November proof

November 2013

The DoG Street Journal Est. 2003

EDITORIAL STAFF Editors-in-Chief sJeffrey Knox sChristine Shen Managing Editor sMolly Michie News Editor sEliza Scheibe Associate News Editor sSydni Scrofani

Beledi performs at the iRep Africa showcase. Photo by Lauren Su. November 2013, Volume 11 Issue 3 www.dogstreetjournal.com

Style Editor sMolly Earner Associate Style Editor sChelsea Pittman Opinions Editor sSean Sweeney Sports Editor sAlex Cook Associate Sports Editor sScott Guinn Photo Editor sLauren Su Business Manager sMelissa Goitia Web Editor sJames Szabo

What’s Inside?

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Editorial > Pop the W&M Bubble

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News > The House of Delegates Debate

Style

11-13

> A Look at Nerdy Clubs on Campus

COVER IMAGE Students in William and Mary’s Beledi Belly Dancing Club perform for iRep Africa’s Showcase during Autumn Blast.

Photo by Lauren Su.

Talk to us!

The DoG Street Journal The College of William & Mary Campus Center Basement Office 12B Williamsburg, Virginia 23185 (757) 221-7851 dogstreetjournal@wm.edu

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Opinions

> Should Universities Find Jobs for Grads?

Sports

20-21

> The Nature vs. Nurture Debate in Sports

Editorial

Save the Date

Finding Your Escape

Nov. 14 & 25 What: Fantastic Finals!

Where: Campus Center, Room 107 When: 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. on the 14th and 12 - 1 p.m. on the 25th Why: Learn how to organize review groups, study efficiently, and prepare to ace those three-hour exams.

What to do When You’re Worn Out At this point in the semester, everybody seems to be busy.

Whether it is midterms, job and internship applications, interviews, or extracurricular commitments, stress levels tend to be elevated. Plus, the autumn weather is finally setting in, leading us to spend more time indoors than we’d probably like.

With fall break well in the past and Thanksgiving seemingly in the distant future, there is little time for respite. I, like many other students, find that the William and Mary “bubble” phenomenon holds true, and I begin to feel trapped. Williamsburg already is a relatively isolated place, and getting stuck in your daily routine of classes, practices, work, and cafeteria food can really be draining. Every now and then I need to escape—a catharsis of sorts.

Now, everybody has their own particular methods of dealing with stress. Some people like to plant themselves on the couch and watch hours of the latest hit TV series. Others, if they are lucky enough to live nearby and have a car, can drive home on the weekends and relax. Still others may head out on a hiking trip or perhaps go see a concert in Richmond or DC. My diversion, however, is golfing. I enjoy getting off campus in the afternoon and heading out to play 9 or 18 holes at a local golf course. Even though I’m only a few miles off campus, it can feel like a world away. It gives you time to be alone and to focus on something other than your impending school assignments. I usually hang around the course until dusk before finally making my way back. That time at the course provides me with a revived energy supply, so that I can tackle Swem that evening.

Another great way to break free from the bubble is to get out and explore Williamsburg.

Even if it’s just a trip to a local restaurant for dinner one night or a shopping extravaganza at the outlets, it’s nice to see some townies every once in a while instead of the same faces you see in class or in the library. At the golf course, I’ve gotten to meet plenty of the employees and members, and I’m often the only William and Mary student there.

So rally your friends together and make plans to watch a movie at the Movie Tavern, head to Go-Karts Plus, or take a trip to Yorktown or Virginia Beach. Another possibility is to join a sports club or another organization that gets to travel for tournaments, conferences, meetings, etc. There are also clubs such as Students Helping Honduras, Branch Out trips, and of course study abroad programs that can take you to exotic places, all for a good cause.

Or, if you’re so academically inclined, register for the history class entitled “American History and Historical Sites” that goes on weekly field trips to museums, battlefields, and plantations throughout the Commonwealth.

As a geology major, I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in a fair share of field trips and labs that visit geologic sites throughout Virginia. Even though the fall departmental field trip to Shenandoah National Park was cancelled due to the government impasse, those day trips and weekends away from campus are always refreshing and educational.

As we turn the corner and head toward finals, remember to slow down and discover your stress-relieving activity. Whether that entails making a tee time, going on the next Outdoors Club trip, or traveling to watch a William and Mary away football game, breaking from your daily routine can make all the difference. Besides, escaping your comfort zone may just be less stressful than you previously thought.

Jeffrey Knox and Christine Shen DSJ Co-Editors-in-Chief

Nov. 16 What: Baroque Music on Baroque Instruments Where: Bruton Parish Church When: 8 - 9:30 p.m.

Why: Enjoy a candlelight concert featuring the W&M Early Music ensemble performing 18th century music in an 18th century church.

Nov. 22 What: W&M Global Film Festival Launch Where: Kimball Theatre When: 6 - 10:30 p.m.

Why: Watch a double feature, enjoy live music, and have some free food!

OUR MISSION The DSJ is a monthly student magazine and online multimedia outlet which strives to provide an entertaining, thought-provoking, and interactive resource for the William and Mary community.

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» NEWS

The 93rd District’s Hous e of Delegates Debate L o c a l P o l i t ic s Liv e o n C a m p u s

The candidates for Virginia’s House of Delegates seat in the 93rd District, Mike Watson and Monty Mason, debate in McGlothlin-Street Hall. Photo by Lauren Su.

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ELIZA SCHEIBE, DSJ NEWS EDITOR

Dozens of area citizens flocked to McGlothlin-Street Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. to watch the 93rd District’s Delegate Debate between Republican Delegate Michael Watson and Democratic candidate Monty Mason, a William and Mary alumnus (’89). The event was hosted by William and Mary’s chapter of Virginia21, a statewide, nonprofit, nonpartisan student advocacy group that is dedicated to student involvement in local politics. Founded in 2002, the William and Mary chapter is dedicated to helping the state government recognize the interests of young voters. The chapter also organizes events, such as the Delegate Debate, that allow students to directly communicate with legislators and political candidates.

When it was time to start, Virginia21 Chapter President and debate moderator Keenan Kelley (’14) introduced the candidates and the other moderators: Secretary of Public Affairs for the Student Assembly and President of the College’s Young Democrats Zachary Woodward (’14); Student Assembly Senator and President of the College Republicans Chandler Crenshaw (’14); and News Editor for the Flat Hat Annie Curran (’16). After the introductions, Kelley invited the candidates to make their opening remarks. As determined by a coin toss, Mason went first. Mason began with remarks claiming that Republicans in the House of Delegates have “swung wildly to the right” in recent years and then went on to discuss his beliefs in attracting businesses and improving Virginia’s educational system. Mason asserted that it is important to focus on early education so that children will be equipped with the skills they need to succeed at a young age.

Next up was Delegate Watson, who began by telling the audience that it matters to him that his policies positively impact

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Virginia’s economy in the long run. “I’m 52 years old. Whatever we do is going to affect you much longer than it affects me,” said Watson.

Watson also cited being recognized as the Freshman Legislator of the Year by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce in 2012 for his effective pro-business and pro-workforce-development policies. Focusing on the positives, Watson also mentioned having earned 100 percent pro-business ratings for two years in a row.

At the end of his opening remarks, Watson mentioned a negative advertisement that had recently been aired by his opponent, stating that it is “representative of everything people have come to hate about politics.”

After the opening words of both parties, the first question from the moderators was given to Mason. He was asked what he thinks will be the greatest challenge he will face in office, and what steps he would take to solve it.

Mason stated that the greatest challenge he expects to face will be improving Virginia’s educational system, which is one of his top priorities. His main goals include implementing higher-quality elementary education and more affordable higher education, believing that lowering student debt will have a positive impact on the economy. In response to the same question, Watson stated that producing job opportunities is the greatest challenge he anticipates. In order to create more jobs, Watson listed four policies he plans to carry out: lowering taxes, decreasing government regulation of businesses, improving and expanding the infrastructure, and focusing on education and workforce development.

In his rebuttal, Mason argued that the growth of the economy depends on education, so the state government should focus more funding on schools. He added that current teacher salaries should

» NEWS be raised from their current “substandard” levels.

In his counter-argument, Watson mentioned that he had voted for teacher pay raises, and that he believes in restoring budget cuts to education as the economy improves.

The next question, on decreasing the trend in educational funding cuts, went to Watson, who stated that he believes it is necessary to “keep the economy moving in the right direction” in order to increase funding for education. Watson also suggested elevating out-of-state tuition at universities as a way to increase revenue.

In response to the same question, Mason agreed that budget cuts to education need to be restored, especially at higher education institutions such as William and Mary. Mason also believes that the state should continue to fund scholarships for lower-income families to make higher education more easily affordable. Like Watson, Mason believes that workforce development is important, but that the state government should focus more on education as the driving force of the economy.

“Everybody at William and Mary wants to talk about our past.

I want to talk about our future,” said Mason.

Next, each candidate was asked how he plans to improve transportation in the state of Virginia. Mason answered first, stating that transportation is important to the state’s tourism industry.

