Saturday, March 16, No. 9 William and Mary women’s basketball (15-18, 8-10 CAA) defeated No. 3 Campbell (21-12, 12-6 CAA) 66-63 in the title game of the Coastal Athletic Association Women’s Basketball Championship, winning its first-ever conference title and securing the first NCAA Tournament bid in program history.
“Everybody contributed, everybody deserved this, everybody learned this, and I’m so proud of this team,” head coach Erin Dickerson Davis said.
Dickerson Davis highlighted the adversity the team faced during the regular season.
“We are built for this, and that’s what we kept saying,” she said. “Nobody knows what we’ve gone through, and we stuck together through it all.”
Senior guard Bella Nascimento echoed her coach’s sentiment.
“Everybody’s proud of each other and just kept going and pushing forward,” Nascimento said.
The Green and Gold played Thursday, March
MADDIE MOHAMADI // OPERATIONS COORDINATOR
13, through Sunday, March 16, at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., taking down No. 8 Hofstra (14-16, 9-9 CAA), No. 1 North Carolina A&T (19-11, 15-3 CAA), No. 4 Drexel (17-13, 12-6 CAA) and Campbell.
Despite losing to the Camels by over 20 points twice during the regular-season, the Tribe turned the tables on its opponent and clinched the victory on Sunday.
The first quarter proved challenging for William and Mary, as Camels senior forward Courtney Dahlquist sank an early threepointer that sparked a 14-point scoring run that continued until Nascimento made a mid-range jump shot five minutes into the game.
Although senior forward Anahi-Lee Cauley, freshman forward Natalie Fox and Nascimento each converted layups, the Green and Gold struggled to cut into the Camels’ lead as the period went on. Campbell junior guard Gianni Boone’s two-point tip shot gave her team a 20-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
William and Mary failed to find an offensive rhythm in the first 10 minutes, going 0-3 from behind the arc and shooting 22.2% from the field.
The Tribe’s offense underwent little improvement in the second quarter, and the Camels’ sharp passes and speedy cuts kept the Green and Gold at bay. Sophomore guard Monet Dance started the scoring with a jumper, but Dahlquist quickly answered with a layup.
With 2:05 left in the half, William and Mary sophomore guard Cassidy Geddes drained a three off a Cauley assist. A buzzer-beating triple from Nascimento narrowed the Camels’ lead to 34-26 as both teams headed to the locker room.
The Green and Gold ramped up its intensity in the third quarter, chipping away at Campbell’s lead. While Campbell took control of the court early on, graduate forward Rebekah Frisby-Smith converted back-toback threes for the Tribe, reducing the deficit
to 43-35 with 4:21 on the clock.
In the 27th minute, Frisby-Smith responded to a Boone jump shot with another threepointer, this time assisted by Cauley. Nascimento brought energy in the final minute of the quarter, driving to the hoop for a layup, drawing a foul and sinking a free throw. A buzzer-beater three from Frisby-Smith pulled the Tribe within four of the Camels at 53-49. With the momentum shifting in favor of the Green and Gold, both teams fought relentlessly to seize control and secure the victory.
Nascimento set the tone early in the final period, converting a layup just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter. While Boone answered with a layup of her own, Geddes reacted with a quick layup in return. With 6:45 remaining, Geddes received a pass from Dance and buried a three, putting the Tribe on top at 56-55, their first lead of the afternoon.
College announces hiring slowdown, Jefferson Lab operation search pauses
grants are not at risk, the reduction of federal grant funding creates financial uncertainty for colleges that receive them.
However, professors and faculty whose contracts are new or extended, and not renewed, may be at risk under this hiring slowdown.
Tuesday, March 5, Provost Peggy Agouris and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration
Mike Todd released a statement informing the campus community that the College of William and Mary is sustaining a temporary hiring slowdown through June 1, 2025. All hirings will be paused, with general exemptions including those that are in the final stages and with in-person interviews already completed.
“These decisions are not made lightly, and William & Mary’s valuesbased mission of teaching, learning, and research serves as our bedrock,” Agouris and Todd wrote. “We know that uncertainty can create extra concern for our community. We commit to providing as much clarity as we can as new details become available, and this information will be added to the university’s federal guidelines resource hub.”
The slowdown in hiring comes amidst an evolving federal funding landscape. In 2024, the College received 71.3 million dollars in grants and contracts, about 10% of all funding. Although some of these
Agouris and Todd encouraged faculty to reach out with further questions as they arise, recognizing the quickly evolving higher education landscape.
“We understand that slowing hiring and deferring new hires may require adjustments in staffing and may bring up follow-on questions about workload management and more,” Agouris and Todd wrote. “We will be working closely with Cabinet leaders to provide guidance over the coming weeks – so that those who are impacted by this slowdown have appropriate support.”
Professor of history and department chair Tuska Benes offered clarification on the situation and how it will directly affect both professors and students.
“We have folks who are tenure eligible, and then we have folks who are teaching faculty but are continuing as teaching faculty with contracts who come up for renewal periodically,” Benes said. “Those faculty are not affected by this pause.”
“Anybody who had to have a new contract, rather than a contract that was being renewed, was subject to evaluation for whether or not that position would be affected by the pause,” she said.
Adjunct faculty teach on a courseby-course contract basis, meaning that their contracts are for a set period. Currently, the university is evaluating multiple adjunct faculty contracts to examine if they are mission-critical.
“So we have not had word about adjunct contracts that had been anticipated but not yet signed,” Benes said. “Those may go through, they may not go through. We don't know that yet.”
Benes emphasized that this hiring slowdown will not affect any summer courses. Speaking on the status of the history department, she explained that the courses offered in the fall will reflect an increase in the diversity of their course offerings due to recent hires.
“My concern is less for our curriculum, which I think is on solid footing, than it is for the impact on
the livelihood of the individuals who had hoped to be teaching those courses and may still be teaching them, but we just don't know yet,” Benes said.
Benes said that her understanding of this policy is that it is anticipatory and an assessment to ensure that the school can continue missioncritical operations under any financial constraints.
“I appreciate the efforts of the administration to do this,” Benes said. “But I am worried that there are individuals who will feel a heavier impact from any restrictions or limitations in the budget that we experience. That's where my largest concern is, is with any individual, whether it's a faculty member, a graduate student, staff member, any individuals on campus who may be affected,” she said.
This new policy in the hiring process may affect visiting professor of history Nathanial Berndt, as his two-year contract was up for extension this semester.
“Just at the time when I was kind of expecting to hear about this, there was this, you know, kind of blanket slow down announced,” Berndt said. “And so, you know,
for now, that's off the table. It's affecting me at William and Mary, but of course, this is part of a larger phenomenon.”
Colleges across the country have also enacted temporary hiring slowdowns, creating a chilling effect on the national job market.
“I'm on the job market,” Berndt said. “Who knows how many other universities that I've applied to, the jobs don't actually even exist anymore.”
The College has been navigating other policy shake-ups in recent weeks, including the Feb. 28 cancellation of the search for a new operator at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, also known as the Jefferson Lab.
The U.S. Department of Energy oversees the lab, which is one of the College’s long-time partners. The lab has provided research opportunities in physics for faculty and students at the College since 1984. Once reopened, the lab is slated to expand into computer and data science research, housing a new hub valued at $300 to $500 million.
news insight
I have watched as my students, alumni, peers and colleagues have been fired, as my science and other sciences have been censored, and Iʼve watched as my funding has been slashed. Itʼs time for us to stand up and say something about that.
̶ Professor Rowan Lockwood
Wednesday, March 19, the College of William and Mary announced that CEO of Conservation International and host of the PBS series “Changing Planet” M. Sanjayan will serve as this Mayʼs Commencement ceremony speaker. He will also receive an honorary degree from the College at the event.
“Iʼm deeply honored to receive this recognition from William & Mary, especially during the Year of the Environment,” Sanjayan told the College. “The challenges ahead are big ̶ bigger than any one person or place ̶ but so are the opportunities. Itʼs exciting to see William & Mary committing to the next generation of environmental leaders, equipping them with the skills, knowledge and ambition to tackle these issues head-on. The Class of 2025 will be at the forefront of this work ̶ as policymakers, scientists, storytellers and advocates. I canʼt wait to meet them and see how they shape the future.”
The selection of Sanjayan comes amidst the Collegeʼs designation of the “Year of the Environment” by College President Katherine Rowe.
Born in Sri Lanka and raised in West Africa, Sanjayan received a masterʼs degree from the University of Oregon and a doctoral degree in conservation biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2023, Sanjayan was named by TIME magazine as one of the top 100 leaders in environmental protection and restoration. Sanjayanʼs shows with PBS, BBC and National Geographic have won numerous awards. His latest series ‒ “Changing Planet” ‒debuted in 2022.
“In the third year of this 7-year project examining the issues facing the planetʼs most threatened ecosystems, Dr. M. Sanjayan visits the Maldives to take an in-depth look at coral reefs and the urgent efforts to help them survive climate change,” the showʼs description reads on the PBS website.
Many student groups and organizations have celebrated the “Year of the Environment” designation, which came after the previous “Year of the Arts.”
Dr. Rachel Chung re ects on career in business analytics, new children’s book, speaking at TEDx event March 20
Chung comments on rise of artificial intelligence, breaking concepts down for childrenʼs understanding
Dr. Rachel Chung is a self-proclaimed nerd. Fortunately, the College of William and Mary bene ts from her distinguished research on arti cial intelligence. Chung works as a clinical associate professor of operations and information systems management at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business.
Chung received her first Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh while pursuing a master’s in information science at the same time, taking night classes. She explained that the two fields are very similar at their core, focusing primarily on behavior that lends itself to action.
“Fundamentally, business is about doing transactions and sort of organizing people, getting people to change ideas and trade,” Chung said.
Focusing mostly on information and data science at this point in her career, Chung discovered her interest in arti cial intelligence in 1997 with a neural networks course at Carnegie Mellon University. e focus was on fraud analysis, using machine learning to nd factors that led to the prevalence of fraud in high-pro le companies like J.P. Morgan.
While working on her Ph.D at Pittsburgh in the early 2000s, Chung was part of a research lab that studied human facial expressions. Her eld of work later became a basis for training neural networks.
“Grad students [would] code every single muscle and every single wrinkle on your face to come up with an equation that will tell us whether you're actually smiling or you're sad or angry…and whether it's a true smile versus a fake smile,” Chung said. “We were surrounded by AI researchers and AI was fundamentally a connection between technology, computer science, and psychology.”
During the early stages of the pandemic, Chung’s sister asked her if she wanted to start a project in programming, given that she was under a stay-at-home order. Chung was teaching data science at the Mason School of Business in March 2020 and saw an opportunity to teach the subject to younger students.
“She was going to teach robotics…but during the pandemic, it's just not something that's very viable, touching and sharing all these physical hardware products,” Chung said. “So I said, well, we can do data science.”
She recruited one of her students at the time, Rani Banjarian ’20, to work over the summer teaching data science to students across the country and internationally, such as in Taiwan.
“We had a pretty successful and popular program, and a couple of our students actually won national awards for data science competition, so we were very excited,” Chung said.
In December 2023 Chung and Banjarian picked up the program to turn it into an activity book centered on making arti cial intelligence palatable to younger kids. ey drafted the story in two weeks over the winter break, later recruiting students to do the illustrations. Ironically, AI illustrations proved too inconsistent at the time. e result was “AI e Magic Box: An Activity Book on
Arti cial Intelligence.” Danielle Seay '25 created illustrations for the book, which o ered a clear-cut approach to data science education for young learners.
Chung published a paper on “AI e Magic Box,” which received the best teaching paper award at the 2024 PreICIS SIGDSA symposium in December. e book will be published in Chinese in June. e book exempli es Chung’s belief that teaching AI by hand, with low-tech, unplugged methods, can be much more e ective, particularly when the drawings are more accessible.
Chung’s psychology background has translated well to her teaching career, as developmental psychology emphasizes the usefulness of breaking down complicated concepts into smaller pieces as a learning technique.
“Most people probably don't know that deep learning is the same as neural networks,” Chung said. “You know, why do you call the same thing using two di erent words and sometimes we use the same word for di erent purposes. All of that is actually barriers for learning [and] I think a lot of my psychology training helps me identify that this is what people are struggling with, not because they are lazy or not because they are not smart enough.”
While her work with “AI e Magic Box” has made arti cial intelligence more accessible for younger generations, Chung believes that older generations could also adapt to the technology. Chung shared that a crucial step is simplifying the way AI is framed in the media.
“I think the current state of AI communication or scienti c communication about AI is too confusing,” Chung said. “ e news has been pretty much using buzzwords to explain buzzwords so we're bombarded with all these buzzwords that we don't understand.”
