Vol. 108, Iss. 15 | Tuesday, October 2, 2018
The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper of
The College of William and Mary
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any students trek to and from class across the paths around the Earl Gregg Swem Library’s sundial. Now, this sundial and its well-traveled connecting walkways have a new name: the Mary-Cooke Branch Munford Plaza. When the College of William and Mary’s Board of Visitors met Friday, Sept. 28, one of its final resolutions was to honor Mary-Cooke Branch Munford, the first woman appointed to the Board. This resolution officially renamed the area between the Earl Gregg Swem Library, Andrews Hall, Small Hall and the Integrated Science Center. “It’s an area that’s traveled by just about every person that comes to William and Mary whether you’re on a visit or a student in the area,” Board Secretary Sue Gerdelman ’76 said. Gerdelman introduced the resolution, which was a product of the 100th Anniversary Committee, led by law professor Jayne Barnard and Director of Alumnae Initiatives Val Cushman. Gerdelman said that Barnard and Cushman considered several possible ways to honor Munford, and decided on renaming this plaza because of its symbolic significance. Gerdelman said that she finds this area fitting for the tribute because it connects social sciences, performing arts and science buildings, which were all disciplines Munford supported. “On the William & Mary campus, at the heart of the new campus, there is clearly defined ‘diamond within a square’ … This area connects – physically via brick walkways – the fine arts, the sciences, literature, history, social sciences and more,” the BOV resolution says. “These were opportunities that MaryCooke Branch Munford longed for as a young woman and fought for in her advocacy for co-education.” Previously, the College had named a building at the Dillard Complex in her honor, but because those buildings are now only used for active shooter and firefighter training, her name has been removed.
Sundial renamed for BOV pioneer SARAH SMITH // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Mary-Cooke Branch Munford was women’s rights advocate, first female Board member
“None of us realized that we had a building named for her out at Dillard [that is now] used as the fire department’s training facility, so her family had asked for her name to be off that building,” Gerdelman said. “Her name has now been off that building.” Munford was raised in Richmond, Virginia, and is often cited as a prominent women’s rights advocate. She was also passionate about educational reform. She helped found the Richmond Education Association in 1901 and held various leadership positions in the Cooperative Education Association of Virginia, which was founded in 1903. Munford supported Virginia General Assembly legislation that allowed for co-education at the College beginning in 1918, and in 1920 she was appointed to the College’s Board, becoming the first woman to serve in that seat. She also supported legislation to allow co-education at the University of Virginia, but was not successful at the time. In 1926, she was appointed to the UVA Board of Visitors. “Throughout her life, Mary-Cooke Branch Munford was an advocate for women and for women’s education,” the BOV resolution says. “She was a founder of the Richmond Women’s Club. She advocated universal public education (K-8), traveling and lobbying with an interracial team throughout the South. She was a founder and leader of the Richmond Education Association, which lobbied for education for both black and white children. Under her direction as president, this organization worked for such goals as rural high schools, improved teacher training, agricultural and industrial education, and the establishment of local school improvement leagues.” The resolution also declares that the Board will be responsible for presenting a copy of the final resolution to Munford’s family, and for sharing the College’s appreciation for the work that Munford did during her life.
CAMPUS
Business hatches: Students coop up in Tribe Square for Chick-fil-A opening Fast-food chain Chick-fil-A returns to campus after construction, equipment issues delayed opening
MADELINE MONROE FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
Monday, Oct. 1, Chick-fil-A officially opened its doors to students, faculty and community members — the first establishment in Tribe Square to do so in over a year since previous tenants The Crust and Pita Pit closed in 2017. Originally, Chick-fil-A was situated in the College of William and Mary’s Marketplace dining hall but was closed because of renovations in 2014. Chick-fil-A’s new location, which fills the vacancy left by Pita Pit, underwent its own renovation. Sodexo Resident District Manager Jason Aupied said that an issue with the equipment’s exhaust system, along with other construction challenges, caused delays. Aside from those problems, Aupied said that construction went well, and he is excited to see how students utilize the space. “Chick-fil-A is a highly recognized brand synonymous with high customer service and quality products,” Aupied said in an email Friday. “Our hope is that students will find great value in these aspects as an extension of their meal plan. The location of the restaurant at Tribe Square is also likely to appeal to the local community, off-campus population and visitors as well.” The location allows students to use Dining Dollars and Express from their meal plans, and Aupied said that they expect to accrue 60 percent of its sale in this way. “While the community will see many of the same menu items that appear at a full-service location, the campus menu will feature top selling items such as the Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich, Waffle Potato Fries, fruit cups, lemonade and treats like Icedream,” Aupied said in an email. “The menu will exclude soup, strips, breakfast burritos and bagels. Additionally, only one entrée salad will be offered.” Operations Manager Jason Vercammen said that after preparations
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late last week, Monday’s grand opening went well and saw students line up outside the door. “We did like a little fun run on Friday, so we invited the residents who were above us and some other student groups on campus and some of the administration on campus to come by and give a little test out on the register,” Vercammen said. “Then on Saturday we did an open house. We gave out 250 sandwiches to passersby and brought the cow out and took some pictures to just get everybody ready for today’s opening.” Chick-fil-A Grand Opening Trainer Charvis Mills said that the establishment is still trying to work out some issues from opening day but hopes to resolve them by the end of the week. Aupied said that Dining Dollars were not processing Monday morning, but the staff has since fixed the issue. “We’re still working some things out, but we’re so much further along than what I anticipated, which is a good thing, especially on the first day,” Mills said. Aupied said that while it will take some time for the establishment to learn customer traffic patterns, the current flow of traffic aligns with predictions made by looking at other areas of campus. “We know on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, we’re going to see those rushes right at 11, at noon, 1, 2 and then tomorrow [and Thursdays], I’m guessing it’s going to be about 20 minutes later,” Aupied said. “There are going to be some lines, but we’re getting people through quickly.” Robert Metaxatos ’21 said that he wished for outdoor seating, which was absent from the restaurant’s grand opening. Currently, the establishment has 42 seats inside the restaurant, with staff intending to add 47 seats outside if the Williamsburg Architectural Review Board approves the plans to do so, according to Aupied. Metaxatos said that the addition of Chick-fil-A suits the College’s current phase of construction and expansion. “If [the College] is trying to increase revenue, commodities and also [the employment of] more staff, it seems important to have this kind of satellite
Sunny, High 87, Low 70
MADELINE MONORE / THE FLAT HAT
Chick-fil-A opened Monday, Oct. 1 to a flood of students, community members.
Inside Variety
Inside Opinions
Additional flashing beacons needed on crosswalks around campus to promote safety
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thing,” Metaxatos said. “I hope that this is almost something that urges more satellite kind of places like Chick-fil-A.” Cameron How ’20 said that he was glad to see the vacancy left by Pita Pit filled. He also said that his experience at Chick-fil-A so far had been positive, with the managerial staff being friendly and efficient. “I’m very excited to have Chick-fil-A here,” How said. “I think it’ll be an awesome space to bring the community together, which is good. Obviously, the students are super, super, super excited. I’m also glad that I can use Dining Dollars and that it’s another outlet to use that money. … Having something that fill that space is awesome.”
Jack Bowden ’19 says that crosswalks on Richmond and Jamestown Roads need greater safeguards for pedestrians. page 6
Lights, camera, action
Isaac Davis ’20 talks about his passion for filmmaking and quest to grow Identity Production Studios, the company he started himself. page 7
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News Editor Leonor Grave News Editor Madeline Monroe fhnews@gmail.com
The Flat Hat | Tuesday, October 2, 2018 | Page 2
THE BUZZ
For a lot of people, the gazebo was a place to sit peacefully along the butterfly sanctuary and everything. It’s always been an emotional place where I can go and just chill or whenever things get rough, like classes or social stuff, and so it’s an odd feeling to feel that place has been taken, because it was my favorite spot on campus. — Gazebo memorial service organizer Juliane Cook ’21 on what the removal of the structure means for campus culture
POLICE BEAT
Sept. 27-28
What happened to the monarchs?
