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College raises student wages by $3 effective July 2022

Volume 120, Issue 13

March 2nd, 2022

PPGA perspective: Administration blocks efforts for easier access to Plan B

New crossword by Victor Fleming ‘73 in Living Davidson

The Yowl suggests alternate names for the new football field

College Responds to Title IX Petition’s Demands

National Administration Changes Continue to Fuel Policy Shifts 183

186 174 146

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community

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seniors

Title IX In the White House Title IX was signed by Richard Nixon in 1972, as part of a series of Educational Amendments. The law read, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” The law proclaims that all schools receiving federal funding are held accountable for encounters their students have with sex-based discrimination. Over the years, Title IX has faced various lawsuits and revisions attempting to undercut its impact or render it unconstitutional. The amendment has received the greatest backlash related to its implications regarding the athletic opportunities available for male, female, and gender-nonconforming students. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) challenged the legality of Title IX four years after it was passed, in a 1976 lawsuit which was eventually dismissed. In 1984, Grove City v. Bell temporarily limited the scope of Title IX by reducing its protections against discrimination to specific pro-

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ccording to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), 2327% of female and 18-20% of genderqueer and transgender students report sexual assault during their undergrad college experience, compared to only 6-8% of male students. Title IX seeks to address this discrepancy between male and non-male encounters with unwanted sexual activity, and other forms of discrimination based on sex. The rocky political history of this protective amendment reveals both its controversial implications at a national level as well as the direct consequences for students on college campuses across the country, including Davidson College.

Petition Signatures by Class Year

sophomores

SAMANTHA EWING ‘23 (SHE/HER) FEATURES EDITOR

grams receiving federal funding, rather than holding the institution as a whole accountable. This meant that many athletic departments, which are typically school-funded, were now exempt from Title IX, and were no longer required to provide equal opportunities for mens’ and womens’ athletic options. However, this restriction was reversed by the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987. Despite these setbacks, the amendment has prevailed and continues to be modified. Various “Dear Colleague” letters have offered informal descriptions of the practical applications of Title IX since its passage, yet they are often repealed and reinstated based on which political party is in power. For example, the Obama Administration issued a Dear Colleague letter in 2011, which laid out the procedure for reporting sexual harrassment, yet the recommendations of this letter were rescinded under the Trump Administration. The Trump Administration made significant revisions to Title IX legislation. In 2020, Trump issued several new regulations, under which educational facilities are no longer held accountable for sexual assaults they “should have known” about, and are instead only accountable for reported incidents. Additionally, schools are now instructed not to respond to accusations with excessive consequences, encouraging more lenient repurcussions for perpetrators; victims are required to submit to live hearings to be cross examined, a measure expected to discourage reporting; and schools are no longer accountable for incidents of sexual assault which occur off-campus. The legal definition of what constitutes sexual assault was narrowed as well. In response to these revisions, eighteen state attorneys general filed lawsuits against the changes. In opposition to the Trump Administration’s choices, Joe Biden campaigned with promises to reverse these revisions. Since his 2021 inauguration, President Biden has issued two executive orders intended to secure the protections of Title IX. On March 8, 2021, he issued an Executive Order opening Title IX to review, and the Education Department has been holding hearings and working to revise the current Title IX. They are expected to release a new

first years

ISA DEGUZMAN ‘25 (SHE/HER) STAFF WRITER

signatures

Signatures for the Petition to Increase Support for Survivors of Sexual Violence. Infographic by Hope Anderson ‘22 rule in May 2022. In the meantime, Biden issued another Executive Order which clarified the language of Title IX to include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender

identity, rather than simply sex. This is a critical step to decreasing rates of sexual assault on college campuses.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Placement Day Mishap Leaves Students Out of Houses ABBY TRUE ‘25 (SHE/HER) STAFF WRITER

ine students failed to click the second required button. Nine students were left without a brown t-shirt inside a paper bag and an accompanying house assignment on the morning of Saturday, February 19th. Isabelle Polgar ‘25, one of the students who wasn’t placed, explained what happened to her cluster. “The form said ‘Thank you for submitting’ but [my friend] did not scroll down,” Polgar said. “There were around 35-40 girls on the email chain that said we had not filled out the form.” Most of these students went on to finish

the survey, but Polgar’s cluster did not. On the morning of Sunday, February 20th, the grass behind Vail Commons wore a blanket of silly string and shaving cream. The weeks leading up to the annual Patterson Court Council (PCC) event, Placement Day, were full of anticipation and excitement—feelings that permeated the entire campus. The campus’s four eating houses are Rusk House, Warner Hall House, Connor House, and Turner House. As the Rusk website establishes, the houses exist to create a space for members “to congregate and build relationships with one another.” Unlike traditional Greek Life, the unique placement method allows prospective members to choose their own house instead of being chosen by current members. The process

emphasizes equity and fairness; admittees are currently able to rank their choices, giving them a degree of autonomy. Ultimately, the decision is made by an algorithm, originally applied to the placement process by Anthony Albert ‘01, Tim Valdes ‘01, Mary Wylie ‘02, and Mathematics and Computer Science professor Dr. Laurie Heyer. In the week leading up to Placement Day, those who wished to join an Eating House were asked to first fill out a Bill of Rights, due on Monday, Feb. 14th at 5:00 P.M. Once completed, students were required to rank their preferences and submit them through WildcatSync. The form could be completed alone or with a group of up to four individuals: a practice termed “clustering.” After ranking their choic-

es and inputting identifying information, students had to click two submission buttons for their choices to be recorded. Grace Hall ‘22, the president of PCC, mentioned that the process does not reveal much information until the day of the event. “Those in charge of placement day have no way of seeing if a form is in progress,” she said. “[They] can only see those forms that are submitted.” This meant that those working behind the scenes were being asked to rectify a problem caused by human error. Polgar expressed her feelings of disappointment on Saturday morning. “We walked out at 6:55 A.M. to find our

