and the Sunken Garden, and its picturesque staircases could be easily mistaken for fixtures of an urban art museum. Even more impressive is Tucker’s standing as one of the most inclusive academic buildings at the College; the hall boasts several all-gender restrooms, all of which are exquisitely designed. If you can ever bring yourself to leave Tucker, walk 10 minutes towards New Campus and you’ll eventually stumble upon Jones Hall, home to my afternoon multivariable calculus class. Jones hosts the College’s mathematics department, and more closely resembles a drab prison than an American academic building. It features awkward rectangular panes that can only be charitably described as “windows,” and their underwhelming views of Morton leave much to be desired. The hall’s staircases are worn and tattered, and the cream-speckled hallways are an austere labyrinth. After two semesters of math courses in Jones, locating a gender-inclusive restroom continues to be an impossible task.
The architectural and aesthetic differences are so stark that I find it hard to believe that Jones and Tucker belong to the same university. I am sure that
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After two semesters of math courses in Jones, locating a gender-inclusive restroom continues to be an impossible task. Jones is on the College’s refurbishment agenda,and I know that eventually math students will have a new place on campus to call their own. But as an aspiring math major, I am frustrated by the College’s prioritization of certain academic subjects with regards to facility renovation.
I recognize that mathematics is not the Tribe’s foremost academic discipline, and that our reputation as a liberal arts college necessitates a focus on the social sciences and humanities. However, it seems unfair that our university has invested so heavily in developing the facilities of some majors while neglecting the interests of others. There must be a more equitable distribution of refurbishment. Tucker provides English majors with the opportunity to practice and hone their skills in a warm, comfortable environment, and I assume the hall’s renovations improved the scholastic pursuits of English majors significantly. However, all disciplines are deserving of similar development. The College must demonstrate a clear and immediate intention to renovate academic buildings for under-prioritized and underrepresented majors at the College. At the very least, the College ought to add a few allgender restrooms in Jones; math students are no less deserving of inclusivity than their peers in the humanities. Email Ethan Brown at ewbrown@email.wm.edu
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Celebrating New Years, cheering personal growth
Katherine Yenzer
FLAT HAT OPINIONS ASSOC. EDITOR
When I started going to the gym at the beginning of the semester, it was constantly packed. I was shocked by the number of people at the Rec Center. It didn’t seem to matter what time of day I went, the crowds of people wanting to work out were unavoidable. However, as soon as the calendar turned from January to February the crowds begin to dwindle. With each passing day, fewer and fewer people were making the trek to the Rec. While the lack of people made it easier for me to use the machines and facilities I wanted, the emptiness was a reminder of how difficult it is to consistently work out past January. The dramatic increase in gym goers that comes with the start of the new year often comes as a result of New Year’s resolutions. Losing weight, being healthier, and working out more are almost always the most popular New Year’s resolutions, but how often are they actually kept? I know an immense number of people who no longer make or “don’t believe in” New Year’s resolutions due to the fact that they are never able to keep them. This results in disappointment and loss of self-confidence. However, if made correctly, New Year’s resolutions can and should be a helpful tool that results in self-improvement and self-care. The key to crafting a manageable and attainable resolution is to first make it something that matters to you. Your resolution should be something that you are passionate about doing or something that you know would be really good for you. Essentially, in order for
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The key to crafting a manageable and attainable resolution is to first make it something that matters to you. you to keep your resolution it needs to be something that you truly want to accomplish. Additionally, stay away from making broad, general resolutions. Instead of “start working out” try “go to the gym three times a week” or “work out an hour a day, five times a week.” If your resolution is too broad it will be easy to abandon, but if it is specific it can be easily broken down into smaller steps that will make the resolution more attainable. Once you have made one or several resolutions that you have deemed worth your time and manageable, recruit some friends to help keep you accountable. Whether your resolution is to keep your 3.8 GPA or go to yoga four times a week, having friends keeping you on track will make your goal feel less formidable. Plus, if your friends have similar goals to you, you can keep them accountable as well. When you have a group of people who are supporting you and encouraging you, you will obviously be far less likely to give up on your resolution. While making a New Year’s resolution may feel silly, cheesy, or maybe even pointless, the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to pledge to accomplish something great. Dedicate the new year to improving yourself and taking care of yourself, or make a resolution that revolves around others! Either way, it’s not too late to make this year your best yet. If utilized properly, the new year can be the fresh start we’ve all been wanting. Email Katherine Yenzer at keyenzer@email.wm.edu.
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COMMENTS @THEFLATHAT
Back in 67, the rumor was that Yates was a temporary build, destined to be demolished and replaced soon. Oops. –Mark Cole on “Feeling fiery: An open
letter to the residents of Yates”
GRAPHIC BY ANGELA VASISHTA / THE FLAT HAT
New and improved pizza at Sadler surprises students match Domino’s standard of pizza quality. The notion that people were right in choosing Domino’s first was borderline earth-shaking. I am not sure if it was my spirit that was heard. Maybe someone wrote on the Sadler suggestion board. Maybe the pizza was simply being left uneaten.Regardless of reasoning, a change was made, a change that makes me actually enjoy the pizza in Sadler. I don’t know if credit is due to our local staff, Sodexo as a larger company or divine
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Anthony Madalone
Regardless of reasoning, a change was made, a change that makes me actually enjoy the pizza in Sadler.
FLAT HAT OPINIONS ASSOC. EDITOR
Williamsburg, Virginia is not Williamsburg, New York. Sal’s by Victor is not Sal’s Pizzeria in Mamaroneck, New York, my beloved hometown pizza joint known and beloved by ex-Yankees manager Joe Girardi, Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara, and above all the denizens of my hometown. Sodexo is not a family sauce-laying, Italian deli-bought mozzarella grating company. It is, in fact, French. The point I’m making here is that, due to a wide variety of factors, the College of William and Mary has no reason to have anything even close to resembling authentic, quality pizza. I was warned many times before committing to the College about the pizza withdrawals I would face in Virginia, and came here expecting cheap imitations of what I had back in New York. I have to applaud Sodexo on one thing: they did not make any serious attempts at mimicking my hometown concoctions. That is, sadly, as far as my pizza praise extended last semester. Instead of electing to make an attempt at something high quality, it seemed as if Sodexo set the bar low and still failed to get over it. When I first went to Center Court at Sadler for dinner, I felt obligated to at least give the pizza a chance. On that fateful day, I discovered that Sodexo had committed what is in my eyes a cardinal sin. They had not only attempted to mimic Domino’s pizza, but failed in the process. It was shocking enough to find out that, at the College, a pizza brand such as Domino’s, nearly entirely ignored in my hometown for higher quality family owned pizzerias, was overwhelmingly the most popular way to dine on pizza. I discovered that mastering the Domino’s style of pizza was actually a skill within itself and recognized that not everyone could
intervention, but it seemed as if the pizza stopped trying to imitate the dreaded Domino’s and instead went on to resemble something deeply nostalgic for me: the homemade pizza of my youth. I am not saying that it reaches the level of what my father once made me. That isn’t the point. The pizza has stopped tasting massproduced and greasy, and has grown into a slightly crunchy, firm, square beauty with a finish of slightly burnt cheese. Occasionally, when slices get more experimental, it doesn’t feel like a haphazard attempt to “spice up” the menu, but a genuine effort to try something new with hard work and thought put into it. Sadler pizza still fails to be as good as the pizza with which I grew up, from both New York pizzerias and family, but with the new effort being put into making the best pizza they can provided their resources, I would take it over Domino’s any day. Coming from a student at the College, that’s high praise. Email Anthony Madalone at asmadalone@email.wm.edu.
