The Flat Hat September 27 2022

214 faculty members sign Open Letter

Monday, Sept. 26, 214 faculty members of the College of William and Mary signed and presented an Open Letter to College President Katherine Rowe regarding concerns over a growing alienation of faculty in administrative decision making and governance. Te letter contains signatures from faculty across over 40 diferent departments and includes representation from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, the William and Mary School of Education and the William and Mary Law School.

“We write to you today to express our deep concern for the increasing distance between the faculty of William & Mary and your administration. We believe that our tradition of active, informed participation in the governance of the University is being eroded,” the Open Letter authors wrote.

Government Department Professors John McGlennon and Christopher Howard penned the Open Letter, alongside a third government professor who has not replied to Te Flat Hat’s request to print their name. Tey have been working on drafting the letter for the past week after hearing widespread concern among faculty about the issues addressed.

“I think that the basic message is that we hope to restore faculty participation in governance to the level that it has achieved traditionally,” McGlennon said.

Te letter directly addresses the faculty’s concern over “centralized decision-making” regarding important discussions of the future of the College. Faculty members noted the exclusion of their participation and dismissal of opinion in the governance of the College (specifcally regarding the revision and announcement of the fnal plan of Vision 2026), the process of using outside consultants to evaluate senior administrators without a faculty committee to oversee the process and the establishment of the Faculty Hiring Pilot.

Vision 2026, the strategic planning process that Rowe presented in September 2021, emphasizes its goals to expand the global reach of the College, educate for impact, “reimagine the liberal arts and professional education in the 21st century to ensure the lifelong success of our graduates” and “evolve to excel” in “environmental and financial sustainability, in diversity, equity and inclusion, and in operational excellence.” The plan lies on the tenets of data, water, democracy and careers. In the Open Letter, the faculty addressed their concerns with these tenets.

“For example, the release of the strategic plan, Vision 2026, was publicly announced without any opportunity for the Faculty Assembly or the individual faculties to develop the fnal plan, to review it, or even to read it prior to announcement at Charter Day and publication in the local media. Even today, many faculty do not comprehend how ‘Data,’ ‘Water,’ ‘Careers,’ and ‘Democracy’ constitute a compelling set of guiding stars, nor how these four parts are supposed to form a coherent vision for William & Mary,” the Open Letter reads.

Friday, Sept. 23, the Board of Visitors convened and passed 20 resolutions, led by Rector Charles E. Poston J.D. ’74 who succeeded former Rector John Littel in April. Poston, President Debbie Sydow of Richard Bland College of William and Mary and President Katherine Rowe of the College of William and Mary all began with introductory remarks. Rowe announced to the 17 board members that the College will guarantee scholarship aid to cover at least the cost of tuition and fees for all undergraduate, in-state, Federal Pell Grant-eligible students starting in the 202324 school year.

“I want to share one wonderful announcement of a new commitment to afordability that we’re pioneering this fall, which is that William and Mary will guarantee scholarship aid to cover at least the cost of tuition and fees for all in-state

Thursday, Sept. 15, Sodexo dining workers went public with plans to unionize. Members of the union are advocating for better wages, hours and conditions, along with benefits including health insurance and pensions.

With the support of the hospitality union UNITE HERE, a coalition of dining staff, students and other community members spent over six months organizing in secret. Since going public, the group has signed over 125 Sodexo workers up for the union.

“We are the workers who prepare, cook and serve meals every day,” a petition produced by the union says. “We work hard to make William & Mary a home away from home. We are proud to support students as they become leaders, pursue their dreams and shape a better world. Many of us have worked here for decades and served generations of students.”

Since 2014, the College of William and Mary has contracted Sodexo to run their dining services. All policies regarding the management of dining workers are under Sodexo’s control.

As employees of Sodexo, dining staff are unable to join the William & Mary Workers’ Union. Sodexo workers have unionized in other locations across the country, but this is the first major effort to unionize the company’s dining staff at the College.

“Sodexo should agree to a quick and fair process to enable us to exercise our right to organize and decide whether to form a union without threats and intimidation,” the petition adds. “We ask for the support of the William & Mary community as we stand together in our demand for the same respect that Union Sodexo workers already enjoy.”

Pell Grant-eligible students,” Rowe said. “Tis is consistent with our commitment to excellence.”

Rowe told the board that the College’s goal is to increase their in-state Pell Grant recipient demographic to 20%, three percent higher than it sits currently. Tis new program will also apply to in-state Pell Grant recipients who are already enrolled in the College.

During his Closing Student Address to the Board, Student Assembly President John Cho ’23 discussed what this new scholarship meant for him.

“As a Pell Grant recipient myself, I can’t tell you all how much hearing the announcement of Pell scholarships means to me,” Cho said. “I want to thank the President and the Board of your continued commitment towards helping FGLI students and allowing for a more equitable experience for all students.”

Tis year also marks the ffth-year that the College has held the rate of tuition consistent for

ANNA ARNSBERGER FLAT HAT EDITOR

The union is hoping to secure pensions, which Sodexo does not currently provide, and more affordable health insurance. There are also concerns regarding low wages and how employees are not given work during school breaks. Sodexo only recently increased their base pay to $15.50 per hour, even for workers who have been at the College for decades. Many feel this income is not enough to sustain themselves.

As a supervisor and employee of 20 years, Melanie Edwards makes slightly more than some of her coworkers — closer to $16 an hour. She hopes to be able to afford her own place to live soon.

“It's kind of difficult, challenging, the financial aspect of working for Sodexo,” Edwards said. “I feel like I work more. My work is not being appreciated and I work more harder now than I ever did. And the pay is not where it needs to be for me to be on my own. So I'm currently living with my parents right now until I get my own spot.”

In addition to poor pay and benefits, many members of the dining staff have dealt with a feeling of burnout. Edwards thinks Sodexo wants to get the most out of their staff without having to pay them a substantial amount.

“We're overworked,” Edwards said. “A lot of workers are tired. The workers that you do have work two or three stations at a time… You just get worn out. There's no incentive or anything, they just expect you to do it.”

Sadler server O’Mara Pressey expressed similar frustration over inconsistent and long work hours.

“They need workers that work sometimes in the morning to cook for the nighttime, or they want workers to stay for late night if they don't

have enough staff,” Pressey said. “Last year I worked lunch, dinner and late night. For like three days, and then I got a break or I kept doing it for a whole week. That gets overwhelming.”

Tuesday, Sept. 20, a group of students and workers presented their petition to Sodexo managers and administrators of the College.

The following day, over 100 students rallied at the Sadler Center to demand recognition. Organizers Salimata Sanfo ’22 and Aidan White ’23 led protestors into Center Court at Sadler to confront Resident Sodexo District Manager Jason Aupied and then coordinated chants on the terrace. According to Sanfo, Aupied and other Sodexo managers have refused to respect the workers’ demands.

“He was like, ‘Oh, we're in discussion with people,’” Sanfo said to the crowd. “We don't want discussion. We want action. Discussion would take forever. They could recognize this union right now if they wanted to, they just don't.”

Aupied said Sodexo would honor the ability of workers to make their own decision about unionizing, despite not officially acknowledging the petition yet.

“Sodexo respects the rights of our employees to unionize or not to unionize, as they choose," Aupied wrote in a statement to the Flat Hat. "The choice of whether or not to have a union represent our employees is important to our employees. When faced with making a decision regarding union representation, our employees have the fundamental right to hear all sides of the issue and then make an informed decision free of pressure or coercion from anyone.”

in-state students.

“We have strong commitments to affordability at William and Mary and that is critical,” Rowe said. “We're in the fifth year of keeping tuition flat this year… how could that be? … It's taken extraordinary discipline, creativity and commitment from our faculty and staff, as well as leadership.”

Rowe also commended the success of the recent expansion of the Sadler Center, calling its multifaceted facilities a “neighborhood of student life.” Regarding Vision 2026, which lists data as one of its four initiatives, Rowe discussed the possible creation of a computing and data science school.

After the passing of the resolutions, Rowe brought up the possibility of the College switching to a multi-year tuition plan, which would mean setting tuition rates for several years at a time instead of the current year-to-year plan.

Many of the board members responded

It's Nerf (Club) or Nothing a furry of organized chaos, the College of William and Mary's Nerf Club friendly another

positively to this idea, emphasizing that this could foster more fnancial stability regarding tuition payments for families.

“Te predictive factor is really going to be the angle…,” BOV Member Marie Aponte said. “Excellence and quality can not be left behind.”

• Resolution 1: Te Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance was granted unanimous approval by the Board on their new Crisis and Emergency Management Plan. Every four years, the College is required by law to work with various local municipal Emergency Management Agencies to develop a comprehensive crisis response plan.

• Resolution 2: Richard Bland College of William and Mary, a branch of the College that awards two-year degrees, was given approval for their newly revised fees for the 2022-2023 academic school year.