Mason believes that roads such as I-64 need to be expanded and improved in an “environmentally acceptable manner.” In addition to improving the state’s roads, Mason hopes to expand the highspeed rail system in Virginia, noting that rail ridership has been increasing in recent years.

When addressing the same question, Watson mentioned that he had advocated for a bill in favor of regional taxes for transportation. Like Mason, Watson believes that I-64 needs to be improved, mentioning that during his term ground has already been broken there. Watson stated that I-64 should be the “number-one priority in Hampton Roads.”

The next question probably elicited the most stimulating debate between the candidates, as well as some audible reactions from the audience. The issue at hand was women’s reproductive rights, and the candidates’ stances on them.

Watson, who was the first to answer, appeared to keep his composure, despite the fact that several students were bristling in their seats. Instead of directly stating his stance on the issue, Watson focused on the fact that, ultimately, the House will not be able to pass legislation that violates Roe v. Wade.

Responding to the same question, Mason stated that the main difference between himself and his opponent is their beliefs on what men can decide about women’s health. After making this statement, a collective groan could be heard from several of Watson’s supporters.

Mason argued that although Watson had “never carried a socalled ‘social bill’,” Watson still supported House Bill No. 1, which protects the rights of unborn children. Watson went on to claim that the bill did not address abortions, only violent crimes against a pregnant mother and her unborn child.

Thoroughly shaken up by this hot-button issue, the candidates moved on to the next topic: the statewide Standards of Learning (SOL) exams. The first to tackle this issue was Mason, who stated that the SOLs “poorly measure achievement.” According to Mason, these exams only incentivize teachers to “teach to the test.” Mason believes that amending the SOLs to make them more efficient will be key to improving the quality of education that Virginia’s students receive.

Watson agreed with Mason that the SOLs need to be improved,

adding that teachers need to give students more individualized attention in the classroom.

The next question focused on how each candidate plans on creating jobs and improving the economy. In his response, Mason cited his business experience in real estate, insurance, and the financial sector. He also mentioned his support for the Green Jobs Alliance, which provides job training to lay a foundation for job creation in wind and solar energy businesses.

In response to the same question, Watson reiterated his four job-creating strategies: lowering taxes, deregulating businesses, expanding infrastructure, and focusing on workforce development.

Watson added that during his term, Virginia was rated the “Best State for Business” by Forbes.

It was no surprise that the candidates differed greatly in their opinions on the following issue: the coming changes to our country’s healthcare system.

On the one hand, Mason believes that the Medicaid expansion is “a must,” and that the Affordable Care Act will serve as a way to reduce healthcare costs. According to Mason, the Affordable Care Act will cut $1 billion over the next nine years, as well as add 20,000 new jobs in the healthcare sector.

Watson, on the other hand, stressed that although Medicaid is necessary, it is inefficiently run. He also argued that signing the Affordable Care Act is tantamount to signing an open-ended contract, a principle he does not support as a businessman.

Finally, the candidates were asked how they plan to make higher education more affordable. Watson and Mason agreed that more state funding needs to be allocated toward financial aid. Mason cited the William and Mary Promise as an example of how his alma mater is keeping tuition rates low by expanding class sizes. Watson advocated for expanding the state’s “2+2” partnerships, which allow students to attend community colleges for two years and then go on to attend four-year universities in the state for two years and earn their degrees. If families are trying to keep tuition costs low, Watson argued, 2+2 partnerships are a great way to save.

In their closing remarks, both candidates restated their main priorities. Mason reiterated his business experience, support for improving under-performing schools, and support for women’s reproductive rights. Watson talked about his emphasis on job growth, stating that everyone should have the opportunity for success.

After the debate was over, the candidates shook hands and the audience cheered. Overall, it had been a civil and efficiently run debate.

It is important to note that this debate was entirely studentrun. Throughout the debate, the student moderators remained impartial and professional, and the questions were diverse in nature. The purpose of this debate, after all, was to give the citizens of the 93rd District a clear and balanced perspective on the race.

“It's really important for voters to have the opportunity to see where the candidates stand and get an idea of what the important issues are, especially in an election that might not be on everyone's radar,” said Meg Schwenzfeier (’14), Vice President of Richmond Oversight for Virginia21. “The questions during the debate covered a lot of ground, and I am glad both candidates took the time to join us.”

“Virginia21 is thankful to the candidates and campaigns for participating in the debate,” said Kelley. “It was a great debate covering a wide range of issues that impact a diverse district. Most of all, we hope that students get out and vote in this important election."

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» NEWS

William and Mary Express Outsourced to New Company Cha ng e O f f e r s B en e fits a n d C h a llen g es t o St ude nt s a n d Lo ca l B u s in es s e s

The gourmet sandwich shop Jimmy John’s recently debuted in New Town. A second location is slated to open closer to campus, on Scotland Street next to the Brickhouse Tavern. All photos by Sydni Scrofani.

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SYDNI SCROFANI, DSJ ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Students returning to their favorite local haunts this semester— such as Aromas, The Daily Grind, and Wawa—may be surprised to learn that these places no longer accept William and Mary Express. This change is due to a recent turnover of Express to a new program.

Until this semester, Express was handled primarily through the campus’s Auxiliary Services. However, the College has recently transitioned to a new system called CBORD. According to its website, CBORD “is the world’s leading provider of campus and cashless card systems, food and nutrition service management software, integrated security solutions, nationwide student discount and commerce programs, and housing and judicial process management software.”

The transition to the new system enables students to access two new mobile-friendly websites so that they can check their balances on the go, as well as make deposits, reserve and monitor laundry machines, deactivate lost or stolen cards, and more.

Depositing money is now quicker and easier for both students and their families.

For local businesses, the new system allows for faster transaction times, convincing even more locations to sign up for the program.

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UGYRD, an off-campus commerce network for CBORD, worked throughout the summer to bring new businesses to the Express system. As of August 31, the Williamsburg Farmer’s Market accepts Express, adding over 40 new vendors. In addition, the list of merchants accepting Express includes the Brickhouse Tavern, Domino’s Pizza, Food Lion, IHOP, the Pita Pit, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Sticks Kabob Shop, The College Delly, Serenity Spa, and 7-Eleven, to name a few.

Time will tell if the new system is truly efficient and beneficial to both students and local businesses, as the outsourcing will result in an increase in transaction fees for businesses. For those that currently do not receive a great deal of student patronization, the increased fee does not pose a problem; accepting Express simply gives them the opportunity to expand their markets. Others may feel differently. For Aromas, The Daily Grind, and Wawa—three former Express-accepting businesses—the switch seems more trouble than it’s worth. These three locations already receive a large portion of their business from students, particularly given their close proximity to the campus. Any increase in transaction fees would greatly affect their profits.

For Scott Owen, owner and operator of The Daily Grind, the

» NEWS

Cook Out restaurant on Richmond Road offers fast food at bargain prices. switch would have been too expensive. He said that before, Express transactions charged him 4 percent daily.

Now, however, his daily transaction fee would be bumped up to 16 percent. Such a steep increase made it financially unfeasible for him to continue accepting Express.

For new businesses that have just opened in the Williamsburg area, the change in Express is not cause for concern. New locations may actually view Express as an ideal way to introduce themselves to the student body, attracting a larger crowd.

Cook Out, which opened over the summer, has quickly become a local favorite even without the added draw of Express. For students, cheap is the name of the game and Cook Out provides low-price cookout style meals. Even its hours are student-friendly, with the store itself open until 1 a.m. and a drive-thru open even later. General Manager Kathy Betancourt emphasized the company’s desire to reach out to William and Mary students, even working with the College to achieve this goal. “We want to become part of the neighborhood,” said Betancourt, pointing to the College banners decorating the walls.

Richmond Road has also added a new Starbucks Coffee, a quieter and more peaceful option compared to the oncampus Greenberry’s, and there has been some growth in New Town as well. A new Jimmy John’s opened on October 15, joining ranks with a Noodles and Co. and Menchie’s, a frozen yogurt shop.

Williamsburg businesses have a long-standing relationship with the students of the College; changes in Express and the addition of new locations are not likely to diminish students’ love of the local offerings, only enhance it.

Noodles & Company in the Monticello Marketplace opened its doors earlier this month.

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» NEWS

The College’s LongDistance Relationship T he P re si de nt i a l D ele g a tio n to C h in a

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TYLER BRENT, DSJ STAFF REPORTER

While William and Mary students were leaving the College during Fall Break for a quick vacation, to return home to see family, or to rekindle a long-distance relationship, some of the top leaders from the College boarded a flight to Beijing, China to further a blossoming relationship between the College and Beijing Normal University (BNU).

This 10-person Presidential Delegation included President Taylor Reveley, Vice Provost for International Affairs Stephen Hanson, and the Deans of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education, and School of Marine Sciences, among others.

In Beijing, the Presidential Delegation visited BNU, Qinghua University, and the Hanban headquarters. Hanban, the colloquial name for the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, is the organization that oversees the Confucius Institute, which is a non-profit organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education in China. The institute’s purpose is to promote the learning of Chinese language and culture.

