The Flat Hat February 21, 2017

Vol. 107, Iss. 4 | Tuesday, February 21, 2017

The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper

of The College of William and Mary

Flathatnews.com | Follow us:

CRIME

POLITICS

Coal ash bill results in G.A. compromise Bill requires details before slurry disposal BEN MILBURN-TOWN THE FLAT HAT

A bill passed in the Virginia Senate Tuesday, Feb. 7, would require that more information be given to the director of the Department of Environmental Quality before disposal permits are granted to Dominion Virginia Power in order to drain and dispose of coal ash ponds.

Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36) sponsored the bill, SB1398. It passed in full session with a vote of 29-11. Wednesday, Feb. 15, the bill passed through the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with a vote of 22-0. The bill is now awaiting a vote on the House of Delegates’ floor.

If passed in the House, SB1398 would require Dominion, or any owner or operator of a coal ash containment unit, to “identify water pollution and address corrective measures to resolve it.” The bill also requires the owner to “demonstrate the long-term safety” of the coal ash disposal method in order to “keep ash out of wetlands and other sensitive areas.” It also addresses alternative methods of disposal, such as recycling the coal ash for use in concrete or moving the ash to a landfill.

Noting bipartisan support for the bill, Sen. Monty Mason ’89 (D-1) emphasized that this is not a fully comprehensive bill.

It requires further assessment of coal ash ponds and the surrounding area in order to determine the full impact of coal ash disposal.

“This was really a compromise,” Mason said. “Let’s do a full blown assessment and then see what happens. This is the first step.”

Coal ash is the byproduct from coal burning power plants.

It contains high levels of arsenic, chromium, lead, mercury and selenium along with other toxic chemicals. Co-facilitator of the See BILL page 4

KAYLA SHARPE / THE FLAT HAT

The College is investigating six reports of vandalism after Charter Day weekend. These reports included spray paint on the Thomas Jefferson statue and graffiti in front of Phi Beta Kappa Hall and Kaplan Arena.

Jefferson statue caught red-handed College investigates six reports of vandalism that occurred over Charter Day weekend HENRY BLACKBURN // FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR On Feb. 11, the College of William and Mary police department reported an instance of vandalism on the Thomas Jefferson statue, and the incident has sparked a series of discussions both on and off the College’s campus.

The vandalism — officially referred to as a “destruction of property” — was officially documented at 11:22 p.m. Both of the statue’s hands were painted red and the statue’s base was spray-painted with the words “slave owner.” The William and Mary Police Department differentiate this from previous instances of targeting the statue, such as covering it in post-it notes that reference Jefferson’s slave-owning history, because they must manually remove the paint. At this time, the WMPD has not identified a suspect.

The first public acknowledgement of the defacement seems to have occurred on the Facebook page, “Overheard at William and Mary,” when Brendan Thomas ’18 posted about it at 12:37 p.m. Feb. 11, 11 hours before the WMPD documented it. His post contained a pair of pictures showcasing the described graffiti with the attached text, “Overseen: Thomas Jefferson with the blood of all the people he owned on his hands.” Thomas said he initially saw the graffiti on the statue while passing by and felt a sense of sympathy

with the individual who vandalized the statue.

“I think that the interesting things about statues of like Jefferson and Monroe, they’re designed to lionize a historical figure,” Thomas said. “[The graffiti] brings the attention of the person looking at the statue away from this sort of mythical view of him. This guy is not made of stone, he’s a real person who had significant flaws and did some pretty terrible things.”

Thomas’ post sparked a discussion on “Overheard at William and Mary,” with both current students and alumni of the College sharing their thoughts.

Many people brought up points regarding white privilege, social protest, historical revisionism and the defacement of property.

Reflecting on the subsequent discussion that began on his post, Thomas said that the graffiti has the potential to help people learn that historical figures might have flaws that are overlooked because of that figure’s significance.

“When we look at historical figures like our founding fathers, who are prone to being mythologized and lionized, we have to take a careful stance to remember not just Thomas Jefferson but also the people he owned,” Thomas said. “We’re told we sort of have to worship them and that whenever any sort of challenge

is brought up it has to be immediately shut down and condemned.”

Not all students agree with the vandalism, however.

Catie Burgess ’20 said she believes that while Jefferson was not a perfect individual, she thinks that vandalizing a statue of him does not create a meaningful point of discussion.

“I think [the graffiti] shows a lack of patience because a lot of us are really willing to discuss any controversy over the statue,” Burgess said. “I don’t think we should be taking any of these historical figures at face value.

If you want to admire Jefferson for his intellectual contributions then that’s great, but you should also acknowledge that he wasn’t the greatest person.”

Burgess also said that without a controlled, constructive environment to hold discussions like these in, the original reason for discussing the point can become lost.

“I don’t entirely know what [the graffitist] is standing for here,” Burgess said. “I’ve heard so many things in opposition to Jefferson, from racism to sexism to him being a slave owner to him being a plutocrat. I guess I would want to talk to them first in person and know See VANDALISM page 3

HONOR COUNCIL

College allocates $7,500 to create, install Honor Council signs on campus Signs bearing undergraduate honor pledge placed in every academic building, classroom SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

The walls of academic building at the College of William and Mary got a face-lift over the past two weeks as signs bearing the Honor Pledge found homes on the walls of every classroom. After $7,500 was allocated to the project from the College’s Parents Fund, the Honor Council worked to hang up these “reminders” of the Pledge.

According to undergraduate Honor Council members Jacob Nelson ’18 and Ashley Witmer ’18, hanging these signs in every classroom has two purposes: acting as a reminder and a deterrent for students.

“It’s mainly meant as a reminder to enforce that we are in a community of trust, the honor code is an important part of the school’s history,” Nelson said. “We are the school with the first academic honor code, it has a place in our school’s buildings. Most professors include it on their syllabi, but there were no physical reminders of it in most buildings. A lot of schools that have honor codes, like the University of Virginia, have signs up in their classrooms. I think it’s a pretty common thing.”

The $7,500 allocated to hang up these signs came from the Parents

Today’s Weather

Index Profile News Opinions Variety

Sports

Fund, which is a fund with a specific designation that donors can select.

The majority of donors who select this fund are parents of current students, but parents, grandparents and relatives of graduates also have contributed money.

According to Senior Director for Family and Parent Giving Stacey Summerfield ’04, this fund is most often used for scholarships and student life initiatives at the College.

“Roughly half of the fund supports the student life initiatives … the remainder is used for student scholarships, the highest priority of William & Mary’s For the Bold Campaign,” Summerfield said in an email.

During the 2016-2017 academic year, the Parents Fund has also been used to purchase a golf cart for the College’s audio/visual technicians, to fund a harm reduction programming for fraternities and sororities, to purchase a card reader for the Meridian Coffee House and to fund a midyear student activities fair.

According to Summerfield, the Parents Fund has regularly been used to support Student Affairs initiatives, the Student Conduct Council and the Honor Council, because of their role in Student Affairs.

When a request for funding from the Parents Fund is made, Vice

Inside Variety

Inside Opinions

Statue defacement opens up vital dialogue

2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10

Partly Cloudy, High 63, Low 45

President of Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 and her staff have decision-making power.

While the signs were hung up in the last two to three weeks, Nelson said that there had been discussion prior to this semester. Some of these discussions caused a disagreement within Honor Council, which Nelson said he believes was caused by a miscommunication over when the signs were going to be hung up.

According to Nelson and Witmer, the Parents Fund financially supported the creation of the signs before the funding was allocated to install them in every classroom. When new buildings on campus, such as the Marshall-Wythe School of Law and Miller Hall in the Mason School of Business, were opened, Nelson said the College tried to install the signs then.

“There was confusion about whether or not, or when the signs were going to go up, we weren’t sure that the money from the Parents Fund was going to be allocated,” Nelson said. “My understanding of this was that the signs were purchased some ways before they were put up. They were both funded by the Parents Fund, but the installation was funded separately and some people were wondering about when the signs would go up.”

Venu Katta ’16, MPP ’17 discusses why the spraypaint on the College’s Jefferson statue serves a purpose more than vandalism. page 5

The Flat Hat Picks the Oscars The Flat Hat staff predicts the big winners for Sunday night’s Academy Awards. page 7

newsinsight “ Hiking through scenic stages

News Editor Nia Kitchin News Editor Sarah Smith fhnews@gmail.com

“

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 21, 2017 | Page 2

Following The Flat Hat?

THE BUZZ

We have to memorialize everyone’s history, not just white people’s history.

— Ellie Grace ’19 on the vandalism of the Thomas Jefferson statue

Now it’s easier than ever to stay upto-date on all on-campus news.

Matthew Allar talks Camino hike, scenic design career Page 2 Spotlight

The Flat Hat

@theflathat

@theflathat

theflatchat A THOUSAND WORDS

NIA KITCHIN / THE FLAT HAT

CORRECTIONS An article published Feb. 14 incorrectly said that the men’s basketball team was undefeated on the road. The College is actually undefeated at home with a 2-11 away record.

The headline and lede of an article about deficits in Colonial Williamsburg incorrectly said that layoffs would continue after the date of publication, Feb. 14.

