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IN GENERAL Volume XV | Issue 2

STUDENT SPACES: CREATIVITY WITHIN FOUR WALLS

W&L STUDENTS DE-STRESS WITH INSTAGRAM PARODY ACCOUNTS

NEW AND OLD: FEMALE LEADERSHIP ON CAMPUS

IN GENERAL

CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Caroline Blackmon ‘19

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Julia Gsell ‘18

MANAGING EDITOR Sutton Travis ‘19

LAYOUT EDITOR Adit Ahmed ‘19

COPYWRITERS Madyson Bennett ‘21 Savannah Emge ‘21 Emily Hershgordon ‘20 Kara Lough ‘20 Darcy Olmstead ‘21 Mathilde Sharman ‘21

LAYOUT Mischa Biszick, ‘21 Killian Green ‘21 Coleman Martinson ‘21

PHOTOGRAPHY Kara Lough ‘20 Darcy Olmstead ‘21

To submit a letter to the editor or for advertising inquiries please contact: inGeneral Magazine John W. Elrod Commons Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA 24450

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FROM THE

EDITOR Dear inGeneral readers,

Thank you so much for picking up this issue of our magazine! Our team is especially excited for you to read this one, since it’s full of fun, heartwarming and thought-provoking stories and visuals. We hope that you enjoy reading this magazine as much as we enjoyed putting it together. *** I searched for months to find an internship this summer. I’m not exaggerating. From late September to early March, I was doing one of two things: consistently applying to internships or consistently being rejected by said internships. That kind of stuff can really get a girl down. Then, I got a scholarship from Washington and Lee from alum Alex Jones. I was so honored to have been chosen from the other journalism students who had applied. But, my search was not over. The scholarship basically pays for me to work at any midsize newspaper, contingent on the fact that the newspaper hires me as an intern. So, the lovely and selfless Professor Luecke sat down with me to figure out where I would like to go. I said I was open for basically anything, but I did suggest a few cities like Nashville and Seattle. A couple weeks went by. I started to

get nervous. I had been rejected by every newspaper and magazine I had applied to so far, so how could this scholarship help me? Then, Professor Luecke emailed me. A friend of hers is the editor of the Detroit Free Press and said he had read my resume and stories and wanted me to work for his newspaper. It was amazing. Someone actually wanted me and had faith in me to not completely ruin their publication. But, Detroit? Being from Atlanta, I have never been more north of Washington D.C. or west of Alabama. Michigan, and the Midwest in general, is a complete mystery to me. I dreaded telling my mom, thinking she would never approve of me going somewhere so far north and so far away from home. But, when I called her, she surprised me. She told me how proud she was of me and how excited she was for this opportunity. “Ooh, I’m looking up airline tickets now for when I come visit you,” she said about ten minutes into the conversation. This whole year has been about adapting to all life has thrown at me, and about preparing to live on my own for the first time ever, not attached to a parent or a school. I am nervous, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Happy Reading,

Caroline

INSIDE

A PROFILE ON THE LEADER OF THE SJC: SARA JONES

8 A LOOK AT SOME OF W&L’S MOST FAMOUS (AND FUNNY) INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS

STAFF SPOTLIGHT: GETTING TO KNOW W&L’S FOOD SERVICE WORKERS

10 THE MOST WELLDECORATED STUDENT LIVING SPACES

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SJC Reflects on Leader Sara Jones By Savannah Emge ‘21 Washington and Lee’s honor code is a staple of the university community. The Student Judicial Council (SJC) serves to uphold community standards and to keep people safe. Sara Jones ‘18, an anthropology major and poverty minor, currently serves as the SJC’s chair. She is the first female to hold this position. Jones did not begin getting involved in leadership roles at W&L until the end of her sophomore year. The spot for junior justice was left open at the end of the year and a friend approached Jones suggesting she consider running. She agreed, especially after noticing the lack of diversity in social scenes represented on the council. She said she thought there should be someone more involved in the social scene who knows what it’s like to serve. After three rounds of voting, and a race against seven other candidates, Jones was elected. For Jones, the best part about being the chairwoman is the people she has gotten to meet. She has met a lot of different student leaders and deans that she would have otherwise not gotten to know. As chairwoman, Jones meets with the Student Affairs Office to determine what cases the SJC will hear, discusses defendants’ options with them, attends student leader meetings and works with the SJC secretary, the deans and hearing advisors on logistics. The main goals for Jones’ SJC are to be more involved with student organizations, talk to new fraternity pledges about staying sober while driving. Mostly, her goal is to make the SJC more transparent to everyone. She wants to erase the stigma surrounding SJC that it is a big scary organization and, instead, is there to help. “I want to help people be aware of policies and know [the] SJC is not out to get them.” Several members of the SJC look up to Jones, including Lucas Flood ’21, who is the first-year justice. “Responsible” and “collected” are two words Flood used to describe Jones’ leadership style. “In discussions on what we should do,” he said, “there’s always someone on each side and then SJ comes in, and even though we don’t always agree with her, she’s always there with a very calm approach, which is good for us.” He talked about how hard the job is for the justices, especially with all the “tough cases,” but how Jones’ job is just that much harder. “She has the added responsibility of just being in charge of everything and making sure everything is done right whether it’s in hearing or outside of hearing,” Flood said. She is also the justice the school goes to if they feel there is any problem with a verdict or hearing. “As the chair, she does have to meet with a lot of people,” Flood said. “It’s a lot.” But, Flood said the rest of the justices try to support Jones as best as they can to help her achieve her goals. In working on understanding what the culture is like on campus, Flood feels better suited Photo courtesy of SJC to work towards making SJC a little less daunting for students. “To be in the position SJ’s in now you have to know what you’re doing.” Flood said when asked if he would ever consider chairing. “It’s a tough job.” That being said, Jones does deal with her fair share of challenges. A lot of the other student leaders are male, Jones said, who, on occasion, acknowledge her differences as a woman in meetings. In attending a dinner with the board at the beginning of the year she and President of the Executive Committee Mason Grist ’18 were referred to by some of the older male alums as the “first couple of W&L,” something she felt diminished her accomplishments as a student leader. Additionally, some male defendants occasionally attempt to intimidate through aggressive e-mails, but Jones says it’s important not to give into that. She also says it’s helpful that a lot of the deans are female and the SJC this year is a rare 50/50 gender split. She said she has to remind herself that she serves as an inspiration for other women who may feel intimidated to run, and also that she did not run for chair to be the first woman to serve, so other people do not look at it that way either. When not dealing with matters regarding SJC, Jones likes running, knitting and reading. She is also currently writing her anthropology honors thesis.

