The Blue & Gray Press

THE

BLUE &GRAY

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON STUDENT NEWSPAPER

PRESS

April 11, 2019

VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 22

1922 Students affected by pipe burst in Eagle Landing SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE

LAUREN CLOSS Editor-in-Chief

Star Parker spoke on abortion and other topics on Tuesday.

Kate Seltzer / The Blue & Gray Press

Young Americans for Freedom hosts Star Parker

KATE SELTZER News Editor

Tuesday’s event, “How Abortion Hurts Minority Communities,” began as every Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) meeting begins: with the Pledge of Allegiance. About 180 students and community members attended the event, which featured guest speaker Star Parker, founder and president of the conservative Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Parker is also part of President Donald Trump’s White House Opportunity Initiative taskforce. “I would like to thank finance committee and our university as a whole for allowing us to host Ms. Parker this evening,” said Patsy

Deaton, vice chair of UMW YAF. “It is one thing to preach inclusivity tolerance and diversity and another to actually support and reflect these principles.” The room where the event took place on the fourth floor of Lee Hall was decorated with posters reading “Disrupting speech is fascism,” and “Practice the tolerance you preach.” According to Deaton, the event was funded partially by YAF’s parent organization, Young America’s Foundation; partially by club funds; and partially by UMW’s Finance Committee. Parker asserted that many of society’s problems are a result of the left’s “war on the principles of Christianity... war on the •YAF | 11

Harmless question or ableist message? UC white board stirs controversy hear music again,” or “lose the ability to read”. This question struck several students and faculty as perpetuating an A white board stationed outside the ableist message, or a message that is second floor elevators of the University discriminatory in favor of able-bodied Center at Mary Washington has struck people. controversy among students and faculty The issue was originally brought for a recent message it bore. to the attention of Dr. Chris Foss, an Every day the English professor, board is updated by sophomore with a new “Unfortunately, the question Claudia Woods, question, always who felt that the wasn’t vetted by the existing board’s message in the same format, “Would process and we are taking was inappropriate, You Rather?” even if it was not steps to correct that.” Students have intended in that the opportunity manner. “Probably they to answer each -Alec Mallmann are able bod[ied] question by people and they making tally don’t realize what they’re doing with marks with a dry erase marker. The these kinds of messages. I realize that, Would You Rather board, which has but it also does not excuse the sort of become a staple in the lives of many, content either,” said Woods. has presented questions ranging In turn, Foss sent an email to from students choosing between two several University staffers, including different ice cream flavors, to choosing President Troy Paino and Melissa which electronic device they’d rather Jones, the associate dean for Student live without. Involvement. In his email, Foss On Thursday, March 28, a new stressed the question appeared on the board, asking students if they would rather “never •WOULD YOU RATHER | 10

abigail Buchholz Staff Writer

IN THIS

ISSUE

henna tattoos

Studies major Ellora Larsen. “We all went downstairs and that’s when [an RA] was yelling ‘this is not a drill’ in A hot water pipe burst in room 507 the staircase.” of Eagle Landing at 9:50 a.m. on April Junior English major and third floor 6, spraying the facilities worker that resident Adam Cooper said he “heard had come to address a work order, water from behind the room where the sending water throughout all five floors water heater is, and then the fire alarm on the north side and displacing 112 went off and when we were walking students. out we could see water coming out According to Hannah Checkeye, a from under the door.” resident of 507, the water shot across Residents were outside for about the kitchen, reaching her room in 30 50 minutes before RAs instructed seconds. north side and south side residents to Checkeye and her roommates first separate. South side residents were noticed the ceiling tiles above their allowed to reenter the building but fridge leaking on Friday at around instructed not to enter the north side. midnight and called the campus police North side residents were corralled into non-emergency number. the rotunda around 11 a.m. to wait for “They sent a cop down, and he more information. said his job was to find out if it was “They basically held us hostage something that needed to be dealt with in the rotunda from right away, or about 11 a.m. to 2 could be put “It was dirty brown water p.m. or so,” said off until the senior biology that was like steaming.” morning,” said major Emily Checkeye. “He Contompasis.“While lifted up the tile -Hannah Checkeye we could have left, and saw how they were giving us much it was so little information dripping but he didn’t find which pipe that we didn’t have any idea where to it was.” go.” The police officer told the residents Residence Life staff entered the to put in a work order and maintenance rotunda again at around 11:30 to tell would come in the morning. students that the water had just been “The guy came in the morning shut off and that some residents may really early at like 8:30 or 9, he went get displaced. up, took all the insulation out that Wiltenmuth said the delay in turning was around it, found what pipe it off the water was because “the general was,” said Checkeye. “He said it was maintenance technician on site mostly a sprinkler system pipe and where it works at UMW Apartments and was was connected was leaking. He said unfamiliar with the location of shut he had to go call someone since it was off valves. He contacted his supervisor the sprinkler system, it was a safety and others to come to the campus for concern. When he was gone, it started assistance.” misting on me.” Facilities is now “evaluating Checkeye called campus police means to improve the access of critical to report the change and ask for the building information to our staff,” maintenance worker to come back. according to Wiltenmuth. When he went to check the pipe again, According to the assistant dean it burst. for Residence Life and Housing, “It was dirty brown water that was Dave Fleming, when the fire alarm like steaming,” said Checkeye. “It was went off “Emergency really hot; that’s what set the fire alarm •EAGLE | 11 Management and off.” John Wiltenmuth, the vice president of Facilities Services, said that the damage was due to a broken plastic water manifold. “UMW Facilities Services has determined to replace the other manifolds of this type with metal ones this summer,” said Wiltenmuth. Checkeye said in the five minutes it took to move their belongings, the water had reached her bathroom and she was splashing through water on her way out the door. Most Eagle Landing residents did not know the cause of the fire alarm until after they got outside. “I just assumed someone burnt something... and that’s why we were all having to leave,” said junior American

HOLLYWOOD ABUSE

Explore henna tattoo art through photos.

Film leader abuse surfaces in #MeToo.

LIFE | 6

VIEWPOINTS | 4

Eagle Landing residents evacuated their apartments on Saturday after a pipe burst. Lauren Closs / The Blue & Gray Press

SUPPORT WOMEN

Women and men’s sports lack equal attention.

SPORTS | 12

NEWS

Editors: Meaghan McIntyre & Kate Seltzer | blueandgray.news@gmail.com

Voting proves difficult for University of Mary BLUE & GRAY Washington students due to precinct confusion PRESS THE

MISSION The Blue & Gray Press is published every Thursday in the University Apartments Clubhouse for our university community. The goal of The Blue & Gray Press is to produce high quality and accurate news in a manner compliant with the Society of Professional Journalists ethics code. In its coverage, The Blue & Gray Press strives to highlight the community of the University of Mary Washington, as well as deliver fair and accurate coverage on the issues important to our students.

EDITORS-AT-LARGE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lauren Closs