The Flat Hat ‘STABILITAS ET FIDES’ | ESTABLISHED OCT. 3, 1911

25 Campus Center, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. 23185 Editor flathat.editor@gmail.com Managing flathat.managing@gmail.com Executive flathat.executive@gmail.com News fhnews@gmail.com Sports flathatsports@gmail.com

Copy flathatcopy@gmail.com Opinions fhopinions@gmail.com Variety flathat.variety@gmail.com Photos flathatphotos@gmail.com Online flathatonline@gmail.com

Isabel Larroca Editor-in-Chief Emily Chaumont Managing Editor Sarah Ruiz Executive Editor Iris Hyon Digital Media Editor Amelia Lucas Digital Media Editor

Sarah Smith News Editor Nia Kitchin News Editor Katie Koontz Variety Editor Akemi Tamanaha Variety Editor Chris Travis Sports Editor Alyssa Grzesiak Sports Editor Jenny Cosgrove Opinions Editor Julia Stumbaugh Opinions Editor

Henry Blackburn Assoc. News Editor Madeline Monroe Assoc. News Editor Caroline Nutter Assoc. News Editor Noah Petersen Assoc. News Editor Carley Schanck Assoc. News Editor Yutong Zhan Assoc. News Editor Heather Baier Assoc. Variety Editor Gabriela Montesdeoca Assoc. Variety Editor Mia Naples Assoc. Variety Editor Hayley Snowden Assoc. Variety Editor Rick Stevenson Assoc. Variety Editor Katherine Weber Assoc. Variety Editor Talia Wiener Assoc. Variety Editor

Leonor Grave Chief Staff Writer Lauren Bavis Copy Chief Kate Sandberg Copy Chief Rachel Wilmans Copy Chief Siobhan Doherty Online Editor Sean Wilner Online Editor Moises Romero Business Manager Muzzammil Mehdi Webmaster

Alfred Ouyang Assoc. Opinions Editor Nick Phair Assoc. Opinions Editor Brendan Doyle Assoc. Sports Editor Peter Eckel Assoc. Podcast Editor Jae Cho Graphics Editor Emily Martell Copy Editor Julia Dalzell Copy Editor Michaela Flemming Copy Editor Katherine Peck Copy Editor Lillian Waddill Copy Editor Katie Williams Copy Editor Oliver Shen Assoc. Business Manager Katie Wang Assoc. Financial Manager

Students at the College of William and Mary may know theater professor Matthew Allar as the department’s resident scenic designer, but Allar’s career in theatre productions has spanned genres and continents, once giving him the opportunity to shut down Times Square for a movie premiere.

Allar, who came to the College eight years ago, chose to teach here specifically to continue his passion for the liberal arts.

“I wanted to be at a school that was academically rigorous, had a vibrant interest in the arts and had a commitment to the liberal arts education,” Allar said.

Before diving into teaching, Allar worked as a guest artist. Allar said that in the scenic design industry, it is common to begin work at a company, college or firm for a specific project, class or show. In Allar’s case, he worked as a guest artist at Cornell College. He also taught for a year at Elizabethtown College and for two years at Nazareth College.

“All three of those colleges are smaller liberal arts schools with both theater and arts programs,” Allar said. “They each did things a little differently so I felt fairly well-versed in different approaches to liberal arts education arriving at William and Mary.”

When he was in the New York City theater scene, Allar said that he worked on several different types of projects. He spent a lot of time working as an assistant to a principal designer, where he was asked to perform specific technical tasks.

“I built a lot of theatrical scale models, essentially, tiny versions of a theater set,” Allar said. “I generated graphic renderings for things, acting as a second-in-command to the primary designer.”

He also worked as a freelance scenic designer for theater, television, dance and opera.

“I worked at a handful of theaters in New York,” Allar said. “The most exciting thing I did was work as a designer for MTV Network’s special events for about nine months.”

Allar also worked for TV networks such as VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, TV Land and Country Music Television.

“The cool thing about working on 1515 Broadway Street, Times Square was going up the elevator and seeing rock star people,” Allar said. “It was entirely possible to go up the elevator and see someone like Kid Rock coming through the lobby. And he’s tall.”

Allar said that one of his favorite parts of working in a big city was the opportunity to collaborate with people from all different backgrounds.

“You really get to interact with an incredible wealth of diversity,” Allar said. “Diversity can be good or bad, because sometimes it means struggle, hardship and frustration. More of the time, though, it means you get to meet phenomenally talented people from all over the country and all over the world. There’s something so inherently attractive about meeting people who are just truly talented at what they do. It’s very humbling.”

Allar said that he not only enjoyed the diversity of people he worked with, but also the diversity of projects he got to work on.

“At the start of a day I would be working on a cutting-edge new play by an emerging playwright, and then I’d leave that and go to another studio and work on an Italian opera and then at night I’d get to work on some rock and roll installation,” Allar said.

Allar designed a recreation of the Jackie

LEXI PACHECO // THE FLAT HAT Gleason show “Honeymooners,” holiday displays for casinos in Atlantic City and animated Christmas windows for department stores such as Macy’s, Sak’s Fifth Avenue and Lord and Taylor.

“My theatrical training allowed me to create scaled down scenery of animated figures in these super elaborate window designs,” Allar said.

Allar said that once he even shut down a part of Times Square in order to host a TV premiere he designed for the 1960s version of “Batman.”

“The Batmobile was there and we had the Batsignal across the buildings in Times Square,” Allar said.

Although he said he loved working in the city, he said he found teaching to be a much more rewarding profession. Allar said that when working in commercial theater as a theatrical designer he often struggled to find a strong sense of purpose, which is what drew him to pursue theater in a higher education setting.

“Academic theater has a clear purpose: to educate and offer experiences to people, both from the audience’s point of view and from the production crew,” Allar said. “I like very much that the purpose in teaching is benevolent.”

In addition to being a scenic designer, Allar is also a world traveler. In 2014, he embarked on a 600-mile solo backpacking trip in Spain. Hiking about 16 miles a day, Allar finished the trip in a little under a month.

“I hiked the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route that is one of many that snake across Europe and terminate in Santiago de Compostela,” Allar said.

Allar said that he had learned about the Camino from other colleagues at the College after joining the College’s Institute for Pilgrimage Studies.

For Allar, the hike was a chance to temporarily let go of life’s stresses, deadlines and specific expectations; he said the only real obligation during a long walk is to simply

keep going.

“We all face so many challenges and expectations in life, and it’s pretty phenomenal to have the opportunity to just reflect on all sorts of things, personal or professional, over an extended period of time,” Allar said.

This past summer, Allar, along with government professor John Riofrio, co-led the Reves Center for International Studies summer abroad program in Santiago, where the two took students on a 200-mile hike and taught two classes.

Allar’s work as a scenic design has also led him to Hungary and Alaska.

“I went through a cycle where I was designing scenery and lighting for operas in Hungary,” Allar said. “I worked on three operas in a rural area in northeastern Hungary. It was like the Napa Valley of Hungary.”

Two of the operas Allar worked on were performed outside, during the hottest months in Hungary, a small town that houses a historic castle.

“Those operas were the first to be produced in the castle,” Allar said. “We were just in this ancient courtyard creating these operas.”

Allar said that he also traveled to Alaska this past summer, where he worked with a group called Perseverance Theatre, which stages shows such as “Peter and the Starcatcher” in Juneau and Anchorage.

This summer Allar will spend time in Taipei at an event called World Stage Design, to present information about contemporary American educational strategies of theatrical design. Allar also plans to spend time investigating traditional puppetry techniques in his time in Southeast Asia this summer.

“One of the fantastic things about William and Mary is that it is extraordinarily supportive of its entire community to embrace things on a global level,” Allar said.

“The new COLL curriculum really focuses on this and finding opportunities for all of us.”

COURTESY PHOTO / MATT ALLAR

Matt Allar on his hike of the Camino de Santiago where he co-led the College‘s summer program last summer.

POLICE BEAT

Feb. 15 1

Wednesday, Feb. 15 — A vehicle was stolen on Richmond Road.

2

Wednesday, Feb. 15 — Joanna Quintanilla was arrested on a charge of assault and battery at Merrimac Trail.

3

Wednesday, Feb. 15 — Christopher Trueblood was arrested on a charge of assault and battery on Richmond Road.

4

Wednesday, Feb. 15 — Vickie Smith was arrested on a charge of receiving stolen goods on Richmond Road.

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Page 3

PANEL

Refugee panel seeks to explain crisis, discusses facts Government professors spoke about the current refugee crisis, recent executive orders NIA KITCHIN FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

The College of William and Mary’s No Lost Generation student organization sponsored a refugee panel featuring three government professors Wednesday, Feb. 15. The panel was created in response to the refugee crisis and U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders concerning immigration.

Government professors Rani Mullen, Rebekah Sterling and Debra Shushan described the refugee crisis broadly in global terms, delved into President Trump’s executive orders and their implications and discussed how the crisis occurred and its effects.

Mullen emphasized that refugees are not a new phenomenon, as there have been refugees throughout history, but the crisis is especially dire right now. She maintained that it is important to note that refugees are not the only displaced people — the number of internally displaced people is nearly twice as high as the number of refugees.

Mullen shared statistics about the refugee and internally displaced person crisis: of the global population displaced by conflict in 2014, 19.5 million are refugees, 38.2 million were internally displaced and 1.8 million had asylum claims pending. Mullen also said that developing countries are taking more than their fair share of refugees, especially when compared to developed countries, which take about 86 percent.

Of the refugees from Syria, the country from which the majority of refugees are fleeing, 95 percent are hosted in just five countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. 95 percent of Afghan refugees are hosted in just two countries: Pakistan and Iran.

“We, living in rich countries, are taking a small fraction of refugees,” Mullen said.

Mullen said refugees are predominantly fleeing Syria and Afghanistan, but Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Central African Republic, Iraq and Crimea are also well-represented. She said reasons for displacement include medical needs, risks to women and children, violence, torture and family reunification. She said that, in most cases, people are fleeing violent conflict in their home countries, and that only recognized

refugees whose lives, liberties, safety, health or other fundamental rights are at risk in the host country are considered for resettlement.