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

News

2 College to Raise Student Wages in 2022-2023 KEVIN GARCIA-GALINDO ‘24 STAFF WRITER

n February 15th, Ann McCorvey, Vice President for Finance and Administration, and Kim Ball, Director of Human Resources, sent out an email with the subject line “The work that you do.” The email both acknowledged the work that nearly half of the student population does and announced that wages for student employees will increase by $3-per-hour starting in July 2022. While all students will see an increase in pay, the email pointed out that, “students employed under the work-study program will see a decrease in the hours needed to earn their student employment award, as they cannot earn more than the work-study award under federal guidelines.” By comparison, in 2018, 49 percent of the 577 work-study students earned at least 75 percent of their award limit and in 2019, as did 46 percent of 596 students. Under the increased pay scale, first-years would go from earning between $7.50 and $9 to earning between $10.50 and $12 depending on the job classification. By contrast, seniors would go from being able to earn between $9 and $10.50 to earning $12 to $13.50. The current and new pay-scales can be found on the Davidson website. The new pay rise makes the compensation

working at Davidson comparable not only to other collegiate institutions, but to jobs at businesses off campus. When further questioned about the circumstances behind this change, Ball said that this move was made in response to recent changes in the labor market and unrelated to a similar $3-per-hour wage increase for staff announced last October. “Attracting and retaining great employees is critical to the operations of the college, so we do a lot of regular benchmarking of compensation and benefits to make sure we can compete in the labor market. We benchmark against peer schools for student employment as well,” Ball said. Because the increase of pay will result in a decrease of hours worked for most employees, Ball said that many, “Staff and supervisors may have to figure out how to work with less support from student employees,” although he primarily thinks that departments will be, “happy [that] our students are being paid more.” “In some situations, departments may have their own funds that allow them to pay students directly for more hours of work,” to keep essential student workers providing the support that certain departments need and, in other cases, departments will have to make due with, “less support from student workers

Georgia Hall ‘25 earns work study wages answering calls at the information desk. Photo by Bailey Maierson ‘25 than they have in the past,” Ball said. Tafara Nhara ‘24, Community and Event Ambassador at the Jay Hurt Hub, said concerning the increase in student wages, “I think that Davidson College made the correct deci-

sion in increasing the student wages not just to show how much they value our work but also helping us balance school and work by allowing us to work less hours in the future.”

Title IX Petition Calls for Counselors, Coordinator CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Until new revisions are made, all college students continue to face barriers which discourage them from reporting their experiences of sexual assault. Despite the promises of Title IX, assaulters continue to receive protections and clemency for their actions. The future of the ruling remains uncertain, and should be expected to continue to fluctuate depending on the politics of the party in power. On Campus Davidson’s campus is no exception to the impact of these legislations. According to Title IX coordinator Carley Dix, survivors of sexual violence who come forward have multiple options for how to proceed. First, students are encouraged to contact Dix to schedule a meeting and discuss the resources and resolutions available to them. From there, students can receive supportive measures as well as decide whether or not to pursue preventative measures or a formal complaint. Preventative measures include options such as conflict coaching, no-communication orders, shared expectations agreements, and educational discussions with the Title IX Coordinator or the dean of students. Meanwhile, students wishing to file a formal complaint with the school must do so through the Title IX Coordinator and include details of the incident they wish to report. Once a formal complaint is filed, it can be resolved in one of three ways: the Respondent can accept responsibility, both parties can voluntarily create an adaptable resolution, or the student coming forward can choose to pursue a formal resolution. The formal resolution option entails an official investigation and a hearing. Students explained how the Title IX legislation protecting assailants has made it more difficult for survivors of sexual violence to obtain justice, specifically when undergoing the formal resolution process. Erin Martin ’23 spoke to the challenges she faced while pursuing her own formal resolution through the Title IX Office. During the investigation of her assault in 2021, her assailant was able to afford an attorney to help him prepare. Thus, the legislation requiring that survivors undergo a cross examination fostered equity issues as Martin was left to prepare her cross examination on her own. “It also adds a lot to the anxiety—not only are you dealing with an assault, but you are also having to prepare for a situation when someone is attacking your truth when it was hard enough to come forward in the first place,” Martin said. Martin cites the cross examination requirement as one of the

primary reasons she felt discouraged from the formal reporting process. The lenient sanctions for those who are found responsible at the end of a formal investigation also contributed to her hesitancy to report. “[During the investigation] I was able to look back at some of the previous cases, and it was very difficult to get a suspension, even if you were found responsible,” Martin said. Martin also discussed the lack of support she received from the Title IX office during the process. “No one in the Title IX process is obligated to guide you; you have to reach out, and if you don’t know what questions to ask, then you’re left completely in the dark,” she said. Many students have been taking action on campus to address how to alleviate portions of the hardship survivors face with the Title IX reporting process. During the fall 2021 semester, Yunah Han ’22, Michaela Gibbons ’22, and Jamie Rose Montagne ’22 drafted a petition in collaboration with Students Against Sexual Violence, the Student Government Organization, and Davidson’s Title IX office appealing to the administration for help with this initiative. The petition demands the appointment of a second Title IX investigator as the school currently only has one person— Dix—responsible for all reported cases of sexual harassment and sexual violence on campus. The petition also requests the hiring of an additional 3-4 counselors of color with a focus on sexual trauma to mitigate the wait time for counseling appointments through the Center for Student Health and Well-being. Lastly, the petition asks for increased funding for campus resources for survivors of sexual violence. On October 27th, 2021, a student-led emergency student body meeting was held to address party culture and personal safety at Armfield and PCC organizations. Han cites this event as one of the tipping points that inspired her involvement with the petition. “The more I progressed in my Davidson career, the more and more I got access to personal stories with friends dear to my heart as well as people I don’t know anything about except for the fact they had been public with their stories,” Han said. “There was work that had already been done, so I was trying to see where I could most effectively help.” As of February 23, the petition has 821 signatures, 689 of which are from Davidson students. While there are some external signatures, most belong to students, faculty, and other members of the Davidson community. Administrators have passed on the petition to the Board of Trustees, and the collection of signatures is currently on hold. According to Han, students should expect an email with updates on the petition within the next week. Dean of Students, Byron McCrae, also spoke about the progress of the petition as there has been open communication be-

tween the school and the authors. “I can’t foresee us adding 3-4 positions, that’s what the demands specifically ask for. But I do think we’re going to work with folks to involve them in the health educator search and assess what our opportunities are to maybe increase staffing for the fall semester,” McCrae said. Also in spite of the petition’s demands, the school is not seeking to add an additional Title IX investigator. “The Title IX office doesn’t believe that we need an investigator, and so that was the feedback that we provided,” Dean McCrae said. Rather, Dean McCrae discussed seeking help from an outside consultant to pinpoint where the school has opportunity to add another position and how to best utilize it.