The impetus for leadership from the College to visit Beijing came last year. One of the directors of William and Mary’s Confucius Institute representing Hanban and BNU, Lei Ma, said, “The original initiation of this trip was last year in May. There was a visa issue with the [Confucius Institute] volunteer teachers, and President Reveley was the first university president in the U.S. to reply to the State Department saying that the CI is doing a very good job and that we have a very good impact on the local community and the College. This is why they invited President Reveley to come over to China to show their appreciation.”

In the spring of 2012, William and Mary became the second university in Virginia to open a Confucius Institute on its campus.

Each institute has a partner university in China, so BNU has served as the College’s Chinese partner institution since its inception.

In regards to the relationship with this university, Ma said, “We both use the Confucius Institute as a platform for more cooperation academically and culturally. “ William and Mary Director of the Confucius Institute and Head of the Chinese Department Professor Yanfang Tang, who was a member of the Presidential Delegation, said about BNU: “It is an excellent higher education institution sharing many of William and Mary's strengths. We look forward to working with them over the coming years to develop a wide range of programs and activities.”

Other examples of William and Mary’s involvement with BNU include various trips and collaborations. Last spring, the School of Education sent students and professors to BNU, and last summer, William and Mary held a teacher-training program for BNU English language teachers. Future exchanges include a group of BNU Russian studies professors coming to the College in November.

The Confucius Institute offers Chinese language and culture

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President Reveley gives an address at the opening of the Confucius Institute back in the spring of 2012. All photos courtesy of the W&M Confucius Institute. classes to the Williamsburg community along with events throughout the year.

“We have a lot of cultural events related to Chinese festivals,” said Director Ma. “In the springtime we have a New Year’s celebration, and in the fall we have a Mid-Autumn Festival. Apart from that, we try to integrate with local university events like Homecoming, where we will run an open house so students who don’t study Chinese can come and see what Chinese culture is like.”

According to Director Ma, Confucius Institutes in the United States are growing rapidly.

“Right now in the United States we have about 100 set up,” said Ma. “When I first started last January, there were only 82. That shows just how popular it is.”

In preparation for the trip, Director Ma played an integral role in communicating between the staff of BNU and Hanban in China and the delegation at the College. Ma noted that the staff of the College in preparation for the trip would ask her any and all questions so that they could handle affairs without any cultural faux pas. These included menial questions such as appropriate wrapping paper that should be used for gifts the College gave upon arrival in China.

In response to President Obama’s proposal to send many

» NEWS American students to China, Hanban has set up a large number of scholarships for American students to study in China for a semester or an academic year. William and Mary students can apply through the Confucius Institute on campus to continue their language study in China.

To get a better view of the work that the Confucius Institute does on campus, I sat down with one of the volunteer teachers who facilitate Chinese language and culture programs. Xuan Shu was placed at William and Mary by Hanban as part of her threeyear masters program in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages. She teaches a beginners’ Mandarin class to residents of Williamsburg and has also taught Chinese to students at a local middle school.

“It’s a good chance for the people of Williamsburg to know about China,” said Shu. “I can see that [my students] got more and more interested in China and Chinese culture.”

An avid competitor in various tai chi competitions in China, Shu can also be seen giving tai chi lessons around campus. Although she had not heard of Williamsburg before her placement at William and Mary, she appreciates the beautiful and quiet campus. “I have been doing tai chi since I was very young, so I think quiet is good,” said Shu. The Presidential Delegation included on its tour two alumni receptions in China, one in Beijing and the other in Shanghai. This has helped to foster William and Mary’s presence in China, which continues to send a growing number of international students to study at the College.

A former Confucius Institute volunteer teacher at the College,

Fang Jun, was in attendance at the Beijing alumni reunion. He was grateful for the extension of the College in China.

“It was great to meet so many alumni in Beijing,” said Fang.

“Actually I didn't know there were quite so many [William and Mary students] here until this reunion. And it is always great to see how well your friends are [doing] in their careers. After that, we created a group on WeChat, and will definitely hang out in the future.”

Fang was one of the first volunteer teachers to come to Williamsburg, and he worked to help lay the groundwork for the Confucius Institute on campus. He is pleased to see the growth and expansive impact that this relationship has had on the College.

“There are more and more people learning the contribution made by WMCI concerning the promotion of Chinese language and culture in Williamsburg. At the reception, a lot of people were talking about events they attended organized by WMCI, and they appreciated a lot of chances brought by this collaboration.

For instance, some alumni were able to get teaching positions at BNU,” said Fang.

A spokesperson from the Reves Center on the delegation noted, "Thanks to the collaboration with BNU and the establishment of William and Mary’s Confucius Institute, the internationalization of William and Mary has been greatly improved. We have a big community of Chinese students, and more and more people in China learn about William and Mary.”

The Confucius Institute can be found in the Rowe House on campus, which is located at 314 Jamestown Road.

William and Mary students dance in a Chinese Dance Gala sponsored by the Confucius Institute.

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STYLE

Autumn Blast

A Unique Visit Experience for Potential Students »

MICHELLE ZHU, DSJ STAFF REPORTER

Arriving one week after the release of Pokémon X/Y and the subsequent revival of the attacks Rock Blast, Fire Blast and Focus Blast, Autumn Blast also makes its timely appearance at William & Mary. Autumn Blast, however, is not another Pokémon attack. It is, in fact, the one and only overnight program that William and Mary undergraduate admissions offers to a pool of prospective students that are harder to win over for varied reasons—multicultural students. This year’s Autumn Blast takes place on the weekend of October 19, with around 90 prospective students invading campus. Current students volunteer to host one or more prospective students, a job which entails giving a tour of campus, happily eating meals together, enthusiastically making conversation and answering questions, participating in fun nighttime activities, and welcoming the prospective students into their dorms to sleep for the night.

This extra program-wide sleepover is warranted because, as both Liz Hernandez (’14) and Jamika Bivens (’16) agree, multicultural students face a different set of challenges when starting college.

The College strives to make itself seem as welcoming and homelike as possible for all prospective students, but for multicultural students, the transition may be harder as they look past prestige, size, and academic rigor to also gauge the presence of a community that supports their unique heritages.

Jamika Bivens experienced Autumn Blast both as a prospective student and host, and after being on both sides of the table, firmly believes that the most convincing enticement William and Mary offers to prospective multicultural students is the sense of community that the College promotes through its motto “One Tribe, One Family” that can only be known through an interactive experience such as Autumn Blast. When looking at the school as a prospective, Bivens says she was looking, understandably, for the black community. “It’s intimidating when there are few people who look like you; it’s more anxious to be in a college atmosphere when you feel isolated,” she noted. After beginning school, the small black population was something she had to get used to, but she found that she could move outside of her comfort zone and still achieve her same goals because of the openness of

Delicious Minion cupcakes were present for prospective students who attended AMP’s blockbuster movie “Despicable Me 2.” Photo courtesy of cupcakepedia.com.

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A performance from the iRep Africa Showcase, which occurred during Autumn Blast. Photo by Lauren Su. the William and Mary community. Using her own experience, she tried as a host to go beyond what information the admissions office would give and show the “real” William & Mary—day-today motions that would become comfortable and familiar to a William and Mary student. Furthermore, she wanted to impart to her prospective students the very common lesson that you don’t necessarily need to find people with the same outside appearance to belong: by not focusing solely on what is familiar, but instead looking closely at who people are and going outside of racial boundaries, you can better find yourself and your potential.

Liz Hernandez, whose responsibilities as an intern in admissions include planning and running Autumn Blast, acknowledges the importance of the immersive experience that the program offers.

“The point of Autumn Blast is not to isolate them or make them feel special; instead, we treat them how a normal student would be treated. We create an ambience to facilitate familiarity with different resources on campus, and to let multicultural students know that we have a lot to offer,” said Hernandez. She first viewed William and Mary through a multicultural lens by attending ESCAPE, a program for admitted multicultural students that takes place in the spring at William and Mary, when finalizing her own college decision. Of Mexican descent as well as a first-generation college student, Hernandez recalls that she did not specifically seek evidence or support of diversity when she visited the school, but felt instantly comfortable and at ease in terms of her individual background when she arrived on campus, which she realized was a large determining factor in envisioning herself at a school. Her host student took her to Screen on the Green, they ate dinner together with her host’s friends, and went to get ice cream—all simple things, but things that made Hernandez feel like “a normal student” and ultimately that she belonged at the College.

This feeling is what the Autumn Blast program hopes to impart to each prospective student who visits this weekend, emphasizing that there are students here of many backgrounds, religions, demographics, geographic locations, and ethnicities, and that though a predominantly white campus, William and Mary cultivates, and offers resources for, the embracement of diversity.

When thinking of “multicultural,” one immediately associates the word with race, but through Autumn Blast, the College hopes to market its appeal to a wealth of different interests, experiences, and backgrounds.

