Vol. 110, Iss. 12 | Tuesday, February 9, 2021
The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
Eyes on the dashboard
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Case numbers reach record heights as students return for in-person classes ETHAN BROWN AND PHILIP SCHUELER // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR
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ays before the College of William and Mary resumes inperson classes for the spring semester, the College faced record spikes in COVID-19 positive cases on campus, causing concerns among students, staff and administrators. As of Monday, Feb. 8, there were 46 active COVID-19 cases among students in Williamsburg. There were only 16 active cases Monday, Feb. 1, representing an increase of 187% over the previous week. There have now been 72 total cases this semester, in addition to 64 pre-arrival positives. “The numbers are higher than our enviable numbers were in the fall,” Vice President of Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 M.Ed. ’06 said. “That said, our positivity rate continues to be low, especially compared to the region, which is 11%, whereas we are in the one percent range.” The rapid increase in positive tests coincides with the return to campus of sophomores and juniors as part of the semester’s delayed move-in this past weekend. In-person classes are expected to resume Wednesday, Feb. 10.
Through our case management, what we are seeing is exposure and spread among individuals who have gathered in small social settings and therefore want to remind members of the community to not gather in groups of more than 10 — especially indoors, to continue to wear masks, and to practice physical distancing.
— Suzanne Clavet
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College spokesperson Suzanne Clavet said that rising case numbers are concentrated within small clusters of students. She added that positive cases have primarily been detected by students self-reporting test results, not through the College’s prevalence testing. “Through our case management, what we are seeing is exposure and spread among individuals who have gathered in small social settings and therefore want to remind members of the community to not gather in groups of more than 10 — especially indoors, to continue to wear masks, and to practice physical distancing,” Clavet said in an email. The increase in COVID-19 cases has also affected Tribe Athletics. Associate Athletics Director Pete Clawson said that a member of the women’s basketball team tested positive for COVID-19, prompting many students, coaches and trainers to enter quarantine. “During our regular COVID-19 testing within the team (which takes place three times a week), a positive test was confirmed within the Tier 1 of the women’s program (Tier 1 is defined by coaches, student-athletes
and athletics trainers),” Clawson said in an email. “Once any positive test is confirmed within Tier 1, this triggers an automatic response of this entire group of people entering into quarantine.” The Colonial Athletic Association announced Thursday, Jan. 28 that the College had suspended all women’s basketball activities in accordance with COVID-19 protocols. Games against Towson Jan. 30-31 and James Madison Feb. 6-7 were postponed indefinitely. Clawson said members of the Tier 1 community must quarantine for a minimum of 10 days. “Per the campus Path Forward protocol, the affected individuals are isolating for at least 10 days,” Clawson said. “William & Mary is also working with close contacts of those individuals to arrange self-quarantine for 10 days; the university has a dedicated team of case managers to help all the affected parties navigate isolation and self-quarantine.” According to Ambler, the College has prepared 102 rooms in Richmond Hall for quarantine and isolation housing, as well as 150 rooms in off-campus accommodations, including at local hotels. Ambler said that an additional 150 off-campus rooms could be converted into quarantine and isolation housing if needed, providing capacity for slightly over 400 students. While students have speculated that occupancy in Richmond Hall is nearing capacity, Ambler said that as of Feb. 5, Richmond Hall still has rooms open for on-campus students in need of quarantine and isolation housing. “Contrary to some of the rumors, Richmond Hall is not full,” Ambler said. “We have still plenty of space in Richmond Hall, and we also have off-campus space on stand-by should we need it. Based on the numbers that we’re seeing and what we can imagine, we feel confident that we have plenty of quarantine and isolation housing.” When cases began rising last week, the College sent several text alerts and emails to students warning them of their commitment to the Healthy Together Community Agreement and threatening disciplinary action against students who break the College’s COVID-19 conduct standards. Employees and staff members have received similar messages from administration — there now are five active COVID-19 cases among employees. “I must be clear — there will be consequences for violations of the Healthy Together Community Commitment (HTCC),” Ambler said in a Feb. 5 email to students. “I urge you, therefore, to review and fully re-commit to the expectations outlined in the HTCC. W&M remains committed to due process in responding to violations. At the same time, given this global crisis in public health, we cannot permit students to remain on campus and behave in ways that endanger the safety and welfare of others.” Ambler said that on-campus and off-campus students should make every effort to reduce their number of ‘close contacts’ — people they see for longer than 15 minutes without wearing masks or social distancing. When asked whether off-campus students could be penalized under the Healthy Together Community Commitment for socializing in small groups without abiding by COVID-19 safety protocols, Ambler said she was not sure how the College’s conduct processes would handle cases regarding off-campus students, instead urging students to avoid creating close contacts in the coming weeks. “I would much rather that students focus less on ‘Am I going to get in trouble for this?’ and far more on ‘Is this in the best interest of the people I care about, my community and myself,’” Ambler said. “That really should be the question.”