Anna Chahuneau ’18 draws attention to disappearing butterflies through documentary LEONOR GRAVE // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
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Thursday, Sept. 27 — Foul play at hand: A charge of simple assault was reported on Longhill Road.
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Friday, Sept. 28 — Mysterious tampering: A charge of destruction of property/vandalism was reported on Richmond Road between 12:01 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
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Friday, Sept. 28 — Colonial heist: Police received report of a robbery on Second Street.
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Friday, Sept. 28 — Weekend wandering: Michael Uhrig was arrested on charges of public intoxication or swearing at the intersection of Jamestown Road and Chandler Court. POLICE BEAT BY LEONOR GRAVE / THE FLAT HAT
A THOUSAND WORDS
COURTESY PHOTO / ANNA CHAHUNEAU
Anna Chahuneau ’18 spent a total of two years at the College working on her butterfly documentary, which has since been screened at multiple film festivals.
COURTESY PHOTO / ALMA MATER PRODUCTIONS
CORRECTIONS The Flat Hat wishes to correct any fact printed incorrectly. Corrections may be submitted in email to the editor of the section in which the incorrect information was printed. Requests for corrections will be accepted at any time.
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From its opening shot, “Pursuing the Monarchs” is dazzling. The documentary, written and directed by Anna Chahuneau ’18, opens with thousands of monarch butterflies flying around in the dense green jungle of Michoacan, Mexico. The film is a 50-minute visual exploration of the monarch butterfly, its habitat and interviews with specialists on the subject. Since its release, the documentary has been chosen as an official selection of the Gottlieb Native Garden Green Earth Film Festival, the Festival de Cine Verde de Barichara, the Strasburg Film Festival and the Santa Cruz Film Festival. Finding the intersection of science and culture Before Chahuneau was chasing monarch butterflies across North America, she was growing up in Paris, France. She considered applying to medical school but changed her path when she decided the sight of blood just wasn’t for her. A certain part of her college decision was left to chance — Chahuneau said she remembers looking at a map of the United States and settling upon Virginia. “I realized that I was really afraid of blood, so medicine wasn’t going to go really well for me, and so I decided to switch and I sort of fell into William and Mary without knowing really anything about this place,” Chahuneau said. At the College of William and Mary, Chahuneau became involved with biology professor Harmony Dalgleish’s lab, where she was first introduced to the scientific phenomenon of the monarch butterfly migration. Instead of an academic paper, she decided she wanted her senior thesis project to focus on finding a common ground between the scientific community and everyone else. “What I’m really interested about is bridging the gap between [academia and] people like me, who are interested in science, but think that scientific papers are not always super attainable,” Chahuneau said. “So I want to bridge that gap and be the voice in between that explains to the general public why science matters, especially in the light of today’s problems.” In the documentary, Chahuneau combines footage of monarch butterflies in their overwintering site in Michoacan, Mexico, with interviews with academics who research the migration of monarch butterflies and field conservationists. The documentary focuses on the dangers that the monarch butterfly population faces. In the last 20 years, 90 percent of the world’s monarch butterfly population has disappeared, and the film argues that this is in large part due to agriculture and deforestation — partly due to illegal logging in Michoacan — in the butterflies’ Mexican habitat. Increased use of herbicides on corn fields are also detrimental to monarch breeding. The documentary is about butterflies, but it also about how the monarch is representative of a broader deterioration of the environment. Exploring visual storytelling While Chahuneau made this project her honors thesis, this was hardly her first time working with film and media to tell stories. Chahuneau was also a teaching assistant for the Communicating Environmental Science with Documentary Film class, and she worked for two years at the Reeder Media Center in Earl Gregg Swem Library.
She also participated in the 24 Speed Filmmaking Festival every year. Her final film for that competition, “A Love Letter,” was a three-minute meditation on themes of nature and environmental destruction. Still, a full-length feature documentary presented some challenges, especially for a full-time student balancing two majors in Chinese and biology. The final product of the film was two years in the making, and involved a significant amount of travel to shoot on-site at various monarch habitats, as well as visits with professors at different universities who specialize in the subject of monarch butterfly migration. “It was truly a really step-by-step process,” Chahuneau said. “I would take one step, meet one person, and that person would tell me about another person that I should go interview. I think that that really important link was meeting [Sweet Briar College biology professor Lincoln Brower] — he’s the king of monarchs, essentially, in the scientific world. Everyone knows him.” The people behind the research Brower, who is heavily featured in the documentary, and whom Chahuneau credits with prompting her breakthrough in the filming process, died this past July at the age of 86. It was after her meeting with Brower that Chahuneau decided she needed to shoot on-site in Michoacan. She said she became so enthralled in that conversation that she became enthusiastic about finding out more about what happened to the monarchs, and she got to scheduling interviews. “There was no way the film would reflect the true urgency of the problem without me going physically to Mexico and filming the people who are there,” Chahuneau said. “... I wanted to make a thesis about butterflies, but in the end the project ends up being so much more than something about me. It’s about monarchs and it’s about the people who work to conserve the environment.” Chahuneau also credited her partner Henry Sho Kellam '17, who worked with her as a cinematographer for the United States shoots and helped with audio design in Mexico, for being supportive throughout the entire process of making this film. “He’s just been there for me, from the beginning,” Chahuneau said. After she graduated in May, Chahuneau moved to Cambodia to work with an animal conservation center, the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity, as a science communicator and digital media creator. However, “Pursuing the Monarchs” is only the beginning for Chahuneau, who hopes to continue to work within the medium of documentary filmmaking, even if she predicts that it won’t be an easy field to break into. “It’s going to be really hard, because documentary making in general, is a very complicated industry,” Chahuneau said. “Even though it seems to be doing well on the outside, there’s just not that much funding for it. I think it’s going to be a hard process, but I know that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life. There’s just no way I can do something else and be fulfilled.”
Moises Romero Business Manager Kiana Espinoza Operations Coordinator Jack Bowden Webmaster Leonor Grave News Editor Madeline Monroe News Editor Heather Baier Variety Editor Carmen Honker Variety Editor Brendan Doyle Sports Editor Julia Stumbaugh Sports Editor Ethan Brown Opinions Editor Katherine Yenzer Opinions Editor
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Anna Boustany Assoc. Opinions Editor Sarah Greenberg Assoc. News Editor Claudia Santa Anna Assoc. Photos Editor Karina Vizzoni Assoc. News Editor Sebastian Ye Assoc. Photos Editor William Allen Assoc. News Editor Leslie Davis Social Media Editor Sarah Farney Assoc. Variety Editor Abby Graham Blogs Editor Maggie More Assoc. Variety Editor Jae Cho Graphics Editor Renee Napoliello Assoc. Variety Editor Julia Dalzell Copy Editor Kevin Richeson Assoc. Sports Editor Michaela Flemming Copy Editor Catherine Schefer Assoc. Sports Editor Rachel Morgan Copy Editor Anthony Madalone Assoc. Opinions Editor Alex Neumann Copy Editor
COURTESY PHOTOS / ANNA CHAHUNEAU
In the last 20 years, the monarch butterfly population has decreased by 90 percent. Biologists attribute this to excessive agriculture and deforestation.