Football

Tribe 19 points, LAT

Faculty writes Letter regarding administrative concerns to Rowe

Dining workers go public with union, students rally behind in support

GRAPHIC

news insight

FLAT HAT NEWS BRIEF

Monday, Sept. 26th, Residence Life announced it would be changing its policy on charges for temporary lockouts. Te change allows each student to receive one free lock-out per academic year. All additional lockouts will result in a $40 fee being charged to the student’s account.

Te previous policy, which was introduced during the 2022-23 academic year, instituted a $40 fee for all lockouts, with no free lockouts. Prior to the current academic year, Residence Life at the College of William and Mary did not charge any fees for students temporarily locked out of their assigned residences.

Director of Housing and Residence Life Harriet Kendall discussed in the email how members of the Residence Life staf had met with Student Assembly President John Cho ’23 and Residence Hall Association President Delaney Brewer ’23 to discuss the old lockout policy implemented at the beginning of the Fall 2022 semester and to hear more specifc student concerns.

“I want you to know we heard your concerns and are responding by making a change to the policy,” Kandell said in the email sent to students.

Te statement also discussed changing rates of lockouts throughout the beginning of this semester.

“Since announcing the charge for lockouts, our records indicate that there has been a 50% reduction in lockouts comparing data from August/September 2021 to August/ September 2022,” Kandell wrote. “We can infer from that dramatic reduction having a fee associated with lockouts is encouraging more students to carry their keys.”

Students who have already received a lockout this semester will not be charged the $40 fee, as that will be counted as their one free lockout.

Championing radical inclusivity for students Max Blalock discusses involvement with the Wesley House

HANNAH RAY FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR

Next to the Williamsburg United Methodist Church on Jamestown Road is a small house with a welcoming community, a pride fag out front and a passion for acceptance in inclusivity. Tis is the Wesley House, part of the Wesley Foundation and campus ministry sponsored by the United Methodist Church. Campus Minister Max Blalock has led the house since 2010, and in that time has seen tremendous growth in the House and in himself.

For years the Wesley Foundation at the College has been home to the campus food exchange, has provided residential and parking services for students and most recently has supported the dining workers union. Te Wesley House champions radical inclusivity, seeking to support all students no matter their background.

“One of the things that’s become very clear through the years, especially with not only trying to provide community, but trying to be proactive and especially supporting students who are more marginalized or more on campus, is that when it all boils down to it, I have a really simple job, and my job is to try to ensure that as much as I can, as many students as possible are safe and well taken care of,” Blalock said.

Blalock recognizes that campus ministries are often perceived as trying to convert people to Christianity. However, the Wesley House seeks a diferent kind of conversion, one that nurtures the moral and ethical center in people to do the common good, especially for the most marginalized communities. Tis is refected in the mission statement, which was created over eight years ago and took over a year to perfect.

“We believe God creates a human family; every person is a recipient of God’s grace; and God intends for us to be a community that embodies love, reconciliation, and justice,” the Wesley Foundation mission statement reads. “Tus, we welcome people of all races, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender

identities, faiths, and theological identities. Trough following Jesus, we embrace God’s radical hospitality towards all.’” Blalock explained that the mission statement, especially the last line, propels the Wesley House as a community. Te Wesley House accepts all students as long as they seek to promote the ideals in the statement.

for people and to work for justice and equity for people,” Blalock said. “Tat’s absolutely part of my faith, too.’”

Blalock says the most transformative part of his work at the College and the reason he has stayed is the students.

“As far as who I am and how understand my faith and how I understand what it means to be a campus minister, all those things that have been so transformed because of relationships with students, particularly students who are LGBTQIA+ and particularly students who are transgender,” Blalock said. “Students have been so graceful in building relationships with me, and that has helped to transform me. I mean, I think I’m a much better person and I’m a much better pastor now after being here for twelve years.’”

One of the biggest initiatives of the Wesley House is to support students. In March 2020, the College closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and students had to fnd of-campus housing. Te Wesley House provided accommodations for students who could not safely return to their homes and has continued to do so during academic semesters and breaks.

“Since January of 2020, through August of this year, there wasn’t a single day that students weren’t living in this house,” Blalock said.

“It’s who we believe we’re called to as a community. It’s who we are as a community. It is who we’re still trying to be because we’re not there,” Blalock said.

Blalock grew up in Alabama and attended seminary in California. Trough meeting people from all over the world and of diferent backgrounds and identities in California and Williamsburg, Blalock developed his ideology for radical inclusivity and love for all people.

“I realized that my job simply as a person is not to convert anybody to any perspective that I have or not, but is simply to love people, to care

In addition, the basement of the Wesley House holds the campus food exchange where students and faculty can receive necessary food and supplies, free of charge and completely confdential. After the student organization Food for All won the College’s Impact Week last semester, they partnered with the Wesley House to install a large refrigerator on the frst foor to hold leftover food from campus activities and events.

Outreach initiatives by the Wesley House, like the food exchange, seek to address systemic inequities instead of doing charitable deeds one at a time.

CORRECTIONS

The Flat Hat wishes to correct any fact printed incorrectly. Corrections may be submitted in email to the editor of the section in which the incorrect information was printed. Requests for corrections will be accepted at any time.

Sunday, Sept. 25, the City of Williamsburg hosted a Future Festival at the Crim Dell Meadow. City ofcials invited community members to play a series of games that were designed to gather public input, informing City Council and staf while they develop Williamsburg City’s two-year work plan.

Te Future Festival is a part of a series of events that the City has been hosting throughout Williamsburg in September to help identify new strategic initiatives that will beneft the area as a whole and contribute to its biennial Goals, Initiatives and Outcomes. Te GIO process aims to focus on specifc priorities to concentrate attention on certain projects in an efort to produce visible change within the Williamsburg community

The festival hosted six stations of games that reflected the six goals that were adopted for the 2021-2022 GIO: One Williamsburg, Couragely Leading, Innovating a Modern City, Prioritizing Safety and Wellness, Engaging with Our Partners and Connecting with the World.

Williamsburg’s City Manager Andrew O. Trivette was one of the city council staff who attended the event. Trivette stressed the importance of the event as it allows the community to engage with members of the city council.

“I hope that people realize that the city can be fun, and public input doesn’t have to be coming to a public meeting, sitting through two to three hours worth of presentations and then having four or five minutes to give your input on what we said,” Trivette said. “We do a lot less

talking here and this is about you absorbing the information that we’ve put together and then telling us what you think about it.”

Trivette emphasized the importance of public input, noting the City is focused on meeting the needs of Williamsburg residents.

“It’s crucial,” Trivette said. “Public policy should be based on what the community wants to be, particularly when we’re talking about strategic planning. With Williamsburg 2040, the whole idea is what does the community need us to be.’”

Williamsburg 2040 is the new vision statement that was unveiled by Williamsburg Mayor Douglas Pons back in November of 2020 at the State of City

address. The new vision statement highlights that in 20 years the city plans to be: “One Williamsburg that is courageously leading, innovating, a modern city, prioritizing safety and wellness, engaging with our partners, while connecting with the world.”

Pons, a lifelong resident of the Williamsburg community and who has served on City Council for the past twelve years, was also at the festival. Pons highlighted the importance of hosting the Future Festival on the College of William and Mary’s campus because the students are valued members of the greater Williamsburg area.

“

“I think that the workers really love seeing how many students actually stand with them. Because a lot of them are talking about how theyʼre here for us ... So theyʼre very happy to see this actually come to this level to the point where it is p ublic, people are talking about it. And students are really showing support.”

̶ Salimata Sanfo ʻ22

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ABIGAIL CONNELLY FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

CALLIE BOOTH / FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

Residence Life changes lockout policy following concerns

Taylor Manager

RYAN GOODMAN / THE FLAT HAT

Wesley House has accomodated students with food, housing.

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JUSTIN SHERLOCK / THE FLAT HAT

The Williamsburg 2040 vision has been broken down into six separate goals to better guide the cityʼs team.

Opinions Opinions fhopinions@gmail.com

A diatribe against the treatment of earbud-wearers on campus

Adam Jutt FLAT HAT OPINIONS EDITOR

Suppose a fictional, really cool sophomore named Adam is on a walk. While passing through the Sadler Terrace area, he notices an acquaintance about thirty feet in front of him, leaning back at one of those sweet standing tables with the bars instead of seats. He gets lost in thought thinking about how cool, comfortable, and—I’ll say it—sexy those tables are, and how lucky his acquaintance and her friends were to snag one of them, considering how in-demand they always are. By this point, he is only about twelve feet away, and his acquaintance has noticed him. She smiles and gives a light wave. He, a great person, waves back. When he reaches a distance of about six feet away—a distance which has really had its time in the spotlight these last couple years—she says, “How’s it going Adam?” Or at least, he assumes that to be what she said.