Embracing the Nerd

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STYLE

Fandom Culture at William and Mary

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CHELSEA PITTMAN, DSJ ASSOCIATE STYLE EDITOR

The College of William and Mary is home to rigorous academics, TWAMPs, and a big community of fandom culture. Voted by About. com’s “Collegeapps” section as the number one school for Harry Potter fans, a person would be hard pressed to find a student here who is not in love with the series; however, that is only a fraction of an even broader community. Skiffy, the College’s all encompassing Sci-fi and Fantasy Club, is one of the oldest sci-fi/fantasy clubs at a college in the country, nearing 40 years old this year. These two organizations are joined by the Anime club, Tolkien Society, Doctor Who Club, and even a possible forthcoming Sherlockian Society.

The students who are part of these clubs embrace their common “nerd” interests and create an open environment for others to do the same. Needless to say, if any student is in need of a social club with members who lovesto hang out both during and outside of meetings with a mutual bond and love for their favorite fandom (whether it is Harry Potter, Star Trek, or Anime), the options are broad and the community is welcoming.

It may not be surprising that the fandom culture here on campus is as broad and all-encompassing as it is, but if you are not dragged into a meeting your freshman year and happen to keep going back, or actively seek out the club yourself, what exactly these clubs do may be a bit of a mystery. Even more than that, you may not know the club exists. Skiffy, despite its seniority, is not as well known as one would think, especially here at the College. So, a few profiles from a few of the major fandom clubs, as well as a new fandom society, should shed some light on a thriving culture here at the College.

Members of the Wizards and Muggles club took part in a Sorting Hat Ceremony that placed students in one of the four houses. Photos courtesy of Haley Gannon.

Established in 2005, the Wizards and Muggles club can probably be considered the driving force behind the Harry Potter fanaticism on campus. The organization began due to a mutual interest in the series around the time the movies were gaining real momentum and the last two book installments were about to be released. When the College won best school for Harry Potter fans, the club not only felt a sense of pride, but it also sparked the interests of incoming freshmen to choose William and Mary and subsequently join Wizards and Muggles. Christina Hartless (’14), Hufflepuff and Headmistress/President, said, “I’ve heard several people say that that’s one reason they chose to come here.”

As for the club’s typical meetings, the activities vary weekly, but the consistency lies in the house activities and house bonding that occurs, such as the weekly house dinners. At the beginning of the semester members have the traditional sorting ceremony in which students will be placed in one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, The Gryffindor house does its best impression of the William and Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw. Throughout the semester each Mary Griffin. house gains points based on a variety of factors, such as Wizards and Muggles (WizMug): Harry Potter fandom club going to a Quidditch match, wearing Harry Potter paraphernalia “We just embrace the nerd.”- Payton Phillips (’15), Gryffindor, to a meeting, or just hanging out with fellow housemates. When Treasurer asked what separates the members of WizMug from other fans on THE DSJ - NOVEMBER 2013

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campus who are not in the club, Diana Floegel (’15), Head of Gryffindor and Secretary, said, “I think that we are not shy about our fandom and we take pride in coming together and sharing how much we love [Harry Potter] with each other and we just enjoy each others’ company.”

WizMug has three major events throughout the year: the Sorting Ceremony in the Wren Building, the Death Day party around Halloween for the anniversary of Harry’s parents’ death (think less death, more dance party), and the Yule Ball in February. The Ball is open to everyone on campus and doubles as a charity, donating the proceeds to a specific philanthropy.

Last year’s proceeds went to J.K. Rowling’s charity, “Lumos.”

One word to describe WizMug? “Can I be cliché and describe it as magical?” – Destiny Douglas (’16), Members of the Science-Fiction and Fantasy Club partake in a variety Ravenclaw and Deputy Headmistress/Vice President of activities that range from movies and nerf wars to trivia contests.

Photos courtesy of Elena Bartlett.

Anime Society “My freshman roommate dragged me and I kept going back.” – Sophie Mortensen (’14), President The Anime Society branched off from Skiffy about 15 to 20 years ago, making it another fandom club that has been on campus for quite some time. The interactive club meets on Friday nights, when members get together and watch a lineup of anime series previously voted on. The club also publishes a newsletter in which members answer questions about the series they just watched in witty, entertaining ways. Much like WizMug, the Anime Society is a strong social club in which people often see each other and hang out more than just during the weekly meetings. Sophie Mortensen said, “People definitely hang out outside [of meetings]. Most of the time after meetings like it’s like 10 o’ clock and it’s on a Friday night; we just go to another room and watch more anime.”

The two major events that the Anime Society takes part in are Nekocon, which is held in Hampton Roads at the Hampton Convention Center each year, and Katsucon in D.C. Both are major three-day anime conventions to which club members go as a group to bond and genuinely have fun being immersed in what their club is all about.

One word to describe the Anime society? “I’d call it fascinating.”

power this club has on the College’s campus. Even if it is not the oldest Sci-Fi/Fantasy club in the country at a university, it is definitely one of oldest, going on around 40 years or so since it was established as a recognized club here at the College. On being one of the first Sci-Fi/Fantasy clubs: “My political answer would be we’re really proud of our legacy, and my frank answer would be we’re really proud of our legacy and we’re totally smug about it,” said Thomas Barto (’15), Secretary.

The activities that the club members take part in range from watching Sci-fi/fantasy films that are voted on each week and having Nerf wars on Saturday nights in Jones Hall, to telling their fellow Skiffites (club members) and friends about their crappy days and being consoled. If that doesn’t say how close knit the club is, then “Skiffy magnetism” should explain it all. Bartlett explains “Skiffy magnetism” as: “…if you’re with another Skiffite walking around campus and you run into a third, sooner or later, if you all stay in

Sci-Fi and Fantasy Club, a.k.a Skiffy “It’s ritualized, but it’s kind of like a big group of friends just hanging out.” – Elena Bartlett (’15), Vice President/

The Anime Society has a collection of creative works Treasurer ranging from this sketch by Will Campbell to essays, videos, Even though the origins and other art. Image courtesy of of Skiffy are not quite clear, what is clear is the staying WMAS.

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Skiffy held an event called GriffinCon in which board games were the main attraction.

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our community outreach event… bring a bunch of really obscure nerdy board games like “Red Dragon Inn”…it’s intentionally geared towards new people and people who might be unfamiliar with who we are and what we do,” said Barto.

One word [or a few words] to describe Skiffy? “High-intensity nerd bonding,” said Bartlett.

Possible upcoming fandom club?

Sherlockian Society “I hope to accomplish connections between the members and also broaden awareness for all the incarnations of Sherlock.”

– Claire Neimann (’15) Claire Neimann (’15) is looking to spark interest and begin a new fandom organization here at the College centered on none other than Sherlock Holmes. “Well, I knew that the one thing I was passionate about that I didn’t get to share with others was my love of Sherlock Holmes. I also knew that there were a lot of people on A new club at William and Mary is dedicated to the famous literary detective Sherlock campus who shared that passion, Holmes. Photos courtesy of Google Images. so I wanted to connect us all.”

Neimann hopes to gain enough interest to start the club and, that one spot, more and more Skiffites are just going to accumulate and appear in that spot and you’ll get this little cluster of people that once it gets going, to have weekly or biweekly meetings in which just materializes on campus.” Apparently, it also works at Busch members would discuss various Sherlock Holmes stories and also Gardens, and with that being said, it is no wonder Barto describes view some “famous Sherlocks on Screen.” “I’d like to have events for the club as “...an organization for kindred souls to meet each other releases, including the new series of Sherlock, The Fifth Estate and the Hobbit (all starring Sherlock actors). I also would like to have and make friends.”

Major events that Skiffy puts on include: a Rocky Horror Shadow club dinners and other club events, like murder mystery dinners.

Cast every October/November around Halloween that functions as Members could display their fan art and fan fiction, as well as lead its big fundraiser for the year; and in the Spring, Griffincon. “I call it discussions about Sherlock plots!”

As far as what would set the Sherlockian Society apart from the other fandom clubs on campus, Neimann believes that the history of Sherlock Holmes (it dates back to the 1890s) will provide a different feel than modern fandoms because it spans so much time and is constantly being added to. “I hope to accomplish connections between the members and also broaden awareness for all the incarnations of Sherlock. I hope to grow our Sherlockian presence on campus, as well as encourage our members to create and explore in the world of Sherlock!”

To possible new members: “I hope to help our members get published in Sherlockian journals and maybe even go to a Sherlockian convention! Come join us for a casual club with lots of fun and mystery!”

To call fandom culture here at the College enthusiastic would be an understatement. Each of these clubs, organizations, and societies as well as the others around campus take pride in coming together and sharing a common interest and do so in a welcoming environment that induces friendships and great experiences. Just as Elena Bartlett from Skiffy said, “It’s ritualized, but it’s kind of a The trio of Sherlock Holmes movies, which star Robert big group of friends just hanging out.”

Downey Jr., likely provided the impetus for the club.

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Best Of’s

A Random Assortment of the Five Best Things BEST OF: 90’S NOSTALGIA » CINDY

CENTENO, DSJ STAFF REPORTER

We all know and love the nineties as much as the next person.

In terms of entertainment and culture, the last ten years of the twentieth century were the most eventful. Although sometimes called “The Networking Nineties,” for the introductionw of cellphones and the Internet, the era was more than technological creations. Grab some tissues and prepare for some sentimental memories as I take you back to the greatest decade of all time.