Chung believes that AI’s functionality is commonly misunderstood by the public. It is either seen as highly straightforward, like a vending machine, or as an allknowing search engine
“It’s just an adorable guessing math box,” Chung said. Chung explained that arti cial intelligence such as ChatGPT is more of a probabilistic machine which makes a series of educated guesses from information on the internet. Its quick response time wrongly makes people believe it possesses general intelligence. However, it still makes mistakes, which it learns fromdevelopmental processes in children.
“If the model does not make any errors it stops learning, so errors are the fuel, the bread and butter of learning,” Chung said.
Since working at the Mason School of Business, Chung has received numerous accolades, including a Faculty Excellence Award from the Master of Science in Business Analytics program in 2020 and the MBA Class of 1997 Faculty Award for Innovative Use of Technology.
Chung will be presenting at the W&M TEDx event on ursday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. in Sadler Commonwealth Auditorium about her data science research and “AI e Magic Box.”
COURTESY IMAGE / LEAH FELDMAN
CAROLINE PIRSCH // THE FLAT HAT
FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF
COURTESY IMAGE / RACHEL CHUNG
Chung talks about her new AI childrenʼs coloring book, working to make artificial intelligence digestable for more children.
PBS host,
Sanjayan to speak at Commenceme n
Federal grant freeze a ects Fulbright scholars, College alumni
Aubrey Lay ʼ23 received incomplete payment for fellowship in Estonia, Fulbright programʼs future uncertain
Wednesday, Feb. 12, the U.S. State Department temporarily paused all disbursements to grant fund recipients for 15 days. The decision affected students in the Fulbright, Gilman and Critical Language scholarship programs, among others, who rely on scheduled grant payments to support their work in the United States and abroad.
Payments did not return to normal after Feb. 27 for thousands of scholars across the globe. Some received smaller amounts than expected and others received nothing at all, with little to no clarification from the State Department for weeks.
Jill Allen Murray, deputy executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, confirmed in a press release March 12 that most grant funding has still not been reinstated since Feb. 27.
“While some funding does appear to be moving in various programs, the vast majority (85 percent) of pending funding has not been paid,” Murray wrote. She called for the immediate restoration of all grant funding by the State Department.
“The fact remains that the freeze hasn’t been lifted and this is still a huge problem for participants and the programs that support them, with major long-term ramifications for the U.S. economy and national security,”
Murray wrote.
Aubrey Lay ’23 has worked as an English teaching assistant in a school for Ukrainian refugees in Estonia since 2023. His work is funded by the Fulbright Program, which is overseen by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The program offers American students the opportunity to teach English as a second language or conduct research in a foreign country, with the goal of strengthening international collaboration and solidarity while uplifting local students in need.
As a Fulbright scholar, Lay receives scheduled grant payments from the federal government which cover his living expenses and support his mission as an educator.
Tuesday, March 4, Lay was alerted to these changes when he and the six other Fulbright scholars in Estonia received only a fraction of their normal salaries.
“It was around midnight on Tuesday, that we got a mysterious, unexplained payment to our accounts from the administering organization that usually pays us,” he said. “But instead of being the scheduled payment which was supposed to be covering us for the next three months or so, it was only a week’s worth of pay. Significantly less. So that raised some alarms.”
Despite high stress and uncertainty, Lay went into work the next morning. He shared that the school relies on his contributions to educate their students, whose families are navigating precarious circumstances after
being forced to leave a war-torn Ukraine.
“We have a relatively small English department, and I think that the school has been counting on me being there to help out with classes, to provide other programming after school with students, to help students prepare for their exams,” he said. “So the prospect of pulling that out from under everybody in the school, I felt really frustrated that I might be forced to let everyone down in that way.”
The following day, the Institute of International Education, which administers payments for all seven Fulbright scholars in Estonia, informed Lay that the remainder of his salary was on an indefinite hold due to federal funding changes.
“IIE reached out to us and told us that because of the funding freeze and the way it’s affecting their ability to pay us, they were authorized to send us a one-week payment and they would get back later with more information,” Lay said. “They couldn’t tell us any more information, could not tell us when we would see the rest of the money, or really even if we would see the rest of the money.”
Early last week, Lay received the rest of his three-month salary from the IIE. However, the organization’s decision to furlough a large portion of their staff, effective March 14, casts doubt on both his future grant payments and the Fulbright program as a whole.
Students, Williamsburg residents protest funding cuts to sciences National Stand Up for Science movement spreads, students make plans for future demonstrations
they’d defunded or taken away.
Friday, March 7, a large crowd of protesters gathered at the intersection of Richmond and Jamestown roads, adjacent to the College of William and Mary’s historic Wren Building. The demonstration was part of the “Stand up for Science” movement, which mobilized dozens of protests nationwide, including in Washington, D.C. and Richmond.
Demonstrators’ chants included the slogans, “Fund facts not felons,” “No science, no beer,” “Progress over profits” and “Fund science, save lives.” Cars slowed to read the protestors’ signs, and many honked in support.
One protester, professor of geology Rowan Lockwood, remarked that she heard about the demonstration from a student.
“I have watched as my students, alumni, peers and colleagues have been fired, as my science and other sciences have been censored, and I’ve watched as my funding has been slashed. It’s time for us to stand up and say something about that,” she said.
Professor Lockwood also described how colleagues and friends from the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Institute of Health, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Energy all lost funding. Further budget cuts, such as to the National Science Foundation, remain on the horizon.
“Friends that I’ve had who have lost funding so far are from the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the National Forest Service, the National Institute of Health and the Department of Energy. The National Science Foundation is also scheduled to cut a bunch of funds, that’s going to happen on March 14th,” Lockwood said.
Faculty director of the Institute for Integrative Conservation and professor of biology John Swaddle spoke on an announcement by the NIH on Tuesday.
“In addition to specific grants being cut, they’re talking about cutting what’s called ‘the overhead,’” he said. “The overhead pays just for the university to function. It supports HR, finance, custodial services, keeping the lights on. That enormously affects every student at those universities.”
Swaddle further commented on the precarity of current federal funding.
“Already, many big research universities — including William and Mary — are no longer admitting graduate students because they can’t afford to have graduate students,” he said. “And without the overhead, universities are at risk of closure. Closing whole units, whole departments — maybe even closing the whole institution.”
Mei Mei Mon ’27 recently lost an environmental consulting internship because of the budget cuts.
“I’ve had this internship for the past two summers. It’s funded federally, and since the funding has been cut the entire department that I work for is no longer funded at all. I was supposed to come back, and now it’s completely evaporated. It’s a struggle trying to find other jobs,” Mon said.
Mon described applying to jobs and internships only to find out later that
Susan Woodward, a Williamsburg resident, described how federal funding cuts affected her daughter, who is in a PhD program for clinical psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
“Her professors and her research associates are getting cease and desist letters, their grants are being stopped and the research studies that have taken years and years to compile — some that are even still in process — are wiped from the NIH, the government websites. All the data she’s worked on is gone. She’s very upset. I want her to know I’m advocating for her,” she said.
Maclaren Johnson ’26, a biology major at the College, reflected on the unprecedented circumstances that brought her to the protest.
“A lot of us are taught, as early career scientists, that we’re not supposed to be political,” Johnson said. “We’re taught that our only job is to present the facts to the people in charge and let them make the decisions, because it can be risky. It’s damaging to your career, and it can be damaging to your credibility to get really political. But a lot of us are starting to feel like our careers are at stake either way.”
Johnson organized the demonstration, encouraging others to spread the word and continue advocating for the cause.
“It was really a big collection of students and faculty across the school who wanted to show our support for federally funded science and scientific research,” Johnson said.
“I got an email from my advisor with a flyer, it had the date and time and basically said: If you feel this way, here’s a place to be and a time to go express it.”
In less than 24 hours, Johnson printed and handed out dozens of flyers, trying to mobilize as many people as she could.
“I’m not organized,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m doing, I have no idea what I’m doing. It’s just too important to not start trying to get people involved, you know?”
Lockwood encouraged people to call and visit their congressional representatives.
“We need to speak up. Your elected representatives are elected for a reason, and it’s your job as a citizen to make them aware of what’s going on,” she said.
Dave Cassidy, a local resident and member of a community organizing group called the Blue Tankards, said he found out about the event on Thursday and worked to gather support.
“I think a lot of people don’t know where to put their energy,” Cassidy said.
“Our goal is to direct people towards the things they can do that actually make a difference, like this protest. One of the big things we’re focused on is the Virginia races in 2025, especially the Spanberger gubernatorial campaign. If we can direct voters towards those races, it could make a huge difference.”
Adam Malinowski-Liu ’25 shared that a coalition of student groups planned another demonstration in support of academic funding March 19.
“The only way that we are going to be able to make meaningful change happen is by involving more and more students, faculty and people in the community,” he said. “And taking to the streets.”
LELIA COTTIN-RACK
LILA REIDY / THE FLAT HAT
Cars driving past honked their horns in support, highlighting residentsʼ commitment to defending science funding.
SAM BELMAR FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
Professor Melanie Marotta uses Charles Center funding for DC trip Museum visits emphasize diversity, equity, inclusion for literature students amid federal turmoil
LILA REIDY FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
Saturday, Feb. 22, visiting assistant teaching professor of English and gender, sexuality and women’s studies at the College of William and Mary Melanie A. Marotta led students on a field trip to Washington, D.C. The trip’s aim was to deepen the understanding of diversity and inclusion already being taught in her classes, amidst the current federal diversity, equity and inclusion ban. The trip was sponsored by grants and scholarships that Marotta received from the Charles Center, the Center for the Liberal Arts and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
When asked about her vision for the field trip, Marotta recounted her joy of field trips as a kid and the idea of extending that experience to the undergraduate level.
“When I was a kid, I used to like to go on field trips, because you ultimately get this hands-on learning experience,” Marotta said. “Now, when you’re in primary, secondary, it tends to be more of a field trip like you go and you see a play or you go to a museum. When you go to university, experiential learning is this 1980s conceptualization, this theory where you immerse yourself in order to understand someone else’s lived experience.”
Marotta used her concept of experiential learning to gather many grants, including the COLL Innovation Grant funding from the Center of the Liberal Arts. This grant is only applicable to supporting the development of COLL 350-attributed classes.
Marotta teaches multiple classes at the College addressing the constructions of race, including Neo-slave Narratives, American Literature and the Crisis of Slavery and Feminist Theory courses.
Director of the Charles Center and professor of chemistry at the College Elizabeth J. Harbron commented on one of the grants that Marotta received in an email to The Flat Hat.
“The Charles Center offers different funding opportunities for students and faculty. On the faculty side, our Community of Scholars program supports intellectual interactions with students outside of traditional learning spaces,” Harbron wrote. “This program funded Prof. Marotta’s field trip, and we also support guest lectures, film screenings and discussions, and other opportunities for faculty and students to gather outside of class.”
Harbron encouraged more professors to use grants similarly,
POLITICS
as it deepens students’ understanding of the course.
“We love seeing the creative activities our faculty propose in their Community of Scholars applications,” she wrote. “Events like Professor Marotta’s field trip help students connect what they’re learning in the classroom to the broader world.”
Marotta mentioned how this trip was meant to deepen students’ understanding of difficult topics in her courses by experiencing them in a new context.
“My 362 class, which is Literatures of American Nationalism and the Crisis of Enslavement, is also a COLL 350, and the goal is to connect issues affecting race in America then to now, so that course is ostensibly 1800 to 1865,” Marotta said. “So, the goal was we’ve been speaking about these things: Can you go and have the experience wand see what it was actually like for people? It helps people to visualize that way and then to reflect.”
Students were required to use inspiration and sources from the museums in their midterm assignments centered around the struggles of race in early America, keeping their work relevant to the lessons of diversity taught in class.
Molly Estes ’26, a student in Marotta’s American Literature and Crisis of Slavery class, expressed her appreciation for the curriculum centered on diversity both in and out of the classroom.
“The experiential learning trip was an amazing opportunity to apply topics discussed in class to art exhibits, historical accounts, personal stories and more,” she said. “While the National Museum of African American History and Culture most clearly aligned with our course themes, the Hirshhorn displays works showing the long-term consequences of the crisis of slavery and the National Air and Space Museum subtly reinforces American nationalism through the celebration of American achievement and spirit.”
Marotta promoted taking advantage of the hands-on opportunities at the College that could increase understanding in courses, whatever the subject. She also discussed her plans for this DEI-centered trip.
“I hope to do this in spring 2026. After I look at the essays, I’ll see what students thought of the museums and depending upon which exhibits are on in 2026 like I might, I’d probably keep the first and the third and swap out the second, just depending upon what’s going on, and include like the National Gallery or something. The first obviously
is going to stay, because we really want to make sure that race is examined in an American context. There’s inequity in America and we can’t erase the past; banning books isn’t helping anyone. We need to continue to look at racial and gender inequities, etcetera in order for America to progress,” she said.