Buddha bowls celebrate simplicity, not cultural appropriation dinner dish made of vegetables and rice, to claim that Buddha was too “lofty” for this dish is a mistake. To begin with, Buddha was a person, not a state of being; the state of enlightenment, according to Buddhism, is known as Nirvana. These were not named Nirvana bowls, but rather BUDDHA bowls. Buddha as a person espoused a simple lifestyle. What
Zoë Connell
FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNIST
Cultural appropriation. What exactly is it? And what are its limits? As students at a fairly liberal college, I am certain that most of us have at the very least heard the term before and have a rough understanding of what it means. As defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, cultural appropriation is “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.” I do not hesitate to admit that this is an issue prevalent in today’s society. However, I ask once again, what are its limits? Last semester, the Commons Dining Hall had its own run in with “cultural appropriation.” Yes, I am talking about the infamous Buddha bowls, which were renamed vegan bowls last semester and are now dubbed as mosaic bowls by the Commons. Although I can understand the claim that Buddha has nothing to do with a
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What I am trying to say is that sometimes we should accept witty alliterations for what they are. could be simpler than a dinner comprised of vegetables and rice? We should support and aim for an inclusive environment; however, typically, as was the case with the Buddha bowls, there are those who claim to speak for everyone when they
see cultural appropriation at almost every turn, and then, in particular instances, they claim to speak on behalf of minorities without asking said minorities how they actually feel. If the minority itself feels disrespected, by all means, do cry “cultural appropriation!” But, if those supposedly affected don’t pay the appropriation any attention, there is no need to sound false alarms. This is yet another example of a “majority” overstepping their bounds and ignoring the minorities they claim to be protecting. Following the logic that changed the name of the late Buddha bowls, are we not now appropriating “vegan culture”? The majority of people who eat them are not vegan. Have we heard the vegan community on campus voice concerns? Personally, I have not, and I have a vegan roommate. What I am trying to say is that sometimes we should accept witty alliterations for what they are. No harm was meant in the naming of the Buddha bowls, just as no harm is meant in the naming of vegan bowls. All that it comes down to is that Buddha bowl continues to be used colloquially; the majority of the student body still refers to vegetable dishes as Buddha bowls. As twamps, we value consistency! I urge the student body to embrace the Buddha bowl and encourage the Commons dining hall to change the name back. Let us honor Buddha, a great man, and enjoy his simple meal. Email Zoë Connell at zsconnell@email.wm.edu.
variety
Variety Editor Carmen Honker Variety Editor Heather Baier flathat.variety@gmail.com // @theflathat
The Flat Hat
| Tuesday, February 13, 2018 | Page 7
COOL B E A N S
A definitive ranking of the College’s best campus coffee shops which is always readily available, or Swemromas, which covers the full spectrum from black coffee to coffee milkshakes? Or, perhaps the dining halls, though they have been shown to elicit Vine-worthy reactions of disgust.
Caffeine and Cool Beans Every coffee drinker knows that coffee contains caffeine, and caffeine provides energy. But how does the process occur? According to chemistry professor Lisa Landino, the answer is chemistry. The body produces a chemical called adenosine using a molecule that looks like caffeine. “Adenosine and caffeine resemble each other enough that, if you consume caffeine, it will bind to something called the adenosine receptor, so adenosine can’t bind,” Landino said. Despite their similar shape, the two compounds have opposite effects. Where the reception of adenosine causes sleepiness, the reception of caffeine wakes one up. The more coffee consumed, the more caffeine in the body’s system, the less adenosine received and the more energetic one feels. The caffeine per drip-brewed cup of coffee — roughly 100 milligrams — does not vary much, despite many public theories about what influences caffeine content. Though hundreds of different roasts on a scale from light to dark exist, in actuality, there’s not much of a difference in the caffeine content of each choice. “Like anything, there’s going to be a variation in the amount of caffeine in different coffees, but I don’t know if the roasting is to blame,” Landino said. The thing that affects the content of that coveted chemical is not the roasting, but the beans. There are two variations of beans commonly used to make coffee: Arabica and Robusta. Arabica beans are higher quality, but they are also more expensive, while Robusta is cheaper and has more caffeine, but is generally acknowledged to taste worse. The vast majority of American coffee shops use all, or mostly, Arabica beans in their blends for this reason. So what do different roasts do? According to general manager of the Daily Grind Scott Owen, roasting is most of what changes the taste of the coffee. According to Landino, differences in how the same cup of coffee affects people often come down to genetics and the speed at which the liver processes caffeine, both of which influence how long caffeine is in a person’s system. With this knowledge, one can evaluate the coffee shops near the College of William and Mary using the distance one needs to walk to get the coffee, the price per size, the variety of roasts available and the coffee’s taste.
H AT FL
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Starbucks
Daily Grind Daily Grind
Wawa
Near, Far, Wherever You are One of the simplest factors that plays into where students get their coffee is the distance they have to walk to obtain it. For students like Raul La Guardia ’20, the convenience of the coffee’s location is the largest draw to a specific place. “[Wawa is] right on the way from where I live,” La Guardia said. “I live in Ho House, so it’s really easy to just walk down here and get a cup on the way to class.” As students are spread out across the entirety of Old and New Campus, this category is subjective. However, one can get a rough idea of convenience based on how far each coffee shop is from a central point, such as the Sadler Center. One of the fastest walks is the one to the Daily Grind, which only takes one minute and 30 seconds from Sadler. This timeliness is followed, in sequence, by the walk to the Starbucks in the ISC (three and a half minutes), to Wawa (four minutes) and to Swemromas (five minutes). However, dining halls are strategically placed around campus, and coffee is usually the closest when one is inside a dining hall. At a walking time of zero minutes from Sadler, the coffee at Center Court in Sadler is the easiest to obtain by this metric.
