The Flat Hat, May 1 2015

SPORTS >> PAGE 8

VARIETY >> PAGE 6

Prewitt, Tarpey help College pick up a 78-62 win in frontExcellence of a packed Kaplan Arena.

Explaining Tribe Athletics’ Committee on Competitive Report.

Renowned folk musician John McCutcheon played at Williamsburg Library.

The report is in

Vol. 104, Iss. 46 | Friday, May 1, 2015

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Making Monroe

CAMPUS

College dedicates statue to alumnus James Monroe ÁINE CAIN FLAT HAT EDITOR IN CHIEF

BRIAN KAO / THE FLAT HAT

Carroll and Patty Owens ’62 donated the statue to the College.

First, there was a box — wooden, graffitied and located smack in front of St. George Tucker Hall.

Passersby may have caught a glimpse of a granite base with a wrap-around relief through a gaping hole on the side facing the academic building. Then the box disappeared. On the base stood a tall bronze figure of College of William and Mary alumnus and United States President James Monroe, his gaze fixed on the Sir Christopher Wren Building.

Thursday, April 23, the figure was covered with a black sheet for the official unveiling ceremony. After ordering the crowd to fill in the empty chairs circled around the statue, College President Taylor Reveley kicked off the event with a reflection on Monroe, stating that he deserves more attention from his alma mater and the country.

“We are gathered to celebrate the arrival in our midst of a major new statue,” Reveley said. “A magnificent sculpted vision of one of William and Mary’s greatest alumni, James Monroe, who did not defect to the University of Virginia. So President Monroe will get a much larger statue here than Thomas Jefferson, and President Monroe’s statue

STUDENT ASSEMBLY

will enjoy pride of place near the historic campus on a major thoroughfare. Mr. Jefferson is over there in a small courtyard.”

After remarks from Rector Todd Stottlmyer ’85, donors Carroll Owens ’62 and Patty Owens ’62 stepped forward to discuss the culmination of their decade-long venture.

The Donors “We really have worked a long time on this project,” Carroll Owens said. “It’s run into a lot of roadblocks over the years. I’m just glad that somebody like Taylor [Reveley] could realize the significance of Monroe and what he means to the College today and in the future.”

In his speech, Carroll Owens commended Monroe’s legacy. He described the night of December 26, 1776, when a detachment of rebel forces crossed the ice-choked Delaware River and breeched the Hessian defense. Young Lieutenant James Monroe, who had just recently left the College to join the army, led the group. He was severely wounded in the fighting.

The sculpture of Monroe was funded entirely by the Owens’ 50th class reunion gift. While the idea has See MONROE page 2

ASHLEY RICHARDSON / THE FLAT HAT

Gordon Kray ’73 sculpted the bronze statue of Monroe.

CAMPUS

Senate ends semester Students organize mental health initiatives with exec nominations College community participates in silent walk, balloon release on Sunken Garden Non-discrimination resolution withdrawn AMELIA LUCAS FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR

The Student Assembly Senate confirmed the nominations of members of the executive cabinet and the elections commission during its last meeting of the semester Tuesday evening.

During the senate meeting, nominees introduced themselves to the senators. SA President Yohance Whitaker ’16 then made an executive comment. Committee comment, public comment and senator discussion immediately followed.

Twenty-one out of 23 nominees were confirmed.

Eleven nominees were unable to meet with their assigned committee.

Three nominees are currently studying abroad and could not make either the committee meeting or the senate meeting. Whitaker attributed the absences of the eight other nominees to the quick turnaround in receiving the official nominations.

“It was a very fast turnaround for a lot of our secretary nominees just because we just finished interviews, notified them and then told them about committee and senate,” Whitaker said. “We’ve been working very hard and [are] still in the midst of undersecretary reviews.”

Senators expressed uncertainty about confirming nominees who were present on campus but unable to attend both the committee and senate meetings.

“Presence is extremely important in the Student Assembly,” Sen. Chase Jordan ’15 said. “While I recognize the importance of academics, missing both the Sunday committee meeting and the Tuesday senate confirmation hearing should not just be rubber stamp approved.”

See SENATE page 4

Index News Insight News News Opinions Variety Variety Sports

Today’s Weather 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

MEILAN SOLLY FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER

Students at the College of William and Mary organized two mental health initiatives — “William and Mary Walk:

MEILAN SOLLY / THE FLAT HAT

During the Release event balloons were released with the names of things or people lost by attendees.

Swem Library for a silent walk to the Sir Christopher Wren Building. Following the walk, several members of the College community gave speeches.

Austin Childs ’18, who organized the walk with the help of Conor Murphy ‘16, said he wanted to bring students and faculty together in a show of support.

“I … have felt as a freshman here at the College that not enough has been done concerning the school’s response to suicide,” Childs said in an email. “I am slightly bothered by the idea that a single email informing the student body of someone’s death seems to be a sufficient response to such a mournful event. I felt that if the school was not going to take action, [then] it was up to me and other students to take action.”

In addition to showing support for the community, the walk was held to honor Peter Godshall ’15, Saipriya Rangavajhula ’17 and Paul Soutter ’17.

Anna Pelleti ’17 spoke about Rangavajhula, saying she loved yoga — according to Pelleti, she even held poses in her sleep — and had a spring in her step that often made her curls bounce up and down.

See MENTAL HEALTH page 4

Inside Variety

Inside Opinions

Providing consistent support

Rainy High 63, Low 48

One Tribe, One Family” and “Release: An SA Event on Healthy Grieving” — April 29 in the wake of three student suicides this academic year.

At 4:30 p.m., students gathered at the sundial across from Earl Gregg

As students face personal and academic challenges, professors, mentors and advisers must help to encourage a healthy understanding of one’s limits. page 5

En guarde

College’s fencing club awarded Virginia Cup. page 7

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The Flat Hat |Friday, May 1, 2015 | Page 2

THE BUZZ

We welcome Mr. Monroe to the College. By ‘we,’ I mean the corporate body of campus statuary. To be candid, young Mr. Jefferson’s nose was a bit out of joint at first, but now young Jefferson now joins us all in making the fifth President welcome. Isn’t that right, Thomas?

— Creative Service’s account for Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt

THE DIGITAL DAY

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Snapchats from Students

The final day of classes is upon us and students are saying goodbye to the school year by studying for finals, spending flex and reminiscing on the places that made the College of William and Mary home. One student ponders the existence of breadcats possibly for an upcoming exam.

Another student buys many granola bars to celebrate the end of the year. A third student will miss the dining facilities over the summer. Don’t forget to end us your Snapchats at theflatchat.

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AMANDA WILLIAMS / THE FLAT HAT

CORRECTIONS An April 10 story on a discussion of upcoming Supreme Court cases misattributed statements made by Jacob Nelson ’18 to Jakob Stalnaker ’16.

In April 24 article on HOPE sexual assault activists, Jordan Taffet ’16 said that sending out the unfinished draft of the email early was a mistake, not that writing it was a mistake.

The Flat Hat wishes to correct any facts printed incorrectly.

Corrections may be submitted by email to the editor of the section in which the incorrect information was printed. Requests for corrections will be accepted at any time.

Study Abroad blogger Matt Heffernan writes about the rewards of spending time in Scotland and choosing not to tour Europe.