Estes commented on how beneficial the trip was on the class’s understanding of DEI themes.
“Visiting such a range of museums strengthened our understanding of the course topics and DEI itself, because we weren’t being told what we should know – we had to analyze works and look for underlying messages,” she said.
Marotta added that the field trip was fruitful in more ways than one – students were not only inspired, but they were sharing their work to a larger audience.
“The Inkwell [Literary Magazine] is going to publish, and they have to vet everything, you know, peer review, but they’re gonna publish two essays from the students as well, which I’m thrilled about because that means that students get publication,” she said.
College alumni, Fulbright scholars call for restoration of funding
Lay, Thronson share
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disheartenment with State Departmentʼs lack of transparent updates
“I didn’t really think that I might be stuck as an American citizen in a foreign country, in a placement that my government is supposed to be supporting me to work in, and left without pay and news for a week,” Lay said. “And now, once again, left in the dark about what’s happening. It’s been such a rollercoaster, and I definitely did not anticipate anything being this chaotic.”
Friday, March 14, the IIE sent out another email to Fulbright Scholars informing them that their administrative contacts within the organization may no longer be reachable following the mass layoff.
“Therefore, effective March 14, your regular IIE advisory may not be available to answer your questions,” the Fulbright team wrote. “We will inform the U.S. Embassy in your host country of this update. Please continue to work with your U.S. Embassy contacts.”
Lay is still unsure whether he’ll be paid the remaining amount of his grant.
“As IIE receives State Department funding, you will receive your subsequent stipend(s) in accordance with your Fulbright Grant Authorization Document/Terms and Conditions,” Fulbright’s website said in a Friday update.
Lay expressed his gratitude toward IIE’s staff for everything they’ve done for him and other scholars and hopes that Fulbright’s mission is not in permanent jeopardy.
“The folks who work at IIE have just been so supportive through my past year and a half on grant,” he said. “It breaks my heart that scores of people are being furloughed and have their futures hanging in the balance as well. Fulbright’s been going on
STUDENT ASSEMBLY
for over 70 years, IIE has been going on for maybe even more than that. There’s a lot of legacy for these programs as well that just makes me really sad to see potentially wiped away.”
Lay remains hopeful that other students at the College of William and Mary will be able to experience the Fulbright Program as teachers or researchers in future years.
“My experience so far has been really life-changing, and I really hope that many more generations and many more cohorts of Americans and William and Mary students will have a chance to participate in programs like these,” he said. “I don’t know if that will be possible. I hope it will be.”
As of Wednesday, March 19, Fulbright has not clarified whether applicants for the 2025-26 academic year will be affected. Such an update depends on whether the State Department ultimately restores all grant funding for current and future scholars.
In 2024, 13 students at the College earned Fulbright scholarships. As a result, the State Department named the College a “top producing institution” for the program last month, becoming one of 130 higher education institutions nationwide to earn the distinction.
Audrey Thronson ‘23 is a Fulbright scholar who has worked as an English teaching assistant at a school in Frankfurt, Germany since 2023. While her funding is covered mostly by the German government and was not hindered by the freeze, Thronson voiced her concern for grantees who suddenly lost crucial money for basic needs.
“My first concern was for the grantees themselves,” Thronson said. “I think there’s kind of a misconception from a lot of people that we’re just gallivanting around Europe,
working part-time as teachers, even if that’s not necessarily what we want to do as a job. But we’re really getting paid the bare minimum. Many people are just making ends meet each month. Any time you see a Fulbrighter really traveling, that’s probably coming out of their own savings.”
Thronson expanded on complications that could arise for scholars who are navigating the unexpected loss of grant money from the State Department.
“Lots of grantees are in countries where they don’t speak the language or speak very basic, so I can’t imagine trying to explain to a landlord who probably doesn’t know English a complicated situation about the government or why you’re having difficulty making rent,” she said. “How are you supposed to get home if you’re supposed to pay for a last-minute flight?”
Thronson addressed the benefit of exchange programs like Fulbright for the United States’ relations with other countries and image on the world stage.
“I think there’s real value in having Americans have this experience abroad,” she said. “And coming back and helping with foreign policy in some way, having this more insider knowledge, and the respect you get for knowing the foreign language.”
Thronson also helped review Fulbright applications for the upcoming academic year. With final decisions coming out soon, she hopes that applicants can have the same experience she did as a scholar.
“I served as a reviewer this year for applications for students for next year, so my heart also goes out to them, reading these applications that they worked really hard on,” Thronson said. “This has been their dream for years, and there’s real uncertainty.
Even if they get the acceptance letters in May, is the grant funding going to be there when they start in August?”
Thronson hopes the State Department will soon provide more clarity and transparency on the future of grant funding for programs like Fulbright.
“I would really like to see the State Department not seesawing on these issues,” she said. “I think that’s created just so much uncertainty and panic, and really makes me question the country’s values as well.”
SA passes Earth Yay, Tribe Field Day acts, talks democratic reforms
Student representatives discuss changes to higher education policy, bill-passin g am endment
Student Assembly President
Terra Sloane ’25 provided executive updates on her meeting with Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Public Safety Virginia Ambler ’88, Ph.D. ’06, ongoing updates to the Lemon Project and collaboration with the College’s Fighting for Immigrant Rights and Equity organization, WMFIRE.
Sloane addressed a misunderstanding among the administration that students are apathetic or unaware amidst the federal government’s changes to higher education.
“Have conversations about the way that the changes we’re seeing are affecting higher education,” she said. “Talk to your professors about it, make it clear that we as students are not just going to watch those things happen.”
Sloane also discussed meeting with Class President Devaughn Henry ’28 and assistant professor of history Jody Lynn Allen, director of the Lemon Project, about the Lemon Project walking tour.
Sloane also remarked on co llaboration with WMFIRE, as Student Assembly and WMFIRE tabled March 3-5, providing
resource cards to undocumented immigration status students and their allies.
Sen. Peerawut Ruangsawasdi ’26 and Sen. Ryan Silien ’28 introduced the Democratic Integrity Restoration Act. If passed, this bill would amend the constitutional requirements for a bill to pass from a simple majority of a quorum to a simple majority of all senators. Additionally, an Article of Impeachment would require twothirds of all senators to pass instead of two-thirds of a quorum, and an amendment to the constitution would require three-quarters of all senators instead of three-quarters of
a quorum. The chamber did not pass The Strategy Process for Reserves Act, a bill introduced by Sen. Matt Swenson ’26. Many senators cited issues with its additional restrictions on the budgeting process.
The chamber passed The Earth Yay Act Pt. 3, which will provide funding for the event of the same name. The outdoor event will take place in April and will include pot painting and planting, as well as plant-themed bingo with prizes.
The Tribe Field Day Act also passed. This act will sponsor a field day on Sunken Garden Friday, April
4 with sports stations, a dunk tank and food — including popcorn and cotton candy machines. President of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee Cole Harris ’25 also spoke on the importance of the Field Day event.
“I think athletics, especially at a division one school, is a really great way to get people together,” he said. “Especially in a time right now where a lot of things really feel divided in our country, I think it’s a good excuse to have something that we can all connect over and bond over as an entire community.”
SUSANNAH POTEET CHIEF STAFF WRITER
COURTESY IMAGE / MELANIE MAROTTA
English students visited the African American History Museum fo r their midterm.
COURTESY IMAGE / AUDREY THRONSON Audrey Thronson ʼ23 is a Fulbright scholar in Frankfurt, Germany.
STAFF COLUMN
Tantrums, tariffs and trade wars: a perspective on Trump from DC
Isabella McNutt
President Donald Trump’s first two months in office during his second administration have been nothing short of a whirlwind, marked by an unprecedented level of executive orders and significant foreign policy maneuvers. From his 89 executive orders to his high-profile meetings with world leaders, Trump's approach has been both aggressive and controversial.
Living in Washington, D.C. during this time has given me a firsthand look at the unfolding political landscape, and it has been an experience I didn’t think I needed to witness. The real-time reactions of the people around me, the excitement and tension in the air as foreign dignitaries come and go from the White House and the constant echoes of protests enveloping the city make this period both fascinating and deeply concerning.
The defining characteristic of Trump’s second term so far has been his unrelenting drive to exert executive power, particularly in the realm of trade policy. In just two months, the administration has undertaken a series of aggressive economic measures that have elicited both fervent support and widespread criticism.
My biggest concern: Trump has seemingly abandoned all fear to mess with the market.
Trump appears determined to leave a mark not through careful, measured policy decisions but by enacting rapid and dramatic changes that shake the very foundations of global economic relationships.
Trump signed executive orders Feb. 1, 2025, imposing a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico, citing national security concerns related to drug trafficking and immigration. Initially, these tariffs were paused following promises from both nations to strengthen border enforcement. However, when the administration deemed each nation’s efforts insufficient, the tariffs were officially enacted March 4, 2025. The following week, Trump expanded tariffs on steel and aluminum imports globally, raising the aluminum tariff from 10% to 25%, further escalating tensions with key trade partners.
These aggressive trade policies illustrate a fundamental principle of Trump’s economic strategy: the use of economic punishment to enforce political will.
His administration has repeatedly punished those perceived as adversaries and even some of our closest allies, often with little regard for long-term diplomatic or economic consequences. Tariffs have been a particularly attractive instrument to this administration, not only because they provide the president with a tangible demonstration of authority, but also because they project an image of economic nationalism that appeals to his political base. By positioning these policies as necessary measures to put “America First,” Trump strengthens his populist narrative, even as economists warn of the potential consequences for consumers and
businesses alike.
One of the most striking aspects of this approach is its unpredictability. Markets thrive on stability and clear expectations, yet Trump’s policy decisions introduce uncertainty at every turn. His willingness to abruptly alter trade relationships with major partners like Canada, Mexico and China undermines confidence in the global economic system. The ripple effects of these actions are far-reaching, affecting everything from supply chain stability to investment decisions by multinational corporations. Investors and businesses now operate in an environment where sudden policy shifts can upend entire industries overnight, creating an atmosphere of caution and hesitancy that is detrimental to sustained economic growth.
People claim that presidents have limited power over the economy, particularly when it comes to stimulating longterm growth. However, I argue that while their power to create economic prosperity is constrained, their ability to disrupt and damage the economy is far greater. Trump’s second term is proving this point in real time. His ability to “break things” is on full display as his administration reshapes global trade relationships, disrupts established economic norms and introduces uncertainty to financial markets.
We have to care about the economy — not necessarily because we want to, but because, as students, we will eventually enter the workforce and need to support ourselves. A strong economy creates more opportunities, but a weak economy increases the financial risk we would have to face.
Whether these measures will yield long-term benefits or merely leave behind economic turmoil remains to be seen, but for now, one thing is clear: Trump's second term is defined by an aggressive and often chaotic exercise of executive power. And this time, he is not holding back.
Isabella McNutt ’27 is a government and history double major, and she is currently studying in Washington, D.C. She loves rom coms, country music and reading just about every genre. Email her at immcnutt@wm.edu.
STAFF COLUMN
Take a break
Today in the United States, we live in a world that I can best describe as one long trainwreck. You know, one of those metaphorical ones that you don’t want to look at but can’t seem to help? And I think that this is especially true on a college campus, where people are generally engaged with the world that surrounds them and are more politically engaged than other places. That’s certainly true for me. For better or worse, I like to pay attention to what is going on politically, and these days it certainly feels like it’s for the worse, which brings me to the point I want to make with this article. Every once in a while, you need to look away from the trainwreck.
That can feel like a really hard thing to do. After all, the trainwreck idiom exists for a reason. Also, for anyone who is as plugged into their phone as I am (which is too much) it can kind of feel like you’re drowning in notifications, which today so often seem to be about what crazy thing has happened recently (thank you to my algorithm for that one). So it’s not like avoiding the trainwreck is as simple as walking to another window — or walking away entirely. The digital age has invented a trainwreck that follows you and surrounds you, kind of like a shadow or an overwhelming feeling of dread.
That’s not to say that sometimes we shouldn’t look at the trainwreck. Trainwrecks are tragedies, and traumatic ones, that require and inherently create witnesses. Our particular trainwreck, with all of its implicit and explicit threats to the future of American democracy, is certainly both tragic and traumatic and deserves our attention and our witnessing. However, as much as it sometimes gets all of mine, it does not deserve all of our attention all the time — whether my algorithm thinks it does or not.
Maybe this isn’t a problem that affects all of us, it might just be a problem that affects me, but I tend to believe there are at least a few other me’s out there who are trapped in a
loop of trainwreck-watching. And I have tried to get out of it: I have limits on my social media apps and I try not to use my phone before I go to bed, but with apps that are designed to be addicting and algorithms on my phone that regrettably know how much time I spend reading news articles (the occupational hazard of doing newspaper stuff, unfortunately) it’s a losing battle from the jump.