This scenario, though it may seem relatively uncommon, is actually one of many uncomfortable social dilemmas earbud walkers face on a near daily basis. The scenario described above is probably the most common archetype of earbud-related social awkwardness, but there are plenty of others. For example, taking your earbuds out to hear what a friend crossing paths with you has to say, only to discover that all they wanted to say was hey. Or, realizing you had earbuds in— though nothing playing in them—while talking to that professor you ran into outside Chancellor’s Hall, meaning they probably thought you had elected to avoid giving them your full attention. Sayonara, grad school rec letter.

Every day, hundreds of earbud walkers on this campus, like myself, have their days ruined by marginally awkward interactions such as those. And yet, for some strange reason, the plight of the earbud walker is not even on the periphery of the campus zeitgeist. Everyone seems to act as if this issue doesn’t exist; it’s as if we are all wearing our own metaphorical earbuds, which block the clear evidence of the injustice from reaching our consciences just as earbuds block external sounds from reaching the ears.

Allow me to expound on the nature of the injustice more systematically.

Whenever two acquaintances run into each other, one with earbuds and one without, a power dynamic is created with the potential to alter the relationship forever. The person with earbuds becomes the servant to the person without. The earbud wearer must simultaneously be ready to pause their media the instant the other person starts saying something beyond hello, but at the same time must avoid coming across as too forward by noticeably pausing their media if the other individual intended for the exchange to be a simple nod or smile. They live at the beck and call, as they say in my home city of Cincinnati, of their naked eared peers. The burden of avoiding awkwardness for some reason falls exclusively on their backs; the earbud wearer can’t possibly get it right, while the earbud-less one can’t possibly mess it up. It’s exhausting.

You see, he is wearing earbuds at the time, which are blaring the song “Kinda Like a Big Deal” by Clipse (the hip-hop duo comprised of Pusha T and No Malice), featuring Kanye West. The song renders her voice inaudible, meaning any hope of his comprehending her inquiry rests on the combination of his lip-reading skills and his ability to make context-based probabilistic assumptions. Thankfully, his ability to make context-based probabilistic assumptions is up there with the best, so he responds in stride, “I’m doing well! How about yourself?” Unfortunately, he realizes just as he is about to pass her that her response, which—as a reminder—is fully inaudible, is a more in-depth one than “I’m good, thanks,” meaning contextually that she hopes the conversation to be more than passing greetings. Meaning he needs to stop walking. He does, and nods his head as she continues to verbalize whatever it is she is verbalizing—a nodding which she will never know is perfectly in-rhythm with the iconic beat of “Kinda Like a Big Deal”—all the while fumbling around in his left khaki short pocket for his phone so that he can lower the volume. The pertinent button is eventually found and subsequently pushed repeatedly, causing No Malice’s voice to turn from a yell into a whisper into nothing at all, as if he is slowly coming to the embarrassing realization that he really isn’t a particularly big deal at all.

The first moment the volume is low enough for the acquaintance’s voice to be comprehensible, however, is the moment her voice takes on an inflection indicating that she has just finished asking him a question. Uh-oh. Context-based probabilistic assumptions can’t help him here, as there are simply too many possible questions she could have asked. A long silence falls over the twosome, as he does not know how to proceed. His only options are to admit he hasn’t heard a word she has said so far or to just say yes and hope it suffices as an answer. Between a rock and a hard place, as they say back in his home state of Ohio. In this moment he would happily accept death over the awkwardness.

Every time I see a protest going on outside Sadler, my heart jumps at the thought that someone may finally be shedding light on the serious persecution of people like myself at the hands of those antiearbudoclasts, only to feel a pang of despair as I realize the cause of the protest is “something that actually matters and actually affects real people’s quality of life in a non-negligible way.” I try to be optimistic, but the fact of the matter is that I and everyone else like me are the ostracized and forgotten souls of the campus. Modern-day lepers, forced into a social system built by and for people who go throughout life somehow uncompelled by the allure of limitless knowledge and art, only ever an earbud or two away. And I’m tired of it.

I know what you’re thinking. ‘Adam, literally every demographic you are a part of is the demographic which has dominated society and systematically mistreated basically every other demographic. Quit pretending you have experienced hardship. I know you’re an opinions editor and I know one of your associates was supposed to write for this print but at the last minute they said they couldn’t so you had to fill in even though you weren’t schedule to write until next print, meaning this idea was desperate and half-baked, but that is no excuse to do that thing where you write about an issue that quite literally isn’t an issue and pretend it’s a big deal. It’s a tired schtick and we’re onto you.’

If that more or less describes your feelings toward this piece, I pity you. I pity your small worldview, the fact that you think problems are only worth discussing if they are trending on twitter.com. Keep your metaphorical earbuds in all you want. I take it it’s easier for you to live in denial than for you to admit you are complicit in a deeply broken system.

If, however, you are open-minded enough to admit that our campus is indeed plagued by an implicitly anti-earbud culture, I encourage you to make your voice heard and work to soften the hearts and minds of your more reactionary colleagues.

AdamJutt’25isplanningonmajoringinmathandeconomics. Asidefrombeinganopinionseditor,heisamemberofClubTennis andinvolvedwithInterVarsity.FeelfreetoemailAdamat adjutt@wm.edu.

THE

Advocate for the dining hall workers that feed us

Aidan White

FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER

The College of William and Mary’s dining hall workers have demanded a fair process to decide whether to form a union, and they deserve the full-throated support of our entire campus community.

The university contracts dining services through Sodexo, a massive interna tional corporation that man ages cafeterias in 55 countries around the world. Even with the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sodexo made $682 million in profits in 2021, which was actually an increase from the previ ous year. Despite Sodexo’s high profits, anyone who has ever chatted with dining hall workers about their lives outside of the College knows how many are living pay check to paycheck or work ing second jobs in order to make ends meet on their low non-union wages. Things got worse when the pandemic hit and Sodexo decided not to pay dining hall workers any regular wages during the College’s ’s extended winter break. Sodexo chose to make our already underpaid dining hall workers go two months without regular pay in the middle of a pandemic and an economic crisis, not to men tion the holiday season.

The College has its own exploitative history that makes our support for the dining hall work ers’ union even more urgent. “ ”

No wonder our friends in the dining halls are discuss ing unionizing! Forming a union would allow workers to build collective strength and solidarity that they can use to negotiate directly with their employers for better pay, better benefits and better working conditions. Unions return power in the work place to the people who actu ally make it possible for the company — and, in this case,

the university — to exist: the workers. Without dining hall workers, there would be no Sodexo and there would be no William and Mary. If din ing hall workers decide to form a union, they will finally get the respect and the power that they deserve.

The College has its own exploitative history that makes our support for the dining hall workers’ union even more urgent. This university sur vived on the labor of enslaved Black people for almost 170 years, and to this day the over whelming majority of work ers in William and Mary din ing halls are Black. Improving the working conditions of the majority-Black service work force on this majority-white campus is a concrete way for the College to address its his tory. Anyone who has ever expressed a commitment to healing the wounds of the College’s past or supporting diversity, equity and inclu sion measures should see that backing the dining hall work ers’ union is an extension of that promise. They should see that on this campus and across the country, worker’s rights are racial justice.

Last week’s student rally in support of the dining hall workers’ union was an unam biguous success. Hundreds of students made it clear that we are ready to support the workers however we can, even if that means confront ing Sodexo management directly to demand that they remain neutral and allow workers to decide whether to unionize. But the fight is not over, and we must continue to make the company and the College hear the thunder of our pro-union, pro-worker chorus. We must also ensure that dining hall workers see our support so that they do not lose hope as they push for a fair process from Sodexo. As the enormous crowd at the rally chanted: you feed us, we’ve got your backs.

Aidan White ‘23 is a soci ology major at the College. Email Aidan at amwhite02@wm.edu.

COMIC BY ARIANNA STEWART / THE FLAT HAT

Whenever two acquaintances run into each other, one with earbuds and one without, a power dynamic is created with the potential to alter the relationship forever. “ ”

The choice is clear in the First Congressional District of Virginia

A recent guest editorial in The Flat Hat focused on the reasons why the College of William and Mary students should vote in the upcoming City Council election in Williamsburg. Today, I want to emphasize the broader issues that are at stake in the upcoming midterm elections and encourage students to pay attention to the contest for the area’s House of Representatives seat as well.

The College is in the First Congressional District of Virginia . This district not only includes York County and James City County and the cities of Williamsburg and Poquoson — it extends west through the western suburbs of Richmond and north through the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck almost to Fredericksburg. If you live on campus, in the City of Williamsburg, or in York County or James City County, you live in CD1.