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BY DARCY OLMSTEAD ’21 AND MISCHA BISZICK ’21

E V E R Y O N E H A S A S PA C E T H AT T H E Y C A L L T H E I R O W N — A S PA C E T H AT R E F L E C T S T H E I R I N T E R E S T S A N D E C C E N T R I C I T I E S . EITHER CLEAN OR FILLED WITH CLUTTER AND EITHER FULLY A D O R N E D O R S C A N T I L Y D E C O R AT E D , O U R R O O M S A R E O U R O W N . I T ’ S W H AT ’ S

behind closed doors.

rances Conner ‘20 owns up to her messy Woods Creek hovel. The Arts League president lives among what she terms “creative clutter.” The best thing about living in The Creek? According to Conner, it’s all about location. “I love being close to the water,” she explained. “The worst thing about it would have to be, like, it’s kinda gross. No matter how much I clean this place, it’ll never be clean. So I just kind of have to accept the mess.” Conner laughed when I stepped out onto the porch to find a stray frying pan glistening

in the sun. “That’s from when we burned our bacon,” she grinned. “We just left it out there. You’re a real journalist right now. Documenting the truth.” Don’t let the mess fool you—Conner and her sorority sisters have definitely made the apartment their own. From hand-painted wall decorations, to a giant chalkboard full of mad, creative spiel, the space exudes free expression. “My room doubles as an art space for me, which is why it’s so crowded,” Conner explained. “Because it’s literally like the inside of my brain. People walk in there and they’re

like, ‘Oh boy.’ Sometimes it gets so overwhelmingly messy.” Looking at all of her things really is like glimpsing into Conner’s mind. If she could, she’d line her room with Jackson Pollock or Ashley Longshore paintings because they’re both “kinda crazy.” I asked her to start listing off the coolest things in her room. She immediately named two portraits she painted her freshman year. “George and Bob. That’s number one. Then this blanket my sister knitted for me [that is] really warm. It’s got this giant knit. So if I were on an island, I’d bring the portraits, this blanket, and my typewriter.” The space gets more eccentric than an unused, decorative typewriter. Walking into the living room, Conner started jumping on a trampoline between the couch and coffee table. “The stupidest thing I’ve ever bought,” Conner laughed while mid-air. “I bought it freshman year and my roommate was like, ‘We do not have room for this.’ Now we do.” Her current roommates seem to share Conner’s eccentricities. When we entered the kitchen, I gravitated toward a stone mortar and pestle. “Oh that’s our guacamole crusher!” Conner exclaimed. “Our favorite thing to make [is] guacamole. ‘Cause it’s easy and everybody loves avocados. We usually take avocados from our sorority house.” I turned to stare at a mask of a Shiba Inu in the corner. Conner laughed when she saw where I was looking.

OUR LEAST USED OBJECT IS 1 00% T H E C R OC K P OT. H O N E S T L Y T H I S I S T H E W E I R D E S T CO R N E R ... W E G OT T H AT C R OC K P OT A N D N O W W E ’ R E L I K E ... W H Y W O U L D WE USE IT? — F R A N C E S CO N N E R ’ 2 0

“[Our] least used object is 100 percent the Crock Pot. Honestly [this is] the weirdest corner. With that hat! We got that Crock Pot and now we’re like ...why would we use it?” Yet there’s a method to Conner’s madness. “I do my best to organize [the room to be] aesthetically pleasing. Like red books on the right, blue books on the left.” I asked if this obvious obsession with the color blue was due to her and her roommates all being Kappas. (continued on following page)

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“No it’s not,” Conner shot me down quickly. “I just like blue. It’s my favorite color. My grandmother had a whole entire house of white and blue. I just kind of took that on.” Actually a lot of her stylistic influences are from her family members. “My mom definitely has the most similar creative style to me,” Conner explained. “She’s an interior designer. We think so similarly, it’s terrifying.” •

•

stepped into the guys’ dorm, not quite sure what I should be looking at. Three desks were lumped together in what was a miniature maze of books, Oreo cereal, stray jackets and a mountain of empty Gushers boxes. Somewhere beyond it all was a futon and a flat screen TV. The only evidence of organization was a rack by the door displaying an impressive sneaker collection. “We should have straightened up,” said Chapin Bassi ‘21. “Oh that desk is pretty clean.” It was, comparatively. All of his books were straightened and there was only an empty popcorn bag with a charred hole in the center. It was actually far better than what I was expecting from a dorm inhabited by three first-year boys. It’s one of the lofted dorms, spiral staircase and all, but still a small space. Bassi lives with his roommates Luke Hochschild ‘21 and Brandon Carner ‘21, who refer to the loft as a “Dank Pad” and a “Never-ending Hot Box,” respectively. Each displays his own character with the numerous “ornamental” posters crowding the dorm. Bassi’s bed is surrounded by Patriots gear and Game of Thrones promos. Other than the Union Jack, Hochschild proudly shows off his taste in music and film (The Grateful Dead, The Xx, No Country for Old Men). Carner, in his more demure corner, shows off a single landscape print. The living space features posters of cars, a scantily clad Kate Upton, and Pablo Escobar’s iconic mugshot. I made some sly comment about the walls being exactly what one would expect to find in a guys’ dorm. “What? Daenerys?” asked Bassi innocently. Hochschild snorted, “Boobs.” We started brainstorming the most appropriate works of art for the space. “The Mona Lisa.” Hochschild got in the first word per usual. “Or Michelangelo’s David. We could hang it from a noose up there.” Carner cupped his chin. “We could hang something big up there. What’s the