Page 4
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
CAMPUS
Admissions implements Coalition Application College increases application format options, deadlines for prospective students Major changes are underway at the College of William and Mary Office of Undergraduate Admission. For the first time, the College will be accepting applications from the Coalition for College. The Coalition for College is a college-planning and application service that is accepted by over 140 institutions nationwide. According to its website, the Coalition for College aims to improve the college application process for students, particularly those from groups which are historically underrepresented among college students. To achieve this mission, Coalition for College provides the MyCoalition service that provides free college-planning services to prospective college students. Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission Tim Wolfe ‘95 M.Ed ‘01 said he sees the Coalition Application as a way to offer new opportunities for a new generation of students “It was an opportunity to partner with about 150 institutions nationwide …to provide an additional application option,” Wolfe said in an email. “Moreover, it enables all of us to convey a more powerful college-going message together, especially in efforts to support students from underrepresented backgrounds.” The College is not the only public institution of higher education in Virginia that will begin accepting the Coalition Application this year: the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and James Madison University will all accept the Coalition Application beginning this upcoming year. This marks the first time that students will be able to apply to all four of the aforementioned schools via one shared application. “Something that is really exciting, the Coalition App is aimed at making college applications more accessible,” Undergraduate Admission Senior Interviewer Amy Folkerts ’19 said. “There are a lot of great tools that make it more accessible for students that haven’t been as groomed in the college application process.” In addition to the decision to implement the Coalition Application, the College is adding a new early decision option. In tandem with early decision 1 and regular decision, the College will be offering a separate early decision 2 option. Early decision 2 will have the same deadline as regular decision: Jan. 1. However, early decision 2 applicants will be notified about their acceptance earlier, a date which Wolfe predicts will fall in the second week of February.
The Coalition Application is one of two application formats that the Office of Undergraduate Admission will be reviewing this year. The College will be accepting the more widely used Common Application along with the new Coalition Application. “It should be mentioned that while we are excited about offering the Coalition Application, we have been, and continue to be, strong supporters of the Common Application,” Wolfe said. “The Coalition Application offers some enhanced features to assist students in organizing their college search prior to applying senior year. However, both applications continue to innovate and offer improving functionality.”
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... the Coalition App is aimed at making college applications more accessible. There are a lot of great tools that make it more accessible for students that haven’t been as grounded in the college application process. — Tim Wolfe ‘95 M.Ed ‘01
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WILLIAM ALLEN FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR
These new changes to admission are all currently implemented in the application process. Going forward in the 2018 application cycle, prospective students for the class of 2023 can apply with the Coalition Application and early decision two. Student interviewers are already being trained to process
these new Coalition Applications. During their summer training, the interviewers tested filling out both a Common and Coalition Application. “We made our own application that got to fill information we would have as a high school senior or now and just kinda see what it would be like to go through the process of doing it,” Folkerts said. On top of deciding whether to apply by early decision or regular decision, prospective students will now be facing a choice of whether to apply by Common or Coalition Application. Wolfe saw this choice as one of personal, regional and collegiate preference. “Ultimately, it is likely to come down to the personal preferences of students and their specific high school,” Wolfe said in an email. “Additionally, which application students decide to use may be driven by their college lists. While we accept both applications, there are colleges that only use one of the options. Given that, students may decide which application to use simply based on where else they plan to apply.” Because the Common Application is accepted by a greater number of institutions, the Office of Undergraduate Admission expects to receive more Common Applications than Coalition Applications, at least for this year. “This may vary, especially over time, based on different regions and which application is more prevalent in individual states,” Wolfe said in an email. Wolfe also stressed that while there are two separate applications, the Office of Undergraduate Admission will consider the applications equally and abide by the same criteria when reviewing them. “A student should feel comfortable applying through either application, and should have no need to worry that using one over the other will bring an advantage,” Wolfe said in an email. The Office of Undergraduate Admission does not foresee the new application option affecting class demographics dramatically in the upcoming year as it is being implemented. “Over time, though, we hope the ability to offer two different applications will increase access for students and enhance visibility for W&M overall,” Wolfe said in an email. Above all, there seems to be a sense of optimism among the Undergraduate Admission staff with regard to these new policies and their implementation. “I think it’s really positive that our school’s admissions policy isn’t rigid and that there are multiple options available to the students,” Undergraduate Admission Senior Interviewer Jerry Shaen ’19 said.
opinions
Opinions Editor Ethan Brown Opinions Editor Katherine Yenzer fhopinions@gmail.com
The Flat Hat | Tuesday, October 2, 2018 | Page 5
STAFF COLUMNS
Students react to bikes on campus GRAPHIC BY MAGGIE MORE / THE FLAT HAT
Bikes provide ease of transportation, Bikes are problematic safety concern, improve accessibility on campus daily source of stress for pedestrians
Katherine Yenzer
Ethan Brown
FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR
FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR
I love riding my bike at the College of William and Mary. I know that by admitting that, most of the people reading this article now hate me, but I do. I love my bike. I used to be someone who couldn’t stand bikers on campus, and when one by one my friends started getting bikes, I gave every one of them a hard time. So, I completely understand why so many students hate bikers on campus. Bikers on campus have a tendency not to look out for pedestrians, and because of this, students have developed a hatred for those with bicycles. Bikers zip through campus at what feels like a hundred miles per hour, with little to no regard for those who are just trying to walk to class. The number of times I have almost been bulldozed by bikers is more than I can count, and I have a ton of friends who have been hit by bikers who weren’t watching where they were going. There is no debating that bikers here at the College must be more careful when riding their bikes. It is not the responsibility of pedestrians to look out for bikers, but rather it is the responsibility of bikers to look out for pedestrians. Irresponsible bikers are the reason why bikes on campus have such a bad reputation. However, please don’t let the handful of irresponsible bikers keep you from considering owning a bike. I spent my entire freshman year without a bike. I was not aware of how much owning a bike could dramatically improve my life. I lived in Monroe Hall my freshman year, so fortunately I was relatively close to everything that I needed to get to. When I started regularly working out at the Student Recreation Center, however, things changed. The Rec is about a 15-to-20-minute walk away from
Monroe. Obviously, a 20-minute walk is not the end of the world, but the Rec’s distance away from my dorm did prevent me from working out as much as I wanted to. This year, I am even farther away from the Rec, and I knew that the extra five to 10 minutes added on to my walk would make a difference in how frequently I exercised. So, I caved and went to Target to buy a bike. I was annoyed with myself for becoming the thing that I could not stand: a campus biker. When I arrived at Target in search of a bike, I didn’t really know what to expect. I walked back to the bike section, and the minute I saw the blue and red bike hanging from the top shelf, I knew I was ready to become a bike owner. Since that day, I have never looked back. Owning a bike has dramatically altered my campus life. Instead of taking 20 minutes to walk to the Rec, it now takes me about five minutes to get there on my bike. No longer is distance an excuse. Visiting my friends who live across campus is now infinitely easier thanks to my bike. The main reason I still regularly see my friends who live in Ludwell is the fact that I own a bike. So, while some on campus may be anti-bike due to a few bad experiences with bikers, I want to encourage everyone not to let your bad experiences keep you from enjoying bike ownership. To all current bikers, I want to remind you not to mistreat pedestrians. Let’s work as a collective to improve our reputation on campus, and, hopefully, through that, more people will be open to the idea of owning a bike themselves. Email Katherine Yenzer at keyenzer@email.wm.edu