Associate Editor Ginny Bixby

Managing Editor Ryan Brauch

SECTION EDITORS NEWS Meaghan McIntyre Kate Seltzer

VIEWPOINTS Grace Winfield

LIFE Lucas Burkholder

SPORTS Jack Hagn

ONLINE Ronic Ngambwe Harry Fisher

PHOTO Cayley McGuire

FACULTY ADVISOR Sushma Subramanian

acceptable. said I was registered both places Powell, who lives in Roanoke, Va., so I assumed I could vote in either registered to vote in Fredericksburg place,” said Jennings. “I tried to vote When students arrive on campus in during her freshman year during which in Fredericksburg at the end of last the fall, they are often approached by time she wasn’t sure which address semester and I went into a different people carrying clipboards on Campus to list on her form. The volunteers at line because they couldn’t find my Walk or at the University Center, the booth instructed her to put 1301 information,” asking them to register to vote. College Ave., which the city accepted. Jennings went on to add that, The first thing students have to According to Hoffman, students “During spring break, I got a letter decide is whether to register with a living in the William St. Apartments in the mail that said my vote didn’t school address or to vote absentee. and Eagle Landing have to list their count.” Students do not receive guidance specific apartment number or 1101 According to Hoffman, students on which to choose. If they vote in Jefferson Davis Highway. who have not updated their registration Fredericksburg, they can help decide Districting lines split up on-campus address after moving across campus on local candidates whose decisions residence halls, the William St. will still be able to successfully cast a can affect them Apartments, ballot since there is no way to tell they while they are in and Eagle are in the wrong precinct. However, “You’re just so busy that it’s Landing. As college. this means they are potentially voting If they vote hard to keep well-informed a result, each for candidates who are not representing absentee, they lose falls under a their district. enough that you feel good their ability to different voting Students who request absentee enough voting.” impact the political precinct. These ballots from their hometown also run environment nearest lines were into potential problems. They must to their university. drawn in 2010, follow the ballot guidelines exactly, -Rachael Powell Those who register before the or else their vote won’t be counted. at their school construction of Whether it’s not being able to provide address, might also Eagle Landing a copy of an acceptable federal ID for run into problems. At UMW, some on and when the William St. Apartments first-time voters, not having a witness campus residential addresses fall under were not part of the school. Because sign the ballot, or even just forgetting three different voting precincts causing these locations are so close to each to check one single box, their vote students confusion about where to vote. other, students don’t think to update won’t count. First-time voters often “Where you live affects who you their voter registration. feel more assured if they visit a vote for and who represents you,” said That is, until they run into problems precinct in person. Marc Hoffman, the General Registrar on election day. The district lines are scheduled to for the City of Fredericksburg. Students who attempt to vote in the be redrawn in 2020, and there is a push Hoffman said that the first time wrong precinct will have the option to for UMW to be included as a whole in students vote in college is important cast a provisional ballot. These ballots one precinct and district, according to and can set a track record for the rest are given to voters whose eligibility to Hoffman. of their lives. If a voting experience vote cannot be proven when they arrive In 2016, 86.7 percent of UMW doesn’t go well the first time, it might at the polls. However, according to the students registered to vote in prevent people from seeking another in Virginia Department of Elections, if a Fredericksburg, according to a the future. “There’s a lot of information that’s being jammed in,” said Hoffman. “You’re a new resident of Fredericksburg, you’re a new member of the Mary Washington community, you have classes and groups and all this stuff is competing for your time and interest and energy. And by the way, you need to register to vote. It’s a oneminute conversation amongst really intensely stimulating conversation and details that are coming in to your life. If it’s not done right, it’s hard to revisit.” Rachael Powell, a senior accounting major, agreed. “You’re just so busy that it’s hard to keep well-informed enough that you feel good enough voting,” said Bar graph showing UMW as the university with the highest voter rates for 2012 and 2016 The National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement Powell. In 2016, Northern Illinois voter casts a provisional ballot because report done by the National Study of University conducted a study to they are at the wrong polling place and Learning, Voting, and Engagement. determine how easy it is in each state are not able to get to the correct polling Despite these high numbers, the voting to cast a ballot. Virginia was ranked place, their vote will not be counted. turnout of registered students that year 49th. The chances of a provisional was only 76.8 percent. Hoffman has heard from students ballot not being counted adds to the According to the Virginia who ran into problems on voting day confusion surrounding the voting Department of Elections, about 64,000 because they were unclear which process at college students requested absentee ballots in precinct they should vote in. Junior English: creative writing the 2016 November General Election. In order for students to successfully major Daley Jennings had to cast a There were a total of 616,766 absentee vote in Fredericksburg, they have to provisional ballot after difficulties voters in Virginia in that election. register with an address approved by determining where she was registered As stated in the NSLVE study, even the city. For most students living in onafter she renewed her ID. though students run into problems campus residence halls, putting 1301 “I got this thing in the mail that voting, UMW’s voting •VOTING | 10 College Ave. on their registration is

Laura Schneider & Allison Tovey Contributing Writer & Senior Writer

CORRECTIONS for THE Week PLEASE REPORT ANY MISTAKES SEEN IN THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS TO Lauren Closs, blueandgray.eic@gmail.com or Sushma Subramanian, ssubrama@umw.edu

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Thursday April 11, 2019

SPORTS

Rachel Summers named CAC tennis player of the week

VICTORIA RICKMOND Staff Writer

UMW’s Rachel Summers was recently named CAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week, but the recognition and achievement was made all the more sweet considering that just a few months ago she was unable to play the game at all. “Having had hip surgery just a little over four months ago, it’s an extra special Player of the Week award for me and shows that I’m back and ready to compete,” she said. Summers, who is currently a junior at UMW, is originally from Florida and calls Orlando home. As a young girl she spent some time in Atlanta, Georgia, and her love for tennis was apparent even then. “I’ve been playing tennis since I was nine, so for about twelve years,” she said. “When I lived in Atlanta, tennis was a huge sport and my mom was very involved, so I started taking lessons and really enjoyed them.” Summers also thinks that many of the skills learned in playing tennis can be helpful in real life. “I think that teamwork is a big skill from tennis that can be applied to many jobs in the real world. As a team we really have to learn how to train together and compete together all for a common goal of winning. I also think that leadership is something that people can choose to learn while playing tennis. Playing on a

large team, some people have to step up shelter this summer. as leaders to teach those who are newer, Though she does not play any other and on our team there is a large focus on sports, Summers still remains active leadership.” and outside even off the tennis court. “I Just like any athlete, she has her love to be outside as much as possible, personal favorites who inspire her. “My whether it’s hiking or sitting on the favorite female tennis player is Serena beach. I also love hanging out with Williams,” she said. “I just love seeing friends and meeting new dogs while everything that she has overcome and outside.” turned into greatness on the court. My Ultimately, even after all the hard favorite male tennis player is currently work it took for her to be recognized as Zverev. He’s very young and it’s Player of the Week, Summers said the amazing to see someone the same age as most rewarding aspect of tennis was me compete at such a high level.” her recent comeback after an injury and The tennis program here at UMW was subsequent surgery. not the only thing that drew Summer’s “You don’t realize how much you attention to the university. As a biology miss something until you can’t have it,” major, she certainly has her academic she said. “In my case, I couldn’t play work cut out for her. tennis for 8 months due to my hip injury “I was drawn to this major because and surgery. So, for me it was really I have always liked learning how the rewarding to come back to the game and human body functions, and I am on basically start from the bottom learning the pre-med track,” she said. “After how to move on the court again to being graduation, I plan on going to medical able to play #1 singles and doubles for school and becoming a doctor.” Mary Washington.” Though those plans are still a little ways off, she does have some more immediate plans that are coming up in a few weeks. Her summer is scheduled and ready to go. “In addition to shadowing doctors, I plan to go home and volunteer at a local hospital. I’m also visiting Virginia Beach and the Great Smoky Mountains.” Summers often volunteers at a VA Hospital in Orlando over school breaks and said Summers has recently recovered from UMW Athletics she also plans to volunteer at an animal a hip injury.

Students believe in repeat Stanley Cup win for Caps JOSEPH LANGLEY Staff Writer

goalie Philipp Grubauer to the Colorado Avalanche also slimmed the odds for the Spring has finally sprung, and thus the Capitals repeating. However, re-signing annual beginning of the NHL playoffs. right winger Tom Wilson to a 6-year The reigning Stanley Cup champion, the contract, and defenseman John Carlson Washington Capitals seem to once again to an 8 year contract helped the Capitals be in the driver’s seat, winning their keep their core together. fourth consecutive Metropolitan Division Students at UMW shared their title with a dominating record of 48-26. thoughts about the Capitals possible Star captain Alex Ovechkin won the 2019 playoff outcome. Rocket Richard Trophy for the eighth “After seeing how the team played time in his career for leading the NHL in toward the end of this season, coming goals with 51. out on top of the Metropolitan Division, Ever since June of last year, the I see no reason why the Caps can’t repeat pressure has been on the Capitals to as Stanley Cup champs if everyone stays repeat as Stanley Cup champions. healthy,” said junior Andrew Halmrast. Pressure only increased when TJ Oshie Halmrast is right that health is a huge led the crowd of fans at last June’s part of the Capitals’ success. Losing Championship Parade with the chant defenseman Michal Kempny for the “Back to Back!” After losing 4-year remainder of the season to a major coach Barry Trotz, weeks after winning leg injury certainly hurts the Caps. If the Stanley Cup, it seemed unlikely the Capitals roster can stay healthy the Capitals could return to the level of otherwise, they will be very hard to beat. success they had in 2018. Junior business major and devout Haunted by losing dramatically in the Capitals fan Ethan Kelly shared his playoffs for the last decade, Trotz was thoughts on the Capitals 2019 playoff able to bring a talented group finally over chances, and highlighted the value of the hump. After Trotz left for the division Alex Ovechkin. rival New York Islanders over a contract Kelly said, “Yeah, I definitely think dispute with the Capitals, assistant coach they have a good chance at going back Todd Reirden was given the position of to back. Ovechkin is playing really head coach. Losing center Jay Beagle well, and if he’s strong, the entire team to the Vancouver Canucks and back up is strong. They pretty much design there entire playbook around him so if he’s healthy, they will repeat without a doubt.” Another big part of that success is espn.com undoubtedly The Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in 2018.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

how Alex Ovechkin plays. Ovechkin’s elite performance in last years championship run resulted in him winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the best player in the NHL playoffs. “With TJ Oshie, Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, Niklas Backstrom, John Carlson and Evgeny Kuznetsov, I will not doubt the Capitals. I believe the Caps can make it to the Stanley Cup Finals for a chance at winning back to back titles. With them already winning the division, like last year; only the Pittsburgh Penguins stand in their way of doing it again,” said communication major Alex Caldas, regarding Washington’s playoff chances. What Caldas said is true, the Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the most dangerous teams in the playoffs. Beating the Penguins in last year’s playoffs provided a sense of confidence to the team, after years of meeting them in the playoffs and losing in dramatic 6-7 game series. The Penguins will once again be an obstacle for the Capitals, as will the rest of the possible opponents the team could/will face. Also, like Caldas said, the Capitals are as good if not better than any team in the playoffs with their strong core of TJ Oshie, Alex Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson, etc. The first round matchup for the Capitals will be the Carolina Hurricanes starting April 11 at 7:30 in DC. The Capitals won six out of eight games against the Hurricanes this regular season, giving them the confidence that they can beat them again on a bigger stage. Will the 2019 NHL Playoffs result in a back to back Stanley Cup championship parade for the Washington Capitals? UMW students seem to believe there’s a high chance in that happening.