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most famous chandelier in the history of the world? We have a lot of ceiling —” Hochschild jumped back in. “Maybe some Fabergé eggs. We could twirl them through the basketball hoop.” This basketball hoop is situated far overhead, hanging next to a beach towel on the window that opens up into the boys’ sleeping area. Bassi tried shooting a small foam ball into it but tripped into the desk chair. “We do have the basketball hoop going,” contemplated Carner. “We have the foot!” shouted Bassi. He began rummaging around behind the Gushers boxes — “Oh, and the Afroman beer can. Also good” — and pulled out a disembodied skeleton leg.

I DO N ’ T K N OW I F W E ’ V E E V E R G OT T E N A N Y T H I N G S T U P I D. EVERYTHING HAS A PURPOSE IN HERE. — C H A P I N B A S S I ’ 21

“It’s a civil war veteran!” Carner exclaimed. I asked for the story behind it and

Hochschild sighed. “So I was uh, pretty messed up on Halloween. I just grabbed it out of one of the third-year houses and I carried it back with me. It was with me when I, um, just slid down the sorority hill. I was on a blue bike.” Bassi shook the foot so that the plastic bones rattled. “I don’t know if we’ve ever gotten anything stupid. Everything has a purpose in here.” Hochschild nodded, “Pretty good fengshui in here.” •

•

f you’ve ever been inside one of the notorious “Poles” houses, chances are you have a pretty poor recollection of what they actually look like. The idea of them being actual living spaces and not a series of hollow rooms for masses of people engaged in debauchery alludes most of us. I, for one, was not expecting granite countertops, an actual kitchen table and a toy dog when Jane Chiavelli ‘18 welcomed me into the spotless home.

“I think it’s been in our sorority for 15 years,” the Delta senior explained. On the couch, their eyes still fixated on The Bachelor, her housemates screamed answers at her. “Oh yeah, and this house burned down ten years ago,” Chiavelli clarified. “This is the nicest Pole house because they had to rebuild it. In the past, there was many a party, but we like it to be clean. I’m kind of anal about it. We don’t like having huge parties here. If you compare this to Pole 1 or Pole 3, it’s absurd. Pole 1 has literally no furniture. Boys come into [our] house and they’re like, what?” The difference is obvious. The entire house is pristine. The Deltas’ secret? A cleaning lady. “She comes twice a week,” Chiavelli explained. There are only slight signs of it being lived in, aside from a pile of clutter pushed out of view. “The printer has never been touched. Or that lamp behind the TV. Or those DVDs because we don’t have a DVD player. Oh, and everything in that pile that people left from last year. Except the Bush Lite. But that Bush Lite has been there since October.” I was surprised that they hadn’t sold any of it. “I sold a lot of the textbooks,” countered Chiavelli.

I held up three TI-84 calculators. Chiavelli laughed. “We could make bank I know. Or we could donate them and be good people.” The girls get a lot of use out of the rest of their home, however, especially the kitchen. Chiavelli is a self-proclaimed foodie. “I do Sun Basket,” she said, showing me a brown bag and recipe book they keep in the refrigerator. “It’s like BlueApron [a subscription ingredient and recipe service], but an organic company in California. It comes in bags like this. Here are the recipes. This is the one I made tonight. I like cooking too because Abby and Payton will sit here and talk to me.” She gestures to the couch just beyond the kitchen’s island. “It’s a very multi-purpose space. Very social.” I asked what foods they usually buy for the house and the girls all yelled “AVOCADOS.” Jane clarified, “Avocados, bananas, eggs. Always. We do a lot of avocado toast. Also, our dear friend Peyton is allergic to nuts, but we all love them. So we have a peanut butter drawer.” Looking around the room and spying the Tito’s handles above the cabinets, I mentioned how I had started collecting kombucha bottles to line above my Microfridge just to poke fun at that exact practice. One of Jane’s housemates jumped in excitedly,

“Oh we could do that! We drink a lot of kombucha.” Chiavelli then walked over to the door that leads out onto the porch. “The coolest thing [about Poles] is probably all the windows to outside. If you’re sitting on the couch you just see the river. In the morning there’s a gorgeous sunrise.”

I F YO U ’ R E S I T T I N G O N T H E CO U C H YO U J U S T S E E T H E R I V E R . IN THE MORNING THERE’S A GORGEOUS SUNRISE. — JA N E C H I AV E L L I ’ 1 8

Chiavelli tries to cultivate this connection to nature throughout her space. In her own bedroom, everything is tied together in strong, earthy tones. She even cycles out a vase of fresh flowers: “My mom told me that paying ten dollars a week to buy fresh flowers A.) will make you feel better and B.) it’s a very adult thing to do [that is] super easy. I like it, especially in the winter when everything’s dead.” Chiavelli tries hard to keep a healthy space that’s a visual breath of fresh air every time you enter. I felt remarkably more calm in my short time there. In a Poles house of all places.