Every Tuesday and Thursday, I have a mere 10 minutes to traverse campus from Morton Hall to Washington Hall. I’m an aggressively fast walker, so, despite the occasional panic that I’ll be late, I usually make it to my Chinese class with a few seconds to spare. Sure, the calloused feet and sweaty hair that frequently result from these bi-weekly sprints aren’t ideal, but my speedy jaunts are made unbearable due to one factor: the presence of bicycles at the College of William and Mary. I do not say that bikes are the bane of my existence lightly. On numerous occasions, my jovial walks have been abruptly interrupted by bicyclists whizzing past me with little regard for my existence. I frequently listen to music when I’m meandering around the College, and my bop sessions in between classes are an excellent way to recharge myself during stressful afternoons. Like every other twamp in Williamsburg, my free time is sparse — having built-in time to relax to some Courtney Barnett or listen to a political podcast is wonderful, and my quick walks should be enjoyable experiences. Unfortunately, bikes prevent that idyllic scene from ever fully materializing. Bicyclists mistakenly interpret my wearing headphones as a signal that I am somehow in a bubble of my own and that I care little about what’s going on around me. To this end, instead of attempting to yell out any cautionary phrases regarding the two-wheeled menace barreling down at me, bicyclists just zoom right by and leave me awash in a fit of confusion. It is an incredibly
jarring feeling to have a bike materialize seemingly out of thin air mere inches from my body, and I’d prefer to avoid shots of adrenaline coursing through my veins on an hourly basis. This problem is especially bad on the inclined path between the Sadler Terrace and the Integrated Science Center as there is not a clearly defined bike path, leaving bicyclists and pedestrians to intermingle in a pit of anxietyridden anguish. Every time I walk up this path, it is inevitable that at least one bike wil come within a foot of me as it careens down toward Ukrop Way and into my nightmares. Some bicyclists even seem to relish the fact that their movements are unclear and unpredictable, and, as such, their bike paths cultivate elaborate curvatures designed to make everyone around them fear a potential collision. It would be one thing if bikes traveled linearly but the winding nature of their existence is deeply troubling. I know that bikes are wonderful for the environment and that they provide students with an effective means of getting around campus quickly. I would estimate that a solid 98 percent of my antagonism towards bicycles is entirely devoid of rational or intellectual grounding. But that being said, I should not feel unnecessarily nervous about being impaled by a bicycle every time I stroll around campus. We all want easy and stress-free experiences getting around campus. To that end, I have one suggestion. It’s called walking. Email Ethan Brown at ewbrown@email.wm.edu
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: PROFESSOR NORMENT SHOULD NO LONGER ADVOCATE AGAINST ERA One of the most important aspects of the William and Mary community is the mutual respect, sense of responsibility, and trust that students and faculty have for each other. Just as students are held accountable for their personal and academic behavior through the honor code, it is the Tribe’s job to do the same for our faculty. The Republican majority leader of the Virginia State Senate is helping to block the vote to federally ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), an amendment to the Constitution that would explicitly guarantee equal rights for all sexes and prohibit sex-based discrimination in addition to solidifying reproductive rights, equal pay, and queer rights. This man is Tommy Norment, who also happens to be a law professor at William and Mary. Proposed in 1972, the ERA needs 38 state ratifications to officially amend the Constitution. It currently has 37 state ratifications, with Illinois ratifying it earlier this year. The ERA has gotten more traction recently, and has enough bipartisan support to pass in both the state Senate and House if it was able to go to a committee vote; however, thanks to one of our very own faculty members, it has not been possible thus far in 2018. Although the amendment has not been officially voted on, there was an informal show of hands vote earlier this year where professor Norment advocated against ratifying the ERA, which is not his first time doing so. He has not commented specifically
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I urge the students and faculty of William and Mary to engage with and put pressure on professor Norment to change his stance on the ERA. Currently, he is teaching a government course at the undergraduate level, making him especially accessible to community opinions.
why he has voted no, but others that voted the same way have cited a technicality--that the amendment had expired in the 80s, despite the fact that Congress has the power to extend or even terminate the deadline as it has in the past. Regardless of the reason for his opposition, professor Norment has showed a blatant and repeated disregard for the women in his classroom, his co-workers, and the women of Virginia [by not approving the ERA]. This behavior has no place at William and Mary, a community that prides itself on its growing diversity and acceptance. The irony that one of our own professors opposes and voted against the ERA in the same year that William and Mary is celebrating 100 years of co-education should not be lost on anyone. I urge the students and faculty of William and Mary to engage with and put pressure on professor Norment to change his stance on the ERA. Currently, he is teaching a government course at the undergraduate level, making him especially accessible to community opinions. Write him letters, leave him voicemails, start a social media campaign to bring awareness, or coordinate with student groups on campus to organize sit-ins or protests in his classes. Join the campaign to ratify the ERA and help put William and Mary on the right side of history. Paulina Farley-Kuzmina ’20 pvfarleykuzmin@email.wm.edu
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Page 6
STAFF COLUMN
STAFF COLUMN
Additional flashing beacons needed on crosswalks around campus to promote safety
Jack Bowden FLAT HAT WEBMASTER
Last Thursday, I was driving down Richmond Road toward Confusion Corner to take my friend across campus toward Earl Gregg Swem Library. It was 10 minutes before classes began on the Sunken Garden, and a light rain was drenching city streets and sidewalks. As we approached Sorority Court, a maintenance truck in front of me came to an abrupt stop, jumping and sliding up to the crosswalk just ahead. Mere inches away from the truck’s bumper stood a terrified pedestrian shaken, but unscathed. Crossing Richmond or Jamestown Road is something many students at the College of William and Mary do every day, sometimes multiple times a day. We depend on vehicles to stop for us, and the drivers of those vehicles anticipate that they’ll receive ample opportunity to do so from us. Unfortunately, it’s when either our consideration or their anticipation fails that the chance of a collision forms. Steps must be taken in order to rectify these dangerous possibilities, and I believe nothing has reduced the chances of crosswalk-related collisions better on any campus I’ve been on than the push-button Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon signs. RRFBs are usually installed at crosswalks in the absence of an otherwise acceptable traffic light. An RRFB is an electronic sign post that can be activated by pedestrians to emit a series of flashing lights designed to increase driver awareness. Our only RRFBs on campus are located at the Richmond Road crossing between Blow Memorial Hall and Tribe Square, and the Jamestown Road crossing at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business and the sidewalk that leads to Ludwell Apartments. I always activate these RRFBs when I approach them, and it is blissfully relieving to see drivers come to a cautious stop whether they can see me or not. Without an RRFB, I must awkwardly poke my head out into the street, eyeball the drivers through their windshields and wave a hand up as if to ask their permission to notice me so I can cross the street.
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Steps must be taken in order to rectify these dangerous possibilities. and I believe nothing has reduced the crosswalk-related collisions better on any campus I’ve been on than the push-button Rectuangular Rapid Flashing Beacon signs. Meanwhile, at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, I almost never have to do this embarrassing crosswalk-crossing dance: The school has installed at least eight times the number of RRFBs as we have. No matter how randomly placed they may appear, or how many there are, UVA has installed RRFBs anywhere they have found students frequently making crossings. Most notably along its University Avenue, on a portion of the road similar both in length and student crossings as our Richmond Road, there are six RRFBs, each at every single crosswalk not otherwise supported by a traffic light. Every time I visit UVA, I witness its students using them habitually, and road traffic always stops. At the College, we can cover an acceptable minimum of our crossings on Jamestown and Richmond Roads with RRFBs with the same amount that UVA has installed on its half-mile stretch of University Avenue alone. On Richmond Road, we need an RRFB at the crossings for the Bryan Complex, the Archeology Center, Sorority Court and Old Campus. On Jamestown Road we need an RRFB at the crossings for Old Campus and Campus Center, Old Campus and Taliaferro Hall, Corner House and Barksdale Field and Cary Street and Lemon Hall. The Armistead Avenue and Richmond Road intersection deserves a traffic light to juggle all the road and foot traffic encountered. Watching a vehicle nearly collide with a student last Thursday probably won’t be my last time witnessing a crosswalk-crossing scare. While I intend on bringing this concern forthwith to my colleagues on the Student Assembly Senate, I believe action from the College and the City of Williamsburg will be necessary to see a final solution implemented. I hope my peers will consider contacting President Rowe and members of City Council to advocate for further pedestrian safety around our campus. Email Jack Bowden at jabowden@email.wm.edu.
GRAPHIC BY KAYLA PAYNE / THE FLAT HAT
Voter registration canvassers are valuable assets don’t necessarily need the help or reminder to register, some people do, and the volunteers who are working hard and putting themselves consistently in awkward scenarios are deserving of our appreciation.
