T HE F LAT H AT
Vol. 113, Iss. 4 | Wednesday, April 05, 2023
The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
HOUSING
flathatnews.com | @theflathat
STUDENT ASSEMBLY
Fox win SA WAITLIST CONTRIBUTES TO RISE IN OFF- Thayer, presidential election CAMPUS HOUSING DEMAND
Students raise concerns about City of Williamsburg rental process, affordable housing MOLLY PARKS // FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF I got wasn’t the best. It just felt like that they didn’t really have a lot of empathy for my situation.” In an email to The Flat Hat, Kandell said that students currently on the waitlist still have the potential to receive the opportunity for on-campus housing. This past year, ResLife was able to house all
opportunity to be able to apply with her current roommate. “I wanted to stay close to campus, I don’t have the means to afford a car,” Ahammad said. “I also wanted to stay with my roommate who I feel like is understanding of my religious practices. I’m Muslim, I don’t know how things would
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It's been really stressful, honestly. I am a first-generation, low-income student. And when I heard the news that I'm on the waitlist, no guarantee for housing next year, it got my parents pretty upset. It's a lot of undue stress on us, like, how will I find off-campus housing ? - Anika Ahammad '25
waitlisted students by Aug. 1, 2022. “Being waitlisted does not necessarily mean you won’t be able to live on campus for the 202324 academic year,” Kandell wrote. “Students continue to withdraw from housing for a variety of reasons such as study abroad opportunities and other changes to circumstances. We will continue to work with students through this challenging time, and we are committed to doing all we can to house as many of our students next year as possible.” Ahammad originally applied for on-campus housing for multiple reasons, including the comforting
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In an Oct. 12, 2022 email to students, the College of William and Mary Residence Life office announced that, given the closure of the Yates and Monroe residence halls, it anticipated a housing waitlist of approximately 400-500 students for the 2023-24 academic year. In Feb. 2023, the College notified 548 upperclassmen of their waitlist status. According to Director of Housing and Residence Life Harriet Kandell, the number of waitlisted students is currently 339. Given the size of the waitlist for 2023-24 on-campus housing, many of the upperclassmen in this uncertain hiatus have begun looking for off-campus housing options. The increased demand for off-campus rentals has shed light on the City of Williamsburg’s position in the national housing shortage crisis. Anika Ahammad ’25, an American Studies major, the incoming advocacy chair of William and Mary First-Generation, LowIncome Students and a Pell Grant student, shared her experience as one of the 339 students still on the housing waitlist. “It’s been really stressful, honestly,” Ahammad said. “I am a firstgeneration, low-income student. And when I heard the news that I’m on the waitlist, no guarantee for housing next year, it got my parents pretty upset. It’s a lot of undue stress on us, like, how will I find off-campus housing? What resources are there? And I did email ResLife and went in person a few times to see if there was anything I could do. But the response
work out if I went off-campus.” Ahammad recently secured offcampus housing for the 2023-24 school year with the help of a friend in FGLI. However, she realized several issues within the City's rental market through the process of leasing a rental property nearby campus, including the issue of complicated lease agreements. “When it comes to having oncampus housing, there are some things you don’t have to worry about,” Ahammad said. “This is my first time renting, finding a place of my own. So there are all these legal details that I did not understand
Annual SA elections held for class presidents and senators
LISA COLEMAN AND PEERAWUT RUANSAWASDI FLAT HAT DATA EDITOR AND NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR
and needed help with. If you’re on campus, you don’t have to worry about paying for electricity, having wi-fi. But when you live off campus, there are these other things you have to consider.” Taylor Fox ’24 is in a unique position in terms of the College’s current housing crisis. As the newly elected vice president of Student Assembly, Fox serves as an advocate for the student body on this issue. However, Fox is also currently on the College’s housing waitlist for the second time, after being waitlisted for the 2022-23 school year. She is also a first-generation, low-income student on a full scholarship to the College as a Pell Grant recipient. Fox spoke to the issues that the increased demand from the waitlist illuminates in terms of off-campus housing, especially within the FGLI community. “I’ve had conversations with my financial aid officer and they have been very helpful and like, ‘Okay, this is how much you’re going to have per month and we’re going to sit with you and budget.’ And I think a lot of outreach needs to be done about that opportunity for students, especially for FGLI students,” Fox said. She noted that having a trusted, financial advisor resource for FGLI students to use in the search for offcampus housing would be helpful. “That’s also something that a lot of first generation low income students don’t have is that financial planning, that risk planning, when it comes to living off campus,” Fox said.