The incumbent member of Congress representing CD1 is Republican Congressman Robert Wittman, who has held this seat since 2007. His opponent in this race is Democrat Herb Jones. Here’s what you should know about them before you vote:

Herb spent 30 years in the United States Army — 10 years on active duty and 20 years on active reserve, including two tours in Iraq. He retired from the Army as a full colonel in 2012. He was then hired as a government operations officer by the Department of the Army and served in that capacity in Afghanistan from 2012-2014. In his civilian life, he developed a successful career in finance and was elected to serve as the Treasurer for New Kent County, Virginia, for 12 years from 1999-2011.

While I am no financial advisor, I can assure you that a $20.23 green plastic mug is the best investment you could make this year.

Senior Class Gift has been a long-standing tradition at The College of William and Mary, yet it dynamically shifts in focus year after year according to the philosophies, dedication and goals of each senior class. While early senior classes donated important campus landmarks, more recent senior gifts have taken the form of “personal impact.” With Senior Class Gift, the age-old question is always “why would I donate to a school I already pay to attend?”

The College has consistently been among the top ranked for alumni giving, and for a strong reason. We have notable alumni across our network who have donated state of the art buildings, learning materials, endowments to continue inclusion efforts on campus, and so much more. But with asking current students to donate back to the College, there is one main reason: no one knows the community and its needs better than current seniors. Senior Class Gift has taken an impact-focused approach once again this year to ensure that the voice of our student body is heard and that tangible changes can be made in the class of 2023’s legacy. The $20.23 you invest in the university through the purchase of a mug can go to any organization of your choice, any cause on campus you care about, or any on-going university campaigns you wish to support (i.e. Scholarship Impact Fund, All In, and more).

Prior to his election to congress in 2007, Congressman Wittman spent 26 years working in state government, primarily as an environmental health specialist with the Virginia Department of Health. He served on the Montross Town Council from 1986 to 1996 and was mayor of the Town of Montross from 1992 to 1996.

They disagree about almost every policy issue. Here are some highlights of their policy positions:

Gun Control: Herb supports immediate and meaningful reform, including mandatory background checks, implementing red flag laws, and ending the gun show loophole. Congressman Wittman has voted against common sense gun control legislation like the Active Shooter Alert Act and the Assault Weapons Ban.

Reproductive Freedom: Herb believes that all women should have bodily autonomy and that each woman is best equipped to manage her healthcare and reproductive decisions, not the government. Congressman Wittman voted against the Right to Contraception Act, the Women’s Health Protection Act, and the reauthorizing of the Violence Against Women Act. He supports the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs case, which overturned the protections of Roe v. Wade.

Healthcare: Herb feels that all people have the right to accessible, affordable healthcare delivered with respect and appreciation for their cultural needs, values, and beliefs.

Congressman Wittman voted against the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in 2010 and supported efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017. In addition, he voted against capping the out-of-pocket cost of insulin and against expanded healthcare for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.

Infrastructure: Herb knows our country needs expansive infrastructure and broadband investments to make it fully accessible to all and maximize our economic potential. Congressman Wittman voted against all of President Biden’s proposals to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 driven economic downturn, including the American Rescue Plan, the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, the Build Back Better Act, and the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act.

In addition, Congressman Wittman voted to oppose certification of the Pennsylvania electoral votes on January 6, 2021, feeding the frenzy about a “stolen election” that has challenged the American political system since that date. He has voted against every piece of legislation that would protect or expand voting rights. He voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which would have codified the legality of same-sex marriage. He also voted twice against impeaching the former President.

During the four years of former President Trump’s administration, Congressman Wittman voted in line with Trump’s position 90.9% of the time, according to the FiveThirtyEight project.

The choice is clear. CD1 needs to hear from you.

Early voting began on Friday, Sept. 23, and extends until Election Day. Although the deadline for registering online or by mail is Oct. 17, Virginia now allows for same-day in-person registration on Election Day, Nov. 8. The website for the college’s Office of Community Engagement tells you everything you need to know about registering and voting in Williamsburg.

Karen McPherson graduated from the College with a B.A. in economics in 1969. Email Karen at kamcpherson168@gmail.com

It is more than just a donation, as it gives the senior body a voice; each individual directs the funds exactly where they want to support. We think of donating to a specific student organization, especially those with recurring dues or equipment costs, as a valuable investment into the future members of these clubs. Funding from senior donations can make such organizations more accessible to all on campus by alleviating extraneous costs, with the hope that dues can be lowered in subsequent semesters to create more opportunities for members in a range of financial situations. There is no better way to give back than by directly supporting your closest friends within the organizations, sports teams of various levels and performance groups that make the Tribe as vibrant as any college community in the country.

Across campus, students are doing a multitude of activities that, frankly, alumni are not always aware about. Our ultimate frisbee teams attending nationals, Club Equestrian hosting a horse show, or even acapella putting on showcases–your small gift back to the university as your Senior Class Gift supports these events and causes we all care about and cheer on, yet they are events that often do not fall into funding from a typical endowment area. It is an investment that directly supports whatever has impacted you most during your time at the College.

We also want to ensure your donation holds value not only for your professors, peers and friends, but for yourself as well. A $20.23 donation may seem miniscule to some, but for others this is a significant cost that needs to present practical personal value in some way. With a diverse student body, and varying definitions of fun, we have expanded our local Williamsburg partnerships to six great establishments who have set aside exclusive deals to senior donors.

Our intention is to continue to expand our partnerships to create more inclusive deals for all, regardless of your dietary restrictions or personal financial situation. We already have a wide range of deals to take advantage of on everything from beer, to coffee, to snowcones, and are continuing to extend our reach in Williamsburg. See the list below for more details. Therefore, when you give back, you also receive–in more ways than one!

Green Leafe | Wednesday 7-9pm (when you bring mug, you will get a 32 oz beer for price of 1 pint — price depending on selected beer/cider)

Virginia Beer Company | Thursday 3-9pm (when you bring mug, you will get a 32 oz beer for the price of 16 oz on 8% and lower ABV

Culture Cafe | Friday 12-4pm (when you bring mug, $1 iced coffee)

Rick’s | Tuesday and Thursday, all day (when you bring mug, 32oz fries and a beverage for $5)

Column 15 | Wednesday all day (when you bring mug, half off nitro cold brew first pour and refills)

Sno to Go | Fridays 6-9pm (when you bring mug, $2 junior snowballs)

What Senior Class Gift is all about lost of

Have a question or a deal we should create? Let us know! mmmarsh@wm.edu

Beyond the deals themselves, we are working with these local establishments to further use mug nights in new and innovative ways. To create opportunities to showcase our amazing senior class, we plan on having local student bands and DJs perform at breweries on mug nights. Additionally, we hope to further the impact of the Senior Class Gift by having student organizations host their own mug nights, where they will have the opportunity to engage with non-members to encourage SCG donations to their specific student club, team or research lab.

Senior Class Gift is not just an unrestricted donation back to the school, it is an investment in maintaining the many communities on campus that have positively impacted our time here. It amplifies your voice by highlighting areas across the school that deserve more financial attention and resources, and we hope that donations back to your own student clubs and organizations will alleviate any financial concerns for members. Rather than the monetary value of your gift, the most important thing with acts of giving are the intentions behind it. Giving to those we love is one of the most rewarding actions we can take, so give with passion, love and intention, and enjoy some discounted beer and coffee while you’re at it.

The Senior Class Gift Committee is incharge of organizing Senior Class Gift each year anddetermining its focus. Email Maeve Marsh, committee co-chair, at mmmarsh@wm.edu.

Carina Pacheco FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

It feels like the days of collegiate dinner parties are long gone, having given way to… other methods of gathering, let’s say, that tend to include boisterous dance music and copious amounts of a specific grade of beverage. But dinner parties needn’t be a bore — there are a number of great ways to liven up your weeknights with friends without risking skipping class the next day. Potlucks, charcuterie and even multi-course meals can be economical, practical and fun — way more time-worthy and rewarding than staying up into the early hours of the morning and waking up achy, dehydrated and late for class.

It’s about time upperclassmen start to take advantage of Williamsburg’s spacious rentals before time runs out and graduation sneaks up. Unlike apartments in Washington, D.C. or New York City, here in Williamsburg one can actually accomodate a dining room table without compromising the rest of the living area. And though we may all have our plights with the housing market for students in Williamsburg, the off-campus options are tenable and comfortable — for the most part. With a little effort, it’s easy to make your living spaces pleasant and inviting, and having friends over will make your house feel more like a home away from home.

And for those students living on-campus, having a few friends over can be a breeze if you are making the

most of the spaces you have access to. While first-year dorms may be tricky spots in terms of space, if you are lucky enough to live in a building with a roomy lounge you will have even more options in terms of what you can make and serve, and how many friends can join in. The most intimidating part of dinner parties has to be the actual dinner. Do you have to cook? Bake? Assemble? Not necessarily — with a good eye, a little bargain-hunting and some teamwork, “dinner” can transcend its meaning from identical plates of expertly cooked food to a huge grazing table, where all guests can grab whatever they like. This takes the pressure off the host to provide all the options, allows each guest to contribute a dish or drink and authorizes everyone involved to stress less about

the logistics and better enjoy the food and company.

