The Weekly Student Newspaper
Vol. 116, Iss. 5 | Wednesday, April 15, 2026
The College of William and Mary
flathatnews.com | @theflathat
PHOTOS BY JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT
NAMAN MISHRA / THE FLAT HAT
Students speak at City Council, advocate against Flock surveillance
NAMAN MISHRA // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR Students raise concerns about privacy, misuse of data collected by automatic license plate readers
Thursday, April 9, students from the College of William and Mary attended the Williamsburg City Council meeting to raise concerns regarding Flock Safety. Flock is an automatic license plate reader system powered by artificial intelligence that has been implemented across the City of Williamsburg and at the College. Anti-Flock advocates raised concerns about privacy and the use of some Flock data by federal immigration enforcement as key risks of the technology. In addition to license plates, Flock cameras use artificial intelligence to record other vehicle characteristics, such as type, color, unique alterations and whether a car frequently passes by any of its cameras. This information is stored on the FlockOS system, allowing local law enforcement to search for vehicle details. The Williamsburg Police Department began
its Flock implementation with a trial program in 2021. The City’s Flock program has now expanded and includes over 30 cameras. Virginia state law places restrictions on the storage and sharing of data collected by Flock and similar technologies. These restrictions include requiring all data to be deleted after 21 days and prohibiting police departments from sharing data with out-of-state partners. This law also requires that data only be shared pursuant to specific requests relating to law enforcement actions. A report by the Virginia State Crime Commission found that 13% of surveyed state law enforcement agencies that contracted with Flock allowed out-of-state or federal law enforcement continuous access to their data. The survey also found that 21% of state law enforcement agencies regularly retained their Flock data for over 21 days. Both of these actions
are explicitly prohibited by Virginia law. Reporting by The Richmond Times-Dispatch found that federal immigration enforcement accessed Flock data in Richmond, Va., without the permission of local police. Thursday, March 26, students at the College overwhelmingly voted to pass a referendum calling on the William and Mary Police Department to cancel its Flock contract, which is separate from the City’s contract. Ella Forlin ’27 spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. She shared her opposition to Flock, expressing concern about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ability to access local Flock data without the direct permission of the City’s police. Forlin noted that the City’s Flock cameras are also connected across a statewide network. She said that even if Williamsburg police are diligent
in their data protection, local data could remain vulnerable to other Virginia police departments that may not safeguard it. “When our data is shared as widely as it is, there are always ways for nefarious actors and people who are not intended to have this information to get it,” she said. Charlie Goodman ’27 said that he views Flock surveillance cameras as privacy violations. “These cameras are on 24/7, recording every license plate that passes them,” he said. “They are not for traffic enforcement. They are for tracking people. Police officers can access this license plate data without a warrant.” Goodman noted that cities such as Denver, Colo., and Staunton, Va., as well as the state of Illinois, have terminated their Flock contracts. SEE POLITICS PAGE 4
CAMPUS
College hosts Take Back the Night sexual assault awareness event Students, community members, locals advocate against sexual assault, support survivors MAYA SAKAI-CHEN THE FLAT HAT Friday, April 10, students at the College of William and Mary and local community members gathered on Sadler Terrace for the College’s inaugural Take Back the Night event. Take Back the Night is an international event that helps raise awareness about sexual violence and support survivors. Yasmin Kudrati-Plummer ’27 and Candice Fox, assistant director of the Office of Health Promotion and sexual violence prevention specialist, formed a planning committee of students — Georgia Horgan ’27, Mary Catherine Slagle ’26, Lydia-Louise Merritt ’27, Erin Reiley ’27 and Ashlyn Connolly ’28 — to help organize the event. Campus organizations involved included Someone You Know, Student Assembly and The Haven. Fox emphasized the importance of having students lead the event. “The age group that’s affected the most by sexual assault is 18-24,” she
said. “If we’re having people speaking out about this epidemic, it has to be that community of people who are creating a culture change.” Reiley, the president of Someone You Know, described what it was like to plan the event. “There hasn't really been a precedent, which has been fun and also challenging because we have to come up with the structure of everything ourselves,” she said. “It's definitely satisfying to know what we have done will set a precedent for future years.” Reiley attributed much of the success in planning the event to the contributions and support of other organizations. “What's been most rewarding is seeing how fully everyone has committed themselves to it, whether they're a part of the planning committee or not,” she said. “As soon as we brought up the idea for Take Back the Night to AMP, they were all in, wanting to help out wherever they could.”
INDEX
Inside Variety
Profile 2 News 3-4 Data 5 Variety 6-7 Graphics/Games 8-9 Photos 10 Opinions 11-12 Sports 13-14
Student band act performs first live album at Comey Recital Hall page 6
CHOPT drops new rock
The event started with a performance from student band Royal Fish. It transitioned to tabling from local and campus organizations, followed by speeches, a march around the Sunken Garden and an original song performed by Kudrati-Plummer. During the next section of the event, the Speak-Out, sexual assault survivors had their writing read aloud. People had the option to share their stories on stage. Kudrati-Plummer described what it was like participating in the Speak-Out. “People were sharing their own stories, and I had the courage to share my own,” she said. “It was so emotional but so beautiful and heart-wrenching.” Kudrati-Plummer explained the significance of creating a space for survivors to share their stories, especially when they are often discouraged or silenced. “I feel an event like this is here to show people it’s okay to share,” she said. “Even if you’re not ready, even if it’s going to take you years before
you’re ready, you will be supported.” Reiley spoke on the importance of recognizing gender and sexual violence as an issue on campus. “There's very much a perception here at William and Mary that because we are a relatively safe campus and Williamsburg is a relatively safe area, sexual violence doesn't happen,” she said. “I think that some people are really hesitant to view it as a wider cultural or societal issue.” Kudrati-Plummer highlighted how the College’s latest sexual misconduct survey from 2018 found that 70% of respondents experienced some form of harassment or sexual misconduct. Merritt hopes that Take Back the Night will inspire community members to act in their own spheres of influence and speak out against violence-supportive culture. “When we come together, we can recognize this as a bigger problem,” she said. Fox said that she hopes this event will help promote healthy relationships. “Education is more than just
information,” Fox said. “It’s about having honest conversations with peers and community members about consent and how we can create healthier relationships with one another because no one is really taught that.” Fox also said she hopes the event will help students feel more comfortable seeking help. “One out of three people have been in an abusive relationship. That means you probably know someone, and that’s affecting you,” she said. “The Haven is also there for vicarious trauma as well, which I don’t think a lot of students recognize.” Slagle, a confidential peer advocate at The Haven, emphasized the value of the peer advocate program. Students can walk in or schedule an appointment. “My biggest hope is that people who come out of the event know that there are a lot of resources for them and that they have people that they can share their story with and be supported in that,” she said.
Inside Graphics
Inside Opinions
Inside Sports
Enjoy the spring comics page, featuring art by eight student artists page 8
Lucia Reyes '29 points out the dangerous flaws of Flock page 11
Ricky Pizem ends collegiate career at NCAA championships page 14
Flat Hat student comics
We don't need Flock watching our campus
Gymnastics senior captain hangs up grips