University of Mary Washington Sports Schedule

Men’s Lacrosse (7-7)

Mar. 30 L vs. Salisbury (15-3) Apr. 6 L @ Chistopher Newport (15-11) Apr. 10 W vs. Southern Virginia (17-16) Apr. 13 vs. St. Mary’s (Md.) Apr. 24 @ York (Pa.)

Women’s Lacrosse (11-2)

Mar. 30 L @ Salisbury (11-7) Apr. 6 W vs. Chistopher Newport (18-7) Apr. 9 W @ Southern Virginia (19-3) Apr. 13 @ St. Mary’s (Md.) Apr. 16 vs. Catholic

Baseball (9-13)

Apr. 5 W vs. Frostburg St. (12-4) Apr. 6 W vs. Frostburg St. (11-7) Apr. 9 L vs. Methodist (16-2) Apr. 12 vs. Penn St.-Harrisburg Apr. 13 vs. Penn St.-Harrisburg

Softball (15-12)

Mar. 30 W @ York (Pa.) (8-1) Apr. 3 W vs. Salisbury (3-1) Apr. 6 W vs. Penn St.-Harrisburg (4-2) Apr. 11 @ N.C. Wesleyan Apr. 13 @ Frostburg St.

Men’s Tennis (15-4)

Mar. 30 W @ Christopher Newport (8-1) Apr. 5 W @ York (Pa.) (6-0) Apr. 6 L @ Carnegie Mellon (5-4) Apr. 10 @ St. Mary’s (Md.) Apr. 14 vs. Swarthmore

Women’s Tennis (14-3)

Mar. 30 W @ Christopher Newport (8-1) Apr. 5 W @ York (Pa.) (6-0) Apr. 6 L @ Carnegie Mellon (9-0) Apr. 13 @ St. Mary’s (Md.) Apr. 14 @ Johns Hopkins

Full Schedule not listed above. Most recent games included. Bold indicates home game.

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VIEWPOINTS

Film industry leaders abuse their power, sometimes even their actors

MEREDITH JENNINGS Staff Writer

Bernardo Bertolucci has seven different international awards for best director. William Friedkin just recently won Saturn’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Harvey Weinstein was made an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire and even a made a knight of the French Legion of Honour for his work in movie production. What they all have is common is not their numerous accolades, but it’s that they abuse the people working for them in order to create art. This is a huge problem in cinema. The issue is not new, but contemporary movements have finally made it known to the world that they will no longer be content to ignore degrading abuse of power any longer. The #MeToo movement sparked an international conversation about how powerful men

take advantage of actors and actresses alike in order show the world their cinematic genius. I can reaffirm what millions of others have chorused across the globe--that the ends do not justify the means and that we must critically consume the work they create. Bertolucci, Friedkin and Weinstein are just a sliver of the larger underbelly that exists and we can only hope to change the conversation of how we talk about these artists. Pushing limits and unethical choices make these men more than just artists, but abusers as well. Harvey Weinstein is not a director but rather a producer in the movie industry. However, he still had a hand in how the movies were shaped. He has recently been in the spotlight for his sexual abuse trial, where he pleaded not guilty to five felony charges, including predatory sexual assault and rape, in connection with two women in separate incidents. But rather than go into those sordid details, the filming of the movie “Frida”

BuzzFeed Pinterest Hayek and Academy Award winning filmmaker Oliver Stone at the premier of his movie Savages (2012). Stone defended Weinstein after Hayek expressed her discomfort after starring in Weinstein’s “Frida” (2002).

will be highlighted as an example of how he abused people in the name of art. Weinstein had a vision about how the titular character should look, despite how everything he proposed completely ignored how the real Frida Kahlo lived. He turned up on set and complained about Frida’s unibrow and insisted that Salma Hayek eliminate the limp she was incorporating into her acting. The latter was due to a horrible bus accident that left Frida Kahlo with life long injuries that directly affected her painting. But that didn’t matter. The truth only got in the way of Weinstein’s vision for Hayek. He continued to berate the actress and told her that the only thing she had going for her is sex appeal and that there was none of that in this movie. In order to remedy that he threatened to terminate the film unless Hayek agreed to do a sex scene with another woman. And he demanded full-frontal nudity as well. It was at this point that Hayek was reaching her tipping point with the countless demands. For the first time in her career, she had a nervous breakdown before shooting. “It was not because I would be naked with another woman,” said Hayek in a piece she penned for the New York Times. “It was because I would be naked with her for Harvey Weinstein.” Many special effects were in place during William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” because the movie was about a paranormal haunting. Actress Ellen Burstyn played the mother of a child who becomes possessed and because of that she is subjected to all kinds of ghostly attacks. However, to really amplify the effect during a scene where the possessed daughter pushed her mother to the floor, at one point Burstyn was rigged up to a wire that pulled her backwards. After the first take Burstyn went up to Friedkin to let him know that the wire operator was pulling her too hard. Instead of ensuring the actresses safety on set, Friedkin made no efforts to change how the scene was

played and on the next take Burstyn was pulled so hard that she sustained permanent spinal damage. “Billy is one of those directors that is so dedicated to getting the shot right that I think some other considerations sort of fall by the wayside sometimes,” Burstyn recalled in an interview with The Huffington Post. A rape scene in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1972 film “Last Tango in Paris” has recently been re-examined as the actress involved spoke about about Bertolucci’s methods for creating the scene. Marlon Brando’s character, Paul, rapes actress Maria Schneider’s character, Jeanne, using a stick of butter as lubricant. The scene is intended to be violent and disturbing, with Paul hitting Jeanne and penetrating her as she cries and struggles. But in an interview with the Daily Mail, Schneider said the scene wasn’t in the original script that she was given. In order to create a real sense of violation, Bertolucci waited until the last minute to tell her that she would be participating in this violent scene. “I was so angry,” Schneider said. “I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci.” It’s important to note that Brando didn’t actually penetrate Schneider in the scene, though that does not vindicate Bertolucci. He forced Schneider to be in a sexually violent scene without her consent and that deserves to be remembered as part of his legacy alongside every accolade. At the end of the day, we must realize that all of these men did not have faith in the people they hired for their movies. If they are truly influential directors or producers, they would respect and trust the men and women they have hired to do their jobs properly--that is what they are paying them to do, after all. We should hold these creators to a higher, moral standard lest we continue to give more awards to abusers.

Staff Ed: Code-switching is a professional technique in a dialect-defining world On Friday, April 5, congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attended the annual convention of Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. There, she spoke to a predominantly black audience about how she’s proud of her past job as a bartender and how there’s nothing wrong with being a member of the working class. “I’m proud to be a bartender,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Ain’t nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with working retail, folding clothes for other people to buy. There is nothing wrong with preparing the food that your neighbors will eat. There is nothing wrong with driving the buses that take your family to work. There is nothing wrong with being a working person in the United States of America and there is everything dignified about it.” The congresswoman was later criticized by various Twitter users, who claimed that the Bronx accent she used while giving this speech was fake, as she had never used this particular accent while giving speeches before, and it appeared she was only putting on the accent to ensure that the predominantly black audience at the convention understood her message. Many people claimed her actions were racist, and some even labeled them as “verbal blackface.” Many of these people also believe that Ocasio-Cortez used the accent because

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By THE BLUE AND GRAY PRESS EDITORIAL BOARD she believed her audience would not understand her otherwise, implying that the audience was not intelligent enough to understand her more sophisticated speech. Many journalists have come out in defense of Ocasio-Cortez’s use of the accent, referring to it as “code-switching,” which is essentially the act of switching between different languages or dialects during a conversation. Many Americans use this practice every day for various reasons, and it is often unintentional. The congresswoman’s defenders point out that she grew up in the Bronx, meaning that her accent probably isn’t fake. Ocasio-Cortez herself was quick to defend herself from these accusations on Twitter: “Folks talking about my voice can step right off. Women’s March & Kavanaugh speech, same. Any kid who grew up in a distinct linguistic culture & had to learn to navigate class enviros at school/work knows what’s up.” It is tragic that many individuals feel the need to use codeswitching to appear more educated in professional settings for fear of being profiled. No one should be criticized or labeled as “fake” because of what dialect they choose to speak in, or if

they use a practice such as code-switching. Slipping into their natural accent is not pandering to an audience. People should remain true to themselves and honest with others, and not be afraid to present themselves as who they are, especially people in power, so that the people who follow them may know that they are supporting a person of honesty and integrity.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defends her Bronx dialect and background.