“One of the most rewarding things I have done in my time here has been not traveling outside of the countryside. While it seems counterintuitive, I purposefully spent my winter not doing the grand tour of Europe that many other students who spend time abroad do. Instead, I spent my winter days in small towns in the English and Cornish countryside. Rather than seeing Budapest and Prague, I walked across Cornwall and along the cliffs of the southern coastline, drinking in pubs and meeting diverse people — from retired London bus drivers to cathedral vicars. I look back through my photos of green seas crashing against cliffs beneath stormy skies and I can remember the Singaporeans I met in a field on the south coast before they joined the military. Besides these experiences, I toured a prison and learning about executions in the north of England; walking amongst the graves of the Glasgow Necropolis; and visiting the Roman baths of Bath, all while living out of a backpack.”

Read more about Matt’s adventures in Exeter and travel the globe with all of the Stories From Abroad bloggers at flathatnewscom.

Study Abroad blogger Annie Curran writes about the joys of traveling Europe.

“I stepped outside the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, France. All around me, the streets were filled with people speaking French. I suddenly realized that my knowledge of French consisted of basics like ‘bonjour,’ ‘merci’ and ‘Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir’ from the song ‘Lady Marmalade’ — which, if you know the translation, was not going to help me get to my hostel.

When traveling to a foreign country, moments like this could be scary to some. It feels isolating to realize you don’t speak the most common language, and you don’t really know where you are. But since the most recent places I travelled to have been prominently English-speaking nations, I forget that I actually find it exhilarating. For me, finding my way in a place I don’t know is truly traveling.

I began my mainland European travels by visiting my friend Ti in Paris. She has been studying with a College of William and Mary program as well. It was my first time there; like many before me, I fell in love with the city.”

Read more about Annie’s adventures in Exeter and travel the globe with all of the Stories From Abroad bloggers at flathatnews.com.

CITY POLICE BEAT

April 26-28

The Flat Hat

1

Sunday, April 26— An individual was arrested for being drunk in public on Burns Lane.

2

Sunday, April 26 — Property that was reported missing was found on Scotland Street.

3

Tuesday, April 28 — An individual was arrested for possession of marijuana on Richmond Road.

4

Tuesday, April 28 — An individual was arrested for larceny from a building on Strawberry Plains Road.

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New statue kicks off renewed focus on Monroe’s legacy MONROE from page 1

been in the works for about ten years, a formal commitment to the project was only made in 2010. The Owenses said that the project received strong support from College President Reveley.

The said they realized Monroe’s significance as undergraduates at the College. The Owenses first met sophomore year at a Kappa Alpha Valentine’s Day party. After graduating, Carroll Owens served two terms on the Foundation Board and the Athletic Foundation Board.

Patty Owens served 13 years on the board of the Muscarelle Museum of Art. They said that they were happy with the statue. Sculptor Gordon Kray ’73 produced the work.

“We are very pleased with the outcome,” the Owenses said in an emailed statement.

“Early comments have been positive. We hope

it will be a source of pride on campus and that students will welcome him as a fellow alum!”

The Artist As an undergraduate at the College, Kray majored in art history and lived in Monroe Hall 107. Today, campus is dotted with his sculptures — from the tercentennial commemorative statue of Lord Botetourt in front of the Wren Building to the pair of sculptures of George Wythe and John Marshall outside the Law School to the Pierre L’Enfant statue in Miller Hall.

To prepare for the Monroe project, Kray read several biographies on the fifth United States President. He created both the bronze figure and the relief around the base, which features eight panels depicting various phases of Monroe’s life. He said that this aspect of the sculpture proved to be challenging at times.

“I’ve done quite a few sculptures, quite a few statues,” Kray said. He added that Monroe

was particularly challenging because of the eight different subjects contained in the base.

Another challenge, he said, was finding an appropriate pose.

“I wanted one what was stately but not too hackneyed,” he said. “As you know, we have a cylindrical drum here, and if one walks around the relief, you can sense a certain motion, moving around that drum, by the activity of the figures. I wanted the sculpture of Monroe to reflect that rotation. You can see that in the way he’s twisting around and turning from his hand on the globe to the hand on the sword.

He is turning around and looking at the Wren Building. I originally had him looking at the Sunken Garden, but the Wren Building is where he studied, where he lived, it’s the College building and if he came to life, he would know it as such. So I thought it was quite appropriate See MONROE page 3

Page 3

The Flat Hat

BOARD OF VISITORS

BOV Discusses Attendance at CAA Championships Athletics committee considers lack of swimming scholarships after men’s team success ÁINE CAIN FLAT HAT EDITOR IN CHIEF

The four M16 rifles the College of William and Mary Police Department received from the Pentagon Excess Property Program in 2008 were officially returned April 16.

The program allows the Pentagon to transfer excess Department of Defense property to federal and state agencies — including college and local police departments. The program came under scrutiny in the aftermath of the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo. last September. In the clashes between protestors and police, people questioned why the officers were outfitted so heavily with vests, guns and equipment appropriate for a battlefield.

The process to return the weapons began soon after

College Chief of Police Deborah Cheesebro took over last September. She said that the department never had any intent to use the weapons, which remained unused and locked in a safe since their arrival.

The College’s Director of News and Media Suzanne Seurattan said the decision came after a review on the use of the weapons.

“William & Mary Police is in charge of the safety of the William & Mary community. Following a status review of weapons on campus that showed the department had not used, nor planned to use the M16 rifles, the department determined the best course of action was to remove the weapons from campus,” Seurattan said in an email.

Additionally, the College’s police officers were never trained to use the M16 rifles. According to Police Captain Ed Schardein, who spoke to a reporter last fall, the weapons could be put to use if national or local

crime escalated. He said that training would take place then, as well as a process to remove the automatic function of the M16s.

“My understanding is [that] the department was never trained to use the M16s — it never intended to use the M16s,” Cheesebro said. “There is no intelligence that I could think of that would then put those weapons into play because we’re not trained to use them.”

Cheesebro said the department has all the weapons it might need for any situation on campus.

Four years before the College received the weapons, the Williamsburg Police Department received seven M16 rifles in addition to the two the department already possessed. Williamsburg Police Department Spokesman Greg Riley said that officers take the weapons on patrol, but they have never been used.

According to Riley, Williamsburg police officers

have all been trained to use the weapons — particularly patrol officers — and must go through requalification training every year, which usually includes tactical training. While Cheesebro didn’t have a ready plan for the weapons, Riley said the weapons would be useful in an active shooter situation.

“They’re useful in just about any situation where you have to deal with either a combatant who has a weapon that exceeds the range of a normal firearm or handgun,” Riley said. “So say they’re armed with a rifle or another long-distance weapon or if you’re doing searches of fields, or wooded areas where the distance is increased, they’re useful in those environments as well.”

Three other Virginia colleges received M16s through the program: the University of Virginia, Old Dominion University and Longwood University.

Flat Hat Managing Editor Tucker Higgins contributed to this article.

Students at Healthy Grieving event release balloons from Sunken Garden Students speak of experiences with loss, grief, share poems, personal stories with gathered crowd MENTAL HEALTH from page 1

“She taught me more than I thought a 19-year-old could teach anyone,” Pelleti said.

Stephen Kang ’15, a friend of Godshall, said that everyone tended to gravitate toward him because he had a really goofy smile.