Common Cents Though prices vary a bit, the importance is less in how much the coffee costs, and more in how students can pay. For Alex Hayes ’19, who noted that it was mostly price that helped him decide where to get his coffee, Sadler’s 12 oz. coffee is a great deal. “It’s free — or, well, with a meal swipe,” Hayes said. At Wawa, the price is determined by size, and the cheapest option available is a 12 oz. cup, clocking in at $1.29 before tax. The largest size cup is only slightly more expensive, at $1.65 for 24 oz. of coffee. Wawa also often has deals that lower the price, from its recent “Any size for $1” promotion, to free coffee until kickoff on the day of the Super Bowl. The coffee station includes a small serve-yourself area with different creamers, dairy options, and types of sugars and flavorings at no extra cost. For La Guardia, the deciding factor in figuring out where to get coffee is somewhere in between taste and price. PHO T A H TOS B T “If I can just get something for maybe a couple Y MAGGIE MORE / THE FLA G RA T A bucks, that’s pretty good,” La Guardia said. PHIC TH BY HEATHER BAIER / THE FLA At Swemromas, a small 12 oz. cup of black coffee costs $1.80 before tax, while the largest cup is $2.25 before tax. However, unlike Wawa, the Swemromas location accepts
Swemromas
Dining Dollars, and frequent visitors can get a punch card that gives them a free drink for every 10 drinks they buy. Meanwhile, the Starbucks from the Element Cafe in the ISC provides a small (or tall) 12 oz. cup of regular coffee that costs $1.95 before tax, and a large (or venti) 20 oz. that costs $2.45. Like Swemromas, the Element Cafe accepts Dining Dollars. Finally, at the Daily Grind, one 12 oz. cup of plain coffee costs $2, not including tax or tip, while a 16 oz. cup costs $2.50. The store does not accept Dining Dollars, but it does have a station to give customers a few more ways to add flavor to their coffee, if they so desire. For customers like Astrea Howard ’18, this is a great deal. “Personally, I think Daily Grind coffee is better than Aromas,” Howard said. “But I also don’t have a meal plan, so for me it doesn’t make sense to buy Aromas coffee, because I have to pay real money for it either way.” Based on price alone, Sadler’s acceptance of prepaid meal swipes is hard to beat. However, if one doesn’t want to use an entire meal swipe for only a beverage, then the cheapest prices are at Wawa.
Get Roasted But how many non-decaf options do students have when they choose to spend their money? The dining halls use fair-trade Aspretto coffee beans for their coffee. Sadler usually limits the available options to one light, one dark and one flavored roast coffee, in addition to the drinks from the serve-yourself machines. Swemromas also provides three roasts for its standard coffee price. They range from the medium House Blend coffee to the dark Magnus Blend. For students who want specialty drinks, there are many available, including espresso-based lattes and the famous Aromaccino. For Cameron Poland ’20, the shop’s products, along with its atmosphere, make it a good place to sit and chat with friends during free time.
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Personally, I think Daily Grind coffee is better than Aromas...But I also don’t have a meal plan, so for me it doesn’t make sense to buy Aromas coffee. Astrea Howard ‘18
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t is a chilly, overcast afternoon on campus, and students can feel themselves hitting a mid-afternoon slump. The day is the kind that makes the very bricks in the buildings seem worn down. To counter their exhaustion, students, on reflex alone, head for their holy land and the most worthy source of caffeine near the main campus. But which place fits this description? Is it the Daily Grind, with its 1990s punk-rock aesthetic? Is it the Starbucks served at the Element Cafe in the Integrated Science Center, with its highly Instagrammable cups? Maybe Wawa,
“I like how they have a good variety of coffee,” Poland said. The Starbucks coffee at the Element Cafe also comes in three different drip-brew roasts. Like Swemromas, the Element Cafe provides specialty drinks for more money, but due to the limited space in the ISC location, it does not have quite as many extra options As compared to swemromas. The Daily Grind, though it has a fair number of specialty espressos, only has one roast available at any given time. The shop focuses on obtaining a fresh, high-quality medium-dark roast from local roaster Williamsburg Coffee and Tea, according to Grind manager Owen. “[They’re] about six miles away from here, so we roast our beans locally,” Owen said. “Normally I’ll order on a Monday, and [they will] roast it Monday and I’ll pick it up Tuesday. So it’s very fresh.” Wawa, conversely, has a whopping seven roasts available, ranging from mild to bold. Beyond its drip coffees, Wawa provides a decent number of specialty coffee drinks for a slightly higher price, though not as many as Swemromas or the Element Cafe. All things considered, Wawa’s variety covers the greatest scope.
Espresso Yourself But which shop has the best coffee? Generally, the dining hall’s coffee falls flat. Hayes gave Sadler’s coffee a one on a scale from one to five. Meanwhile, La Guardia reasoned that better coffee is worth spending money over a meal swipe, giving Wawa coffee a “solid four.” “I mean, the dining hall coffee is pretty bad,” La Guardia said. Beyond that point of agreement, answers tended to vary. Poland and Sellars agreed that the taste determines where they get coffee, and both rated Swemromas a four on a scale from one to five, saying it is their favorite on campus. Palmer Foran ’20 rated Starbucks at four on the one to five scale. “[Swemromas] coffee isn’t strong enough, it’s really weak,” Foran said. “Starbucks is a lot stronger.” Howard stated that her favorite coffee place on campus is the Grind and rated it a five. “I definitely like the quality, and the price is about the same [as Swemromas],” Howard said. Despite individual favorites, students consistently agreed that good-tasting coffee is available at Swemromas.
The Winner So which campus coffee place is most worth it? For those who value price above all else, the free coffee in the dining hall is hard to beat. It is also fairly convenient when students are in the middle of campus and need a pick-me-up, though the Daily Grind’s location is on par with Sadler’s. If the deciding factor is taste alone, then the popular options vary between the Daily Grind, Starbucks and Swemromas. The Daily Grind epitomizes freshness, while Starbucks has the bitter kick that the coffee-addicted so desire. If a wide variety of different coffee is what matters, Wawa and Swemromas are both great options, depending on whether one wants a specialty coffee or something more basic. At little more than one dollar per cup and with seven basic drip-brew options to build on, Wawa is ideal for those living on Old Campus. Alternatively, Swemromas is closer to those on New Campus and has the added benefit of accepting Dining Dollars for great-tasting specialty drinks. Between Swemromas and Wawa, the choice is a matter of taste.