Anna Boustany
FLAT HAT OPINIONS ASSOC. EDITOR
Midterm season is upon us, and everything feels chaotic. Not only are academic commitments getting more and more intense, but America as a country seems to be falling apart. More than ever, it is important to vote and make our voices heard in the upcoming midterm elections. That is why I am deeply appreciative of all of the volunteers pushing for voter registration. Many people feel that they are annoying and not very effective, but I would disagree. I think that the volunteers asking everyone, “Are you registered to vote in Williamsburg?” are doing hard, uncomfortable work that has a large payoff. I personally am registered to vote in my hometown, and vote absentee. Even though I choose not to be registered to vote in Williamsburg and thus may seem outside of the target for these volunteers, they still serve as an important reminder. Last year, constantly seeing people push for voter registration was a reminder for me to register online for my hometown, as I had just turned 18. This year, I was reminded to request my absentee ballot before the deadline, which is incredibly important, and an easyto-miss deadline. Now that I have sent my absentee ballot in, I will be smiling and saying I’ve already voted in response to the ubiquitous question, “Are you registered to vote in Williamsburg?” I do understand that many people don’t enjoy social interaction and feel annoyed by the constant reminders to register to vote. Often, people are already registered in Williamsburg or are planning to vote absentee. Thus, the constant question that seems to follow one everywhere regarding their registration status is viewed merely as a hassle and an annoyance. It is easy to get annoyed when something that interrupts your life feels as though it isn’t personally beneficial. However, I think it is important to keep an open-minded view. Our demographic of voters is incredibly important, and the people who are putting themselves out there are doing such important work for relatively little thanks. Even if you
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Now that I have sent my absentee ballot in, I will be smiling and saying I’ve already voted in response to the ubiquitous question, ‘Are you registered to vote in Williamsburg?’ Although you may already be registered to vote, many of your fellow peers, who probably share political views with you, might not be, and this makes voter registration relevant to you as well. To use an economic term, more college students being registered to vote and actually voting has a positive externality on you, even if you are on top of everything and registered to vote already. Finally, it is important to remember that the voter registration volunteers are people too; they are your peers. Even if you still disagree with everything I’ve said in this article, complaining and trash talking the volunteers isn’t a very nice way to treat people who are trying their best to do something that they care deeply about. Email Anna Boustany at aeboustany@email.wm.edu.
STAFF COLUMN
Music at Sadler cultivates nostalgia, creates positive atmosphere
Anthony Madalone
FLAT HAT OPINIONS ASSOC. EDITOR
Frank Zappa once stated that “without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid,” a vision of life strikingly similar to that of the average college student. With near-constant academic goals and looming tuition bills to pay, music has played a huge part in my life, and the lives of countless others, as a stress reducer, whether through performing, dancing or just plain listening. After a long day, there aren’t many things that relax me more than a welldeserved session of belting out Bruce Springsteen songs. I treat this musical catharsis as a sacred ritual and usually
expect to have to seek it out on my own. It’s with this mindset that I had a moment of pure, joyous shock. A few days ago, as I walked into Center Court at Sadler, I noticed a familiar tune come over the speakers: “Fluorescent Adolescent” by Arctic Monkeys. The song immediately took me back to my early high school days, when I would sit in awe as a few of my more musically inclined peers shredded guitars and pounded drums to the song’s vigorously euphoric chorus. This emotional journey was not one I expected to have prior to scarfing down chicken tenders before a club meeting. With song choices like these, Sadler has upped their music game to a beautifully nostalgic degree. While “Fluorescent Adolescent” might seem like a niche choice, I’m not the only one experiencing such sentimental feelings. Later during that same meal, “Paper Planes” played, resulting in an impromptu fork-in-hand dance party. The next day, “Fireflies” by Owl City played shortly before I arrived for lunch. Not only did I receive several Snapchats lauding the choice and sharing nostalgic flashbacks like mine, but the
positivity of the song choice was still being praised by the time I arrived about 10 minutes later. I’m not sure who is in charge of Sadler’s music this year, but whoever it is deserves accolades for understanding exactly what Zappa was getting at in his quote. When Zappa says “decoration,” he is not talking about plain floral wall dressing; he’s talking about surrounding one with beauty, artistic feeling and decorations that brighten life and give it extra meaning. The music selection in Sadler serves as more than just background music, hitting a distinctly emotional portion of each student’s brain and triggering musical jubilation students didn’t even know that they longed for. Everybody desires musical bliss, craving meaningful decorations to help light up their frantic lives. Over the last few weeks, Sadler has been providing this glee in spades. I will always have my late-night Springsteen “yell-alongs” to soothe me but having similarly mindful experiences as I eat certainly does not hurt my busy soul. Email Anthony Madalone at asmadalone@email.wm.edu.
variety
Variety Editor Heather Baier Variety Editor Carmen Honker flathat.variety@gmail.com
The Flat Hat
| Tuesday, October 2, 2018 | Page 7
CHILDHOOD DREAM BECOMES FULL-TIME PASSION
Isaac Davis ’20 pursues directing aspirations SARAH SMITH // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
I
saac Davis ’20 knew from a very young age that he wanted to be a film director. He played with his family’s video cameras and edited vacation photos throughout his childhood — experimenting at an amateur level with different aspects of filmmaking. What Davis didn’t know was that one day he’d be pursuing his filmmaking dreams at the College of William and Mary. “So a lot of people don’t know that William and Mary was my last choice,” Davis said. “My family lives here in Williamsburg. I didn’t want to go to a school in my hometown. Someone once told me though that we all end up here for a reason; we take that journey, take that path.” When Davis realized that all of the great directors he looked up to had received degrees in English or film studies and he realized that the College had a film and media studies major, he was slightly more convinced. With his junior year now underway, Davis said that the major has offered him exactly what he was looking for — a chance to study great films and great directors. But much of the experience Davis has with film hasn’t come from the classroom. He said that when he chose to come to the College, a university not known for its film program, he realized he would have to supplement his academic opportunities with ones he created for himself. “I created a student organization, MPASO, that is an organization full of students that are dedicated to producing films here on campus,” Davis said. Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Organization wasn’t the first experience Davis had creating an organization, either. While he was working his very first job at a local Chick-fil-A, he connected with another employee who shared his love of filmmaking. What resulted was the idea behind Identity Production Studios, a company that Davis is the founder and president of. Over the last several years, Davis has worked to formalize Identity Production Studios and now has a business license through the City of Williamsburg. On campus, he uses his company in conjunction with MPASO with the Raymond A. Mason School of Business to help its marketing department. “The student organization’s main focus is to create short films,” Davis said. “That is the creative venue that we get to explore … develop all of those images on our own. The company is the official arm that takes care of the clients, the people … renting out certain equipment. The student organization is the more creative side.” When Davis graduates from the College, he doesn’t plan on leaving his filmmaking business behind. Two summers ago, Davis worked in New York City on the set of “Mr. Robot” as a key grip, a filmmaking position that is responsible for shaping lighting and moving camera equipment. “It was incredible to see how that happened, take that knowledge and bring that back down here to the student organization,” Davis said. “Not everyone in that organization is going to be [going into] filmmaking, film production, knowing what this piece of equipment does and what is its functionality.”
COURTESY PHOTOS / ISAAC DAVIS
This summer work experience, combined with Davis’s dream of one day growing his company into a major production studio, has helped shape the rest of his post-graduation plans. Once he graduates, he plans on moving to either New York City, New York or Los Angeles, California, to continue networking and growing his company. “A lot of people think there are a lot of steps [to take],” Davis said. “… I know a lot of people that are like ‘That’s one hell of an interesting plan, Mr. Davis.’ But why not start now? Why not have a company now? If the company is to become a major influence in the industry, why not start the process now? Part of that process is just going out and doing it and making those connections.” Davis said he’s fairly unfamiliar with free time, as he’s regularly juggling commitments for MPASO and Identity Production Studios while also going to class and finishing homework. However, he’s found relaxation and support in his one other extracurricular commitment, the Delta Phi Fraternity. This is now Davis’s second year living in the fraternity’s on-campus house. “One of my favorite memories was when my company had been commissioned to do a multicamera shoot … the client that we had for that project was not at all pleasant, one of the worst clients I’ve dealt with,” Davis said. “I was so stressed out that at one point it was my birthday, three days before the production was supposed to be shot, and my mind was about to explode. I remember
coming out of class and I see a whole bunch of guys gathered around me keeping me from the house. They finally take me back to the house and I go into the main chapter room and there is my family standing there with a whole bunch of balloons and a sheet cake. … I was mad going into the house that day but it turned out to be great.” In those rare moments when Davis isn’t working on filming a video, studying for class or spending time with his fraternity brothers, he said he enjoys the time he spends just walking around campus, particularly walking around James Blair Hall, his favorite building on campus. This spot of relaxation has also become one of his favorite locations for shoots. “Sleep is not in the picture, it’s hard,” Davis said. “What we are doing is not an easy thing to do as a student who is juggling school and the ambitions of being in a professional company. I think that the balance comes with the people that you work with. Both the student organization and the company wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the people who were giving their time and talent to make sure that I am on the right track. … I tell people all the time, everything in production is all about family.”