According to Mullen, refugees cannot pick their country of resettlement. Mullen said that the UN Refugee Agency flags vulnerable cases for possible resettlement — refugees themselves cannot apply for resettlement. Less than one percent of the world’s refugees are ever resettled.

“We are talking about very small numbers [being resettled],” Mullen said. “Especially when we talk about it in terms of what is fair, who has a global responsibility to help out.”

Sterling distinguished between the recent executive orders. She said that the one that has gotten the most attention suspends travel, and the other two focus on immigration enforcement.

Sterling said the ultimate effect of the executive orders will be to lower the number of refugees that the United States accepts and that the language and content of these executive orders suggests that Trump’s policy surrounding asylum seekers is linked to immigration. She said it further explicitly links immigration to safety and security. “[The executive orders imply that] aliens who enter the U.S. illegally will present a threat to national security and public safety,” Sterling said.

Sterling said that there are different ways for refugees to seek asylum in the United States. At the beginning of every fiscal year, the president and Congress decide how many refugees they are going to accept. The administration raised that number to 110,000 during the current fiscal year.

The executive order from Jan. 27 proposes cutting that number to a maximum of 50,000. A refugee can gain asylum in the United States if they are accepted after an up to two-year-long screening process conducted abroad. After that, they are assigned to one of nine nongovernmental organizations — six of which are faith-based — by the U.S. Department of State. That NGO then helps them to settle and find work. However, Sterling said that over the past few years, there has been a shift in deterrence policy for asylum seekers: there are now stricter requirements and an increased number of asylum seekers in detention centers. In 2014, the United States had 44,000 asylum seekers in detention centers, according to a statistic she shared.

“These changes fit in what scholars call an increasing securitization in immigration policy,”

Sterling said.

Shushan then discussed the Syrian refugee crisis, since Syria generates the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers. She said that 400,000 Syrians have died in the war which is now approaching its seventh year. Shushan said that 4.9 million Syrians have fled the country and that there are 6.6 million internally displaced persons.

Shushan said that Turkey and Lebanon have accepted the largest number of Syrian refugees, together housing a total of 4 million, and that during Aug. 2016, the United States filled the pledge to bring in 10,000 refugees. She also said Turkey and Lebanon’s acceptance of such large numbers of refugees has severely damaged those countries’ economies.

Shushan concluded with a personal anecdote, recounting the story of how her mother’s Jewish family lived in Poland during World War II but that her mother was able to find refuge in the United States.

“These policies have tremendous

consequences,” Shushan said. “I would not be here today if my family as refugees were not able to come to the U.S.” A public commenter from the wider Williamsburg community, Hyasinter Rugoro, shared her experience as a refugee with the panel and the audience. She relayed her experience of growing up in the jungle in a refugee camp when her parents were exiled in Rwanda and said that she learned to read and write through song. Rugoro told the story of how she made it to the United States with her fiance, but once he finished school, they were told they had to leave.

She said they could not go back to Rwanda, so, within a week, they packed up and sought asylum in Canada, where they are now citizens. She said that it was important to recognize that refugees are humans, not statistics, and that they have stories like hers.

“These stories have a human face,” Rugoro said. “They are sitting among us. Thank you and I encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing.”

NIA KITCHIN / THE FLAT HAT

Students gathered in Tidewater to listen to a panel of government professors present on the facts of the refugee crisis.

Thomas Jefferson statue spray-painted Alumni, students react to the vandalism of the statue VANDALISM from page 1

New Town is located about 1 1/4 miles from the campus of William & Mary.

Ride the Trolley from W&M to New Town: The Trolley stops near Zable StadiumOne Tribe Place on Richmond Road.

what their stance is.”

Alumni formed a large portion of the opposition to the graffiti placed on the statue. Andrew Langer ’93, an alumnus, posted a live video on the ‘Overheard’ page of him bringing a Valentine’s Day card to the statue to show support for the Founding Father.

“It was a flash of inspiration that came to me literally in the space of about five minutes,” Langer said. “I saw the news report, I happened to be home, I happened to have a free couple of hours on Wednesday morning, and decided to drive over to campus. As I was driving, I said ‘Do you know something? Let me swing by the Food Lion and grab a Valentine’s card,’ because you know something? With the statue being vandalized, I thought it was important for an alumnus to stand up and show T.J. a little love.”

Ellie Grace ’19, who said they were a supporter of the graffiti, noticed this and believes it added to the tension and stress of discussing the statue.

“The [alumni] played such a huge role in fighting against it and all I’m thinking is that, in the past, the campus was very white when they went to school,” Grace said. “There’s a lot of different people on campus now. We have to memorialize everyone’s history, not just white people’s history, and I think that it’s almost a generational divide on the ‘Overheard’ group.”

Six documented cases of vandalism have occurred on campus between Feb. 10 and Feb. 17. The instances included the words “Punch ur local nazi” and “Smash Fascism” on the Millington Hall construction site, “Robert Gates is a war criminal” on Phi Beta Kappa Hall and Andrews Hall, “Genocide happened here” out front of Kaplan Arena.

“As we have previously said, while William & Mary is a place where we encourage civil discourse about challenging topics, it is not acceptable to deface property to express an opinion,” College spokesperson Suzanne Seurattan said in an email.

Despite the tensions that have risen from the discussions on ‘Overheard,’ Grace believes that the conversations have been positive, for the most part. Grace said that they have made an effort to reach out and understand the point of view of the other side to help bring the community together. “[The graffiti] gets a lot of people angry, but maybe it will just make people think a little bit,” Grace said. “It makes me think about the side I disagree with, and I want to see things from that point of view. I want to see where those people are coming from, to put myself in those people’s shoes to think about what they’re saying.”

And In New Town: Courthouse Street near the Cigar Shop and Legacy Hall.

New Town offers local shopping, movies, bookstores, health & fitness and great restaurants!

Spend a day in New Town! resTauraNTs | shoppiNg | movies | homes & aparTmeNTs healTh & beauTy | professioNal services & baNkiNg

NewTowNwilliamsburg.com

KAYLA SHARPE / THE FLAT HAT

The Thomas Jefferson statue adjacent to the Sunken Garden was vandalized on Feb. 11; its hands were spray-painted red.

Page 4

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

POLITICS

Bennett speaks on Trump, journalism Washington Post journalist gives lecture on covering Trump’s campaign

NIA KITCHIN FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

Washington Post political video reporter Dalton Bennett ’09 gave a talk on his time covering U.S. President Donald Trump as a presidential and primary candidate at the College of William and Mary Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Bennett briefly spoke about his time abroad and then described his travels around the United States on the campaign trail.

He said he spent most of his time profiling Trump supporters in order to gain insight into why they were voting for Trump.

Government professor Ronald Rapoport introduced Bennett by talking about Bennett’s time in his research methods class.

He said that Bennett went above and beyond for his assignments, including making trips to Guatemala and Honduras in order to conduct research.

He also spoke about Bennett’s reporting in the Middle East during the Arab Spring and how he was shot at, beaten and deported.

“Having covered these revolutions around the world and coming back here expecting calm, well he didn’t really get it,” Rapoport said.

After graduating, Bennett worked in Central Asia covering revolutions and focusing on the region at large.

Next, he found himself in the middle of the Arab Spring when he reported from Egypt and then Libya for six months. After that, he became employed full-time with the Associated Press, where he reported on an array of topics, including the European financial crisis from Athens, Greece, to the refugee crisis. He also reported from Ukraine about the revolution, from the beginning to the final battle.

Bennett said that he was present for many of the foreign policy issues that came up during the election. “[I had] the unique opportunity of riding shotgun through these moments of history,” Bennett said.

After his travels, Bennett saw an advertisement for a job at The Washington Post, which he immediately applied for. He said he thought it would be a dream to work for the newspaper he grew up reading. After he got the job, Bennett immediately started covering the presidential primary campaigns.

He said he was appreciative of the chance to see parts of the country he otherwise would not have had an excuse to see.

“There is nothing like the campaign trail,” Bennett said. “It’s a mix between going on tour with a rock band and following around your favorite football team; it’s exhausting, it’s exhilarating, it’s stressful, every day is a challenge.”

COURTESY PHOTO / WM/EDU

Dalton Bennett ‘09 presented on his experiences with U.S. President Donald Trump, his career as a D.C. based journalist.

During the primary, Bennett said he had to confront his own prejudices. He recounted a story about meeting a man dressed like a cowboy outside a gas station who had written a song praising Trump.

Bennett said his first instinct was to write this man off as a joke; however, after hearing his story about struggling financially and then coming home one night to find his son had overdosed on heroin, Bennett realized that Trump’s campaign gave him something to believe in.

“It was a way for him to breathe,” Bennett said.

“This opportunity to be there where people are sharing their personal stories is really a reward and something I’m grateful for.”

After the Republican candidates began dwindling, Bennett said he had a gut feeling that Trump was going to win out over Ted Cruz, so he got together with his colleagues, and they decided to go profile Trump and Hillary Clinton supporters from around the country.

Dalton profiled many Trump supporters from a diverse spread of the United States, but focused on a few that stood out to him.

One of those was Gavin Garrett, a trucker from Mount Vernon, Ohio. Bennett drove with Garrett in his big rig from Hagerstown, Md., to Ohio.

During that trip, Bennett said that he learned about Garrett’s reasons for supporting Trump. He recounted Garrett’s story about being hit hard by the recession and starting to drive steel from steel mills around Cincinnati.