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Page 8
Old Master Painters headline show
Exhibition previews anniversary
CARMEN HONKER // FLAT HAT VARIETY EDITOR
SARAH SMITH // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
Saturday evening, the Muscarelle Museum of Art was abuzz with over 600 students attending “A Divine Evening with Rembrandt.” This event marked the opening of two exhibitions. One, “In the Light of Caravaggio: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from Southeastern Museums,” displays 16 paintings by Dutch and Flemish Old Masters, including Rembrandt, who were greatly influenced by the rugged realist art of Caravaggio’s Rome. “[This exhibition looks] at these young Dutch and Flemish artists who were in Rome at the time of Caravaggio, or just afterwards, when his influence and style was so high, and for them to learn from this and develop their own visual vocabulary and style, and then take it back north,” museum Director Aaron De Groft ‘88 said. “That is how ideas spread, by exposure, over the course of human history. The influence was immense because Caravaggio was the most famous and most popular painter in Rome during his lifetime. He was immensely influential because what he was doing was new and fresh, these deep shadows and bright highlights, and using everyday people and everyday scenes to depict life or images from the Bible or from mythology. For us, we are like ‘gee that doesn’t sound so revolutionary,’ but at the time it was astounding.” Extensive planning and critical thought went into the assemblage of the upstairs exhibition of Dutch and Flemish artists. Each element, from the color of the room and the placement of the paintings to the uniform formatting of the labels, is carefully executed. Assistant Director and Chief Curator of the museum, John Spike, said that the deep, warm chocolate color chosen for the walls was very intentional and works to complement tones within each painting as well as sooth the audience. Spike also said how the simple display of each painting, accompanied by its description, creates for minimal distraction for the viewers and allows them to focus on the presented artwork as they are transported to a different time period of the early 1600s. “This show asks you to imagine a little bit about Amsterdam and Utrecht, and Haarlem, that’s another city in the 1600s,” Spike said. “That is not a thought that you have every day, but you are taken there, to stuff they appreciated. … That is what I like the most about [the exhibit], is that although we are still on campus, we are far away; it is like a time machine.” The influence that the seventeenth century Dutch Caravaggists had on one another’s work is apparent in the exhibition. Spike said that the similarity seen between the painted dogs in two of the featured paintings is not coincidental, but rather demonstrative of how the artists worked in close proximity and had every opportunity to view and be influenced by each other’s work. The collection of paintings in the show was made possible through a series of loans from six other Southeast museums, including the National Gallery of Art’s contribution of Hendrick ter Bruggehen’s “The Bagpipe Player,” 1624. Additionally, the exhibition is particularly unique as it includes Rembrandt’s “Portrait of a Forty-Year-Old Woman, possibly Marretje Cornelisdr. Van Grotewal,” 1634, making the Muscarelle the only Virginian museum to showcase a work by this renowned Dutch painter. Saturday, Feb. 10 marked the public opening of the exhibition that will run through May 13. During the evening, the museum held a free event, complete with food and drink, to encourage and invite student engagement.
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As students gathered in the Muscarelle Museum of Art Saturday, Feb. 10 there were two exhibits opening. One, “Women with Vision: Masterworks from the Permanent Collection,” kicks off the College of William and Mary’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of women in residence. In February 1918, the College’s Board of Visitors met to pass a resolution that would allow co-education starting later that year in September. A few months later, the Virginia General Assembly passed a similar resolution, and 24 women began their collegiate journeys for the 1918-19 academic year. This September, programming for the celebration of this 100th year celebration will kick off and continue throughout the 2018-19 academic year. The College plans to explore issues involved by this transformation, from same-sex higher education to co-education. The exhibit features paintings, drawings and sculptures ranging across four
GRAPHIC BY CARMEN HONKER / THE FLAT HAT
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While I feel, throughout history, women have been highly underrepresented in art. To me, as a female artist, it is important to see that kind of exposure so I feel inspired to submit my work to different galleries. – Caroline Abbott ‘19
centuries, beginning in 1660. This selection of artwork features works by over 30 female artists, including some of historical significance such as Marguerite Gerard, Julia Margaret Cameron, Rosa Bonheur and Mary Cassatt. One of the exhibit’s self-proclaimed highlights is “White Flower,” a large still life by Georgia O’Keeffe, who once was a resident of Williamsburg and a recipient of an honorary degree from the College. The still life was gifted to the exhibit by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller in 1932, and is considered the most important modern painting in the Muscarelle’s permanent collection. For Rebecca Jaeger J.D. ’20, learning that O’Keeffe was once a resident of Williamsburg was one of the highlights of her night. “We’re law students, so we don’t get to this part of campus very often,” Jaeger said. “… I think what’s impressed me so far about the collection is definitely the depth of different pieces: the sculptures, drawings, photographs and paintings. We also learned that Georgia O’Keeffe lived in Williamsburg, so we didn’t know that.” In addition to historical figures, “Women with Vision” also includes artists from the 20th century, including Alice Neel, Louise Nevelson, That is what I like the most about [the Miriam Schapiro, Cindy Sherman and Kiki Smith. The permanent collection’s exhibit also features exhibit], is that although we are still on contemporary artists such as Carole Feuerman, Kay campus, we are far away; it is like a time Jackson, Ana Maria Pacheco and Tania Brassesco. “We are so happy to have the opportunity to show machine. our diverse and growing collection of women artists; just before the official 100th anniversary celebration of the first female student admitted to the College,” museum Director Aaron De Groft said. “The quality of the art in this exhibition is – Assistant Director and Chief Curator impressive and shows the growth of this important area of our John Spike collection. The historic commemoration year coincides with the summer closing of the Muscarelle Museum of Art as we embark on our new building project.” “This [event] is part of a long line of us throwing the doors While some of the exhibit features works previously acquired by open to students, because in many ways that is why we’re the museum, there are also new acquisitions, such as Barbara Holtz’s there,” De Groft said. “We’re a laboratory for experimental painting “Prospects,” Sue Johnson’s historical reinterpretations and learning just like any other laboratory or classroom on campus.” Maria Larsson’s digital collage. De Groft said that an exhibition dedicated to the Dutch and One student, Julia Bullard ’20, said that she was interested in coming Flemish followers of Caravaggio has not been presented in the United States for to the