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Student Parody Accounts Take W&L By Storm Emily Hershgordon ’20 A new fad has arisen at Washington and Lee: parody Instagram accounts. These “finstas,” by the term’s truest definition, have spread throughout the campus community, garnering audiences of hundreds—loyal followers whose lives are lightened and stresses are alleviated from the content pushed out by these humorous accounts. The content creators’ identities will be concealed to maintain their anonymity. LEXWLU, an account that posts satirical content simLEYBURN_LIGHTS_OUT, an account WLU_CAFE77, an account that posts ilar to the pictures published by wluLex, a social media that posts pictures of students who fall comical content of the Café 77 (more account that covers events and “artsy” areas in Lexington commonly known as Coop) asleep in the main library on campus WLU_SRATCATS, an account that posts WLU_BANANA_CAM, an account that posts photos of students eating bananas around campus pictures of the cats that roam sorority row

WLU_SQUIRRELS, an account that posts pictures of squirrels on campus

How did you get started with your account? leyburn_lights_out: “One night at 2 a.m., I was sleeping in the library, and I woke up with this vision about how funny it would be if there was an Instagram page solely dedicated to posting pictures of other people sleeping in the library. I then waited a week and decided to follow through after I took another snooze, and thus an Instagram was born. I walked around the library, looking for my first victim, and then I found him. I didn’t think it would take off this much—it has almost as many followers as my real Instagram account. By the end of the first night, I think there was around 100 followers. It’s been really fun to see it grow from nothing to what it is now.”

lexwlu:

“Got the idea for the account looking at wlulex. All they post are pics of coffee, the sky, the bricks in Lexington and occasionally a “study nook spot.” Basically gave me the idea to run with this, poking some friendly jabs at the account.”

wlu_banana_cam: “My friends and I started taking pictures of each other eating bananas freshman year of high school and we made an account our sophomore year. It was a lot more popular in high school but I wanted to make one here because nobody ever looks good eating a banana. I didn’t stay anonymous for very long like I wanted to, but oh well.”

wlu_sratcats:

“While living in the sorority house my sophomore year, I was intrigued by the amount of cats roaming around the row. It seemed to be that there were new ones every day. However, they are not playful and tend to run away. It became a fun activity for me to try to snap pictures of them doing weird things (i.e. lying under a car, sharing lunch with a groundhog, etc.) and I thought I should share them with the world! Thus, SratCats was born. I also like to give the vibe that the cats are part of a sorority.”

wlu_squirrels:

wlu_cafe77: “To my knowledge, I am the only university food provider that has gained sentience. This has been extremely beneficial to me and I have taken to social media to share my message. I am Café 77 and We are Café 77. It’s something that lives in all of us, whether we know it or not.”

“So I saw this post one day online that said every college thinks they have the best squirrels. But, hey, everyone else is full of shit ‘cause WLU has the best ones. I took my first pic, and posted it while before my class. When I got out I already had 50 followers and I was like, ‘Cool.’”

What do you hope your viewers gain from seeing your content? leyburn_lights_out:

“I hope people find humor through these posts. Some people may find the posts offensive but I hope people don’t see it that way. I hope people see that others are going through the same stress that they are going through while at school.”

wlu_squirrels: “I just want to make them laugh. I think that’s all anyone wants in this world. To make money and make people laugh.”

wlu_banana_cam: “A smile or good laugh. The simple things, ya feel?”

8 INGENERAL

lexwlu:

“An appreciation for how foolish most nature accounts are on Instagram. Wlulex posts photos of them drinking coffee and sunsets, so they need to get a little heat for their posts, just playful heat.”

wlu_sratcats:

“I hope they get a good laugh out of it and try not to take the Greek system too seriously all the time!”

wlu_cafe77:

“A deepened and renewed sense of appreciation for Café 77 and all those who made, and continue to make, it possible.”

How do you get the images you post? Also, do you have to sort through and evaluate suggestions or publish everything you receive? leyburn_lights_out:

“For the first week, I solely went around the library and took the pictures myself. Once I received my first submission [through the Instagram direct message (dm) feature], other students started to dm photos. It’s now gotten to the point where I don’t post every photo I receive. People are also, I guess, lacking in attention and will send in photos of themselves ‘sleeping’ just to try and see how many likes they get. Not cool. Over exam week last semester, Leyburn received over 45 photos, so there was no way every photo could’ve been posted! There has been over 75+ contributors to the account since the founding.”

wlu_banana_cam:

wlu_cafe77:

“My faithful followers dm me the images. I post most of what I get to honor them.”

lexwlu:

“I have a lot of dms with pictures but I only really post ones where the person is taking a bite. I have a folder on my phone and save them so I don’t run out all at once.”

“All me, important that I’m the only one doing it. A couple of my friends know it’s me and they suggest things, but every pic has been taken on my phone.”

wlu_sratcats: wlu_squirrels:

“People send me submissions! And then if I can think of a funny caption, I post them. Once in a while people suggest captions, but it’s usually just me.”

“It started just me running around taking pictures. A few of my friends who know it’s me have sent me pictures of me in bushes, staring up at trees, chasing the bastards. I soon started getting a lot of submissions but yeah not all of them are that good. I’ll usually put them on the back burner until I think of something good for captions. A lot of people submit with captions but I never take them. Mine are funnier anyway.”

Do you use any marketing tactics or startegies to help the account grow, or has it all been organic? leyburn_lights_out: “It’s only grown through word of mouth. It makes me really happy when I walk around and hear people say ‘Have you seen Leyburn Lights Out?’

lexwlu:

“Started off following people, now they are following me organically.”

wlu_banana_cam:

What do you think about the other W&L students making parody accounts? Do you view them as competition? leyburn_lights_out: “Not at all! I think they’re hilarious, and even dm them all the time from Leyburn. I see the parody accounts as a comedic way to destress and not focus on academics. The more accounts the merrier! Few of the accounts regularly post, so few of our schedules line up.”

wlu_banana_cam:

“I started by following everyone that I follow from my own account and also told my whole team to get their friends to follow it. I also tried stealing Leyburn Lights Out’s followers.”