So for the (admittedly maybe few) people out there a little like me, do yourself a favor. Turn your TV off, turn your phone off (or better yet leave it behind), go outside, go be near people, read a book you’ve been putting off reading — do literally anything, but just let yourself be for a minute or two. Then, if it’s your vibe, get involved with activist opportunities, or read another article to educate yourself or whatever you need to do to pay witness or respond to what is going on today.
Again, maybe some of you already know this, but for those of us that sometimes need a reminder, balance is important, especially for students who have so much to balance and so many deadlines to meet. I often find myself out of balance. I guess basically what I’m trying to say is don’t spend so much time worrying about the future that you forget the present [insert “Kung Fu Panda” quote here], and that nothing is more important than giving yourself a break every now and then. The trainwreck will in all likelihood still be there, so go outside, maybe when you come back it won’t look so awful (or it will, but you’ll be better able to deal with it).
Mollie Shiflett ’26 is a double majorinhistoryandlinguistics,not that she knows what to do with that. She plays on Women’s Club Soccer GoldfortheCollegeofWilliamand Mary and is an avid fan of most sports — except golf. Email Mollie at mrshiflett@wm.edu
FLAT HAT OPINIONS
Mollie Shi ett
GRAPHIC BY MOLLIE SHIFLETT /
MICHAEL GABRIEL / THE FLAT HAT
The new southern strategy: attacking DEI
Liam Glavin THE FLAT HAT
During one of my first visits to the College of William and Mary, I went to the Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved. It was a visceral experience. It stood as a testament to how this university benefited directly from the toil of enslaved people. What I find important about the memorial is how it stands as a reminder of how the horrors of chattel slavery still inform our present, especially as a university. Even if we could be doing more, the Hearth is still a significant achievement because it represents progress from this university in addressing historical inequities. With the attacks against diversity, equity and inclusion that we’ve seen across the country, I’m reminded of the fragility behind this progress.
The University of Virginia board of visitors recently voted to dissolve their school’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office. This move is concerning for many reasons, but it’s especially worrying for us as students of the College because it means we could be next. We should do the right thing. We should affirm the values listed on our diversity statement and continue to be a welcoming and inclusive environment for students of all backgrounds. DEI programs and initiatives are critical to protecting these community values. If we capitulate to the Trump administration and abandon those values, I worry about what might be next. I wonder about what other entirely manufactured issues conservatives will conjure to justify harming marginalized people.
Republicans have designed these attacks against DEI to harm marginalized groups. They are a clear continuation of the “Southern Strategy” attacking these people. For those of you who don’t know, the Southern Strategy is something famously attributed to Richard Nixon’s winning 1968 Presidential Campaign. During this time, many white Southerners were furious about the Civil Rights Movement and its achievements and
didn’t want their states to take any anti-discriminatory action. Nixon would exploit this resentment in a particular way. He would speak to these racist Southerners by making nods toward supporting racial discrimination and segregation, but never outwardly saying he supported these things as to not alienate potentially more moderate voters. For instance, Nixon would stump on seemingly more race-neutral topics such as “states rights” or “local control.” While these are less outwardly racist things to say, he was still directly communicating to these racist constituencies who wanted states rights and local control to work against racial progress. But he did so without completely alienating moderates, and it worked magically. Nixon won the election. His former campaign advisor Lee Atwater summarized the strategy in an interview. He said, “You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘N—, n—, n—.’ By 1968 you can’t say ‘n—.’ That hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract.”
The Southern Strategy did not end with former President Nixon. It has transformed. Republican attacks against DEI and “wokeness” have become the new Southern Strategy. While the gears of racial progress continue to churn, resentment has continued to accumulate. Especially with increased efforts at addressing historic and systemic injustices, many view this as an affront to their privilege. Since Republican politicians can no longer resort to 1960s era racism (although some still do), they now tap into this racism by making nods against racial progress instead of outwardly objecting to it. Conservatives have manufactured these DEI and woke flashpoints to toe this line. For instance, instead of outwardly saying that you don’t think the President of the United States should be a Black woman, you call her a “DEI hire.”
For Republicans today, this language speaks directly to their racist constituencies, similar to Nixon, without outwardly ostracizing those on the periphery. This dynamic is at the heart of the Southern Strategy.
I recently visited the Hearth again. Its beauty strikes me. It’s a testament to how this university can act in furtherance of progress. The College should stand firmly against this new Southern Strategy. We shouldn’t capitulate to it. We ultimately have a decision to make. Do we value our students and the community we wish to foster?
Let’s make the right choice. Following in the footsteps of UVA would be disastrous. We should protect DEI programs instead of dismantling them.
Welcome to our Eva’s Apple of the week. I’m going to get a bit existential for a second here, so stay with me. In a philosophy class I’m taking this semester, I recently learned about virtue ethics. The TL;DR is that we should perceive wrongness and rightness based on what course of action a virtuous figure would take if they were in the same situation.
Now, I understand that my column is a escapist medium for many of my readers, and I realize you may be upset by the fact that I am tainting your favorite part of your bimonthly reading routine with talk about classes. Grow up. I am giving you context for the punchline. Okie, back to virtue ethics. You, dear reader, are lucky because you have a whole swath of virtuous candidates for whom you can ask “what would ____ do?” I bet you can think of just about a bajillion people who are better than you are. Now, and let’s practice our empathy for a moment, imagine a world in which you are me, the virtuous figure that others look to for guidance. Imagine you run a very prestigious satire advice column with a loyal base of fans who only act ethically on two Wednesdays a month when they have you basically spelling out for them everything they have to do to be more like you. This is my reality, my unfortunate reality. I am a pillar of virtue in a sea of misdeeds. I am to our campus, nay, our world, what “Love is Blind Habibi” is to Netflix. So, you can imagine how uncomfortable I was in my philosophy class when we were asked to discuss virtue ethics. I didn’t know how to speak up. I felt unseen and alone, because no
one else knows what it’s like to be their own moral standard, to have no one better than oneself to look up to. Here I am, dismounting from my well-deserved high horse, to exemplify imperfection and vulnerability. Together, we stand on our common ground: everyone, at some time or another, has had difficulties with participating in class.
Thus, I present you with our question of the week: How do I feel more confident with speaking up in class discussions? This question boils down to one important theme: confidence. I have it. You lack it. Let’s get to work.
In class, confidence levels exhibited by the student body exist on a continuum. The spectrum ranges from no confidence to way too much, and we all fall somewhere in between.
On the 1-10 scale of confidence, I seek to maintain an ideal seven and a half. We seven and a halves exude just enough confidence to seem self-assured while having enough of a growth mindset to recognize the value in learning from others, listening to new perspectives and admitting when we are wrong. In the spirit of being on theme, I have seven and a half pieces of advice for you to achieve the ideal level of confidence and become a perfect participant in class.
1) People like to say that comparison is the thief of joy. It’s not. Jealousy is a compass, and you can harness it to achieve maximum coolness. If you are jealous of someone, that means they have something you want. Getting
You’re not better than Trump supporters
Nora Yoon FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR
As corny as it sounds, I’ve never found a better stand-in for Donald Trump than Shakespeare’s version of Julius Caesar in his historical play. While Caesar is scorned by the elite as a hypocrite, a fraud or any number of things that Democrats have called Trump for years, ultimately the people of Rome prefer Caesar and resent the senatorial elite. While I disagree vehemently with most of what Donald Trump stands for in practice (his policy decisions) and don’t want to downplay the real suffering that his presidency has caused, I believe that a level of patience and maturity is required to effect real social change, while a forced pretense of social lucidity (what people on the right would call wokeness) is alienating and useless. The article written by Shalom Akolatse ’26, “The Ultimate Futility of Twitter Activism,” captures this point well: while many left-leaning individuals hyper connected to an internet obsessed with moral purity debate about such frivolities as whether watching the Harry Potter movies is morally permissive, Donald Trump wins elections, removes rights and protections for marginalized communities, removes NIH funding that could prevent lifesaving treatments from being developed, etc.
I am so tired of seeing Twitter accounts deride Trump online, berate his supporters and otherwise assume an attitude of holier-than-thou, performative sneering. Watching liberals post about Trump’s stupidity genuinely feels analogous to someone locked in a room for months slobbering over their own supposed intelligence. You are not better than Trump supporters. The pain and worry that his policies cause liberals often mirror the frustration felt by his support base for decades, unacknowledged by the corporate, sanitized politicians of either political party before Trump entered the political arena. To be clear, Trump does not offer any practical solutions. He is an opportunist — a morally bankrupt and capricious person who channels frustration into bigotry and rage, but he at least gives his base’s frustration a social reality, something politicians largely failed to do before him. For many Trump supporters, not being able to provide for one’s family, afford groceries or have any financial autonomy (among other issues) and feeling like Democrats downplay these issues in service of more progressive stances fueled the frustration that doubly elected Donald Trump. (Of course, Donald Trump is not fixing the economy,
despite voters generally indicating their faith in his financial competence.)
And of course, his scapegoats for a general frustration with the status quo, issues like immigration, DEI policies and LGBTQ+ rights, are inappropriate and senseless targets for the root issue. Again, it is awful how Trump weaponizes existing bigotry for his own benefit, but nothing takes away from the fact that in spite of his obvious immorality, he somehow presented a better option for over half of American voters than the Democratic establishment. As much as Trump weaponizes social issues, the Democrats have weaponized them as well, taking an empty, progressive position on these issues while continuing to serve, above all, corporate interests. To be clear to liberals: the Democrats are not good friends of the people who really suffer in this country. They might be nominally better than Republicans, but even now, all of their positioning as supposed beacons of social progress are being walked back to try and regain voters. More and more Democratic politicians are voicing their newly discovered concern about transgender women in sports, or in bathrooms or what have you. Now that their overall power is at risk, groups like transgender people become the easiest weight to cut loose for a political party.
Which is to say, they were never actual allies of the LGBTQ+ community, or the immigrant community, another group being cut loose by mainstream Democrats in service of appealing to moderates. While Democrats have not been an overt enemy like mainstream Republicans recently, prioritizing the appearance of social progress and having no patience for people who cannot accept or rationalize an entirely accepting social order in a few years after centuries of a mainstream culture that has erased the existence of marginalized groups (racial, gender or sexual minorities) is, in my opinion, even worse than openly despising them. Because when push comes to shove, Democrats aren’t willing to
protect trans people, or the other groups they pretended to stand for. Their power has always been primarily motivated by corporate interests, and they have pitted socially marginalized groups against the financially disadvantaged groups that compose Trump’s base in culture wars just as much as the right has done the same with opposing stances. But the consistent reaction and messaging of liberals to Trump’s current administration (look, look at what he did now! Isn’t it so stupid? Isn’t what he’s doing so bad?) accomplishes less than nothing. Trump is bad for everyone, but it’s not unreasonable for many of his voters to think that the Democrats are worse. Especially on this campus, hearing well-fed and privileged college students attending a school that poses an enormous financial burden complain and sneer at Trump supporters has been surreal. You are not better than Trump supporters by refusing to understand or engage with their pain, or assuming that it isn’t as important as your political anxieties. Trump is doing horrible things in his presidency to women’s autonomy, education, medicine, overall social progress, etc., but many liberals fail to understand that their frustration translating to zero electoral power is an extremely similar position to what hardcore Trump supporters felt in the years preceding his rise to power. To suffer and to have your families suffer and to have no voice in the political arena of this country, a position that many liberals face nowadays, is similar to the voicelessness of voters like disenfranchised rural voters, especially men who felt left behind by the mainstream political establishments before Trump.
I am not advocating a both-sides, all-is-well stance (which, in the end, amounts to a stance for nothing built on nothing but platitudes like “we’re all in this together!” such as the piece on the inauguration by fellow student Cameron Swartz ’28). People should be upset that the injustices perpetrated by
clarity about your ambitions will allow you to imitate those you envy until you are more fulfilled and, thus, more confident. In order to continue setting goals, you must have an infinite supply of jealousy to guide you. The solution: ceaseless comparison. Boom. Next suggestion.
2) Dress for the part! Find the swaggiest person you can think of, pretend every class is Halloween, and make every costume them. It’s a little weird that you’re cosplaying me, but I don’t hate it.
3) Surround yourself with worthy and interesting friends to help encourage you to be your best self in class. Not sure how to determine who matches this description? Here’s an easy test: ask them if they read “Eva’s Apple.” If the answer is no, cut them out. Drop them. Not worth it.
4) Raise your hand in class and wave it around to get the professor’s attention. If that doesn’t work, shout “me, me, me, pick me!” People love that.
5) Make up your own secret language and compile it into a comprehensive dictionary. Take it to your professor during office hours and cry until they agree to learn it. In class, only participate in discussions using your secret language. Then, no one else will be able to interpret what you’re saying and you’ll feel very smart.