event because she has several friends who intern for the Muscarelle 20 years. Hundreds of students flooded the museum in order to glimpse the and she has experience with campus art organizations rare showing and relish in the artwork. through ROCKET magazine. “I really enjoy art and art history, so I thought it would be a “I always come to these and I have a lot of friends who really fun evening. So I came, and I’m having a good time,” Lucia intern here, and one of them is on ROCKET magazine Butler ’20 said. “It is really interesting reading about all of the with me,” Bullard said. “I like to be involved with arts on different artists and looking at all of the details in the paintings. campus. I am an English major, so similar to literature I I’ve learned a little bit; it’s been fun. I guess a lot of these things think we have a lot of marginalized voices that are lost, and are once-in-a-lifetime paintings and pieces of art that you’ll get the messages that they convey in art and what they come to see, so for people who like art, and I guess even for those who to represent is very important, especially in retrospect.” don’t, it is probably really good to see and to come out and learn Another student, Caroline Abbott ’19, said it was very something about history or about art.” important to her to see the Muscarelle recognize women The Muscarelle will close in the summer for construction and artists because she herself is passionate about creating art. renovation in accordance with the remodel of Phi Beta Kappa “While I feel, throughout history, women have been Memorial Hall. The “In the Light of Caravaggio” exhibition acts highly underrepresented in art,” Abbott said. “To me, as a as a final hurrah for the museum prior to its remodeling. female artist, it is important to see that kind of exposure so “We wanted an important exhibit to happen because we I feel inspired to submit my work to different galleries. My have raised funds to build a new Muscarelle [that is] twice the aunt is actually a painter, and as a child, one of the things size, right on this place,” Spike said. “So, this is the last show… COURTESY PHOTO / ANDREW UHRIG and we wanted to have the proper sending off.” Students view painting as a part of the “Women With Vision” exhibition at the Muscarelle. that inspired me was seeing her pursue her work and see her get her work accepted places.” While this final display of splendor stands out as quite Abbott said that while she came to the exhibit to see impressive, De Groft emphasized that the museum’s current pieces she knew by name, she was also excited to be exhibit of Old Master paintings and their particular housing of surprised by pieces and artists she was less familiar with. a Rembrandt is simply a natural progression on-course with The first floor of the museum will house the “Women the world-renowned acquisitions for which the museum had with Vision” exhibit, while the second floor will feature “In become known. the Light of Caravaggio: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from “It’s huge, but it’s no more huge than what we’ve become Southeastern Museums,” which is home to one painting accustomed to – wrestling with these monsters like Leonardo by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. da Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio,” De Groft said. “This is a For the exhibit’s public opening, admission was free for great university, and we try to do and to provide programs and all students and catering was provided. One law student, experiences that are commensurate with the great prestige and Alexandra Amado J.D. ’20 said that she had never been to historic importance of our university. And I think it sets the stage the Muscarelle before, but she appreciated the opportunity for this brilliant future where we can do more with more, instead to see both public openings. of doing all the things we’ve done with so much less. I mean I got “The whole thing is honestly much more impressive quoted a couple years ago by saying, to the newspaper, ‘we’re than I realized,” Amado said. “I don’t think any of us have running a Ferrari in a coffin’. We’ve got this fine-tuned, raging, been here before, so it’s really exciting to get out of the law great beast and we are just trapped in a little box. We have made school grove and experience something that we didn’t the most of it. Actually, we have gone way above and beyond COURTESY PHOTO / ANDREW UHRIG Rembrandt’s “Portrait of a Forty-Year-Old Woman, possibly Marretje Cornelisdr. Van Grotewal.” realize was so wonderful.” what anyone thought was possible for our museum.”
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sportsinside
The Flat Hat
| Tuesday, February 13, 2018 | Page 9
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Tribe falls to first-ranked Maryland in season opener Three players make their college debut as rough opening half forces the College to 18-7 loss JULIA STUMBAUGH FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER
William and Mary fell in its season opener to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s top team in Maryland, 187, after the first half turned into a rout that saw only two Tribe goals to Maryland’s 15 in Maryland’s Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex Sunday. The Tribe held its own for the opening of the first, twice answering a pair of Maryland goals with one of its own to keep the score at 4-2, 12 minutes and 40 seconds into the half. Maryland then tallied 11 unanswered goals before the break to bring the score to 15-2. The Tribe maintained tighter control of the game in the second half, limiting Maryland to just three goals while scoring five of its own, but the College couldn’t tally enough to erase the first half’s mountainous deficit. When the final whistle sounded, Maryland had scored more goals in the game than the Tribe had taken shots. Maryland’s domination of play, from a perfect clear percentage to seven forced turnovers to consistent control of draws, forced the College to its first loss of the season. The Tribe’s total of 15 shots on goal was significantly lower
than that of its 2017 season average (25 per game). The College will be looking to get more shots on goal in its next match. In each of its three wins last season, the Tribe dominated in shot control; it lost every match it was outshot in throughout the 2017 run. Six Tribe players recorded their first goals of the season in the 18-7 loss. Sophomore midfielder Nikky Price, who scored seven goals in 11 games last season, opened scoring for the Tribe. Junior attacker Maddie Torgerson was the only player to record a multi-goal game, with one tally in each half. Freshman midfielder Annelise Kotz, who also scored her first goal of the season in the loss, led the College in shots with four in the game. In addition to the familiar faces, three Tribe players made their first career starts, including freshman attacker Sophie Kopec and sophomore midfielder Annalise Lower (with one shot on goal apiece) as well as freshman midfielder Anne Milwicz (with four draw controls, the best record on the team). The College looks to improve on last season’s 3-17 record at next week’s Sunday home opener against Longwood. The Tribe will fight for its first win of the season at 3 p.m.
MEN’S TENNIS
COURTESY PHOTO/ TRIBE ATHLETCS
Junior Maddie Torgerson scored two of the Tribe’s seven goals in their loss to Maryland on Sunday.
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS
Team marks new season high Several gymnasts top career-high scores
EMILY CHAUMONT FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR
COURTESY PHOTO/ TRIBE ATHLETCS
Senior Alec Miller faces down his opponent in the Tribe’s 4-1 loss to East Tennessee State Sunday, where he provided the lone victory.