Bennett said that Garrett began to notice these steel mills slowly closing and his livelihood shrinking.

Garrett was fighting for his family’s status in the middle class and thought that Trump would make his survival easier.

“The concerns Gavin has are night and day from ours,” Bennett said. “It’s not a matter of dreams and aspirations. It’s, ‘What can I do to survive?’”

Next Bennett told the story of two auto body shop owners from Atkins, Va. He said that one of them supported Trump while the other supported Bernie Sanders,

and they spent most of their workday debating politics.

After speaking with the man who supported Trump and learning about the economic struggles they faced in Atkins, including factories closing and their main business of coal disappearing, Bennett understood that these people were just trying to survive.

He said people like this identified with Trump as someone who spoke like them and would stick up for them.

“What he taps into is this core disenchantment with politics,” Bennett said. “Somehow something just, clicked, just changed. His life and his community led him to support Donald Trump.”

Lastly, Bennett spoke of his interactions with Cameron Mullins, a bull rider and construction worker from Arizona. He said that Mullins was the angriest of the people he spoke with. Mullins had lost everything in the housing crisis and now thought that he was losing construction jobs to Latino workers.

“He sees aspects of his way of life under threat, and he finds the nearest thing to blame it on,” Bennett said.

Sahil Mehrotra ’17 asked Bennett a question about whether Trump supporters would still support Trump if he does not accomplish everything he said he would or if they would simply blame it on the Democrats in Congress.

Bennett responded by saying that he should go talk to Trump supporters in order to find out.

“If you listen, they will talk to you. It’s the funniest thing,” Bennett said.

Bennett ended his talk by emphasizing the need for everyone to step out of his or her comfort zone in order to understand what is going on in the United States today.

“This election has brought up a lot of questions about where our country is right now,” Bennett said. “Your future is determined by the zip code you’re born in. People of color can walk down the street and be shot dead. Women earn less than men. What does it mean? The only way we can get to the bottom of it is by going out of our comfort zones.”

STUDENT LIFE

DWOJ conversation focuses on prison advocates Third part of lecture series discusses abused, neglected children of incarcerated HEATHER BAIER FLAT HAT ASSOC. VARIETY EDITOR

The third and final Daily Work of Justice conversation was centered on the experiences of those who worked as advocates for the incarcerated within the criminal justice system.

The event brought together students who meet regularly with teens at the Merrimac Detention Center and volunteer advocates for abused and neglected children, as well as a myriad of other people working to help those escape the system.

“Our goal for this series was that people would speak and listen and be heard and be received. And the reason for that is because when that happens, relationships begin to build, and through relationships we can see glimmers of hope,” Office of Community Engagement Director Melanie Porter said. “I think you’ve probably seen those around your table tonight. I know that I’ve heard that at my table.”

The conversation series was designed as a way for people of various occupations to come together and talk about their experiences. Guest speakers had the chance not only to tell the community about what they do, but also to speak to people in other occupations about their experiences.

Linda Palmer ’77 volunteers as an advocate for children who have been abused or neglected. She spends the majority of her time getting to know not only the child, but also their teachers, family and friends. She writes recommendations to the judge working on each child’s case so that he or she is fairly represented in court.

“We all work in isolation, and I think it’s really important to share our

experiences so that you know we can learn from one another,” Palmer said.

Members of the Steering Committee organized the event not only so that attendees could have the chance to talk about the criminal justice system, but also so that they could find out about ways to get involved in the community.

Travis Harris ’18, a student working toward a Ph.D. in American studies, said he was originally uninterested in the event.

He said that he has had no desire to be a part of another conversation where people talked about criminal justice issues and left feeling good about themselves. He wanted this series to be a way for people to become educated so that they could become more involved.

“Just recently here in James City County, last year I was going to present at an academic conference … and I was dressed up in a three-piece suit,” Harris said. “In front of my apartment a James City County police officer stopped me and detained me and said that I looked suspicious. In front of my apartment. The only thing I did was I took trash to the trash can and walked back to my car, and I looked suspicious. So, that’s my motivation, that’s what drives me.”

Harris said he felt like the event was successful in preparing attendees to get involved however they could within the system. Students who came were looking to be lawyers or criminal counselors in their future, and this event served as a supplement to their education.

Leslie Bowie, an employee for James City County Public Schools and the JCC adult education program, was a guest speaker at the event.

The adult education program includes course offerings in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail. One class offers students the chance to earn

their GED and the other offers basic educational courses. These courses allow the incarcerated to prepare for life outside of jail and for future employment.

“Some of our students have said, you know, that we’ve done a lot to help boost their confidence,” Bowie said. “No one’s ever told them they were smart before and you know they haven’t had that chance for success.”

Leslie Conton, another guest speaker, is the executive director of the Opportunity, Alliance, Re-entry of Richmond. The organization is dedicated to giving resources to the incarcerated when they leave the prison system.

“I got into my work because I believe people deserve second chances, and I serve as an advocate for those folks,” Conton said. “There’s so many folks in our world that have a much different experience than us that they look different than us, come from different backgrounds, and they get treated much differently than many of us would in the system so I think its important to talk about the work that goes on, the change that needs to happen.”

Students, community members and speakers who came to one or all of the Daily Work of Justice conversations were presented with the information and resources necessary to start changing the way the criminal justice system is operated.

“There’s that quality of presence that has gravity to it and that has meaning to it and that has potential for action,” Porter said. “That’s a really good thing because acts of citizenship do not happen in a vacuum, it cannot happen alone … because there is power in numbers and the power of collective action not only means that we have more influence, but that we can be more influenced by that action together.”

Virginia state senate passes coal ash disposal bill Feb. 7 Awaiting House of Delegates vote, bill would require more information before disposal BILL from page 1

Student Environmental Action Coalition’s Environmental and Energy Justice subcommittee Rachel Merriman-Goldring ’17 said in Virginia, power plants produce more than 2.7 million tons of coal ash per year.

“Coal ash is nasty stuff,” Merriman-Goldring said.

“That’s enough to bury Arlington National Cemetery in three feet of ash every year.”

To store the ash, it is mixed with water and put into man-made ponds.

This storage method prevents ash from blowing away, but it doesn’t prevent the slurry from leaking into the surrounding environment. When the ponds are coated with a synthetic liner to prevent ash from seeping, the lining can be damaged, resulting in the coal-ash slurry contaminating nearby water supplies.

As coal-burning power plants close or transition

to natural gas methods of producing electricity, the waste from the coal still needs to be handled. The current method of disposal is cap-in-place, which means the ponds are drained of water and then the leftover ash is covered and sealed.

Critics of this have pointed to the relative ease with which Dominion has received permits to capin-place coal ash ponds at Chesapeake, Chesterfield, Possum Point and Bremo Bluff.

Cap-in-place has also been criticized for not being a long-term solution to storage, as many ponds are located near rivers or ground-water sources.

There have been coal-ash slurry spills, including one in Tennessee in 2008 and one in North Carolina in 2014.

“It’s important to have a sense of the scale of this issue,” Merriman-Goldring said. “It’s not just small amounts in isolated places. This isn’t just happening in Virginia, but what’s happening in Virginia may

well affect what happens elsewhere in the region and nationally, policy wise. All of us live in Williamsburg now. Everybody’s current city is in the [Chesapeake] Bay watershed, so this is an issue that really is local.”

There are three power plants near Williamsburg that have coal ash storage facilities. The Yorktown and Chesterfield power plants are still operational, and there is also a decommissioned power plant in Chesapeake.

Environmental science and policy professor Mark Cooper said that SB1398 would not strengthen regulations around active disposal sites.

“It doesn’t do much to strengthen regulations around active disposal sites, only regulations around closing the sites,” Cooper said in an email. “This is probably relevant for the Chesapeake and Yorktown sites which could close in the near future, less so for Chesterfield. In that sense, the issues around coal ash storage and disposal that aren’t changed by SB1398 are also really important since Chesterfield

is a large site that is upstream on the James River from the Williamsburg area.”

Merriman-Goldring said that she believes that now is the time for politicians to realize the particular effects coal ash disposal has on impoverished communities.

“We see time and time again that particular communities are impacted by environmental issues,” Merriman-Goldring said. “Environmentalism is not as useful if it’s not intersectional, so when we’re talking about coal ash we’re talking about an environmental problem and also a social justice problem. As these coal ash ponds are drained and disposed of, it is important for politicians to realize that people, usually those in disadvantaged communities, feel the brunt of environmental pollution, coal ash included. SB1398 is the first step in making sure that these ponds are closed in a way that mitigates the harmful effects the waste can have.”

opinions

Opinions Editor Jennifer Cosgrove Opinions Editor Julia Stumbaugh fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat

The Flat Hat

| Tuesday, February 21, 2017 | Page 5

STAFF COLUMN

College lighting change is a grievous mistake

Nick Cipolla

FLAT HAT SENIOR STAFF WRITER

KAYLA SHARPE / THE FLAT HAT

GUEST COLUMN

Statue defacement opens up vital dialogue

Venu Katta

FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNIST

I’ve carried around a picture of Thomas Jefferson and of Monticello in my wallet for nearly a decade now — a souvenir from a middle school trip to the president’s home which I’ve never parted with. This isn’t an isolated bit of Jefferson fandom in my life.

I used a copy of the Jefferson Bible in lieu of an actual Bible while participating in one of my fraternity’s membership rituals, participated in a public debate where I defended the Jefferson statue’s existence on the College of William and Mary’s campus and am a student of the College’s Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy.

