T HE F LAT H AT
Vol. 113, Iss. 9 | Wednesday, September 27, 2023
The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
flathatnews.com | @theflathat
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMITTEE PRESENTS REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL Committee recommendations, community call for increased racial reconciliation, equity efforts in Williamsburg
PEERAWUT RUANGSAWASDI // FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC.
PEERAWUT RUANGSAWASDI / THE FLAT HAT Report suggests city of Williamsburg should engage with various organizations, including the College.
COURTESY IMAGES / WILLIAMSBURG CITY COUNCIL City Manager Andrew Trivette presents recommendations from the TRC to the city council.
COURTESY IMAGE / COMING TO THE TABLE Coming to the Table Facilitator Bill Sizemore and James City Assistant Police Chief Anthony Dallman.
Tuesday, Sept. 19, members of the Williamsburg Truth and Reconciliation Committee Laura Hill and Helen Casey-Rutland discussed the committee’s report at the 1607 Coffee Company. Committee members and individuals from the Williamsburg community attended the event. The Historic Triangle chapter of the nonprofit organization Coming to the Table and the Virginia Racial Healing Institute hosted the event. Hill leads both organizations. Williamsburg City Manager Andrew Trivette presented the report to the Williamsburg City Council Monday, Sept. 11. Trivette and Williamsburg Mayor Doug Pons headed the effort to form the committee after the council passed Resolution #21-05 in 2021. The committee’s report to the council identifies five broad recommendations with more specific action items. The categories are listed as “Build a 21st Century Triangle,” “Speak the Truth,” “Do the Work,” “Foster a Welcoming Community,” “Create & Support a Healthy Community” and “Name It. Claim It. Fix It.” “You’ll notice that for every recommendation there are actions, areas of focus, you’ll see agencies,” Hill said. “These are agencies that we’re recommending that the City work with, and then there are also outcomes, this is what we anticipate happen as a result of taking these actions, working with these agencies.” The report lists dozens of organizations the committee thinks the city should engage, including the College of William and Mary, the College’s School of Education’s Community and Action Research Engagement lab, the College’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the College’s School of Education’s New Horizons Family Counseling Center and the Lemon Project. “This process really began in December of 2020 when this initially included the idea of studying equity in the City was included in the Goals, Initiatives and Outcomes for that year,” Trivette said. “In July of 2021 the council took the important and impressive step of forming the Truth and Reconciliation committee.” Methodist pastor Helen Casey-Rutland ‘83 laid out the basic goal of the committee.
“So, we wanted to hear the truth that people in the community had to share with us and then try to project some direction for the City to go in,” Casey-Rutland said. “And we were limited, of course, because we could only recommend that. The City has the power to do.” Hill and Casey-Rutland said the committee heard from a diverse group of people, including individuals as young as 19 and as old as 92. The committee consists of five Williamsburg residents, two at-large members and Williamsburg Vice Mayor Pat Dent, who serves as an ex-officio member. Trivette and three other City staff members support the committee and attend the meetings monthly. Committee members include former Councilmember Bobby Braxton, who serves as chair, and Vice Chair Adam Canaday. Both are descendants of Williamsburg Bray School students and participated in the school’s moving ceremony in February 2023. Associate professor of ESL/bilingual education Katherine Barko-Alva and former Councilmember Benny Zhang ’16 J.D. ’20 also serve on the committee. This year, the council aims to implement two of the committee’s recommendation actions. “We’re primarily focused on completing the GIO for this period, which essentially gives us about a year to accomplish two of the action items related to the TRC report,” Trivette said. “So the staff thought that the City Council would take some time, perhaps over the next month, and come back to the City with direction on two of the ones that we’ve recommended or a different direction that you’ve thought of on your own.” Trivette also said the term “advancement” was deliberately chosen to denote completing an action item because it does not solidify or complete a process, but rather, indicates an initial step. “Hiring a DEI consultant, helping us to understand the organization, and do the work in terms of how we engage with the community, strikes me as a great opportunity,” Pons said. “And then of course, the African-American Heritage Trail, which is a project that’s underway.”
Councilmember and director of Clinical Programs, director of the Immigration Clinic and clinical associate professor of Law Stacy Kern-Scheerer emphasized the long-term nature of the goals. “It really isn’t about like checking the box,” Kern-Scheerer said. “I look at many of these things and they are not something that we’re just going to do in a year and be like we accomplished that one and moving on to the next but really thinking about longer term and thinking about how these things may grow and develop and transform over time.” Councilmembers Caleb Rogers ’20 and Barbara Ramsey ’75 emphasized the benefits of a student scholarship program, stating its potentially large impact on students. This year, the African American Heritage Trail program received $357,000 in federal funding. “You know, soon to come, hopefully. That’ll let us do the stage one of that trail would also be a very good, and, I think, quicker opportunity for investment,” Rogers said. Assistant professor Aaron Griffith, who attended the Coming to the Table event, appreciated the conversation. “I thought it was really informative,” Griffith wrote in an email to The Flat Hat. “The recommendations from the committee were excellent and look to really address many of the concerns of the descendent community in Williamsburg. I just hope the city takes these recommendations seriously and commits the resources to getting them started.” Griffith also gave recommendations to students at the College. “I think students at William and Mary can first make themselves knowledgeable about the history of race in Williamsburg and William and Mary,” Griffith added. “I would, second, recommend that they get involved in the local work on racial reconciliation, which may just be attending the Coming to the Table and the Village Initiative meetings to listen to what’s going on in town. Students can also attend events and be aware of the work that the Lemon Project on campus is doing.”