The Daily Dot

Thursday April 2019 Thursday, January 21,11, 2015

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Editor: Grace Winfield | blueandgray.views@gmail.com

Democracy is lost within political polarization

ABIGAIL BUCHHOLZ Staff Writer

Political polarization is destroying American democracy by creating a culture where single issue voting is the norm and well informed citizens are a rarity. Reflections of this polarization can be found on our very own University campus regarding the debate on abortion legislation. Just last semester the UMW campus got a taste of the type of tension that this divisiveness creates. A chalking campaign sponsored by a pro-life group took the campus by storm as their messages appeared on several major walkways. The response to these political messages was abrupt and harsh with many being washed away and others being crossed out and rewritten to favor a more pro-choice perspective. The issue of abortion is notorious for dividing individuals along party lines. In a recent survey of UMW students, it was found that only 6 percent of respondents deviated from their party’s stance on abortion. The interpersonal divide that issues like this create needs to be reevaluated. For a campus that advertises inclusivity, these acts of stout aggression and willful ignorance don’t make UMW took good. The fact of the matter is, vandalism was not the proper response, regardless of your political beliefs, because it solved nothing, and no one’s opinions were changed. This vandalism spoke to how stuck in their ways each side was, and how sure they were that no middle ground or

discussion was possible. The issue of abortion is important but so is productive communication and acceptance of differences along both sides. Nothing is achieved by erasing each others message and refusing to listen, we might as well be shoving cotton in our ears for all the good it does us. Campaigning candidates are well aware of these divides, and capitalize on them to manipulate voters. This capitalization is easily mistaken for candor. Statistically, the percentage of legislation passed by legislators rarely involves the hot topic issues that helped them gather large crowds during elections. For example, has anyone seen Mexico start work on that border wall yet? Has Obama Care been fully repealed? The media doesn’t help this situation of political polarization and single issue voting either, because politics is all about publicity. No one is going to tune into a news station that only ever talks about bills being passed regarding taxes, new parking regulations, and changes in the nation’s energy use. These issues are impacting our everyday lives and we should be paying more attention, but society likes drama--and there is drama in divisive issues like abortion. There exists a problem were citizens focus in on candidates stances on the issues that get a lot of publicity, and then miss out on the opinions that might actually impact their everyday lives. In a poll of UMW students it was found that the issue of abortion is seen by 68.75 percent as being strongly or very strongly impacting their choice of

candidate. Abortion legislation is a topic around defund Planned Parenthood are heavily tackled by candidates because simply using aggressive rhetoric to fight they know that hot issues attract media for a non starter issue. The occurring coverage. And so, catchy phrases like, abortions are not being funded by the “Defund Planned Parenthood!” are federal government through medicaid, created to pander to their audiences need instead they are being covered by the for clear and concise controversy. individuals’ insurance. A lot of these promises that politicians It’s clear that politicians are taking make are misleading, and this is further advantage of the modern divisiveness of dangerous to democracy because it politics in order to further their pursuit perpetuates the uniformed nature of the of power--and citizens are too eager to public. Many pro-choice voters support believe whatever platform or slogan their the defunding of Planned Parenthood candidate throws at them. because that’s the rhetoric they are fed In the times like these UMW students by their candidates of choice, but do they need to focus less on the polarizing really understand what that means? issues that divide us, and more on the Often times politicians call to defund issues that benefit everyone. We need to Planned Parenthood because they don’t understand that the goal of politicians approve of the safe, legal abortions that are taking place there. Their rhetoric is used to shock voters and make it appears as if the federal government is funneling money into the Planned Parenthood at alarming rates, Last semester, pro-life and pro-choice Grace Winfield / The Blue & Gray Press yet the Hyde groups wrote messages across the University’s campus. Amendment Codification Act of 1976 exists. is to win elections, and they will stop at The act dictated that no funds from nothing to sway a few votes. We need to the federal government could go to concentrate on studying the polarizing abortion procedures unless the pregnancy issues ourselves, so that the misleading was the result of rape or incenst, or rhetoric of the divided doesn’t get in the the mother’s life was at risk. These way of us making our own competent candidates centering their message decisions.

Trump’s dehumanizing rhetoric parallels stages of genocide GINNY BIXBY Associate Editor

On a visit to the border on Friday, President Donald Trump declared, “our country is full.” He then repeated this sentiment in front of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas the next day. This statement was met with outrage, as comparisons were drawn between this and actions performed during the Holocaust. Critics recalled the story of when Jewish refugees aboard the German ocean liner the S.S. St. Louis in 1939 were turned away by the United States, and more than a fourth of those refugees were later killed in concentration camps. Genocide is an issue that people in the modern western world often feel removed from, but it is a present facet of society. Genocide is still happening all over the world. The Holocaust only ended 74 years ago, and it is hubristic to assume such crimes against humanity could not happen now. Genocide isn’t a sudden crisis, it’s a slow burning fire that is started by a small spark of prejudice, and Trump’s rhetoric hauntingly echoes the early stages of genocide throughout history. This is not the first time Trump has been accused of inciting violence in a similar vein as Hitler and the Nazi Party, and certainly not the first time Trump has used dehumanizing language. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-T.X., compared President Donald Trump’s rhetoric to that of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich in a town hall in Sioux City, Iowa last Thursday, specifically referencing, among other instances, a C-SPAN broadcast of a May 2018 sanctuary cities roundtable in which Trump said, "These aren't people. These are animals,” in reference to refugees trying to enter the border. “Now, I might expect someone to describe another human being as an infestation in the Third Reich, but I would not expect it in the United States of America,” said O’Rourke. In an interview with The Washington Post, John

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Connelly, a historian of modern Europe at the University of California at Berkeley said, “The echoes do indeed remind one of the Nazi period, unfortunately. The exact phrasing may be different, but the spirit is very similar. The concern about an ethnic, national people not having proper space — this is something you could definitely describe as parallel to the 1930s.” Dr. Gregory Stanton, a former UMW professor and the 2003-2009 James Farmer Professor in Human Rights, devised the Ten Steps to Genocide, which were originally presented in a briefing paper entitled “The

President Trump delivering his speech at the border, Friday.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Eight Stages of Genocide” at the US State Department in 1996. Stanton’s work is now widely seen as the global standard in recognizing genocide. Dehumanization is one of the steps in Stanton’s outline. According to Stanton, “One group denies the humanity of the other group. Members of it are equated with animals, vermin, insects or diseases...The majority group is taught to regard the other group as less than human, and even alien to their society. They are indoctrinated to believe that ‘We are better off without them.’” Trump’s equating of humans with animals is in

direct fulfillment of this step. The other stages include classification, symbolization, discrimination, organization, polarization, preparation, persecution, extermination and denial. When considering Stanton’s steps, it is alarming how much potential there is for genocide in the current political environment. Trump has used other classifications on multiple occasions in reference to various different ethnic groups. In 2015, Trump said in reference to Muslims, “There's a sickness. They're sick people. There's a sickness going on. There's a group of people that is very sick.” Trump has a tendency to use broad generalizations in reference to entire ethnic groups, which is grossly disturbing. The same year, in reference to Mexican immigrants, Trump said “They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." On the campaign trail, Trump suggested that he would “strongly consider” the idea of closing mosques. When asked about the idea of putting Muslims in camps, he responded, “We’re going to be looking at that and plenty of other things.” He also said he would consider creating a database of all Muslims in the country. This statement should terrify all Americans and is indicative of the organization stage toward genocide. If we do not stop Trump, we will continue down this dangerous path towards genocide. Trump’s actions directly correlate with many of Stanton’s stages. We have to stop acting as if it is too controversial to call this dangerous rhetoric what it is. Condemning incitement genocide should not be a controversial action. We need to continue to call out President Trump and our other government leaders for engaging in dehumanizing rhetoric and behavior. We need to be doing more and taking this issue seriously and not as a hypothetical dystopia. As the American nation, we are not so above genocide that it could not happen here and it is folly to act as if it couldn’t.

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LIFE

Editor: Lucas Burkholder blueandgray.life@gmail.com

Student club spreads cultural awareness with free henna tattoo event

Henna tattoo has been used for traditional purposes such as religious ceremonies, weddings and body art for hundreds of years throughout Islamic populations. UMW Spirit Rock promoted the Muslim Student Association’s (MSA) Islamic Cultural Celebration.

Photo Story by Stephanie Sy

MSA members handed out roses, chocolates and pamphlets during the kickoff in front of Lee Hall.

It is said that henna that is applied on top of the hands displays protection or shield.

The henna event was sponsored by the Muslim Student Association.