Additionally, a dinner party can be anything! Special occasion, no occasion, theme or no theme — there are countless reasons to get a group together any time of the year or week. There can be a movie involved, a favorite weekly television show or everyone gets together “just because.” There’s no need for fancy hors d’oeuvres, elegant dinnerware or expensive bottles of wine — that is, if you’re over 21. No matter what you are choosing to have, there’s truly nothing like sitting around a table with good friends.

Carina Pacheco ’23 is a history major and native of New Jersey. Her email is capacheco@wm.edu.

Karen

Today, I want to emphasize the broader issues that are at stake in the upcoming midterm elections

Graphic

It’s Nerf (Club) or Nothing

ELLIE KURLANDER // FLAT HAT VARIETY ASSOC. EDITOR

One of the most anticipated events in the days leading up to the start of classes is the fall Student Organizations and Activities Fair. Here, students peruse the aisles of Kaplan Arena in search of a social club or extracurricular activity that best suits their specific interests. With more than 450 clubs and organizations on campus, it’s difficult to fathom one club standing out above the rest.

However, one group, in particular, saw droves of students flocking to their table: Nerf Club.

The name itself conjures an air of nostalgia for Gen Z’ers who grew up hearing the familiar phrase “It’s Nerf or nothing” bellowing from the television.

But what is Nerf Club? And what’s the reasoning for the reinvigorated enthusiasm for a once-fringe organization?

“Nerf Club is a place where you go every Saturday to just de-stress, relax and do it in probably the most fun way possible, which is shooting Nerf blasters at your friends,” Club President Nathan Mo ’24 said. “It was started as an alternative space for people that wanted to be social but didn’t enjoy drinking or the party atmosphere.”

Nerf Club began operating unofficially in 1999 as a late-night activity for the College of William and Mary’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Club.

“For the first four or five years, it was operating underground,” Mo said. “It was just a bunch of friends in an academic building, shooting each other with Nerf blasters. The story goes that Campus P.D. one day walked in on them doing that, and they’re like, ‘you guys have to go legal.’ So they registered with Student Leadership Development, and it took off from there.”

For nearly two decades after its founding, Nerf Club mainly operated through word of mouth. As a result, the club fostered a tight knight community of Nerf enthusiasts. However, Mo explained that the word-ofmouth structure limited broader engagement for the club. The group’s closeness also meant that few rules or game descriptions were codified in writing.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic nearly rendered Nerf Club obsolete. Meeting locations were restricted to Unity Hall, participants were capped at ten and members were required to RSVP beforehand.

It wasn’t until fall 2021 that the club found its stride. The gradual recovery from the

pandemic ushered in a new wave of students enthusiastic about building back clubs that had suffered in the year prior.

The Nerf Club’s social media presence was one of the major contributing factors to its recent success. The club’s Instagram, run by Social Chair Shaia McClung ’25, leans hard into the “meme-ability” of Nerf at the College.

“I was like, I need to run the Instagram just because I knew what it could become,” McClung said. “It’s just so much fun. I love meme-ing it.”

As social chair, McClung is also responsible for organizing events with other campus groups like WCWM 90.9.

In the past, the club has also collaborated with organizations like HEMA and Archery Club.

Additionally, the new year saw Nerf Club’s executive committee grow from four members to seven. Members collaborated to write down game descriptions, and new positions were added to ensure meetings ran safely while remaining engaging.

For instance, the club introduced the new position of lieutenant, who oversees game design and safety procedures. Though the position is currently headed by Somerville Munt ’25, the role initially belonged to Jeff Bailey ’24, who has now been promoted to vice president.

“A really big part that drew me to the club was the game design element of it and moderating and running the games behind the scenes,” Bailey said. “That’s why we need so many executives because there’s a lot that goes into it in real-time, like keeping the game running smoothly and making sure everyone knows what’s up.”

With the responsibility of managing 50 to 100 attendees weekly, the challenge of the lieutenant is to select and organize games that

adapt to each building and group size.

“You have to keep a lot of things in mind because not every game works for different buildings. Some buildings have multiple floors and are asymmetrical on different sides, some aren’t,” Bailey said. “Also, you have to keep in mind how they work for the amount of people. At the start of meetings, we’ll have like 50 to 100 depending on the semester, and then towards the end, we’ll get down to between ten and 20 people that stick around ’til midnight. We have different games for front runners versus more chiller small people games towards the end.”

As explained by Bailey, Nerf Club gatherings require months of preparation and thoughtful organization from executive members to give club members the best experience possible. With over 28 games to choose from, exec members conduct walkthroughs of academic buildings to determine which games best fit the space.

Prior to the start of each semester, the club also submits space request forms which are then placed on a rotational schedule, ensuring that no one meeting will be the same.

With the amount of detail and attention put into organizing meetings, It suffices to say that those part of the Nerf Club care deeply about the game. So, what do the meetings actually look like?

The club attracts attendees with a vast array of skill levels, ranging from novice Nerfers looking for a late-night activity to club regulars who come equipped with their own gear. However, those who don’t personally own a blaster need not worry. At the start of each meeting, attendees are encouraged to sort through dozens of blasters to find the one that suits them best. Tubs filled to the brim with Nerf darts are also supplied. Those with an advanced skill level equip themselves with customized blasters, magazines to hold extra darts, holsters and even Nerf crossbows for a more accurate shot.

Meetings traditionally begin at 8:00 pm but are notorious for running late into the night.

“Ahead of time, we discuss and make a schedule of five to 10 games that we’ve picked out ahead of time,” Bailey said. “Each one is about 10 minutes on a good day, plus 10 minutes break in between. So over four or so hours, we’ll get through around ten games.”

Most games are placed into four categories: team, squad, individual and secret.

“Each of those has slightly different win conditions and objectives that you need to go towards,” Mo explained. “Creative titles like TTT, Biohazard, Dawn of the Dead and Go Off, I guess invite attendees to stay and see what each game has in store.

“

By the end of a meeting — usually around 1:00 am — every vestibule in the building is littered with darts. To remain courteous to other users of the space, executive members conduct a thorough sweep of each floor. Mo and Bailey have the dart collection process down to a science. Now, the tedious process rarely takes longer than an hour.

“We’re usually in and out like a ghost.” Mo said.

Though the Nerf Club may run a welloiled machine with standard routines, the club doesn’t fear change and plans to introduce a variety of exciting new events this upcoming semester. Aside from weekly meetings, the club is preparing for a special event called Gauntlet that will take place on Nov. 12 in Small Hall. Though the details are not yet set in stone, the club currently plans for the Gauntlet to be a campaign-style event modeled after a single-player story mode in a video game.

“The Gauntlet is just like a more hyped up, more advertised and cohesive meeting where all the games flow into each other, and there’s like a loose story around it,” Bailey said.

Mo also teased built-in surprises with the event.

“This year, we’re partnering up with the libraries to have one to two special guests,” Mo said.

For those interested in attending Nerf Club for the first time, McClung offers thoughtful advice.

“One thing that I would say is that you have to come in pretty prepared to laugh at yourself. Be ready to feel like you’re in a video game and fully just live that out. You have to be in the Nerf mindset,” McClung said. “It can be a little intimidating, but you just have to jump right in, and they will absolutely welcome you with open arms.”

JUSTIN SHERLOCK // THE FLAT HAT

“A really big part that drew me to the club was the game design element of it and moderating and running the games behind the scenes. That’s why we need so many executives because there’s a lot that goes into it in real-time, like keeping the game running smooth ly and making sure everyone knows what’s up.”

“ ”

- Jef Bailey

In a flurry of organized chaos, the College of Willliam and Maryʼs Nerf Club opens friendly fire on one another during meticulously planned battles.

tracking trends on campus

Ins: oUts:

Crying in Swem

It’s that time of the year, folks. The line for Swemromas blocks the entrance to the library, your professors are cramming information because, yes, even on the fourth week of school, we’re five weeks behind, and you are now borderline nocturnal because of your newly developed unhealthy reliance on caffeine. It’s officially time for the first Earl Gregg Swem Library breakdown of the year. So, pack your tissues and move off to the third floor — that is, if you know how to cry silently.

Air Purifiers/Dehumidifiers

Regardless of which dorm, street or floor you live on, an air purifier is one grossly underrated yet absolutely essential item on your college packing list. At some point or another, we all could’ve sworn that the nagging sore throat after the first week on campus was either strep, freshman flu or some nasty fall allergies. Likely, it’s a combination of mold, dust, allergens and other unsavory pollutants invading your respiratory system. An air purifier will take care of all this and more — it can solve health problems you didn’t even know you had.