College splits weekend matches Tribe falls 4-1 Sunday after Friday 4-3 victory EMILY CHAUMONT FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR
The William and Mary men ended the weekend with mixed results. Friday, the Tribe came out on top against No. 25 South Carolina, beating it 4-3 at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. Sunday, the College traveled to Richmond, Virginia to take on East Tennessee State and ended up losing 4-1, with senior Alec Miller providing the lone singles victory. Friday, the Tribe started off rocky, losing the doubles point for the fourth time this season. Miller and freshman Michael Chen were bested in the No. 1 spot, 6-4, and in the No. 2 spot senior Christian Cargill and freshman Louis Newman lost 6-3. The pairing of junior Tristan Bautil and senior Lars de Boer did not finish its doubles match, as South Carolina had already received the doubles point. The pair abandoned its No. 3 spot match at 5-5. The College came back in singles play, where the Tribe and South Carolina traded off wins until the very end. Freshman Sebastian Quiros began the Tribe’s road back at the No. 6 spot, where he bested South Carolina’s Thomas Brown 6-1, 6-1. Miller lost at the No. 2 spot 6-4, 6-2. At the No. 4 spot, Newman beat Thomas Mayronne 6-3, 6-3. De Boer lost to the Gamecocks’ Yancy Davis at the No. 3 spot, 7-6, 6-3, putting the Gamecocks ahead 3-2. The College’s comeback came down to the last two singles matches. Cargill, who had been named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week Feb. 7, defeated Gabriel Friedrich 7-6, 6-4 at the No. 1 spot, tying the match back up for the Tribe. Cargill said that while the nod from the CAA wasn’t in his mind as he was playing, it increased his
determination on the court. “I think it’s one of those things where it gives you a little confidence going into the week,” Cargill said. The final outcome of Friday’s match was determined by freshman Finbar Talcott at the No. 5 spot. He bested South Carolina’s Wood Benton in three, hard-fought sets — 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. Following the match, Cargill said that the most important thing for the players is to translate the skills worked on in practice onto the court when it counts. “I think the biggest thing here was trying to do what we do in practice,” Cargill said. “We’ve been working on serves and returns a lot, so I was really focusing on those first serves and getting those returns back in the court and it obviously paid dividends today.” While head coach Jeff Kader said he was impressed with the team’s performance Friday, he believes a point where the Tribe can improve is with doubles. “I think the doubles point is key,” Kader said. “We’re obviously playing very well in singles, but to always try and claw your way back in there after losing the doubles point is going to catch up to us eventually. So we need to make sure we’re continuing to go to work in doubles and getting better in that so we can hopefully play with that lead going into the singles.” Kader said he thought that the doubles play would improve as teammates continued to play together and develop chemistry. He said that the players of different class years were already meshing well. “The seniors playing in the top three spots are not only holding their own and winning but they’re pushing everyone every single day in practice,” Kader said. “It’s a really good team dynamic and
they’re relying on the freshmen just as much as the freshmen are relying on the seniors, so it’s a good mix in there.” Sunday, the Tribe’s winning streak was broken as it fell 4-1 to East Tennessee State. Doubles was once again a weakness for the College. Cargill and Newman finished first at the No. 2 spot, defeated 6-4. At the No. 1 spot, Miller and Chen were bested 6-3. Bautil and de Boer were again unable to finish their doubles contest as the point had already been awarded to the Buccaneers and left it at 5-5. The Tribe did not fare much better in singles. Newman was bested first at the No. 4 spot, 7-6, 6-2. Next, Cargill fell to East Tennessee State’s Robert Herrera in a hard-fought, threeset match, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 1 spot. Miller provided the College its only win of the day when he beat the Buccaneers’ Juan Lugo 7-6, 7-6 at the No. 2 spot. De Boer was the last member of the Tribe to finish his singles match, ultimately dropping his match at the No. 3 spot. Despite taking the first set 7-6, de Boer lost the final two sets 6-3, 7-6. Talcott and Quiros did not round out their sets, as the contest had already been decided. Talcott ended his No. 5-spot match against David Gonzalez 6-3, 3-0 and Quiros left his No. 6-spot match against Tasei Miyamoto at 7-6. The College looks to return to the win column next weekend with back-to-back away matches. The men will travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan to face off against Western Michigan Feb. 17 and will take on Valparaiso in Indiana Feb. 18.
The William and Mary women once again took third in a quad-meet Feb. 11, although this time the Tribe ended up with a new season high, and several gymnasts posted career-high individual scores. The College (193.650) was bested by host Maryland (196.575) and Rutgers (193.950). It did manage to beat out Brown (193.325). Sunday, the Tribe’s best event was vault, when its team score of 48.775 ranked fourth best in school history. Sophomore Erika Marr (9.800) led the way, posting a career high in this event. Junior Katie Webber (9.775) and freshman Mary Graceyn Gordon (9.750) both also posted career highs on vault. Freshman Katie Waldman also scored 9.775.
On bars, still more gymnasts scored or equaled career highs to contribute to the College’s team score of 48.600. Sophomore Evan Pakshong posted a career-high 9.800, while Waldman (9.775) and sophomore Taylor White (9.750) both equaled their respective career highs on bars. Marr also posted a 9.775 to add to the team score. Sophomore Evan Pakshong once again led the way for the Tribe on beam, posting a careerhigh score of 9.800. Waldman also contributed to the College’s team score of 48.400 with her score of 9.725. Junior Aaliyah Kerr (9.775) and White (9.700) were the Tribe’s top contenders on floor, where they added to the team score of 47.875. In the all-around, Waldman was the sole contender from the College. She placed fourth with a score of 38.875. The Tribe will compete again next weekend. This time it will travel to Connecticut to take on Yale Saturday, Feb. 17.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
College wins Big Ten victory Team triumphs 4-3 in fourth straight win
ALYSSA GRZESIAK FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
Saturday, William and Mary welcomed Maryland to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center, ready for a tough matchup. The Tribe (5-3) defeated Big Ten foe Maryland (1-3) in a long and hard-fought 4-3 victory, marking the College’s fourth straight win. Sunday, the Tribe was scheduled to compete against Wake Forest, but the match was postponed and is now slated for April 2 at 12 p.m. The Terrapins started out strong, taking the doubles point with wins at the top two positions. Tribe duo sophomore Rosie Cheng and senior Olivia Thaler dropped a matchup against Ekaterina Tour and Katsiaryna
Yemelyanenka at the No. 2 spot in a quick 6-1 contest. Then, Tribe freshman Vitoria Okuyama and junior Clara Tanielian fell 6-3 to Maryland’s Millie Stretton and Eva Alexandrova at the No. 1 spot, stopping the match at the No. 3 spot. Despite being down 1-0 early in the match, the College was able to come back thanks to victories at the No. 5, 6 and 4 spots, respectively. Junior Lauren Goodman defeated Terrapin Arnelle Sullivan 6-2 in both sets at the No. 5 spot to even the score at 1-1. The Tribe took the lead the next victory in the No. 6 spot by Thaler, her fourth-straight win. She defeated Maryland’s Anastasiia Gevel 6-2, 6-3 to put the Tribe in the lead. Sophomore Natalia Perry
defeated Terrapin Katsiaryna Yemelyaneka in a third-set tiebreaker after dropping the first set 6-2. Perry took the final two sets 6-3, 6-1. Senior Ekaterina Stepanova won the first part of the threeset matchup at the No. 3 spot against Millie Stretton, but dropped the final two sets 6-3 and 6-4, respectively. Cheng’s victory over Terrapin Ekaterina Tour at the No. 1 spot secured the Tribe’s 4-3 conquest of Maryland. Cheng, now ranked 68th in the nation, dropped the first set in a tough 7-5 battle, but ultimately came out on top with 6-1 triumphs in the final two sets. Next weekend, the Tribe will travel to Lawrence, Kansas to take on Oregon and Kansas.
sports
Sports Editor Alyssa Grzesiak Sports Editor Chris Travis flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports
The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 13, 2018 | Page 10
MEN’S BASKETBALL
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Tribe wins Golden Game College splits CAA matchups JOSH LUCKENBAUGH FLAT HAT SPORTS ASSOC. EDITOR
COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS
Sophomore forward Justin Pierce splits the Delaware defense to dunk in two of his career-high 33 points Saturday during the annual Gold Rush basketball game.