Flyer advertising a QR code for the Green Dot Bystander Intervention Student Recommendation Form. Photo by Brigid McCarthy ‘25

March 2nd, 2022

Marvelous Mardi Gras: Dining Services Delights GEORGIA HALL ‘25 (SHE/HER) CO-NEWS EDITOR

BRIGID MCCARTHY ‘25 (SHE/HER) CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

n Tuesday, March 1, Vail Commons served a Mardi Gras feast. Dining Services worked hard to create a joyous event for the Davidson community. As students arrived and swiped their CatCards they were greeted with colorful beads and classic New Orleans jazz. A special menu was crafted for the meal including blackened smothered chicken, Cajun pasta alfredo, maque choux, fried okra, a selection of gumbos, and a pancake and beignet bar. The dining staff spared no expense and dressed up in Mardi Gras outfits: masks, costumes, colors, and all. Kaelyn McCarthy ‘25 remarked how “the enthusiasm of the staff makes the event.” Isabella McCormick ‘25 grew up on the southern Alabama coast, a part of the country deeply involved in Mardi Gras celebrations this time of year. Although she remembers the parties and school days off fondly, she also noted the cultural importance of the event — and specifically, how it relates to food. “Last semester my [anthropology] professor, who is from Louisiana, used gumbo as an example of cultural exchange, in that the flavors mix with each other and gain the tastes of each other but never lose their original composition. I think that’s representative of Mardi Gras as a pretty multicultural holiday,” she said. “Although it comes from Europe, it has been shaped in the American context by the Creole and African American populations in Louisiana, lower Alabama, and Mississippi.” William Breen ‘25 explains how food is an important component of culture. Dining Services continues to incorporate a broad variety of cultures in their everyday hot specials, and Mardi Gras is just another example of how food can translate into tradition. “Food is one of the most accessible forms of culture and a universal language deeply personal to everyone,” he said. “Commons may have just cooked a meal but they were able to connect Davidson’s community to a fun cultural celebration.”

Right: Images from Tuesday’s Mardi Gras feast at Vail Commons Dining Hall. Photos by Brigid McCarthy ‘25

Cluster Fails to Place CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 bags, and we just walked in circles. Everyone was so excited to find their bags, but we just did not have one,” she said. In the time since, Rusk, her cluster’s top choice, has worked to find a temporary

Davidson’s Associate Director of Student Activities, noted that although WildcatSync has been the platform for placement surveys for over four years, this was the first year that problems with completing

“My office is talking about changing the process in the future so that each member of a cluster could receive confirmation of submission.” -Emily Eisenstadt, Associate Director of Student Activities solution to this problem. For this semester, they’ve decided to add the girls to the email list and the meal plan. Still, they won’t have CatCard access, and they’ll have to go through the placement process again in the fall, when they’ll have no guarantee of getting placed in Rusk. And two weeks after Placement Day, the buzz around this incident persisted. Rumors regarding alleged glitches and inequities abounded. Emily Eisenstadt,

the survey “[felt] like a prominent issue.” “My office is talking about changing the process in the future so that each member of a cluster could receive confirmation of submission,” she said. “This would therefore take the pressure off of the person submitting to get it right.”

Crime Log

Time Reported

Description/Location

02/15/22 at 15:30 hrs

Underage Consumption

02/13/22 at 18:44 hrs

Hit and Run

Duke, Dean Referral/Medic Transport

Belk Lot, Further Investigation

02/13/2022 at 01:14 hrs Underage Consumption Chidsey, Dean Referral

of Alcohol Underage 02/05/2022 at 17:45 hrs Poss. Belk, Dean Referral

01/24/2022 at 12:23 hrs Traffic Stop (Expired Registration)

Concord Rd., Verbal Warning

01/18/2022 at 17:31 hrs Injury to Real Property (field)

Practice Soccer Field, Inactive

Perspectives

Too Afraid of Some Plan B Demanding Action on Access to Sexual Health Resources ALONA WEBB-NEWTON ‘23 (SHE/HER) LYRA SEABORN ‘22 (SHE/HER) MATTIE BAIRD ‘25 (THEY/THEM)

avidson College loves to brag about Plan B being created by a Davidson alum, yet the administration declines to make this vital healthcare resource easily attainable. In 2019, Davidson’s chapter of Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) established the Wellness Wendy vending machine in the Student Union next to the gym. Offering essential sexual wellness products—namely, Plan B—at discounted rates, Wendy has provided a convenient, discrete, and more affordable means for students to access such products on Davidson’s campus. While Plan B is available at the Student Health Center for $25 during the weekdays, it is inaccessible for many students who live off-campus or who don’t have the financial resources to purchase it. The Student Health Center is also closed on weekends and after 5:00 P.M. on weekdays — peak times when Plan B is most needed. Additionally, the Health Center will only administer Plan B to cisgender women after consultation. These requirements place a disproportionate burden on trans students, students who have experienced sexual assualt, and male students attempting to acquire the pill for a partner. The Wellness Wendy committee of PPGA aims to ensure that sexual wellness products are available for all Davidson students. Thanks to the Student Health Center’s efforts to help bridge the gap in accessibility, we are now able to sell Plan B for $7, rather than our previous $18. Another key step in our mission was to resume our efforts to implement dining dollar capabilities to Wellness Wendy, after being told it was impossible due to technical dilemmas. In November of 2021, the Wendy committee initiated contact with Richard Terry, Director of Auxiliary Services, asking what steps would be necessary to add dining dollar functionality to the machine. Auxiliary Services responded, saying that dining dollars can only be used to purchase food items. In response, we pointed out that there are several locations on campus where students can purchase non-food items using dining dollars. Terry was back in contact in mid-January. He said that he

spoke with his staff, and had decided that it does not make sense for meal plans to be used to purchase Plan B. He also threatened to institute a new policy restricting all students from purchasing non-food items with dining dollars. Given that the main objective of the Wellness Wendy team is to increase accessibility to essential health items for all students, we responded to Terry, saying that it would be incredibly counterproductive to further restrict which items students are permitted to purchase with their dining dollars. We requested that he not discontinue the practice of allowing students to purchase nonfood items with dining dollars. Subsequently, our committee reached out to the office of Byron McCrae, the Dean of Students. We initiated contact because we believe that it is contradictory for Auxiliary Ser-