The Flat Hat
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
The Reel Deal
Page 8
Student film compnay partners with campus, Williamsburg
SARAH SMITH // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
W
hen Isaac Davis ’20 started his first job at a local Chickfil-A, he was a 15-year-old who had a much greater dream. What he brought to that job was a passion for filmmaking, not expecting to find a co-worker who shared his passions and a knowledge of entrepreneurship. In 2011, during these shifts, the idea behind Identity Production Studios was born. Now, Davis is the founder and president of Motion Picture Art & Sciences Organization, a student organization at the College of William and Mary, and the founder and president of Identity Production Studios, a company that received its local business license in September 2017. What started in a hometown Chick-fil-A turned into a news show, WCA Weekly, at Davis’ high school. Over time, Davis recruited other interested friends and turned his pet project into a local business. “I had this interest in film from my high school days. I had this whole group of guys that would make videos for the school,” Davis said. “At one point we had a news show for the school. [I thought] it would be really cool if we had an official company where people could come get videos made, something that we owned 100 percent and had 100 percent creative control over.” In the last year, Davis has worked with Identity Production Studios to produce approximately eight films. He works with the marketing department at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business to produce content, as well as other local clients that pay the company to produce requested videos. Identity Production Studios is also now represented by a public relations firm, Percepture, which also represents Colonial Williamsburg and the Greater Williamsburg area. “The goal is to become a major
production studio, like Paramount Picture or Universal Studios,” Davis said. “We’d love to get to the point where we are no longer doing works for clients but creating our own scripts and stories and making money doing that. But the goal is to become a major production that solely focuses on the development and art of cinematic filmmaking.” Now, Davis has five full-time employees that work with Identity Production Studios, and also has a study group of 15-20 crew members that receive money and experience for the work they do on videos. MPASO primarily focuses on creative short films, but when Identity Production Studios needs help producing a client-focused video, Davis will recruit from the student organization. Anderson Barr ’20 works as the vice president of MPASO and as an executive producer for Identity Production Studios. He said he sees himself primarily as Davis’s right-hand man, and he regularly meets with Davis to discuss ongoing projects and also knows how to operate equipment. “I handle the work with Isaac when we have a certain project, storyboarding, how the shots are going to look,” Barr said. “I know a lot of the things he’s looking for. I dabble in screenwriting and film; I am good at the creative aspect. I handle a lot of the crew work.” Another of Davis’s co-workers, Alexander Brinkley ’19, is an executive producer for both MPASO and Identity Production Studios. He said that he views his main duty as making sure all the work the company does is in alignment with the company’s goals. “I handle logistics … I make sure our creative vision aligns with the goals we are seeking to implement more largely,” Brinkley said. “For example, if we have an initiative that is dealing with, say we’re trying to spread mental health awareness, he’ll come to me with an idea or a creative vision, and I act as a filter to make sure it’s right for what we’re trying to do as an organization.” Davis said his post-graduation goals revolve around expanding his company and taking it to the level of a major production studio. He hopes to move the company to either New York City, New York or Los Angeles, California.
COURTESY PHOTOS / ISAAC DAVIS
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Safety, expressing permission is sexy
Implementing safe words, constantly reaffirming consent improves BDSM experience
William Watkins
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS COLUMNIST
Consent is one of the most important concepts for a sexual partnership. A coherent, affirmative, enthusiastic yes is needed at every step of the way, whether in a committed relationship or not. However, people often question what consent could look like when the sexual interaction is utilizing role-play or BDSM scenes, as many of those sessions are based on dominance and/or submission. For starters, those sorts of interactions should always be discussed prior to the session. You should discuss things that you know are your personal boundaries, whether they be hard boundaries that you wouldn’t be willing to do or soft boundaries that you could potentially work up to or readdress at a later time. Another very common practice is the use of a “safeword:” a pre-determined and agreed upon word or phrase to say that dictates that something isn’t right and that the scene should pause or even end entirely. However, these should be things that wouldn’t come up naturally during the scene, such as pineapple, foliage, clout, etc. Mainly because, for some, words like “no” or “wait” could have been
pre-determined as the tone of the scene. Additionally, something like “stop” may seem to be straightforward enough, but it could lead to miscommunication if someone was to say “don’t stop” or if “stop” is misheard as “don’t stop.” One of the issues with simply picking a word, however, is that you may not necessarily want the scene to end, depending on what the issue is. One of the common solutions is to have a few safewords that mean different things. A popular option is the stoplight system. Red would mean, stop and the scene would end. Yellow would mean something along the lines of slow down, don’t do that specific thing, or let me take a second to see how I feel about this. Due to some of the ambiguity of yellow in this situation, it is wise and encouraged to discuss how the dominant should respond if this is heard. Green could mean keep going, faster or harder. Generally, the dominant player would prefer to set the tone so long as you’re comfortable with what’s happening, but every dynamic has its own nuance that sexual partners can discuss and feel out on their own. However, it is definitely notable that you may find yourselves in situations where speech isn’t much of an option, whether that be from a gag or loss of the ability to speak from the sub. The solution for these situations is safe signaling. A common use of signaling is a system of taps or squeezes of the hand. The top (dominant) can squeeze the bottom’s (sub missive’s) hand twice, for instance, and if the bottom fails to squeeze at least twice, then the scene should stop and care should be provided. It is imperative for tops to always remember to be cognizant of how the bottom is doing,
both mentally and physically, and a physical signaling system is a good way to make ensure the top’s awareness while maintaining the rhythm of the scene. As always, whenever discussing a topic related to role-playing, I want to end by stressing the importance of aftercare. This is the time after the scene is done for the players to address things that happened in the scene. This can manifest by way of tender physical contact,
discussion of how you both felt during the scene and about specific events that took place. In some cases, this should also entail physical assistance such as ice packs, massages, etc. Over time these scenes can end up taking a toll if they aren’t addressed, and the most important thing is the well-being of everyone involved. William W. is a Behind Closed Doors columnist who wants to stress the importance of consent.
