The Flat Hat February 27, 2018

Vol. 108, Iss. 2 | Tuesday, February 27, 2018

The Flat Hat

FACULTY

The Weekly Student Newspaper

of The College of William and Mary

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PART IV: DISCOVERING DAVID DESSLER

A CULTURE OF SILENCE I

n April At the 2015, the beginning C o l l e g e of October, of William and Dessler’s sister Mary garnered passed away. Over national attention after the following weeks, he experiencing four student cancelled multiple class deaths, including two sessions, citing grief and confirmed suicides, in one the additional stress of his academic year. The Washington ongoing divorce settlement.

Post described the death of Paul Oct. 21, Dessler sent students Soutter ’17 as a “tipping point” for a an email that would have lasting community that had witnessed eight repercussions. In it, he wrote that he student deaths since 2010. Alumna had been hospitalized but would return *NOTE: This is the final installment in a series on former government Cassie Smith-Christmas ’06, whose brother to campus in time for class. professor David Dessler. It explores how Dessler’s story relates to the Ian Smith-Christmas ’11 committed in April “I am very sick, and I believe I do not culture surrounding mental health at the College and provides closing thoughts on the case’s significance.

2010, penned an open letter questioning the look good, because everyone agrees on College’s approach to mental health. that,” Dessler said. “But we finally got the right On campus, the atmosphere was just as diagnosis yesterday; things will be fine in the somber. Students organized mental health initiatives, long term; and things are highly unpredictable and including an April 29, 2015, walk held in honor of Soutter, unpleasant in the short term. Don’t be alarmed.”

Peter Godshall ’15 and Saipriya Rangavajhula ’17. College According to Dessler, the Oct. 21 email was a administrators hosted teaching exercise designed to mimic the perspective of an open conversation on an individual suffering from psychosis. He planned to use suicide prevention. the message in his introduction of implicit assumptions’ role Former government in starting World War I, but due to fatigue and grief, failed to professor David Dessler, thendisclose these intentions. president of the Faculty Assembly, Dessler never made it to the day’s classes. Instead, the William said he observed these events with and Mary Police Department barred him from the classroom. increasing frustration. During the Professor John McGlennon, then-chair of the government department, summer of 2015, he consulted with dismissed students, who did not have a chance to speak with Dessler. local medical professionals regarding the Less than a week later, McGlennon informed students that Dessler was on College’s mental health climate, and by the administrative leave and would be replaced by a new instructor. start of the 2015-16 school year, he had drafted plans for a student-faculty mental Students and parents offered mixed health initiative. reactions to the unusual situation. Some Sept. 11, 2015, Dessler announced the initiative to students in his sections of expressed confusion and sadness over Dessler’s If someone is mentally ill, yo Introduction to International Politics and Theories of the International System. He departure, while others voiced safety concerns u don’t put them in jail. We disclosed his personal struggles with mental illness, including a bout of depression that sparked by their former professor’s cryptic emails. haven’t done that since the led him to take medical leave in spring 2007, but added that he was not ashamed of seeking “I am worried much less about my academics treatment for these issues. The classes’ responses, according to both Dessler and former students, regarding this class than I am about the well-being of a 18th century. was deeply impassioned. professor I had quickly grown fond of,” one student wrote Provost Emeritus “I [asked], ‘Why are you so emotional about this?” Dessler said, “and one student said, ‘You’re in an Oct. 25 email to McGlennon. “...I am disappointed in P. Geoffrey Feiss breaking down walls.’” the lack of transparency we as students have been presented Later that day, several students sent Dessler messages of support. with and I feel that all of the drama surrounding this incident “Depression is something that I have struggled with for a long time,” one wrote in an email. “...It is only serves to perpetuate the stigma surrounding mental health incredible to see that someone as accomplished as you has been in my shoes.” at this school.”

Throughout the fall 2015 semester, Dessler continued promoting frank discussions of mental health.

Oct. 27, a parent contacted McGlennon with “major concerns regarding the safety of his former He made plans for the initiative’s first event — a panel featuring professors speaking about their personal students.” experiences with mental illness, as well as medical professionals offering advice on suicide prevention “I’m sure that Professor Dessler was advised to discontinue all communications with his former — and incorporated psychology principles into his courses. students, yet he continues to write rambling letters,” the parent wrote in an email. “With that said, how Nick Flanagan ’18, a student in Introduction to International Politics, explained that Dessler does the school plan to guarantee the safety of their students and staff? … Unfortunately, far too many occasionally launched into seemingly off-topic stories but always connected his anecdotes back to times people who express or show signs of mental illness and have the propensity to harm themselves mental health or related social science concepts. are ignored until a tragic incident occurs.”

“They would always end very poignantly,” Flanagan said. “I don’t know anyone [else] who can tell a story where I don’t know what’s going [on] and then I feel like I learned something.”

See DESSLER page 3

Former professor, emeritus faculty criticize College’s handling of Dessler’s case, citing isolation from campus community, alleged criminalization of mental illness

MEILAN SOLLY // FLAT HAT SENIOR STAFF WRITER AND SARAH SMITH // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

THE COLLEGE’S MENTAL HEALTH CLIMATE

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Construction projects breathe new life into campus, revitalize old buildings Landrum Hall slated to reopen as plans for Integrated Wellness Center, Fine and Performing Arts Complex take shape SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

As spring weather arrives in Williamsburg and the ground begins to thaw, new and old construction projects begin on campus. While some current projects will not be complete until 2022, others will be open to students as early as the fall 2018 semester, such as Landrum Hall.

The Flat Hat spoke with Director of Facilities, Planning, Design and Construction Jeff Brancheau to get an inside scoop on all of the construction happening on campus, from residence halls to academic buildings and artistic spaces.

Landrum Hall Landrum Hall, a traditionally upperclassman residence hall near Chandler and Barrett Halls, has been unavailable since the end of the spring 2017 semester, when renovation began on the inside of the building. This project involved gutting the majority of the building’s exterior, adding new windows, creating a new entrance on the side of the building facing the Sunken Garden and upgrading all of the rooms to suite-style bathrooms.

Another feature of this $19 million project is the first floor’s common space and a balcony on the

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second and third floors. Each hall will also feature a kitchenette and renovated spaces for studying and socializing. According to Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Maggie Evans, the residence hall will be open to students for the fall 2018 semester and will predominantly be occupied by juniors and seniors.

Integrated Wellness Center The Integrated Wellness Center, another of the College of William and Mary’s ongoing construction projects, has a budget of $19 million as well. Once complete, the building will house existing student health resources such as nutritionists, massage therapists and spaces for peer health educators. The IWC, which once complete will also be known as the McLeod-Tyler Center for Health and Wellness after two of the building’s donors, will also feature new health services such as acupuncture.

According to Associate Vice President for Health and Wellness Kelly Crace, the IWC is one part of the College’s effort to refocus the conversation on health by making it a topic of discussion with a building in a prominent spot on campus, right next to the Sadler Center. Crace said that he hopes the building will spark a new interest in maintaining and celebrating health.

Construction began following Commencement ceremonies in the spring of 2017 and involved

demolishing several of the Lodges, which served as upperclassman housing. Now, Brancheau said construction should be complete before the 2018-19 academic year.

West Utility Plant Another project that has been in the works for several months is the West Utility Plant, which once complete will go on the corner of Ukrop Way next to Adair Hall. Currently, part of the sidewalk on that corner is roped off as early construction begins. This building will add utility capacity, and Brancheau says it will also help the College be more energy efficient, as it will help it redistribute energy across campus.

This project comes with a $30.2 million budget and will have an all-glass exterior, so that students will be able to see the boilers and workers inside when they walk by. Brancheau also said that no major construction will be visible until the end of this semester, but the project is scheduled to be completed

by May 2019.

Fine and Performing Arts Complex The Fine and Performing Arts Complex is the result of Virginia General Assembly funding that allocated money to renovate and expand the College’s current spaces for theater, dance and music. The first part of this project involves renovating the back half of Phi

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See CONSTRUCTION page 4

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More pressing issues exist for Native Americans than revising ‘Tribe’ moniker

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Beta Kappa Memorial Hall that touches Andrews Hall.

The theater and performance spaces in the affected part of PBK will be relocated to existing buildings in the Dillard Complex as well as a new building that is in progress there.

The total budget for this project is $118 million, and it will also involve a new music building that will be connected to PBK via a tunnel. This new music building will be the future home to classes currently offered in Ewell Hall, which one day is set to be demolished according to the Campus Master Plan.

The new complex will also house dance classes and performances currently found in Adair Hall.

While construction is set to begin on the first part in late summer and Brancheau estimates that will take almost a year, construction on the new wing will begin around the same time but will finish in December 2020. While construction on PBK is underway, Andrews Hall will remain fully operational.

Alumni House After donations to this project, design is underway to renovate and extend the Alumni House to offer a new event space that will host up to 400 people and can be divided into separate rooms. The design on this

Vanessa Adkins ’19 says that the College’s usage of “tribe” is not necessarily offensive, but that more should be done to support Native Americans on campus. page 6

Examining the Lemon Project

The College’s ongoing project to uncover its slave-owning history focuses on documenting history. page 7

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News Editor Leonor Grave News Editor Madeline Monroe fhnews@gmail.com | Tuesday, February 27, 2018 | Page 2

THE BUZZ

I can’t do anything about what’s happening in terms of student mental health at the College. It’s been a difficult experience but not without its rewards. I leave concerned about students who have this fundamentally broken system. If that conversation could just get normalized on campus, everything would be great.

— Former College of William and Mary Provost P. Geoffrey Feiss on how former government professor David Dessler’s case was handled

Fiery guitars, fixing up cars

The Flat Hat

John Robison talks rock ‘n’ roll, advocating neurodiversity Page 2 Spotlight

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ALYSSA GRZESIAK // FLAT HAT EXECUTIVE EDITOR

The music of the 1970s was defined by many things, including behavioral tricks he could use to improve his social interactions. electronic instrumental progressive rock, wild on-stage It was these learned mannerisms that led to him writing and performances and speech synthesis. speaking about neurodiversity. Robinson wanted to help For many people, the synthetic sounds that riddle Pink Floyd young people who, like him, could not conceive that people albums, KISS’s fire-blowing guitars and the first videogame might simply see the world as “fundamentally different” from sound effects symbolize this decade. By extension, these people themselves. are thinking about the work of John Elder Robison.

“You know, if you’re not autistic, you might think: well how Robison is the faculty advisory for the student neurodiversity simplistic and how obvious,” Robison said. “You don’t even group as well as the co-chair of the neurodiversity committee think about a thing like that. But if you’re a person who’s failed at the College of William and Mary. As a man living with at social interaction all your life, that’s like getting the keys to Asperger’s syndrome, he uses his personal experiences to lead the castle … it’s transformative.” the neurodiversity movement on campus and serve as the In addition to his mission to advocate for neurodiversity, College’s Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence.

Robison was drawn to Williamsburg for its ancestral ties.

Asperger’s syndrome falls on the higher-functioning end of Rowland Jones, Robison’s ninth grandfather, was the first the autism spectrum and is a form of neurobiological difference. minister to preach at Bruton Parish Church. His eighth One of the defining characteristics of Asperger’s is a lack of social grandfather, Orlando Jones, was an early student and an skills. usher of the grammar school at the College, as well as the “I didn’t have a good sense of the difference between other Williamsburg representative in the House of Burgesses. kids and me,” Robison said. “I believed that I was right and you Robison speculates that his ancestors were also autistic. were wrong, and I was showing you something, and you rejected This lead him to wonder if there is a point in time at which the it. And I had no idea what I did wrong. … I had no concept of world’s views shifted from valuing the differences presented other people having separate in people on the autism thoughts and I had absolutely no spectrum to making them feel idea why they didn’t want to be like less-intelligent outsiders. my friend … I just assumed there This question drove him to the was something wrong with me.” field of education.