1. TV Shows The greatest TV shows to have ever been created were aired in the beautiful 90s decade. We had “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “Full House,” “Boy Meets World,” “Saved

By The Bell,” “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” “The Magic School Bus,” “Rugrats,” and so many incredible others. The “Power Rangers”?

Heck yeah! I always wanted to be the blue one, but it could only be a boy. I know that happened to a lot of people so I can relate. To watch cartoons over a bowl of Cap’n Crunch cereal and a carton of milk was the only reason why we would be awake early on Saturday mornings. Oh, and how could we resist pre-pubescent Ryan Gosling on “The Mickey Mouse Club”? Yeah…

Matthews (Ben Savage), Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel), and Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong), we took his advice to heart as we grew up.

He was the epitome of a saint in our eyes, and there’s no doubt in my mind I learned more from him than I did during my first few years of life. I’m sure I’ve watched the entire sitcom more than ten times by now, and it has been worth it each time. Also, be sure to check out BMW’s spin-off, “Girl Meets World”! It is set to air sometime in 2014 on Disney Channel! I leave you with one of many Mr. Feeny quotes: “We live in a random and chaotic universe.”

4. Music Boy bands, boy bands everywhere. Whether it be the Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC, we constantly rocked out to their greatest tunes on the radio or with our CD players (wait, what are those?). We had their posters up on our wall, planned out fantasy weddings, and read the latest news regarding them in magazines.

However, it wasn’t just about boy bands—Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, and the Spice Girls were also huge at the time. Oh, and remember this: “I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie wooooorld…”

Courtesy of Aqua. Also, the song we all love to sing and cry to: Vitamin C’s “The Graduation Song.” Proceed to get misty-eyed.

2. Nano Pets (Don’t pretend like you don’t know what these are) Before “Angry Birds,” “Temple Run,” or even Xbox ever existed, we were responsible for the lives of our dear virtual pets, or “giga pets.” Don’t you remember? The colored egg-shaped device with four buttons? That was, most likely, dangling from or clipped to your backpack or key chain? Or, the one you left home because you were afraid it would get lost or someone would steal it? (I never wanted anyone messing with my pet, so I left mine in a secret place.) Admit it, Nano Pets were the greatest things in your life at the time. Heck, feel free to get one now if you want! I do have to warn you, however, the original ones are going for $70$80...even on eBay! Do what you will with this information.

5. Fashion & Accessories Scrunchies, butterfly clips, frosted tips, tattoo chokers, lip smackers, light-up sneakers, and mood rings. Great fashion, guys…

I have to admit though, mood rings are still cool (yes, I have one myself) and some things are coming back. Light-up sneakers now only come in child sizes (sorry), but you can still definitely find a few slap bracelets being sold in small stores.

3. Mr. Feeny Yes, this is a completely different section dedicated to one of the most loved TV show characters of the nineties. William Daniels portrayed the teacher/mentor on “Boy Meets World” (1993-2000), Mr. George Feeny. Known for his remarkable life lessons, in addition to his teaching, during the upbringing of Cory

6. Miscellaneous I leave you with these last, but certainly not least, greatest memories of the nineties: purple/ green ketchup, Lisa Frank, The Babysitters Club, Judy Blume, Lunchables (still sold today!), Goosebumps, and inflatable furniture. Someone get me a blue couch, please.

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BEST OF: THANKSGIVING

TRADITIONS »

MOLLY EARNER, STYLE EDITOR

STYLE

3. Dinner Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and more. Just keep it coming. Especially after that Turkey Trot, am I right? (Though you may need to do about 20 more Turkey Trots to make up for it. Worth it.)

Thanksgiving—a true American holiday! Whether you’ve partaken every year in the feast of turkey-stuffing and crazy family politics, are experiencing it for the first time (welcome to America!), or if you are a vegetarian (tofurkey!), this is a list of what I always look forward to in the grand tradition of Turkey Day! 1. Turkey Trot Races Waking up and forcing myself to exercise is a great way to combat the inevitable guilt-fest that will hit me after overeating later in the day. But that’s not the only reason I like to run this race. It’s just plain fun, especially getting my day started early with my family and bonding over some Gatorades and post-race 4. Family I love my family! Sure, family arguments happen, old stories are muffins and bananas. Ready, set, go! told and retold to exhaustion, and sometimes we get a bit fed up—but really these are the moments I love the most, just enjoying each others’ company, whether it is by stuffing food into our mouths or watching a 2. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Peppy television announcers! Giant balloons shaped like movie together. characters from the Simpsons! Cheesy floats with flavor-of-the- This is what week pop stars from Disney Channel butchering some classic T h a n k s g i v i n g song with a chorus of tiny children dressed like teddy bears is about, for me surrounding them! Who doesn’t enjoy tuning into the wonderful, at least. I like to take time to have moments with the people for colorful disaster that is a two-hour display of daytime pageantry whom I am most thankful in the world. leading up to the god of all modern consumerism: Santa Claus himself! Ah, Thanksgiving, the official opening of the Christmas 5. Pumpkin Pie a la Mode What? This comes after family? Is anyone surprised? NO? Good. season in America.

Pumpkin pie is amazing, especially with some vanilla ice cream on top. Enjoy!

All photos courtesy of Google Images.

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OPINION

Accepting the Reality

The Administration’s Unproductive Crackdown on Fraternity Life »

CHARLIE PERKINS, DSJ STAFF COLUMNIST

Now that nine fraternities have settled into the brand-new houses provided to them by the administration, the greater incentive to comply with the administration’s every beck and call in order to retain a home on William and Mary’s “fraternity row” has left the fraternities between a rock and a hard place.

Should a fraternity be found guilty of what appears to be an arbitrary level of infractions, either on or off of campus, the College has made it abundantly clear that loss of housing is a quick, easy punishment, and that suspension of a chapter is never out of the question. While claiming to be holding fraternities to a “higher standard,” the stereotypical acts of hazing, giving out massive amounts of alcohol to minors, and causing a general ruckus can be found in many student organizations across William and Mary’s campus. While it’s not just fraternities committing these acts, they are the only groups receiving scrutiny and heavy-handed punishment.

The administration claims that the fraternities’ new, higherquality housing is the reason for upholding such high standards.

Presently, the houses themselves are subject to randomly timed walkthroughs, during which finding anything as slight as a trash bag in a hallway can incur a fine of around $80 to the fraternity.

Other offenses along this line include leaving a little trash on the kitchen counter. If a chapter racks up enough of these petty offenses (i.e. any time the administration pleases) the chapter can be subjected to loss of housing or suspension. Upon Kappa Sigma’s removal from the Fraternity Complex units in 2011, Director of Student Leadership Development Anne Arseneau conceded that the administration was aware that two out of three fraternities previously kicked off of campus eventually disbanded.

Losing on-campus housing is disastrous for fraternities, in part because the city of Williamsburg has made it explicitly evident that it hates the idea of fraternities living in its neighborhoods.

One need only examine the three-person rule and numerous lawsuits against unofficial fraternity houses to see evidence of

The new Kappa Alpha and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity houses on Ukrop Drive. Photo by Lauren Su.

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the animosity residents feel. With such resentful neighbors, the College is left to be the sole ally for chapters. But with every annoying and ineffective rule, like the banning of beer pong tables on campus, the administration comes across as that overprotective and angry mother who warns, “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!”

Just in case the College hasn’t quite figured it out yet, I’ll try to explain this little truth briefly and brusquely to them: we, the vast majority of college students, are going to drink, underage or not, and nothing will stop us shy of the second coming of prohibition.

Our ancestors have for years before, and we’re going to keep doing so as well. Seriously, we’re not going to just stop because administrators make up a new rule or try to kill off the fraternities, the campus’s “Most Wanted” and apparently providers of all alcohol to the student body. The administration would have to ban all student organizations, a capella groups, club sports, athletic

We, the vast majority of college students, are going to drink, underage or not, and nothing will stop us shy of the the second coming of prohibition. programs—basically any formal organization of more than two people—just to place a dent in on-campus alcohol consumption.

Simply put, the College’s frequent actions meant to weaken fraternities and cause the death of chapters here at William and Mary are a result of their inability to accept the facts and adopt a policy of alcohol safety and not just prohibition. I’m not asking the administration to condone the practice of providing alcohol to minors, but they should stop dreaming that it’s all going to stop and make sure we’re being safe while doing it.

By “allowing” these parties on campus, the College greatly decreases the risks that students face while traveling to and from off-campus parties, particularly with encounters involving the Williamsburg Police Department. Being lenient on fraternity parties in the new houses would keep more students, especially freshmen who may not know their limits yet, close to home and mostly out of harm’s way.

The higher standards fraternities are being held to serve as an attempt by the administration to evade the question of why it seemingly wants a great tradition of the College to die out.

Some chapters have new houses, yet they are reprimanded and sometimes suspended for many of the same simple offenses that most dormitory halls commit. Because they are organized and well-known for getting students intoxicated, they receive the brunt of punishment while many other less-regulated student organizations receive a slap on the wrist at most. The College claims to want good relations with its fraternities. Well, accepting the reality of college culture would be a good start.