7.5) I’m not really sure how to give half a piece of advice, but I’ll give it my best shot (observe this charming example of an appropriate confidence deficit). This is my most valuable advice in the entire article, and I’ve halved it by removing every consonant: “eiee i oue. ou eeie i ai, a
oe ae aue! e oe ou o o ae ou oie ea,
ooae ou i
i ouie, ouu ioue!” Hope this helps! Alrighty. If you find yourself asking “What would Eva do?” at any point this week, send that situation to The Flat Hat so we can practice some virtue ethics with certainty. And ask it with confidence, please, now that I’ve told you exactly how to do so. EvaJaber‘28(she/her)isaprospective Englishorinternationalrelationsmajor.Sheis amemberoftheCleftomaniacs,anacappella group,anESLtutorandhopestoencourage peace-mindedadvocacyoncampus.Contact heratehjaber@wm.edu.
Trump’s administration are being sanctioned by the American public, but they should understand that just because the pain is theirs this time, it does not automatically become more important than other people in this country. As much as poor voters (white, or immigrant or whatever else) have been swindled by Trump, socially marginalized groups have been swindled by Democrats: and no matter Trump’s deficiencies, his influence is undeniable. Trump’s childlike emotional transparency and his commitment to constantly expressing frustration are more appealing to people than objective ideals like truth, justice, democracy or whatever else Democrats tried to cling onto in the past election. Because these ideals are as hollow for Democrats as they are for Trump, and his voters are not stupid. They at least recognized the hypocrisy of their political party and replaced its key leaders, something liberals are still struggling to do. Handing the keys to a bad actor might seem impossible to accept as morally permissive for liberals. They did the same entrusting social progress to Democrats who have generated the reactionary wave of conservatism that is rolling back protections for marginalized groups, and without really attempting to understand the scope of pain that less-educated Trump supporters endured for years, all the while being told that they had it too good as a result of being white, heterosexual, cisgender or whatever else.
Social progress takes time, patience, bravery and courage of conviction. Why should liberals be surprised the Democrats have none of these? They display none of them practically. Refusing to engage with Trump’s supporters, Democrats whine and complain online about how terrible he is and how stupid MAGA is. So did the senators under Caesar, as suddenly their suffering is made unimportant by the ominous influence of the common people ignited with passion for Caesar. It doesn’t matter if Trump isn’t up to one’s
standards of ethics, eloquence, maturity or whatever else: he is winning elections. He is the emblem of the majority political party in all three branches of government, and his administration is making sweeping changes that are dangerous and cruel. Moralizing ad nauseam about how awful he is and deriding his supporters gets to be immature and masturbatory, and is ultimately most harmful to the people negatively affected by his policies.
Being able to engage with people whom you disagree with — without emotional stakes in who wins the argument, being true to your values and to the truths that the Democratic establishment are cutting loose for convenience — is meaningful political action, not proclaiming your continual disdain for Trump supporters. Taking effort to care in your community about the people who are suffering under Trump and refraining from thinking you’re better than the people who voted for him out of frustration and anger are meaningful political actions — not arguing to be right, or blaming other people for the state of politics right now. Acknowledge how shitty it is, and try to understand why someone would’ve voted for Trump. This doesn’t mean you have a moral obligation to argue for your existence, or for your rights, or to be the bigger person (something that is obviously exhausting — none of this is all one person’s responsibility). It just means that when you are able to speak neutrally and directly to people who you vehemently disagree with, it does something fundamentally different than sliding them out of your lives and sneering at them.
Muscarelle Museum of Art presents Michelangeloʼs sketches for Sistine Chapel frescoes
SARAH DEVENDORF AND MEGAN RUDACILLE // THE FLAT HAT
Thursday, March 6, the Muscarelle Museum of Art unveiled its new exhibition, “Michelangelo: The Genesis of the Sistine,” to the public. The exhibition celebrates Michelangelo’s famous paintings on the walls and ceilings of the Vatican City’s Sistine Chapel and displays the artist’s preparatory drawings for these final frescoes.
“The Genesis of the Sistine” showcases 25 sketches, including seven never before displayed in the United States. These sheets are accompanied by life-sized digital print reproductions of the final Sistine Chapel frescoes on the museum walls.
“What we thought was important was to mix drawings with the real, at least, the reproductions of the paintings,” exhibition curator Adriano Marinazzo said. “I think this was pivotal for the visitors to enjoy, to understand the importance of, the drawings.”
The exhibition also features Marinazzo’s original video installation “This is Not My Art,” a 3D model reconstruction of the Sistine Chapel ceiling architecture.
“The title is ‘This is Not My Art’ because,
when the Pope asked Michelangelo to paint the ceiling, Michelangelo said ‘Wait, wait, wait, Pope, I’m a sculptor, I’m not a painter, this is not my art,’” Marinazzo said. “It refers, also, to the video. It’s not the art of me doing the video, but it’s Michelangelo’s art.”
Marinazzo came upon many of the sketches in the collection while studying at the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, the former home of Michelangelo which now serves as a museum and archive of the artist’s work. The drawings now displayed at the Muscarelle make up about half of the less than 50 surviving sketches for the Sistine Chapel.
“Michelangelo used to destroy his drawings. For him they were just working tools, and so there are few drawings in the world,” Marinazzo said. “What is important is that these drawings represent the first ideas of Michelangelo, the raw creativity.”
The exhibition consists of five galleries on the second floor of the newly renovated and reopened Muscarelle Museum of Art. The walls of the first three exhibition rooms are painted the same blue as the background of the Genesis scenes in the chapel.
The first gallery includes a sonnet written by Michelangelo which features a sketch resembling the Sistine Chapel ceiling’s architecture. Marinazzo believes this to be the earliest surviving drawing for the chapel ceiling.
“I thought, this is the genesis of the work, the beginning,” Marinazzo said.
This first room also contains two sketches of apostles from the original design of 12 apostles commissioned by Pope Julius II. The two drawings had previously been displayed separately until Marinazzo’s research concluded they were part of the same sheet with one on top of the other.
The second gallery reflects Michelangelo’s expanded design for the ceiling, featuring preparatory drawings for scenes from the Book of Genesis that ended up in the chapel, including The Flood. Another sonnet written by Michelangelo features a self-portrait sketch of the artist painting the ceiling. Marinazzo found the figure in this drawing mirrors one of the Sistine Chapel’s most famous scenes.
“If we rotate the self-portrait, we see Michelangelo is creating the ceiling painting like God is creating Adam,” Marinazzo said. “I did this comparison also because Michelangelo, he really thought, was a messenger of God.”
The third gallery features drawing studies from Michelangelo’s second phase of work on the Sistine. This room includes an arm study resembling God in the Creation of Adam and a sketch of the Prophet Jonah which faces the opposite direction as the final painting.
“These sketches, drawings also make you understand the process, the difference of ideas,” Marinazzo said.
The fourth gallery, before Marinazzo’s video in the fifth room, contains rare sketches for “The Last Judgment” fresco on the altar wall of the chapel.
The exhibition will be on display for 12 weeks. The drawings on display are only permitted to be exposed to light for a short duration every three to five years.
Muscarelle director David Brashear
expressed appreciation for how such monumental pieces of Italian art ended up on display in Williamsburg. He explained that research on Italian Renaissance art by art history faculty at the College and past Muscarelle directors forged international relationships that the museum continues to grow.
“There’s no real logical reason why the Muscarelle Museum should be doing these exhibitions in collaboration with these Europeans, Italian museums,” Brashear said. “I would argue that we probably have as good relationships as any American art museum with the leading Italian cultural institutions.”
Students who attended the opening expressed their connection to the historic work by witnessing Michelangelo’s artistic process.
“I was surprised how connected I felt to something that was drawn 500 years ago,” Daniel Kalish ’25 said. “I’ve seen Michelangelo works online and I’ve been lucky enough to see some of them in person, but to see the actual thought process and the sketches adds a human layer to a work.”
Members of Museum University Student Engagement emphasized the rare chance for students to view these art pieces.
“I think it’s a really incredible opportunity for not only the Muscarelle, but for William and Mary, and as an intern here, as well as just a student who loves art, I think it’s a really cool piece of history that I think a lot of students would really enjoy,” MUSE co-chair Max Belmar ’25 said.
Brashear hopes all students of the College, even those not involved with the visual arts, will visit the exhibit and the entire Muscarelle. He mentioned how the museum’s lead donor, Martha Wren Briggs ’55, prioritized engagement with the visual arts to broaden students’ horizons.
“I understand if you’re not interested in art, but open your mind to being exposed to it,” Brashear said. “Come do your homework, maybe Thursday afternoons, that’s your favorite homework spot in our study center. One of those days, you’re going to get bored and you’re going to walk upstairs, and that’s going to fulfill Martha Wren Briggs’s vision.”
Burning Bright
Astronomy
“In space news: the SpaceX rocket blew up again,” Astronomy Club president Mia Bridges ’25 said. The club members scattered in Small Hall 122 nodded attentively. One person laughed. The College of William and Mary’s Astronomy Club provides an outlet for students who love space at a school without an astronomy major.
“I tell people I’m a physics major because William and Mary doesn’t have astronomy,” Bridges said. “I think I know a couple of people doing cosmology, but we don’t have a whole lot of astronomy academic research.”
Astronomy Club secretary Libby McClough ’26 agreed, explaining that the College has no astronomy research labs.
“If we had them, I would definitely be doing them,” McClough said.
Bridges said she’d planned on joining the club since before her freshman year.
“I wanted to do astronomy research since I took an intro-level astronomy class in high school,” Bridges said. “I saw Astronomy Club on Tribe Link when I was considering coming here, like four years ago, and knew, ‘Oh I’m
going to do that.’”
McClough appreciates how the club allows her to keep learning about astronomy.
“I like to learn about space. I read astronomy books, I watch documentaries. This is super nerdy, but sometimes I’ll read scientific articles,” McClough said.
After Bridges’s announcements at the meeting, the club watched “Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine,” a Netflix documentary episode about the development and launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021.
“I thought it was a really good documentary,” McClough said. “It’s so inspirational. It takes you out of your head a little bit. I’m stressed about my homework and everything, and this is like: it doesn’t matter. We’re just on a rock.”
Varshini Gourishetty ’27 agreed that peacefulness was what she liked about space.
“It’s very philosophical,” Gourishetty said. “But when you’re overwhelmed with the world around you, your work, and you just think about how there’s billions of light years of the most beautiful things in existence out there – I think that just makes life so much more meaningful.”
Gourishetty reflected on how she had felt when the James Webb telescope’s photographs were first released to the public in July 2022.
“When those pictures came out, it was everything. Especially the galaxy cluster picture – oh my god, it blew my mind,” Gourishetty said.
An Astronomy Club meeting could involve seeing these galaxies. Along with presentation nights and guest speakers, Astronomy Club hosts monthly stargazing nights.
“Getting to use actually decent telescopes to go stargazing is super cool,” Bridges said. “We see so much cool stuff up there. We’ve seen all the rings of Saturn, we’ve seen Jupiter and its moons, we’ve seen the craters of our moon.”
Although McClough conceded, the telescopes are nice, the club misses having an observatory.
“Our observatory’s been broken for years. We’ve tried in the past to raise money to fix it, but it would cost a lot,” McClough said. “The school doesn’t want to put in the money because we don’t have a professor focused on astronomy, but we won’t have a professor focused on astronomy if we don’t have a telescope.”
McClough is particularly interested in astrobiology, the study of life on other planets. She is double majoring in biology and computational applied mathematics, both of which she sees as connected to astronomy.
“I had such trouble picking my major when I was applying to college because to me, biology and astronomy are the same way of thinking — it’s just life, you ask the same questions. I don’t think they should be separate fields,” McClough said. “I feel like they’re pretty similar. You’re trying to learn more about humans and where we came from and our origins. It’s about curiosity about what we are and the world around us.”
Gourishetty, who is majoring in finance, also sees space as interdisciplinary.
“I grew up mixing religion and science,” Gourishetty said. “It’s very common for people to see science and religion as two separate entities, but they’re the same thing, in many cases. If you believe in religion, there’s this idea that the universe runs on energy, or God, but they’re the same thing. It’s all perspective.”
Gourishetty added that everyone has their
own beliefs and these beliefs should be respected. For Gourishetty, when she looks at the sky, she says she feels the energies of the universe.
“I mean, our bodies are 70% stardust. Our bodies are made out of the cosmos, we are literally the same – as cliche as that sounds – as the stars,” Gourishetty said.
Gourishetty, too, had wished to major in astronomy before coming to the College, and participated in a Columbia University astrophysics program. Now, she says she doesn’t see herself doing astrophysics.
“I love astronomy, I love space, but I don’t see myself doing astrophysics. But you know, one can dream,” Gourishetty said. McClough wishes the school gave more attention to astronomy, but she ended optimistically, encouraging more people to attend club meetings.