Robison experienced trouble in Now, Robison co-teaches school and recalled disagreements three courses in neurodiversity he had with the fundamentals that with history professor Karin were taught and the stringent Wulf, his co-chair of the grading, specifically in math and neurodiversity committee. in English. In English classes, he The College offers a fourdid not appreciate the emphasis credit COLL100 course in the on grammar at the expense of spring, a one-credit elective content. In math classes, he did in the fall and a one-credit not understand why he’d only continuing education course receive credit for a correct answer at the College of William and if he wrote out all his work for a Mary Washington Center problem. during the summer.

When school did not prove to To Robison, one cannot be his strong suit, Robison took decide what to do for a to electronics. population of people without “I had a gift for figuring out how the participation of said people. musical signals were processed This belief is another reason he by electronic devices,” Robison started writing and speaking said. “It wasn’t actually that I was on behalf of the neurologically born with that, it was that I spent diverse community. thousands of hours taking things “We’re different, and the — Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence John apart and putting them together. world needs different,” Robison First I destroyed things, radios and said. “Because there will be Robison TVs, and then I could fix them, and times when the other 90 percent then I could build them.” of the world tries to solve a His competence with electronics and his innovative ideas are what problem and they can’t do it. And because we think differently, opened the door to the world of music for Robison. He worked as an we see the answer just like that. And maybe most of the rest of engineer for both Pink Floyd and KISS in the late ’70s to early ’80s. the time we’re disabled and we say funny things and we don’t When KISS asked if he could make a guitar blow fire, Robison did know what to do, but if we can solve that problem one time out not hesitate. of 10 when nobody else can, the world needs us.”

“I had been told I was such a loser and to see that, it was The William and Mary Neurodiversity Student Group, led by really cool,” Robison said. “I think that’s probably the high co-presidents Chloe How ’20 and Alanna Van Valkenburgh ’20, point of touring for me.” meets Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the third-floor lobby of Blow Despite his success in the music and electronic industries, Memorial Hall.

Robison quit because he feared he was not good enough. He The group believes in the neurodiversity paradigm, which opened his own car repair business and built up a reputation advocates that neurological differences increase human for himself by getting to know his customers. diversity and should be both accepted and appreciated. It One day, one of his regulars who was a therapist came in serves as a non-judgmental place of learning for both people with a book about Asperger’s syndrome. He suggested that interested in neurodiversity and students who are neuroRobinson may have the condition. divergent themselves.

“All my life I had had the ‘diagnosis of the street,’ you know, “I think that so often, people who are autistic learned about that you’re a reject, you’re stupid, you’re lazy, you’re retarded, autism because they were failing at something, and so they you’re mental, all these things people would say,” Robison said. associate autism with failure,” Robison said. “… One thing we “After a lifetime of that, hearing a nonjudgmental neurological want to show with the neurodiversity group is that people who explanation, it was really liberating.” are different can be stars, and it’s more than just failure. That’s After reading the book, Robison realized that there were one of the things we’re about, showing people what we can be.”

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A THOUSAND WORDS

We’re different, and the world needs different.

Because there will be times when the other 90 percent of the world tries to solve a problem and they can’t do it. And because we think differently, we see the answer just like that.

NIA KITCHIN / THE FLAT HAT

CORRECTIONS In an article printed last week, “Society of 1918 invites women to contribute to alumnae initiatives,” Val Cushman is mistakenly referred to as the director of alumni initiatives. Her title is director of alumnae initiatives.

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.

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POLICE BEAT

Feb. 23 - 25

1

Friday, February 23 — Money trail: a charge of ongoing wire fraud was reported at Merrimac Trail.

2

Friday, February 23 — Fraternal fracas: Kevin Edward Koch and Brian Thomas Koch were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct at North Boundary Street.

3

Saturday, February 24 — Weekend woe: Delonte Rashaud Doles was arrested on charges of maiming at Richmond Road.

4

Sunday, February 25 — Anitta get your gun: Erica Anitta Ash was arrested on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon at intersection of Bypass Road and Parkway Drive.

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Page 3

STUDENT LIFE

LAKAS focuses on immigration, culture FASA hosts summit to discuss American policy in context of minority experiences

MADELINE MONROE FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

Saturday, Feb. 24, the College of William and Mary’s Filipino-American Student Association hosted its annual LAKAS Leadership and Community Action Summit to discuss issues of immigration and culture in the context of the current American political climate. The event hosted three professional panelists and included students from the College’s UndocuTribe, an organization that focuses on immigration policies, awareness and advocacy.

FASA President Miguel Locsin ’19 reflected on the meaning of the word “lakas” and how it related to his own immigration story and FASA’s summit.

“In Tagalog, ‘lakas’ means strength,” Locsin said. “… In 2007, I moved here from the Philippines and I got on this big plane, immigrated here, and took part in a journey that changed my life and the lives of our ancestors and your life as well, whether you are Filipino or not. Having grown up in America for 11 years now, the word ‘lakas’ has again evolved in its meaning, depending on the context facing us. In our context today, for lakas and this summit right now, lakas emphasizes community with us minorities and the community in general.

Locsin emphasized the summit’s goal of addressing immigration and finding a way to share those ideas with the broader community.

“The question is, how do we calmly and patiently come up with solutions and ideas that are acceptable to all Americans as dictated by the elements of democracy while disregarding all sentiments of racism, prejudice, selfishness and ultimate homogeneity?” Locsin said.

Norfolk State University assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies April Manalang ’11, who was the event’s keynote speaker but was unable to attend due to medical reasons, shared her remarks in a video.

According to Manalang, the Filipino-American population is spread out, with over two-thirds of the population residing on the West Coast, and 10 percent and 60 percent of that population residing in the North East and the South, respectively. She also noted that the Hampton Roads area has one of the largest Filipino-American communities and is the second-largest AsianAmerican group with over 19.7 percent. Manalang said that the vastness of the Filipino-American population across the country makes it more imperative for individuals across generations to stay connected and come together to

discuss change, especially in relation to topics such as immigration as younger Filipino-Americans move away from church as a center of community discussion.

“How can we craft solidarity across generations and strengthen civic and political engagement in our communities?” Manalang said. “If we’re not necessarily gathering in the church anymore — if that’s not the center of where we gather as a community, as we know, given what I’ve shared previously about millennials being less affiliated more than any other time in history with a religious community, how do we then develop that solidarity across generations and make sure that our communities develop and build and strengthen over time?”

OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates Deputy Director Kendall Kosai said that his grandparents, who were Japanese-American and were incarcerated during World War II, tried to assimilate into U.S. culture and did not talk much about their experience as a result.

“For me, I consider the incarceration experience for them to be traumatic, right — it’s trauma,” Kosai said. “And to look back on that and the effects of that, were that we largely lost our culture, we largely lost our language. I didn’t learn Japanese until I was in college and it wasn’t because [my grandparents] taught me because my professor taught me, right? We didn’t talk about the incarceration experience. We don’t talk about our history. So, 75 years later, when we’re here talking about the Muslim ban and we’re talking about rounding up people who are on lists that are deemed a threat to national security, it’s very reminiscent.”

The summit also addressed the immigration policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. Kosai noted how the categorical changes to visas, specifically family visas, could negatively impact families immigrating from East Asian countries because of family interconnectedness. According to Kosai, you can currently sponsor individuals such as spouses, children and siblings, but the Trump administration could hinder that sponsorship by removing those categories of relational identification.

“Under the current administration, they’re proposing that we cut those categories all together,” Kosai said. “So imagine coming to the United States and never being able to have your sibling or your children or your parents come to the United States. Because Asian-Americans, their family structure is structured in a way that we rely on our siblings, that we rely on our parents, that

we rely on our grandparents to help raise a family, they’re such an integral part of the way that Asian families function, that the current proposal is horrifically inhumane to Asian-American Pacific Islander families.”

Kosai was also concerned that removing these relational categories would greatly affect women.

“If we’re only going to admit individuals with high skills, and these are individuals with credentials with high education, we don’t talk about how that disproportionally affects women, and how women are disproportionally affected across the globe in terms of their access to education, in terms of their individual ability to immigrate to the United States,” Kosai said.

Thursday, Feb. 22, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services revealed a new mission statement that removed a clause that referred to the United States as a “nation of immigrants.” Assistant Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence at Virginia Commonwealth University Theresa Ronquillo believed that the new change mistakenly omitted a critical part of American history.

“It erases indigenous folks and it also erases the fact that black folks in this country were not immigrants — they were kidnapped,” Ronquillo said.

Ronquillo emphasized the importance of college administrators initiating change through training programs that raise awareness of immigration.

“99 percent of the time [change] starts with students,” Ronquillo said. “But I would hope that the faculty and staff at higher education keep themselves accountable and continue training. The University of Washington — and they’re on the quarter system — they started something called Leadership Without Borders, and they had an undocuAlly training every quarter for staff and faculty specifically and it was driven by the administration, as far as I know. That’s what needs to happen on the college level, is that administrators, deans, decision makers need to show solidarity and support because it falls onto you students a lot and I see that, and I see you.”

UndocuTribe Panelist Diego Rodriguez ’19 said that the issue of initiating change is often left to faculty of color and instead should be more widespread.

“It’s also problematic because oftentimes what happens is it’s faculty of color that take on this burden,” Rodriguez said. “And its exhausting not only for the students but then you have educators who are educators of color who are putting up with what happens under the administrative level but also what students want but also they have lives, and families.”

Dessler, emeritus faculty criticize College’s handling of case Former professor describes ‘culture that promotes silence’ on mental health issues

DESSLER from page 1

The Flat Hat has covered the ensuing series of events — from Dessler’s decision to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to his multiple arrests for alleged harassment by computer and a recently filed discrimination lawsuit against the College —but not within the context of the administration’s approach to mental illness.

A Nov. 5, 2015, FMLA certification form states that Dessler went on leave due to “grief, difficulty with focus and maintaining routine.” Dessler further explained that this period of leave, as well as the erratic emails he continually sent to colleagues and students, were related to a condition called acute psychiatric trauma.

In late 2015, Dessler experienced a steady flow of traumatic events, including his sister’s death, ongoing divorce settlement and isolation from the College community. He said the distress caused by these events was comparable to a damaging yet treatable physical “blow,” as opposed to a persistent illness.

In July 2016, Dessler was also diagnosed with a disorder on the bipolar I spectrum — his doctor classified it as “eminently treatable,” and his current diagnosis is bipolar I in remission.

“I’ve had trauma and been successfully treated,” Dessler said. “I’m much better now. There were a couple of periods, October 2015 [and] just last June, when I was really struggling, and you can see it in the emails I wrote.

[But] you can work through those traumas and they will not have a long-lasting effect.”

Between Feb. 28, 2016, and Jan. 13, 2017, Dessler spent a total of 77 days in jail, including 45 on charges that were later dropped. During these periods, he had no access to prescribed medications and few opportunities to seek medical care. Although his time in jail was jarring, Dessler said that living in constant fear of arrest ultimately had a stronger negative effect on his mental health.

Former Provost P. Geoffrey Feiss, one of three emeritus faculty members who wrote a Sept. 8, 2016, letter of support for Dessler to the Faculty Assembly and Provost Michael Halleran, said he had concerns about the administration’s handling of the situation.

“If someone is mentally ill, you don’t put them in jail,” Feiss said. “We haven’t done that since the 18th century.

We don’t do that anymore, [and] the fact that this was a resolution of their sense that he was mentally ill was devastating.”

Chancellor Professor of English Emeritus Terry Meyers, one of the memo’s co-authors, said he wrote the letter in response to a perceived violation of the Faculty Handbook and Dessler’s due process rights.