Actually doing your reading for class

If you’ve ever wanted nearly instant gratification, spend 45 minutes doing your assigned reading the day before class. Sometimes, college students get so burnt out and jaded that doing a little light (ahem, required) reading seems an insurmountable task. But if you can manage it, you feel like a genius when you can answer your professor’s discussion questions and as though you’re actually in control of your life — that is, for at least a few hours.

Sweating

Every fall semester, the students of the College prepare themselves for cool fall weather, excitedly looking forward to that first chill in the air signaling the turn of the seasons. And every year, like clockwork, we are reminded of our campus’ swampy reality — that it will be hot and oppressively humid until Thanksgiving. Brace yourself, Twamps: that sweat mustache you develop from a quick walk to class is going nowhere anytime soon.

The “new” Daily Grind

What fresh new hell is this? The once shining, sacred, stand-alone student-saving grace has now been sacrilegiously stuffed into the sad cellar of the Sadler Center. I heard they don’t even call it The Daily Grind anymore. For shame. No number of new hours and Honey Do Lattes can repair the damage that has been done.

Yik Yak

I never thought it would come to this; what once was a wellloved community guilty pleasure is now a bottomless pit of loathful negativity and vitriol. Were the middle school days of Ask.Fm not traumatic enough for you all? Did Saint Gossip Girl, patron of cyberbullying, not warn us about the dangers of anonymous posting boards?

Forging new connections through mentorship

Forging through mentorship

a lot with that aspect.”

Mentors also help their mentees create several plans containing specifc goals that relate to their personal or academic success, and work with them to see how they can help students achieve their goals.

“We really work with students in order to put these plans together so that they have specifc goals and specifc things that they can, you know, work towards, when they come back to campus,” Ashworth said.

Both co-chairs stress the idea of empowerment to their mentees and fellow mentors and emphasize that one mistake does not have to defne your time at the College.

in either the Undergraduate Honor Council, Student Conduct Council, Student Assembly or Conduct and Honor Advisory Program. In a given semester, according to Sloan, the program consists of 4-5 mentees and has a bench of 8-10 mentors. Sloan added that they hope the program grows as they build capacity to take on more mentees and mentors.

“We hope the program grows in scope, as we build capacity to take on more mentees and mentors,” Sloan wrote. “In addition, as we focus on restoring harm to the community following incidents, Connects can be an avenue through which students practice and prepare to engage in restorative measures.”

For students who receive disciplinary sanctions or a suspension at the College of William and Mary, it can be an extremely isolating and stressful time. Tat’s why the Connect Program’s co-chairs, Abby Varricchio ‘23 and Julia Ashworth ‘23, have dedicated their time to building friendships and becoming the source of resources for students in these situations.

“A lot of students’ standing can change at the College due to an incident, and it can be very isolating, and it can be really scary,” Varricchio said. “We work a lot with students who are suspended. So being able to kind of be not only a guide of how to maybe navigate your sanctions, but also just a friend who can kind of check in, make sure that you’re doing okay. And, you know, know that one incident doesn’t mean that you should be banished from the College, but you still have a home here.”

Te College’s Connections Program works through the Community Values and Restorative Practices ofce and consists of a small group of undergraduate student mentors who work closely with their “mentees.” While any students with sanctions are eligible to participate, students who are suspended are required to participate.

Mentors reach out to their mentees to serve as a continued connection back to the College through scheduled meetings that focus on supporting their students in multiple ways.

“It varies, but you’re just trying to identify where people are and how maybe we can help them come back from something that was really life changing in a variety of ways,” Varricchio said.

“It’s really important to maintain those connections to campus and even just, you know, whether you’re suspended or not, it’s really important to have the support and to know that you matter,” Ashworth added. “And so I really think that, you know, this program works

“Te message that we try to get across is that everyone does make mistakes, and that’s okay as long as you learn from it,” Ashworth said. “And so that’s sort of where we come into play, and we try to, you know, provide all of these resources for the students and this, you know, support and connection for them so that they can have this ability to come back and thrive.”

Varricchio also highlighted that students making a positive choice and advocating for themselves can take on a lot of diferent forms, even tasks such as simply getting out of bed. She wants students to understand that each choice they make provides them with agency.

“It’s making sure that students learn that they can advocate for themselves and have the tools to advocate again for themselves and just really understanding that every choice they make is something that gives them agency,” Varricchio said. “... Even if you feel like you don’t have a lot of power in your life, there are ways that you can take back control or feel like you’re taking back control that are really important.”

Marc Sloan, advisor to the Connections Program, underscored that these relationships are a two-way street, with both sides learning and helping the other.

“Mentees beneft from a relationship that’s judgment free and a source of knowledge, perspective, and advice as they fgure out what being a member of the W&M community means for them,” Sloan wrote to Te Flat Hat.

“It’s also important because we help students clarify their values and refect on the values of the community, bringing a restorative lens to the program. For mentors, it’s a great opportunity to engage with students in a meaningful way – ways in which they might not otherwise be able to throughout the course of an honor or conduct case.”

Students interested in applying for a mentorship position must frst be a member

Ashworth emphasized that it’s perfectly normal to make mistakes, and she also stressed the abundance of resources for all students at the College.

“Everyone makes mistakes and it’s perfectly human and it’s perfectly normal and people can work through that and then thrive,” Ashworth said. “I think that’s incredibly important. But also, on a separate note, I’ve learned that there are so many more resources than a lot of people realize that are available to students on campus. And I think that if they were only to be more, you know, advertised and talked about, a lot more students would have the ability to really advocate for themselves.”

On a similar note, Varricchio says that the Connections Program has allowed her to concretize the phrase “One Tribe, One Family.”

“William and Mary Connects, to me at least, really allows me as a student to … embody that idea of ‘One Tribe, One Family’ in a very genuine way, where family doesn’t shun you, or they shouldn’t shun you,” Varricchio said. “Your family shouldn’t push you away when you mess up one time, they should make sure to lift you up.”

YELENA FLEMING / THE FLAT HAT

RYAN

RYAN

Newly situated in Sadler, the CVRP office leaves its door open to invite all students to enter.

Football falls apart in fnal quarter, marking frst loss of season

Tribe allows 19 unanswered points, surrenders four turnovers in second half against Elon

JASON TUKKER FLAT HAT SPORTS ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The looming gray clouds were not the only down spot on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 24, as William and Mary (3-1, CAA 0-1) football’s perfect start to the season ended in dramatic fashion. The Tribe lost to Elon (3-1, CAA 1-0) 35-31 at Zable Stadium after allowing 19 straight unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

William and Mary scored on their opening drive, which consisted of nine plays and 72 yards. Freshman quarterback Darius Wilson connected with redshirt freshman running back Malachi Imoh for a 10 yard pass to get the Family Day game and conference opener off to an electric start.

Five minutes later, on the first play of the ensuing drive, Wilson found senior wide receiver Caylin Newton downfield. Newton took the football 75 yards to the endzone for the second Tribe score of the game. Sophomore kicker/ punter Ethan Chang converted the extra point and William and Mary increased its lead to 14, sending a jolt of enthusiasm through the crowd.

Elon responded with a series of quick passes that eventually culminated with redshirt freshman running back Jalen Hampton’s three yard touchdown run to cut the Tribe lead in half.

The second quarter opened with a quick Phoenix field goal, but it was the Tribe who

would continue to dominate on offense. Imoh cashed in his second touchdown of the game off a nine-yard run. Senior tight end Lachlan Pitts snagged an 18-yard pass from Wilson for another touchdown to establish the largest lead of the night for the Tribe at 28-10.

After halftime, the teams switched roles. The Tribe gave up four turnovers, amounting to half as many as they allowed in their first three games.

Poor ball security, coupled with a reorganized and rejuvenated Elon defense, sank the Tribe’s previously impenetrable ship.

In the third quarter, William and Mary’s defense was able to keep up with their opponents, as they held Elon to only one score. This Elon touchdown came halfway into the third off a fumble by Wilson. Elon recovered the ball on the Tribe 17-yard line. From there, the Phoenixes made no mistakes, and redshirt senior quarterback Matthew McKay found senior wide receiver Bryson Daughtry in the endzone for the 18-yard score. With three minutes left in the quarter, Chang converted a field goal through the uprights from 46 yards out to record the final score of the game for the Tribe.

Although momentum stalled for the Tribe, a 15-point lead and the support of all the families gathered in Zable Stadium for the annual Family Weekend seemed it would be enough for them to close out the game. However, Elon opened the quarter with a solid 10 play drive that ended

Men’s tennis travels to Richmond Open

ROBERT HAGAN THE FLAT HAT

William and Mary men’s tennis continued to sharpen their game in preparation for its spring season. This weekend, they traveled to the Richmond Open at Virginia Commonwealth for more match experience and to build on its momentum from the Penn Invitational tournament last week.