In short, I’m probably the last person certain reactionary alumni of the College and others would imagine when contemplating the band of politically correct leftist radical yahoos who think it’s okay to smear paint on a statue to make a larger historical point.

This piece isn’t to defend Mr. Jefferson’s legacy — though I am personally comfortable in continued positive historical remembrance of the man for many reasons. Mr. Jefferson’s legacy has been and will continued to be defended by many. By contrast, this piece is to defend the justified and reasonable actions by the individual or individuals who participated in the defacing of the statue this past week.

The direct action carried out has served to start a meaningful discussion. While, like many of our generation’s arguments occurring in the public space, it has mostly occurred on Facebook, it has also occurred in our halls, in our classrooms and in our everyday interactions. This discussion is incredibly important.

Historical remembrance requires dialogue and communal reflection. The way we choose to remember Mr. Jefferson should not be dictated by authoritative power structures or by a sheepish devotion to the status quo, but by the actual feelings, thoughts and emotions of our community. William and Mary has historically chosen to embrace a remembrance of Mr. Jefferson which excludes slavery.

Perhaps this is a justifiable move, if we decide that the construction of Mr. Jefferson is not an accurate reflection of a real person but of a useful positive figure in the way that many of history’s large personalities have had negative aspects of their lives overlooked when disproportionately positive contributions to society exist.

But that requires just that. That we decide.

Because the most telling reaction to the defacing of the statue was not the rather demonstrably false argument that the protest is meaningless or ineffective (the intensity of some arguing against it demonstrates that it is clearly effective in starting a discussion), nor the weak argument that the effort it would take facilities workers to hose off the statue was a moral crime. It was the visceral emotion of hatred of many who opposed it.

To some, positive historical remembrance to Thomas Jefferson is a foundational value — one that is immutable and cannot be challenged. Any action, whether in paint or sticky notes or protest, is inherently threatening to this ideal. Ironically, though, that conception of the infallibility of entrenched patterns of interpretation stands in nearly direct opposition to the values of liberalism and democracy that Jefferson praises our society for in the first place.

One commentator on the Jefferson statue incident remarked that “this behavior is disappointing.” I agree. That some pretend that washable paint is more dangerous than the chilling of discussion regarding how we approach the past exhibit behavior, that is disappointing.

Email Venu Katta at vrkatta@email.wm.edu.

“

The direct action carried out has served to start a meaningful discussion.

COMMENTS @THEFLATHAT

“

Being an out of state parent, I would say that it is the cost. With college cost going up, especially the price of education at W&M, and many other strong out of state colleges provide huge financial grants for the academically gifted student. Parents and children are opting out of the name in favor of the full ride. Up your grants and ability for students to graduate with less debt and more out of state students will come.

— Marcia Giordano on “After drop in class of 2020 applications, College identifies out-of-state applications as source of fluctuation”

While new buildings and improvements keep happening across campus, there seems to be one thing that students don’t address — the fact that slowly but surely, the College of William and Mary has been changing all the lamps in the parking lots and walkways from orange to white.

No longer will the warm glow of orange radiate on the Sunken Garden, for now it has been replaced by cold and emotionless white. The orange glow felt like the embrace of a fire in a living room, inviting people in and making campus feel like home. The new lights, which initially cropped up around Tyler Hall when it was reopened, don’t feel like the College I know. Instead, they feel very corporate and sanitary, like a hospital or bank.

Maybe the new lights are more environmentally friendly, or perhaps they are brighter to ensure better student safety.

If it’s the latter I understand the need to change, but if that were the case, every light on campus would be white already.

“

Maybe “For the Bold” just means increasing light pollution and diminishing the welcoming feeling the College had in previous semesters.

Instead, now we have a heterogeneous mixture of orange and white that makes it look like the campus is confused about its aesthetic. I thought the orange gave the campus a candlelit effect that reflected revolutionary times­— the new white lights just remind me of a horror film.

Personally, I think we should just keep all the lights around campus orange. In literature, orange is used to represent things like happiness, creativity, determination and success.

White is used to represent purity, perfection and innocence.

From this perspective, I see the student body more in the orange light. Nobody is perfect like the white light, but striving for greatness and having a sense of happiness is something that’s attainable. That part might be a bit of a stretch, but I think these new white lights are eyesores that don’t reflect the campus aesthetic Whether the College keeps the white lights or returns to the familiar orange, it needs to settle on one of these two options.

The mixture I mentioned earlier isn’t a good look for campus.

The imbalance of color makes walking around feel like the walkways are going through their awkward adolescent phase.

We’re a school rooted in tradition, and though traditions evolve, it doesn’t make much sense to have this slow transition to the ugly, white light. It seems like a waste of money to replace functional bulbs, so maybe “For the Bold” just means increasing light pollution and diminishing the welcoming feeling the College had in previous semesters.

It just won’t be the same walking around in the eerie, white light compared to the pleasant, comfortable orange shining light onto the College’s well-traveled pathways.

Email Nick Cipolla at ngcipolla@email.wm.edu.

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Page 6

STAFF COLUMN

Free STD screenings help dismantle stigma Lexi Godfrey

FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER

No one wants to talk about them; it’s weird and uncomfortable. Truth be told, no one really knows much about them, either. What’s the difference between chlamydia and gonorrhea? Do you have herpes forever? What the heck is even crabs?

I’ll be honest, talking about sexually transmitted diseases isn’t exactly polite dinner conversation, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who is pretty familiar with each sexually transmitted infection out there.

Therefore, serious conversations about STDs always seem to be far and few between. Consequentially, even though no one seems to know much about the conditions, everyone is openly afraid of them. And people who have them can feel somewhat like social pariahs in the day and age of a public narrative that seems to ridicule those affected (have you ever heard of a “thot-fax”? Yeah, like a car-fax … for humans. Good job, Twitter).

“

There is more that the College can do as a whole to improve education on the subject, but having the health center offer free STD screening is movement in the right direction.

So it came as a welcome change when the College of William and Mary’s student health center announced that it would be offering free STI/STD screening on Valentine’s Day this year. In pointed jest of the holiday designed for veiled romantic gestures (whether sexual or not), the student health center chose to be bold and waived the normal $75 fee for anyone who chose to get themselves tested.

While blatant marketing and publicizing of this offer ranged from limited to nonexistent, the word still spread sufficiently enough that a good number of people turned up to take advantage of the opportunity. Unfortunately, the free services were limited to the first 100 people that showed up, and after that, students had to pay the regular subsidy if their insurance didn’t cover it.

There has been widespread complaint that many people were not aware of the event until after the opportunity had already passed, though. When I think back on it, I can’t remember seeing any advertisement for the event anywhere — no posters, Facebook events, or postings about it.

There was a quick blurb in the Feb. 13 Student Happenings email, but a lot of students tend to ignore those emails, including myself, admittedly.

Ultimately, I believe most people will agree that the health center could have done a much better job advertising the event to reach people who might really be in need of free STD testing. Hopefully next time they will be more proactive about it.

I am happy to see the College making a step toward eliminating the stigma surrounding sexual health on campus.

Obviously there is more that the College can do as a whole to improve education on the subject, but having the health center offer free STD screening is movement in the right direction.

I hope they offer this opportunity again for people who might have missed it this past Valentine’s Day — it’s also important to express that it doesn’t have to be a holiday to take care of yourself.

Email Lexi Godfrey at algodfrey@email.wm.edu.

JAE CHO / THE FLAT HAT

LETTER TO THE EDITOR William & Mary Information Technology would like to respond to the opinion piece titled “Poor Campus Wi-Fi is a Detriment To School” published on February 13, 2017 written by Sae Takagi. We are keenly aware of the importance of Wi-Fi connectivity to the university. That is why we have recently invested heavily in upgrading Wi-Fi across the entire campus. An article that explains in detail the improvements that were made can be found on our website.

We have received previous reports of Wi-Fi connectivity issues in Miller Hall and we have been working with the students who reported them to identify the exact issues.

We have also been working closely with the vendor of the Wi-Fi system and recently rolled-out a temporary solution that will be in place until the manufacturer can fully

“

resolve the problem.

We don’t know if Ms. Takagi’s specific problem would be addressed with this solution as she had not previously reported her problem to us and we have not been given the chance to investigate it.

However, our network engineers have reached-out to her to ask for more details about the issues she is having. We would appreciate any future Wi-Fi issues be reported to support@wm.edu so that we can work to address them.

Melissa Palacios Project & Communications Manager Information Technology William & Mary mkpala@wm.edu 757-221-7816

COMMENTS @THEFLATHAT

Definitely something to think about. This is something many international students have faced as well. Especially in student student relationships, both sides should be willing to interact with others, not just one side. The College of William and Mary (in fact, any college) should be and could be a welcoming home for everyone.

— Byung Oh Jang on “Embracing diversity, not just tolerating it”

variety

Variety Editor Katie Koontz Variety Editor Akemi Tamanaha flathat.variety@gmail.com // @theflathat

The Flat Hat| Tuesday, February 21, 2017 | Page 7

t a H t a l picks F e h T

the

OSC RS

The Oscars are back this Sunday and the Flat Hat staff has chosen who they think will win Hollywood’s most coveted awards.

n i w n e e r h t i s . .. d n a Best Picture

La La Land

Best D Dam irecto ine C r h azell e

Best Actor

Best Actress

Emma Stone

Best Supporting Actor

Denzel Washington, Fences Best Animated Feature Film

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight Best Supporting Actress ... It’s a tie!