Throughout this institution’s history, we as students have been left to fend for ourselves as our concerns and demands fall on dismissive ears. vices to allow dining dollars to be used to purchase some non-food items, but not others. After weeks of our questions being passed back and forth between administrators without consistent answers, we were finally notified that a decision had been reached: dining dollars will no longer be able to be used to purchase any non-food items, including those at Commons Market. Instead, these products will only be available through one’s declining balance (which essentially functions as a campus gift card that parents/guardians add funds to), credit/debit card, or cash. To be abundantly clear, we asserted in all of our meetings and correspondences that our goal is (and has never been anything but) to increase student accessibility to health-related and personal care items. Therefore, we were astonished upon being told that our arguments in favor of expanding dining dollars to encompass Wellness Wendy had indeed prompted the administration to address the discrepancy, yet instead of adjusting the meal plan’s reach in favor of greater access, they had decided to go the opposite direction.

Terry claims that the meal plan is not the “appropriate tool” to accomplish our goal. However, we were not given any alternative ‘tools’ or informed why this is the case, but merely wished success in our endeavors. We came to the administration seeking help and guidance, and instead were written off as if we were a nuisance. Throughout this institution’s history, we as students have been left to fend for ourselves as our concerns and demands fall on dismissive ears. For instance, the administration has ceased the search for a new sexual health educator to replace Georgia Ringle, thus also denying student access to critical education and counseling. Given such great reluctance (if not outright refusal) to work with us and with other students/ groups in pursuit of similar objectives, we are prompted to question whether Davidson’s disinclination truly comes from a place of finances and logistics, or if deeper-seated prejudices against contraceptives, abortion, and other reproductive health measures are at play. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with any and all offices that we must in order to accomplish our mission of making essential health products equally accessible to all students on Davidson’s campus. Although Davidson dons a progressive veneer, the branding put forth on the website and in tours often fails to extend to reality. It’s time to translate empty words and images into action. For questions and comments, you can reach the Wellness Wendy team at wellnesswendy@davidson.edu. Alona Webb-Newton ‘23 (she/her) is a gender and sexuality studies major on the pre-med track from Hillside, New Jersey. Alona can be reached for comment at alwebbnewton@davidson.edu. Lyra Seaborn ‘22 (she/her) is a psychology major on the premed track from Austin, Texas. Lyra can be reached for comment at lyseaborn@davidson.edu. Mattie Baird ‘25 (they/them) is a gender and sexuality studies major on the pre-med track from Sudbury, Massachusetts. Mattie can be reached for comment at mabaird@davidson.edu.

Gamut’s Aprilweenmas: Indigeneity as the Punchline? Confronting Legacies of Colonialism on Campus ANAYA PATEL ‘25 (THEY/SHE)

s Davidson College continues to confront its history of colonialism, slavery, and white supremacy, opposition to this goal still appears frequently, and not always in the way one would expect. One instance where these forms of violence quietly crept in was the Gamut Dance Company showcase last weekend. Titled “Aprilweenmas,” one featured modern dance was bound to create laughs — and it most certainly did. Throughout the entire piece, the crowd was hysterical. Dancers rolled on the ground, flailing their arms and legs in the air, before engaging in what appeared to be a ceremony. The costumes alone were enough to make you burst into giggles: all dancers wore white masks covering their faces, and fire-colored tassels hung from their arms and legs. It was clear that the piece was intended to be absurd. But what was the joke? The dance itself felt as if it was making a mockery of Indigenous rituals and dances, as it certainly read as tribal. For starters, the red bodysuits instantly stood out to me as a common marker of Indigeneity. From the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Commanders after much controversy) to Peter Pan’s “What Made the Red Man Red,” red skin is a common quality used to stereotype Indigenous populations. During the middle of the pieces, dancers ran to the side of the stage to

grab red, orange, and yellow paper bundles. Dancers looked like they were wielding fire, another prominent symbol of the primitive, exemplified by the common trope of cavepeople and fire. Fire dancing has also been part of various Indigenous cultures for centuries. For example, fire performance appears in rituals for the Maori Tribes of New Zealand, California’s Pomo people, and the ancient Aztecs. Upon asking Gamut dancers what Aprilweenmas was, they articulated a pagan cult, as if all non-Abrahamic religions are the butt of the joke. While the dance may be just a dance, with the sole motive to entertain, it has a more fraught meaning on Davidson’s campus. Not only is the dance company almost all-white, but the dance was also performed on land stolen from the Catawba Nation. According to the student project Disorienting Davidson, the Davidson family wealth, as well as the foundation for Davidson College, relied on the seizure of Indigenous land and the expulsion, exploitation, and genocide of Indigenous people. While the Catawba and other Indigenous communities still exist, their communities and cultures were shaped by the violent legacies of Davidson’s colonial predecessors. In recent years, Davidson College has attempted to grapple with its colonial history but clearly has fallen short. On the administrative side, President Quillen’s Commission on Race and Slavery examined the college’s history and issued a formal apology, but has yet to actively engage in anti-racist initiatives, such as rechristening buildings or programs named

after problematic figures. On the student side, the Stories (Yet) To Be Told Initiative is recovering stories lost in the colonial archive with art, but art like Gamut’s Aprilweenmas distracts from the important work of marginalized communities on campus. It’s clear that diversity and inclusivity are still lacking in so many areas of campus. What value do these measures have when showcases viewed by students, alumni, and community members perpetuate ideologies rooted in white supremacy, or worse: reinforce the type of thinking in which white supremacy flourishes? After talking to a handful of dancers about the purpose of the piece, I remain puzzled. They claim that the dance is meant to be a joke, but I’m still wondering what the punchline is. Anaya Patel ‘25 (they/she) is an intended anthropology major and gender and sexuality studies minor from San Antonio, Texas. Anaya can be reached for comment at anpatel@davidson. edu.