He also added, however, that the College’s “rapid deployment of campus police” following Dessler’s Oct. 21 email seemed like an abuse of power.

“In some sense, the College seems have criminalized what appears to be erratic behavior by someone afflicted with an illness,” Meyers said. “I would have thought compassion would be called for in this instance and I am mystified as to why David was treated as he was.”

An additional concern raised by both Feiss and Dessler was the latter’s extended isolation from the College community. In addition to being banned from campus, Dessler was prohibited from contacting students, McGlennon and College employees other than Chief Human Resources Officer John Poma.

“The only people he could communicate with were people … who were retired and therefore outside [of] the purview of the institution and that is a terrible thing to do to someone who the institution believed to

be suffering from mental illness,” Feiss said.

Dessler compared his isolation to that of Ian SmithChristmas, the student whose April 2010 suicide spurred his sister to write an open letter questioning the College’s mental health policies. According to the letter, Cassie Smith-Christmas advised her brother to visit the Counseling Center after learning he was having suicidal thoughts.

“Instead of offering any help, they call my mom to come down and then at 5 p.m. that day, [March 18], hold a meeting with a dean and five other staff where they promptly dismiss my brother from William and Mary and ban him from College grounds,” SmithChristmas wrote.

Ian Smith-Christmas sought treatment at a local mental health facility and was released on outpatient status about two weeks later. Although doctors recommended he return to school that same week, the College denied his initial application for readmittance. April 24, just after he was allowed to return to campus, Smith-Christmas committed suicide.

“I do not hold William and Mary responsible,” his sister wrote, “[but] the way they treated him certainly contributed to how lost he must have been feeling to make such an awful decision.”

Dessler said he found the College’s decision to ban Smith-Christmas from campus reflective of a “tradition specific to William and Mary” — one in which individuals with serious mental health issues find themselves isolated from the community. He added that this treatment strategy contradicts the dominant advice offered by mental health professionals, who suggest sticking to one’s normal routine and staying connected with friends and community.

“I think one of the main problems with William and Mary is there is a culture that promotes silence,” Dessler said. “...Students know the system is broken and many of them don’t take advantage of the mental health resources for that reason.”

Following the publication of Smith-Christmas’ letter, Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 responded to recurring concerns about the College’s approach to mental health, including those later cited by Dessler. She wrote that almost 40 percent of students who visit the Counseling Center report suicidal thoughts, but the majority remain enrolled at the College. Those whose situations are best suited to taking time off from school are still considered students in good standing, and the College is “committed to supporting [them] in transitioning successfully back to our community.”

More than two years have passed since Dessler last stepped on campus, but he said he remains committed to the issue of student mental health, both at the College and on a wider scale. Just this month, he launched Syntiro, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching faculty how to support students with mental health issues. The overall goal, he explained, is to promote an environment in which individuals can discuss mental illness without fear of stigmatization.

“I have such a complex set of reactions [to what happened], a lot of sadness but also … hope for the future, and I would say that I’m also concerned because I’m no longer a professor,” Dessler said. “I can’t do anything about what’s happening in terms of student mental health at the College. It’s been a difficult experience but not without its rewards. I … leave concerned about students who have this fundamentally broken system. If that conversation could just get normalized on campus, everything would be great.”

“Morton is a hall of distorted mirrors” Two years after former government professor David Dessler was first placed on administrative leave, he began developing Syntiro, a nonprofit organization that aims to address the state of mental health on college campuses.

In an interview with The Flat Hat, Dessler identified the state of student mental health at the College of William and Mary as a “tipping point” in his own struggles with mental illness. In September 2015, he proposed a joint student-faculty mental health initiative to promote open conversations on campus. According to legal documents, he now believes that the proposed initiative made him a target of discrimination within the government department and eventually led to his June 2017 resignation.

Following Dessler’s announcement of the joint mental health initiative and the start of his medical leave later that year, he said he had limited opportunities to engage with other faculty members. He also said that he did not know what other faculty members thought of him.

In emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, The Flat Hat found that many government professors, including Kay Floyd and Sue Peterson, who assumed responsibility for teaching Dessler’s classes after his departure, did not know the full story.

Dessler said that over the course of his three decades at the College, the government department was supportive of him and recognized his academic work. He confided in several colleagues, including another professor with a diagnosed medical condition, and received support from then-department chair John McGlennon when he took medical leave for his depression in 2007. Dessler said, however, that faculty members as a whole do not openly discuss mental health issues.

“I think professors have just as much trouble talking about it as anybody else,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what your age or level of professional experience or training or something [is]. … People are scared to talk about mental illness because the reactions can be so negative, just from your friends, your family.”

For Dessler, Morton Hall, the former home of the government department, was a “hall of distorted mirrors.” It was also one of the last places he stepped foot on campus before he was banned from communicating with all College personnel besides Chief Human Resources Officer John Poma. Dessler often expressed concerns about this ban via email.

At the end of the fall 2015 semester, Dessler emailed Floyd to thank her for being a compassionate professor and taking care of his students. He also informed her that he had contacted Rate My Professors to dispute a comment that lowered Floyd’s overall score. At the time, this call boosted her score to a 4.0. He also offered her a gift, which she declined in her response.

“This was the most lovely email to receive, thank you sincerely,” Floyd wrote in the email. “Other than to know you needed someone to assist with your classes, I’m afraid I was not privy to the details. But I did stress the students many times how much you loved them, how your priority has always been to teach them, and how we would all get through the transition together.”

Floyd then forwarded Dessler’s messages to McGlennon and let him know that she had declined the gift. McGlennon also received email updates from Poma and William and Mary Police Department Chief Deb Cheesebro regarding the state of Dessler’s criminal cases. Once, he inquired if Dessler had access to mental health evaluation and care for his diagnosed medical condition while in jail. McGlennon also had email contact with Cathy Black, the Williamsburg and

James City Council deputy commonwealth’s attorney.

In February 2016, Dessler emailed government professor Michael Tierney saying he believed Poma wanted to keep him from returning to campus, although his paid leave was initially scheduled to end March 1.

“Some heavy s–– is almost certainly coming the department’s way,” Dessler said in the email. “Cannot be avoided. No point in discussing yet, except to say that you should know this: John [McGlennon] is working to keep me from returning to the department.

Stopping him, and restoring sanity to the department, may mean pulling on a string that goes back to Oct. 20.

The unfairness to which I was subjected is a serious matter in the legal world. I know you do not believe I was treated unfairly. Right now, you don’t have to. But I would, if I were you, think hard about John’s silences regarding me.”

Tierney engaged in a multi-email conversation with Dessler, expressing interest in his career prospects and research projects and indicating that he would be interested in meeting Dessler to talk off-campus and catch up on life.

“I prefer [international relations] theory to legal drama,” Tierney said in an email. “Of course, if I am getting sued, I would love the heads up, but if this is just some administrative drama, I figure there are lawyers to deal with such nonsense.”

It is not clear how much each individual professor knew about Dessler’s medical and legal troubles, but Tierney told Dessler that there were a handful of professors who would be on his side.

“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t know of anybody that thinks of you as the ‘bad guy’ in this,” Tierney said in a Feb. 7, 2016, email. “It sounds like people think it is a medical issue, but who knows what is actually in people’s heads/hearts. There is certainly no expressed animosity toward you like there has been expressed toward other members of our department who have occasionally been on leave. … If you came back healthy, my assumption is that people would rapidly update their assumptions.”

It is unclear what McGlennon or each individual faculty member thought of Dessler based on the content of the FOIA emails and at what point the department realized he would not be returning.

Multiple professors discussed the process of selecting office space in Tyler Hall, where the department would move in fall 2016, and made sure that someone was tasked with selecting an office for Dessler. While Dessler believes that he was effectively terminated as soon as he was placed on “inactive status,” it appears as if several professors planned on him returning to teach up until the day of his resignation.

It is not entirely clear what the future has in store for Dessler. A court date has not been scheduled for his lawsuit. He said he plans to move forward with Syntiro and has made a website for the initiative.

Now, what matters most to him is that he lost his job and is working on changing the direction of his life.

“I lost my job and that was what was most important to me, so I’ve been kind of reorienting my life and I have not wanted to bother [anyone],” Dessler said. “I have kept the leadership of the Faculty Assembly apprised of my progress — for example, I sent them a copy of the lawsuit just so they’d know where things stand — but I am not in conversation with them. What I’m doing next is really thinking about a different life with a different set of friends, but I am sure I will be in contact with people at William and Mary again.”

Page 4

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

ACADEMICS

Rewriting history, one woman at a time Charles Center to fund research fellowship for centenary of women at the College BROOKE STEPHENSON THE FLAT HAT

In 1918, students at the College of William and Mary lamented that they would be “the last class to graduate from the old college before it is defiled by coeducation.” A century later, however, students have a different view of the issue. During the 2018-19 academic year, the College community will honor the 100th anniversary of women’s admission with a series of special events and initiatives.

Planned activities include a speaker series, a week-long women’s leadership summit and the integration of a gender component in classes held in every academic building. Students interested in the study of gender and sexuality can also apply to the Charles Center-funded 100 Years of W&M Women Summer Research Fellowship. Applications are due Feb. 28.

Fellowship recipients and their faculty mentors will receive $3,000 and $1,000, respectively, to delve into any topic related to women of the College over seven weeks of summer research. Professor Jayne Barnard, coordinator of academic events for the anniversary year and chair of the planning committee, said she believes the research project complements the anniversary well.

“We felt that it would be an ideal use of some of our funds to stimulate student/faculty research on the role of women at the university during the past 100 years,” Barnard said in an email.

Charles Center Director Joel Schwartz said that students often engage in research outside of campus, either through service activities or travel abroad.

“The objective is not just to commemorate this anniversary but to integrate [this initiative] into what we do at William and Mary,” Schwartz said.

The fellowship is designed to focus on women at the College, but

Schwartz said that people viewed these guidelines narrowly, leading him and his colleagues to encourage interested individuals’ pursuit of a broad range of topics. According to the fellowship website, subjects covered under the project include “political coalitions that helped transform William and Mary as an institution” and “the history of gender and sexuality in the W&M curriculum.”

American studies and English professor Elizabeth Losh said that the level of freedom and choice provided by the research project makes it exciting.

Losh, who is in charge of answering students’ questions about the project, provided context on the scope of research topics by describing a project featured in her Gender and Digital Culture class. Students revised existing Wikipedia articles about influential women and added new pages for individuals not previously recognized. The pages were repeatedly flagged, however, for not meeting Wikipedia’s notability standard, which determines whether a subject is important enough to warrant an article.

“There’s no notability standard [with this project],” Losh said. “You can really think about what’s notable. … You could make something that’s invisible, visible.”

Losh said that interested students can explore the legacy of any woman who has contributed to campus, from staff members to early female students and leaders of the LGBTQ community.

“There’s certainly a lot of interesting work that’s been done by the LGBTQ VA group that could conveniently stretch into this work,” Losh said.

According to Losh, for a long time in its history the College was reluctant to fund LGBTQ-related clubs on campus, and policies were enacted to prevent them from forming. In Williamsburg itself, gay bars had a harder time getting a liquor license from the town for “moral reasons.” Losh said she believes

there are entire histories of individuals in the Williamsburg area that have been erased from the dominant historical narrative. The project, she added, presents students with the opportunity to tell these stories.

In 1896, 22 years before the College started admitting women, Williamsburg resident Minnie Braithwaite petitioned the faculty to allow her to attend chemistry lectures.

“It’s not just famous grads of William and Mary,” Losh said. “Even though she wasn’t a student, you could still write about Minnie.”

Barnard said she was interested in women whose stories have thus far gone untold and would love to see a project on women who were enslaved alongside Lemon — of the eponymous Lemon Project: A Journey of Reconciliation — during the 18th century.

“We know little about them but we are learning more about the work of enslaved women at Georgetown, UVA and more,” Barnard said in an email.