“I guess the takeaway is: come to the club so we can build a stronger community, and then maybe we can fix the observatory,” McClough said.
Astronomy Club meets on Thursdays at 8 p.m. in Small Hall 122. Weather permitting, the next stargazing meeting is scheduled for March 20. Make sure to follow Astronomy Club’s instagram @wmastroclub for future updates and announcements.
KYLIE TOTTEN / THE FLAT HAT
LELIA COTTIN-RACK // THE FLAT HAT
COURTESY IMAGE / MIA BRIDGES
COURTESY IMAGE / MIA BRIDGES
REEL TALK: OSCARS REACTION
Rolling out red carpet for best, worst Oscars moments
The world recently witnessed the 2025 Oscars, the annual night of movie awards that inevitably leaves the internet with many controversies to discuss, and “cinephiles” and film classes with debates to wage. However, many of us watch these shows as a guilty pleasure. I don’t really care who wins Best Original Screenplay, and I don’t begin to claim some sort of expertise on why one nominee should emerge victorious. Still, it’s undeniably fun to have some opinions on some categories, judge some red carpet fits and watch the TV closely for any wild moments. These most recent Oscars were full of atrociously awkward PR moments and, in my admittedly non-expert opinion, some robberies of awards. The award ceremony succeeded in being entertaining, certainly, but the eventful night gave much more to talk about.
Adrien Brody is an undeniably talented actor, and his nomination for Best Actor at these Oscars ensured that he would receive lots of attention on the big night. However, after the PR nightmare that was his behavior at the 97th Academy Awards, I fear that his fantastic performance in “The Brutalist” was not what people were talking about at the end of the night. His long acceptance speech was completely ridiculous, annoying and beyond tone deaf. The complete lack of understanding he seemed to have of how poorly that situation would be perceived by the public is shocking and extremely characteristic of the relationship between Hollywood and normal people. To be under any sort of misunderstanding that a vain five-minute show of a shocking lack of humility would be received well is to show the extreme gap between celebrities and the rest of the world, and Brody seemed to be on a personal mission to expose that gap throughout the entire night. Tossing his gum at his girlfriend on his way to the stage to give this tacky speech would have been the icing on the disrespect cake if it wasn’t for the Halle Berry kiss. I don’t know exactly who to blame for Halle Berry walking up to Adrien Brody on the red carpet and kissing him right in front of his girlfriend in a recreation of the 2003 kiss between the two following Brody’s Best Actor win for “The Pianist”, but I can tell you that the moment was odd, uncomfortable and came across as very disrespectful. Overall, I think that Adrien Brody’s night was a very interesting case study of the very worst actions of the celebrity elite. Now, I don’t want to act like there is a “right” or “wrong” with awards, because, at the end of the day, art is absolutely a subjective thing. When it comes to “Emilia Perez,” which took home Best Original Song and Best Supporting Actress, however, any notion of critical understanding I can have about the victorious night this film had goes out the window. This movie musical performed almost entirely in Spanish about a transgender cartel leader who navigates life aided by a random lawyer, directed by a French man who can’t speak Spanish, wasn’t inherently doomed to fail, but it certainly did. I want to have some nuance in my complaints here, but the movie is just bad, and I won’t insult all of our intelligence with some off-kilter, ridiculous argument about how the movie won Oscar awards because it was a positive
TORY COLE // THE FLAT HAT
representation of the transgender community, or how being a foreign film pushed it forward in the awards pool in woke Hollywood. It won because critics liked it, and the people didn’t, but the Academy simply didn’t care. The movie is an interesting idea, yes. It is visually sometimes cool, and some of the acting is quite good. However, I just don’t think that this film is enjoyed by an average viewer, and if you’re putting “El Encuentro” on a Spotify playlist then I have serious questions for you.
just a sense of numbness. I think it reflects the extensive gap between the vision of critics and the real audience of movies. The production and press around this movie were tacky, offensive and lackluster, and its victory is just so telling.
These awards leave me with some questions about the future of film, and in my opinion, a dangerous precedent set by some of the victors. “The Brutalist” was a fantastic film, preened for Oscars glory, but used generative AI to aid the Hungarian accents of leads Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. In the disaster “El Mal,” the song from “Emilia Perez” that somehow won Best Original Song, AI was also used on the voice of Karla Sofia Gascon. I already had my concerns about AI affecting art, as I’m sure most of us do, so to see Oscars victors have it in use is really concerning to me. It sets what I think is a really dangerous precedent for the way that AI will be viewed in the movie, music and television industries.
Additionally, trans and Mexican people have been quite clear: This movie is bad representation for both communities. I’m not going to make some argument claiming that if a movie isn’t 100% liked by the community it’s representing then it’s inherently bad, but I will say that in a movie whose one potential saving grace would be its representation, bad representation sort of dooms it. And I’m being generous to this movie, honestly. I watched it after the Oscars, and I tried to keep an open mind going into it, but it really is just that tacky, lazy and boring, and it has potentially one of the most random and ridiculous plots I’ve ever encountered. A musical film about a transgender cartel boss could’ve been cool, but not with a racist Tweeter (just google Karla Sofia Gascon) screeching in a viewer’s ear, offensively nonsensical plotlines and lazy acting by Selena Gomez haunting the screen. Zoe Saldana, who won the award for Best Supporting Actress, is fine in her role, but not good enough to win the Oscar. With music failing to rival even 2019’s “Cats” and a plot so disastrous the movie itself doesn’t even bother trying to follow through on most of its points, my overall reaction from the movie doing so well at the awards is
Something else from the night that bothered me quite a bit was the victory of Sean Baker for Best Director for his work on “Anora” because of the absence of an intimacy coordinator on the set of the movie. Mikey Madison, the Oscar-winning lead actress in this film, has expressed that she didn’t want one and that she declined the offer from the directors to work with one in the movie. Although I’m glad that Madison felt comfortable not having an intimacy coordinator on set, I’m not convinced that it should really be an option in a movie of this nature. There are a plethora of scenes in this movie that involve nudity and sexuality, and for the benefit and comfort of everyone on set, not just Madison, there should have been a professional intimacy coordinator to facilitate safe filming. Sean Baker and the other leading production figures involved with this movie should have insisted on this, and that’s why I’m nervous about his victory in the Best Director category at this year’s Oscars. Similarly to why I don’t like the AI-aided performances winning, I don’t like the precedent that this victory is setting for handling intimacy in Hollywood. Overall, I honestly don’t mean to complain too much. Good things happened at the 2025 Oscars. I was thoroughly entertained, for one, and some awards went to what I see as the right nominees. Conan O’Brien was fine as the host, the “Wicked” performance was an awesome display of talent and the rest of the entertainment during the show was comparatively on the better side for award shows. “No Other Land” is a beautifully done and important documentary that won its category against stacked competition. “Dune: Part 2” was appreciated in its victories in Sound and Visual Effects. “The Substance” had its well-deserved recognition in winning Makeup and Hairstyling, and, although I haven’t seen all the nominees for the Short Film categories, they seemed to have victors that were well-praised. Overall, the 97th Academy Awards weren’t inherently bad. There is complaining that I could do about any awards show, but for these Oscars, I leave primarily with a bad taste in my mouth at the audaciousness of Hollywood and the scary precedent set around AI.
BUCKET LIST YOU Will not WANT TO MISS
Since I am graduating from the College of William and Mary this May, I have been trying to do everything there is to do in Williamsburg before I leave. Allow me to share my suggestions, along with those of some other upperclassmen, of what adventures to have during your time here.
My rst suggestion is to go to Wawa past midnight! Did you know Williamsburg has the highest grossing Wawa without a gas station in the nation? at’s because our peculiar nightlife centers around a brightly lit 24-hour convenience store in which students scramble drunkenly for paninis and the hot chocolate bar.
I may be biased as a gymnast myself, but go to a gymnastics meet! Only 15 schools sponsor the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s gymnastics teams (compared to 84 women’s) and the College is one of them! We also have an amazing women’s team, so show out!
I highly recommend visiting Busch Gardens, even if roller coasters aren’t your thing; the architecture and immersive experience with lots of green spaces are worth it! The park also hosts holiday events with spectacular light shows and costuming. Tickets are definitely on the more expensive side, but be on the lookout for discounts.
I have loved every show that I have attended at the Meridian. is is my favorite music venue in the area, and they host local and touring bands. ey are so inclusive and make the experience of live music even more enjoyable!
On the note of live music, attend a Techno Society Event! They host talented student DJs that perform sets from acid techno to house to hardcore!
One of the most fun events I have taken part in is Contra Dance at the Norge Community Hall in Williamsburg. Held from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. on the rst Saturday of the month, contra dance is a traditional Appalachian folk dance style similar to square dancing with live music and a caller guiding the dancers. No experience is required, and it’s free!
I cannot overstate how amazing and important
attending events hosted by cultural organizations on campus are. Whether you go to Chinese Student Organization’s Lunar New Year Show, Students of the Caribbean Association’s Dancehall Workshop or any other multicultural organization event, it will be a worthwhile experience.
I recommend visiting the art museums of Colonial Williamsburg. ey are free for students and have thousands of art pieces. Also in Colonial Williamsburg, you can nd farm animals that are so sweet. I went to see the sheep just the other day! is one is not possible unless you have access to a car, but the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is only an hour away from
Williamsburg and boasts a beautiful biodiverse landscape and hiking trails.
As someone who immigrated here from Europe, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Kielbasa, a European food store, exists in Williamsburg in a half-abandoned strip mall. e store is mostly centered around Eastern European foods like Morkovcha and pickled beets. e owners are really friendly, and being there brings back childhood memories for me.
Another timeless experience is taking a walk in Colonial Williamsburg. Having been to St Andrews University in Scotland, I can say that Colonial Williamsburg reminds me of its campus.
If you are into the outdoors, the James River is
a great place to visit. You could visit Jamestown Beach, College Creek or Archer’s Hope and take a swim in the river!
Attending a Cambridge House Lecture or one hosted by the philosophy or religion departments is a good way to expand your worldview. In addition, all departments host seminars and colloquia that are fun to check out even if you are in a di erent area of study.
When it’s nice out, I recommend kayaking or canoeing on Lake Matoaka. e boathouse has free rentals for students, and I’ve seen dozens of beautiful birds every time I’ve been there.
Another nature-related suggestion is to go shing at the Bote-dock (the dock behind the Botetourt Complex) or the Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre. is can be a very peaceful and fun experience to do with friends or alone.
I highly recommend taking a one-credit pass/fail interdisciplinary wellness course like Mindfulness Meditation or Flourishing. I took Flourishing, and it taught me a lot of skills to help me succeed as well as break up a stressful academic workload. ere is a lot of value in participating in university-based volunteer opportunities, whether it be farming with the Williamsburg Community Growers or tutoring with Gri%n School Partnerships. I love the Service Saturday opportunities that allow you to try new community activities without having to commit. I also recommend the Trail Crew projects, a recent addition to the College.
I recommend participating in, making a lm for or at least watching the 24 Speed Filmmaking Competition. Students are given a prop and a quote they must include in their lm, and then they can take whatever creative liberties to bring to life a short lm in just 24 hours.
Whether you are super involved in sports or barely athletic, I suggest joining an intramural sports team. e intramural sports like handball or basketball are chill and welcoming. Well, there you have it: a unique list of suggestions to round out your experience in Williamsburg. Hopefully, this article inspires some fun adventures in the ‘Burg.
HELENA HUBER // THE FLAT HAT
sports
Ninth-seeded Tribe pulls three upsets en route to conference title
Led by Nascimento, William and Mary knocks off top-seeded N.C. A&T among others
WOMENʼS BASKETBALL from page 1
To put Campbell back in front, junior guard Gemma Núñez responded with a layup. The Camels’ one-point edge was short-lived, however. After Nascimento converted a two-point tip shot in the 35th minute, the Tribe reclaimed its advantage. With 11 seconds remaining, a final Nascimento jump shot sealed the deal for the Green and Gold, securing the 66-63 victory.
Nascimento recorded a career-high 33 points on the day, scoring 20 points during the Green and Gold’s second-half turnaround. Nascimento, Geddes and Dance earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
“It all started with belief,” Nascimento said following the championship win. “Every person believed that they could do it and that we could win as a team, not individuals.”
The Tribe’s championship victory was the culmination of a hard-fought tournament run. Before facing Campbell, William and Mary battled through three hotly-contested matchups to earn its spot in the title game.
Thursday’s postseason opener came against Hofstra, a team that dealt the Tribe a 54-34 Senior Day loss during the regular season.
After winning the opening tipoff, Hofstra opened the scoring with a jumper from graduate forward Ramatoulaye Keita. Courtesy of an assist from Nascimento, junior forward Kayla Rolph put the Green and Gold in the lead with a threepoint jumper.
