Issuu

T HE F LAT H AT

Vol. 113, Iss. 2 | Wednesday, March 8, 2023

The Weekly Student Newspaper

of The College of William and Mary

ﬂathatnews.com | @theﬂathat

Phase One of Williamsburg African American Heritage Trail receives over $300,000 in funding Jack Boyd ʼ23ʼs research, supported by Lemon Project grant, receives federal funding

EMMA HENRY // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR History major Jack Boyd ’23 was approached by College of William and Mary Chancellor Professor of Biology and Director of the 1693 Scholars Program Dan Cristol in the spring of his freshman year with an opportunity to conduct oral histories in Williamsburg with Black elders and community members. The ultimate goal of this project was to see if community members would be interested in the construction of an African American Heritage Trail and to receive input about the erection of historical markers. The suggestion came at the behest of Williamsburg City Councilmen Caleb Rogers, who previously recognized the City’s interest in an African American Heritage Trail within the City Council’s 2020 Goals, Initiatives, and Outcomes — a two-year plan that culminates in various goals for the city government. Rogers worked with Cristol and the Roy R. Charles Center to create a City Scholars Initiative which is a partnership between the City and the College to sponsor student research. “The solution was right in front of us, you could say, by outsourcing this project to a William and Mary student who could work on it full time over the course of, in this case, a summer talk to descendant community members, learn about areas of the city worthy of recognition, and then actually put together the first draft of what a trail could look like,” Rogers said. With the help of the Lemon Project Gaither-Johnson Summer Research Grant, Boyd interviewed over 20 Williamsburg community members throughout the summer of 2021 about their personal experiences, as well as their knowledge of the broader history of the area. He began by sitting down with assistant professor of history and Robert Francis Engs Director of The Lemon Project Dr. Jody Allen to finalize a list of five to six community members with broader connections. He then presented an initial strategic plan for the Williamsburg African American Heritage Trail in September 2023. “I’ll admit, I was not expecting anything to come of this,” Boyd said. “I just couldn’t imagine that a 19 year old’s little position paper meant anything, you know, to anyone.

And so I just moved on. I never touched it again. And then, you know, six months later, I got a text from Caleb and it was like, ‘Hey, you know, we submitted it for this grant.’” After the release of Boyd’s initial report, Rogers worked with former Congresswoman Elaine Luria to include the heritage trail in a portion of the federal budget. In January 2023, Phase One of the project was approved by the federal government for $357,000 in federal funding. This money is allocated to build a trailhead, the first part of the trail and a public restroom between Lafayette Street and Virginia Avenue.

“

They are going to affect

thousands, maybe eventu-

ally millions of visitor experiences. And lots of almost forgotten people and places will now be better known. That’s a big deal for a student researcher.” - Professor Dan Cristol

”

“I know the student, Jack Boyd, feels really good about it, having spent a whole summer working hard, like many researchers, but not knowing if his findings would make a difference or see the light of day,” Cristol wrote in an email to The Flat Hat. “Now they are going to affect thousands, maybe eventually millions of visitor experiences. And lots of almost forgotten people and places will now be better known. That’s a big deal for a student researcher.” In Boyd’s initial report, he identified 25 Williamsburg sites within walking distance, including the First Baptist Church, MLK Jr. Memorial in the Triangle, the Bray School,

College Landing on Jamestown Road and Braxton Court. He selected these sites based on specific criteria, including the site’s proximity, relevance to one of four topics — commerce, education, faith and leisure—and significance in themes of oppression versus joy and endurance versus accomplishment. “Through a series of conversations with community members, dutifully chronicled and presented here as attachments, I was introduced to a plethora of sites, stories, and persons,” Boyd wrote in his report. “I should note, however, that in my position as a student researcher — rather than a stakeholder — my hope is not for this report to serve as a zenith, but rather as a foundational building block. This strategic plan is a touchpoint from whence the City Council, in tandem with the Black community and tourism leaders, can designate a trail that best serves all interested parties.” Associate professor of English & American studies Arthur Knight mentioned that oral histories contribute immensely to projects such as this and are capable of creating alternative research methods that are accessible to many people. “It gets students to talk to people and encourages them to understand research as not only ‘text’ or ‘material’ or ‘data’ based,” Knight wrote in an email to The Flat Hat. “Oral history is socio-culturalhistorical research where the ‘subject’ (a word that often gets used in research, but not oral history!) profoundly shapes the research, not just the researcher. And oral history is an important way of enriching the historical record — of getting information and ideas about the past that are not available in print materials and conventional, official archives.” Knight is also the former director of the Williamsburg Documentary Project, which was founded through the College’s American studies program. This project allows students to interact with the local community and get practical research experience. Knight discussed the importance of recording Williamsburg’s post-colonial history.