Jack Raskin ’18, who was a member of Improvisational Theater, the group Soutter was a member of, said that it was essential to remember the light and the dark within individuals like him.

“I knew deep down life was never going to be the same after I lost Paul,” he said. “But I was so incredibly touched by the amount of love I got not just from I.T. but also from the members of my fraternity, from friends on my hall and throughout campus, and even from a few professors, and that, if anything, validated

‘One Tribe, One Family’ for me.”

At 6:30 p.m., members of the community arrived at the Sunken Garden for Release.

During the event, attendees wrote words of encouragement, song lyrics or griefrelieving activities on notecards and balloons.

Some opted to share their notecards or other anecdotes regarding grief with the crowd.

Music and poetry were recurring themes in individuals’ speeches. One student recited lines from the poem “Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep,” and another shared lyrics from a song he wrote in the wake of Robin Williams’ death.

“The media portrayed it like depression didn’t kill him, he killed himself,” the student said. “It’s not a choice because it’s not your head anymore.”

Following the student speeches and a

brief speech by Associate Vice President of Health and Wellness Kelly Crace, Student Assembly Secretary of Health and Safety Drea Aron-Schiavone ’15 released several balloons containing the names of things or people attendees had lost into the air.

“It’s kind of this idea of coming together in unity and collective strength surrounding our losses,” Aron-Schiavone said. “[The balloons are] a physical manifestation of the release of kind of more negative or sad [feelings] surrounding various losses. A big part of that is realizing it is healthy and completely okay to feel very sad and to feel very affected, because we feel things very deeply sometimes, and just kind of taking a moment as a community to acknowledge that it’s okay to be grieving, and it’s okay that we feel sad, and we can also support one another.”

MEILAN SOLLY / THE FLAT HAT

Students walk by the Crim Dell in honor of the students lost to suicide this year.

Sculptor discusses inspiration behind new Monroe statue in front of Tucker Hall MONROE from page 2

to have him looking at the Wren Building.”

Kray said he was amazed by how small the statue looks from the Wren Courtyard.

“I think in the iconographic sense, it’s a nice process here. We have the Lord Botetourt out front, who was a great benefactor and loved the College and the students, but was a British nobleman. Proceeding through the Wren Building, you get one of our great American heroes on the other side.”

The sculpture is meant to represent the College’s colors — the bronze has a golden tint and the base is Green Mountain granite from Minnesota.

The globe on the statue is meant to symbolize the College’s international reach and Monroe’s status as a citizen of the world, as reflected by the Monroe doctrine and the subject’s term as an ambassador to France during the Reign of Terror. Kray noted that one of the stands of the globe did not fit on the base and remained unfinished.

He also provided an alternate explanation for this facet of the sculpture.

“Monroe is supporting the world,” Kray said.

The sculpture and the base took about two years to complete. Kray studied historical paintings of Monroe to better capture his likeness.

“There were a lot of really bad portraits of Monroe,” Kray said. “He had a very complicated face. I know because I spent a lot of time on it …

There were a few years of the sculpture that I was a bit sketchy about in my studio when I was looking at it. Now that I see all the views in context, there really isn’t a view I don’t like.”

Muscarelle Museum of Art Director Dr. Aaron De Groft ‘88 said that he found the statue’s detailed iconography particularly pleasing.

“I think it turned out beautifully… I think Gordon did an excellent job transitioning these eight phases, these eight different stories,” De Groft said. “Nothing is arbitrary in those reliefs, in the sculpture. Every little thing means something.”

The Renaissance The statue is intended to represent the beginning of a Monroe

ASHLEY RICHARDSON/ THE FLAT HAT

The new statue is intended to signify the beginning of a Monroe Renaissance.

Renaissance at the College, an idea with origins in the College’s 1974 acquisition of the Ash Lawn-Highland property near Charlottesville, Va. In 1793, Monroe purchased land adjacent to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. The estate would become known as Ash Lawn-Highland, which would be home to the Monroes for twenty-four years, until an indebted Monroe was forced to sell it in 1825.

Former Rector James B. Murray — who spoke on Monroe at the 2015 Charter Day ceremony — noted that it was Ash Lawn-Highland that first sparked his interest in the fifth United States president. While serving on the Board of Visitors, Murray became part of the Monroe Commission along with Caroll Owens and former Rector Jeff Trammell ’73. This group was tasked with assisting the president in making decisions to improve the operations of Ash Lawn-Highland.

“It became readily apparent that really what we should be focusing on is not the place but the man,” Murray said. “William and Mary can claim several United States presidents, but Monroe is the most famous of those who has no affiliation with any other institution. He only went to William and Mary.”

The Monroe Renaissance will incorporate a number of programs and celebrations building up to the 200th anniversary of his presidency in 2017. Murray noted that campaign would seek to expand research opportunities involving Monroe’s papers, work with the College’s history department to expand course offerings on Monroe and potentially even digitize Monroe’s body of written work.

“As we discussed Monroe and we read more about him, we began to realize that he really was one of the great American presidents,” Murray said. “He wasn’t a great writer like Jefferson. He wasn’t a great orator. But he was a fantastic leader of men and a remarkable international figure … The College has missed [an] opportunity. Virginia and the world have missed an opportunity to focus on Monroe the man and his contributions to building the country.”

The Reaction Tiffany Broadbent Beker, a social media coordinator with the College’s Creative Services office, said that there is no plan to set up any sort of social media account for the Monroe statue. She said that she did reach out to the statue of Lord Botetourt’s account for a statement.

“We welcome Mr. Monroe to the College. By ‘we,’ I mean the corporate body of campus statuary,” Botetourt said in an email. “Well, to be candid, young Mr. Jefferson’s nose was a bit out of joint at first, and we endured some muttering about the size and detail of the Monroe plinth and the new statue’s depiction of Monroe as president, as compared to the student Jefferson. But after Rev. Blair cuffed the whelp about the ears a bit, that discontent was ended, and young Jefferson now joins us all in making the fifth President welcome. Isn’t that right, Thomas?”

Other reactions to the statue were less positive. A faculty member who wished to remain anonymous noted that the statue is another prominent monument to a slave owner on campus.

“But here’s the rub: The statue has also prompted me to revisit the hazy histories of Monroe’s governance that linger beneath the bronze veneer,” the faculty member said in an email. “The statue has offered the starting point to productive conversations in and outside of the classroom, and to my students writing essays and making art. So, these are things I will think about when I pass (him) by.”

Lemon Project Director Professor Jody Allen said that she hopes that the statue will help spark a conversation about the College’s legacy on slavery. The Lemon Project is working on a fledgling project to establish a memorial to commemorate African Americans at the College, focusing on an era stretching from slavery to Jim Crow.

“What I’m hoping is that actually the statue will be of some assistance to us, in terms of being able to say that we have recognized our alumni who became presidents of the United States who were also slaveholders and now it’s time for us to remember the enslaved people who made their lives here at the College possible,” Allen said. “The people who fetched firewood and water and cleaned their rooms … we can’t tell part of the story, we have to tell the whole story. Hopefully, people will

be as welcoming of a memorial to the enslaved as they are to these other monuments.”

Legum Professor of History Scott Nelson said that Monroe was a complex and sometimes controversial figure. He noted his energetic and stabilizing presence during the War of 1812, while also highlighting his decision to execute slaves during Gabriel’s Rebellion in Richmond in 1800.