MAGGIE MORE / THE FLAT HAT
sportsinside
The Flat Hat | Tuesday, October 2, 2018 | Page 9
Former NHL star Theo Fleury talks mental health for Tribe student athletes Tribe Athletics brings We’re All a Little Crazy college tour to campus JULIA STUMBAUGH // FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR When describing National Hockey League player Theo Fleury, “vulnerable” is not the first word an observer would use. Fleury is five feet, six inches tall, and he made it to the pros by aggressively — and sometimes violently — compensating for his size. At 19 years old in 1987, he started one of the most famous fights in junior hockey history, sparking a bench-clearing brawl between Canada and the Soviet Union that disqualified both squads from the world championship. In the NHL, he spent over 2,000 minutes sitting in the penalty box. Once, in 1999, a stick to the mouth knocked loose a few teeth and soaked his uniform with blood. A fan tossed his own autographed Fleury jersey toward the bench as a replacement; Fleury grabbed it and pulled it on, then turned to face the crowd, waiting for a cheer of approval. For many hockey fans, that’s the player they’ll remember: grinning back at his fans through the glass, blood dripping down his chin, about a light year away from vulnerable. But that’s the word that came to mind two decades later, when Fleury took the microphone at Kaplan Arena Wednesday night and looked out at the crowd of William and Mary athletes. “20 years ago, I had a fully loaded pistol in my mouth, ready to pull the trigger and end my life,” Fleury said. Fleury already knew how that start was going to go over in the college crowd. He expected the tense, anticipatory stillness. He has been telling his story to schools across the United States as part of a tour with We’re All a Little Crazy, a group dedicated to ending the stigma surrounding mental health in college athletes. After an application was submitted by Tribe Athletics, the College was selected as one of 15 schools on the tour route. Following stops at James Madison University and the University of Richmond, Fleury and the rest of the group — all with former high-profile careers — came to Williamsburg to give their talk. “The great thing about having athletes speaking with other athletes is that there is a connection,” Assistant Director of Health Promotion Eric Garrison
M.Ed. ’88 said. “Oftentimes athletes are raised and trained to [tell themselves], ‘You’re better than this, you’re stronger than this, you can get through this.’” But sometimes athletes can’t get through it — at least, not on their own. That’s what Fleury and the rest of the team look to impart in their presentations, especially for students in the high-pressure environment at the College: it is okay for them to ask for help, and they are not the only one who need it. Fleury played over 1,000 games in the NHL. In 1989, he won the Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames. In 2002, he won an Olympic gold medal with Canada. Toward the end of his career, however, he became known less for what was in his trophy case and more for the off-ice brawls and substance abuse that got him kicked out of the NHL in 2003. In 2009, Fleury published an autobiography, “Playing with Fire,” describing the abuse and mental illness that sent him careening down a dead-end path of alcoholism and drug addiction. When he first wrote the book, he just wanted to get the story off of his chest. But run-ins with readers who were eager to thank him for sharing it taught him an important lesson: he wasn’t alone. Other people desperately wanted to know that they weren’t the only ones who battled with their own mind. “The media just treats it like each one of these athletes or celebrities that comes out with a story, it’s like a one-off tragedy,” founder of We’re All a Little Crazy Eric Kussin said. “… All it was doing was reinforcing this notion that only one in five people have this, and those people who were coming out with their story were one of those one in five people … there’s gotta be a way for us to communicate this better. Everyone in the world, five out of five, deals with mental health complications at some level.” Kussin, whose career in professional sports league offices was cut short by post-traumatic stress disorder, reached out to Fleury on LinkedIn one year ago and asked if he wanted to help promote normalizing mental health care. Fleury, who already knew the impact the story of his recovery could have, said yes. Now, the We’re All a Little Crazy panel includes
everyone from professional boxers to Olympic skiers to competitive eaters. The presenters want to help athletes understand that a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body when it comes to excelling in their sports. For Tribe athletes, some of whom are eyeing professional training camps at the end of their time on campus, there is no greater motivation. “When you get to the level that I got to, everybody can play,” Fleury said. “What sets the great players apart from the other guys is how mentally tough they are. … You make time for your physical wellness; you need to do the same with your mental wellness.” In order to make sure student athletes have the tools to do so, part of the tour is dedicated to teaching the audience simple breathing and meditation techniques. Another segment makes sure students are aware of the resources available to them at the College, which recently expanded its mental health services into the new McLead Tyler Wellness Center. The building, sunlit by windows that look onto the nearby Wildflower Refuge, was designed to calm racing minds. “Any time you feel like you need to talk, you can go to Health Promotions, or you can go up to the Counseling Center,” Integrated Wellness Center Assistant Director T. Davis, a former college basketball player, said. “Or any time you feel like you need to meditate, or just get away, you can come in and use one of the meditation spaces or take a class [at the Wellness Center].” Those resources are something that Fleury is happy to promote. If there’s one thing he would have liked to have access to when he was a college-aged athlete struggling with mental health issues, it would have been places like the Wellness or Counseling Centers. “I just wished there was a safe place where I could have gone and talked about it,” Fleury said. “And not have to be alone and suffer and cause all the damage and wreckage that I did in all my relationships, because I held onto this secret. But I’m very hopeful because of being at the universities. They’re not
MEN’S SOCCER
COURTESY PHOTO/ RICHARD BARTLAGA, FLICKR
Fleury’s hockey career, marked by an NHL championship win and an Olympic gold, was cut short by mental illness.
ignoring it. They’re actually taking initiatives.” Bringing this tour to campus is not the first initiative Tribe Athletics has introduced to promote mental health for College athletes. Earlier this year, the school hosted Derek Greenfield, a motivational speaker who focused on mental health in workshops for coaches, staff and student athletes. In 2016, Tribe Athletics invited former first overall Women’s National Basketball Association draft pick Chamique Holdsclaw to come present her movie, “Mind/Game,” which chronicled her struggle with and recovery from mental illnesses. This trend isn’t unique just to the College but is being echoed in collegiate athletic programs across the country. After a 2015 National Collegiate Athletic Association report revealed that only 10 percent of mentally ill student athletes seek help, as opposed to a third of college students overall, the league has been highlighting a focus on mental health in sports. Tribe Athletics has followed suit. Programs like this tour hope to slowly chip away at the stifling stigma that forced Fleury to internalize his struggle and cut his career brutally short all those years ago. Today, Fleury has gone from not being able to tell a soul about his suffering to sharing his story with crowds in college arenas. He recounted to Kaplan Arena the details of what he went through — the number of times he endured abuse, the $5,000 in cash he’d pocket every time he left the house because he never knew where he’d end up after his first drink, the way the gun tasted as it rattled against his teeth — with disarming bluntness. It can be hard for audience members who knew him solely for his hockey highlights not to be shocked by the weakness he exposed Wednesday night. But by the time Fleury told the crowd the date of his last drink — Sept. 18, 2005 — they knew what they were seeing wasn’t weakness. Being vulnerable requires strength, and that is exactly what Fleury and the group hope to prove to the athletes and staff members in the Tribe Athletics program: that finding to the courage to seek help when you need it is one of the bravest things an athlete can do.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Hofstra shuts out College, 4-0 Bustamante leads team with two shots in conference loss BRENDAN DOYLE FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
Without three opening-night starters due to injury, including preseason all-conference players, William and Mary fell 4-0 to Colonial Athletic Association foe Hofstra (5-3-3, 2-0-1 CAA) Saturday. The Tribe (2-5-1, 0-11 CAA) could not convert on chances early in the game, then gave up three goals in just over a 10-minute span, digging a hole too big to climb out of. As senior forward Graham Guidry, senior forward Ryder Bell and senior defenseman Marcel Berry sat out of the action, the game pace out of the gates was fast on both sides of the pitch. Each team got five shots off within the first 25 minutes, and the College had four corner kicks in that time
span. However, the Tribe would not convert, leaving the score knotted at zero. The momentum shifted in the 27th minute when midfielder George O’Malley struck for the Pride, taking a pass and putting the ball past freshman goalkeeper Connor Andrews to open up a one-goal lead. Then, in the 34th minute, forward Matthew Vowinkel found a cross in the box and made no mistake, finishing it to put Hofstra up 2-0. Just three minutes later, Vowinkel tallied his second goal of the game, this one on a header. The College failed to answer, not posting a single shot after the first Pride goal was scored. With a three-goal deficit, Tribe head coach Chris Norris pulled Andrews in favor of senior keeper
Sam Onyeador. Andrews left the game with a save and three goals allowed. Starting the second half, the Tribe had renewed energy. It put up four shots in a three-minute span, including two from senior forward Antonio Bustamante. But the College was quickly deflated when Hofstra extended the lead again in the 55th minute, this time when forward Luke Brown took possession in the box and put it cleanly into the net. The Tribe would not threaten for the rest of the game, taking home a 4-0 thrashing. The Tribe travels back to Virginia Oct. 3 for a matchup with Old Dominion. Then, it looks to get on track in conference play with back-to-back home games against Northeastern and James Madison.