Graduate student Joseph Brailovsky set the tone for the Tribe, going 3-1 over the weeked, including a 6-2, 7-5 win over Penn State redshirt sophomore Harrison Jane and a three-set victory (6-4, 5-7, 100) over James Madison redshirt sophomore Youssef Sadek. Brailovsky’s only loss was a hard fought 6-4, 6-4 match against VCU freshman Romain

Gales. Brailovsky’s record now stands at 4-3 for the fall season.

Graduate student Daniel Pellerito also came away with an impressive 3-1 record this weekend. His impressive weekend included a win in a tie-break against Morgan State junior Mikeal Carpenter. Pellerito improved his fall singles record to 5-2, which leads the team.

Graduate student Andres Silva and freshman Daniel Cohen also notched victories, with Silva beating JMU freshman Julian Lozano in straight sets. Sophomore Alexander Karmann also played three hard-fought matches, but this time the luck was with his opponents.

The Tribe will travel back to Richmond on Oct. 7-9 for the River City Open, their next tournament of the fall session.

with a two-yard Hampton run for the touchdown, cutting the lead to 31-23, a one score game. Five minutes later, a powerful hit led Imoh to fumble, and the Elon defense was right on the scene to recover on the Tribe 43 yard line. Elon took advantage of the turnover with a nine play drive that ended in redshirt freshman running back DJ Moyer forcing his way into the endzone on a one-yard touchdown run. However, not all hope was lost, as the Tribe stopped the two point conversion to maintain a two point lead.

William and Mary needed to make something happen on offense during the next possession to either increase their lead or at least run out the clock. Unfortunately, the Elon defense maintained its lockdown of the Tribe offense, as the hosts went three and out and returned possession to Elon on their own 31-yard line. Only needing a field goal to take the lead, the Phoenixes marched down the field. On back to back plays, McKay threw 27 then 24 yard completions to put Elon just 20 yards outside the endzone. Two plays later, Hampton was celebrating his third touchdown of the game after a 15 yard run, giving Elon its first lead of the game at 35-31.

The Tribe had one attempt left to salvage a late miracle, but they were only able to get halfway across the field before they had to attempt one last deep throw into the endzone, which was ruled incomplete. The final seconds ticked off the

clock and the once electric atmosphere around Zable Stadium had turned into a soft hush, with shocked faces to match the astounding fourth quarter comeback they had just witnessed.

During the second half, Elon held the Tribe to only 117 yards, including 68 rushing yards. Throughout the entire game, they only rushed for 149 yards, marking a new season low.

Elon’s second half success came from their ability to convert on third downs and extending drives. While the visitors were two for 10 on third down conversions in the first half, they drastically improved to three out of four in the second.

In a postgame interview, head coach Mike London was humble and honest in his assessment of the match.

“Elon’s a good football team, and credit goes to Coach [Tony] Trisciani and their staff, their players, for out-executing us,” London said. “But we [had] a lot of self-inflicting wounds.”

Despite the setback, London was optimistic about the coming weeks.

“This is the phase of football where you have to correct the things that were tough and be true to yourself,” London said. “I don’t like it tonight, but there’s a long season in front of us and a lot of things to be thankful for.”

William and Mary will need to resharpen and refocus for their upcoming game this Saturday against a struggling Stony Brook, who have yet to record their first win.

Sunday, Sept. 25, William and Mary volleyball (7-5, CAA 2-2) traveled to North Carolina to face (5-8, CAA 3-1) Elon this weekend. After an 0-3 loss on Saturday, the Tribe hoped to make up some ground the following day.

Elon came out swinging in the frst set, going on an 8-3 drive to begin. A pair of kills from sophomore setter Amy Schwem and a pair of attack errors from Elon brought the Tribe back within striking range. However, despite taking the lead 14-13 halfway through the set, the Tribe couldn’t prevent an Elon victory. An unanswered, fve-point drive ended the set.

Again, the Tribe started slow in the second set. It was a familiar story: Elon blitzed to an 8-2 lead. Still, the Tribe battled back. Tey slowly regained their momentum and eventually pulled ahead 13-12. Schwem set up beautiful kills for sophomore outside hitter Eleanor Stothof and senior opposite Kaitlyn Ferguson.

Stothoff would go on to lead the team with 22 kills and only two errors. Ferguson closely followed with 15 kills under her belt. They were key players in upsetting Elon. Elon had more offensive

breadth, but the precision of Stothoff and Ferguson allowed the Tribe to focus more on defense as well.

In the third set, the Tribe refused to let Elon get another early start. Stothof and Ferguson featured on kills that brought the Tribe up to a 4-1 lead. Elon battled back and soon the set was tied at seven. Again, the pair of Stothof and Ferguson gave the Tribe a critical two point lead that they did not fub for the rest of the set. Te Tribe won its second set with a fnal score of 25-20.

As the Tribe looked to fnish the game in the fourth set, Elon hoped to stay alive. Elon drew frst blood. Te Tribe fought side by side for a while, but Elon ran away with the lead, gradually, in three-point runs. Despite a late push by Stothof, the fnal score for the set ended at 25-17.

Both teams entered the fnal frame tired after three sets on Saturday and four sets on Sunday. Te fnal set was truly a test of endurance.

Elon struck frst. A service error then pushed the ofense back to the Tribe.

Over the next seven points, Stothof accounted for fve kills.

After the impressive drive by Stothoff, Elon was unable to rally. They scored the occasional point, but never gained the upper hand. Stothoff fittingly finished the game with a kill, making her hitting percentage .392 for the match.

Te neck-and-neck ambiance of the game led to an ofensive focus, but it would be an oversight to neglect senior libero Anna Porter’s contributions. With 24 digs, she was critical in leading the Tribe defense. Her saves made the fashy kills possible.

The Tribe takes on Colonial Athletic Association rival Stony Brook next Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. They will play in Kaplan Arena at home, hoping to improve to a winning record in conference play.

Pellerito finishes weekend 3-1, improves singles record to 5-2

JUSTIN SHERLOCK / THE FLAT HAT

Sophomore Darius Wilson evades Elon defenders during the Tribeʼs loss on Saturday, Sept. 24. Wilson finished the game with 252 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and one thrown interception. He also rushed for 41 yards.

Thursday, Sept. 29, the College of William and Mary Student Assembly will be holding class elections for two Ccass of 2023 senators, one class of 2024 senator, the class of 2026 president and the four class of 2026 senators.

Currently, eight candidates are vying for the position of Class of 2026 president.

Jason Zheng ʼ26

Jason Zheng ’26 has previously held various leadership positions in high school, including NHS President, Debate Team Captain and SCA Committee Head. Zhang’s committee statement emphasizes his interest in communication with the student body and advocating for change.

“My goal is to be a voice for you in the legislative process by listening to your ideas and advocating for the changes you want to see. I understand the value of having a sense of community, so I’m championing a five-pillar campaign that focuses on inclusion, service, transparency, vision and wellness,” Zheng said.

He intends to serve as a voice for classmates and peers by using his experience in leadership and public speaking to assist with addressing student concerns. Zheng also spoke of his desire to encourage communication with administration in regards to addressing student concerns.

“I think one of the hardest parts moving forward is trying to understand that balance of what we can and cannot do,” Zheng said. “So, I definitely want to be an advocate for the students, because I’ve done debate, mock trial and so on and so forth, so I have public speaking experience and I want to be able to use those experiences in order to advocate for the changes that students want to see.”

One of Zheng’s objectives, if elected, is to offer more cultural showcases for students in underrepresented groups.

“For me, representation has always been a big part. I went to predominantly white institutions ever since elementary school, so I know how powerful it is to see people who look like you, kind of talk like you, who have the same skin tone as you, and that’s definitely one thing I want to push more moving forward, like more events like that,” Zheng said.

Zheng wants to major in public policy, minor in sociology and

has an interest in pursuing a legal career as an attorney.

“Ever since fifth grade, I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer,” Zheng said. “I’ve wanted to be a lawyer because I was always surrounded by the news and my dad would always have the news playing, and I just remember seeing things in general, whether it’s protests going on or demonstrations, and sometimes it hurts seeing just how and

I want to be a part of that movement forward in order to make some form of change, whatever that is, no matter how long that might take.’”

If elected, Zheng plans to prioritize communication with the student body via emails and town halls, as well as other events to bring the student body together and encourage conversations. Additionally, Zheng acknowledges the distance between different housing complexes for students in the class of 2026 and seeks to help bridge that distance by hosting events that would allow students to meet and strengthen new bonds in a natural setting.

Cameron Scarpati ʼ26

Candidate Cameron Scarpati ‘26 is dedicated to addressing student concerns in regards to fees, dining hall hours and Campus fundraising.

Prior to Residence Life’s announcement of the modified lockout fee policy on Sept. 26, Scarpati expressed his desire to amend or to integrate an amnesty policy for lockout fees, thus allowing for students to have a “one-strike” incident before a charge of $40 for a lockout.