Sports

As Pandemic Wains, Spectators Return

SPENCER WOLFF ‘25 (HE/HM) SPORTS WRITER

n the 2020-2021 season for Davidson men’s and women’s basketball, fans were a rarity at games. Due to the COVID pandemic, Davidson Athletics made the decision to not allow fans, except for families of the players that were participating in the athletic competition. As the COVID curve started to fall, Davidson Athletics made the decision to have fans inside of Belk Arena for the 20212022 season. About the decision to have fans back in the building, Davidson’s Director of Athletics, Chris Clunie ‘06, said that “It’s been amazing. Last year was really, really tough, we made the decision to not allow fans into the arena. It definitely wasn’t the same. To have near sellouts for men’s basketball, to have great turnouts for women’s basketball, and to have people back in the stands has been really, really refreshing.” Clunie also mentioned that the team’s Saturday afternoon games have been especially popular in terms of attendance. To the players, having fans in the building is also vital, as Clunie describes. “You get energy from the fans from a shot, from a stop, and it helps to go on a run.” One game in particular Clunie points out was the men’s basketball game versus VCU on January 26th, where Davidson was down and the fans’ energy was an important factor in the team coming back. “If you ask the players, we got back in that game because the

fans helped to will them forward and the players feed off of that.” Clunie also talked about the importance of the town and the area wanting to get back into the building. “We are a town, we are a residential community, and while we have the ability to stream most games or have our games on national television, but people are worn of the pandemic and so to provide entertainment and have the ability to bring your family, bring your kids, and have the energy back has been really tremendous.” Over the winter break, Davidson Athletics announced that there would be proof of vaccination required at Belk Arena for all future home games. About the decision at the time, Clunie explained that “We were trying to look at what was happening. We are trying to provide the most fun, but at the same time, the most safe experience possible. To be able to maintain the safety of our students, faculty, and administrators, we felt it was necessary at the time to mandate vaccines.” At the same time, Clunie acknowledged that any decision wasn’t going to be perfect. “You can be vaccinated, and still get COVID, but it gave us the best possible chance to be safe. Also, while we have a mask policy, not everyone follows it in the arena and the vaccine requirement gave us another layer of protection.” Recently, Davidson Athletics made the decision to revert to accepting negative tests. Clunie explained that “tests were hard to find when we made this decision. Students couldn’t get tests to come back to campus, and we felt it was sort of in the public goods to not use tests for a basketball

game when people were trying to get tests to go back to work or back to school. Now that tests are more readily available, it was an opportunity to say that for the last three, four, or five home games, we will allow negative tests. It is all about being in tune with society and being reasonable with our approach. As 99% of students are vaccinated, the change in policy is unlikely to affect them but will have an impact on the rest of the Davidson community.” On February 26, Mecklenburg County let its mask mandate lapse. In the COVID update released on February 25, Davidson said they would make their own decisions regarding masks. In terms of Davidson Athletics’ COVID policies, Clunie said that “we will follow what the College does. I do anticipate a change in our masking policy. However, our final Belk Arena athletics event for the season is on March 2nd and then we move outside. The school is looking at potential changes but it will affect more now the experience inside Baker Sports Complex rather than Belk Arena events.” This also means that we are getting towards the end of the winter season, one that coincides with an exciting time in Clunie’s eyes for Davidson Athletics. “Our fall sports, such as football and volleyball, had tremendous seasons with a second straight PFL championship for the football team. Men’s track and field finished second indoors at the conference championship, which was the best finish in school history. The men’s basketball team is having a historic year, and the women’s basketball team is in the tournament.

Athletic Director Chris Clunie ‘06. Photo courtesy Davidson College Athletics The baseball team beat #22 Bryant [University] and the women’s lacrosse team has started 4-0. Looking across the board, at all of our programs, it’s a great time to be a part of Davidson Athletics, and there’s a lot of momentum to continue to grow and get better.” Although the winter (and mostly indoor) season is coming to an end, it can be looked back as one that featured many changes, but the one thing that is always present is the support of the Davidson community, both on campus and off, never did waver.

Rewind: Last Week in Davidson Athletics, In Photos

The

Davidsonian Editors-in-Chief News Editors Features Editor Senior Political Correspondent Perspectives Editor Arts and Culture Editor Sports Editor Living Davidson Editor Yowl Editors Photographer Web Editor Cartoonist Multimedia Editor Social Media Manager Business Manager Design Editors

Men’s Basketball: Emory Lanier ‘24 surveying the floor during Davidson’s 66-45 romp of Fordham on Saturday.

Track: Davidson medalists from this weekend’s A10 Indoor Track & Field Championship stand alongside medalists from other A10 programs.

Women’s Basketball: Issy Morgan ‘25 handles the ball in Davidson’s 68-57 loss to Fordham on Saturday.

Wrestling: Wrestler Finlay Holston ‘22 is victorious in his Senior Day match against Presbyterian on Sunday as part of the team’s Centennial Celebration.

Staff

Brigid McCarthy ‘25, Katie Stewart ‘23 Anika Banerjee ‘23, Georgia Hall ‘25 Samantha Ewing ‘23 Ian Macel ‘24, Bilal Razzak ‘25 David Sowinski ‘22 Campbell Walker ‘25 Andrew ElKadi ‘23, Varun Maheshwari ‘23 Nora Klein ‘24 Emma Begley-Collier ‘25, Josie Hovis ‘23 Bailey Maierson ‘25, Sydney Schertz ‘24 Ben Gordon-Sniffen ‘23 Richard Farrell ‘22 Bailey Maierson ‘25 Sahana Athreya ‘25, Hailey Tsuda ‘24 Landon Schabes ‘22 Isabelle Easter ‘25, Bailey Maierson ‘25

The Davidsonian is currently recruiting new writers to join its staff! Email Brigid McCarthy at brmccarthy@davidson.edu or Katie Stewart at kastewart@davidson.edu for more information on how to put your own pen to paper.