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Notifications
GMAIL JAN 14 6 PM
FEB
William & Mary President’s Office Expectations for spring 2021
C A L E N DA R
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8 AM
Final day of Sophomore and Junior Move-In
6 PM M E S S AG E S FEB 4 5 PM
W&M: COVID Updates What you do today impacts everyone in our community and the rest of the semester. Please choose wisely. Keep your masks up, follow social distancing, gathering guidelines and wash your hands! Not doing so results in significant consequences for us all.
GMAIL FEB 5 11 AM
W&M Student Affairs Public Health Requirements and W&M Sanctions GRAPHIC BY CARMEN HONKER / THE FLAT HAT
CAMPUS
Panel honors Martin Luther King Jr., encourages further racial justice Center for Student Diversity, student activists discuss pushing forward King’s legacy PATRICK BYRNE AND MOLLIE BOWMAN THE FLAT HAT
Feb. 3, the Center for Student Diversity hosted an online forum with student activists, professors and College of William and Mary faculty gathered to discuss both the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and ways to advance racial justice in the present day. Panel moderator Alton Coston III ’23 opened the discussion by arguing that King’s beliefs have often been incorrectly characterized. “Oftentimes the legacy of Dr. King is misstated, misinterpreted or skewed purposely by many people,” Coston said. “Although everybody loves Dr. King now, back when he was really popping back in 1968, he was one of, if not the most, hated men in America. He was hated because he let his desire for tension be known publicly.” The other panel moderator, CSD Associate Director Shené Owens, drew parallels between the civil rights movement in King’s time and modern racial issues. Owens pointed to the key role of college students in effecting social change. “If you think back to all the photos you saw
INDEX News Opinions Variety Sports News
of Dr. King, these were young men and women that were standing alongside him in these movements,” Owens said. “If you turned on the news throughout 2020, these were young people standing up and saying Black lives matter.” Following Owens’ presentation of young activism in 1960s movements, the panel discussed the role of college students in civil rights movements today, as well as advice for current and future student activists. The panel of four included Dean of the College’s Law School Benjamin Spencer, visiting professor of government Jackson Sasser, student activist Felecia Hayes ’21 and community activist Justin Reid ’09. Spencer, an expert in civil procedure, reminded listeners of their First Amendment rights to speech, protest and assembly and underscored the realities of exercising the right to peaceful protest, often times including police presence. “It’s tricky because the police have a lot of authority and have a lot of discretion,” Spencer said. “That is not authority that is used equitably ... the police have a lot of protection.”
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Hayes discussed what led to her becoming an activist, recalling the days following the killing of George Floyd this past summer. “I decided that I needed to get my voice heard in some way,” Hayes said. “So, some of my housemates and a professor passing by stood at Confusion Corner and held signs. We just spoke whatever was on our heart.” She said that the goal of protesting was to make Williamsburg residents more aware of racism, emphasizing that the movement is not just about the blatant racism displayed by the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but also the racism embedded in everyday life. Reid gave a perspective on activism during his time at the College. “The defining moment was when our president at the time, Gene Nichol … was attempting to make change at a rate faster than many conservative alumni wanted, and he was pushed out because of that,” Reid said. “In particular, a major donor revoked a 12 million gift because of a decision the president made to make the campus more inclusive.” Reid was referring to the Wren cross
controversy, in which Nichol made the decision to remove a cross from display at the altar in the Wren Chapel. Reid spoke about efforts by himself and other students to show support for the embattled president. However, following other controversial incidents, Nichol’s threeyear contract was not renewed, making him the College’s shortest-serving president since the Civil War. According to Reid, this episode in the College’s history illustrated that change is not dependent on any one individual. “We shifted our focus and said, look, a movement does not hinge on any one person; there are still goals and objectives that we need to accomplish, and even in his absence, there are things we can push for,” Reid said. Reid continued to express some optimism and addressed Hayes. “William and Mary can get to the point where students like you aren’t constantly having to push the institution to live up to what it claims to care about,” Reid said.
Inside Variety
Snow days allow students to build relationships
Lucas Harsche ’23 says that snow days are becoming a relic of the past during COVID-19, which significantly undermines students’ ability to forge new friendships. page 4
See MLK page 8
Inside Sports
One Tribe?
We looked at the Black Student Organization’s fight for recognition against an unsympathetic College administration. page 5
Reflecting on Super Bowl LV
Nathan Seidel ’22 says that Tampa Bay’s victory Feb. 7 marks a significant achievement for Tom Brady, who clinched his seventh Super Bowl title. page 7