College destroys Delaware Tribe falls to Charleston, demolishes Blue Hens to stay in title hunt BRENDAN DOYLE FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR After suffering a 91-79 home loss to Drexel, William and Mary faced a crucial week, traveling to Charleston to take on the top team in the Colonial Athletic Association Thursday before coming home to face Delaware Saturday in the annual Gold Rush game. The Tribe (16-9, 9-5 CAA) dropped a hard-fought game against the Cougars (20-6, 11-3 CAA) 82-77, but bounced back to claim an 83-66 rout over the Blue Hens. The game started quickly, the Cougars staking a 12-10 lead over the College by the first media timeout. Charleston extended that lead to six before the Tribe went on a quick 9-0 run to gain its first lead of the contest, 21-18. Junior forward Paul Rowley, who finished with 11 points, capped the spurt with his first of three three-pointers on the night. The College lead remained in place for nearly the rest of the half, stretching to eight at its largest. However, with one minute and 39 seconds left in the half, Charleston guard Grant Riller hit his third of three straight triples in a span of a minute and a half to give the Cougars the lead, 37-36. Riller posted an eye-popping 28 in the first half. Charleston kept this lead until the end of the period, as Rowley made a buzzer-beating three to tie the game at 41. “I thought mixing our defenses worked,” head coach Tony Shaver said to Tribe Athletics. “The zone, the one-three-one really bothered them in the first half. … Other than Riller, I thought we defended well tonight.” Starting the second half, the teams traded punches. The Cougars jumped out to a five-point lead before senior guard Connor Burchfield hit a three for the College just before the under-four media timeout. Sophomore forward Nathan Knight, who finished with 27 points for the Tribe, keyed an 8-0 run for the College, scoring six points in the span. The Tribe’s four-point lead was its last before the Cougars took control. “Nate was great tonight,” Shaver said to Tribe Athletics. “But, we have to have that out of Nate every night. I know he’s a sophomore, sometimes it’s hard to be consistent. But he was ready to play, he was focused.” As good a night as he had, Knight was unable to outduel Riller, who hit a clutch three to seal the deal for Charleston with 1:01 to play. His 37 points marked a career high, helping the Cougars maintain their firstplace status in the CAA, beating the Tribe 82-77. “I don’t think we’ve been great in the last week or two,” Shaver said to Tribe Athletics. “I told our players, I feel better walking out of the gym tonight about them than I did before the ball game. I thought we had a look in our eye that we need to get back on a consistent basis.” Saturday, the Tribe returned to Kaplan Arena to take on the Blue Hens. The College started slowly, as Delaware (11-16, 4-10 CAA) got out to
a quick 11-5 lead. 11 early points by sophomore forward Justin Pierce pulled the Tribe ahead, 15-14. Blue Hens guard Ryan Allen responded with a mid-range jumper and then a three, giving Delaware a 19-15 lead. Allen had 23 points in the half, hitting six threes in the period. “If I’m disappointed in anything, I’m disappointed in the way we started the ball game defensively,” Shaver said to Tribe Athletics. “Their one great shooter, Allen, got too many open looks. We talked about not letting him get early looks so he would get confident and hot, but just that happened.” This time, however, the Tribe would not be bested by a singular performance. With 9:44 left in the first half, Pierce reentered the game for Burchfield, the College trailing 25-20. Immediately, the Tribe went on a 18-4 run, retaking the lead for good. 10 more points for Pierce led the way, pushing the team’s advantage to 38-29 as the clock hit 4:38 to go in the half. The 6-foot-7-inch sophomore tallied 23 points in the first half, leading his team to a 47-39 lead at the midway point. “I got a couple calls early going to the basket and a couple easy buckets off a dive cut from [Knight], and [senior guard David Cohn] found me for a couple baskets early on,” Pierce said to Tribe Athletics. “Then, when I hit that first three, it really made the hoop look a little bigger today. I don’t know, I just felt really good.” Coming out of the gate, the Tribe went on an 11-2 streak, bolstering its lead. Knight, who finished with 11 points on the day, had the first five points of the run, setting the tone for the half to come. The College, which struggled shutting down Allen in the first half, gave up only 10 points in the first 13 minutes of the second half. In that time, the Tribe outscored Delaware by 20, giving it a 77-49 lead. Allen scored only two points in the second half, finishing with 25. “[I was] really proud of our defense in the second half,” Shaver said to Tribe Athletics. “We really defended much better in the second half. Justin Pierce obviously had a good game offensively, but his biggest impact was when we put him on Allen, their hot player. He did a great job, a great job defending him.” Pierce and Knight came out of the game with just under seven minutes to go, up 28. The Tribe cruised the rest of the way to an 83-66 victory. “We’ve proven we can compete with anybody in the league,” Shaver said to Tribe Athletics. “What we haven’t proven is that we can beat the best teams in this league. We’re right there, but we just have to find a way to make a step.” The College continues down the home stretch of the regular season, heading to Hofstra for a matchup with the Pride Thursday. It will then make the trip to Boston to play second-place Northeastern Saturday. The College will then finish up its last two games of the year at home.