Arts and Culture

The 16th Annual Gamut Showcase

ELLIE STEWART ‘24 (SHE/HER)

amut Dance Company is a student-run group of twenty five Davidson College student dancers. On February 25 and 26, 2022, Gamut held their sixteenth annual showcase in the Duke Family Performance Hall in Union. The showcase featured choreography by a combination of students and professors, as well as a guest choreographer, Jessie Young. Davidson College Bhangra was also featured in the showcase, performing a piece that showcased the traditional dance style of the Punjab and Punjabi diaspora. Gamut performed a total of twelve pieces, with styles ranging from more traditional to post-modern. In all pieces, dancers displayed an incredible sense of comfort with both the dance and each other. During synchronous moves, they danced as one. This sense of unity carried through moments when the dancers broke off in their own distinct parts. The dancers’ ability to unify and break apart was displayed in several pieces, including “bucket.,” “Love Is a Losing Game,” and “Aprilweenmas.” “River to Mouth,” choreographed by guest artist Jessie Young, took a more abstracted approach to the stage. Four dancers (Sarah Butchko ‘25, Leigha Hofman ‘25, Monet Lescow ‘22, and Eliza Patterson ‘22) used their feet hitting the ground to create their own accompaniment for the first part of the dance before a calypso-like tune joined in. The dancers moved in and out of unison with each other with grace. This grace continued through the following piece, “Fix It to Break It,” which

was choreographed by students Claire Haile ‘25, Angelique Lorenzo ‘24, and Alexandra Williamson ‘24. This lyrical dance beautifully portrayed the confusion and desperation for connection present in the song’s words. The piece by Davidson College Bhangra was adored by the crowd. Nick Nguyen ‘22, current president of the group, implored the audience to cheer and yell to their heart’s content, saying that the louder the audience cheers, “the better we dance!” The audience must have been loud enough, as their dancing was absolutely incredible. A true feeling of celebration permeated through energetic movements and the performers’ wide smiles. Each dancer seemed overjoyed, and every section was full of jubilee. The emotions portrayed in every piece sparked deeper thought in audience members about dance as an art form. The piece “that which once was” pushed me to create my own interpretations. Two dancers (Anna Murray ‘23 and Eliza Patterson ‘22) performed similar motions out of sync with each other. At some points, their movements caught up and happened in unison, only to gradually separate again. The dynamic movements, both together and apart, seemed to tell the story of a relationship. While in my interpretation this dynamic portrayed an unhealthy power imbalance, my friend understood the piece as the dancers depicting the work needed to save their relationship. Discussing possible meanings for the dances with my friends during intermission and after the performance ended up being my favorite part of the Gamut show. Not only were

Gamut dancers strike a pose in Samantha Spada’s ‘22 choreographic work. Image courtesy Chris Record the performances beautifully choreographed and executed, each piece evoked some sort of emotion or reaction from the audience. Art is meant to make you think deeper about its subject matter. In a busy world full of fast moving news cycles and a disaster at every turn, art demands you slow down and ponder what lies beyond surface level messaging. The Gamut showcase provided piece after piece of high quality art. Their dances evoked joy, grief,

laughter, and contemplation from the audience. Truly, Gamut Dance Company is full of talented artists, choreographers, and dancers. Ellie Stewart ‘24 (she/her) is a communication studies major from Memphis, TN. Ellie can be reached for comment at elstewart1@ davidson.edu.

Mrspotatothread: An Interview with Sahana Athreya JULIETA LESSNE ‘24 (SHE/HER) Arts and Culture Editor Julieta Lessne ‘24 discusses Mrspotatothread—the crochet business of Sahana Athreya ‘25. Julieta: When did you learn to crochet, and how did you start crocheting? Sahana: I learned how to crochet around seven or eight years old. My best friend learned from school, and she taught me on the bus ride home. Ever since, the two of us have been crocheting together, so it’s been pretty fun.

Julieta: Oh, that’s really interesting because I feel like crochet got really popular over quarantine. Sahana: I was really excited when it became popular because it felt like no one that I knew from my age group crocheted ever. It was so unpopular that people would be like, “Oh, are you knitting?” And I’d have to correct them, like 100 times like, “No, this is crochet, no, it’s not croquet. C-R-O-C-HE-T.” It was so great that it got popularized during quarantine, because then more people started doing it and I could actually bond with people over it. Julieta: Actually my friends did try to teach me to crochet and I was just horrendous at it. Do you have any advice for people who are looking to get into crochet? Sahana: Keep trying, your first product is going to be ugly. The very first thing I made was a pair of mittens and none of the fingers fit, but the more that you do it, the better that you get. Also, you should find a good reason for doing it: don’t just do it for the end product, do it for the process. I find it very, very meditative, so I do it to put me in a relaxing state of mind. If you find a constructive purpose like that, then it really does motivate you and keep you going. Julieta: And then how did you decide to start selling your work?

Sahana Athreya ‘25 modeling her latest crochet project: a frog cardigan. Photo by David Kilde ‘25

Sahana: I actually started over quarantine. I had a lot more time, so I thought it might be a good idea to try something new. I’ve also usually crocheted for myself, and I realized that it would be a totally different experience to crochet for other people. You find yourself making products and things that you would never need for yourself. For example, I got an order to make a huge soccer ball, and I don’t play any sports so I wouldn’t have ever made that for myself. It was so much fun to actually learn how to make little shapes and stuff the whole thing and make it like a giant toy. I had a bunch of different projects like that: things that were totally unimaginable for me to actually make on my own and having to do those little custom things for people so that they could give them to their loved ones. That was a really special rewarding process. So yeah, that’s kind of why I started out having a shop.

