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College announces graudation speaker Melody Hobson to speak at commencement ceremony KARINA VIZZONI AND SARAH GREENBERG FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITORS
March 3, the College of William and Mary announced that former DreamWorks chair Mellody Hobson will serve as the 2020 Commencement Ceremony speaker May 16. In addition to speaking at the event, Hobson will be given an honorary degree. Hobson served as President of Ariel Investments for nearly 20 years before being promoted to her current position as co-CEO and chair board of trustees. As co-CEO and Board of Trustees chair, she is responsible for managing the company’s activity beyond research and portfolio management, and also leads their publicly traded mutual funds. In addition to chairing DreamWorks Animation’s board until the company’s recent sale, highlights from Hobson’s career include serving as a director of JPMorgan Chase and Quibi, as well as vice chair of the Starbucks Corporation. Throughout her career, Hobson has used her voice to stress the significance of financial literacy by serving as a contributor for CBS News and ABC’s “Good Morning America”, along with writing at Black Enterprise Magazine. Her charitable pursuits extend to chairing the nonprofit organization After School Matters, vice chairing World Business Chicago and cochairing the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Hobson received various honorary degrees from accredited universities, including one last year from her alma mater, Princeton University, which awarded her their prestigious Woodrow Wilson Award. She was also previously featured as one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” of 2015. “Mellody Hobson embodies the highest ideals of a William & Mary education: excellence, curiosity and generosity. We cannot wait to hear from her,” College President Katherine Rowe said in a press release. Attorney and supporter of the College Donald Patten as well as artist, performer and writer Faith Ringgold will receive honorary degrees at the College’s 2020 Commencement Ceremony. Ringgold specializes in mixed media artwork and is also a writer, teacher and lecturer, as well as an author of various children’s books. Patten practices law in Newport News, Va., and served on the College’s Board of Visitors 1999 to 2003 and was the College’s rector from 2001 to 2003. “Our honorees are game-changers in their disparate fields, whose vision and leadership serve as wonderful inspirations for William & Mary’s graduates at Commencement,” Rowe said.
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Students mobilize for primary Straw poll indicates campus Super Tuesday preferences
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ETHAN BROWN // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tuesday, March 3, members of the College of William and Mary community will cast ballots in the 2020 Virginia Democratic Primary. The primary — one of 14 contests taking place throughout the country this Super Tuesday — will determine the allocation of Virginia’s 99 pledged delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis. this July. College students, faculty and staff in Williamsburg vote during an uncertain phase of the Democratic primary. Following initial contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, numerous candidates possess somewhat viable paths towards the nomination. As of March 2, the New York Times’ Democratic delegate count shows Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders narrowly leading the pledged delegate count with 56 delegates. He is followed by former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who dropped out of the race Sun. March 1. Biden and Buttigieg both claimed 48 delegates and 26 delegates respectively. A candidate must receive 1,991 delegates to be nominated on the first count in Milwaukee. Given the closeness of early contests, Virginia has emerged as a competitive battleground state in the Democratic primary. Recent polls indicate a close race between Sanders, Biden and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with a narrow margin separating the three contenders on the cusp of Super Tuesday. In preparing students for the primary, the College’s chapter of NextGen America, a national progressive group, hosted a mock primary Tuesday, Feb. 25. During the informal straw poll, prospective voters cast ‘ballots’ with Skittles, placing one candy in their preferred candidate’s designated jar. After a two-hour voting period with the participation of several dozen students, the final results surprised NextGen volunteers Annaliese Estes ’21 and Maddi Nicol ’21. Estes said that Sanders handily swept the straw poll, winning 38 out of 68 Skittles cast — approximately
SANDERS WARREN GABBARD BIDEN GR AP HI C CB SI OU Y C M RT H PL E AR E. SY LE W IM S IK C IP AG OL ED E EM IA S / A .O FL N / RG IC TH KR E .C FL O AT M H , AT
Vol. 110, Iss. 2 | Tuesday, March 3, 2020
The Flat Hat
BLOOMBERG 55 percent of the vote. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren won second place, earning 17 votes, followed by Buttigieg with 6, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who dropped out of the race Mon. March 2, with 4, Bloomberg with 2 and Biden with 1. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and philanthropist Tom Steyer, who has also since dropped out from the race, failed to earn any votes in the straw poll. Estes said she was most surprised by Biden’s underperformance. “We were a bit shocked by that,” Estes said. “My personal idea going into it was that when younger votes are choosing between Democrats who are a bit more establishment and older, Biden was usually their first choice … I was surprised that Bloomberg had more.” Beyond the mock primary, NextGen