STUDENT LIFE
Latin American Student Union discusses importance of Latinx Heritage Month
Members of LASU emphasize celebrating culture, connecting with community, facilitating significant growth of diversity on campus MADDIE MOHAMADI THE FLAT HAT
Friday, Sept. 15 marked the beginning of National Latinx Heritage Month. Throughout the month, student organizations are celebrating with a diverse array of events for members of the College of William and Mary community. According to Emiko O’Cadiz ’24, historian for the Latin American Student Union, Latinx Heritage Month, which lasts from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, honors Latinx, Hispanic and crosscultural identities. “[Latinx Heritage Month] is a time to celebrate our cultural achievements and contributions,” O’Cadiz wrote in an email to The Flat Hat. In celebration of the month, LASU has held several events, including “History of Empanadas” and “Taste of Latinx” celebrations, a picnic and an “Around the World Craft Night” with WMFIRE, another student organization that advocates for immigrant rights. In the next three weeks, LASU plans to host other events, including an international mini market popup with the South Asian Student Association, a karaoke night and a mock quinceañera with Political Latinxs United for Movement and Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, the College’s Latinx fraternity. During the “Around the World Craft Night” event, participants painted flags of their respective countries and discussed the importance of flags in identity and history. “One of our pillars is education and learning service,” LASU president Ashley Carranza-Lopez ’24 said.
Inside Opinions
INDEX Profile News Opinion Variety Sports
LASU also values connection, with many members referring to the community as a “familia”, or family. “What we really preach on is family,” CarranzaLopez said. “Everything that we do is together, we don’t use ‘I’, we use ‘we.’” Carranza-Lopez described the L ASU community as a second home, especially for members who feel isolated or far from their families. Traditions such as bigs and littles — where all new members are paired with an older member — ensure community members feel welcomed while providing a source of mentorship. In addition to fostering family among its members, LASU strives to connect with other Latinx organizations on campus through presentations and mixers. “Our exec group this year was really focused on unification with the Latinx orgs on campus,” Carranza-Lopez said. “We’ve always felt like there was a disconnect with them just because they’re so different, but I think the differences is what’s really important.” These efforts are visible through several joint Latinx Heritage Month events this fall, such as the “Around the World Craft Night,” the international mini market pop-up, the mock quinceañera, a dance social with Queer People of Color and a carne asada with SASA. “I feel like we’ve been making more connections with the other [multicultural organizations] on campus, and that is one of the main things that I want to see continue in the future,” O’Cadiz said. Another of LASU’s core values is inclusivity,
2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
Give me sidewalks or give me death!
Ellie Kurlander ’24 speaks out about the tidal wave of construction and its effect on the student body page 5
particularly in terms of cultural representation. “A general issue in the Latino community is that a lot of people sometimes feel they aren’t ‘Latino enough’ due to not being able to speak Spanish,” O’Cadiz said. “Recognizing that we come from so many different experiences is really, really important to us and to make our members feel really comfortable with us as well.” Bella Martinez ’27, a new member of LASU, appreciates how the organization stresses belonging. “I was kind of nervous going to the first meeting, but ever since then I’ve definitely felt welcomed,” Martinez said. “Everyone is super friendly and introduces themselves and it’s really nice.” Martinez looks forward to her next four years with LASU. “I hope to get more involved with the club and meet some more people,” Martinez said. “I would also like to maybe get a position on the exec board or something, but just fostering this community and promoting people’s cultures.” LASU has further emphasized its commitment to inclusivity through its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. The organization created the DEI chair and committee last fall, with the goal of amplifying unheard voices within the Latinx community. According to Carranza-Lopez, at the beginning of the year, new members added their names and respective countries to a spreadsheet. This allows the executive team to organize celebrations tailored to members’ cultures, such as national holidays and festivities.
Inside Variety
Snapshots of Chavez
Center for Student Diversity hosts art exhibition with photographs of famous labor activist Cesar Chavez, celebrates legacy, Latinx heritage month page 7
“Recognizing and celebrating those important holidays are essential to do,” O’Cadiz said. In the past, LASU has also hosted food-related presentations to spotlight different countries. Last year, the organization held a “History of Arroz” event, which highlighted Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru and El Salvador. This year’s “History of Empanadas” featured Mexico, Haiti, Ecuador and Guatemala. “Through that whole event, we had cooking groups,” Carranza-Lopez said. “You come in as strangers, you leave out as family, as friends.” Carranza-Lopez and O’Cadiz acknowledged Latinx students’ many contributions at the College, both inside and outside of LASU. “Our unique experiences bring different perspectives in classrooms, especially in classes that are white-dominated,” O’Cadiz said. “All Latinx students on this campus bring unique cultural perspectives and unique political and educational experiences that some others may not have.” To further support Latinx students at the College, Carranza-Lopez stressed the importance of increasing accessibility for nonEnglish speakers through signs and brochures in Spanish. “The biggest step in what the school could do is provide more resources and become more inclusive, not just with our actions but with our voice,” Carranza-Lopez said. “It’s not even just for Latinx, it’s for every other multicultural organization.” READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM
Inside Sports
Tribe football overpowers Maine 28-3, improves to 4-0 record Yoder propels team with 163 rushing yards, sustains serious injury page 10