Zootopia Viola Davis, Fences (left) Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures (right) COURTESY PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Page 8

, g n i l i e C No s t i m i L No

The Flat Hat

Student a capella group advances to semi-finals TALIA WIENER FLAT HAT ASSOC. VARIETY EDITOR

Senior Grayson Kilgo spends his summers singing with an allmale a capella group, Hyannis Sound, and last fall he decided to bring a similar professional, competitive a capella presence to the College of William and Mary. Kilgo called together friends and other students in the music community and they met in Aromas Cafe, making plans for the future. They discussed their goals and expectations and by the end of the meeting, they had created No Ceiling.

The new group, made up of 14 members, placed first in the quarterfinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Capella. No Ceiling was competing against all schools in North Carolina and Virginia, just a small number of the over 350 schools in the United States and the United Kingdom that entered. This win qualifies the group to compete in the semifinals on March 11 in Athens, Ga. When groups arrive at the ICCA competition, they each select a number out of a hat which dictates the order in which they will perform. While they wait for a sound check, they listen to other groups rehearse and run through parts themselves. Business Manager Tiger Richetti ’17 recalls the whole day as a blur.

“I just remember all of us getting in line and freaking out and practicing and going over parts,” Richetti said. “When we come off stage we freak out because you get so into it that you don’t really register what’s going on until you get off.”

No Ceiling, which performs contemporary hits, prepared songs throughout the semester, but really buckled down for the last two weeks before the competition. Since they perform mostly off campus, all but two of the singers are involved in other a capella groups on campus and many also participate in school choral ensembles. Due to the members’ busy schedules, rehearsals are

THE FLAT HAT / SEAN WILLNER

No Ceiling is a competitive a capella group consisting of 14 student vocalists.

scheduled late at night. Leading up to quarterfinals, the group met each day at 10 p.m., practicing in Sadler Center until past midnight.

Junior Will Wolz insists the excitement for performing remains with the group throughout the competition season. Since the majority of rehearsal occurs in the final weeks before competing, Wolz says the music still feels fresh.

“After you sing something for a really long time it gets jaded and boring,” Wolz said. “But since it’s so new, we’re still excited. We’re really excited to learn the choreography and perform it.”

Kilgo also credits the song choice for the group’s continued passion and interest. The group has 12 minutes to perform four songs during the competition and this year chose a variety of genres to keep their set entertaining. The songs are “Midnight River” by Vaults, “Breathing, Underwater” by Emeli Sandé, “Don’t Make Me Choose” by Nick Jonas, and “Salvation” by Gabrielle Aplin.

“Some groups try to pick music that’s really popular, or they just want to find songs that sound best in their voices. But for us I really want to find songs that are meaningful to us because that’s the point,” Kilgo said. “It needs to be cathartic for everyone or else it’s not really going to be worth going to rehearsal every day.”

This rigorous rehearsal schedule can be difficult, and performances that include so many components can be challenging.

Richetti recognizes the unity of the group as a driving force behind the perseverance of No Ceiling.

“The hardest part is very individualized for each person. Some people struggle with learning music or remembering music in combination with choreography, and some people struggled with performing and making sure your face is engaged the entire time you’re performing. Some people just struggle with nerves and being afraid they’re going to do the ‘Pitch Perfect’ thing and walk on stage and vomit,” Richetti said. “So the hardest part in preparing is that everyone deals with the stress of it in a different way. And I think that’s actually also why it’s really wonderful to have each other there, because if one person struggles with music we have another person there that really excels at the music. It really helps all of us become better singers, musicians, performers and people.”

Kilgo wants the group to help its members grow and have new experiences singing and performing. Last year, they struggled to piece everything together, but now the group has gained confidence, creating their own choreography and better representing themselves.

“At a school like William and Mary, we don’t really have those resources to perform with hand held mics and have a professional company to mix everything,” Kilgo said.

Kilgo has organized for the group to professionally record two tracks that will be released in a few months on Spotify and iTunes.

Kilgo said he hopes the group will keep improving and trying new things.

“I think the College is about trying new things and having as many experiences as you can when you’re here. Starting No Ceiling was something that I had always dreamed about doing,” Kilgo said. “I have high expectations for what we do. That’s part of why we’re called No Ceiling. We were really trying to think of a name and I want us to constantly be raising the bar for what we expect from ourselves.”

COURTESY GRAPHICS / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

CONFUSION CORNER

The Meme-ing of Life: Modern meme culture explained Memes are not just an internet phase, they are society’s evolving inside joke

Ellie Moonan BEHIND CLOSED DOORS COLUMNIST

About six years ago, not a day went by that I didn’t go on memebase.com. I was introduced to this website by my brother, and it was the mother source for all things memes. Sometimes I scrolled through the site for hours at a time. My mind would go numb as I was unable to escape the witty captions and ridiculous nature that these strange pictures presented.

Society has since made memes into an enormous trend. The weirdest part is, since my introduction to them six years ago, I have never questioned the nature of these memes. But now I have come to realize that they are not simply a phase the internet is going through; they are an integral part of our era. In order to dissect the strange cultural phenomenon that is a meme, we have to first provide a definition to ground this otherwise groundless entity.

On my brief journey to track down the origin of the word “meme,” I was led to a man named

Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is a biologist and author. In 1976, he wrote a book entitled, “The Selfish Gene” in which he discusses the immortal nature of genes. In chapter 11 of his novel, he coins the term “meme” (shortened from the Darwinian idea of “memetics”) to describe an imitation or replica passed on from one brain to the other. The imitation can be anything from whistling a tune that someone else then picks up, to an idea passed on from teacher to student. In short, Dawkins likens this idea of a “meme” to a virus.

So now how does this scientific definition relate to captioned cats with toast on their faces?

You would be surprised.

If Dawkins can connect the sense of a meme to a virus, then we can link the term “viral” along with that. Therefore, a meme in the modern world is a massive spread of ideas copied from one person to another. This spread of information usually takes the form of a picture and is able to be shared digitally on numerous platforms. If I view an image I enjoy or in some sense relate to, then I can share that image and add to the community of conversation. Cats with toast faces are, well, entertaining, and so they are copied, spread and shared — thus they become memes.

Memes are not only limited to picture references, however. In fact, the concept of memes was in existence even before the internet. They are ideas that have a sharp method of communication based on common

cultural backgrounds — they are inside “jokes” shared between the minds of similar discourse communities.

Great, so now that memes are somewhat simply defined as viral imitative media, what use are they in today’s society? In other words, what are they doing that makes them grow uncontrollably?

Memes have expanded a lot since I was first introduced I used to visit memebase.com

“

Though I have likened memes to viruses, that is not to say they are unhealthy for our environment. I believe the opposite is true, actually, and that they are extremely beneficial to society.

every day because I related to the images; they were humorous and honest. Now, I am seeing memes as both a source of satire (whether that be political, cultural, etc.) and as a new form of communication whose foundation relies on a summation of relatable ideas. Memes serve the purpose of addressing real talking points in a direct manner — just as Trolley Problem memes break down complex theories and thoughts into mere sentences.

Though I have likened memes to viruses, that is not to say they are unhealthy for our environment. I believe the opposite is true, actually, and that they are extremely beneficial to society. Memes allow us to communicate and comment on current events and theories in a concise and witty manner. They are a foundation for shared perspectives and mindsets — the same notion that gave rise to universities in the 11th century and French coffee shops in the 18th century.

As I stated before, it is not the internet that created this form of communication. The internet has simply made the processes progress faster.

Memes are the inevitable product of the current state of media. I am curious to witness the future status of this new form of cultural communication, as it continues to test the boundaries of human intellectuality and question the state of the universe.

Ellie Moonan is a Confusion Corner columnist whom you can cash outside, howbow dah?

sportsinside

The Flat Hat

| Tuesday, February 21, 2017 | Page 9

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Tribe falls to Dukes, rebounds to demolish Blue Hens

College secures road win to move into tie for fourth in CAA play entering final two regular season games CHRIS TRAVIS FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR

Sitting at a dismal 2-11 record away from Kaplan Arena, William and Mary hit the road for the final time this regular season desperate to prove itself with a win away from home. The results were mixed, as the College (15-12, 9-7 CAA) fell in a 95-92 overtime heartbreaker to James Madison Thursday before dismantling Delaware 85-64 in a Saturday evening matchup.

Senior guard Daniel Dixon, who has been the Tribe’s go-to player this season, got off to another quick start against the Dukes (8-20, 6-9 CAA), scoring the opening five points for the College. After two powerful dunks and a hot shooting start for JMU, the Tribe trailed 11-9 with just over 16 minutes left in the first half.

From there, the game began to slowly slip away. An 11-2 run by the Dukes left the Tribe in an 11-point hole with just over 13 minutes left in the period.

The insertion of junior guard

Connor Burchfield sparked the Tribe into cutting down the lead. The next three possessions all resulted in the sharpshooter connecting on a triple, leaving the JMU lead at just 26-20 at the under 12 media timeout.

The final stretch of the first half was yet again highlighted by the College just slightly letting the game slip away. A layup from junior guard Greg Malinowski cut the deficit to three with 7:34 remaining.

The Dukes responded by storming ahead on a 9-0 run to push the margin back to 12. For the final 4 minutes of the half, the teams traded baskets, resulting in a 4938 halftime lead for JMU. For the opening 8 minutes of the second half, the teams traded baskets and the Dukes maintained their 12-point lead at 63-52. A quick 10-3 run engineered by Burchfield and senior forward Omar Prewitt brought the deficit to just four with 8 minutes remaining.

Moments later, a Dixon layup brought the Tribe within one possession, 69-67.