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This design is almost identical to a dreamcatcher or a Mandala which symbolizes Hinduism and Buddhism.

Student gets flower-patterned henna on hand which signifies pure happiness.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

LIFE

“Shazam!” is a new jolt of energy to the DC movie fandom

HARRY FISHER Online Editor

“Shazam!” is the latest entry in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). In some ways, there’s a lot riding on this film’s success. Most of the films in the DCEU lineup have met with mixed or negative reception from critics and audiences, with “Wonder Woman” and “Aquaman” being the only two that really had any positive reception. Additionally, the recent controversies over actors Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck stepping down from their roles as Superman and Batman respectively has put the future of the DCEU and its continuity in question. Even though DC had a solid hit with “Aquaman” in December, “Shazam!” really needed to impress audiences if DC wanted to get its film universe back on track. Fortunately, “Shazam!” has turned out to be a pretty well-made film, with all the action, comedy and heart that it needed to keep the DCEU alive. The movie stars Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a teenage runaway living in Philadelphia. He’s spent the last several years searching for his mother, who he was separated from as a child. However, he gets adopted by a foster family, who try to be kind and welcoming to him, but his nature as a loner causes him to remain indifferent to them. But he does begin to forge a friendship with his new foster brother, Freddy Freeman, played by Jack Dylan Grazer, who has an extensive knowledge on super heroes like Superman and Batman. After an encounter with an ancient wizard named Shazam, Billy inherits his powers and becomes the new Shazam,

gaining the ability to transform into an older version of himself with various super powers, by simply saying the word “Shazam.” The older Billy is played by Zachary Levi. After Billy shares his secret with Freddy, the two of them begin to experiment with his powers to see what he can do. At first, Billy uses his powers irresponsibly, to impress people and gain money. But when Billy and his family are threatened by Thaddeus Sivana, a man possessed by the Seven Deadly Sins who have granted him similar powers to Shazam, Billy must learn to use his powers to act as a true hero in order to stop Sivana. What makes the film so fun is that the main character is a kid who gets super powers, so we get to see all the ridiculous things he does with those powers. We get whole montages of Billy and Freddy messing around with Billy’s powers, trying to figure out exactly what powers he has and using Billy’s ability to transform into an adult to do things like buy beer. The movie has a goofy, adolescent side to it, which makes it unique, as it answers the question of what immature kids would do if they got superpowers. Another great thing about the film is that it doesn’t always succumb to generic superhero tropes. In most movies like this, the protagonist would probably be presented as a nice kid who’s bullied by his uncaring foster family. But in this movie, Billy is the one who is indifferent to his foster family while they try to be loving and accepting toward him. It’s refreshing to see something like this in a superhero film. The main character isn’t presented as being a perfect, selfless individual with no flaws

or weaknesses, the recipe for a boring demon horde killing people that feel like character. Rather, the hero of this story something out of a horror movie, so be has to learn a lesson in humility and aware of that if you happen to bring any responsibility, and prove that he is truly kids with you to see this film. worthy of the powers he’s been granted. Overall, “Shazam!” is definitely The movie isn’t perfect, though. A lot a step in the right direction for the of the fight scenes tend to be slow and DCEU. Although it’s not a perfect drag on longer than they need to. And movie, it’s a great introduction for the even though Mark Strong does a good character of Shazam into the world of job playing Thaddeus Sivana, the Seven film and a pretty fun superhero movie Deadly Sins feel like wasted villains, to boot. So far, the film is getting pretty as they barely have any character positive reception from both critics and development other than being evil audiences, so hopefully it will be the demons. This is especially disappointing start of a brighter future for the DCEU. since they all have unique character designs, and they could have been much cooler and more threatening monsters if they had actually been given more personality. Also, there are a lot of things in the movie that don’t make sense or don’t go anywhere. For example, one of Billy’s super powers is supposed to be “the wisdom of Solomon,” implying that he will gain super intelligence by turning into Shazam, but he doesn’t appear to be any more intelligent when he transforms. This is a pretty minor plot hole, but the movie has several other gaps in logic like this one, and it’s hard not to notice them. Still, the movie is funny and has plenty of great action, the cast is great, and it has a lot of heart, making it a good family movie. Of course, “Shazam!” has received some of the best reviews of any DCEU there are some pretty intense movie. IMDB scenes with Sivana and his

Video game diversity: Apex Legends makes great strides forward ETHAN RATLIFF Staff Writer

Apex Legends shouldn’t be one of the most popular games in the world. The battle royale genre is already saturated with Fortnite clones, so a month-old game has no right to steal away 50 million players. Gameplaywise it’s innovative, but that didn’t save Titanfall 2, the last game by Apex’s developer Respawn Games. EA, the parent company of Respawn made the game’s premier even harder by releasing Anthem - a hyped up AAA game announced a year ago- the same week as Apex, which had no ad campaign and was announced on release. “I hear about it all the time on Twitch. It’s crazy popular,” said Alfredo Soto senior communications major. Twitch is a live video streaming platform for gamers.

Apex Legends is a battle royale game with the features of a hero shooter game. Players choose a character with preset abilities, and team up with two other players to form a squad of three. These squads are then dropped into a large map with 19 other squads where they fight to the death as the map slow shrinks. Guns, ammo, healing supplies and weapon upgrades are scattered randomly across the map for teams to search for, encouraging exploration and hunting down other teams to steal their loot. Major changes that make Apex stand out from other battle royales are the respawn system, allowing dead players to be brought back in, and the ping system, which predicts what you are trying to communicate with your teammates. An important part of the game is the character roster, a staple it takes from games like Overwatch. Each

“Apex Legends” offers a wide range of characters with a surprising level of diversity.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

EA

character has a passive ability, standard ability and ultimate ability, which can change the way players approach fights or move across the map. A passive ability is usually something minor that happens without activation, like health regeneration or increased speed while in combat. Standard abilities are activated with a button press with a short cooldown and change a combat situation like a deployable shield or gas trap. Finally, ultimates are permanent or high damage dealing abilities with a long cooldown. Deployable zip lines and air strikes are ultimate abilities. The cherry on top is the diversity of Apex’s playable characters, which surprisingly, has been embraced by the gaming community. Yes, the same community that exploded when a woman appeared in a Battlefield 5 trailer and created #GamerGate which harassed hundreds of female figures in gaming. At launch, the game roster included Bangalore a black female marine, Bloodhound a non-binary Icelandic hunter, Gibraltar a gay Samoan rescue worker, Pathfinder a robot scout, Lifeline a black female medic, and Wraith a female psionic. Only by paying or earning experience can you unlock Mirage and Caustic, a Latino trickster and white male scientist respectively. The recently released season one update also came with a new character to unlock, Octane a Hispanic daredevil. “Growing up with games I didn’t see many characters that looked like me. I think it’s great that Apex is coming out of the gate with these diverse characters.

I hope that more games do this in the future,” said Zoey Simms a senior theatre major. These characters are packages of abilities mechanically, but their personalities constantly influence gameplay. Each character speaks almost constantly in the game, commenting on fights and calling out actions. Their customizable banners and outfits reflect their personalities and inject character and humor into the game like Lifeline calling out that she’s “Delivering a birthday present” before calling in a care package drop, or Gibraltar performing the haka as he executes an enemy. With so many other games trying to push for diversity and showcasing the steps they are taking to be inclusive, resulting in loss of sales, Apex has done something right by not running an ad campaign and releasing in a saturated environment. It’s release allowed it to be taken as just a game, without the criticism that might have developed if multiple trailers with the diverse cast had been released ahead of time. “It came out without hyping up the diversity, there was no pandering. The characters are just there, without [Respawn Games] pointing out how inclusive they were being. That’s what games need to do,” said Mia Allen, a junior German major. Apex Legends is a good game that shows a step towards a more open future in media- where diversity isn’t something that needs to be pushed. It just is, without preamble.

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Weekend Events Thursday

• The Country Wife @ Klein Theater, 7:30 p.m. • Deborah Silver presents ‘Artistic Promotion in the Music Industry’ @ Pollard 304, 2 - 3:15 p.m.

Friday

• The Country Wife @ KleinTheater, 7:30 p.m. • Mary Poppins Returns @ Monroe116, 7 p.m. • Bumblebee @ Monroe 116, 10 p.m.