Schwartz suggested students look into the stories of the first female African-American residential students, Lynn Briley ’71, Janet Brown ’71 and Karen Ely ’71.

“One of the amazing things about that is they didn’t realize they were pathbreaking,” Schwartz said.

At the time the three women attended the College, their experience happened under the radar, and it was only later, Schwartz added, that the community looked back and recognized the powerful change these women had made for the campus. To Losh, this recognition was more than ceremonial.

“One of the most important things that history can do is it can provide empathy,” Losh said. “[Academics] talk about the benefits of history in an ‘eat your vegetables’ sort of way … but there are also pleasures in history.”

STUDENT ASSEMBLY

Student Assembly bills focus on financial accountability, reserves fund Sen. Brendan Boylan ’19 introduces amended version of The Assembly Accountability Act SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

During the College of William and Mary’s Student Assembly meeting Feb. 20, senators discussed six new bills, including one that would prevent excess money in SA’s reserves fund from rolling into the Fund for William & Mary, the College’s largest unrestricted funding source that acts as an endowment.

Currently, SA code mandates that all unused funds in the reserves account in excess of $100,000 go to the Fund for William & Mary. This bill, sponsored by Class of 2019 President Jonah Yesowitz ’19, Sen. Sikander Zakriya ’19, Class of 2021 President David DeMarco ’21 and Sen. Brendan Boylan ’19, contends that because

this fund acts as an endowment, it only allocates the interest it earns toward projects it deems worthy.

Because this fund acts independently of SA, the sponsors believe that SA is unable to ensure that the reserves fund is dedicated solely to students at the College. According to Yesowitz, this bill is important because each student contributes $98 to the student activities fee, which is then budgeted to student organizations. For the 2017-18 year, the allocated budget is $739,900. All money that is not used in the yearly budgeting process then goes to SA’s reserves.

If the senate votes next week to pass The Financial Accountability Act, all money in the reserves will remain in the reserve fund in perpetuity.

“This bill basically makes it so that we are

College adds on to existing facilities Renovations to expand accessibility, resources CONSTRUCTION from page 1

project is not yet complete, but Brancheau said it should be finalized by the end of March 2018, and construction should begin in May. The $20.6 million budget all comes from donations, and the project is expected to be completed in November 2019.The alumni who contributed to this project said that the building does not currently meet the needs of the College’s alumni.

Integrated Science Center 4 The fourth and final part of the Integrated Science Center complex is in the design phase, and once complete, will sit in the green space where Millington Hall once stood.

Brancheau said that while the design phase will take one year and comes with a budget of $8 million, he believes the designer will do a good job of tying all of the buildings together and adding features unique to the departments this building will house.

As of now, the project has a final budget of $73 million and will provide classrooms and office spaces for the math, computer science and kinesiology departments. Following proposals for an engineering design program at previous Board of Visitors meetings, Brancheau said it is also likely that this new program will be incorporated in ISC4.

Construction will begin on this building in November 2019 and is set to be complete in March 2022.

Muscarelle Museum of Art When the Muscarelle Museum of Art recently unveiled two new exhibits “Women with Vision” and “In the Light of Caravaggio,” it announced that these would be the last new exhibits before the museum’s renovation.

According to Brancheau, a concept study was done to determine whether the interior of the building should be renovated or if the building should be completely

demolished and rebuilt. Following a presentation to the BOV, the College decided that it would be better to opt for a complete demolition and rebuild. Now, the College is working through proposed costs to determine whether or not this is a reasonable option.

“In the construction world, [these things] are very fluid,” Brancheau said.

This project is also donor funded and would result in a building of approximately 50,000-60,000 square feet.

One proposed feature for the new museum would be a frame shop, where the museum’s employees could create periodaccurate frames for the artwork.

Busch Field Athletics Facilities Busch Field houses the athletics facilities and playing spaces for sports, including the varsity field hockey team and sports clubs. With a $2.5 million budget, the College will add new locker rooms and seating spaces for the women’s athletic program there.

Brancheau said that construction on this project will run from fall 2018 to fall 2019, and it will add a 3,000-square-foot building to the complex.

Sadler Center With a proposed expansion that would add 46,000 square feet to the building, the College is now waiting to proceed with the formal design process for an expansion to Sadler Center. This expansion would be on the side of the building facing the new IWC and The Daily Grind and would add new spaces for students and offices for administrators currently housed in Campus Center.

The design process comes with a budget of approximately $300,000, and a final budget for the project does not yet exist. Brancheau said that the design process will begin this summer and take about one year to complete.

One Tribe Place After months of construction work to address damage done by water leakage in the former hotel’s 1984 wing, Brancheau said the College is now moving toward the process of preserving the area for possible reuse — or “mothballing” — the back wing of the hotel, where it will sit ready for future construction.

This process will begin in April 2018 and will involve addressing electricity, HVAC systems and fire protection in this wing.

In the future, it is possible the College will renovate spaces currently unusable due to water and mold damage, such as the ballroom in the basement and the restaurant located in the front portion of what is now a residence hall.

When the College first bought this building, due diligence was not performed in inspections, as the hotel was still operating, so water damage was not initially discovered.

Accessibility Construction Following the Americans with Disabilities Act, the College is in the process of installing ADAcompliant features to buildings across campus, such as adding an elevator to Adair Hall. Additionally, the elevators in Landrum Hall were not previously ADA compliant, but when the residence hall opens in the fall, the elevators will be larger to accommodate students in wheelchairs.

This construction also involves creating a pathway around the Sunken Garden on its west side near the Crim Dell to account for wheelchairs and better paving a path between the back of Washington Hall and Landrum Hall.

Another proposed accessibility project, Brancheau said, would involve rebuilding the path behind Earl Gregg Swem Library to go in a zigzag formation to render it less steep.

accountable to our students who donate $98 out of their tuition each year to us,” Yesowitz said. “We need to make sure we are using that money to better campus and not giving it to the endowment fund. This has been in the works for a couple of weeks. … I think this would be a really good thing for SA to talk about.”

If passed, the bill would also lower the percentage of money from the reserves fund that would be allocated to SA’s competition fund, which funds student organizations’ participation in competitions.

Currently, at the start of each fiscal year, 15 percent of the reserves fund is allocated to the competition fund.

This bill would change that to 10 percent and would prevent the competition fund from accumulating a balance from year to year.

At this meeting, Boylan also introduced The Representative Accountability Act, a piece of legislation similar to his bill which was rejected last week, The Assembly Accountability Act. The new bill incorporates his earlier idea to codify that senators cannot concurrently hold positions on Honor Council. Unlike his previous bill, The Representative Accountability Act does not address policies regarding senate elections.

Because both of these bills involve revising the code, all senate committees will review them over the weekend and make recommendations on them during the Feb. 27 meeting. Then, the senate will vote on these bills, as well as the other four bills introduced this week.

opinions

Opinions Editor Ethan Brown Opinions Editor Katherine Yenzer fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat

The Flat Hat

| Tuesday, February 27, 2018 | Page 5

Rowe’s selection met with entusiasm Rowe a positive change for the College

First woman president long overdue

GUEST COLUMN

GUEST COLUMN

Hannah Lowe

Melanie Carter, Nora Logsdon and Emily Matthews

FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNIST

FLAT HAT GUEST COLUMNISTS

2017 was the Year of the Woman returned. Much like 1992, the original Year of the Woman, 2017 saw groundbreaking achievements: the monumental Women’s March on Washington, the #MeToo movement, and record numbers of women launching campaigns for public office. At the College of William and Mary, we had our own Year of the Woman, celebrating 100 years of women at the College.

2018 promises to be another milestone year. Feb. 20, the Board of Visitors announced Dr. Katherine Rowe as our 28th president. After 325 years of male leadership, Dr. Rowe will become the first woman to hold the office. Like many other students, I am enthusiastic about the selection of Dr. Rowe and excited to see what changes she will bring.

As a digital humanities scholar and the co-founder and CEO of Luminary Digital Media, Dr. Rowe embodies the intersection of liberal arts and technology. Her time as the interim vice president for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity at Smith College and her work at Bryn Mawr and Yale indicate she is familiar with both tradition and innovation. Though she has yet to to take office, I find myself hoping Dr. Rowe will be the champion of both history and progress that the College requires. After her speech at the welcome ceremony, it is clear to me that she is well suited to lead the Tribe.

I also find myself hoping that Dr. Rowe’s election will be an impetus for authentic change at the College. It’s incredible that we have our first woman president, but we must remember that it’s taken 325 years to get to this achievement.

Similarly, we can’t forget that we’ve had only 100 years of female enrollment and only 50 years of integration.

The first black women to attend the College walked with my class at Convocation last fall — it’s within living memory that this university was a segregated space.

Certainly, Dr. Rowe’s presidency is worthy of celebration. Her experience with increasing faculty diversity and championing women’s education brings a perfect opportunity for progression. It’s time we listen to the concerns of students of color, LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities and students from other marginalized communities.

Under Dr. Rowe’s leadership, we can transform our conceptual discussions of diversity and inclusivity into tangible changes.

In a press statement, Dr. Rowe wrote, “The vision of William & Mary conveyed to me over the past months, by everyone I met in this community, is so compelling.”

The most meaningful way we can welcome Dr. Rowe to the Tribe is to live up to that vision — one that is equally compelling for our entire community.

Email Hannah Lowe at hmlowe@email.wm.edu

On the morning of Feb. 20, 2018, the news of the College of William and Mary’s first female president broke. This was and will always be a historic day for a college that has previously been presided over by only white males. Current students are thrilled that both they and succeeding generations will be led by someone other than a white man, someone who has a vision for the future, someone who represents progress.

However, nowhere in the emails or addresses did it mention the fact that Dr. Rowe will be the first female president. Why is this? It seems our college wants to push its exclusionary history under the rug. Whether this has been toward people of color who have only been allowed entry here for 50 years or women who have been enrolled for 100 years. On the other hand, by not labeling her as the first female president they are acknowledging that she is more than just a woman and deserves this role based on merit and credentials. 325 years old, and our college finally has a female president!

Something striking about academia is that older white men hold the majority of the senior academic positions. This can make the academic world seem impenetrable, like a space that does not have a place for anyone who does not fit this image. The choice of Dr. Katherine Rowe as William and Mary’s 28th president is, therefore, an incredibly important step toward inclusivity and diversity in academia. This change is especially critical for the female population because they can now see someone who has experiences like them and understands them in the most senior position at the College. For William and Mary, specifically, Dr. Rowe’s selection as the first female president in the 325-year history signifies a turning point. However, it is important to recognize that Dr. Rowe does continue the legacy of the 27 privileged white presidents to come before her.

This is most definitely a fantastic first step, but the College needs to ensure that the passing of this milestone does not make it complacent.

There is still a myriad of issues regarding diversity that needs to be addressed, and this achievement should not be allowed to distract from that. Change is incremental, and the College still has some way to go to make up for its checkered past. But, the selection of Dr. Rowe gives us hope that the College recognizes that change is necessary and that we will continue down this path for years to come.

Email the writers at mmcarter@ email.wm.edu, hjlogsdon@ email. wm.edu and emmatthews@ email.wm.edu GRAPHIC BY KAYLA PAYNE / THE FLAT HAT

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Dear Chancellor Gates,

our nation was founded to “…insure domestic Tranquility… and promote the general Welfare.”

Where is the tranquility in our lives when domestic terrorists present a much greater threat to our society than foreign terrorists; where is the promotion of the general welfare when so few who cling to their military weap-

This is the third letter I have written to you since the publication of “Duty.” This one implores you to do your duty to protect our democratic freedoms by calling out your fellow Republicans for their fringe stand on public safety and gun controls.

As a leader of our nation’s youth in war and peace you know more than almost anyone what a precious commodity they are. They are our country’s future.