With 1:40 left in regulation, Prewitt knocked in a jumper, bring the score to 79-77. On the ensuing JMU possession, the Tribe came up with the stop it desperately needed. Nevertheless, a Dixon turnover led to two Dukes free throws. Dixon redeemed himself by quickly scoring to cut the deficit to 81-79 with 36 seconds remaining.

Junior guard David Cohn made a critical play, intercepting a pass and flinging it to Burchfield, who found Dixon yet again for an easy layup to tie the game at 81. The final JMU possession ended with a Prewitt steal, but his last second shot fell just off the mark.

The College came into overtime flat, allowing the Dukes to take a 90-84 lead with just over a minute left in the extra period. Dixon reminded everyone why he has been the team’s most dominant player this season, scoring eight straight Tribe points to cut the deficit to just one, 93-92, with 6 seconds remaining. Dixon’s efforts were too little, too late, as the

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Dukes hit a pair of free throws to cement the win as Prewitt’s final heave was off the mark.

Dixon led the Tribe with 29 points on 11 of 21 shooting from the field, while Prewitt added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Junior center Jack Whitman finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Burchfield chipped in 17 off the bench in his best offensive game of the season.

Saturday, the Tribe fought through the post-JMU hangover to throttle the Blue Hens (12-17, 5-11 CAA). The opening minutes of the contest were tight, with Delaware holding a slim 2320 lead with just under 7 minutes left in the half. From there, the College asserted itself offensively, going on an 18-3 run to close the half with a commanding 38-26 lead that it would not relinquish. The run was keyed by Dixon, who scored nine points on the run on a pair of triples and an old-fashioned three-point play.

The second half featured some of the

Tribe’s most consistent play on the road this season, as it maintained its lead. The College never allowed the Blue Hens any closer than 11.

The game ended with a satisfying 85-64 road win. As has been typical of conference play, Dixon and Prewitt, who finished with 25 and 23, respectively, led the Tribe. Dixon added eight rebounds on four of seven shooting from deep, while Prewitt added seven board and six assists. As a team, the College handed out 23 assists on 27 made field goals, a testament to the squad’s passing discipline despite having two star scorers on the floor.

The Tribe will finish out the regular season with two straight home games, Thursday at 7 p.m. against Hofstra and Saturday at 7 p.m. against Towson.

Currently tied for fourth in the CAA, the College looks to continue its strong play and improve its seed heading into the conference tournament, which will begin March 4.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Phoenix put away Tribe early College shoots 13 percent in first half

JACOB ROSS FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER

COURTESY PHOTO/ TRIBE ATHLETCS

Junior center Abby Rendle swatted four shots against Charleston to set the single-season school record for blocks with 89 thus far.

College comes up just short Charleston hits last minute shot to win ALYSSA GRZESIAK FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR

William and Mary welcomed Charleston to Kaplan Arena Friday night for an evenly-matched Colonial Athletic Association game.

The match went into overtime before the Tribe (16-10, 6-9 CAA) fell to the Cougars (9-17, 6-9 CAA) 71-69.

In addition to leading the Tribe with a season high of 18 points, junior center Abby Rendle set the single-season school record for blocked shots with 89 thus far. The four blocks she added Friday night were matched by four from senior forward Alex Masaquel, who also added 16 points. Senior guard Latrice Hunter scored 15. At this point in the season, the Tribe is looking at all options to try to win critical CAA games.

“Everyone on the team is playing different positions now,” Hunter said. “You just have to be ready when your name is called just to be ready to play.”

S e n i o r Masaquel guard Marlena Tremba led the Tribe with four steals. The College started the game off strong with two good layups by Masaquel and senior forward Kasey Curtis. No lead in the first quarter was larger than three until the final minute when Charleston took a 1713 lead.

The Cougars upped their lead to seven with a breakaway layup

by Breanna Bolden, bringing the score to 22-15. The largest lead occurred with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left in the half with Charleston leading by nine, 31-22.

The Tribe Rendle managed to close the lead to four by the end of the half thanks to a breakaway shot and free throw by junior guard Jenna Green and a layup by Masaquel with less than 0:30 remaining in the half.

The score going into halftime was 31-27 in Charleston’s favor.

“I thought things changed with us in the last couple of minutes of the first half,” head coach Ed Swanson said. “I felt our energy level picked up, our body language changed.”

With five minutes left in the third quarter, the Cougars brought their lead back up to nine with a good free throw by Shiclasia Brown. This shot sparked a turning point in Tribe game play and the Charleston lead quickly depleted. A 13-0 run by the College followed, bringing the score to 44-40 and resulting in a fourpoint Tribe lead. Tremba, Masaquel and Hunter keyed this third quarter comeback.

The Tribe kept its lead through the duration of the quarter. The third quarter ended with the College up 46-43. A good shot in the paint by sophomore guard Bianca Boggs increased the Tribe lead to six with 7:30 left in the game. A layup by Rendle put the College up 58-51, a lead of seven points, its largest of the night.

A good jumper and free throw

by Charleston’s Shiclasia tied the game at 60 with 0:19 remaining.

The game went into overtime at the same score. Charleston’s Cailin Dorsey scored the first points of overtime with a good three followed by a Tribe layup in the paint by Rendle.

The score tied up twice in overtime, 67-67 with 2:04 remaining and 69-69 with 0:25 remaining.

A good shot in the paint by Hunter tied Tremba the game up for the final time. The Cougars secured a final layup to bring them up 71-69. Rendle’s final shot was off the mark, securing the win for Charleston.

The Tribe’s shooting percentage increased from 34 percent in the first half to 48 percent in the second half for a 41 percent average, compared to Charleston’s 37 percent overall shooting average.

“Their rebounding wasn’t really the issue, it was our oneon-one defense at times, our team defense, that failed us at times. We let those guards just drive to the basket,” Swanson said. “Rebounding wasn’t the reason why we lost.”

The Tribe hits the road to take on Elon Sunday and will return home to welcome UNCWilmington to Kaplan Arena Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.

William and Mary needed the shots to fall Sunday. An energized and emotional Elon team was eager to protect home court on senior day and the College had to be at its best in order to stage the upset. But it turned out to be one of those days where you just can’t buy a bucket.

The Tribe shot a dismal 25.9 percent from the field and got trounced by the Phoenix, losing 70-47 at Alumni Gym. With the victory, Elon (21-6, 13-2 CAA) remained tied with James Madison at the top of the Colonial Athletic Association standings while the College dropped its second straight game to fall to 16-10 and 6-9 in CAA play.

The Tribe only managed to score 13 points in the first half due to the stifling Phoenix defense and headed into the locker room at halftime facing a 20-point deficit.

The Tribe briefly found momentum in the third quarter with a 6-0 run to cut the Elon lead to 14, but the Phoenix responded with a run of its own and scored nine unanswered points to keep the game out of the Tribe’s reach for good.

“They knocked us back on our heels,” head coach Ed Swanson said to Tribe Athletics.

“Defensively they really got in our faces and intimidated us. They took it at us and we had no response for them.”

Accuracy from the free-throw line and the play of sophomore guard Bianca Boggs provided a couple of bright spots in the midst of defeat. The Tribe sank 14-15 (93.3 percent) from the charity stripe and Boggs had a strong second half to finish with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals.

“The team that started the second half off, we cut it to 14 points,” Swanson said to Tribe Athletics. “I thought they played with great energy and they were led by Bianca Boggs.

I thought she really came out and asserted herself on both sides of the floor. I was really proud and happy of the way she played.”

Junior guard Latrice Hunter added seven points, four rebounds and three assists and sophomore forward Ali Engelhardt chipped in off of the bench with five points and four rebounds in the loss.

The Tribe has the opportunity to rebound at home Friday against UNC-Wilmington. The game marks the Tribe’s senior night and tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Kaplan Arena.

SCOREBOARD Men’s Basketball (15-12, 9-7 CAA)

Women’s Basketball (16-10, 6-9 CAA)

Feb. 9: Drexel 79, College 61 Feb. 11: College 89, Charleston 79 Feb. 16: James Madison 95, College 92 Feb. 18: College 85, Delaware 64 Feb. 23: vs Hofstra, 7 p.m.

Feb. 25: vs Towson, 2 p.m.

Feb. 10: Drexel 65, College 48 Feb. 12: College 68, Towson 55 Feb. 17: Charleston 71, College 69 (OT) Feb. 19: Elon 70, College 47 Feb. 24: vs UNCW, 7 p.m.

Feb 26: at James Madison, 5 p.m.

Average Scoring Leaders Daniel Dixon.............18.5 pts, 49% FG, 40% 3pt Omar Prewitt.............15.7 pts, 50% FG, 6.1 REB David Cohn..................5.9pts, 40% FG, 4.6 AST

Men’s Tennis (6-5, 0-1 CAA) Feb. 5: L, Valparaiso 4, College 3 Feb. 11: L, Elon 5, College 2 Feb. 12: W, College 6, Winthrop 1 Feb. 14: L, Illinois 4, College 0 Feb. 17: W, College 5, George Washington 2 Feb. 19: W, College 5, Depaul 2 Feb. 28: vs St. John’s, 4 p.m.