Saturday

• • • • •

Multicultural Fair, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Country Wife @ KleinTheater, 7:30 p.m. Bumblebee @ Monroe 116, 7 p.m. Mary Poppins Returns @ Monroe 116, 10 p.m. UMW Concert Band: Spring Concert @ Dodd Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

@theBlueandGray The Blue & Gray Press

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Exciting internship opportunities and global alumni network Evening seated or online courses

Call 703-218-3565 or email DSS1@missouristate.edu | dss.missouristate.edu

LIFE

International ball: clubs collaborate on multicultural dance MOLLY AVERY Staff Writer

UMW’s first ever international ball was held last Friday April 5 in the HCC Digital Auditorium. The event was a collaborative effort put together by the Modern Languages and Literature Department, Center for International Education, Arab Culture Club, German Club and Latino Student Association. Students were encouraged to attend the dance in semi-formal or traditional dress. “The first international ball actually took place last year, organized by the German Club; it was called the Gold and Glitz Gala and was organized around a dinner,” said German professor Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich, one of the professors who made the event possible. “It was very small last year, though, and this year was the first year with a DJ and actual dancing.” The idea to turn that German dinner into a dance for all cultures came from the thinking of both professors and students alike. Culture is taught within the language classes, but can only really be experienced through cooking hours and movie screenings. By putting on the dance, students could connect with the cultures in a different way. “The use of music and traditional dance provides a light-hearted and fun way to interact with one another language and culture,” said senior Mackenzie Poust, a religious studies

major, and president of the Arab Culture Club. “Language, music, dance and other elements are what create the cultural foundations of a group of people, and we wanted to share that with UMW and emphasize that diversity.” The majority of the music throughout the dance came from different cultures around the world. Students were exposed new music this way, while also still hearing familiar hits such as “Despacito” and “Gasolina.” As diverse as the music was, classic American dance songs such as “The Cupid Shuffle” and “Cotton Eye Joe” were still played. Dances from various cultures were also taught at the ball. Traditional dances taught at the ball were African, Arab, Spanish and Chinese. “I really wanted to learn some cultural dances, even belly dancing,” said senior music and education major Benjamin Jones.

Jones started multiple dance circles throughout the dance with his friends. People were encouraged to run into the middle and show off their best moves. Belly dancing, the salsa and the worm were all a part of the circle at one point or another. “I think it makes things more interesting, and it makes the whole dance more hype too. I can’t dance at all, but I really enjoyed going into the circle being goofy,” said Jones. “We had actually planned to have karaoke in all of the languages just listed,” said HansenGlucklich, “but everyone was having so much fun dancing, we decided to skip the karaoke.” Light refreshments were offered Modern Languages and Literatures in the form of cake, candy and various beverages. At the end of the night everyone was given a small goody bag. A glittering photo booth was set up against the wall, where students could take pictures with their

friends using various props. Hansen-Glucklich was pleased with the turnout. “We hoped the ball would be successful, but we were surprised by how many students came, especially considering the conflict with spring formal and the weather.” The international ball took place on the same night as UMW’s famous spring formal. Coordinators of the event were worried about the overlap of the two dances, fearing that not as many may attend since they were happening at the same time. “We did not intentionally schedule it to be the same night,” said Poust. “We learned back in February about the overlap, but there was no way for us to move our event date because of location and time availability on campus.” Despite the scheduling conflict, the dance was still a huge success, totalling somewhere around 100 students in attendance. “It was really fun to go to a giant party with people who share the same interest as me,” said sophomore Grace Brecht, a German and French double major. Hansen-Glucklich confirmed that there are plans to have the ball again next year. Although she will be graduating, Poust has high hopes for the future of the dance. “I believe that word will circulate through campus and encourage more students to be on the lookout for the promotion of the event next year,” she said.

Music legend George Strait’s new album is just straight country LINDSEY BROWN Senior Writer

George Strait is not just a pioneer in country music, but a pioneer in the music industry. He has 60 number one singles, which is more than any artist in any genre of music. Strait has been in the music business for more than 30 years. He has won the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year three times, he has been nominated 16 times for the Grammys and won one for Country Album with his album “Troubadour” in 2009. His first album, “Strait Country,” came out in 1981, and he just released his thirtieth studio album, “Honky Tonk Time Machine.” George Strait had quite the life before he stepped into the spotlight. He was in the Army until he was honorably discharged in 1975. Strait also has a degree in Agriculture from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. He is a real cowboy, who loves

George Strait is a pioneer in country music.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

ranching and competing in roping competitions on a rodeo team. He is a member of PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association). Strait’s career is not just limited to music either; he has spent time in the acting world as well. In 1992, the movie “Pure Country” was released. George Strait’s character, Wyatt “Dusty” Chandler, was a country artist who becomes disenchanted by his tour, and abandons it to go back to his roots for a bit. While Strait was hesitant at first about acting, the script spoke to him, and he was able to relate to the character. In an interview Strait said, “To be totally truthful, I’ve experienced the kind of burnout this guy has in the movie.” Strait’s hit “Heartland” came from the best-selling soundtrack from the film. The Cowboy Rides Away tour was supposed to be Strait’s last tour back in 2013. The tour began in Lubbock, Texas and ended in Arlington, Texas in 2014.

NASH FM

Strait’s new album was released on March 29, 2019.

Strait incorporated many a country star on his last tour. Martina McBride, Jason Aldean, Ronnie Dunn, Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill, Luke Bryan and Faith Hill all made appearances. Strait seemed to want to go out with a bang with his last tour. Strait said, “I’m not retiring, just not going on tour anymore.” Since 2016, Strait has been a steady performer in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. However, in 2019 he booked shows outside of Las Vegas and in a press release, he explained that the fans are who he is paying attention to. “We said from the beginning that we would listen to the fans and follow what they want,” said Strait. Strait’s new album that came out on March 29 has already made number one on the Top Country Albums, and it

Country Music Tattletale

makes his twenty-seventh number one album in his career. Each one is a classic George Strait song and any fan would expect nothing less from the successful cowboy. He is even doing a cover of Johnny Paycheck’s “Old Violin”. My favorite of the bunch is “God and Country Music”. Strait explains that while the world is quickly changing, God and country music will never really change, “It’s a dance between the sin and the salvation, come hell or high water there’s two things still worth saving”. It is comforting to know that with country music making its way and the sound evolving as times goes on; that George Strait will always stay true to himself. He has had so much success just being himself in the music industry. I wonder how many other artists can say the same.

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NEWS

UMW has top rate of voter turnout in the state

•VOTING | 2

rate was actually the highest out of all Virginia universities in 2016. UMW’s voting rate in 2016 was 66.6 percent, followed by Northwestern University at 65 percent and George Mason University at 64.9 percent. Even then, students at UMW don’t “express as much interest in the midterms” as they do in presidential elections, according to the NSLVE study. In the 2014 midterms, for example, UMW’s voting turnout was only 19.2 percent. Another problems students face

when voting is setting aside time when they have classes, jobs, and extracurricular activities. It’s even more of a struggle for students to vote if they don’t have a car. Powell said that when she voted, she took a carpool arranged by students on campus. She pointed out that transportation is a big factor in whether students go out to vote. “If they have a car, I think it’s easy,” Powell said. “If they don’t, it’s a little bit harder. Especially because you don’t know where you’re going, or if you know friends with cars, but then,

UMW spans three voter precincts, the University is in blue, Eagle in orange, and the William Street Apartments are in green. Fredericksburg City Website

you still have to arrange rides. So, I participate on Election Day in multiple think it really depends on if you have a ways. Utz said that even if students are car or not.” unable to vote or don’t wish to vote, The UMW political clubs, Young Day on Democracy still gives them the Democrats and College Republicans, chance to participate in other activities offer ride services organized by to the polls on non-profit “Where you live affects organizations. election day. who you vote for and who Students could Despite these services being also work at the represents you.” available, it is polls through the unclear if they Fredericksburg take into account registrar. -Marc Hoffman the three different The Day on precincts dividing Democracy is campus. In regards to these issues, important for the UMW community both clubs were reached out to for because it gives students a chance to comment but neither responded in express their voice without having to time for publication. worry about their classes, homework, In order to help increase voting and extracurricular activities getting in rates, UMW has adopted a policy to the way. have classes canceled on Election “The future of American democracy Day to give students the chance to go is threatened daily by polarization out and vote. and apathy,” said Utz in her article. According to an article published “Lack of time to address these issues in the Blue & Gray Press on March creates a cycle of democratic inactivity, 20, 2019 by Ashley Utz, this policy especially for students. Voting is for originated from a petition calling for all of us, but we must invest in it – and a Day on Democracy that was sent UMW could be a trailblazer among out to students, faculty, and staff in institutions of higher education by May 2018. The petition proposed “the committing to civic engagement in the cancelation of all classes to allow long-term.” for involvement in our democratic Hoffman agrees with Utz’s process throughout the day” in order statements. to “to encourage civic engagement “The best you can do is constantly on campus and in the broader communicate, try to educate, and Fredericksburg community.” encourage people to be engaged. What A total of 625 members of the I don’t want to have happen, is people UMW community signed the petition: to get discouraged, and as a result, have 548 students, 40 faculty, 7 staff, and a sour view of elections when they’re 30 alumni. first getting engaged in them,” said This proposal lets students Hoffman.