Thursday, March 30, the College of William and Mary student body elected Sydney Thayer ’24 and Taylor Fox ’24 as the next Student Assembly president and vice president. "We're celebrating with people who supported our campaign, and looking forward to celebrating with friends tonight and supporters," Thayer told The Flat Hat soon after learning of her victory. Thayer and Fox received 86.68% of the votes, while write-in challengers Max Beers ’24 and Ian Chen ’24 received 9.78%. In the 330th SA administration, Thayer serves as secretary of Sustainability and senior advisor for Internal Affairs and Logistics, while Fox serves as senior advisor for Community Engagement and Outreach. Students also voted for a class president and four senators to represent them in SA. This year, 1,186 eligible voters cast their votes in the SA presidential election, representing 17.45% of overall undergraduate student enrollment. The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) did not immediately release data on how many students were eligible to participate in the election. Last year’s election saw 23.96% of eligible voters cast their ballots, which marked the first contested election since 2019. SA President John Cho ’23 called Thayer to congratulate her and inform her of her victory shortly after the votes were tallied. Fox noted the significance of a write-in option. “We were really happy to actually see a write-in option so students can actually voice who they want to office,” Fox said. In the call with The Flat Hat shortly after the results were announced, Fox discussed what she learned from the campaign. “Something that we learned is just still listening,” Fox said. “We also had a feedback form and a support form. So, you could just hear from people that supported us [with] what they want to see on campus.” Fox thanked the student body for its support.
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MENTAL HEALTH
Virginia Governor's office hosts mental health forum on campus
Leaders invited from schools to discuss mental health in children, young adults, guide future actions JAKE FORBES AND DANIEL KALISH FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR AND NEWS EDITOR
Wednesday, March 29, the office of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin hosted a discussion forum at the College of William and Mary on mental health in the state’s education system in Sadler Tidewater. The event, titled “The Pursuit of Calm: The Mental Health Landscape of the Pandemic-Endemic Era,” hosted leaders from K-12 and postsecondary schools across Virginia. Attendees included Youngkin and First Lady of Virginia Suzanne Youngkin, Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera and Secretary of Health and Human Resources and Board of Visitors member John E. Littel P ’22. In December, Youngkin introduced “Right Help, Right Now,” a six-pillared approach to address Virginia’s behavioral health challenges. The threeyear comprehensive plan invests more than $230 million in the state’s behavioral health system. “Right here today, we are going to be helping him realize that plan,” College President Katherine Rowe said. In her opening remarks, Rowe noted the importance of tackling the mental health crisis. “Addressing mental health among children and young adults is among the most pressing challenges for educators in the U.S. and those who lead in every sector,” Rowe said. Rowe also discussed the difficulties educators face in addressing the mental health crisis. “The challenge of the work that we’re doing together is that it’s really pretty new,” Rowe said. “This is not work that I was trained to do when I began my career, and I imagine that’s also true for every leader here.” Rowe commended Youngkin and other political leaders for their dedication to mental health.
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“With the governor's leadership and bipartisan support, Virginia is poised to allocate record funding for youth mental health services this year,” Rowe said.
COURTESY PHOTO / STEPHEN SALPUKAS
Youngkin's mental health approach, "Right Help, Right Now," prompts individuals to unite, despite their individual political stance.
Guidera and Littel also provided opening remarks to set the tone for the day. Guidera specifically emphasized the importance of the discussion forum in guiding future actions on mental health. “Today is all about learning from you and catching your voices,” Guidera said. “These two issues of education and mental health are the Governor’s two priority issues. He knows that Virginia will not be the greatest place to live, work and raise a family if we do not get these two
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things right.” Littel explained that the discussion forum will help inform the Governor’s office and its decisionmaking for future state-wide initiatives.
It's time to put the break back in spring break Mollie Shiflett '26 argues that students should not have assignments right after spring break. page 6
“We have a number of initiatives that we’re working on for this year, but we’re also trying to develop what’s in next year’s plan,” Littel said. Littel introduced Associate Vice President for Health and Wellness and Director of Center for Mindfulness and Authentic Excellence Kelly Crace, who discussed the new challenges facing students today. Following Crace’s discussion, Rowe introduced Youngkin for the keynote speech. During his speech, Youngkin cited Mental Health
America’s state rankings, which places Virginia at 48th in the nation in youth mental health. He also tied the mental health crisis to recent instances of gun violence. “The challenges that we have, which manifest themselves in statistical data, reflect the realities of loneliness and depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety,” Youngkin said. “For very few, sadly, tragically, the response can turn to violence. Harming themselves, harming others. Nowhere has this been more apparent than the horrific murders in Charlottesville, Chesapeake, now tragically in Tennessee. I'd suggest that there's no one in this room for whom this is not personal, deeply personal.” Youngkin detailed the six pillars to his “Right Help, Right Now” plan. However, Youngkin said he first needs the Virginia General Assembly to pass the state budget. “I need senators, delegates to come together, I need Republicans and Democrats to come together and deliver the budget,” Youngkin said. “And we will press forward with the most aggressive transformation of our behavioral health system in the entire nation. We believe we will provide that North Star that other states can be guided by.” After his speech, Youngkin spoke with The Flat Hat about the key elements of “Right Help, Right Now,” and how its policies can improve students’ mental health. “I believe that particularly for students, making sure we fund expansion of access is really important,” he said. “One of the more important parts of the plan is to take the telehealth part of the plan and spread it across all universities and colleges in our public schools in Virginia.” SEE MENTAL HEALTH PAGE 3
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Introducing the one and only egg-celent omelette-making Mr. Michael Holloway to the campus community. page 8
Knowles shines in biggest start of year, lets up zero runs in three innings. page 10
This guy's no yoke
Green and Gold top No. 15 Campbell in nail-biter at home