In the fifth minute, the Pride used a six-point run to equalize the score at 8-8. Nascimento quickly responded with a jump shot, and graduate center Kayla Beckwith followed with another.
The Pride played catch-up for the remainder of the quarter but ultimately failed to cut into the Tribe’s lead. With 38 seconds to spare before the break, a jumper from Fox extended the Green and Gold’s advantage to 18-12.
The second quarter saw back-and-forth action that began when Nascimento stole the ball and scored a layup 22 seconds into the period.
Hofstra refused to back down, rattling off a nine-point run sparked by a three-pointer and jump shot from junior guard Emma Von Essen. In the 14th minute of play, freshman forward LaNae’ Corbett converted back-to-back layups, putting her team just one point behind William and Mary at 21-20.
William and Mary ultimately ended the half with a 36-33 advantage, shooting 41.7% overall and 30.8% from behind the arc. Racking up 11 points in the first 20 minutes of play, Nascimento paced the Tribe in scoring.
“It’s just a confidence thing,” Nascimento said. “I believe in myself and my teammates, and they have confidence in me.”
The start of the third saw the Pride play catch-up once again. Gooden began the scoring with a layup, but Rolph responded with a three-point jumper, courtesy of an assist from Geddes.
Although a three from graduate guard Janaia Fargo again placed the Pride a point behind the Green and Gold, the Tribe overpowered Hofstra with hot shooting. A Geddes jump shot in the 24th minute solidified William and Mary’s lead at 48-40.
The Tribe seized control of the third quarter, scoring three more three-pointers. After receiving a crisp pass from Fox, Geddes drained a buzzer-beating triple, giving her team a
MENʼS BASKETBALL
57-46 lead heading into the final period.
William and Mary maintained its advantage during the final 10 minutes of play, going on an eight-point scoring run. 40 seconds after making a pair of free throws, Cauley converted a layup thanks to a Nascimento assist. A jumper from Nascimento and a Geddes layup extended the Tribe’s lead to a game-high 18 points with 4:01 to spare.
For Dickerson Davis, the Green and Gold’s 76-65 victory meant more than just the final score.
“I think this is the most together we’ve been all season,” Dickerson Davis said. “We talked about believing, we talked about having faith the size of a mustard seed, not worrying about how the season ended for us, but just moving forward into tournament time.”
Nascimento led the Tribe in scoring with 17 points, followed by Dance with 12. On the opponent’s side, Gooden led the Pride with 18 points.
Heading into Friday’s matchup against top-seeded N.C. A&T, Nascimento stressed the importance of teamwork.
“A&T is going to be a whole team effort,” Nascimento said. “Ultimately, we have to stick together and play together, because when we’re together, nobody can stop us.”
The Tribe’s 74-66 victory against the Aggies proved Nascimento’s words true. The game marked William and Mary women’s basketball’s first-ever postseason win against a No. 1 seed. Additionally, Dance recorded a career-high 27 points while shooting 77% from the field.
“I just need to do whatever it takes to help my team win,” Dance said after the game. “That was really all I was thinking.”
Although the Tribe lost both regular-season matchups against the Aggies, Dickerson Davis highlighted key differences in Friday’s game.
“You have to play to win,” Dickerson Davis said. “I think the momentum that we had yesterday just really carried us into today.”
Dance converted her first three-pointer less than a minute into the matchup, putting the Tribe on the scoreboard, before nailing her second triple two minutes later.
Despite impressive performances from Aggies senior guard Jordyn Dorsey and redshirt junior center Chaniya Clark, the Green and Gold kept the game competitive. Nascimento quickly countered a Dorsey tip-in with a three of her own, while Geddes halted a four-point Aggies run with a layup.
N.C. A&T finally managed to erase the Tribe’s lead with 1:50 remaining in the period. After Geddes sunk a three in the eighth minute, the Aggies answered with a 10-point scoring run. Graduate forward Daija Powell’s layup gave N.C. A&T a 15-14 edge, and a three-pointer from graduate guard Maleia Bracone extended the Aggies’ lead to 20-14 at the break.
The Green and Gold kept pace with the Aggies’ highoctane play in the second quarter. 54 seconds in, Geddes responded to a Bracone jumper with one of her own. One minute later, Geddes drilled another jump shot, narrowing N.C. A&T’s lead to 22-18.
In the 14th minute of play, another Dance three brought the Tribe within striking distance of the Aggies. After a steal and layup by Clark, Beckwith answered with a two-pointer of her own, placing the Tribe one point behind N.C. A&T again at 26-25.
The rest of the half was a back-and-forth battle, with neither team gaining more than a three-point edge. In the final minute, Geddes buried a jumper to knot the score at
34-34. Despite late shot attempts from Dorsey, Nascimento and Aggies sophomore forward Paris Locke, none found the basket, sending both teams into the locker room still tied at 34-34.
The Aggies gained an early advantage in the third quarter, with Locke scoring five points within the period’s first minute. Geddes finally answered with a jump shot, but the Tribe had fallen behind 39-36.
After the teams traded baskets, N.C. A&T found its rhythm. Starting with a fast-break layup from Locke, the Aggies went on a nine-point scoring run, extending their lead to 53-41.
Despite a slow start to the half, the Tribe remained resilient as Geddes sank two free throws with 1:14 left in the period. The Green and Gold added a layup from sophomore center Tika Sallman and a Geddes jump shot, ending the quarter down at 53-47.
Dance helped power the Tribe throughout an intense fourth quarter, answering a Clark layup with a threepoint jumper in the 32nd minute of play. With 7:10 left in regulation, Dance buried a fast-break layup and a three. After Locke and Dorsey failed to convert jumpers, Geddes equalized the score at 59-59.
Although the Aggies took the lead with 3:45 to spare, Rolph evened the score at 64-64 with a clutch three-pointer. In the final two minutes of regulation, both teams struggled to convert their shot attempts, leaving the score unchanged and sending the game into overtime.
The Green and Gold took control in the extra period. Dance opened the scoring with a layup. Aggies sophomore forward Darrionna Howard and Locke attempted to answer but both missed, allowing Dance to extend the Tribe’s lead with a three-pointer.
After another missed jumper from Locke, Geddes sealed the Green and Gold’s victory. With 2:10 remaining, she nailed a jump shot of her own, followed by a three-pointer. While Clark managed to connect on a late tip-in, it was insufficient for the Aggies, and William and Mary closed out the game with a 74-66 victory.
N.C. A&T head coach and 2025 CAA Coach of the Year Tarrell Robinson commended the Tribe’s determination.
“They played with a refuse-to-lose mentality,” Robinson said. “They played with a lot of confidence today, they survived a lot of runs that we had made and they were the better team in overtime.”
As the Tribe geared up for Saturday’s semifinal game against defending CAA Championship winner Drexel, Dickerson Davis emphasized the importance of focusing on the present.
“Today is behind us right now,” Dickerson Davis said after the quarterfinal matchup. “We won, we celebrated and now it’s time for us to prepare for whoever we’re going to have next and then get ready to go.”
The Green and Gold defeated the Dragons 76-54, becoming the first No. 9 seed in CAA tournament history to reach the championship. Although it fell to the Dragons in overtime during the regular season, the Tribe took the court with confidence.
“We caught some fire early,” Dickerson Davis said. “We came in as the lowest seed in every game we played, and so our mentality was, ‘What do you have to lose at this point?’”
Tribe bows out in rst played game of conference tournament
Delaware rides record-setting three-point performance to dominant victory
Sunday, March 9, William and Mary men’s basketball (17-15, 11-7 CAA) lost to Delaware (16-20, 5-13 CAA) 100-78 at the CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. The game was a quarterfinal matchup in the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championship and marked the Tribe’s postseason opener. With the loss, the Green and Gold was eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention.
William and Mary entered the tournament as the fourth seed and received a double bye into the quarterfinals. Twelfth-seeded Delaware defeated 13th-seeded Stony Brook (8-24, 4-14 CAA) and fifth-seeded Campbell (15-17, 10-8 CAA) in the first and second rounds before advancing to face the Tribe. This set up a rematch of a Feb. 8 game that saw the Blue Hens defeat the Green and Gold 74-64.
Before the 2:30 p.m. tip-off, CAA commissioner Joe D’Antonio presented allconference honors to senior guard/forward Gabe Dorsey and freshman guard Isaiah Mbeng. Dorsey, the Tribe’s leading scorer, received a spot on the All-CAA Second Team, while Mbeng, the Tribe’s leader in assists, was selected to the All-CAA Rookie Team.
The Green and Gold rolled out a starting lineup of Gabe Dorsey, senior guard Matteus Case, junior guard Chase Lowe and graduate student forwards Malachi Ndur
and Keller Boothby.
After the Blue Hens won the tip, both sides started hot from behind the arc. Delaware junior guard Cavan Reilly opened the scoring with a three-ball, but Gabe Dorsey answered on the next possession with a deep threepointer of his own. Graduate student guard Erik Timko laced a corner three to continue the back-and-forth scoring and give the Blue Hens a 6-3 lead.
An errant Case triple marked the first missed field goal of the day. However, he found the bottom of the net on the next possession thanks to a ball screen by Ndur. A subsequent Boothby three gave the Tribe a 9-8 advantage at the 17 minute, 43 second mark.
The Green and Gold frequently went into a full-court press in the hope of generating early turnovers, a strategy that proved successful after Reilly and freshman guard Izaiah Pasha gave the ball away multiple times. At first, William and Mary was unable to capitalize on its opponents’ mistakes, failing to convert several fast break scoring opportunities following the steals, and Delaware claimed a 13-9 lead.
Mbeng reversed the trend, stealing the ball from Pasha and banking in a layup on the breakaway. More points came from the press after another Mbeng steal led to a putback layup by junior guard Kyle Pulliam.
Following a successful Timko mid-range shot, Case forced his way to the basket and drew a shooting foul, making both free throws and equalizing the game at 15-15.
After another Delaware triple, Case shook off his defender and got to the rim for an acrobatic layup.
The Blue Hens shot back in front at 11:48 courtesy of a Reilly wing three-pointer, but the Tribe proceeded to rattle off a 9-0 spurt that started off with a Mbeng three-ball from the wing.
On the next play, Mbeng forced a turnover on senior guard Niels Lane. Mbeng kicked the ball out to Boothby, who let his defender sail by before lacing the corner three. The run was capped off with a deep three from Gabe Dorsey, and the Tribe went up 27-21 with 10:33 left in the half.
The Blue Hens hung close in part to a flurry of three-pointers from Pasha, Timko and senior forward John Camden. Camden drained three threes during this stretch, the last of which gave Delaware a 37-35 advantage at the 5:57 mark.
Once again, the Tribe responded with a lopsided run. Mbeng handed the ball to a trailing Gabe Dorsey, who pulled up from deep for a three-ball. Moments later, Mbeng connected with Pulliam for an alley-oop layup. With a hot hand, Pulliam fired up a corner three to give the Tribe a 43-37 lead at the 3:52 mark.
Back-to-back Delaware triples evened the score at 43-43, but six free throws from Pulliam, Lowe and Case put William and Mary in front 49-47 to end the half.
In the first half, three-point scoring carried the offensive load for Delaware, as the Blue
Hens shot a lights-out 12-20 from beyond the arc. The Green and Gold saw significant success getting to the charity stripe, making 11 free throws to Delaware’s one.
On the other side of the break, the Tribe drew first blood after Ndur cut toward the basket and drew a foul on Reilly. The big man made both free throws. Boothby tacked on three more points when Case swung the ball to the forward at the top of the key, extending the Tribe lead to a game-high seven points at the 18:39 mark. However, Delaware used a stretch of hot shooting to surge back in front with authority. The 13-1 run included scores from Timko, Reilly and Camden, putting the Blue Hens up 60-55 at the 16:07 mark.
Pulliam attempted to stop the bleeding with a pair of free throws, and Lowe chipped in two hard-fought layups underneath the rim, but the Tribe still trailed 66-61.
The Blue Hens continued their offensive onslaught, pushing the lead to 73-63 following multiple scores by Camden and senior guard Tahron Allen. At the 8:06 mark, Camden hit his eighth three-pointer of the day to put the Blue Hens up 79-64 and tie the CAA Tournament record for triples in a single game.
William and Mary’s last gasp came at the 3:46 mark, when Boothby nailed a corner three and senior forward Caleb Dorsey converted a hook shot to bring the Tribe within single digits of Delaware.
ETHAN QIN FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
sports
Tribe baseball team loses seven of eight over spring break
Green and Gold nears CAA play having lost 12 of its last 13 contests
William and Mary baseball (5-13, 0-0 CAA) stayed busy during spring break, playing eight games from Friday, March 7 to Friday, March 15. The Tribe managed to secure just one win over the stretch, suffering sweeps at the hands of Kansas State (12-7, 3-0 Big 12) and East Carolina (12-8, 0-0 American), as well as splitting a two-game series against Princeton (3-14, 0-0 Ivy).