“While he’s a student here, he breaks into the governor’s palace and takes weapons on behalf of the revolutionaries,” Nelson said. “He’s a controversial character, certainly… I’m less impressed with Jefferson and Washington than I am with Monroe. I just think he’s more interesting.”

Nelson said that he heard that the statue was especially controversial in the English department, as it is situated right outside Tucker Hall.

Nonetheless, he said that he welcomed the sculpture, noting that Monroe’s presence has the potential to spark meaningful conversations about the nation’s origins.

“I’d sooner have a revolutionary on a pedestal than not,” Nelson said. “He’s someone that takes a lot of risks on behalf of the revolution against Britain. You could start to have a real conversation about what the country is about, whereas you get a lot of clichés when you talk about Washington and Jefferson. If you want to talk about what the country is and what its problems are, you can start by talking about Monroe.”

COURTESY PHOTO / GORDON KRAY

Kray said that Monroe’s likeness was hard to capture due to his “complicated” face.

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Page 4

The Flat Hat

Friday, May 1, 2015

CAMPUS EVENTS

No H8 campaign holds open photo shoot on campus Approximately 150 participate in shoot, symbolizing silence of individuals through discrimination MEILAN SOLLY FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER

The NOH8 campaign held an open photoshoot at the College of William and Mary’s Sadler Center April 25.

Founded in 2008, NOH8 was created as a form of photographic protest in the wake of the Proposition 8 ballot initiative that illegalized same-sex marriage in California.

“It’s just a way to show support for LGBT individuals and other allies,” Tyler Brent ’15, one of the event organizers, said. “[NOH8’s supporters include] people from all walks of life — celebrities, actors, NFL players, politicians, activists and advocates alike.”

During the shoot, around Brent 150 participants took photos while wearing white t-shirts, temporary tattoos bearing the words “NOH8” and a piece of duct

tape covering their mouths.

These elements symbolize how different people, particularly LGBTQ individuals, are silenced through discrimination.

An additional aspect of the photoshoot was a Q&A session with Spencer Perry, whose mothers were the lead plaintiffs in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the 2010 case that legalized same-sex marriage in California and overruled Proposition 8.

During his speech, Perry discussed the importance of LGBTQ rights beyond marriage equality.

“LGBTQ people are more likely to kill themselves, more at risk of rape and more likely to be killed by hate crimes than any other demographic,” Perry said. “So, why fight? Each and every one of those statistics is validated when your government says the majority gets this, but the minority doesn’t because it makes the majority uncomfortable. Because you’re different, because there are less of you, marriage is a straight thing.

The fight for equal rights doesn’t end with ‘I do.’ It’s lives that we’re fighting for.”

Brent began planning for the event in November 2013, when he attended a NOH8 photoshoot held at Old Dominion University. He asked NOH8 representatives about holding a similar photoshoot at the College, but he did not receive a response until summer 2014.

In September 2014, Brent, a Student Assembly senator, wrote a bill to allocate funding for bringing NOH8 to campus as a diversity initiative.

Although the photoshoot took several years to plan, Brent said he thought the timing worked out well, as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding same-sex marriage only three days after NOH8’s visit.

The day of the event, members of the community including College President Taylor Reveley, Vice President of Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06, athletes, students involved in Greek life and professors all came out to show their support.

Michelle Tansey ’16, who worked with Brent to plan for the event, said the event also drew numerous out-of-state participants.

“I saw so many people from miles around, who

aren’t students, come out and proudly hold their partner’s hand in our student center to spread a message of love and courage to others,” she said in an email. “They told me stories of taking off work or staying in the Friday night before so they could drive here and support this event. One couple postponed seeing their daughter who lives far away so that they could come and hear Spencer talk and take their photo. Events on campus get hundreds of ‘likes’ on Facebook and people to attend their events, but it’s so vital for students to interact with our surrounding community like the photo shoot enabled us to do.”

Brent said he hoped the event highlighted the large number of students at the College who are supportive of LGBTQ individuals.

“I think the awareness of having an event like this that’s very pro-LGBT students is good to just show how the College is changing in many different ways, in positive ways,” he said, “and I’m hoping that when students are looking to come to the College or they’re deciding on universities they’ll be able to see this as just one [more positive] thing.”

21 executive nominees confirmed, 2 nominations tabled until next year SENATE from page 1

As a result of this hesitation, the nominations for Nicholas Cardozo ’17, for a position on the election commission, and Emilee Hunt ’18, for a position on the Review Board, were tabled until the next senate meeting.

Sen. Peter Quinn-Jacobs M.A. ’18 J.D. ’18 and Sen. Tyler Brent ’15, sponsors of the Non-Discrimination in the Workforce Resolution, withdrew the resolution after senator discussion.

Although the policy and public affairs committees gave the resolution positive reviews, both committees had some reservations.

“The bill was not specific enough,” Sen. James Walker ’15 said. “Maybe with some workshopping it could have

more teeth and more specificity. I know in [the] public affairs [committee] one of our main concerns was that these types of communications generally go through the executive department. This is not usually what the senate does.”

In place of the resolution, the executive branch may release a statement in support of William and Larry’s initiative and offer its assistance in discussions with the Williamsburg City Council.

The senate also heard the case of Sen. John Yoest ’17, who missed the first two meetings of the 323rd session.

According to the code, senators who miss three meetings in a semester must provide an explanation for their absences on the senate floor.

Yoest stated his absences were the

result of his commitment to the College’s baseball team but promised to improve his attendance and involvement next semester.

“In the fall semester, my NCAAmandated one off-day per week should align with the senate meetings,” Yoest said.

Senators voiced their belief that Yoest should be able to fulfill his duties as a senator by attending Sunday committee meetings and communicating with other senators. They proposed revisiting the proxy system for his unavoidable absences.

The proxy system would allow Yoest to appoint another person to attend meetings in his place and to vote on his behalf. Currently, the proxy system only exists for graduate senators.

MORGAN MELLAS / THE FLAT HAT

Twenty-two out of twenty-four nominees were confirmed by the SA Senate during their meeting.

EXECUTIVE CABINET NOMINEES CONFIRMED Secretary of Outreach Daniel Rice ‘16

Secretary of College Policy and Student Rights Kacie Rettig ‘16

Transportation Secretary of Lorraine Pettit ‘18

Secretary of Public Affairs Jakob Stalnaker ‘16

Secretary of Diversity Initiatives Meronne Teklu ‘17

Secretary of Academic Affairs Shannon Caietti ‘17

Director of Public Affairs to Williamsburg Jimmy Zhang ‘16

Secretary of Student Life Alina Lam ‘16

Member of the Review Board Dan Sutherland ‘16

TABLED Election Commission Member Nicholas Cardozo ‘17

Undersecretary of Public Affairs to Richmond Hannah McKiernan ‘17

Election Commission Member Laura Stern ‘17

Undersecretary of Public Affairs to Washington, D.C. Weston Coward ‘16

Secretary of Health and Safety ZaKiya Massie ‘16

Member of the Review Board Michael Lopez ‘18

Undersecretary of Voter Registration Sahil Mehrota ‘18

Chair of the Review Board Keaun Barrett ‘16

Member of the Review Board Emma Douglas ‘16

Undersecretary of Public to the Board of Visitors Ryan Goss ‘16

Secretary of Finance James Shaw ‘18

Chair of the Election Commission Kyle McCauley ‘16

Member of the Review Board Matthew Schliep ‘16 Member of the Review Board Emilee Hunt ‘16

opinions

Opinions Editor Isabel Larroca Assoc. Opinions Editor Annie Sadler fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat

The Flat Hat | Friday, May 1, 2015 | Page 5

STAFF EDITORIAL

A semester retrospective

W

GRAPHIC BY BRIAN KAO / THE FLAT HAT

To professors and students: accept our limits meaningful request without a hint of consideration or even offering to meet with the student to discuss an alternative solution.