Charlie Perkins is a staff columnist for the DSJ. His views do not necessarily represent those of the entire staff.

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OPINION

The Post-Graduation Job

Are Colleges Obligated to Find Work for their Graduates? »

ELIZABETH EDMONDS, DSJ STAFF COLUMNIST

Whether or not universities are responsible for providing jobs for graduates is an emotionally loaded question. When I first began considering the question, my answer was a firm yes.

Most students pay through their noses for an education that often does not come with a defined career path. Would it be too much to ask for employment along with a degree? After trying—and failing—to argue my point, I had to concede that universities are not responsible for handing students a job along with their graduation caps.

Taking a step back, there are two ways to interpret the question at hand: whether colleges need to provide students with actual jobs, or whether colleges need to provide students with access to recruiters, job fairs, and various classes dedicated to applying for jobs.

The first, and more literal interpretation, is the most difficult to defend. Colleges should not simply be the middlemen on the way to a job; college should be approached as an educational experience and a gateway to greater opportunities. If universities were to become merely places for enlistment in the job market, the point of an education would be wasted. Students are at college to learn, grow, and prepare themselves for the job market, not just to make sure that they’re headed to a fantastic job the week after they graduate.

With this in mind, most universities do a decent job of providing students with opportunities to find jobs through career fairs and chances to meet with recruiters. Career centers have become standard on college campuses and serve as job-hunting tools for both recent graduates and alumni. With the plethora of mediums to aid with the search for jobs, do students really need employment handed to them?

There was never any pretext stating that a degree would guarantee a job, only an education.

It is understandable that students feel their college needs to find a job for them. They paid quite a bit of money for a degree that often doesn’t come with guaranteed employment or a set career path. To be thrust out on your own without any guidance is a very nerve-wracking experience. It’s easy to feel as though our institution, the place we spent four years, thousands of dollars, sweat, blood, and very real tears over, is abandoning us. While I by no means endorse the idea that colleges need to completely take the reins and find graduates a job, the belief in entitlement on behalf of students is justifiable.

The latter interpretation, which questions the validity of job fairs and career centers, is a more perplexing question to handle.

Ron McGowan, author of “How to Find WORK – In the 21st Century,” addresses the issue by focusing on the importance of entrepreneurship. While entrepreneurial goals are noble, it remains to be seen whether they deserve the blind praise McGowan gives them, especially as the majority of students graduate with large amounts of debt. Should the instability and

The Cohen Career Center is a campus resource dedicated to helping students find jobs and advance their professional careers. Photo by Lauren Su. stresses of running a new business—along with the additional loans—be thrust upon the newly graduated?

McGowan’s point is understandable: colleges ought to prepare students to create their own jobs, rather than prepare students to enter a job market plagued by unemployment. McGowan’s argument is logical, but belongs to a different discussion. The majority of students are either not interested in entrepreneurship or don’t have the skills to create their own jobs— another reason why universities should not leave students without aid in the job search.

However, do not be misled; schools should not be required to find students jobs any more than schools should deliberately avoid giving aid to students. Clearly there are issues with the job market, which makes finding work opportunities unnecessarily difficult for graduates. Yet, are the universities wholly at fault? There never was any pretext stating that a degree would guarantee a job, only an education. Job acquisition was always on the student’s shoulders.

Beyond career centers with regular hours, career fairs hosting recruiters from across the nation, and classes dedicated to perfecting your resume and interviews, what more can colleges do for their students? Perhaps schools should discourage students from majoring in unprofitable fields or provide lists of potential occupations for each major. But even that earns contention, as the free will of the student—his or her ability to study whatever he or she chooses—is limited.

The solution to student unemployment does not lie exclusively with the university; that would distort the motivation behind attending college. However, the answer cannot be solely found in students creating jobs for themselves, not when student loans are at their highest and so many majors are simply not equipped to prompt entrepreneurship.

It is not the university’s responsibility to find students employment after graduation, but it is absurd to suppose every student should create his or her own.

Elizabeth Edmonds is a staff columnist for the DSJ. Her views do not necessarily represent those of the entire staff.

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OPINION

Lessons from Study Abroad

The Importance of Stepping Outside of Your Comfort Zone »

SEAN SWEENEY, DSJ OPINIONS EDITOR

In the months that have passed since I returned from my semester in Sevilla, Spain, I’ve been able to take some time and reflect on my experiences during my time abroad. I’ve fielded questions from friends and family members on everything from the difficulty of my classes to my favorite food to the thing I missed the most while away from home. As time has gone on I’ve realized that the most important experiences from my travels involved the people I met in the various places I visited.

My first encounter with a local stranger occurred in the city of Cordoba. As I was sitting on the bank of the Guadalquivir River, I saw a well-dressed, elderly man saunter up to a bench and sit down. As he sat down, he began to look around and curiously gaze at everything around him. We made eye contact once or twice, as I tried to capture his picture without him noticing.

Talking with the choir singer in Cordoba. Photo courtesy of Natalie Wong.

Eventually, I walked over and said hello to the gentleman. In my broken Spanish, I asked him why he was so well-dressed, and he responded that he belongs to some lunch in the shade provided by a small grove of trees. Seated a choir. That said, he promptly launched into an old Spanish song on a bench across from me were three nuns, chatting away as they about a lost lover…or something like that. Sitting there listening too ate their lunches and rested for a little while. As I studied to him sing to me and the three girls from my study abroad group them a little further, I noticed that they all looked fairly young. who had gathered around to listen, I realized how special the Having never seen a sister younger than 60 or so, I was struck with moment was and how important it is to take a chance once in the urge to talk to them and hear their stories. a while. A lot of people saw Cordoba that day, but nobody else After a while, I worked up the courage to stroll over and strike went up and talked to this elderly man and got to hear him sing up a conversation, and I was immediately happy that I had. The his song. three sisters were all extremely kind and eager to talk to an Another memorable encounter occurred in Granada towards American. One of the sisters, Raquel, complimented my Spanish, the very end of my time abroad. I found myself at the Alhambra while the two others, natives of Kenya, explained that they knew on my last day in the city. I hadn’t had the best weekend thus far, a little bit of English. We chatted for over an hour on topics and I was really looking forward to returning home to the United ranging from our families to politics to baseball. The three sisters States in a couple weeks. After walking around the grounds of the gave me their email addresses as we parted, telling me to write to Alhambra for a couple hours, I stopped to take a break and have them when I returned to the States. I left the Alhambra after we said goodbye, incredibly grateful for the conversation and more than happy that I had gone up and talked to them.

Why am I telling you about these stories? Why should you care who I met while I was abroad? There’s a larger point to these two brief encounters: step outside of your comfort zone. Whether you’re abroad in a foreign country or sitting on the Sadler terrace, don’t be afraid to approach someone and strike up a conversation.

The memories you share with others are the ones you will remember years from now.

A lot of people brought back pictures of the Eiffel Tower or the Coliseum from their study abroad experiences, but I was able to form my own unique set of experiences and memories by breaking out of my shell. In all aspects of your life, wherever you are, don’t hesitate to walk up to someone and say “hello.”

The author poses with the sisters in Granada.

Photo courtesy of Sean Sweeney.

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Sean Sweeney is the Opinions Editor for the DSJ. His views do not necessarily represent those of the entire staff.

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SPORTS

Questions Answered Is this finally the year for Tribe Basketball?

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ARVIN ALAIGH, DSJ STAFF WRITER

On October 18, the DSJ sat down with Brian Gelston (‘15), one of the managers of the men’s basketball team, for an inside look at the upcoming Tribe season.

What do you think this upcoming season is going to be like?

I think the season is looking very promising. We’re returning four of our five starters and 90 percent of our scoring. We’ve got four solid freshmen who look like they’re really going to fit in well with the team. Not to mention, we had a week of practice before going to the Dominican Republic this summer, which really helped the team mesh and get to know each other much earlier than usual.

How do you think the new freshman recruits will affect our gameplan for the upcoming season?

We have four awesome freshmen coming in this year: Mike Marcus Thornton and company take a breather at the first Schlotman from Indiana is a true, pass-first point guard who team practice of the year in Kaplan Arena. Photo courtesy looks like he’s going to make a good difference on our team of Tribe Athletics. and get some solid playing time. Daniel Dixon, a local kid, is a guard. He is a shooter who looks like he will bring a lot of “interesting” official calls. In any case, all of these experiences energy and athleticism for the program. Omar Prewitt, the guard brought the team together, both on and off the court, and I think from Kentucky, looks like he can play just about any position that they will do better because of it. on the court. He’s a great shooter, and a great kid overall. Jack What is the culture of the basketball team like?