Can you imagine going to school wondering if you will return home that day? It is an abhorrent thought. Can you imagine what it must feel like to live through a shooting massacre? I can’t.

Can’t you see that millions of American schoolchildren and their teachers are in anguish?

The fringe Republicans and NRA are bound at the hip. They have enshrined the 2nd amendment above all others in importance as propaganda to enrich themselves. onsCan andyou domestic the name of free-if This is an amendment quaint in its appliimaginearsenals going toinschool wondering dom from tyranny can overrule the vast majorcability and opaque to interpretation. This ity of America. amendment does not hold a candle to the These are deeply misguided people. I thought Preamble to the Bill of Rights declaration that

“

Can you imagine going to school wondering if you will return home that day?

government was supposed to be decided by elections, not bullets.

So why are you silent? Why are you not trying to bring the two presidents you served to speak out in unison that our country needs multiple reforms from bans on assault weapons to violent computer games, to leading Americans to an understanding that the vast majority of young killers (mostly white males by the way) are not mentally ill but rather deeply disturbed misfits whose anger is stoked by a deep sense of isolation and rejection and in the past I grew up in would have used knives and not semiautomatic weapons to wreak their revenge on innocent people.

Perhaps I am mistaken and you and former President Bush oppose controls that will rid us of weapons designed only to kill their fellow human beings more effectively and efficiently.

God help you if that is the case. You are not the person I had assumed you to be.

Yours sincerely, John C. Marksbury marksburyhome@comcast.net

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Page 6

More pressing issues exist for Native Americans than revising ‘Tribe’ moniker

Vanessa Adkins FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

What is a tribe? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, one definition of tribe is, “a social group comprising numerous families, clans, or generations together with slaves, dependents, or adopted strangers.” Another definition is “a group of persons having a common character, occupation, or interest.” The use of “tribe” as a description for the College of William and Mary community has generated much controversy. Some call it a link to the College’s past usage of a Native-American mascot and the feathers present on a previous logo. In a time when the Washington Redskins are constantly urged to change their name — which is a racial slur — and the Cleveland Indians have removed their controversial mascot, many call on the College to follow suit. The debate has garnered input from both sides, but it is most vital to bring forward the perspectives of indigenous students.

I am an enrolled member of a local Virginia tribe, and I am not offended by the use of the word “tribe.” I would not be attending the College if I was. Furthermore, Native Americans do not have a monopoly on the word. There are many groups around the world that call themselves a tribe; it is a generic term. I believe that there are larger issues to be dealt with regarding the College’s history with Native Americans. Most notable is the Brafferton, which housed the College’s Indian School, and the College’s current lack of NativeAmerican faculty and coursework related to Native Americans outside of the history and anthropology departments. I asked other Native-American students on campus their opinions to gain a larger perspective.

Emily Martin ’18, who is a member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, believes that if people want to advocate for Native Americans, there are other issues to focus on that are affecting Native-American communities on a much larger scale.

“The anger over the use of the ‘Tribe’ mascot is well-meaning, but misplaced.,” Martin said. “Tribes” are not synonymous to American Indians. Those who want to do their part to improve the current issues facing our people can direct this anger and energy to far more productive things: educating themselves on Native issues, standing up for actual injustices like Standing Rock or rampant domestic violence on reservations, and supporting federal tribal recognition. Arguing about the semantics of the word “tribe” does nothing to help the human beings actively suffering through some of the worst poverty in the U.S. today.”

“

I am an enrolled member of a local Virginia tribe, and I am not offended by the use of the word ‘tribe.’

Mackenzie Neal ’18, who is a member of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma and has Osage, Seneca and Choctaw descent, believes that while “tribe” in and of itself it not offensive, the College does little to support Native-American students on campus.

“I would say that William and Mary has taken appropriate steps to distance itself from racial caricatures and harmful stereotypes of indigenous peoples … for the most part,” Neal said. “Removing the Indian mascot but keeping the word ‘tribe’ was a compromise that allowed the college to keep cultivating a lucrative sense of nostalgia among alumni while projecting an image of “progressivism” to the new generation of university students.”

Neal further writes that, “’Tribe Pride’ is also a little laughable when you consider how invisible Native-American students and indigenous social issues are to the administration, the faculty and the non-Native student body. Sure, it can be a catchy hashtag, but when your Native-American students are reluctant to show their own “Tribe Pride” because of (unintentional) community ignorance, you have an institutional problem. William and Mary took a step in the right direction, but now it’s time to keep moving forward. We can do so much more to remove vestiges of colonial mind sets and accurately inform the college community. Instead of removing the word ‘tribe,’ focus on recruiting indigenous professors, offering a broader range of courses related to Native politics and history, and collaborate more with local Native-American communities.”

The College’s usage of “tribe” as a rallying cry is not offensive in and of itself, but when placed in a historic context and when considering the current lack of Native-American professors and courses, the word becomes problematic. Instead of changing the College’s catchphrase, adding more support for Native-American students on campus and increasing course offerings would have a greater impact on Native-American communities.

It’s important to note that the opinions expressed in this article represent the opinion of the person who gave them and no one else.

Oftentimes, members of minority populations are asked to speak for their entire ethnic or religious group. Just as Native-American communities, tribes and clans are diverse, they also have diverse views and opinions. Just because someone is or isn’t offended by something does not mean that other members of the same group feel the same. Engaging in inclusive dialogue that engages all opinions on controversial issues, like our shared mascot, is the best way to foster a more diverse and welcoming community for all.

Email Vanessa Adkins at vyadkins@email.wm.edu.

GRAPHIC BY KAYLA SHIRLEY / THE FLAT HAT

Encouraging student engagement with campus athletics

Ted Maslin

FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

Last year, Athletic Director Samantha Huge was introduced to Williamsburg at the monthly Business Roundtable Luncheon. A classmate of mine asked Huge a question that was on my mind: “What will increase student participation at Tribe athletic events?”

Huge mentioned that because of students’ abilities to multi-task, she planned to investigate increasing bandwidth at our athletic venues.

“Improved Wi-Fi in the Kaplan [Arena] is a priority for us and we are currently looking at a wide array of operational areas and fan amenities, not only in Kaplan Arena, but in all of our venues.

We want to continue to improve the game day atmosphere for our alumni, fans and students,” Huge said, following up from last week.

Recently, I asked friends about student attendance at sporting events on campus, which has historically been lackluster at the College of William and Mary.

To obtain a historical perspective, I talked with former athlete and coach Joe Agee ’52.

The good news is that Agee sees more student participation now than when he was coaching.

Having winning teams was mentioned by many as a significant factor.

Avid Tribe supporter Jim Hernandez observed that “Tribe Pride” plays a part in student attendance. He noted that the athletes play their hearts out for the College and their fellow students.

Hernandez suggested that each William and Mary class might establish a class goal such as packing Kaplan in order to bolster student engagement.

One senior at the College recently discussed student participation with his father. They suggested that the more opportunities students have to get to know the athletes, the more apt they are to invest their time supporting them. This certainly has been true when athletes connect with alumni at annual events such as the Tribe Baseball First Pitch Dinner and the local alumni chapter dinner with the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and increased opportunities for athletes to mix with other students

during a meal or service project should be encouraged.

The Feb. 10 Gold Rush Game at Kaplan Arena was a testament to the important role promotions play in student attendance. In addition to free t-shirts, food and raffles, students cheered on our winning basketball team and a surfing demonstration by the Griffin; these promotions were very effective in garnering attendance. Students at the College definitely excel at academics.

Would attending athletic events provide a more balanced college experience, which might deliver long-term advantages? It is interesting that the student athletes may offer some of the best examples of how to master time management skills related to academics. This is especially evident with law and MBA students on the basketball team. Look at the baseball players who must balance academics with five games a week plus practice!

Being able to leverage the experience and expertise of alumni offers students the potential to explore many future opportunities.

Great networking opportunities are offered by the William and Mary Washington Center through its executive director, Adam Anthony.

“The advice we give students in terms of engaging with alums is this — you’re just looking for common ground to connect with the person with whom you’re talking. Tribe sports are a great way to do that; it’s something every alum shares and many respond to. We have so much to be proud of about our sports programs. They are run the right way and our students are true student athletes. Being conversant in how the men’s basketball team or women’s soccer team, etc. is doing is just a part of showing your Tribe pride.

Following the teams and going to the games are part of that too,” Anthony said.

Several baseball players noted that low student attendance is related to the lack of transportation to Plumeri Field. This is also a challenge for student attendance at lacrosse and soccer games at Albert-Daly Field.

The athletic department and Department of Transportation have tried various programs (with mixed results) to address this. My suggestion is to take a page from Northern Virginia grassroots commuter protocol. Commuters without vehicles line up outside shopping centers and those with vehicles drive up and offer them a ride into Washington, D.C. I believe a student—run “Tribe Pride line” at Kaplan Arena that encourages students, faculty and alumni driving to these games to swing by and pick up students on the way would be very effective. With the predicted rise in popularity of Ultimate Frisbee as incoming College president Katherine Rowe takes office, the student body should ask coach Rowe and the Griffin to demonstrate Ultimate Frisbee for baseball fans before a game; I feel confident that would be quite the draw.

Email Ted Maslin MBA ‘80 at tedmaslin@msn.com.

“

Would attending athletic events provide a more balanced college experience, which might deliver long-term advantages?

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: PI BETA PHI STATEMENT ON HOMECOMING COURTING Dear William & Mary Community, Recently, the women of the Virginia Gamma chapter of Pi Beta Phi have engaged in some difficult, but important, conversations regarding traditions on our campus and how those traditions might be updated.

Following these conversations, we've decided to approach Homecoming Courting in a different way this year.

While Homecoming Courting is an opportunity to meet people from organizations with whom we don't always interact, some aspects of the process do not align with Pi Beta Phi's core values, such as Honor and Respect.

While we appreciate the time and material gifts that organizations dedicate

to the women in our chapter we believe these scenarios could potentially make people feel uncomfortable and even be considered hazing.

We also acknowledge that some traditions, such as courting, are heteronormative in nature; fraternity men are expected to court sorority women as this is the accepted campus norm.

This year, we are still just as excited to partner with another organization for Homecoming Week festivities!

However, if another organization is interested in pairing, we would prefer to participate in mutually-hosted events in which we could meet each other’s members, such as food-catered events, banner-painting sessions, or sporting events.

We extend this invitation to not only

fraternities but to any interested singlesex or coed organization on campus.

We are working to respect the interests of all women in our sorority and other organizations who support or are part of the LGBTQIA community, and want to create a more accepting, flexible and mutually-beneficial William & Mary tradition.

If your group is interested in hosting events with us for Homecoming Courting, please contact our Vice President of Event Planning Megan Nguyen at vpep.virginiagamma@gmail. com.

Sincerely, The women of the Virginia Gamma chapter of Pi Beta Phi

variety

Variety Editor Heather Baier Variety Editor Carmen Honker flathat.variety@gmail.com // @theflathat

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 27, 2018 | Page 7

History re-examined Lemon Project expands its impact through increased student involvement SARAH FARNEY // FLAT HAT VARIETY ASSOC. EDITOR

The College of William and Mary is known for being proud of its history and tradition, often boasting about being the second oldest institution of higher education in America. The College has educated three U.S. presidents and has been deemed “the Alma Mater of the Nation.” However, the College also has a history of slavery, much of which is undocumented. Lemon was one of the people enslaved at the College during the early 19th century. The Lemon Project: A Journey of Reconciliation, which seeks to understand and correct the history of slavery at the College, is named after him.

While many facts about Lemon’s life are still unknown, it is clear to researchers that he had a fascinating relationship with the College.