“I want to focus on the law and order of the school, some things involving fees: Res-Life fees, such as the lockout fees, losing your tribe card and fees given to students for vandalism,” Scarpatti said.

Scarpati also indicated interest in campus fundraising for specific causes through different events for the student body.

“In terms of general premises, I want to work on fundraising for some important congenital diseases that plague our society in silence,” Scarpati said. “I think we need to raise awareness and raise funding for things like that.”

Additionally, Scarpatti shared his thoughts on advocating for the opening of Commons Dining Hall on the weekends.

where the world is, and I think that got worse with the pandemic. I think that feeling has grown ever since.”

Zheng also spoke of his overarching interest in change on a larger scale, particularly through his desire for a legal career.

“During a moot court competition in high school, one judge asked me why I wanted to be a lawyer and I said, ‘I want to be a lawyer because I’m tired of waiting for other people to step up and

“Having some time, not all day but maybe a lunch schedule, would allow people to have more options. Optionality is very important,” Scarpati said.

Scarpati has significant interest in coding and is also on the Club A Tennis Team. During his free time, Scarpati likes to play ping pong and chess and find opportunities to meet new people.

If elected, Scarpati would like to host meet-and-greets and

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade, anti-abortion pregnancy centers have come under increased scrutiny. Termed crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), they often mimic medical nomenclature, outft employees in lab coats and provide medical advice, though critics argue most of these centers employ few, if any, medical professionals. Some people who go to a CPC say they didn’t even realize they weren’t in an abortion clinic.

In the past week, heightened fear over lack of CPC privacy regulations and their use of clients’ data has renewed criticism, drawing the attention of members of the U.S. Senate. While CPCs are agents of a national debate, their presence is most felt in the communities they are drawn to—CPCs tend to pop up in low-income communities, near college campuses, or in locations close to abortion clinics, often outnumbering abortion clinics themselves.

In 2017, there were only 16 abortion clinics operating in Virginia. In 2018, the state had 51 CPCs. Tere are eight of these centers currently located in Williamsburg and Hampton Roads, and only four abortion clinics in the same area, with at least one CPC located within 6 miles of each abortion clinic.

While Williamsburg does not have an abortion clinic, it does have a CPC—Hope Pregnancy Center, operated by the Williamsburg House of Mercy and located directly behind the College of William and

Mary’s Alumni House.

Pregnancy centers are no new phenomenon and have existed in the Hampton Roads area since the early 1980s—many are operated by religious organizations and they attempt to dissuade pregnant individuals from recieving an abortion. Often, their websites use seemingly neutral language on the issue, claiming they are a space to “process all your options” by ofering free “options consultations.” But according to Dr. Amy Bryant, MD, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, CPCs never consider abortion an option.

“What might not be immediately apparent to someone seeking help at a CPC is that these centers take a distinct anti-abortion approach to pregnancy in that unintended or ‘crisis’ pregnancies have two viable options, adoption or parenting,” Bryant wrote in the AMA Journal of Ethics.

While they do sometimes provide material support, such as diapers, formula or baby clothes, CPCs ofer few necessary medical services—usually just pregnancy and STI testing and occasionally non-diagnostic ultrasounds. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Hope Pregnancy Center said their goal is to provide material and emotional support during and after pregnancy, linking their services with others the House of Mercy provides, like rapid rehousing and career development.

“If someone calls wanting an abortion, we quickly explain that we do not provide that service,” the statement said. “Sometimes people come in to

talk and later call to say they have changed their minds and have decided to have an abortion. It is always a deeply emotional experience. We tell them if they fnd they are experiencing grief or emotional turmoil afterward, they can come back to see us, and we can assist with licensed professional counseling. Having an abortion does not preclude women from receiving our food, shelter, clothing, diaper, or fnancial support.”

President of the College’s chapter of Vox: Planned Parenthood Generation Action Becca Gaylin ’23 said college students are particularly susceptible to CPC messaging.

“Especially students who would possibly be experiencing this and would need this type of health care—the fact that the closest, most available option is going to sort of shame them into thinking a certain way or making them try to, you know, change their minds about what they want with their own bodies and lives is upsetting,” Gaylin said. “So I think that students need to be aware of that so that they can avoid it and know that there are other options and that that’s not the only place that they have to go to.”

Few of the services ofered by CPCs are necessary prerequisites for obtaining an abortion in Virginia. Many CPCs encourage women to receive an ultrasound and counseling prior to an abortion appointment, which critics argue can cause pregnant individuals to wait longer and risk missing the window of availability for a legal abortion.

A blog post by Alcove Health Women’s Clinic in

Newport News—which previously used the name of its afliate national organization Care Net— suggests a person confrm their pregnancy, receive an ultrasound, get tested for STIs and consult a registered nurse for an “abortion consultation” before they should receive an abortion. In Virginia, it is not required to recieve an ultrasound, STI testing or a consultation before an abortion and there is no waiting period required. Alcove did not respond to Te Flat Hat’s requests for comment.

Gaylin also emphasized that for students at the College, similar services like STI testing and pregnancy tests are ofered for free at the student health center, and emergency contraception pills (Plan B) is subsidized to $5. Gaylin said Vox has attempted to make students aware of these services, and of the presence of Hope Pregnancy Center near campus, via social media. She said they also have a confdential reproductive health assistance form that the club views as an alternative to CPCs for students seeking to know their options.

Opponents say CPCs tend to give incorrect, incomplete or intentionally skewed medical advice to their clients in consultations and on their websites. Hope Pregnancy Center in Williamsburg states on its website that several forms of emergency contraception (also known as “the morning after pill”), including ella and Plan B cause abortions. Tis information is incorrect, as emergency contraception pills do not cause abortions and they cannot end a pregnancy.

College spokesperson Suzanne Clavet added that Sodexo should recognize the needs of workers.

“The university values and respects the contributions of dining staff to the university through their work with Sodexo,” Clavet wrote in an email to the Flat Hat. “They are important members of our community and provide a critical service to our students. Our expectation with all of our contracted vendors is that they treat their employees fairly and respectfully.”

During the rally, White addressed the company’s position as an outside contractor.

“Sodexo is a guest on this campus,” White said. “This is our campus. And if students support dining hall workers’ right to organize, Sodexo must respect that as well.”

Curtis Adkins has worked at the College in various dining positions for over four decades. He is hoping to

finally secure a pension.

“If I was set with the pension… I’d have something to back me up, to comfort me and help me through to get where I got to go until my Social Security check — I don’t have that,” Adkins said. “I have put 41 years of my life, my time and stuff into a place that I feel like I didn’t get what I needed out.”

Still, Adkins expressed a deep love for his job and the students he interacts with. He is proud to have served multiple generations of families at the College.

“The only thing that’s really keeping me there and keeping me holding on is the strength of the William and Mary students because they mean a lot to me and I mean a lot to them,”

Adkins said.

That sentiment is shared by many dining workers.

“I like the job, I like serving the students, I like rapport with the students,” Edwards said. “So the

job itself is not hard, it’s just the management which we work for in the company is not so good.”

Beyond daily interactions in the dining halls, some students had existing relationships with Sodexo staff after raising money to support them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those connections were key in the organizing of the union. Workers like Edwards and Adkins only got involved after visits from students and union organizers explaining their goals.

According to student organizer Connor Dendler ’24, the union has helped strengthen relations with dining workers.

“A lot of student interaction with dining staff is meant to be this very structured and impersonal affair and having been taught to look beyond that has been an amazing experience,” Dendler said. “It’s allowed me to connect with people and to see that they’re the ones leading this, but we will and should support them every

step of the way.”

The group spearheading the union efforts also includes professors, faith leaders and other workers from around Virginia. For weeks, those involved have been meeting at the Wesley Foundation with the permission of Campus Minister Max Blalock.

“To be in those meetings and to see the diversity of people who are coming together to make this happen: that it’s intergenerational, that it’s multiethnic, that it’s multiracial, that it’s multifaith,” Blalock said. “It’s all of this, it’s students, it’s William and Mary staff, it’s William and Mary faculty, it’s folk from the community. You know it’s all such a coalition of people coming together. It’s like, wow we need more of this.”

Blalock was excited about the possibility of making systemic change for workers at the College. He explained that although the Wesley Foundation has provided support to some workers through

the Campus Food Exchange, he can’t just provide charity without also advocating for justice.

“When we look at a history of an institution like William and Mary, you draw a straight line from enslaving people to supporting Jim Crow, racial violence and segregation, to having a 98% Black population working in your food service and not paying them a living wage and no benefits and being exploited,” Blalock said. “It’s a straight line. And if my faith doesn’t have something to say about that… then my faith is useless.”

Sanfo emphasized the legacy of abusing Black workers at the College.

“William and Mary has a history of exploiting Black labor,” Sanfo said. “We’ve done it since we literally opened. We were the first school to do it, which means that every school that came after us was copying our blueprints… we literally created that.