Sankofa Seed Statue

Bray-Diggs House

First Baptist Church

Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved

READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM

PHOTOS OF HERITAGE TRAIL LANDMARKS BY JUSTIN SHERLOCK / THE FLAT HAT

HOUSING

548 upperclassmen placed on waitlist, second year in a row with 500+ waitlisted students

The College of William and Maryʼs 10-year comprehensive plan has put strains on Residence Lifeʼs near-term ability to satisfy demand LISA COLEMAN FLAT HAT DATA EDITOR

housing until Aug 1. In 2019, Residence Life announced that, beginning with the class of 2023, incoming firstThursday, Feb. 16, 548 upperclassmen who year students would be required to live on campus applied for on-campus housing received notice for their freshman and sophomore year. Only firstfrom Residence Life that the College of William year students were required to live on campus prior and Mary could not guarantee them a room for to this mandate. Residence Life hoped this change the 2023-2024 academic year. While the College would provide more support to students during their guarantees housing for freshmen and sophomores transition from freshman year to sophomore year. because they must live on campus, many juniors Last April, the College unveiled its 10-year plan and seniors are on a waitlist hoping for a spot. to renovate or replace current student housing and As the College moves forward with its 10 year dining facilities. Over three phases, the plan will comprehensive plan to renew campus facilities, demolish 45% of student housing. Additionally, on-campus housing capacity will fluctuate, 35% of residence buildings will undergo some particularly in the initial years of the project. degree of renovation. The plan does not expect to These fluctuations, as well as recent increases in change the total capacity of on-campus housing, enrollment, have placed a strain on Residence which is around 5,000 beds. Life’s ability to meet student demand. Phase One includes the demolition of Yates After a decade of consistently low numbers of Hall, Green and Gold Village and Commons wait-listed students, Residence Life placed more Dining Hall. Yates is scheduled to be demolished in than 500 upperclassmen on the wait list in each of summer 2023. The first phase also includes major the past two years. renovations to Old Dominion Hall and Monroe “While we cannot guarantee that all students Hall. To accommodate for the loss in beds from initially placed on the housing waitlist will Yates and Monroe for the class of 2027, DuPont Hall eventually be offered on-campus housing, in past (which currently houses primarily sophomores) years we have been able to house all students will become a freshman dorm starting in fall 2023. who actively remained on the waitlist,” Director of Phase One includes plans for West Campus Dining Housing and Residence Life Harriet Kandell said. hall, which will replace Commons. The Campus Students have the option to either withdraw Center site is also set to close for new construction. from the waitlist, or remain in a lottery to receive The housing updates aim to provide every LULU DAWES / FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Inside Opinions

INDEX Profile News Opinion Variety Sports

2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10

Rotten, Rancid, Ruinous Apples

Lauren Meyer ’24 argues that, while apples are a favorite snack, they have one fatal flaw: mealiness page 6

student with a fully air conditioned and ventilated bedroom. The average age of housing buildings across campus will reduce from 54 years to 10 years. Upon completion of the plan, 50% of housing at the College will be new, and another 30% will be recently renovated. In the past year, the College has adjusted and delayed its housing projects to accommodate for the number of students who want to live on campus. December 2021, residents of One Tribe Place, an upperclassmen residence hall with four floors of single and double rooms, received notification that the building was to close for the 2022-2023 academic year due to structural deterioration and a planned demolition of unused space in the building. The College subsequently reversed its decision due to higher than expected demand for housing. Increased undergraduate enrollment over the last two years may contribute to the imbalance between housing capacity and demand for oncampus housing. Many students have expressed frustration and disappointment with the College’s handling of the waitlist. Paola Gonzalez ’25 is one of over 500 students on the waitlist for on-campus housing next year. “I think the waiting list definitely needs to be restructured to take into consideration FGLI [First Generation Low Income] and out-of-state students,” Gonzalez said.

Currently, the College is offering students on the waitlist a chance to enter a random drawing for housing as it becomes available. The waitlist does not take financial need into consideration. “I sent [Residence Life] an email voicing my concerns about being able to afford off-campus housing, and they sent me back an automated response that did not give me any clear answer,” Gonzalez said. “In fact, the email said that if I was anxious about the uncertainty of getting on campus housing, I should cancel my housing contract and try to find off-campus housing, despite me clearly stating in the email that I could not afford it.” While some financial aid refunds are available for students living off campus, these refunds are not available to students who do not have financial aid packages which cover full tuition and fees. The refunds also only cover nine months, while many off-campus apartments require a full 12 month lease. The Residence Life website currently directs students to a number of off-campus housing resources, including wmoffcampus.com, a website specifically created for student accommodations. It also recommends accessing the “College of William and Mary Housing, Sublets and Roommates” Facebook Group, a private group where members can offer and request housing options.

Inside Variety

Foam Filled Feuds

Club presidents battle one another in President’s Day Tournament hosted by Nerf Club, Climbing Club takes victory page 7