plans to conduct get-out-the-vote operations Tuesday, encouraging students to vote in the Democratic primary regardless of their individual candidate preferences. Nicol said that NextGen intends to support whoever becomes the Democratic Party’s nominee following the primaries and mentioned that the organization seeks to maximize student awareness about candidates’ platforms on several issues — especially gun safety, the environment, healthcare and student loan forgiveness — in the run-up to November’s general election. While NextGen organizers sought to promote political awareness in the weeks preceding the primary, some students at the College have volunteered as on-campus affiliates of national Democratic campaigns, distributing promotional materials and
garnering support among members of the Williamsburg community. Among these students is Hayley Scheir ’22, who has worked with Warren’s presidential campaign on campus this semester. Scheir said she will vote for Warren in Tuesday’s primary because of her well-developed plans and progressive policy proposals. “I think Elizabeth Warren is the best candidate because she seems to have the most thorough plans for everything, all the policies she wants,” Scheir said. “Also, I would love to see a woman in the White House.” When asked who her second choice was, Scheir said that Sanders would be her preferred alternative. Sam Cooksey ’22, a Sanders supporter, similarly stated that he would be willing to support Warren See PRIMARY page 3
STUDENT LIFE
Coronavirus warnings increase campus concern, halt study abroad programs College announces closure of external programs in Italy, encourages students to limit spring break travel CARMEN HONKER FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
Saturday, Feb. 29, Italy and Iran joined China and South Korea on the College of William and Mary’s restricted destinations list due to the elevated Centers for Disease Control Level 3 warning and the U.S. State Department Level 3 Travel Advisory concerning the spread of COVID-19, more popularly known as the coronavirus. The decision thus condemned all university-sponsored travel and subsequently prohibited all undergraduate students from remaining in the countries as a part of study abroad programs. By the time the College made the decision to remove all students from Italy, some third-party Index Profile News Opinions Variety Sports
study abroad providers, such as the Syracuse University program in Florence, had already canceled their operations for the remainder of the semester. The College contacted all students in Italy, along with their program providers Feb. 29 with their decision, superseding any pending decision of non-College programs. In the Feb, 29 email from International Travel and Security Manager Nick Vasquez, students were directed to make their arrangements to return home and to notify the Global Education Office of their secured departure date. “We determined that we had already set precedent by putting China and South Korea on the W&M restricted destination list, as well as our own assessment of 3rd party providers pulling out of the country, that we should elevate Italy to our restricted destination list,” Vasquez said in an email.
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According to Vasquez, Italy was the first country to be placed on the restricted destinations list in which a group of over 20 of the College’s students were studying. Managing the travel and transfer credits of the students while communicating with the many third-party providers presents some challenges, according to Vasquez. The GEO will be working with the students to provide support for potential distance learning options and online courses. “… We are working with each provider to see how best to accommodate each student,” Vasquez said. “Some providers are offering students the chance to finish the program with online and distance learning. But ultimately GEO will work with each student to support their efforts to receive credit.” Blair Houska ’21 is among the students who
Political hostility undermines party unity Lucas Harsche ‘22 says that political disagreements have devolved into childish behavior. page 5
will be traveling home in the coming days. Houska was studying in Florence through an SAI program for the semester. Houska said that her program told her that they would attempt to provide reimbursements for recoverable costs, although tuition would likely not be included since the students will continue to finish their courses. Both the College and Houska’s program offered contacts in case difficulties arose in securing a return flight. Given the context of the spread of an international virus and the calls of other U.S. universities to suspend abroad programs in Italy, Houska said she was not surprised by the College’s decision to send all students in Italy home. “I definitely was not surprised about the See CORONAVIRUS page 4
Inside Sports
Confusion Corner: rock around the Wren
Matthew Kortan ’22 recounts the various ideas he’s had for band names based on things he’s seen on campus. page 8
March Sadness
The Flat Hat looks back at the College’s past basketball disappointments as both teams try to make history in the CAA tournament this year. page 10