William and Mary, stuck in the middle of the pack in the Colonial Athletic Association, split its two conference contests for the second consecutive week. The Tribe fell to Delaware on the road 68-59 last Friday night before blowing out Northeastern 71-53 in Sunday’s Golden Game at Kaplan Arena. The College (16-8, 7-6 CAA) never led the Blue Hens (15-8, 8-4 CAA), falling behind early due to a cold shooting start. The Tribe missed its first eight field goal attempts, scoring just nine points in the first quarter. Delaware took advantage of the College’s poor offensive execution, building a seven-point lead by the end of the period. The Tribe’s shooting improved somewhat in the second quarter, but the College still finished the first half with a 27.3 field goal percentage. The Blue Hens’ lead shrunk to as close as one point during the second quarter, but Delaware put together a 6-0 run to close out the period and lead 34-25 at halftime. The Blue Hens shot nearly 43 percent from the field in the first half. Delaware forward Rebecca Lawrence was the only player in double figures by halftime with 10. Despite being unable to wrestle the lead away from the Blue Hens, the Tribe outscored Delaware in the third quarter, 20-17. The key to the College’s offensive revival was getting shots close to the basket: The Tribe scored 16 of its 20 third-quarter points in the paint, recording 34 points there total in Friday’s loss. The College managed to tie the game twice in the fourth quarter, but both times Delaware promptly retook the lead on its next possession. With the score knotted at 55-55, the Blue Hens went on an 8-0 run that all but sealed the Tribe’s fate. The College could not muster another comeback bid, and ultimately fell 68-59. Senior center Abby Rendle led all scorers with 18 points, scoring her 1,000th career point in the process. Rendle was joined in double figures by junior guard Bianca Boggs and sophomore guard Nari Garner, who scored 13 points apiece. Delaware was led by forward Nicole Enabosi, who recorded a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Sunday, the Tribe got off to a far different start than it did Friday, bursting out of the gates against Northeastern (12-12, 7-6 CAA) with 23 first-quarter points while shooting 62.5 percent from the field in the opening 10 minutes. The College closed the first quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 23-13 lead into the second quarter, senior guard Jenna Green capping off the stellar start with her 504th career assist to break the program’s all-time record. “She’s been great and hard-working, and emulates everything that we want in a William and Mary player,” head coach Ed Swanson said. “It’s great that she finally got that award.” The College’s run of unanswered points stretched to 16 as the second quarter began, with Northeastern failing to score a single point for over six and a half minutes of game time. The Tribe shot nearly 55 percent from the field in the first half, Boggs and sophomore forward Victoria Reynolds pacing the Tribe with 11 and 10 first-half points, respectively. At halftime, the College held a 39-27 advantage. Swanson lauded the team’s first-half performance, highlighting the Tribe’s performance on defense as the key to building the double-digit lead. “We were flying [on defense] … we were moving pretty good, we were rebounding, and that leads to good quality shots,” Swanson said. “We just played with a lot more energy. Shooting the ball helps, but I thought our defense and our rebounding was really what started us … when we have a team take quick shots, and we can rally on the glass, we’re moving a lot better on offense.” The Tribe opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run, increasing an already substantial lead. The College maintained that double-digit advantage for the entirety of the second half, the Huskies unable to mount a sustained comeback bid. The result was never in doubt over the final 20 minutes, and the Tribe closed out a lopsided 71-53 victory to avenge its double-digit road loss to Northeastern back in January. Four College players finished in double figures, Boggs and Reynolds leading all scorers with 19 points each. Rendle asserted herself down low with an 11-point, 16-rebound performance, while Garner contributed 12 points off the bench. A key to the win was certainly strong play in the lane: The Tribe out-rebounded the Huskies 27-19, scoring 36 points in the paint and 11 second-chance points. “You got to score points in a lot of different ways,” Swanson said. “We scored 58 on Friday night and 71 today. I think a difference was we got on the glass, our defense was better, and we were a lot more active.” The Tribe returns to action at home Friday night against UNCWilmington. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
COMMENTARY
Men’s Basketball: Consistency key for Tribe to fulfill championship potential Kevin Richeson
FLAT HAT SPORTS ASSOC. EDITOR
After a loss to Drexel dropped William and Mary out of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association, the Tribe had a chance to reclaim the top spot when it took on Charleston Thursday. However, the College dropped its second-straight contest, as key turnovers down the stretch prevented the Tribe from coming from behind for a victory. Nevertheless, the College bounced back with a commanding 83-66 rout of Delaware in the Gold Rush game at Kaplan Arena. Bouncing back from losses has been a theme of the Tribe’s season. The College is 16-9 on the season but has never lost more than two consecutive games. In fact, the Tribe has only lost two straight games on two occasions, one of which occurred in the past week with back-to-back losses against Drexel and Charleston. The College has managed to stay near
the top of the conference throughout CAA play, in part due to its ability to avoid extended losing streaks. Even after major losses to Towson and Northeastern at home, the Tribe responded by gutting out a road victory against Elon. The College’s resiliency has been key to keeping it in the conversation for a conference championship. The College has had several players step up with big performances throughout the season, especially among its starters. After dropping its season-opener to High Point, the Tribe bounced back with an 83-76 victory over Hampton, led by a monster effort from sophomore forward Nathan Knight. Knight scored 31 points and added 14 rebounds. Several games later, senior guard Connor Burchfield helped the Tribe win a high-scoring game over Marshall with 30 points on a record-setting 10-12 shooting from three. Just last weekend, sophomore forward Justin Pierce exploded for 33 points, 23 of which came in the opening 20 minutes against Delaware. However, not all great individual performances have led to a Tribe victory. Senior guard David Cohn scored a career-high 26 points against Drexel, but, despite his offensive outburst, the College did not receive enough from other players to hold off the Dragons. The same can be said of Knight’s
performance against the Cougars last week. Knight had 29 points and seven rebounds, but the College was unable to pick up the victory. While the College has several high-caliber players capable of having great nights, it cannot just rely on one or two players to carry the team to a win on any given night. The CAA tournament, which will be held March 3-6 in North Charleston, South Carolina, will include all 10 teams from the conference. The bottom four teams, based on their conference records, will play the first day of the tournament in play-in games. After two teams are eliminated in those games, the remaining eight teams will play three games in three days to determine the CAA champion and automatic bid to the 68-team National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament. The College has never qualified for the NCAA tournament and is one of four original NCAA teams to never make the tournament. The College certainly has the talent to win the CAA tournament. It is almost assured of finishing in the top six of the conference and therefore will likely avoid having to engage in a play-in game for the tournament. The Tribe will have to win three games in three days to be crowned CAA champions, a distinction which has long eluded it. Despite having great talent and team chemistry, the Tribe must
play nearly flawlessly in North Charleston to finally become the team to cut down the nets at the CAA tournament. Defense has been an issue for the College all season, as has its lack of size outside of Knight. The biggest key to the Tribe achieving its goal of winning a conference championship is consistency. The College has proved it is capable of avoiding long losing streaks and bouncing back from losses. In the CAA tournament, though, the stakes are much higher — it’s win or go home. The College will not have a chance to respond to a loss at any point during the CAA tournament. The Tribe must find a way to have multiple key players step up every night on both the offensive and defensive ends to give the College a chance to run the table in North Charleston. The team needs to recapture some of the magic of its two five-game winning streaks earlier this season and put together several comprehensive team efforts in order to reach its full potential. In the CAA tournament, one player having a big performance is not likely to be enough to push the College to a championship. However, if multiple players play up to their potential and the College continues to show solid team chemistry, this year’s team could achieve something that no other team in Tribe men’s basketball history has done.