With the beginning of Coastal Athletic Association play looming, first-year head coach Rob McCoy’s squad has lost 12 of its last 13 games and sits second-to-last in the conference in RPI, a metric used by the NCAA to rank its teams.
Friday, March 7, the Tribe traveled to Manhattan, Kans., to begin a three-game series against the Kansas State Wildcats at Tointon Family Stadium. The Green and Gold kept the opener competitive, leaning on the pitching duo of senior Carter Lovasz and junior Owen Pierce. The former started the game on the mound and allowed three runs over his five innings, while the latter took over during the final three frames and allowed just one run.
However, the William and Mary offense could not muster up enough firepower to take advantage of the performances of Lovasz and Pierce. Junior catcher Jerry Barnes III doubled home senior outfielder Christian Rush and junior outfielder Charlie Iriotakis in the top of the fourth inning. Still, the Tribe scored no other runs on the day. A solo home run from junior infielder Maximus Martin and an RBI fielder’s choice from sophomore infielder Dee Kennedy sealed the hosts’ 4-2 victory.
The remainder of the series proved far less competitive, as Kansas State beat William and Mary in consecutive seven-inning games by a combined margin of 37-11. Saturday, March 8, the Wildcats’ Martin opened the scoring with a first-inning grand slam, giving his team a lead it would never relinquish. Rush chipped into the deficit with a solo shot, but Martin, who racked up 12 RBI throughout the series, hit another home run the following inning to put the hosts up 8-1.
The Green and Gold had no response to Kansas State’s offensive onslaught and eventually fell by a final score of 17-5.
Sunday, March 9, the Tribe fell victim to a similar fate as Martin again hit two early home runs to put the Green and Gold in a substantial hole. Although an RBI single from Iriotakis and a two-run home run from graduate student outfielder Ben Parker briefly gave William and Mary its only advantage of the series, the Wildcats used their explosive offense to regain the lead with authority. The fifth inning saw Kansas State record six hits and nine runs as the hosts cruised to a 20-6 win.
Rush led the way for William and Mary during the three-game series, racking up five hits, three extra-base hits and two RBIs. However, the Tribe’s pitchers gave up 37 earned runs, allowing Kansas State to score in 15 of the 21 innings they came to the plate. As a team, the Green and Gold currently sport an ERA of 11.00, with Pierce being the only individual pitcher to boast an ERA below 7.00.
William and Mary returned to the field Tuesday, March 11, hosting a two-game series against Princeton at Plumeri Park in Williamsburg, Va. Before the opener, McCoy made clear that he did not see his first-year status as a viable excuse for the Tribe’s losing efforts.
“We had a rough weekend at Kansas State,” he said. “It was good because it was a kind of come-toJesus moment for the team. We really had to take a step back yesterday. We sat down as a team and talked about not just the priorities for them but what direction we’re headed—whether some of them like it or not—what we wanted to see in terms of their attitude and their effort, the support they have as teammates, and basically what we’re all doing here. It was a good sit-down.”
McCoy spoke on the upcoming game. “So the big
thing [against Princeton] is I want to see how they respond to that,” he added. “We talked about a lot of stuff, but the overarching thing is that transition is hard, but it’s still expected that everyone gets on the same page and everyone buys into what we’re doing. The biggest thing I want to see today is a continued effort and progress towards the effort and championship-level culture that we want.”
Princeton scored two runs in the first inning, but a solo home run from Parker on Princeton’s third pitch of the game quickly put William and Mary on the board. Later in the same frame, Rush reached base on a fielder’s choice, sophomore outfielder Anthony Greco singled and graduate student utilityman Derek Holmes singled Rush home to even the score.
The second inning was similarly high-octane.
William and Mary junior starter Darren Osborne loaded the bases and walked in a run, prompting McCoy to replace him with freshman reliever Tyler Kelly. Kelly retired a batter to end the inning, but not before surrendering a two-run single that gave the visitors a 5-2 lead. Parker’s second RBI of the afternoon instantly brought the Green and Gold within striking distance before a Greco three-run homer catapulted the hosts back in front by one.
The following innings saw RBI singles from sophomore infielder Kevin Francella and Greco pad the Tribe’s advantage as strong frames from Kelly and freshman reliever Jack Weight kept Princeton at bay.
However, the Tigers got to Weight in the top of the fifth. With his team down 8-6 and two men on base, Princeton junior infielder Jake Koonin deposited a pitch over the left field fence to reclaim the lead.
William and Mary sophomore reliever Daniel Lingle shut down the Tigers until an Iriotakis single evened the score at 9-9 in the bottom of the eighth, but the final frame would go Princeton’s way. With sophomore reliever Tom Bourque on the mound, the visitors capitalized on several Tribe miscues, parlaying a fielding error, a hit by pitch and a passed ball into three runs.
With the Tribe down to its final out, Rush smashed a two-run homer down the left field line, but it proved to be too little, too late. Junior catcher Witt Scafidi grounded out to first base, and the Tigers took the first game of the series by a score of 12-11.
William and Mary outhit Princeton 16-12, hit three home runs to Princeton’s one, recorded six extra base hits to Princeton’s one, struck out three times to Princeton’s 11 and batted .450 with runners in scoring position to Princeton’s .313. Greco finished 3-3 at the plate, and Parker racked up a career-high four hits. However, the hosts were haunted by selfinflicted errors, committing four to Princeton’s zero. Kelly and Bourque’s statlines were both marred by unearned runs.
“I think this game was a microcosm of what we’ve seen from the Tribe this year,” William and Mary sports information director Shelton Moss said. “They did some good things, particularly on offense, and they did some not-so-good things, particularly on the pitching side and on defense, giving too many free bases to Princeton. That’s been the story of the year so far. They just have to find a way to make those routine plays.”
The Tribe has now committed 50 errors on the season, a number that ranks higher than every Division I team other than Prairie View A&M.
“[Today was] more of the same,” said McCoy. “Obviously, the offense is there, but we’re still sort of out of position defensively. We didn’t pitch great, but we pitched well enough to win if you go by earned runs. So we need to play cleaner defense, which— we’re asking a lot, we’ve got two players who are significantly out of position, which handcuffs us. On the pitching side of things, we’re not deep, so we’re searching for those extra arms, and we’re trying to put guys in situations where we think they’ll be most successful. The truth of it is, in some cases they’re just not getting it done. We’re going to keep searching for those guys.”
Wednesday, March 12, William and Mary and Princeton met again at Plumeri Park in a contest far less dramatic than the one before it. The Tigers struck first, scoring on a fielder’s choice in the first inning, but the visitors failed to record another run for the remainder of the game. Tribe sophomore starter Chad Yates pitched four innings and gave up only one run before senior reliever Nick Lottchea and freshman reliever Zach Boyd combined to throw five scoreless frames.
Iriotakis and graduate student infielder Owen Wilson each recorded RBI singles in the third inning, giving the Green and Gold a lead it would preserve until the game’s end. En route to a five-RBI day, Iriotakis smacked another RBI single during the fifth inning before hitting his first career home run during the eighth inning.
The Tribe turned the tables on its opponents and took advantage of a multitude of mistakes by Princeton pitching, which racked up nine walks, four wild pitches and four hit by pitches on the afternoon. Conversely, William and Mary pitchers threw no wild pitches, hit no batters and walked just three batters. The Green and Gold committed no errors during the game and coasted to an 18-1 victory.
Parker, Iriotakis and freshman infielder Jamie Laskofski led the way for the Tribe with three hits each, while Holmes drew three walks and hit an RBI single. Rush and Carmichael each contributed an RBI. Greco recorded a single and a walk, extending his on-base streak to 12 consecutive plate appearances.
Friday, March 14, William and Mary hit the road for the first leg of a three-game weekend series against East Carolina at Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C. The Pirates dominated in all aspects of the seven-inning opener, racking up 12 hits and three home runs. ECU sophomore starter Ethan Norby hurled a complete game shutout, and junior infielder Dixon Williams and graduate student catcher John Collins combined to drive in eight runs.
William and Mary’s Lovasz was rocked for ten earned runs over 3.2 frames, and the Tribe’s offense was held to just five singles on the day. A thirdinning bases-loaded situation marked the only time the Green and Gold advanced a runner past first base. William and Mary fell by a final score of 12-0.
Saturday, March 15, the Tribe was swept in a doubleheader to conclude the series. The early game was even more lopsided than Friday’s game, as East Carolina tagged William and Mary senior starter Reed Interdonato for nine runs in the first inning before piling four more on his replacement, junior reliever Connor Kolarov. Home runs in the subsequent frame by freshman outfielder Alex Peltier and junior outfielder Jack Herring put the Pirates up 17-0.
Sparked by an Iriotakis single, the Tribe fired back in the top of the third. After a Barnes groundout and a Wilson single advanced Iriotakis to third base, the latter scampered home after a wild pitch from ECU freshman reliever Sean Jenkins. Subsequent hits from Parker and Carmichael drove in two more runs, and William and Mary cashed in on a Rush double after Greco shot a two-RBI single through the right side of the infield. By the end of the inning, the Green and Gold trailed 17-5.
After three scoreless frames, the Tribe threatened again as Carmichael and Rush got on base to start the fifth inning. A Greco lineout advanced Carmichael to third base, from where he was brought home by a Holmes single. Iriotakis scrapped out an infield single to load the bases, but sophomore catcher Charlie Felmlee hit into a double play to end the inning with the scoreboard reading 17-6.
A sixth-inning Williams home run brought the Pirates’ 18th and 19th runs across the plate, killing any chance of a Tribe rally. Carmichael, Holmes and Rush each enjoyed multi-hit games, and Boyd hurled four innings in relief and gave up only two runs, but the Green and Gold ultimately couldn’t overcome the hosts’ offensive onslaught and fell 19-6 in seven innings.
East Carolina opened the second leg of the doubleheader in similarly explosive fashion, stringing together six first-inning runs against graduate student starter Ryan Feczko, who managed
to record just one out. Pierce replaced him and retired the side, but the Tribe found itself in an early hole for the fifth consecutive game.
However, the Green and Gold immediately mounted a frantic rally that erased its deficit. Although Iriotakis and Francella came up emptyhanded during the Tribe’s first two at-bats of the inning, ECU freshman starter Lance Williams hit Barnes with a pitch to give the visitors some breathing room. Wilson and Laskofski singled and walked, loading the bases and Parker cashed in the Tribe’s chips with an RBI single that made the score 6-1.
Carmichael proceeded to drive home two more runs with an RBI double before Rush shot a bases-clearing single through the left side of the infield. The scoreboard now reading 6-5, Williams hit Holmes with another errant pitch, prompting the pitcher’s removal. Iriotakis capitalized on Williams’ mistake, tying the game with a single.
Pierce remained on the mound for the next 5.2 innings, holding East Carolina to three runs and one extra-base hit. The hosts rebuilt their lead with RBI sacrifices in the second and third innings, but a fourth-inning Carmichael RBI single kept William and Mary within striking distance. A sixth-inning RBI single from freshman infielder Braden Burress was canceled out by an eighth-inning Parker RBI double, and Pierce’s replacement Lottchea escaped a no-outs, basesloaded jam in the eighth by striking out Williams and prompting a groundout from Collins. The Tribe entered the final frame down 9-8.
Iriotakis and Greco both drew walks to begin the ninth inning, causing ECU to remove senior reliever Jake Hunter in favor of sophomore reliever Colby Wallace. Attempting to move the runners into scoring position, Barnes laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Wallace fired the ball to third base and picked off the lead runner Iriotakis, invalidating the Tribe’s strategy. Wilson proceeded to strike out swinging before Laskofski flew out to left field, allowing East Carolina to escape with a hotlycontested victory.
Parker racked up four hits, bringing his team-leading batting average to .410, while Carmichael recorded three. Although Feczko gave up six earned runs in the first inning, Pierce and Lottchea held ECU to three runs over the remainder of the game. At 20.0, Pierce has hurled the second-most innings on the team behind Lovasz, and his ERA now sits at a sparkling 1.80.
Over the course of the series, the Tribe scored 14 runs and recorded 28 hits. The defense was much improved from earlier in the week, committing just one error in each ECU game; however, the pitching still struggled mightily, allowing 40 runs in 20 innings.
The Tribe returns to the field on Wednesday for a game against Old Dominion (5-12, 1-2 SBC) at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex in Norfolk, Va.
CHARLES VAUGHAN FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
CAROLYN REID / THE FLAT HAT
Owen Pierce has impressed at the mound for the Tribe.
CAROLYN REID /
CAROLYN REID / THE FLAT HAT
Ben Parker leads the Tribe in batting average, hits and OPS.
