Vol. 110, Iss. 5 | Tuesday, September 8, 2020
The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
COLLEGE CANCELS SEVEN VARSITY SPORTS
Flathatnews.com | Follow us: COURTESY PHOTOS / TRIBE ATHLETICS
COVID-19 exacerbates athletic department’s budgetary concerns
GRAPHICS BY LULU DAWES / THE FLAT HAT
PHOTOS BY JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT
ZOE BEARDSLEY, NATHAN SEIDEL // FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITORS At 4 p.m. Sept. 3, the athletic landscape of the College of William and Mary was significantly altered with the discontinuation of seven of the College’s varsity sports. The College cited ongoing budget concerns that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as their reason for disbanding the seven sports. Men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s indoor and outdoor track and field and women’s volleyball comprise the list of cut programs, which will lose their Division 1 sponsorship after spring 2021. Pandemic-permitting, the affected teams can participate in a last season before the decision takes effect. College President Katherine Rowe, College Provost Peggy Agouris and Director of Athletics Samantha Huge penned an “Open Letter” to the Tribe community to accompany the release of the news. In the letter, they described both the context and process by which the decision was reached, detailing a structural deficit of more than $1 million prior to the economic effects of the pandemic, and projections for deficits exceeding $3.2 million over the next three years. “The pandemic has made these budget constraints acute and has brought us to a point of reckoning,” Rowe, Agouris and Huge said in the letter. Huge explained that a lot of factors led to the final decision to cut the seven sports and was made in correspondence with the College’s Board of Visitors. “It was a very thoughtful, deliberative, consultative process,” Huge said. “We looked at a lot of different factors; we talked with leaders of the university and took so much into consideration — the history of the program, to NCAA caliber facilities, to alumni engagement and community building, and it can go on and on. In the end, the decision was made for
these seven sports. It was made in very close consultation with the Board of Visitors and with their full support.” The cutting of these seven sports affects 118 student-athletes and 13 coaches. The athletic department stated in the letter that students on scholarship can retain their scholarships through the student’s graduation. “Our focus is on the 118 student-athletes whose athletic career was changed today,” Huge said. “For them, for the amount of work that they’ve done, the dedication they’ve shown and what they’ve represented for this university … We honor them, we respect them, in addition to their coaches who have given so much to ensure that their four years at William and Mary and beyond are years that prepare them for life after William and Mary. And not only for the coaches and the student-athletes, but for the many alumni donors, parents, families and others who care so deeply for William and Mary. But particularly for our students; this is a difficult day for them and that’s where our focus should be.” That difficult day came as a surprise to many of the affected athletes. While it was nationwide news that COVID-19 was slashing budgets across the country, athletic and otherwise, several athletes were caught off guard both by the decision. Swimmer Megan Bull ’21 was going about her day when her mom called around 1:30 p.m.— a little over two hours before the Sept. 3 announcement. “She said she saw on a Tribe swimming parent group that some alumni had heard through whatever grapevine that we were going to get cut,” Bull said. “When my mom called me that was the first time I had heard about it. About an hour after that, our coach texted us though Teamworks and was like hey, check your emails for something coming up. So yeah, I probably truly knew about the meeting at like 2 or 2:30, like an hour and a half before
it happened.” Bull recalled how the team constantly checked in during the pandemic about cuts to the programs, which they were repeatedly informed there would not be any cuts. “Even during COVID there were continued questions of are you cutting programs, what’s going on with the budget,” Bull said. “We continued to ask those things, and the answers were no, we aren’t cutting you.” Gymnast Christian Marsh ’22 was present at the meeting as well and came away very disappointed by how it was conducted. “It was the most disingenuous speech I have ever heard in my entire life,” Marsh said. “Samantha Huge popped up on the screen and she read from a script into her camera to tell us that our programs were being discontinued. Then she switched to Deidre Connelly, and she was talking about the emotional support we were going to have, and then the call ended. I don’t even think she said goodbye. I think it was probably the rudest way they could have done it.” Bull also pointed out the hypocrisy of the statements made by those leading the meeting, particularly in reference to Huge. “One of the things that stood out about that was that she said something along the lines of ‘Oh you guys all have your own voice and everything’ and then they just cut off the meeting without letting us ask questions,” Booth said. “I’m sure there would’ve been multiple questions and multiple people who were frustrated, but to say you have your own voice and then not let us use our voices even to just ask questions in any kind of manner is very insulting.” When the meeting ended, Marsh explained that many of the athletes See SPORTS CANCELLATION page 7
COVID-19
College community questions Kallaco credibility, campus safety protocols Backlash pushes College to verify reliability, accuracy during next stage of COVID-19 testing ALEXANDRA BYRNE FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
As the College of William and Mary reopens this fall, pre-arrival and on-campus prevalence testing has been an integral part of the College’s path forward. Last week, The Flat Hat reported that Kallaco, the company contracted to administer the pre-arrival testing, has relied on testing that has not been granted Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Association. The tests, which were conducted at New Orleans based Opteo Laboratories, are categorized as Laboratory-Developed Tests — tests that have been designed for manufacturing and use in a single
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laboratory. Who is responsible for the regulation of LDTs has been in question since before the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the need for accurate and fast COVID-19 testing has rekindled the debate. Aug. 21, the Trump administration rolled back the FDA’s ability to regulate LDTs. This new policy allows laboratories to distribute tests without the FDA’s review. The FDA has come under fire in the past for the arbitrary enforcement of its LDT regulations. Some health experts applaud the removal of red tape to increase the number of COVID-19 tests available while others have expressed concerns over the accuracy of tests that have not undergone pre-market approval by the FDA. “There are reasons why they relaxed the rules that have to do more with politics than science,” Research
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Associate at Johns Hopkins University Paul Stamper said. “The science behind it is that we don’t have enough assays and it’s taking time to get them to market. We’re having trouble scaling up innovation. Arguably we’ve had six months to do that and we still haven’t been able to scale up.” With over 4,000 students being tested before the Trump administration’s Aug. 21 announcement, the College has found itself in the middle of a decades-long debate within the scientific community. After it was revealed that students were indeed tested with an LDT that had not been granted EUA, the College announced in a Sept. 7 email that all students living on campus will be required to undergo another round of testing
which will be performed by Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratories, in partnership with VCU Health. The new tests will be collected by medical professionals in Kaplan arena. Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratories says it uses a Center for Disease Control developed PCR assay test, which has been granted EUA by the FDA. The Flat Hat confirmed that the laboratory is accredited under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. The College still maintains that Opteo was authorized to distribute its LDT as a laboratory accredited through the CLIA .
Inside Sports
Inside Variety
College must improve standards of communication for COVID-19
Chloe Folmar ’22 says the College must perform better in conveying important campus updates to students this semester. page 4
See KALLACO page 8
Penne for your thoughts
Rebecca Klinger ’22 shares her recipe for how to make the perfect ramen. Though less dorm-friendly than the classic ramen recipe, this recipe is fillwed with a variety flavors. page 6
Opinion: Former swimmer’s open letter to Samantha Huge
The decision to disband seven sports this week has far-reaching impactS, including the swimming community that symbolizes the Tribe for many. page 7