Students and professor react to white board message •WOULD YOU RATHER | 1

Elsa Baumgartner, freshman, felt that the question was misinterpreted. “It doesn’t necessarily mean never seeing. That’s a correlation, but its not synonymous [with being permanently blind],” she said. Several students further questioned the intention of the board. Henry Wharton, freshman, felt that many passerby read too deeply into the phrasing of the question, and believed that the question instead referred to

discriminatory nature of the question. “The ableist message in the photo assumes a nondisabled audience and clearly represents persons who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing and/or blind/ visually impaired as necessarily living a diminished life by virtue of their difference,” he wrote. In response the the incident, Alec Mallmann, the assistant director “The ableist message in the photo assumes a of Student Activities & nondisabled audience and clearly represents Engagement and persons who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing and/or University Center blind/visually impaired as necessarily living a coordinator, said that, diminished life by virtue of their difference.” “Unfortunately, the question -Dr. Chris Foss wasn’t vetted by the existing process and we are taking steps to more specific circumstances that didn’t correct that. There is no impact on how equate to disability. “I really don’t the board will be used in the future, think they were intentionally trying to but we are opening a conversation with single out people with disabilities in various campus constituents to expand any way shape or form,” he said. the vetting process.” Alexis Huber, freshman, The general response to the question sympathized with the creators of the and the response that it has elicited board, “I can see that the intention varies, with some students feeling as if behind it probably wasn’t to be the issue is being taken too seriously. ableist,” but, she also critiqued the Nina Serafin, freshman, said, “it’s process, “it’s just the thoughtlessness only a somewhat silly question of the and not thinking through the question,” day... one of those questions you’d ask he said. with your friends if you’re trying to “I can see how when you’re making make conversation.”

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a board you’re not really thinking about how to include all different disabilities, but it’s something they need to do,” said Emma Snyder, sophomore English and psychology major. Despite the temptation to dismiss questions like these as insignificant in the greater fight for inclusion and diversity on campus, some students feel as if the attention that the board is getting is beneficial. Woods called for a more inclusive vetting process, “I think that there needs to be someone who has an understanding, who can have a better knowledge of ableist and really any sort of offensive content. There needs to be someone who has an understanding of what is and isn’t ok,” she said. “We all have these The controversial board captured on Snapchat by a concerned unconscious biases and its very student. Claudia Woods good that we are becoming speaks volumes of the extent to which more aware of them and starting our campus still has a long way to to scrutinizing them more,” said Huber. go before it can claim to be a truly This sentiment was reflected inclusive community.” further in Foss’s email, where he Mallmann addressed the response of said, “The extent to which it did not the University Center, “As UMW takes seem offensive to whoever submitted steps toward inclusive excellence, the it, any who selected/approved/ UC believes that expanding the vetting allowed it, those who participated process to include varied voices can in the game of voting for the least only enhance the experience of all disabling option, and all who went by of our community members and we it without registering its implications welcome the opportunity to do so.”

Thursday, April 11, 2019

NEWS

Students protest conservative guest speaker

virtues of capitalism and... war on the very rule of law outlined in our constitution.” “They started a war on poverty, scrubbed our schools of all reference to God, weakened our public institutions, and opened the door for a culture of meaninglessness,” she said. Parker equated abortion to slavery, saying, “abortion is not salvation, it is a crime against humanity. So America shouldn’t be doing that. We had another crime against humanity that we shouldn’t have been doing. It’s called slavery.” She also attributed the decline in societal values to gay marriage being legalized. “Conjugal marriage is a capstone of humanity,” she said. “As a result of its unraveling, our public square has been total chaos. Homosexuality is now delighting [sic] us into bringing into question the very premises of personal responsibility and limited government.” After the forty-five minute talk, Parker opened up the floor for a question and answer period. One student began their question

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with an excerpt from the first amendment, which reads “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” “I am not a Christian,” the student said. “I would like to know why you believe that Christian values, which the Constitution says should not be the foundation of law, nor should any other religions... why you believe those should be the foundation of law in the United States.” The question was met with significant applause. “You can’t change the reality of the founding of our country,” Parker responded. “[It was] founded on the principles of Christianity.” She said that the challenge society faces is coexisting with secular and religious values. Another student, Holly Darnell, said “I would like to know if you think that better access to contraception and better access to sex education in the communities that you’ve described would play a role in reducing abortion.” “Oh, they have plenty of that access,” Parker responded.

Students organized a demonstration in response to Star Parker’s controversial remarks. Kate Seltzer / The Blue & Gray Press

This was met with general disagreement from many in the audience. “They’re beginning now in the first grade to talk about these sexual matters,” Parker said. “Yes, this is what’s in the public school curriculum. Maybe you should look at it.” Although the National Conference of State Legislatures says that “all states are somehow involved in sex education for public schoolchildren,” no evidence was found of students learning sex education in the first grade. After these questions were asked, two students stood up and shouted “Who do you speak for?” A substantial portion of the crowd responded: “Not me.” About 120 out of the 180 individuals present marched out.

As they did, attendees who were in support of Parker chanted “USA. USA.” Students who organized the demonstration were unavailable for comment at the time of publication. Although the majority of attendees stood in opposition to Parker and her values, some students and community members did find the event valuable. “Star Parker speaks the truth,” said junior Spanish major Sarah Hearsey. “We knew a lot of people would be maybe a little off-put by the event,” Deaton said. “We kind of expected protesters. I was pleased that for most of the event, people were very respectful. Even if a couple of people are considering a viewpoint they never considered before, whether or not they agree with it, I think that’s really good for education.”

go up.” Sargent started a GoFundMe for students that had belongings damaged in the incident. She said she had several textbooks rented from Chegg that were ruined, as well as bedding and other items. Residence Life did send out an email indicating that they would provide EagleOne money as necessary for students to dry wet items. The University also provided Sodexo with a list of displaced students and offered to absorb the cost of meals for students who don’t have sufficient swipes remaining on their meal plan. However, some students said it was not clear that this offer only includes meal swipes into the UC. Danelle said, “I used meal swipes I probably would have budgeted for the rest of the semester, thinking that the University would reimburse me.” Following the incident, the primary complaint from students revolved around communication. “I honestly don’t think the communication’s been that great,” said Larson. “I get it’s a stressful situation and I’m not blaming the RAs at all because they’re doing their best, but I think this could have been handled a lot better.” “No one knows what’s happening,” Cooper said. “I guess they’re sending emails as best they can but it seems like they should be able to do better than this. They should have had a better plan, because you don’t wait until it happens to make a plan, you plan for it to happen.” Many students also complained about their temporary housing assignments in upperclassmen buildings on campus, and shared that they are instead staying in a hotel or with friends. An email was sent to displaced students at 9:28 p.m. on Saturday instructing them to pick up

keys from the Eagle Landing front desk for their displaced assignment. However, Larsen indicated that the keys were not ready when they got there. “They told us to wait for like an hour, so if people got their keys that night they would have been moving in around 11 p.m., which is kind of absurd because it happened at 10 in the morning,” said Larson. Cooper said, “For the people that were still here, I feel like they were just banking on them finding a place to stay with a friend or in a hotel room or something because they took so long…I ended up going home because it didn’t seem like anything was going to be communicated.” According to Fleming, the occupants of 13 apartments were notified on Tuesday that they could return to their residences, while a number of other apartments will remain offline for the remainder of the semester. Larsen indicated on Tuesday that she wished they would let her move out if it was clear her room would be offline for the remainder of the semester. On Wednesday evening, she received an email that she is being relocated from her current displaced location on the south side of Eagle to Arrington for the remainder of the semester. She requested to remain in an apartment style building with a kitchen due to dietary restrictions but as of publication, had not received a response. Fleming said, “Once we get beyond the crisis, we will evaluate our response as we do after any crisis. There is always room for improvement, so we will identify areas in our process and communication where we can do better and include it in our Standard Operating Procedures.”