Julieta: I also noticed when I was looking through your Instagram that you have friends and family help you to advertise and model your products. I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about that and how friends and family have reacted or helped you with your work? Sahana: Oh, I totally forced them into doing it. I’m a little camera shy, so it was like a big thing for me to actually try to model my own product; that was a good form of self discovery, I guess. After a certain point though, I got sick of it and I started getting everyone to try modeling my products. I don’t know if you saw my latest reel, but I asked my grandfather to model my bucket hats. He was so sweet about it. He watched that video like five times and he was obsessing over it and he was like, “Oh, this was so much fun.” I really wish I could get him to model more hats for me right now, but he’s in India. It’s gonna take some time before I can get my family to do that again, but it was really fun. Julieta: Besides Instagram, where else do you advertise or sell your products? Sahana: I have an Etsy, so I also sell products over there. I recently made a TikTok with the same username, @mrspotatothread. Other than that, I mostly rely on word of mouth, and because I started during the pandemic I couldn’t really put up actual physical sales but that’s kind of my dream. Sometimes when I walk through Main Street during the weekends, I see people with little craft tables selling their stuff. I’ve always thought that I would want to do that someday, so that’s kind of the dream. Follow @mrspotatothread on Instagram, Tiktok, and Etsy! Sahana Athreya (she/her) is an intended communications and theatre double major from Bangalore, India, and can be reached for comment at saathreya@davidson.edu.

Living Davidson PERIODICALLY 63 Amusement center 64 Met moment 65 Commonly pierced body part 66 Ukrainian seaport or Texas oil town 67 Publisher of crowd-sourced reviews Down 1 “No way,” slangily 2 Yoko ___ 3 Where Professor Marcus Pyle’s musicology research was completed (abbr.) 4 Song repeating in one’s mind 5 English romance novelist Elinor 6 Physical Plant Staff Assistant Jill ___ 7 Middle East native 8 Wine and dine 9 Month on a calendario 10 Prosecutors, initially 11 Wagering option at a horse-racing venue 12 Mission to remember in San Antonio 13 “As Seen on TV” knife 18 Vietnam Memorial architect Maya ___ 21 Counting out rhyme start 22 Elegant sheet fabric 23 Each companion? 24 The Davidsonian, e.g. 26 Baby beef 28 “’Tis a pity!” 29 Bare-bones bed 30 Funny sort’s forte 34 Tabula ___ 35 “Taxi” character Elaine 36 Faint from rapture 38 Aware of 39 ___ out a living 42 Rows 44 Northern California subregion that encompasses Oakland 46 “Now!” 48 Plains shelter 49 Belk ___ (centerpiece of Baker Sports Complex)

It can be extremely difficult to push yourself to try new things, admittedly even terrifying at times. At first, it may feel like you are the only person who feels this way, but know that you are not alone. If you stop and ask around, you will realize that a lot of us are just as uncomfortable trying to make an effort to step out of our comfort zones, whether it’s making new friends, starting a new hobby, or working towards a new goal. If you find yourself stuck in your never-ending, revolving thoughts, remind yourself that you are not alone and that you’re capable of anything! While not exhaustive, this short rundown will provide you with tips to step out of your comfort zone and into your growth zone so you can flourish and take on some new activities this semester.

#1: Stay Positive. I know it can be easy to get stuck in your negative thoughts and feel like the whole world is against you, but the initial goal here is to stay positive. Start by believing that you can do it! An easy way to do this is by enforcing change and continuously putting in effort, even if it’s one goal a day. You’ll gain confidence about whatever it is you’re trying to do, and you’ll also have a newfound spirit to do it! It’s almost impossible to stay positive all the time, so finding a friend that can help you refocus yourself and reframe things in a positive light is always a good idea.

#2: Stop Overthinking. Every time a negative emotion arises, match it with a positive one. Counter them by reminding yourself: “I am capable,” “I am happy,” “I am prepared,” or “I am excited.” By doing this, you’ll create basic habits that will keep you open to trying new things! At some point in your day, schedule time for reflection and time to clear your mind. Usually, things aren’t actually as complicated as we allow ourselves to believe.

#3: Start Each Day Ready. Everyone has off days where they might not feel perfectly motivated to work on themselves, and that is okay. Push yourself to try potentially scary things while sticking to the interior of your own comfort walls. If you find it helpful, create a checklist each day of all of the things you want to accomplish and check them off as you go! Start off the morning with some affirmations for yourself and a clear, specific idea of what you want to accomplish that day.

Remember to laugh at your mistakes; no one is perfect. Energies are contagious. Never be afraid to seek help. You are never alone.

#4: Some General Tips:

50 Supplication beginning 51 “One-eighty” turn 54 RR stops 55 Advanced religious degs. 56 “Guilty” or “not guilty” 58 “Little Red Book” author 59 Fury 60 Abner’s adjective 61 It forms when you sit

How To Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone KAYLA KLURMAN ‘25 (SHE/HER)

Answers:

Across 1 ___ of the above 5 Stared angrily 11 1950s United Nations Secretary General ___ Hammarskjold 14 “Avalon” author Seton 15 Golf great Ochoa 16 Muhammed or Laila 17 What employees may be paid 19 James Bond creator Fleming (no relation) 20 Place for a red, white, or port 21 “Desire Under the ___” 22 Like some knee patches 25 Conclusion to a romantic note 27 Affirmatively allege 28 Dull discomfort 31 Wind up, as a class 32 Abound 33 Political Science Professor Emeritus Ortmayer 34 Certain women’s legwear 37 Get on the nerves of 38 ___ cookies (Vail Commons offering, at times) 40 Union founded in ‘35 41 Certain women’s legwear 43 Approves of 44 Historic river of Spain 45 China’s Sun ___-sen 46 Domain 47 “Battle Cry” actor ___ Ray 48 Downward growth 51 Apply to 52 Blocks of time 53 Subject of a poster with a dog’s picture thereon 57 Davidson ___ Band (school spirit encourager at basketball games) 58 Regular invoice from the cable company, say 62 Opposite of WSW

Crosswords by Victor Fleming ‘73

Last Week’s

Crossword

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#5: Find Your People. It is essential to find a group of people that will support you in all that you do! Those around you should inspire and uplift you, especially on days when you feel like you can’t do it on your own. Even a therapist can be a really valuable person who can help you work out what’s best for you. You may not realize it, but your environment plays an important role in how you start each day, and the people surrounding you will influence the decisions you make and your attitudes about anything new you might be trying. Remember the saying, “You become what you surround yourself with. Choose carefully.” It can be super easy to feel safe and secure in the comfort zone, but remember that everything we dream of becoming and doing is right outside of our comfort zones! Once you find a set of steps that works best for you, you might even start to enjoy getting out there. Stepping out of your comfort zone is never supposed to be something that causes you harm, but with the right support, a little bit of discomfort is healthy for you when reaching for something that you want in your future. Keep your standards realistic, but push yourself even when you feel unmotivated, and surround yourself with people who will inspire you to be the best version of yourself. It can seem impossible at times to change, but you will never know what you’re capable of until you start trying. Embrace the feeling of fear—it’s normal when trying something new—and love the journey you are on! At the end of the day, you only have one life to live, so live it!