On the other hand, part of me was relatively unsurprised. While I have generally enjoyed my interactions with my professors during my time at the College, I have witnessed several instances in which friends and classmates have struggled to convey their difficulties to their professors. When faced with an illness or injury that requires more recovery time than the three unexcused absences that many syllabi permit, an unfortunate number of students are forced to FLAT HAT ONLINE EDITOR passively accept a lowered or even failing grade in a course.

It has come to the attention of many in the community, including It’s easy to say that everybody processes grief and loss in their own the College’s Provost Michael Halleran that healing cannot take way. Yet, it has become apparent that the grief of others is something place if the educators, who have such a large hand in the lives of that can often be too easily overlooked. students, fail to support them both in and out of the classroom.

The suicide that took place on campus this semester affected Halleran called upon the faculty to “provide reasonable flexibility” members of the College of William and Mary community in many when accommodating students throughout the academic year, different ways. Throughout that week, students and particularly during difficult times such as these. alumni expressed their sadness as well as offered I applaud Provost Halleran for not only being aware thoughts, prayers, kind actions and even free hugs of the conversations that are sparking on social media across campus and social media alike. At the same and permeating throughout campus, but for using time, the College’s mental health resources for his authority to directly address faculty members.

Oftentimes, students have been called into question as we all our time as college students and as we taking your foot Throughout consider why this tragic event took place and how to go on to careers post-graduation, we, as William and off the pedal prevent it from happening again.

Mary students will achieve great things in our chosen A widely circulated email shared on the Facebook fields. We will prove our worth and dedication and we allows for the page, Overheard at William and Mary, detailed a will make ourselves, and those we care about, proud. time that is student’s request for an extension on an exam from However, it is important to remember that we are her professor. Despite her explanation of how this necessary to take only human. We are not capable of achieving every week’s tragic events have left her “in inconsolable that we set our minds to or reaching them on a look around, get goal pieces,” the student, whose name and email address the first try. With that said, as we begin to define along with those of her professor have been redacted, your bearings and ourselves, our values and work ethics, we need our was met with a simple and painfully unsympathetic mentors and advisers to help and allow us plot a new course. professors, response reading: “I am very sorry for your grief. to understand that forward is not the only direction.

However, I will not excuse you from tomorrow’s exam.”

Oftentimes, taking your foot off the pedal allows for the time that is When I first read this email I was split in my reaction. At first, I necessary to take a look around, get your bearings and plot a new was shocked at this entirely unfeeling response. No part of me could course. If that means taking an extra day or two to write a paper or even begin to imagine what it must have felt like to realize that a study for an exam in order to produce your best work, it’s in our professor, somebody with whom students should feel comfortable professors’ best interest to allow that time. sharing their ambitions, fears and sorrows, would refuse such a Email Kayla Sharpe at knsharpe@email.wm.edu.

Kayla Sharpe

“

GUEST COLUMN

Finding meaning, surprisingly, in education

Christina Haleas

FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNIST

Since middle school, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life: I wanted to be a clinical psychologist. When I enrolled at the College of William and Mary that was the plan. But the summer after my sophomore year, I accepted an internship at an elementary school in the North Lawndale neighborhood in my hometown of Chicago. It was there that a different life plan began to take shape.

The school where I interned was just three miles from my high school, but they often felt worlds apart. At the high school in the North Lawndale neighborhood, the average ACT score was 16.7. At my private Jesuit college preparatory school, it was twice that. My classmates growing up never worried about whether they would have enough healthy food to eat when they

went home that night. Meanwhile at my internship, one of my kindergarteners asked me what a carrot was because he didn’t have fresh vegetables at home.

But this same student proudly told me all about his dream to go to an elite Chicago public high school. As I looked around me, it wasn’t hard to see where he was getting his resolve and ambition from. The school was filled with dedicated, inspirational, hard-working individuals, all determined to help our kids reach their goals despite the odds they faced.

Every single task I was assigned, whether it was ordering nap mats or supervising gym class, was meaningful. I could see how even these routine jobs were part of a larger, dedicated effort to help every kid in the school access the opportunities they deserved.

After that internship, I knew education was where I wanted to be. So I applied early action for Teach for America, a program through which I will make a commitment to teach in the country’s highest need public schools. After my initial two years, I will continue teaching or possibly become a principal — wherever I can be most effective in making sure kids have the resources, access and support they need to

be successful.

I decided to become a Teach for America corps member because I believe deeply in the promise of education to help all kids reach their full potential, regardless of the numbers in their zip code or their parents’ paychecks. Delivering on that promise will take major, substantive work from dedicated leaders all across the country. Indeed, events like the shooting and protests in Ferguson remind us of the persistent inequality in our nation and how far we have to go to change it. But when I step in the classroom, I will give all of my physical and emotional energy to my students in the hopes of using the talents and privileges I was given to make a difference.

I will be pushed harder than I have ever been, and this will be the most challenging and humbling experience of my life. But I strongly believe it is our duty as educated leaders to use what we have to become a part of something meaningful and so much bigger than ourselves.

Christina Haleas is a senior studying psychology. She will be a 2015 Teach For America-Saint Louis corps member.

Email Christina Haleas at cthaleas@email. wm.edu.

ith summer break nearly here, it’s time that we sum up the semester with The Flat Hat’s rendition of the good, the bad and the ugly First, we give a thumbs-up to the Global Film Festival’s showing of The Hunting Ground for continuing an important dialogue on sexual assault and rape culture with a new and creative initiative.

We commend the Student Assembly for dissolving the Undergraduate Council in a move that adds meaning and clarity to the organization.

The College of William and Mary’s athletics programs deserve recognition for the five Colonial Athletic Association titles granted to men’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s cross-country, as well as Marcus Thornton ’15 for his all-time leading scoring record.

Gwen Ifill, the 2015 Hunter B. Andrews Distinguished Fellow in American Politics, spoke to students regarding the media, sharing meaningful experience and valuable insight for students in the field.

Colonial Williamsburg held its annual Sheep Week, which was a great opportunity for the community to make some new wooly friends.

And the last thumbs up goes to the College’s Police Department for returning an unnecessary stock of military-grade M16 rifles. Our first thumbs-down goes to the Department for having them without providing training for the officers on how to use them.

A thumbs-down to the administration’s response to Health Outreach Peer Educator’s drafted open letter regarding the handling of sexual assault on campus.

Concerns have arisen about the administration’s handling of actual offenses given its response to a letter.

Additionally, the College’s handling of Freedom of Information Act email requests showed a clear misunderstanding of student journalists’ rights to documents under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Another thumbs-down to the Student Assembly for proposing a poorly-researched bias reporting system that lacked a clear understanding of the problems with anonymous reporting.