Eagle Landing residents displaced in wake of pipe burst her boyfriend’s house, who lives in the UMW Apartments and just hung out there all day,” said Danelle, who lives on the fourth floor of Eagle. “I was really stressed all day because I had planned on getting up and working on my senior seminar presentation...and I couldn’t get access to my things. They wouldn’t let me go in even with an escort for like five hours.” According to Larsen, residence life staff entered the rotunda around 2:30 p.m. and announced residents of rooms 06-09 on each floor could go to their rooms with an RA escort to get essentials. She said they were told they had 20 minutes to pack for 48 hours. Students were displaced from their residences in Eagle Fleming indicated that “some Landing, some for the remainder of the year. Lauren Closs / The Blue & Gray Press students were asked to collect their belongings early in order for cleanSafety and Facilities •EAGLE 1 up crews to move equipment into their partnered with the City spaces.” Other students were unable to Inspector and Fire Marshal to assess enter their rooms until later, depending the safety of the building.” on how fast their rooms were inspected Facilities reacted with “visual and cleared. assessment of the entire north tower Larsen said, “it was stressful followed by water removal and because I walked into my apartment extraction by a service contractor,” said and there was water on the floor, like Wiltenmuth. puddles of water. They took our carpet Meanwhile, students waited in the away and there was also no shower rotunda or elsewhere on campus to curtain….There’s also no ceiling in my regain access to their rooms. bathroom. There’s no tile so you can “I didn’t have my EagleOne [card] look up into the structural part.” because I thought it was just a fire Students that were not present drill,” said Larsen. “I asked [an RA] in Eagle on Saturday morning were if I could go up to my room to get my notified by the University with the EagleOne and she said ‘no, your room campus-wide email at 3:51 p.m., six is pretty bad.’ I just had to sit there in hours after the pipe burst. the rotunda forever because I didn’t “We were all stressed because we have my EagleOne and I couldn’t were in D.C., and we left early to come really go anywhere.” back to see our room,” said sophomore Senior biochemistry major Eva sociology major and fifth floor resident Danelle left with her roommates to get Julie Sargent. “The RAs weren’t letting breakfast. our friends go into our room to try “I was still in my pajamas and my and save our stuff. They maybe could roommate was still in her pajamas. We have saved some of our textbooks or didn’t have anything...so we went to something, but they would not let them

Thursday, April 11, 2019

11

SPORTS

Editor: Jack Hagn | blueandgray.sports@gmail.com

Support for women in sports is lacking nationally and at UMW GEMMA SPICKA-PROFFIT Senior Writer

Men’s sporting events are more commonly attended than women’s events at UMW; the largest disparity is evident in the 67.6 percent difference in attendance at soccer games and the 41.5 percent difference in attendance at lacrosse games during their most recently completed seasons. These statistics are calculated from attendance logs on the UMW athletics website, and they only encompass regular season conference games played at home. “Attendance is estimated for most sports, with the exception of basketball, in which tickets sold is the number used,” stated Clint Often, assistant athletic director for communications and marketing. “Estimating the number is a common practice for taking attendance at every school in NCAA Division III, since typically tickets aren’t sold and attendance is free of charge.” This past season, there was a 29.0 percent difference in attendance between the two basketball teams. People who have attended both women’s and men’s basketball games in succession may be surprised by this comparatively lower percent difference as they have seen the large crowd that flows in after the women’s game has ended and before the men’s game begins. There may be an overlap of attendees staying from the women’s to the men’s game, which would lead to an underrepresentation of the number of people in the crowd at men’s games because they are not getting another ticket. “There’s definitely a difference in the amount of people who go to boy’s

basketball games and girl’s basketball games- and even our games and the baseball team’s games,” said Maggie Mrowka, a freshman on the varsity softball team. “I think it’s part of the stereotype that girl’s sports are just not as competitive and good as guy’s sports, which is not true because the girl’s sports at our school are good.” “I prefer going to men’s games because there’s a larger crowd,” said junior Kyair Smith. “Watching the game is more exciting when there are more people there being energetic.” The University advertises and supports men’s and women’s teams fairly equally by posting about all of the teams’ games and accomplishments across several social media platforms. The University also continuously makes efforts to “draw interest from the student body at large as well as the community,” said Often. There are several ways in which UMW tries to increase attendance to all games. This includes dedicating the game to a certain group, such as Special Olympics or faculty/staff, or handing out giveaways, such as season schedule cards or cell phone pockets. Most recently, the University ran a series of ads on the radio which featured studentathletes promoting the department and upcoming games. Unfortunately, the decreased interest for women’s sports reflects a worldwide trend. Women’s sports are less supported than men’s sports, a fact that becomes glaringly obvious when looking at media coverage. A USC study in 2014 reported that 2 percent of airtime on ESPN SportsCenter was dedicated to women’s sports. Additionally, off-season

men’s sports receive more coverage than and working conditions [the team] in-season women’s sports. This data receives while representing U.S. Soccer,” is consistent with the study’s previous according to The New York Times. findings since 1999. This leads one to consider whether the public is less The U.S. women’s soccer team plays interested in women’s sports because and wins more games, especially at they are less well represented in the higher levels, than the men’s team, yet media, or vice versa. they are paid less than the male athletes. Some theories for why the former Another sport where the pay gap is is true include that the male-dominated particularly high is basketball, in which field of sports journalism presents “the highest-paid WNBA player makes women’s sports in a lackluster manner roughly one-fifth of what the lowestand that sports coverage is gender paid NBA player makes,” according to biased. Gender bias affects how women Forbes. athletes themselves are portrayed. Part of the reason that women are paid “When men are covered in sports less stems from the fact that their leagues magazines it’s for their athleticism,” have less revenue to divide between the said Dr. Kristin Marsh, program athletes, due to less media coverage and director of women’s and gender studies lower attendance at games. and associate professor of sociology. The lack of support for women in “Women are sexualized in media sports is a much larger problem than coverage, or they are shown with their what occurs at Mary Washington. One families.” way that the students can tackle the “In a society that values men and issue is to make time in their schedules masculinity, and that associates sports for women’s games as well as men’s with physical strength (instead of games. With approximately a 64 percent agility, skill, etc.) and therefore with majority of the student body being men, we have a mistaken belief that all women, it is likely that many students men’s teams are inherently better and know someone on a women’s sports more worthy of attention than women’s team. Attending the games to support teams,” added Marsh. these women builds community and Last month, this issue of women’s allows us to take a small step toward inequality in sports was once again equality. brought to the public eye on an international level when the United States women’s soccer team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against their employer U.S. Soccer. The issues outlined in the lawsuit include “compensation, support USA women’s soccer has 8 World Cup appearances. espn.com

Club women’s soccer hosts their first Talon Cup RILEY DOHERTY Staff Writer

It was 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 6 at the soccer field behind the Alvey parking deck. Two teams were doing warm-ups for the start of the Talon Cup; on the right side, East Carolina University and on the left University of Mary Washington’s club soccer team. “This is the first tournament ever, that we’ve hosted” said Carolyn Rouse, a junior English creative writing major and president of the club soccer team in an interview the day before. “I don’t want to say it’s historical but it kind of is. We’re really excited, a lot of the girls are really excited.” Despite their excitement, the UMW

The Talon Cup lasted two days.

club soccer team was cautious about their opponent. “ECU is DI…DI schools are usually bigger and have a lot more players to pull from, so they usually are more skilled,” said Rouse “ECU is the anticipated champion of this tournament.” Rouse’s assumption was proven to be correct. At 1:30, both teams took to the field and the game started. From the very start of the game ECU played very aggressively both in team strategy and in one-on-one altercations. There were multiple instances of ECU players slamming into or knocking down UMW players, even to the point where one of the ECU players got yellow carded. A few minutes later an ECU player kicked a ball directly into a UMW player’s face, but based on the ECU player’s shocked reaction and immediate show of concern it appeared to be an accident. ECU’s aggression forced UMW to defense for most of the first half, but Rouse and the rest of the team consider this one of their strengths. “We know that if we play our game, which is possession, then we

Club Women’s Soccer

should be able to do well,” said Rouse. Despite UMW’s best efforts, ECU scored a goal right before halftime. Although there was a point disadvantage, the UMW team wasn’t too worried. “A lot of times we call ourselves the second half team because the first half we figure out our ground, how everything is gonna go, we figure out how the other team is. And at half time we group ourselves and we are able to push through when the other team is tired,” said Rouse, After the break and a few minutes of defensive play, UMW was able to go on the offensive and score a goal, tying up the game. Unfortunately, due to a last-minute penalty kick, ECU was able to sneak into the lead without giving UMW a chance to respond, and ending the game 2-1. “I wasn’t really happy with the penalty kick called near the end,” said Paola Urlich, a senior biology major. “I don’t think the score reflects how we played.” UMW’s second game was against the University of Lynchburg, and was overall much more tame, with no dramatic accidents or cards pulled. Although

Lynchburg wasn’t as out-right aggressive as ECU, they still had control of the field for most of the game, scoring 3 points before UMW was able to score one near the end of the second half, ending the game 3-1. The third game, between UMW and ECU again, was also a loss, but Rouse attributed this to ECU having more time to rest between games due to scheduling. The final game on Saturday was between UMW and Lynchburg and ended in a tie. On Sunday there was only one match, the final round between ECU and Lynchburg, ending with ECU defeating Lynchburg 2-0. Rouse thought the two teams were evenly matched, but attributed ECU’s victory to a speed advantage. ECU’s victory left a bad taste in the UMW player’s mouths. “ECU overall had a bad attitude,” Rouse said after the game Sunday. Despite this Rouse thinks the overall experience was a positive one. She said, “Overall I’m really proud of how the entire process of the tournament was planned and executed and we all needed each other to do it. We couldn’t have done it without each other.”

Club Sports Scoreboard Club Womans Soccer Apr. 6-7 3rd Thursday, April 11, 2019

Club Softball Apr. 13 vs. William and Mary TBA

Club Men's Ultimate Apr. 14 @ Richmond TBA 12