The

Yowl

Irreverent student journalism since 2004. Castigat Ridendo Mores.

inside

yowl.com/writepls

The Pain of Being Told It’s Commons Coins and Showing Up Too Late and They’ve Switched to Cubes Page Blue Balls

What’s in Nummit Late Night Quesadillas That Makes Me Keep Shelling Out, Eating Dairy Despite Being Lactose Intolerant Page Expose

Petition for Behind-Commons Slip ‘n Slide Revived Page Wet ‘n Wild

Unique Pedagogical Tactics to Try Today

t’s that time of year: we’re about two weeks out from spring break, assignments are starting to roll in faster and faster like the fish on the rowing machine game (this is the only video game I can think of, I was deprived as a child), and as the days get nicer, it can be harder to remember why that policy analysis paper about something so removed from your life is really more important than making sure you have enough time to eat dinner. If you find yourself getting distracted, here are some tips from my personal life that are guaranteed to get you the results you need to keep succeeding in this capitalist hellscape:

1. Every time I finish a paragraph, I walk to the vending machine and get myself one Uncrustable. This motivation works on two levels: first, it makes sure that the serotonin in my brain is firing with the feeling of reward from food, and second, I haven’t pooped in about five days, so I’ve really been saving time in the bathroom. 2. After a reasonable period of time spent working (this author suggests anywhere between 30 seconds and 10 minutes), I go to Etsy, type in “lesbian earrings,” and browse around. Even if my bank account is actually crying screaming telling me that this is NOT SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOR (homophobic in my opinion), I have been socialized in a way that makes staring at shiny dangly things extremely soothing. 3. Go to the Hurt Hub to do work. As soon as you walk in, there’s a little voice in your head that will whisper to you, “If

Birthday Issue

March 2, 2022

you just work hard enough you can get anything done! Pull yourself up by your bootstraps! Progress progress progress! Government welfare is a handout! Power power power nom nom nom!” Although I would not suggest spending too much time in this environment as you’re liable to start wearing puffer vests over button downs and talking about the Dow Jones in daily conversation, if you need to crank out a paper in a day, this is the place to go. 4. Deprive yourself of the basic necessities of living. Do you really deserve to pee if you haven’t finished that problem set yet? I don’t think so. The pain sharpens your focus, so sit back down and earn the right to relieve yourself. 5. Don’t! Literally don’t motivate. Ask yourself, where will this college degree really take you? And, even if you stay at Davidson and get the degree, does this class need to be an A? Probably not. So don’t overthink it.

Letter to the Editor: I Have No Spring Break Plans, Is That Bad? Page Can’t See Past This Week

10 Tips to Be the Sexiest Person in Commons During Rush Hour Page Cake That Face

MORATORIUM ON YOWL SATIRE... UNLESS

o set the scene, I am currently sitting in Union, just a few short hours before the Davidsonian deadline for publishing, and still we have half a page of empty space. Unfortunately, this is a common phenomenon. Under these circumstances, the Yowl staff are now contemplating the following extreme measures to keep up with the article demand to article production ratio: 1. Outsourcing to middle and high schools students (I hope you like “your mom” jokes). 2. Outsourcing to nearby retirement homes (I hope you like “I am your mom” jokes). 3. Overturning the “You Have to be Gay to Write for the Yowl” mandate (just kidding, no degree of writer shortage would make us rethink this totally very real rule). 4. Offering an Uncrustable for every submission (credible sources have shown this is a highly effective tactic). 5. Place a moratorium on Yowl content altogether and give the back page of the Davidsonian to Davidson Libertarians who are actually offering a hefty sum for the space because of their free market values. Below is some blank space to either help you imagine this world without Yowl satire or act as a place to scribble down your brainstorming for your upcoming Yowl submission (hopefully in that order). Blank space:

Name Ideas for the Football Stadium That Are Not a Gay Slur

f you haven’t already heard about the new football stadium, a generous Davidson alum donated money to build a stadium named after the legendary Davidson Coach Dave Fagg. And, well, this is just slightly problematic. Dave Fagg is probably an awesome dude, but his last name sucks. I mean, when Instagram automatically hides all the comments by 40-year-olds con-

The

Yowl

gratulating him by name because they might be offensive, there’s definitely a problem. I’m not sure what Davidson was thinking with this one; I mean it had to come across their minds. In order to prevent mockery from infiltrating the daily rhetoric, our school’s “liberal” and “inclusive” reputation, and all around just not having an entire football stadium that’s name is a gay slur, here are a few ideas that

might work better for the stadium name. 1.The Coach Dave Football Field. Literally just use his first name.

3.The Flagg Field and we fly gay pride flags at each end zone. And then we could have a gay flag football intramural league.

2.The Dave F Football Field. If they’d originally named it this, I doubt any student would care enough to look up what his full last name was and we wouldn’t be in this situation.

4.A Stadium-in-honor-of-all-thefreshmen-that-never-got-to-playflickerball-because-of-covid. A bit long but it rolls off the tongue well.

WRITERS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Eema Jojojojojojojojojo It Just Is

“I got a hair in my mouth, I am just going to swallow it.” - A person reflecting on the futility of life.

5.Honestly just build the stadium for the DUFF team. I’ve never met people more dedicated to their sport (or cult?) than the DUFF team.

Yowl writer continues reflections on being known: “I look back nostalgically knowing that in that moment I was the cool fringe comedian/satirist out there on the cutting edge. Nowadays, I’m part of the establishment. A regular contributor, even invited to help edit and do lay out on Tuesday nights if I feel so inclined. [He has not felt so inclined.] I’ve been caving bit by bit, soon to be just another washed-up has-been just like a middle-aged corporate sell-out on the brink of a mid-life crisis.”

Note: The Yowl is a satirical supplement to The Davidsonian. Hence, nothing in it should be taken as truth.