“I think the more there are the better!”

wlu_cafe77:

“Our only competition is the Marketplace and they have yet to respond to our hashtags. I think the parody accounts are good as long as the humor is all in good fun.”

wlu_cafe77:

“I followed a lot of students at first to help get the ball rolling. but since then it’s been totally organic growth.”

wlu_sratcats: “I unfortunately don’t have any marketing strategies. I’m thinking of making posters but I haven’t done anything yet.”

wlu_squirrels:

“I mean I use hashtags, I tag different groups in the pictures and I go on following sprees to gain more awareness. I have other Instagram accounts that have the business tools on them so I can see when most WLU students use Instagram and I’ll time my posts if I think it’s a real good one.”

wlu_sratcats: “I think it’s hysterical that there are so many! I don’t really view them as competition because they all attract different people. I am friends with some of the other creators, but we usually just compliment one another on a good post instead of being competitive.”

Wlu_squirrels:

“Nah the other accounts are WEAK [in my opinion]. Piggybackers. You can even tell from their captions. Like what’s their identity? What’s their voice? They don’t have that.”

How do you handle your identity? Any audience interaction, or do you try to maintain a low profile?

wlu_squirrels:

leyburn_lights_out:

“People will come up to me and say ‘I know it’s you,’ but I always deny “There’s a handful of people that know who I am, but my audience with a smile. I try my best not to talk about it, but someone will always doesn’t care who I am. I think if people knew, they’d say ‘Oh it’s just mention it in conversation, then someone else learns about it.” some person trying to be funny’ and that’s not natural. They want a wlu_sratcats: squirrel with a phone running around being petty and narcissistic. A lexwlu: “I try to maintain a low profile with people I “A couple people know, it few months ago, I started doing live Instagram videos which has been don’t know. But most of my friends know it’s doesn’t bother me, I can really fun. I like seeing who on earth chooses to tune into five minutes me and we joke about it because they think take the heat for a joke.” of me following a squirrel around and I respond to the comments they it’s weird.” have. My favorite things have been inserting myself into conversations wlu_cafe77: wlu_banana_cam: “Everyone knows who I about the account with people who don’t know it’s me.” “Not so much anymore I’ve kinda given up am, I am Café 77!” trying to stay anonymous.” INGENERAL

UNEXPECTED SUCCESS

MATHILDE SHARMAN ’20

E A R E O F T E N T E M P T E D TO S E E A N A R R O W PAT H TO S U C C E S S . M A P P E D O U T L I K E A F O U R - Y E A R C O U R S E P L A N , T H E PAT H TO Y O U R D R E A M G R A D U AT E S C H O O L , MEDICAL SCHOOL OR JOB BECOMES A CHECKLIST FOR SUCCESS. THE PROSPECT OF NOT GETTING A P O S I T I O N O R A C C E P TA N C E O F T E N S H A K E S O U R C O N F I D E N C E I N S U C C E S S A N D S E N D S U S I N TO A PA N I C O F H O W TO R E S TO R E T H E S U P P O S E D L Y S E C U R E PAT H W E H A D C R A F T E D .

e resist the idea that our path can take detours. At best, our society loosely flirts with the idea that failure makes you stronger. In a culture of achievement, it’s hard to buy into the cliché that when one door closes, another opens. However, failure and struggle is as present as success. •

•

Amanda Ebling ‘19 described a decision that brought her to Washington and Lee. In the years leading up to high school, Ebling aspired to dance professionally. But she admitted that she lacked natural talent and felt herself falling behind peers. “By middle school, I was in a lower level in ballet school than most of the other students my age, and I wasn't getting very good roles in the ballets I auditioned for. I felt like I was failing and it was extremely frustrating,” Ebling said. Only in eighth grade, Ebling faced a tough choice between boarding school and pursuing ballet. Ebling eventually made the difficult decision to give up her dreams of dancing professionally, but is grateful she did. “[Boarding school] completely changed my life! I grew so much academically and

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personally, made my best friends for life and got to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. It put me on the path to come to W&L, which is another incredible experience.” Like Ebling, Frances Conner ‘20 is grateful for an initially disheartening failure. In middle school, Conner gave up gymnastics, a sport that had sustained her in her father’s illness and death, to try out for her school’s cheerleading team. When Conner did not make the cheer team, her morale plummeted. A dedicated athlete, Conner joined her

I L E A R N E D M O R E I N T H AT Y E A R ABOUT MYSELF THAN I EVER H AV E A N D M E T S O M A N Y P E O P L E I N E V E R W O U L D H AV E M E T. N OT G E T T I N G W H AT I WA N T E D [ I N M I D D L E S C H OO L ] WA S E X AC T L Y W H AT I N E E D E D. — F R A N C E S CO N N E R ’ 20

school’s swim and track teams. And while she made the cheer team the following year, Conner is grateful for her initial failure. “I learned that I love to run, and I love to be individually challenged,” Conner said. “I

ended up pole-vaulting my first year here at W&L. Although I am no longer on the track team, I don’t regret doing it. I learned more in that year about myself than I ever have and met so many people I never would have met. Not getting what I wanted [in middle school] was exactly what I needed.” Like Conner, an anonymous source also found fruit in an initially disappointing moment. When the coach announced that there would not be captains for the coming season, team members felt disappointed after years of hard work. “I personally wanted to be a captain so that I could. . .leave a legacy of some kind that would help our team even after I had left. The more I thought about my reason, the more I realized that I didn’t need someone’s approval to be a leader,” the source said. “There are still times when I wish our coach would grant us the title to show that she approved of what we did this year, but I also realize that this year tested my character and has helped me to become a better leader.” Time to grow is often the product of difficult sacrifice. Parker Catlett ‘20 grew up with a rich love of football, which made

his decision to walk away from the sport challenging. He had invested in his boarding school team, and the feeling of quitting weighed on Catlett. “[Giving] up something that I was so passionate about was hard. In the end, however, dedicating my time to other things [was the