March 3-4: Pacific Coast Doubles

Championship

Gymnastics Men: Feb. 25 Illinois-Chicago

W, College 394.7, Chicago 376.95 Women: Feb. 19 Maryland, Kentucky, Penn L, Kentucky 195.850, College 192.825

Track and Field March 3-5: at IC4A Indoor Track and Field Championships March 10-11: at NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships

Average Scoring Leaders Marlena Tremba.......13.0 pts, 36% FG, 35% 3pt Alex Masaquel.............11.5 pts, 48% FG, 7.8 REB Abby Rendle..................9.7 pts, 50% FG, 3.5 BLK

Women’s Tennis (4-5, 1-0 CAA) Feb. 4: W, College 7, West Virginia 0 Feb. 5: L, Kansas 4, College 2 Feb. 11: L, Wake Forest 7, College 0 No. 3012: Women’s Tennis (10-4,1 1-0 CAA) Feb. L, N.C. State 6, College Feb 18: W, College 6, Dartmouth 1 Feb 25: at Charleston, 10 a.m.

Feb. 26: at South Carolina, 12 p.m.

March 3: at Maryland, 4 p.m.

Baseball (0-3) Feb. 17: L, Florida 5, College 4 Feb. 18: L, Florida 8, College 1 Feb. 19: L, Florida 11, College 6 Feb. 24-26: Lafayette

Lacrosse (0-2) Feb. 11: L, Maryland 13, College 3 Feb. 18: L, George Mason 9, College 7 Feb. 24: at Winthrop, 4 p.m.

sports

Sports Editor Alyssa Grzesiak Sports Editor Chris Travis flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 21, 2017 | Page 10

BASEBALL

Tribe strikes out in Florida

College destroyed in season opening series by No. 2 Florida Gators BRENDAN DOYLE FLAT HAT ASSOC. SPORTS EDITOR

Friday, William and Mary opened its 2017 campaign one year after a successful season in which they captured the Colonial Athletic Association crown and advanced to the College World Series, eliminating Virginia. The first order of business was a weekend series against No. 2 Florida in Gainesville. The Tribe (0-3), overmatched, were swept in the three-game set by the Gators (30), getting edged in the first game but giving up 19 runs in the next two games combined.

In the first game of the series, the College started senior right-handed pitcher Nick Brown, while the Gators sent out right-handed pitcher Alex Faedo. After a quick and uneventful first inning, the Tribe struck first in the top of the second. Freshman left fielder Brandon Raquet came to the plate for the first time in his college career. He walked off with two down and blasted a home run over the left field fence. Freshman first baseman Michael Goldak struck out to end the

COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS

Tribe was outmatched in its series opener against No. 2 Florida this past weekend, resulting in a three game losing streak.

inning, but the Tribe led 1-0.

Coming out in the bottom of the second, Brown got the shutdown inning he was looking for.

He hit the first batter he faced, but erased the miscue with a double play before getting a flyout to center field to end the inning.

After a one-two-three top of the third, Florida loaded the bases in the bottom, attempting to break open the game. A strikeout and two fielder’s choices later, Brown had limited the damage to only one run.

In the top of the fourth, the College took the lead back on another Brandon Raquet RBI. His single to left plated junior second baseman Cullen Large. Senior center fielder Charles Ameer was thrown out on the base paths to end the inning, but not before the Tribe led 2-1.

Brown yet again kept the Gators in check in the fourth, walking the first batter, then sitting down the next three in order. In the top of the fifth, the College took advantage. After a Goldak strikeout, sophomore third baseman Zach Pearson singled. Following another strikeout, junior right fielder Ryan Hall walked, setting up second and third with two out.

The Gators went to their bullpen, calling on left-handed pitcher Nick Horvath. Facing off against Large, Horvath gave up a triple. Hall and Pearson scored, upping the Tribe lead to three. A groundout by sophomore catcher Hunter Smith thwarted the College’s rally right where it stood.

In the bottom of the fifth, Brown again attempted to get the Tribe back to bat quickly. After two singles and a groundout, the Gators had runners at second and third with only one away. Brown got a popup for the second out but gave up a single to the next batter, scoring two. A flyout ended the inning with the College leading 4-3.

Despite the lead, the Tribe could not get anything started in the sixth, and redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Nick Raquet took the field. He held the Gators without a run in the bottom half of the inning.

After another Gators pitching change, the Tribe yet again went down one-two-three. In the home half of the inning, the Gators quickly went to work. After a walk and an error, Florida had runners on second and third with no outs, spelling trouble for the Tribe. A groundout to the pitcher moved both runners, tying the game at four. A few pitches later, Nick Raquet threw a wild pitch, allowing the go-ahead run to score. He struck out the next two, but the damage was done.

Fight as they may, the College could not get anything started at the plate over the last two innings. The Gators closed out a 5-4 victory on the opening day of the season.

Saturday, the Tribe had a chance to even the score. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Bodie Sheehan started his first game of the year for the College, while the Gators started right-hand pitcher Brady Singer. The game started almost identically as the first game of the set, with the Tribe taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Senior designated hitter Ryder Miconi singled and was advanced to second on a hit batsman. A fielder’s choice put Miconi on third before senior first baseman Matthew Tilley grounded out to second, scoring him.

Following that point, the game became all Gators. Sheehan gave up a two-run single in the bottom of the second, surrendering the lead for the remainder of the game. He would go on to give up five earned runs in four and a third innings before being pulled. Meanwhile, Singer would not give up another earned run on the day, striking out six in five innings.

Junior right-handed pitcher Charlie Fletcher, freshman right-handed pitcher Jamie Sara and senior right-handed pitcher Chase Bailey each made their season debuts in relief appearances.

Fletcher faced three batters, walking one before retiring the next two. Sara gave up four hits and a run in his two innings. Bailey gave up two runs in his one inning out of the bullpen.

The Tribe mustered six hits against the Florida pitching staff, leaving 10 men on base. Miconi was the only player with multiple hits on Saturday, going two for four. Nevertheless, none of that offense was nearly enough, as the Tribe fell 8-1.

On Sunday, Florida went for the three-game sweep as the College tried to salvage a game from the set. Unlike the first two matchups, the Gators went on top early, building a massive 9-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning.

Senior right-handed pitcher Daniel Powers gave up seven runs, six earned, in just two innings starting for the Tribe. Senior right-handed pitcher Aaron Fernandez gave up two more in two innings of relief.

The College pushed back with a Large RBI double, a wild pitch and a passed ball scored three in the top of the sixth. Two in the bottom of the seventh for the Gators, though, would push the lead to 11-3 and all but put the game away.

In the top of the eighth, the Tribe added an RBI single from Miconi and an Ameer double, scoring two. That would be as close as the College would get, as Florida pulled out an 11-6 win, taking all three games from the College.

The Tribe scored its six runs on seven hits, while leaving only six men on base. Meanwhile, the Gators plated 11, with 12 hits and five runners left on base.

The College will return to Williamsburg for its home opener on Friday, welcoming Lafayette to Plumeri Park, with the first pitch at 4 p.m.

TENNIS

College men and women triumph at home

Women dominate Dartmouth, men increase at-home win-streak to 17 ALYSSA GRZESIAK FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR Tribe women’s tennis (4-5, 1-0 CAA) welcomed Dartmouth on Saturday to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The women handed Dartmouth (7-1) its first defeat of the regular season in a 6-1 decision.

The College took the doubles point with a 6-3 win by senior Marie Faure and sophomore Lauren Goodman at the No. 1 spot and a 6-4 win by freshman Natalia Perry and junior Cecily Wuenscher at the No. 3 spot.

Junior Ekaterina Stepanova had a big win over Taylor Ng, threetime All-Ivy League selection and 2015 player of the year, at the No. 1 spot 7-5, 7-6. Faure made quick work of her opponent in a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 2 spot. Goodman also saw victory at the No. 3 spot in a three-set match 6-7, 6-2, 10-4. Junior Maria Groener triumphed in the No. 5 spot, 6-2, 6-3. Perry dominated the No. 6 spot with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Dartmouth opponent.

The Tribe women will hit the road to South Carolina to take on Charleston at 10 a.m. Feb. 25 and University of South Carolina at 12 p.m. Feb. 26.

Tribe men’s tennis (6-5, 0-1 CAA) prevailed over three-time Atlantic 10 Champion George Washington (5-4) at home Friday afternoon with a 5-2 victory.

Senior Addison Appleby and sophomore Tristan Bautil took the Tribe’s only win in doubles play against George Washington

in a 6-3 match. Despite losing the first set in the No. 1 spot, senior Aidan Talcott came out victorious over his Colonial foe 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Junior Christian Cargill had a competitive match at the No. 2 spot, finally winning after a hard-fought second set 6-4, 7-6. Junior Alec Miller came out on top in the No. 4 singles match 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, after an intense three-set thriller. Senior Damon Niquet also went into a third set at the No. 5 spot but dominated to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. Junior Lars de Boer dominated his GW opponent at the No. 6 spot, 6-4, 6-1.

Appleby lost to Colonial’s Chris Fletcher 7-6, 7-6 in an intense, seemingly back-and-forth battle at the No. 3 spot.

The men’s team increased its at-home win streak to 17 straight wins after defeating Big East foe DePaul (6-2) Sunday afternoon with another 5-2 triumph.

The duo of Talcott and Newman secured the College’s only doubles win 6-3; however, the Blue Demons took one of their two points from doubles match wins.

The Tribe dominated singles play. Talcott defeated his opponent in the No. 1 spot 6-0, 6-4. Cargill defeated DePaul foe at the No. 2 spot in a tiebreaker match after losing the first set 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Appleby and Miller fought hard at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots and ended up victorious, each with a 6-3, 6-4 match win. Niquet had a similar struggle at the No. 5 spot but also came out on top with a 6-4, 6-3 win.

The Tribe men will take on St. John’s at the McCormackNagelsen Tennis Center Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. for the last match of the regular season.

COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS

Junior Ekaterina Stepanova defeats Darthmouth’s three-time All-Ivy League Taylor Ng.