COURTESY PHOTO/ TRIBE ATHLETICS
After Saturday’s loss, the injury-ridden Tribe will look for its first conference victory in matchups this week against CAA rivals.
COURTESY PHOTO/ TRIBE ATHLETICS
Charlotte Hyland and Sully Boulden celebrate after Boulden’s second-period goal put the Tribe up 2-0.
Tribe blanks CAA foe Drexel, 2-0 Briguglio puts up third shutout of season; Miguelez, Boulden score
JULIA STUMBAUGH FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
In Sunday’s Colonial Athletic Association matchup, junior goalkeeper Katelyn Briguglio posted a clean sheet and William and Mary’s defense held Drexel to just two shots on goal as the Tribe (5-7-0, 2-2-0 CAA) blanked the Dragons (4-4-4, 1-2-0 CAA), 2-0. Both teams traded possession and opportunities in the first half, each getting dangerous opportunities in the opening 20 minutes. The Tribe broke through in the 34th minute on a well-placed corner by sophomore defender Alex Kuhle. Senior midfielder Arundel Miguelez slid the ball into the left side of the goal, putting the home team up 1-0 to finish off the first half. The Dragons opened the second half by ringing a shot off the crossbar and didn’t let up, sending a few more shots toward the goal. Just as it looked like they were gaining momentum, however, junior forward Sully Boulden sprinted forward to put home a cross
from redshirt junior Sarah Segan, putting the Tribe up by two and deflating some of Drexel’s momentum. After a wave of substitutions, Drexel went back to trying to chip away at the Tribe lead, taking a series of corner kicks that failed to result in any shots on goal. In one last surge, the Dragons managed to once again hit the crossbar in the 84th minute, but that was as close as they would get to scoring; a shutdown performance by the Tribe defense would leave them scoreless in a 2-0 College victory. This shutout marks Briguglio’s third of the season. Meanwhile, Miguelez picked up her first goal of the campaign with the firsthalf tally, while Boulden became one of four players to have multiple this year with her second of 2018. Their efforts culminated in the College tying up its conference record, 2-2-0. With five conference games still left in the season, the team will look to make that record a winning one as it takes on Hofstra. The Pride has one of the best records in the CAA at 3-1-0, and the Tribe will take it on Oct. 7.
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The Flat Hat | Tuesday, October 2, 2018 | Page10
FOOTBALL
Colgate shuts out Tribe
Despite Raiders outgaining College by only 13 yards, Tribe fails to score in 23-0 defeat
KEVIN RICHESON // Flat Hat Sports Assoc. Editor After two blowout losses against Virginia Tech and James Madison, William and Mary opened its home schedule with a matchup against 24th-ranked Colgate at Zable Stadium. Still 0-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association, the Tribe was looking to win its second game against a Patriot League opponent this season, after a 14-7 victory over Bucknell in its season-opener. The College’s offense, averaging only 10.3 points per game, would be tested by the Raiders’ defense, which was giving up 6.7 points per game going into its game with the College. Early turnovers by the College (1-3, 0-1 CAA) undermined its defense’s ability to hold the Raiders (4-0, 2-0 Patriot League) to field goals in the red zone, and the Raiders cruised to a 23-0 victory over the College. “We played against a very good team,” head coach Jimmye Laycock ’70 said. “They took advantage of a number of our mistakes.” The College was forced to take on the Raiders’ vaunted defense on the first possession of the game. The Tribe ran the ball on the opening two plays of the drive before converting on third down on a pass by sophomore quarterback Shon Mitchell to junior wide receiver Jalen Christian. However, on the next play, Mitchell fumbled on a hard hit by linebacker T.J. Holl. The Raiders recovered the fumble and took over at the College’s 21-yard line. Despite forcing the Raiders into two third downs, the Tribe gave up a touchdown on the sixth play of the short-scoring drive. With just over 10 minutes to play in the opening quarter, the Raiders took a 7-0 lead on a one-yard run by running back Alex Mathews. Despite a 19-yard screen pass to senior wide receiver DeVonte Dedmon, the Tribe’s second drive of the opening quarter stalled and the College punted the ball away for the first time in the game, pinning the Raiders inside their 10-yard line to start their second drive of the evening. The Raiders marched 83 yards downfield, but the College stood tall and prevented them from picking up their second touchdown of the first quarter. Nevertheless, kicker Chris Puzzi drilled a 26-yard field goal to extend the Raiders’ advantage to 10-0 with 1:36 remaining in the first quarter.
JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT
Junior running back Albert Funderburke breaks a tackle against Colgate. The Tribe offense was not able to score on the night.
On the first play of the second quarter, Dedmon had another long reception, but he fumbled inside the Raiders’ 40-yard line and the Raiders recovered the ball at the 32-yard line, ending the College’s third drive and giving the Raiders decent field position to start their possession. Once again, the Raiders scored off of the Tribe’s fumble. Wide receiver Owen Buscaglia was a huge part of the drive for the Raiders with two receptions for 52 yards. The Raiders ultimately had to settle for a field goal to keep the game within two possessions at 13-0 with 11:18 to play before halftime. The Tribe seemed destined for a three-and-out before senior wide receiver Jack Armstrong caught a pass from Mitchell and picked up 20 yards on a third-and-long. After a 15-yard penalty on the Raiders for a late hit on Armstrong, the College’s run game picked up and moved the ball into the red zone for the first time during the game. However, the drive stalled and junior kicker Kris Hooper missed a 31-yard field goal, keeping the score at 13-0. The College finally stopped the Raiders and forced them into their first punt of the game, but the Tribe was flagged for a roughing the punter penalty, allowing the Raiders’ drive to continue. Nevertheless, the College still stopped the Raiders after forcing their first turnover of the game. After another scoreless drive, the Tribe allowed the Raiders to get within field goal range. Puzzi converted on his third field goal attempt of the game, this time from 47 yards out, putting the Raiders up 16-0 at the half. Colgate got the ball to start the second half and marched down the field for its second touchdown of the game. The College forced the Raiders into a fourth-down attempt at the two-yard line, but they went for it and picked up the necessary yardage. The Raiders scored on the ensuing play to seize a commanding 23-0 lead with 10:20 remaining in the third quarter. The College drove deep into Raiders territory for the second time in
the game, but once again it failed to come away with any points. The College held the ball for nearly eight minutes, but after extending the drive on a fourth-down conversion, Mitchell’s pass on the second fourth down of the drive fell incomplete in the end zone and the Raiders took over at their own seven-yard line with less than three minutes to play in the third quarter. “We prepare each week to win,” Mitchell said. “Win or lose, that’s on us. We have to be more consistent and produce better.” Early in the fourth quarter, the College failed to convert on a fourth down in Raiders territory once again. Mitchell had Christian wide open in the middle of the field, but Mitchell’s pass sailed over his head and the Raiders took over on downs. On its next drive, the College turned the ball over for the third time that night, this time on Mitchell’s first interception. Defensive back Abu Daramy-Swaray intercepted the pass and returned it to the College’s 48-yard line. Despite threatening to score on several occasions, the College was still shut out for the second consecutive week and only has 31 points in its first four games this season. The Tribe ultimately fell 23-0 to the Raiders. “I never felt like we were outmatched,” Laycock said. “I felt like were going against a good team, but I didn’t feel like we were outmatched.” The Raiders were led in victory by quarterback Grant Breneman’s 227 yards on 16-for-22 passing. Buscaglia torched the College’s defense with seven catches for 142 yards. The College was led by junior running back Albert Funderburke’s 53 yards on the ground and Dedmon’s 104 yards receiving. Mitchell was 27-for-39 passing for 251 yards. Next week, the Tribe will stay in Williamsburg for its second-straight game at home. It will take on Albany for its second CAA game of the season. The Tribe will look to pick up its first conference victory of the season and score for the first time since Sept. 8. “It’s good to be staying at home,” Laycock said. “They’re in the CAA, so that’s about all you need to know that they’re pretty good.”