[G I V I N G ] U P S O M E T H I N G T H AT I WA S S O PA S S I O N AT E A B O U T WA S H A R D... I WA S A B L E TO F I N D OT H E R T H I N G S I WA S PA S S I O N AT E ABOUT, — PA R K E R C AT L E T T ’ 20

( CLOCKWISE)

Maddie Hutchins ’20, Parker Catlett ’20, Frances Conner ’20, Amanda Ebling ’19, Emily Austin ’18.

right decision]. I was able to find other things I was passionate about,” Catlett said. Similar to the way Catlett’s diverted path paved the way to new opportunities, Maddie Hutchins’ road to Washington and Lee delivered an unexpected experience. Hutchins ’20 was a budding tennis star when she competed in a national tennis tournament at 12 years old. An emergency surgery, however, curbed her hopes of playing at a Division I school. “Coming back from my recovery, I knew that everything was different. I wanted to quit. I was ready to give up on playing tennis in college when I discovered W&L,” Hutchins said. “[Washington and Lee] opened up opportunities that I could never have gotten playing DI tennis. I get to focus on my academics while still playing the sport that I grew up loving. I was able to join a sorority and get to balance school, tennis and my social life.”

In the same way Hutchins found new opportunities, Emily Austin ‘18 discovered a fulfilling study abroad experience in a country over 5,000 miles from her original destination. After months of hopeful planning spent applying to study abroad programs, Austin received news that her program had been cancelled, just weeks before she was set to depart for India. Scurrying to resurrect her hopes of studying abroad, Austin settled on Indonesia. Despite the jarring change to her plans, Austin is grateful for the way the experience challenged her. “In the end, I definitely think that this roadblock ended up being the perfect change I needed. Now, I know a new language and am applying to programs to continue to study it. I have a host family that I adore and plan to visit as soon as I can, and I have a new knowledge base of a very different part of the world,” Austin said. •

•

mbracing failure often seems a quaint concept best confined to self-help books and motivational talks. And while failure clashes with our culture of success, it’s important to remember failures are often more impactful than successes. The neatly carved path to achievement does not happen for the majority, and this reality can breathe some air into the ups and down of our days.

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Service with a Smile: Spotlight on People in Food Service

By Coleman Martinson

Tasha

Holland

y name is Tasha Holland, born and raised in Rockbridge County, Virginia. If you’ve visited the Center for Global Learning, it’s a good possibility that I took your order at the Tea House, where I’m employed part time. I have a blended household with 5 kids; 3 girls and 2 boys aging from 9 to 15. My animals, who listen better than my children at times, include 2 Rottweiler mix dogs; Ira and Pepper, a cat named Meow Kitty Kitty, and 8 chickens where we get fresh brown eggs everyday! I’m also the local Point of Contact and help manage The Cabins at Lexington which are short term rentals less than 2 miles from W&L and VMI. I’m not the Landlord, but manage all aspects of The Cabins at Lexington from marketing, housekeeping, party planning, etc. to ensure all guests have a seamless and enjoyable visit. Most of the visitors are for W&L functions but we’re expanding to VMI. It truly is an all season occasion destination! I meet people all over the world including students, families, alumni, and friends. I also operate a small local business that educates women aboutthe importance of sexual health awareness. I help keep single women safe. Both hobbies build relationships that last years to come. On my down time I enjoy reading, continuous education, riding my Russian Ural motorcycle, karaoke, and spending as much time with my family as possible. I like to keep busy with a purpose. My favorite order at the Tea House is the cold brew ice coffee. Well, let’s be honest -it’s a little coffee with my creamer and a splash of vanilla.

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Josh

Poole

started working at W&L in the August of 2016 at Upper Division Dining, a place that was still under construction and whose doors only breathed with scurrying construction crews and a group of people that would eventually become the first faces behind the counters. I’d totaled my car just a few days before work started and found myself borrowing cars from family members and hoping against a rendezvous with a parking ticket since my vehicle seemed to change every day and I hadn’t yet acquired a parking pass. It’s been over a year since then and, while I no longer look over my shoulder for Public Safety, I continue to feel that Fieldside is still under construction, still changing in ways that are sometimes subtle and at other times more blatant. FoodSide theme changes seem to alter the migratory routes of students, and consequently every day I see both new faces and some old ones that had nearly fallen from memory. More subtly, a new shelf or piece of equipment or policy or menu item can change the instinctual motions of the staff, and suddenly things start to feel new again. I’m often asked to recommend a food item, or to specify my favorite. To this I can only answer that, whether you’re taking a sip of coffee en route to assist a side undergoing a 6 o’clock rush, or find yourself guzzling down an Americano while absorbing Pynchon, you can’t go wrong with caffeine. Outside my job at W&L, I work in various freelancing fields and have had more hobbies than I can remember. If I had to organize them chronologically, I would start with cartooning. In elementary school, I’d doodle all over the schoolwork and make comic strips on blank paper. In high school, I found a function for the seemingly useless skill, drawing first for the school paper and, not long after that, starting my firstprofessional gig with The Rockbridge Advocate. My senior year, I started submitting to The New Yorkerand, sometime before graduation, received a hand-written sentiment that read “Keep working on the art.” It was, of course, written on a rejection notice. After graduating, I continued to draw cartoons for a few newspapers and the odd magazine job, but had a suspicion that the stress and frustration of freelancing would soon cause me to burn out and hate what I’d loved for so long.