“So [Lemon] had a very interesting relationship with the college for some reason,” Lemon Project graduate assistant Ravynn Stringfield M.A. ’18 Ph.D. ’21 said. “We are not entirely sure what that reason might have been, but he clearly was navigating the terrain pretty interestingly, getting a Christmas bonus, getting a coffin and to have an obituary, you know, there was something clearly special going on with Lemon. We don’t know all the details.”

The foundation for the Lemon Project began in 2007 when the Virginia General Assembly voted to issue a resolution of regret which expressed “profound regret” for the state’s role in slavery.

This acknowledgement brought the conversation to the College that eventually led to the Lemon Project.

“Essentially, they denounced slavery and it was bad, but the students at William and Mary decided that wasn’t enough and that they wanted a project devoted to figuring out the history of slavery, the history of Jim Crow, they wanted to know more and so they wanted an active body doing that work at William and Mary,” Stringfield said.

The Student Assembly passed a resolution expressing the desire to research the history of slavery at the College. It was followed shortly after with a faculty resolution supporting the student resolution.

Two years later in 2009, the Board of Visitors responded to the student and faculty resolutions by passing its own resolution, which created The Lemon Project: A Journey of Reconciliation. The resolution recognized that the College “owned and exploited slave labor from its founding to the Civil War” and “engaged in the discrimination and exclusion that characterized educational institutions during the era of Jim Crow.”

The Lemon Project was created to research and better understand the history of slavery at the College. Today the Lemon Project also supports students of color and engages with the African-American community in Williamsburg.

“I try to work with students individually to kind of get an idea what they want from the Lemon Project,” Stringfield said. “So instead of having an advisory board I try to go out with students for coffee and just pick their brains about what they think the Lemon Project should be doing, what we can offer for them, things like that, on a much smaller scale.”

The first part of the Lemon Project is researching people like Lemon and gathering information about slavery at the College.

“I think the first goal, of course, was to gather as much of the actual history of the black experience at William and Mary as we could find, either in the archives or through oral history to what have you,” Lemon Project Director Jody Allen said. “To tell that story because it’s been left out of the histories of the College.”

The Lemon Project began by researching Lemon, but graduate fellow Sarah Thomas has researched other instances of slavery at the College and of slaves owned by individuals associated with the College.

“Personally, what I did last year was transcribe the Bruton Parish baptismal records,” Thomas said. “So, it’s in the special collections at [Earl Gregg Swem Library] and it’s just a big old book … and it’s the records of children being baptized and also deaths. But I went and transcribed the whole document trying to find enslaved people owned by the College or also owned in any way, by like [James] Blair, [William] Dawson [or Thomas] Bray, so people who are associated with the college, professors or students. So, I did that last year and found a number of names and one of the most interesting examples, of a mother and her young children who were owned by the college.”

Off campus, the College bought a tobacco plantation in 1718. The proceeds from this plantation were used to fund scholarships for poor white men to attend the College. The Lemon Project research also includes finding information on the 17 slaves who worked on Nottoway Plantation.

In addition to researching slavery at the College, the Lemon Project is also involved in outreach to the African-American community in Williamsburg.

“We want all people to feel that they can come on campus and take advantage of the lectures and the athletic events and that senior citizens can come take classes,” Allen said. “When you live in a college town you should feel as though you can use the resources that are there and there are lots and lots of resources and so we’ve tried to communicate that through our events.”

The final goal of the project is student engagement.

“Our third goal is to work with current students of color on campus,” Allen said. “We want to participate with others to make sure students of color feel welcome on campus, feel like they’re part of the William and Mary family, that William and Mary is the place for them to be.”

Some of the student engagement activities the Lemon Project holds are Porch Talks, the Donning of the Kente ceremony, Branch Out alternative spring break trips, drum circles and its annual symposium.

Porch Talks are informal gatherings of students discussing issues close to the Lemon Project’s mission statement. Topics that have been discussed in the past include, mindfulness, how to approach difficult conversations and how to support sustained action once you have a university’s attention.

The Donning of the Kente is a riteof-passage ceremony that takes place Commencement weekend as a celebration of personal and academic achievements for students of color during their four years at the College.

GRAPHIC BY CARMEN HONKER / THE FLAT HAT

“It’s a nice way to kind of bring together everyone and build a community,” Stringfield said. “It’s one of the last things you get to celebrate together while you’re at William and Mary so it’s a great opportunity.”

While the project may change structure based on a report coming out this year, all three women are optimistic about the future of the Lemon Project. There is still much more research to be done about slavery at the College.

“William and Mary has owned slaves longer than they haven’t owned slaves, right, you can do the math,” Thomas said. “That’s a pretty big deal that William and Mary owned slaves longer than it hasn’t. We’ve got a long, long history that we are trying to uncover. A lot of these people so far, we’re not going to get their names, but we know that they were here. So, you know, there’s a lot of research that still needs to be done, so we’re working on it.”

Some of Allen’s ideas for future expansion of the Lemon Project include adding a genealogical component to look at possible descendants of early post-Civil War workers on campus who still live in the College community. She also wants to continue making connections between research that has already been done and what is being done now.

“There’s been a lot of archeology done on and around the campus and the findings aren’t talking to each other,” Allen said. “Looking at what has already been done and bringing that together will be able to broaden our picture of the African-American experience at the College.”

Finally, she wants to establish a summer gap program for local youth.

“That’s our hope, that we’ll be able to continue to grow and make a difference and get the full history of the school out there for public consumption,” Allen said. “That will enable us to work to do things that will allow us to repair some of the damage done over the years.”

Coming up for the Lemon Project is the 8th annual symposium.

This year, the Lemon Project is co-sponsoring the Symposium with the committee for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of African Americans in residence. The keynote speaker is Nikki Giovanni, a writer and professor at Virginia Tech. The symposium will take place March 16-17.

COURTESY PHOTOS / WM.EDU

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Page 8

Metamorphoses Metamorphesis takes the stage takes the

DE WA OFF E G / OTOS COURTESY PH

Splashing water, Grecian gods, bodies intertwined on stage ALYSSA GRZESIAK FLAT HAT EXECUTIVE EDITOR

CO

TE UR SY PH

O TO

From pursuing a major in biology to discovering his passion for theater: Conor Wilson ’19 takes on the world of directing

/ KATE DONATI

“Metamorphoses,” the play put on by the College of William and Mary’s Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance from Feb. 22 – 25, was written and originally directed by Mary Zimmerman.

The play is an adaptation based on the myths of Ovid. The play first premiered in 1996 at Northwestern University under the title “Six Myths.” It eventually transferred to Broadway in 2002, winning several Tony Awards, including the award for best direction of a play for Zimmerman.

The 10 myths and stories portrayed are “Cosmogony,” “Midas,” “Alcyone and Ceyx,” “Erysichthon,” “Orpheus and Eurydice,” “Vertumnus and Pomona,” “Myrrha and Cinyras,” “Phaeton,” “Eros and Psyche” and “Baucis and Philemon.” The performance takes place around a large pool of water onstage, a vital element to many of the myths depicted.

Beginning with “Cosmogony,” which explains the creation of the world, “Metamorphoses” takes its audience on an ancient trip. It brings to life the myths that society still tells and values today, stories that highlight the unified sorrows and joys of humankind, the trials and rewards of the past that translate into the present.

The stories range from that of the rich King Midas, played by Ian Carr ’21, who accidentally turns his precious daughter into gold and must travel across the earth to find a mystic pool to revive her, to Zeus and Hermes, coming down to earth disguised as beggars, only finding kindness in the poor Baucis and Philemon. The knowing audience watches as Alcyone, played

by Hannah Brown ’20, stands on the shore willing King Ceyx home from his fatal voyage at sea, and as Orpheus, played by Anthony Madalone ’21, inevitably turns around, surrendering Eurydice, played by Sarah Marksteiner ’19, back to the underworld.

On a lighter note, the shy Vertumnus, played by Breese Sherman ’20, is portrayed pining after the wood nymph Pomona, played by Becca Symmes ’19. Of course, the two only get their happy ending after the tragic tale of Myrrha, played by Gabrielle Canning ’18, being cursed by Aphrodite, played

by Alexandra Poirier ’19, with a relentless lust for her father, Cinyras.

And what would the play have been without the humorous tale of Phaeton, played by Cosmo Cothran-Bray ’20, complaining to a therapist, played by Riley Cruickshank ’18, about his father, the God Apollo, played by James Lynch ’20, and admitting to “driving” the sun too close to the earth and burning it.

After the constant whining of Phaeton in the previous scene, the silent love story of “Eros and Psyche” that follows is welcomed.

The actors did a phenomenal job of becoming the characters they performed. From the human embodiment of the hunger that plagued Erysichthon, played by Michael Williamson ’20, to the pain on each actor’s face as his or her loved one was snatched away, the members of the ensemble really sold their identities. Not only did they create a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging experience for the audience, but they also expressed the morals and lessons hidden in each myth.

As far as plays go, the theatre department’ss rendition of “Metamorphoses” leaves the audience in awe of the performers, enlightened by the myths and with an appreciation for the complexities of the lighting, stage design and costumes.

ALYSSA GRZESIAK // FLAT HAT EXECUTIVE EDITOR

W

h e n Conor Wilson ’19 first arrived at the College of William and Mary, he had his sights set on majoring in biology.

However, spending hours in the Integrated Science Center isn’t what put Wilson on stage the opening night of “Metamorphoses,” introducing himself as assistant director to Elizabeth Wiley.

Wilson’s passion for theater surfaced later in his high school years after seeing his school’s musical production as a sophomore.

He recalls the moment he realized that he wanted to be a part of the theater community.

“When I was sitting in the audience my jaw dropped,” Wilson said. “And I was like, ‘I wanna do that, I know I can do that. I’m gonna do that.’”

Wilson compares being a part of the theater community to being part of a family.

“Sophomore year was definitely a time when I felt very alone, and seeing people on stage performing like that, it’s a family, and I was jealous of that and I wanted that,” Wilson said.

So, when he arrived at the College, Wilson quickly found himself diving headfirst into the world of theater. Nearly as quickly, he recognized his undeniable passion for the art.

“I was cast in ‘Avenue Q’ and I kind of got sucked up into the theater world,” Wilson said. “I realized that theater is my passion and bio is an interest, and you have to go with your passion.”

Wilson said heawas particularly excited to be working on “Metamorphoses” because he grew up with an interest in Greek mythology. He said that he loves the lessons and morals that the tales express.

One of Wilson’s goals for his fastapproaching senior year is to direct a show here at the College.

“In order to get approved to do a senior directorial you need experience in that field and they strongly recommend being an assistant director on a mainstage show, so I knew that

was something I wanted to do,” Wilson said. “Also, I’m really interested in directing. I think that’s definitely a goal of mine in the future and my career, to take some time to direct and travel and direct different shows in different places.”

Every director uses their assistant directors differently. In the case of “Metamorphoses,” Wiley made the process extremely collaborative, allowing Wilson to give his own input on multiple aspects of the direction process.

“So Elizabeth Wiley was the director, and she falls more into the collaborative space,” Wilson said. “She would allow me to give opinions on blocking, give opinions on costumes, lighting choices — I was able to give notes to actors.”

For Wilson, the most challenging part of his role was learning that everyone communicates differently.

This is a lesson that hit as full runs began, the point at which communication is most essential. Although the learning process could be frustrating, Wilson learned how to communicate to each actor in order to get the result that he and Wiley wanted.

“Each actor is their own person and each actor has their own methods and each actor has their own way of communicating, so you can’t communicate the same way to each actor,” Wilson said.

This opportunity got Wilson excited about directing and pushed him to get serious about his application to direct next year. He describes watching the production unfold from a director’s point of view versus being a part of the cast as “eye opening.”

“I’ve learned so much from this process,” Wilson said. “I’m so thankful, and I guess I just want to get that across, how thankful I am for this opportunity. I’ve learned that I actually really want to be [a director].