Whitman, the forward from Kentucky, is very stoic in nature but Being a student-athlete at any school is difficult, but being at got a good energy and a very solid work ethic. He is undoubtedly William and Mary definitely adds some extra difficulties. The going to be a great addition to the team. academic schedule is very rigorous, and sometimes the professors What can we expect from star guard Marcus Thorton (‘15) this are not as understanding to the demands of an athlete. A lot upcoming season? of times, other students are unsympathetic to these students, In addition to being an amazing athlete, Marcus has also viewing them as “undeserving” to attend such a prestigious begun to really step up on the team. He’s really starting to work school. But I can tell you that being a student-athlete is just as hard on both ends of the court—he’s been in the gym almost hard, if not harder, than being a regular student at this school. every day this offseason, working on his jumper, working on his They have to balance their academic and athletic lives – it’s an drives. He’s looking to make a convincing case at first-team Allunfathomable amount to manage. Because of all the stress and Conference. pressures, the team can bond in a unique way. A lot of the time, How about forward Tim Rusthoven (‘14)? What can we expect the team feels like a family… most of the guys on the team live from him? together in off-campus houses, and have been for many years.

Tim was one of the conference leaders in field-goal Overall, there are just so many positive experiences had by percentage, at over 50 percent. If you aren’t too familiar with everyone on the team, and off-court chemistry like this certainly basketball, this is impressive. Again, he’s just a phenomenal shows on the basketball court. leader, a phenomenal presence on the court. He works extremely What are some things that the William and Mary community hard every day in practice, and is really an inspiration, both as a can do to support the basketball team? player and a person. He’s really a testament to what our program We have the largest stadium in the Colonial Athletic here at William and Mary is all about, and I think he embodies Association—because of that, we have the best possibility for what it means to be a student-athlete here at William and Mary. home-court advantage out of any team in the conference. The How was training in the Dominican Republic? thing is, we haven’t necessarily had that in the past few years, The trip to the Dominican was an amazing experience, mainly but we want people to know that when they come to the games, because the team got to practice for a week beforehand, which when they cheer, when they yell—it makes a huge difference. started off the year a lot earlier than it normally would—shaking Not just for our team’s momentum, but it can sometimes work off the rust, getting the freshmen acclimated to our offense, just to demoralize our opponents as well. The crowd definitely plays getting everyone back to speed. This year, we got to start that in a huge part in the visiting team’s psyche and mindset, and can the beginning of August, as opposed to the beginning of October, have a huge effect in the outcome of a game. The ATO (Alpha so that’s a huge advantage for our team. And also, just for Tau Omega) fraternity is a good example of a group that came them to be able to bond as a team, and go to a foreign country, out in force last season, and made a noticeable difference through and getting to enjoy the beach and the blue waters of the their chants, yelling, and bigheads. It definitely won us a few Caribbean—that wasn’t too bad either. But they really did well, possessions, if not games. playing some tough opponents though we definitely had some THE DSJ - NOVEMBER 2013

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SPORTS

What is The Sports Gene?

A Look at What Makes the World’s Best Athletes »

ALEX COOK, DSJ SPORTS EDITOR

It’s an idea that’s been instilled in us by our coaches, our teachers, and our parents for as long as I can possibly remember. I’ve heard the adage, “practice makes perfect,” so many times in my life that it literally has no meaning to me anymore. But the cliché encapsulates an idea that seems undeniably true to just about all of us: that our achievement in a certain sport, or in a certain field, or in a certain game is directly related to how much we train, how much we study, or how much we practice.

David Epstein’s recent book The Sports Gene is a profile of what it is that makes the world’s finest athletes, and the man’s globetrotting search for the answer to the question of what matters more: nature or nurture? Rather than definitively take a side one way or the other, Epstein tries to illustrate the nuances of the question through a series of extraordinary individual tales. He doesn’t want to discount the importance of practice nor does he claim to be a kind of athletic determinist who believes that certain genetic traits guarantee prowess in certain sports. He does want to show that there is a mighty genetic component to athletic achievement. The 10,000 hour rule, pioneered by Florida State psychologist Anders Ericsson and famously endorsed by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers, is challenged in Epstein’s chapter, “Tale of Two High Jumpers.”

At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, two high jumpers were prepared to compete for the world title. Stefan Holm of Sweden had nearly 20 years experience, notching well over 20,000 hours of practice en route to becoming one of the world’s best.

Holm had started out with some natural ability, but incrementally improved his jump over the course of his career, eventually taking home the gold medal in Athens in 2004. As a testament to his practice, Holm holds the unofficial world record for highest jump over his own height, clearing a 2.4 m bar while standing at only 1.8 m. Also at the World Championships was a man by the name of Donald Thomas who only months before had been playing guard for the Lindenwood University basketball team. One day, Thomas and a few of his buddies on the track and field team were joking around, and his friends bet him that he couldn’t clear two meters on the high jump. He did, easily. Needless to say he was tenaciously recruited for the track team, and just a few months later, the Bahamian found himself competing at the international level. Holm, who had vaulted himself to the fore of world-class high jumping through years of dedicated training came up two tenths of a meter short of Thomas, who took home the gold medal. Though no one seems to believe that 10,000 hours is some magic threshold through which the great pass, and the less-than-great are left behind, Epstein’s dramatic example clearly shows that there’s a lot more to it than just practice.

Epstein refrains from making broad-stroke claims about the significance of an athlete’s genes to his or her athletic competence.

His basic thesis is that our genes predispose us to be more competent at some sports, but natural advantage is useless without some cultivation of those talents. We need an environment that allows our particular set of genes to flourish.

It’s no secret that Jamaica has a fairly dominant sprinting program.

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David Epstein sheds new light on the nature vs. nurture debate in sports in his groundbreaking book, The Sports Gene. Photo courtesy of npr.org.

In the London 2012 Olympics, the country took five of the six medals up for grabs in the 100- and 200-meter sprints behind Usain Bolt, with the U.S. picking up only bronze in the 100-meter.

Pundits have been asking why such a small country has been so successful for years. In an interview with the Library of Economics and Liberty, Epstein says, “Let me start with the nature part. So, every man who has been in an Olympic 100-meter final since the boycotted games of 1980, whether his homeland is the United States, Canada, Jamaica, Netherlands, Portugal--every single one has his ancestry from a small swath of west Africa. And that area happens to have people that tend to have, just on average, a slightly higher proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers.” However, there are currently more people of Jamaican descent living outside the country than within it. Clearly, something else is at work. Basically, the culture around sprinting in Jamaica is like an overblown version of Texas high school football, with the same shady recruiting

» practices and suspicious boosterism. At the national high school championships, more than 30,000 fans were packed into a stadium to watch the sprinters go to work. Within a culture where sprinting is both popular and highly competitive, it is no wonder that they are able to find the fastest men in the country, with the likelihood that someone would slip through the cracks being slim to none.

In the United States, our Usain Bolt might very well be playing professional football, or basketball, because track and field is so low on the athletic totem pole in this country.

While the genetic component in this example takes a back seat to a sociological explanation of the Jamaicans’ success, the athletes need what Epstein calls the proper “hardware” before anything else; they need the right genes. In a more vivid portrayal of this phenomenon, Epstein treks to Kenya to find out why the country’s marathon runners always seem to win at the highest levels. Like the Jamaicans and sprinting, Kenyans grow up in an environment that primes them for success in long-distance running. From an early age, most Kenyan children run to and from school. As a result, there is an extremely small proportion of overweight children, and it becomes easy to discern who is fastest among a group. However, within Kenya, there is one tribe, the Kalenjin, that makes up an astounding proportion of the world’s top marathon runners. The world might view Kenyans in general as phenomenal runners, but Kenyans see the Kalenjin as the truly great marathoners. For the sake of comparison, in the history of American distance running, only 17 men have run a marathon in under two hours and 10 minutes. Within the Kalenjin tribe alone, 32 men have broken that mark. While only making up about 12 percent of the Kenyan population, the Kalenjin have won a staggering 40 percent of the top international honors. As it turns out, because their ancestors lived near the equator in a hot, dry climate, members of the Kalenjin tribe have extremely narrow pelvic breadth and very long, thin limbs compared to the size of their torsos. As a result, the Kalenjin have what’s called a “low distal weight” in running, meaning they have very little weight in their center of mass. This allows their legs to function sort of like pendulums, and the lighter and longer the pendulum is, the easier it is to swing. This naturally advantageous body type has predisposed the Kalenjin to run long distances faster than people from all over the world and is arguably the primary reason for their international success. However, the impact of

Cross-country skier Eero Mantyranta at the IX Winter Olympics in Austria, 1964. Photo courtesy of National Geographic.

SPORTS

Donald Thomas of the Bahamas clears the bar at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi despite his relative lack of experience. Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. environmental factors can’t be discounted; it is only because the Kalenjin have lived in an equatorial area for so long that they’ve acquired these bodily traits.

Epstein’s final chapter highlights the bizarre and unforgettable story of a cross-country skier whom Epstein calls, “possibly the greatest endurance athlete in the world” in the 1960s. Eero Mäntyranta was born in a tiny Finnish hamlet 12 miles north of the Arctic Circle, His family wasn’t particularly well-off and to get to school each day, the young Finn would strap two wooden planks to his shoes and journey across a frozen lake and back, which took more than two hours per day. He did this for all of his young life and eventually realized that he had something of a knack for this kind of skiing. He also recognized that skiing professionally promised a better future than the life of manual labor, the norm for someone in his circumstances, the same life that his father led, which left the Mäntyrantas with only one fork between them.