However, the incessant doodling eventually led to a serendipitous conversation over croissants with Robert Mankoff who, at the time, was the cartoon editor of The New Yorker and in town to speak at the university that I would later find myself a part of. I never ended up workingfor the magazine, but we have kept in touch. Cartooning has been my most pervasive hobby since childhood, but I’ve also written several novels. Starting with two surrealist comedies from my teen years before changing over to more contemporary urban fantasy and science fiction with three ongoing novels and a finished one lurking in a filing cabinet surrounded by cartoons, it’s been the contrast to the spontaneous creative nature of cartooning and felt like some kind of balance. Most recently I’ve found myself sculpting, though I can’t recall when or why I started. I work with trash, mostly soda cans or old scrap wood that would otherwise get thrown away. My first piece was a soda can mosaic of Starry Night, but why I chose this painting to copy I again don’t know when or why. I eventually amassed enough inventory to set up at a festival, and started with one in Lexington last year. It’s something I plan to continue to pursue, along with the writing and cartooning. As for how this relates to my job at Fieldside? I’m not sure, exactly. But I feel that, in everything one does, whether it’s steaming foam for a latte or piecing together a sculpture, finishing a 120,000 word novel or scribbling down the details of an order, there’s a fidelity to perfection that culls productivity, and that with every “thank you “ or smiling customer or openmouthed patron at the expo, some of that fealty to perfection is supplanted by a desire to just get to that next smile or compliment because those things reaffirm that what youdo is meaningful. While it might sound ridiculous, I think it’s that change in motivation from attempting to satiate your perfectionism to wanting to assist and enthuse others by using your own talents and skills that allows you to create at your full capacity; and that that notion is equally true for a writer, a sculptor, a cartoonistor a barista.

Sarah

Concepcion

I always thought that the most interesting thing to tell people I meet here about myself is that I work at Hillel. I get the most hilarious reactions because no one realizes that they have student workers there. I’ve had some people say that they wanted to join me next year even because of the free food. Every year around Christmas, my family bakes at least six different types of cookies to hand out to neighbors and bring to Christmas parties. I am from Richmond, Virginia, and I have lived in the same house all of my life until this past summer when we were forced to move out because of a house fire. It was a strange experience to move after 18 years of my life in the same place, but it was awesome seeing how the small apartment we moved in to brought my family of six so close together (seven including my dog, Jameson). I have three sisters, one older and two younger, and we are all very close. As far as a major goes, I am planning on Psychology with a minor in Poverty and Human Capabilities. My goal is to be able to work as a therapist for patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when I am older. My favorite item on the menu is probably whatever the special is for the day. Working there I get free meals everyday so it is easy to get tired of the regular menu items. Sticking with the special I get to change it up everyday. There is one panini that we make as a special that’s called the Troubadour -it has mozzarella and a bunch of roasted vegetables on it. That one is definitely my favorite because of all the veggies. I love working for campus dining services because it gives me such a different perspective to be on the other side of constantly being served food. It takes so much preparation and quick work to run a cafe. There is always a list to be checked off in the back of the kitchen while speed is the name of the game in the front when lunch rush hour strikes. All I really do is unload the truck, unpack the food, and wash dishes, yet they all greatly appreciate the help. All of the ladies work so hard, yet have fun cracking jokes and growing friendships while they are at it. As soon as I became a student worker I was incorporated into the fun loving group, and it is because of that atmosphere that I plan on working there for the next four years.

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Dealing with What’s Hard By Madyson Bennett ‘21

A few months ago, I wrote an article about the realities of life as a first-generation student here at Washington and Lee (“Who I Need to Be: Navigating W&L as a First-Generation Student,” InGeneral Fall 2017). I ended that piece with a message of hope for my fellow classmates that we,each and every oneof us, get better at: “Dealing With What’s Hard.” After its publication, I did a little self-reflection and realized that I had no idea what that even meant, not to mention what it looked like in practice. In the following weeks, I talked to a lot of people in order to understand what “dealing with what’s hard” meant to them and hopefully find out for myself. Some were more forthcoming than others—endless strings of inspirational words, the likes of which you find on wall art and coffee mugs. These were versus more frank responses, one in particular painfully frank,from a painfully frank person:”You know how I deal with what’s hard? Call my mama.” Throughout my discussions, I realized that it’s hard to define hardship. What some face with trepidation others tackle head on. It’s even harder to give advice about how to handle that which is difficult without knowing what the difficult thing is or was or could be. Inan attempt to offer guidance that is not altogether self-serving, I drew upon the wisdom gifted to me by friends better trained than I in navigating The School of Hard Knocks. So, here I am—here we are—along with a deep dive into dealing with that which is scary or uncomfortable or confusing or surprising. Here are some tips for dealing with what’s hard. 1. MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF. Do things that make you happy with people who make you happy. It doesn’t matter if that’sgrabbing a coffee with friends or driving around listening to music at 1 a.m. If you’re smiling, you’re on the right track. 2. KNOW THAT YOUR EMOTIONS ARE VALID. What’s difficult for some of us may not be for others. It’s easy to begin feeling guilty or embarrassed about worrying over things that those around us may regard as silly. Those feelings, whatever they are, whatever they’re about, are real; the shame forced upon us by others is not. Do not feel bad about feeling bad. 3. UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN’T WILL YOUR WORRIES AWAY. We hear a lot about thinking positively. And while I’m all for making the most out of bad situations, we must notget into a habit of masking or denying our emotions. If you’re feeling pain or anxiety, feel it. Don’t let it fester. Let it consume you entirely. Let it ravish you. And then move on. Once you’ve let yourself be utterly vulnerable, it’s easier to let that pain go. Nurture it. Learn from it. Use it. Don’t hide it. And let go. Take it from someone who suppressed her emotions for a very long time, it’s better to feel. We don’t have the choice of shutting out only pain—the good will be caught in the crossfire. We turn apathetic. Don’t turn apathetic. Smile and cry and grow and break and grow again. 4. REALIZE, AS CECELIA WEINGART ‘19 PUT IT, “YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE.” You do not owe toxic people your friendship. Do not chase people who do not reciprocate your love and

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concern. Not everyone is going to like you. Those who want to be in your life will be. 5. REMEMBER THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER. Things go wrong. And sometimes a lot of things go very wrong. And sometimes a lot of things go very wrong for a very long time, and we wonder if we’ll ever catch a break. Your break is coming. Maybe not now, maybe not for a long time. Be patient.

can be more anxiety provoking than facing things alone. And while independence is an admirable thing, you mustn’t make a habit of isolating yourself from those who care about you. Sabrina Smith ‘20 reiterates, “There are amazing people willing to be there for you all around. You just have to ask.”