SA elections highlighted poor outreach, with the class of 2017 not being able to attract enough candidates to fill positions, as well as a dismal voter turnout of 28 percent.

The College also poorly handled reports of moldy living conditions instead of directly addressing the dangers immediately and effectively.

Finally, racism was an ill-addressed topic on campus this semester. Controversial responses to the “die-in” in recognition of police brutality against the African American community as well as the allegedly racist parties held by some organizations were not enough to begin an honest dialogue about a very real problem.

After a semester chock-full of important and often controversial events, it’s important to reflect in order to continue these conversations into the coming year.

Have a wonderful summer, and stay engaged.

The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Flat Hat. The editorial board, which is elected by The Flat Hat’s section editors and executive staff, consists of Madeline Bielski, Áine Cain, Matt Camarda, Tucker Higgins and Kat Turk. Madeline Bielski recused herself from discussions on SA. Tucker Higgins recused himself from discussions about the HOPE article. Kaitlan Shaub recused herself from discussions about mold. The Flat Hat welcomes submissions to the Opinions section. Limit letters to 250 words and columns to 650 words. Letters, columns, graphics and cartoons reflect the view of the author only. Email submissions to fhopinions@gmail.com.

STREET BEAT

?

What do you think of the new statue of James Monroe?

“I’m not impressed by it.

In my head, I’d rather they allocate the money to more things that benefit the community.”

Alberta Kallon ’16

“It’s really bizarre that it’s in the middle [of the path], but I guess they want to draw attentiont to it.”

Nathan Chien ’16

“It’s kind of useless. I’ll probably walk into it forgetting it’s there.”

Caroline Mooney ’17

­— PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS BY ANNIE SADLER

Page 6

The Flat Hat

Friday, May 1, 2015

All for one, HAT LYDIA HOUSE / THE FLAT

one for all

Fencing club’s longstanding traditions, and family atmosphere, create strong bonds LYDIA HOUSE THE FLAT HAT

Last semester, the College of William and Mary’s fencing club consisted of 40 people in a living room. The item of discussion was goals for the next year — winning the Virginia Cup. This April the team met that goal.

According to co-captain Michael del Toral ’15, the fencing team has faced its fair share of challenges. The team spends three hours a day, five days a week in training for the cup. This year’s win on April 4 and 5 marked the 11th consecutive victory for the team.

“

You really start to feel like a member of the team.

— Eric Alpert ‘18

Matches last only a few short minutes, and are highly technical.

The sport uses three main weapons for various purposes. The saber is instinct-based, whereas the epee is a more tactical weapon. The foil is the most precise of the three.

“Certain weapons attract certain types of people,” del Toral said.

Member Kamran Rahman ’17 said the sport has an intensely mental quality to it, requiring both skill and focus.

“The sport is a lot different than what I did in high school,” Rahman said. “It’s a more mental game than what I’ve experienced before.”

The club was founded in 1924, making it one of the oldest on campus. According to del Toral, the club has grown significantly in the past couple of years, now totaling 57 members.

Club member Eric Alpert ’18 said the new members are good additions to the club.

“We also get a weird mix of personalities,” Alpert said. “It doesn’t take a certain kind of personality to be a fencer.”

According to Alpert, the fencing team has a wide variety of eclectic traditions, such as Freshman Day. After about a month of practices, freshmen go running around campus and back. After practice, team members will sit with the upperclassmen and tell stories from the last 15 to 20 years about their favorite moments in

fencing and give advice to the freshmen.

“You really start to feel like a member of this team. [Freshman Day] is the point where I have proven that I can commit and I’m going to keep going with it.” Alpert said.

Among the stories told are those about former Coach Pete Conomikes. In 1996, the same year the team won the prestigious National Conference, the fencing team lost their varsity status, meaning the College would no longer fund coaching for the team.

However, Conomikes decided to retire and stay on as coach, allowing the team to remain competitive. Unfortunately, in 2007 Conomikes died in a car crash.

The last person on the team who fenced under Conomikes graduated four years ago, but del Toral said Conomikes is very much alive in club memory.

“After his death, we did have some difficulty maintaining that level,” del Toral said.

According to del Toral, the club remains optimistic that their

varsity status will return, but the loss has not hindered the growth or success of the team.

The women’s squad was founded only five years ago, but has had a successful season. They placed first in the Southern Atlantic Conference and in the top 16 in the national conference.

Because the team does not have varsity status, members used a GoFundMe campaign to raise the funds needed. This year’s funding went towards private lessons and equipment in preparation for the Virginia Cup. Club member Connor Symons ’17 joined the team his freshman year and said he is glad he found his place in this group of people that truly functions as a family.

“We don’t just practice and compete together, we eat together, we spend time together, and we truly care about one another,” Symons said. “I may have joined fencing as a continuation of what I did before college, but I stayed for the fantastic group of people I’m proud to call my team.”

LYDIA HOUSE / THE FLAT HAT

Fencing requires both mental and physical training. The sport uses three separate weapons — the saber, epee, and the foil — for different strategies and maneuvers.

Taste

Listen

The Taste Studio will be hosting a walking tour of the Kings Arms and Wythe House historic gardens and a tasting of dishes prepared by Colonial Williamsburg Executive Chef Rhys Lewis. The event is called “The Beauty of Basil” and as such, the dishes will feature creative uses of the herb. The cost is $33.50 and the event will take place at 10 a.m. on May 2.

At 8:30 a.m. on May 8, N1Health Vice President and Certified Nutritionist Michele Drielick will be presenting in Tidewater A/B in the Sadler Center. Her presentation is called “Eat for Health” and will focus on eating a balanced diet, personal nutrition and how to improve overall wellness through food choices.

The College of William and Mary’s music ensembles will hold their spring concerts this weekend. The Wind Ensemble, directed

by Dr. Paul Bhasin, will be performing in Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. The program features music from the College’s 2015 Artist-in-Residence Kareem Roustom as well as composers Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and Roger Nixon. The concert will be a preview of the ensemble’s tour of China and admission will be free to students.

The William and Mary Choir, Botetourt Chamber Singers and Women’s Chorus will be performing in Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. The program includes a variety of music, originating from the early Catholic Church to Appalachian folk music. Tickets cost $3 for students.

Remember

Learn

At 11:30 a.m. on May 2 and 4:00 p.m. on May 5, the Hennage Auditorium will be hosting an event entitled “Why Aren’t They Smiling? A New Look at Civil War Photographs.” There is no ticket required for this event. Atendees can examine unusual and intriguing wartime photographs and learn about the myths surrounding them.

Have you ever wanted to learn to spin wool like they did in the old days? The Secretary’s Office in Colonial Williamsburg will be hosting a drop spindle spinning class at 5:30 p.m. on May 4, 6, 11, 13, 18 and 20. The cost is $25 and all supplies will be provided, including a drop spindle that participants can keep.

Great Hopes Plantation will be hosting an event called “African American Music” at 7 and 8:30 p.m. on May 1, May 8 and May 15.

It will feature the diverse rhythms, songs and dances traditional to African American colonial plantation life. This interactive walk through the plantation will cost $18.