I was like ‘oh maybe I could be a director’ and now I’m learning. Like I love it, I really enjoy it; I think I’m really good at it.’”

In addition to being thankful for the role Wiley played in his assistant director experience, Wilson acknowledges all of the hard work the other students and faculty put into the production.

“The set is so artistic,” Wilson said. “The set was designed by Matthew Allar — he’s a professor here — the lights were designed by Steve Holliday, also a professor here, the costumes by Patricia West, another professor here. … And then also, we put a freaking pool on stage. That’s awesome.”

Wilson credits Allar and technical director Brian Saxton for the idea of a pool becoming a reality. He notes the additional effort that the costume and lighting crews put into Metamorphoses because of the difficulties that incorporating the

pool created.

“You learn the lesson [that] you can’t direct, you can’t put on a good show without good people under you and who are supporting you and who want to make things come to life,” Wilson said. “Everyone was in it and everyone was solving problems left and right, and it makes you feel really blessed and makes you feel very appreciative of resources and people that you work with.”

Wilson said that his favorite of the myths from the play is “Pomona and Veromna,” which is one that he was not well-versed in prior to the show. He believes that its moral is one that many people can relate to and appreciate because it encourages people to be who they are and live their life undisguised.

“I’ve always loved it because here’s a guy, you know, trying so hard to be someone else,” Wilson said. “He doesn’t trust in himself enough or believe in himself that without all his disguises he’s good enough. And at the very very end, there’s finally someone there who says, ‘No you are good enough, just the way you are, undisguised.’ And I find that beautiful.”

Being able to witness the actors grow into their roles and [grow] as people was one of the most rewarding parts of Wilson’s role in the production.

“There’s too many rewarding parts to count,” Wilson said. “Seeing actors at the start of the process to the end of the process, seeing them grow, seeing them become stronger in what they were doing, you have immense pride in that and you feel so happy for them.”

As “Metamorphoses” comes to a close, Wilson looks to the future. Specifically, his future in directing and is thankful for those who have helped him thus far.

“I was actually very involved and I felt very blessed and lucky that I was able to express a lot of my ideas and freedom,” Wilson said. “So I thank Elizabeth Wiley, Liz, immensely for that opportunity.”

sportsinside

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 27, 2018 | Page 9

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S BASKETBALL

College falters

Comeback falls short in third straight loss

Overtime comeback

GRACIE HARRIS / THE FLAT HAT

Senior David Cohn helped lead the Tribe to an overtime comeback win on their Feb. 24 Senior Night, as the College beat Charleston 114-104 in the seniors’ last regular season game.

College heads to Charleston for CAA tournament as fourth seed CHRIS TRAVIS FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER William and Mary came into this week reeling from two straight losses. The College recovered, though, finishing out its regular season with two gutsy victories against UNC-Wilmington and Colonial Athletic Association regular season co-champion Charleston (23-7, 14-4 CAA).

After a subpar first half, the Tribe (18-11, 11-7 CAA) came out aggressive in the second half Thursday, dominating the opening five minutes after intermission en route to a 9683 comeback against UNCWilmington (10-20, 7-11 CAA). The CAA victory was led Pierce by sophomore guard Justin Pierce’s 22 points.

Despite several good looks, UNC-Wilmington was unable to knock down shots in the closing minutes, and the Tribe held on to win 96-83.

“I’m really proud of our second half,” head coach Tony Shaver said. “We got back to really sharing the basketball, the way we’ve played all year long. We trusted ourselves, our teammates.

We really made the extra pass that second half, starting with the first possession of the second half.”

Pierce was quick to note the importance of strong defense in

keying the second-half surge.

“I think they got offensive rebounds on half of their missed shots in the first half. We know that if we can get that first rebound then we can go and attack in transition because that’s our advantage. That’s where we got them in the second half,” Pierce said.

In the end, the Tribe turned a nine-point halftime deficit into a 13-point victory, keyed in large part by 11 straight points for Pierce, who is proving he can handle the increased scoring role that comes with the departure of Daniel Dixon ’17 and Omar Prewitt ’17.

Both senior guard David Cohn and Pierce identified defensive energy as the key to the comeback.

“If you look at a lot of big wins early in the season, even early in conference, it was our energy on defense, helping each other,” Cohn said. “Once the energy picks up, we feed off of that all around.”

That Saturday, a sensational performance from Cohn saw him drop 30 points and nine assists with a single turnover in his final game at Kaplan Arena. Cohn willed the Tribe to a 114-104 win in overtime after Charleston guard Grant Riller banked a 35foot three-pointer at the buzzer in regulation to tie the game.

As it was senior night, Cohn, Connor Burchfield, Oliver Tot, Cole Harrison, Jamison Glover, Tommy Papas and Amir Shafi were honored prior to the game,

along with senior manager Grant Gittins.

With just 3.7 seconds to play after the Tribe had held on all game, Charleston guard Riller caught the inbound pass and pulled up from nearly 40 feet, banking home the triple to tie the game at 95 as time expired, silencing what had been a raucous Kaplan Arena.

“I think Cohn the thing I’m proudest of is the way we performed and the look in our face in the overtime,” haver said.

“Probably nobody in the building gave us much of a chance to hold our ground in overtime.”

After Knight drilled two free throws to open overtime, Charleston responded with a layup. After a Tribe turnover, Cohn was forced to foul Riller as he drove unimpeded to the rim.

He hit one of two for a 98-97 lead for Charleston. Knight then fouled out of the game battling for a rebound, leaving the Tribe without its best big man.

However, a Cohn fall-away jumper followed by a layup and a clutch three from Milon gave the College a five-point edge with just under two minutes left in overtime.

The game ended with a 114104 win for the Tribe, as Cohn dropped 30 points and nine assists in an incredible senior day

performance that put his name among the most beloved in Tribe basketball history. Cohn was exhausted and passionate after the game.

“It means everything,” Cohn said. “I’m serious when I say that.

Especially to finish up the regular season like that going into the [CAA] tournament.”

Shaver did not hold back when discussing how important Cohn is.

“He was sensational,” Shaver said. “He’s become a great leader for us. From the first day to the last day, he’s been our catalyst, he’s been our leader. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say he willed us to win tonight. He really just wasn’t going to have it any other way.”

Fellow senior Burchfield added 19 points, drilling all three of his three-pointers in a fitting senior day for the player who leads the National Collegiate Athletic Association in three-point shooting percentage.

Milon had 20 and Knight added 19, playing tremendously during the final seven minutes of regulation while avoiding his fifth foul. Pierce had 16 points and 8 rebounds for the Tribe.

Cohn surpassed 1000 career points and 500 career assists in tonight’s game, with perhaps his most brilliant performance yet.

“The game lived up to everything that my dreams could have, in my final game in Kaplan,” Cohn said. “I’m really thankful.”

CATHERINE SCHEFER FLAT HAT SPORTS ASSOC. EDITOR Following two tough losses, William and Mary returned home Friday night to take on Colonial Athletic Association opponent Delaware for the second time this season. The Tribe (16-11, 7-9 CAA) fell yet again to the Blue Hens (17-9, 10-5 CAA), 61-52.

Both teams came out aggressively, but it was the Tribe who put the first two onto the scoreboard, the only time during the game that it held the lead.

Its lead was quickly squandered with a basket

by Blue Hens guard Abbey Gonzales to level the playing field. At the end of the first quarter, the Tribe trailed 17-12.

The Tribe came into the second quarter hot with three points from Garner within the first minute. However, the Blue Hens stood strong and put up a five-point run.

The Blue Hens grabbed a 15-point lead by the end of the first half. Senior center Abby Rendle led the Tribe with seven points, followed by Green and Garner who scored five points apiece.

After the game, head coach Ed Swanson highlighted the first half’s effect on the outcome.

“Our first half defensively, I thought, was really what put us in a hole,” Swanson said.

“In the first half some of our players were just too lackadaisical on the defensive side. They [Delaware] were beating us to 50-50 balls and sometimes that’s all it takes.”

The third quarter started to look promising for the Tribe as Rendle and junior guard Bianca Boggs put up a combined five points against only two points for the Blue Hens. However, Delaware followed swiftly and delivered a six-point streak.

Garner answered with a three-pointer, preceding two points for the Blue Hens.

Late in the third quarter, the Tribe lit up the court with five points from Green followed by another three-pointer from Garner. Boggs added to this 10-point run with two free throws.

“I think we were really trying to get it going with our defense, which is where our energy typically comes from,” Green said. “Our defense really stepped it up in the third quarter. I think if we can keep that up for four quarters we’ll be good going forward.”

The comeback attempt burned out as the fourth quarter wrapped up, as the Blue Hens were able to score five points, which were only answered by two free throws from Boggs to conclude the game.

Looking ahead, the Tribe will travel to North Carolina to take on Elon March 1 in an attempt to break out of its three-game losing streak.

“We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror and we’ve got to get back to basics,” Swanson said. “Sometimes it’s just effort level and communication and those are some of the things that are holding us back right now. We’ve got to figure out why we aren’t coming out of the gates with that same intensity on the defensive side.”

BASEBALL

Tribe finds first season win, falls in tough weekend series sweep After dominating Maryland 10-4, College falls three times to Quinnipiac to go 1-7 on season JULIA STUMBAUGH FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR William and Mary’s first homestand of the season was a rollercoaster of a week.

The Tribe lost to Virginia Commonwealth before achieving its first season victory in a dominant match against Maryland Thursday, when the College won 10-4.

The Tribe then fell 3-0 on the weekend to Quinnipiac in its second winless weekend series of the short season. The College now sits at 1-7 on the season.

The Tribe’s week started Wednesday with a loss to VCU. When freshman infielder Matt McDermott came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth, he offered up a sacrifice bunt that got the two Tribe runners on the field to third and second base. This led to a run that got the Tribe within one of the VCU lead. The College couldn’t quite complete the comeback; however, and struck out with a runner still left on third to drop its home opener 4-3 in its fourth one-run loss in a row.

“The first six innings we struggled,” sophomore first baseman Matthew Trehub said. “The biggest thing moving forward is to group team at-bats together and get on base.”

Trehub boasted one of the best performances of the night. In three times

Tribe’s first win of the season. After four at bat, he tallied two hits and one run.

Redshirt sophomore pitcher Chris straight losses to open the season were Farrell saw his first career start against the decided by just a single run, the College’s Rams. He pitched five innings, allowing offense finally broke out Wednesday evening, scoring in five different innings six hits and four runs.

“Chris Farrell for his first start was and earning a blowout win.

The Terrapins started off the game with solid,” head coach Brian Murphy said.

“He did a decent job against a good one run in the first that the Tribe matched in the bottom of the inning to keep the lineup.”

Junior pitcher Bodie Sheehan was score even at 1-1. Following that was an named Colonial Athletic Association offensive breakout by the Tribe, which Pitcher of the scored five in the second and third while Week after a holding Maryland to zero. After Maryland seven-inning start came up with two runs in the fourth, the against Clemson Tribe answered back with two in the sixth last weekend, in to maintain a healthy lead at 8-3. There which he allowed was no comeback from the Terrapins, as only one run. In the Tribe’s pitchers held them hitless in this game, and the eighth and ninth innings, closing out Sheehan throughout its season the game in a 10-4 win.

It was another strong night from a start, the College has seen some stellar performances on the mound but has pitching contingent still adjusting to struggled to score. Its comeback that fell substantial offseason turnover. Junior COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS just short in the matchup against VCU Nick Butts, freshman Aljo Sujak, graduate marked the fourth game in a row the student Andrew Burnick and senior Michael Toner all split the game at two Tribe lost by just a single run.

“Offensively, obviously, we really innings apiece, while sophomore Wade Strain closed out the final inning. In nine struggled,” Murphy said.