9.STOP SEEKING VALIDATION IN OTHER PEOPLE. Someone tattoo this on 6.ENJOY THE PRESENT. Do not wish these my forehead, please and thank you. Feelings of days away, and do not yearn for the past. Even if love, security, happinessand belonging—these things are rough. Show up always, physically and are feelings you must create for yourself first mentally. Appreciate the pain and the glee and the and foremost. In the words of Weingart, “He heartbreak and the wonder. Appreciate time for or she can’t give you everything. You can give what it is—fleeting. you everything.” 7. START SMALL. The responsibilities we 10.REMEMBER THAT YOUR MENTAL happily take on can be a lot. Like, a lot a lot. HEALTH COMES FIRST. If that means If the thought of social interaction is making asking for an extension on an assignment or you nauseous, text a friend and tell them you cancelling plans at the last minute or making love them. If you’ve been pulling one too many them at the last minute—your mental health all-nighters here lately, take a nap. If you can barelyremember the last time your room wasn’t in comes first. Hard stop. For a long time, I refusedto get professional help with my mental an astonishing state of disarray, start by making health because I was told by the people around your bed. As Weingart shared, “The best way to me that there was nothing wrong with me—I get something done is simply to start.” I stared was just pessimistic. Whiny. Lazy. I didn’t at a blank document for an hour thinking about get help because there were others who really how to frame what Iwanted to say in a way that needed it. I didn’t get help becauseI didn’t was both coherent and easy to digest, or at least deserve it. But I deserved it. You deserve it. not thirty pages long. And then I started typing. And now here we are. Whatever it is you need or want to do, do it. If you seem in over your head, So, friends, as the end of the school year rapeven more reason to start. It’ll work itself out. idly approaches, with some of us soon leaving Things have a tendency to do so, you just have to our little town of Lexington and moving on to build the momentum. bigger and better things, feel free to steal from, add to, or modify these tips for dealing as you 8.KNOW THAT IT IS NOT A WEAKNESS please, and, if all else fails—call your mama. TO ASK FOR HELP. Often asking for help

The Guts to Run Women Leadership on Campus By Kara Lough ‘20 Despite Washington and Lee University being co-educational since 1985, self-governing student organizations continue have a historical trend of higher male representation. The Executive Committee (EC) is a student-run organization at W&L that oversees the honor system, holding students accountable for violating the trust of the community. With its ability to remove students from the university, the EC is one of the most powerful and well-respected organizations on campus. Being a member on the 13-person committee is seen as an honor. But data collected from student archives shows a long-lasting gender disparity on the EC. Women have consistently lacked representation; even though, over 30 years have passed since the school started growing its female population to have the current equal ratio of the sexes. Mason Grist, the current president of the EC, said the gender disparity unfortunately does not surprise him. “We live in a world in which women struggle to get leadership positions,” Grist said. “But I wish W&L stood apart from that norm.” EC President elect Elizabeth Mugo and EC Vice President elect Grace Smith said that women need more reassurance in running. Smith and Grist said they see part of the problem as a self-fulling prophecy. First-years see men predominately on the EC as they come in, and more men are then able to envision themselves on the committee. First-years during the first week of school attend a meeting with the EC, in which the president addresses them. Grist said this moment of listening to the EC president is especially impactful for students. But the EC president has typically been male. The small percentage of female presidents (five in 34 years) further supports the historical lack of female representation on the committee. The Student Judicial Council (SJC) is another self-governing student organization that investigates alleged student misconduct. While data looking at the gender ratio of the SJC could not be found to give an accurate historical trend, this year is the first time that a woman has been head of the SJC. The Chairwoman Sara Jones, a senior at W&L, said first-year men

seem to feel more confident in running for student leadership positions when entering the university. She said girls, though, seem to grow into feeling confident about their leadership capabilities. “You have to have guts to even run” Jones said. “Being chairwoman has taught me to have faith in myself and my decisions.” Smith said as a first-year, she remembers running against mostly men and the challenge in immediately putting yourself out during the first month of school. Once on the EC or the SJC, most members continue to run year after year and be re-elected. Jones said many people, especially women, don’t feel comfortable challenging those who have already been on the EC or the SJC. Jones said she wouldn’t have run for the SJC her junior year if someone had not encouraged her to do so. Mugo also said without the support of a close friend, she would never have thought of running for the EC. But Jones said she hopes to serve as a role model for any woman considering to run. She and Smith said that those in leadership positions could do a better job of actively encouraging students, especially women, to run. Grist also said that if other students within their clubs and organizations, many of which are led by women, would encourage their female leaders to run that the gender imbalance could shift. Grist, Mugo, Smith and Jones all said they felt confident that change was possible and around the corner. Jones said she felt a door was opened with her election and hopes that the student body can keep up with the momentum of empowering female leaders on the campus. And with the election of three women to the highest positions on the EC for 2018-2019 academic year, it appears that this school year marks a period of growth. Grist said people are also starting to really talk about the need to have more students who are not white and male on the EC and the SJC, promoting more accurate representations of the student body. “This year our school is very serious about taking proactive steps to make sure that we afford everyone the same opportunities to be part of the EC or the SJC,” Grist said.

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