At 7 and 8:30 p.m. on May 6, May 13 and May 20, the courthouse in Colonial Williamsburg will be hosting an interactive event called “Papa Said, Mama Said.” The cost is $18. The show brings to life the oral traditions passed down throughout African American history.

COURTESY PHOTO / PIXABAY

Watch

COURTESY PHOTO / WIKIMEDIA

The Kimball Theatre will show “Match,” a film adaptation of a Tony Award-nominated play. The film stars Patrick Stewart as an eccentric Manhattan ballet instructor with a secret, and is rated R. The cost is $8 per person, and the film will be shown at 4:30 and 6:15 on May 1 and 6:30 and 8:15 on May 2.

“What We Do in the Shadows,” a film about four vampire roommates and their shenanigans and misadventures caused by living on their ‘strict diet’ in the modern world, will be shown at 4:45 on May 1 and 3, at 6:30 on May 1 and 3, and at 6:45 and 8:30 on May 2. The cost is $8.

COURTESY PHOTO / WIKIMEDIA

variety

Variety Editor Emily Chaumont Variety Editor Sarah Ruiz flathat.variety@gmail.com // @theflathat

The Flat Hat

| Friday, May 1, 2015 | Page 7

Just folking around COURTESY PHOTO / OJAI STORY FEST

McCutcheon, one of the most prominent folk musicians today, is quite well known in folk music circles. He has been playing a variety of instruments such as the banjo, guitar and hammered dulcimer for over 40 years.

Folk musician John McCutcheon performed at the Williamsburg Library LYDIA HOUSE THE FLAT HAT

Last Sunday, April 26, John McCutcheon played for a full audience of Williamsburg residents and a few students from the College of William and Mary at the Williamsburg Regional Library. “[The library hosts] all kinds of stuff, from plays, to concerts, to juggling acts,” Williamsburg Regional Library Services Assistant Micah Lewis said. “We might be looking into bringing in more students from William and Mary. Most of what we get is from local people who know the groups.”

McCutcheon walked onto the stage and wordlessly began playing the banjo. His fingers flew across the instrument as his foot tapped along. McCutcheon used several instruments throughout the show, including the hammered dulcimer, a key component of folk music.

Members of the audience were enthusiastic about his performance.

“The concert was fun, [and] he has a great presence,” Peter Ronson ’15 said.

McCutcheon is arguably one of the most prominent folk musicians today, and he is quite well known in folk music circles. He has been playing instruments such as the banjo, guitar and hammered dulcimer for over 40 years.

COURTESY PHOTO / YOUTUBE

While in college, McCutcheon petitioned one of his professors to let him spend months in Appalachia to gain in folk music.

“

Find your passion. Don’t let anything stand in your way. You are young. Now is the time to fail.

— John McCutcheon

“The most interesting thing I found was not how to play music, but the why of playing music, how music fit into communities, the role it played,” McCutcheon said.

Several of McCutcheon’s songs have strong political undertones. His most recent album, “Joe Hill’s Last Will,” is composed of covers of songs written over a century ago.

McCutcheon has also written eight children’s records, and he played several children’s songs over the course of the evening. He began writing them as a response to children’s albums he found inadequate.

“At that time, I found [other children’s albums] condescending and unmusical,” he said.

McCutcheon spent more money than he had ever previously spent on a record, collaborating with the people he saw as the best musicians in order to create a revolutionary children’s album.

According to McCutcheon, in many ways, folk music is about bridging the gap between generations and telling a story that spans centuries.

“Folk music is the oldest music in the world,” McCutcheon said.

McCutcheon said that while he was in college, he wanted to reject all preconceived notions of music and forge his own path.

“I had to learn to pay attention,” he said. “That’s the job of the artist. You are paying attention to the world around you. It’s how you join those two things together. It’s how you bring the inside outside, and that’s how you make art.”

McCutcheon said he was lucky enough to find his passion early, and that finding your passion is all about finding the core of the issue, which he calls your wellspring.

While in college, McCutcheon petitioned one of his professors to let him spend several months in Appalachia in order to gain firsthand experience in folk music. He was searching for his wellspring.

“You need to start off with that kind of open mind. Let the evidence take you where it leads, rather than you steer it to simply validate your preconceived notions,” he said.

McCutcheon offered words of encouragement to the students in attendance.

“Find your passion,” he said. “Don’t let anything stand in your way. You are young. Now is the time to fail. I was 20 years old, I had no responsibilities other than to learn. That’s the job of the college student. If I fell on my ass, if I was a failure, who cared? I’ve got a whole life ahead of me.”

CONFUSION CORNER

Leaving a ‘blank space, baby’ for your employer Graduating unemployed can be scary but it can also be an opportunity to make life yours

Zoe Johnson

CONFUSION CORNER COLUMNIST

When Taylor Swift penned “Blank Space,” the 2014 anthem for the crazy teenage girl inside of us all, she gave us this now infamous line: “I’ve got a blank space, baby, and I’ll write your name.”

Some have suggested that this “blank space” Swift refers to is more of a figurative concept because she cannot physically write the name of a future sugar daddy on her heart. That’s a fair assessment, but I would venture to say that Swift is, as always, speaking to her generation and referring to the literal blank space on the schedule of millions of unemployed college graduates. For graduates of the College of William and Mary, that blank space is May 18, 2015 (and the rest of our lives?), and it is coming in roughly two weeks. Employers, if you’re out there, look no further than the

unemployed graduates of the College’s class of 2015. We’ve got a blank space, baby, and we’ll write your name, do your laundry, get your car, whatever you want, okay?

It’s an interesting thing, graduating from the College without a single plan set in place. I, like most people, define myself based on what I am doing in that exact moment. I’m a student from Sunday through Thursday, Beyoncé from Friday through Saturday, and an intern or just sleeping at other various points throughout the year. How can someone define him or herself without any basis? Essentially, who even am I without 1,000+ things to do every day? Well, I’m glad you asked.

I am not quite sure yet, and that is the benefit of my upcoming unemployment. I’m not Zoe the underpaid, overworked newbie at [insert illustrious company]. I am Zoe, and that’s about it. Instead of worrying about Excel spreadsheets, in three weeks I’ll worry about whether I should sleep until noon and which job I should apply to that day. Although unemployed, my options are still very much open. Unemployment can be a new beginning.

Additionally — and I may not have the facts to back this up — I would make an educated and hopeful guess that the competition for entry

level jobs is about to get low like Lil’ Jon and the Eastside Boyz. Thank you to everyone who is officially employed, because you are making room for everyone else. Some may say that you all have already taken every desirable position, but that argument is resentful and shortsighted.

Consider the employers’ positon instead. There are employers who are equally as late to the hiring game as those of us without jobs. Now, their boss is hounding them to fill those empty positions, and their stress is building up. At this point, they are ready to hire just about anyone. This is quite lucky for us because we aren’t just anyone — we are graduates of the College of William and Mary.

We’ll come in as position fillers and then impress the socks right off of our bosses once they realize we can actually do the work as well. I’m not worried because I know some recruiter is out there desperately looking for love in all the wrong places, and I will swoop in at the right time and get the guy — I mean the job. Freudian slip.