The next day, the Tribe made its first innings, the Tribe allowed just four hits victory of the season a decisive one. The and four runs as well as 12 total strikeouts.

Tribe (1-4) cracked 13 hits past Maryland Burnick, who allowed zero hits and (2-2) to beat the Terrapins 10-4 in the zero runs in the fifth and sixth innings,

recorded the win to improve his record to 1-0 on the season.

The weekend brought the series against Quinnipiac, where senior outfielder Luca Farina recorded the first ever hit of his Tribe career in the second game of the series. His second and third career hits made him the standout player in Sunday’s series-ending game. Farina was one of only two College players to record a run and was the only player in the game to tally multiple hits, as Quinnipiac (3-3) completed its sweep of the Tribe’s (1-7) first home weekend series in an 11-2 blowout. “[The Bobcats] were just on their game completely,” Farina said. “They were swinging their bats really well. They were making a ton of plays on defense and throwing a lot of Farina strikes on the mound.”

That was the story all weekend, as the Bobcats put on an offensive showcase to put the Tribe down 6-1, 10-3 and 11-2, making the College a decisive 0-3 on the weekend. It struggled to find an offensive touch all weekend, only putting up six runs to Quinnipiac’s 27 over the three-

game stretch.

Despite Pearson scoring first in the opening game of the series Friday, the Tribe had no response to Quinnipiac’s answering six runs and fell 6-1 at the end of the night. That 1-0 start to the game Friday was the only lead the College held all weekend. Quinnipiac opened the game Saturday with an outpouring of runs, including four on a grand slam in the fourth inning from Evan Vulgamore that put the Bobcats in front 9-0 going into the fifth inning. Although the College pieced together three runs in the next three innings to cut Quinnipiac’s lead to 9-3, the Bobcats topped off their victory with a final run in the ninth to finish the Tribe off 10-3 Saturday. That offensive momentum continued to carry them through Sunday’s 11-2 blowout.

“We got beaten in really every conceivable facet,” Murphy said. “[Quinnipiac] played really, really well.

They got three good starts, I thought their lineup guys did a good job. They certainly took it to us.”

With the loss of this series, the Tribe drops to 1-7 on the season, having been swept in both of its weekend series so far.

It will head to Charlottesville Wednesday, looking to use this weekend’s lesson to in a weekday matchup against the Cavaliers.

sports BATTLE FOR A

BID

It is only days away until the calendar turns to March, which means it’s nearly the most wonderful time of the year for basketball fans — tournament time. William and Mary is one of four teams that have been eligible for every National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament since its inception and never make an appearance. Is this the year that the Tribe finally makes an appearance at “The Big Dance?” To do so, the College will have to win three games in three days to be crowned Colonial Athletic Association tournament champion.

Avoiding the play-in round, the Tribe will first match up with Towson. The College dropped both contests against the Tigers in the regular season, losing 99-73 at home Jan. 13 and dropping an overtime game at Towson 96-82. The Tigers are a big, physical team and the Tribe this season has struggled playing against squads of Towson’s style. However, the Tigers have sputtered down the stretch, losing their last three games heading into the tournament.

If the College gets past Towson, they will most likely face No. 1 seed Charleston in the CAA semifinal. After getting off to a slow start, Charleston dominated league play, winning 12 of its last 14. However, the Tribe has played the Cougars tough this season, losing a hard-fought 82-77 decision at Charleston before winning a classic on Senior Day, 114-104 in overtime.

To say the Tribe has had trouble getting over the hump in the CAA tournament would be an understatement — ­ William and Mary is still the only team in the CAA from its inception to win the tournament and gain a bid to March Madness. It will take a herculean effort to get there this year.

— Flat Hat Sports Editor Brendan Doyle

Sports Editor Brendan Doyle Sports Editor Julia Stumbaugh flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports

The Flat Hat

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THE EXTRA POINT

GYMNASTICS

Tribe must improve stopping opponents to win tournament

Women’s team impresses on beam

College title hopes rest on defense Both teams post second Josh Luckenbaugh FLAT HAT SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Welcome to The Extra Point, a weekly analysis column about William and Mary sports. Senior Staff Writer Josh Luckenbaugh has covered Tribe athletics for parts of the past four years and will be taking over the reins for this semester.

It’s hard to be critical of William and Mary after such an electrifying victory over the Colonial Athletic Association’s top team, Charleston, Saturday, when it outlasted the Cougars in a 114-104 overtime thriller to close out the Tribe’s 2017-18 regular season.

Nonetheless, the most important part of the College’s season begins next Sunday afternoon, when the fourth-seeded Tribe faces No. 5 seed Towson in the CAA tournament. If Tony Shaver’s team wants to become the first in school history to earn a National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament berth, it will have to solve its troubling defensive issues.

By all accounts, the College is statistically the best offensive team in the nation. The only team in the country with a top-five field goal percentage, free throw percentage and three-point field goal percentage, and the No. 1 team in the latter two categories, the Tribe has had no trouble putting the ball in the basket.

On the other hand, opposing teams have almost scored at will against the Tribe’s defense, averaging over 82 points per game against the College, the second worst mark in the CAA. Opponents have also shot 48.9 percent from the field against the Tribe, by far the highest opposing field goal percentage in the conference. The College has proved it has the firepower to outscore its opposition, the only team in the CAA averaging over 80 points per game. However, just as no lead is safe when facing the Tribe’s potent offense, no lead the Tribe builds is safe either thanks to its porous defense.

Take the second half of Saturday’s victory against Charleston, for example. The Tribe led by as much as 16 in the second half against the Cougars, but the game ultimately went to overtime. Charleston scored 63 points over the second half of regulation on 62.9 percent shooting, the College unable to get stops to put the game away.

Of course, the Tribe recovered in overtime and triumphed in the end, but the College can’t let double-digit leads slip away in the conference tournament.

Shaver himself addressed his team’s problems on defense after the game, the two-time CAA Coach of the Year understanding better than anyone what the Tribe needs to improve on in order to win its first conference championship.

“What we’ve got to do has been clear since day one,” Shaver said.

“We’ve got to defend, and we’ve got to rebound and show some toughness. And that’s what’s been our issues all year long.”

Indeed, these defensive concerns have existed since the beginning of the season. No one doubted the Tribe could score, all five starters averaging double-digit points per game, but the College lacked, and still lacks, an elite defender in the mold of Terry Tarpey ’16. On top of that, the Tribe has a serious shortage of frontcourt depth behind sophomore forward Nathan Knight.

The College’s leading scorer, Knight is vital to the Tribe’s success, but his pension for getting into foul trouble has caused problems this season. For all his shooting ability, redshirt junior forward Paul Rowley does not possess the same size and strength as Knight, while graduate transfer center Cole Harrison lacks Knight’s athleticism and offensive skill set.

A glimpse at the potential consequences of Knight being in foul trouble came Saturday against Charleston. Knight was forced to the bench several times in the second half after picking up his third and then his fourth foul, leaving the Tribe without its primary rim protector for key stretches. The Cougars took advantage of Knight’s absence, driving to the basket relentlessly and grabbing offensive rebounds to keep the pressure on the College defense. Charleston wound up with 11 second-chance points and 24 points in the paint in the second half, its success inside against the Tribe an important factor in the comeback.

“Poor Nate [Knight], guy gets a foul when he walks on the floor,” Shaver said. “We’re not very big, and without Nate on the floor, our guards have got to be better rebounders. We clearly got to do a better job there.”

The Tribe will have to be strong in all facets of the game Sunday against Towson, the Tigers having defeated the College by double digits twice earlier in the season. Towson ranks as the best defense in the conference in terms of opponent field goal percentage, and along with the added pressures which come with the CAA tournament, the Tribe probably won’t be able to simply outrun and outgun the Tigers.

Despite the defensive issues and the tough quarterfinals matchup, the College has displayed an ability to defy expectations this season. The Tribe was tabbed to finish eighth in the CAA before the season, but fought hard through a competitive conference slate and finished fourth, winning 10 or more league games for the fifth straight season, a school record.

“I don’t think a lot of people expected much out of this team, [but] this team’s worked hard, they’ve played together, they’ve listened … and made changes when they need to make changes,” Shaver said. “There’ve been very few teams I’ve coached that I think have probably really surpassed expectations, and I don’t want to be done. We’ve got a big week ahead of us. This is our time of year.”

Having surprised many of its doubters already this season, who knows? Maybe this Tribe team can shock the world once more and finally get over the NCAA tournament hump. But as the saying goes, “Defense wins championships,” and the College will have to play the best defense of its season to hoist the CAA trophy.

Email Josh Luckenbaugh at jluckenbaugh@email.wm.edu.

EMILY CHAUMONT FLAT HAT SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Saturday, the William and Mary men and women placed second at their respective meets. The women fell 195.725-193.325 in a dual meet at North Carolina State and the men took second in a tri-meet at Army with a score of 379.8.

The highlight of the women’s events in North Carolina was beam, where the College posted a season-high team score and three Tribe gymnasts put up career highs. Sophomore Evan Pakshong (9.825), sophomore Caroline Caponi (9.750) and sophomore Taylor White (9.675) all scored personal bests to contribute to the team score of 48.525.

The Tribe saw another gymnast post a career-best score on floor. Sophomore Elizabeth Snoddy’s 9.775 was a career high for her. Junior Aaliyah Kerr was the College’s top scorer on that event, helping the team to a 48.550.

On vault, sophomore Erika Marr (9.725) and freshman Katie Waldman (9.700) were the Tribe’s top scorers, adding to the team score of 48.000. Waldman (9.725) and Pakshong (9.700) also contributed on bars, helping the College to a 48.250.

This week, three members of the Tribe competed in the all-around. Like last week, Waldman once again led the way for the College, this time posting a 38.725.

Caponi and White also competed in all four events at NC State, posting scores of 38.525 and 37.775, respectively.

The Tribe men fared better than the women Saturday. The College took second with a score of 379.8, falling to host Army (385.0) but besting Springfield (373.75).

The men’s top performance was on rings, where the team total of 67.3 was enough to earn the Tribe first place on that event. Junior David Watkins took first with his score of 13.8. Juniors Jacopo Gliozzi and Peter Makey tied for third on rings, posting matching scores of 13.6. This score marked a career high for Gliozzi.

The Tribe also took the team title on high bar with a score of 57.25. Junior David Allen placed first with a 12.1. Seniors Mitchell Campbell (11.6) and Jeremiah McReynolds (11.5) also contributed to the College’s winning high bar total.

Although it did not take the team title, the Tribe had another individual first on pommel horse, where senior Griffin Antle posted a 13.1. Gliozzi (12.6) also added to the College’s team total score of 59.45 on that event.

The Tribe had yet another athlete on the podium on vault. Senior Juan Palma took second, posting a 14.15. The College posted a team total of 68.3 with the additional help of junior Jack Hasenkopf (13.9) and sophomore Tomas Palma (13.8).

Freshman Cutter Fuggett earned another podium spot for the Tribe when his 13.45 tied for second place on floor. Sophomore Tim O’Neill and Juan Palma posted 13.3 and 13.0, respectively, helping the College to an overall score of 64.6 on floor.

The only individual event where the Tribe did not see the podium was parallel bars. The College’s team total score on that event was a 62.9, with Antle (13.4), Campbell (13.1) and McReynolds (13.0) contributing.

Hasenkopf and sophomore Nate Winneg were the Tribe’s all-around competitors Saturday, posting scores of 73.45 and 70.95, respectively.

Both the men and the women will be back in action next week, this time at home. The men will host Navy at Kaplan Friday, March 2 at 6 p.m. This will be the Tribe men’s third face-off against Navy, and the College will be looking for its first win against the Midshipmen this weekend. The women will be up Saturday, March 3 at 3 p.m. against West Chester at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe women will still be in search of their first win of the season.