The Marlin Chronicle
A donkey grazes at The Cove when The Teeny Tiny Farm brought a petting zoo to campus for the Sweater Weather Bash on Nov. 13. THURSDAY 12.4.25|| MARLINCHRONICLE.VWU.EDU
Laila Jones|Marlin Chronicle
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
Track preps with new coaching styles BY BAILEY GRAY bcgray@vwu.edu
Laila Jones|Marlin Chronicle From the sidelines, Coach Pham leads track student-athletes, senior Lyric Hoggard among them.
Head Track & Field Head Coach BT Pham, entering his first season as a Marlin, will focus on determination, team spirit and precision in a sport that emphasizes setting new personal records and cultivating a winning mindset. Pham brings a decade of coaching experience to VWU Track and Field. Before arriving at VWU, he served as an assistant coach at Muhlenberg College and spent several seasons at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, establishing himself as a dedicated and knowledgeable coach. Throughout his career, Pham has also held key graduate
assistant roles to further his experience in training, recruitment and program development. His arrival brings new passion and energy to the VWU Track and Field program. Pham said when he enters a new program and new season, he sets academic and athletic goals for the team, such as improving from the previous semester, graduating on time and giving the student-athletes a better experience than they previously had. “We are always trying to move the needle a little bit year by year, and make sure that each season is better than the previous years,” Pham said.
See COACHING Page 8
Norfolk unites ‘Change isn’t community to cut waste easy’
BY LILY RESLINK lbreslink@vwu.edu
On “America Recycles Day,” Keep Norfolk Beautiful (KNB) and Norfolk Public Libraries partnered to host the UpCycle Festival, meshing artistic creation with civic engagement. On Nov. 15, patrons and community leaders gathered at the Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library to reflect and take action on waste-reducing practices. Some of those involved in the event’s organization have close connections to VWU, including graduate student Sarah Sterzing ’25 and alumna Willow Baker
‘24. “I was in [VWU’s] newsletter… about the LOVE sculpture that we had at Wesleyan,” Sterzing said. As an artful reminder of recycling’s necessity, the sculpture spells out ‘LOVE’ with melded metal wires that double as containers for recyclables. Sterzing coordinated with the university to display the sign in the lobby of Greer from Oct. 16 to Nov. 14. Sterzing transported the sign to the Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library for Upcycle Fest. Graduating this winter with a Masters of Environmental Studies, Sterzing is part of the program’s first cohort.
Baker transitioned from a temp job at KNB to a dedicated volunteer coordinator for waste reduction. Alongside community clean-up events, she is in charge of the “adoptive spots” around the city, which Baker said is KNB’s “long-term volunteer commitment program where you sign up for a section of the street in Norfolk and you dedicate four sections of the year to clean it.” With her own job at KNB as proof, Baker said students can participate in events like the Upcycle Fest to build not only community connections, but professional ones. “Networking and just meeting community faces is so important.”
See UPCYCLE Page 10
Lily Reslink|Marlin Chronicle At Upcycle Fest, environmentalists share their efforts toward lobbying for a plastic bag regulation in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Across the street, a plastic bag is caught in a bush at Ocean View Beach.
Inside Look:
Marlins feel differing impacts of the university’s name change, but athletes say it should not impact athletic culture.
BY ELI CASEY
emcasey@vwu.edu
As Virginia Wesleyan University prepares for its transition to Batten University in 2026, current and former student-athletes process what the change means for the programs, their history and the name they’ve represented for years. Fifth-year Men’s Basketball guard Omari DeVeaux has spent five seasons wearing the VWU name on the front of his jersey. “It feels like home,” DeVeaux said. “Wearing it for so long, and then just seeing all the alums who came before me ... there’s a history behind it. Knowing that I’m a part of that history and that culture, it’s amazing.” Some are uncertain of its impact, while others see the change as an unwanted disruption. Others still say they
feel caught between respecting the institution and wanting space to speak honestly about a decision that impacts them directly. One alumnus, who asked not to be named, said the name change may complicate how former athletes talk about their achievements. “I feel like this will put a small caveat into every conversation going forward,” the alumnus, who formerly played for the Men’s Lacrosse team, said. “It forces athletes to over-explain something that should really be quite simple.” The alumnus said some former players feel “betrayed, ignored ... and unrepresented” by the decision, adding that many spent formative years investing in both a name and an institution they believed would carry forward.
See CHANGE Page 7
International student Global Engagement policies spark attention creates a ‘home away from home’
Higher costs hinder offshore wind project’s timeline
“We are monitoring policy developments and keeping our international students well-informed of any changes to ensure continued visa compliance,” Director of Global Engagement Brooke Novkovic said.
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Brooke Novkovic|Courtesy