Over the course of his Olympic career, Mantyranta amassed three individual gold medals, two silvers, two bronzes and in addition, won two World Championships, making him the most successful skier that Finland has ever produced.

Tests on Mantyrant’s blood revealed that he had an anomalously high proportion of red blood cells, about 65 percent higher than an average man. As a result, the capacity for his blood to carry oxygen was extraordinary, and extremely advantageous in a sport suited for endurance. Eventually, Mäntyranta was diagnosed with primary familial and congenital polycythemia (PFCP), which causes increased red blood cell mass and hemoglobin due to a mutation in the erythropoietin (EPO) receptor gene. In the 1990s, cyclists infamously infused EPO into their blood to gain the same advantage.

Hematocrit limits were set by cycling officials in the mid-90s, and tests showed that Eero’s natural red blood cell count was markedly higher than these athletes who were “doping.” It turned out that many of Eero’s relatives also had the same mutation in the EPO receptor gene, and incidentally were also tremendous skiers. His nephew Pertti, who has the same mutation, won a gold medal in the 4x10-thousand-meter relay at the 1976 Olympics. One could say that Eero won those gold medals by virtue of the sweat of his brow, but it seems hard to deny that he entered the game with the deck stacked in his favor.

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SPORTS

America’s Cup A Comeback for the Ages

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SCOTT GUINN, DSJ ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Heralded as the greatest comeback in all of sports, the 34th America’s Cup presented a racing experience, and a storyline, unlike any other.

The America’s Cup, for those who don’t know, is an international yachting competition that ultimately pits one team against another in a one-on-one race. The winning team of the previous cup not only is automatically given the chance to defend its title two years later, but also gets to decide the venue and the type of boat to be sailed.

This year Oracle Team USA elected to sail 72 foot-long catamarans with enormous 131-foot carbon fiber sails in the scenic venue of the San Francisco bay. The boats themselves were monumental, but the story that accompanies them was even more so.

It began, as many things do, with financial concerns. The technology required to construct these mammoth racing crafts cost upwards of $100 million—each. Technically, anybody that meets the requirements has the right to challenge the defending champion for the oldest trophy in international sports. That being said, only four teams were able to raise the massive funds necessary to compete this year. The event always attracts elite sailors from around the world and 2013 was no exception.

The event consists of three parts: the America’s Cup World Series, the Louis Vuitton Cup, and the America’s Cup Finals. The World Series is a sequence of races held at various venues around the world, which allows sailors to train and prepare in the years leading up to the final competition in San Francisco. The Louis Vuitton Cup is a selector series that determines who the challenger will be in the Finals.

The World Series was sailed on a fleet of trainer boats called AC45s, which were intended to give the sailors an idea of what the massive AC72s would be like. The sailors did not actually get a chance to sail the 72s until mere months before the finals, and even then, practice time was restricted as to not give one team an unfair advantage over another. When the boats first touched water early this spring, the sailors knew that they were in for a challenge.

These futuristic sailboats travel at speeds upwards of 30 knots and elevate themselves (all 36,000 lbs) almost entirely out of the water using hydrofoil technology. They look like something out of a Star Wars movie. The monstrous nature and impressive speed of these boats was completely unfamiliar territory for the sport of sailing and as a result, caused massive problems.

In the month of May, during a training session on San Francisco bay, the Swedish team Artemis Racing capsized its boat, trapping British Olympic medalist Andrew Simpson underwater Team New Zealand nearly for more than 10 minutes. capsizes during race eight.

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Tragically, he did not survive and left behind a wife and two young children. This terrible event shocked the world of sailing and a lot of people wondered whether the boats were simply too much to handle. Many felt it might be better to downsize into safer, more familiar boats. The Swedish team dropped out of the competition, but the AC72s continued to sail.

In September, after New Zealand had won the right to challenge Oracle Team USA, the competition was slated to begin in the form of a best-of-19 series that would take place over a couple of weeks.

In the days leading up to the event, an investigation into a rules breach by Oracle Team USA during the World Series resulted in a harsh $250,000 penalty as well as the ban of one of the team’s top sailors, Dirk de Ridder, from competition. On top of that, Team USA was docked two points in the Finals before the first horn had even been blown.

With the penalty lurking, the America’s Cup Finals began. New Zealand jumped out to a daunting 4-1 lead, leaving many to think that Team Oracle simply could not keep up with the Kiwis. After the fifth race, Team Oracle took a timeout and got together to discuss changes it could make. The team swapped personnel and made some other slight altercations to its boat and game plan. At first it seemed to make no difference, as races six and seven went to New Zealand, putting the series at 6-1. But then, in race 8, a near capsize by Emirates Team New Zealand reminded the sailors of how dangerous these boats could be. Team USA took races 8 and 9, but 10 and 11 went to New Zealand. Oracle had not erased its two-point penalty but the series was now at 8-1. New Zealand needed only one more win to take the America’s Cup. On the verge of defeat, Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill did not give up. He urged his crew to do the same. In the face of a seemingly insurmountable challenge, Team USA did not once give in as it went on to win the America’s Cup Trophy 9-8. It was a victory that will be remembered for years to come. Such a dramatic finish seems only fitting after such a terrific journey.

Certainly the biggest comeback in America’s Cup history, and possibly the greatest comeback in all of sports, this year’s America’s Cup set a standard for the sport of yachting that can only leave us to wonder—what will they think of next?

Oracle Team USA celebrates after the final race.

All photos courtesy of americascup.com.

Ask a twamp

For the questions you need answered but don’t want shared Dear TWAMP: My daughter is a sophomore at William and Mary, and she is planning on majoring in English or Linguistics. As her father, I want to show support for her life decisions, but I’m concerned about this one. She’s very passionate about the subject, loves to read, and is a phenomenal writer, so there’s no question it’s a good fit for her academically.

What worries me most is the bleak job market and relatively low wages for students graduating with “fuzzy” majors. I’m lucky to only be paying in-state tuition, but I still want to feel like my money isn’t going to waste.

What should I do? I don’t want to overstep my bounds here, but is there some alternative path she could take?

Distressed Dad Dear Distressed Dad: Check out that alliteration! Maybe I should be an English major as well. But it’s too late now, because the TWAMP will be graduating this winter (a semester early) with a triple major in Economics, Physics, and History, along with an Arabic minor. Talk about TWAMPiness.

In regard to your note, this is a common conundrum for many parents, especially in this economy. College is, after all, an investment in your child’s future, and you’re hoping to get the highest return possible. You’re also correct in pointing out that English majors aren’t the most sought-after in the job market, and employment surveys constantly emphasize the utility of “techie” majors such as engineering, computer science, and chemistry.

My general philosophy is to let people make their own decisions, for better or for worse. Your college major by no means defines who you are or what your career path will necessarily be. It’s more important to study what you’re passionate about and see where that takes you. Being an English major doesn’t exclude you from going to law school or medical school, and I can sincerely state that being able to write well and think critically are two of the most sought -after skills that a person can possess. They’re also incredibly difficult to pick up later on.

Besides, the English department at the College is quite successful and popular, and they just moved into the refurbished Tucker Hall! But if that argument isn’t strong enough to sway you, perhaps you could push your daughter into adding a secondary major or a minor. But don’t force her into anything she will abhor later on. If she wants to focus strictly on the humanities, so be it. I can’t say the same,

however, as the TWAMP loves all academic disciplines.

So, in conclusion, don’t worry too much about the college major. If getting a decent job is the main issue, urge her to start networking now, get practical experience through part-time jobs or internships, and begin to build a resumé that will allow her to pursue her career of choice.

Regards, TWAMP

Hey TWAMP: So there’s a rumor floating around that this will be your last advice column in the DSJ. Is that true? Do you have somebody who will take your place? If not, where can I turn for some wholehearted advice?

Anonymous Dear Anonymous, Unfortunately, the rumors are true. As I told Distressed Dad, I’ll be moving on after this semester. I plan to start a JD/MD/ PhD joint program at a premier university in the UK, where I’m hoping to find the cure for cancer while collecting thousands of patents on my research in the process.

I have not named a successor, because frankly I couldn’t identify anybody who was sufficiently qualified. You’ll find that the majority of TWAMPs are actually rather clueless and are not the sort of folk you should take advice from. They may be book smart, but they definitely lack the street smarts.

So if you still need advice, I’d recommend you turn to Yahoo Answers or College ACB (if that site even still exists).

In my absence, the back inside cover will become a classifieds section for a new website called Cribspot, which will show listings of off-campus houses and apartments. Cribspot is launching a new website soon specific to the College that should finally do away with the shoddy William and Mary off-campus site. Can you say capitalism? Sure, it will be a great resource for students looking for deals in housing, but the good people at the DSJ can never replace me. Best of luck to you, and long live the TWAMP! Peace out.

TWAMP

The TWAMP is not a qualified advice columnist; please do not take her/him too seriously. The DSJ is not responsible for any consequence incurred from following the above advice.

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AMP: Golden Dragon Acrobats >> Lauren Su, DSJ Photo Editor