This past year, most of my conversations on campus have started with “Do you know what you’re going to do next year?” or “Do you have plans yet?” making it seem like my value is determined by a job. I’m guilty of asking those questions too, of course, but mainly because

I’m nosy. I’m tired of feeling like the measure of success for my undergraduate career is what I plan to do next. With this mindset, we easily forget just how difficult it is to get a diploma, especially from the College.

We didn’t just hang around for four years, we worked really *expletive* hard, and earning that piece of paper means more to me than anything.

Of course, we must consider how we will put our diplomas to use, but we should also reflect and admire ourselves for this big achievement.

I’m not trying to suggest that unemployment is cool because like, “Yeah bro, forget the man.” Not at all. I recognize that prolonged unemployment is stressful, often detrimental and that people have bills to pay. I have student loans and expensive taste, okay? I completely get it. What I’m saying is to consider Taylor Swift and think of unemployment as your personal blank space.

Now that you’re finished with school, it’s time to fill that blank space any way you’d like with your degree in hand. After all, if you graduate from the College without a job, you still graduated, and that matters. Congratulations, class of 2015. We did it.

Zoe Johnson is a Confusion Corner columnist who is underpaid but not overworked.

sports

Sports Editor Nick Cipolla Sports Editor Sumner Higginbotham flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports

The Flat Hat | Friday, May 1, 2015 | Page 8

Looking ahead

NICK CIPOLLA AND SUMNER HIGGINBOTHAM // FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITORS

COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS

Renovations of Kaplan Arena are mentioned in the plan, however, Tribe Athletics considers it a low priority as Athletics Director Terry Driscoll mentioned that facilities management estimated another 25 years of useful life for the building.

Tribe Athletics issues Committee on Competitive Excellence Report outlining new plans, objectives As the 2014-15 year winds down to a close, Tribe Athletics has been working to define proposals and goals for the next five years. April 7, it released its Report of the Committee on Competitive Excellence, a 31-page document on current and future objectives of William and Mary athletics.

College President Taylor Reveley requested the report, and Athletics Director Terry Driscoll spearheaded the committee as its co-chair over the past several months.

“An appraisal was needed of what it would take to provide our program with resources consistent with those of other programs in the Colonial Athletic Association, as well as resources conducive to a higher level of competitive excellence than we now enjoy,” Reveley wrote in the report’s opening statement.

The April 2015 report builds upon the 2006 evaluation of the role of athletics at the College entitled “The Game Reclaimed: Athletics at William & Mary.”

That document, in light of the Tribe leading student-athlete graduation rates among public universities in the United States, pronounced that the College established a healthy balance between its athletic programs and academic pursuits.

The report begins by stating Tribe Athletics’ new overarching goal: “A championship experience for every student athlete and every fan.”

“The intent of the plan was to state what we are trying to achieve, to recognize some strategic initiatives that would be important if we want to get to these aspirational goals,” Driscoll said. “It would be an operational tool for us because

now we can go to former students and players and say, ‘For your program, here’s what we need for championship-level [competition]’.”

The proposal aims to keep student athletic fees constant. Virginia law prevents tuition funds from being used for athletics at public universities.

Proposals set forth by the plan include an initiative to maximize athletic scholarships, as the Tribe currently only uses 85 percent of the total number of allowed scholarships by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The main issue in awarding scholarships is a lack of financial resources. Alumni donate to the William and Mary Foundation, the College’s endowment fund program; many alumni choose to allocate their donations to athletics, with upwards of 90 percent of those specific donations already marked for providing scholarships to certain teams. The Foundation can only account for so many athletes, which is why the Tribe can’t fully support all of its student-athletes with scholarships.

“If we could have anything here, it would be the ability to endow scholarships, because as you know, tuition and costs go up every year and are going up at a fairly rapid pace” Driscoll said. “If you look at JMU, Virginia Tech, U. Va, they have the maximum number of scholarships for every sport.”

As the Tribe features 23 sports, more than any other member of the CAA, Driscoll conceded that reaching full utilization of the scholarship allowance might be difficult.

Increasing scholarships lies in the

report’s section on operational necessities.

As the report’s mission statement clarifies, the fan base of Tribe sports plays a crucial role in the strategic goals and receives its own section within the future plans, calling for improved game day experiences. This is part of a larger Tribe Athletics idea for the so-called Championship Experience.

Championship Experience is a blanket term used to describe increased scholarships, operating budgets and staffing in the program. While the scholarship plans have already been mentioned, the operating budgets and staffing are also significant. Currently, zero dollars are allocated to those funds.

By fiscal year 2020, $3 million per year is proposed for spending on operations and staff of $8.1 million total projected resources for Championship Experience.

The increased financial resources are tied to growth expectations in alumni donations.

Operating budgets include equipment, travel and games. In games, much of the money will be put into marketing in order to bring in more fans from the student body and local population and keep those fans entertained during events.

“We haven’t been able to invest much into marketing,” Driscoll said. “[The funds] would be everything from marketing to … having events that would draw fans out and make it a more fun experience.

Unfortunately, athletic events have to be entertaining to people. Even when the ball isn’t bouncing, people want to be entertained. It’s a large number and would be divided out over the different sports.”

Looking at examples such as the men’s

basketball Gold Rush game Jan. 24, Tribe Athletics plans to move forward with increased promotions to amplify the size of the fan base and create an identity for the College as a school that supports athletics.

These promotional funds are required to be spent in a gender-equitable manner across sports programs in accordance with Title IX. “We don’t have a secret [to increase student attendance], but it’s the hope that if we can produce more championship experiences, the type of games that kids want to come to, it would be a catalyst for the person who is not a sports fan but wants to be part of this experience of Tribe Pride and the school coming together, and again that falls to us to make those games,” Driscoll said.

While operational necessities are at the forefront of the Tribe’s priorities, the report also details transformational changes to athletic infrastructure and increasing the pool of alumni donors.

Transformational changes to infrastructure include a multi-sport practice facility, a stand-alone swimming facility and renovating Kaplan Arena.

The practice facility would provide ample space in a location to be determined, but likely near Plumeri Park and Albert-Daly Field, as an alternative to having multiple teams compete for space in Kaplan Arena with each other and with other College programs such as concerts or speakers. Currently, five teams with overlapping seasons practice in Kaplan Arena. Sports medicine and academic aid also operate in the complex.

“Not only does [the practice facility]

impact the two basketball programs and volleyball, it would also help men’s and women’s gymnastics,” Driscoll said. “It also would give us a larger sports medicine area and a larger academic support area that every student athlete could use.”

Another transformational component involves increasing alumni donations in order to fund many of the proposed changes. As it stands in the report, the new athletics buildings and renovations would cost in the range of $100 million. 2,100 former Tribe student athletes donated to Tribe Athletics in 2014, and the report shows potential for growth as the program builds up donation prospects.

“For every identified prospective donor, there are 13 potential prospects,” the report states. “More than 10,000 of these potential prospects are currently known.”

Such an ambitious proposal will face many hurdles if it is to be fully implemented. However, tangible changes and developments in areas such as scholarships and marketing are slated to come into effect next year, and upgrades to facilities such as the indoor multisport practice facility are already in the early planning stages.

Though he admits goals set out are both highly varied and formidable, Driscoll said he believes the report is a step in the right direction.

“This is the first time we’ve had a real formal statement laying out what William and Mary athletics is all about and what it’s aspiring to and where we want to go and what we think we need to get there,” Driscoll said.