T HE F LAT H AT
Vol. 114, Iss. 10 | Wednesday, October 9, 2024
The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
RECOGNIZING FIRST-GEN STUDENTS
College hosts activist with sexual assault allegations Dissident Wang Dan invited to discuss Chinese politics
ANNA ARNSBERGER AND PEERAWUT RUANGSAWASDI THE FLAT HAT
because they’re not getting that advice from parents and immediate family on how to navigate college,” Foster said. “And so then, college is going to have these requirements or processes, and those processes are going to be different for the student veterans.” Technology Process Analyst Christopher Burton MBA ’25 was another faculty member inducted into the society. Burton shared his enthusiasm for building mentor-mentee connections with students who have had nontraditional educational trajectories. “As a person who has had a non-traditional path in college, coming from first a junior college and then receiving my bachelor’s at a traditional university, it was a plight for me,” Burton said. “So what I like is that this brought together a bunch of people who may go through a similar plight, and provided them a space where not only they could interact with their peers, but also be introduced to potential mentors.” Amy Timmins ’26 was inducted at the ceremony. As a non-traditional student coming back to college later in life, Timmins shared her excitement to be able to eventually mentor younger students after graduating. “I really appreciate the mentorship aspect of it,” Timmins said. “Being a non-traditional student and older student at the College, I’ve been hesitant to join some of the other things because I really don’t want to take away from the traditional students’ route. But because of the mentorship part of Alpha Alpha Alpha and having the opportunity to come and mentor somebody once I graduate, that really touched me about the organization, and was why I wanted to be a part of it.” Fellow inductee Faisal Abdella ’25 celebrated the society’s role in building a network of first-gen students who support each other from the start. “I’m generally excited because I think this is pretty important for the first-gen network,” Abdella said. “Because it’s kind of hard to do that at the start of college, where we’re kind of already behind on the game. So just having this type of society.” After the event, Souza reflected on the sense of togetherness and celebration she noticed in the room throughout the evening. READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM
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College celebrates first-gen honor society's inaugural induction SAM BELMAR // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR Smith evoked the one-of-a-kind strength and resilience first-generation students cultivate along their journeys, setting them apart from their peers. “We as first generation students possess the capital, resilience and passion that others do not naturally have, and that I will never take for granted,” Smith said. Closing out her remarks, Smith encouraged inductees to reframe the narrative around the first-generation student experience and embrace their community. “As a first-generation student, we often discount our experiences and view being the first as putting us at a deficit,” Smith said. “But I want to challenge you to shift that perspective. You are a legacy builder, a generation changer and the prototype. And I want you to carry that with pride.” Souza then proceeded with the student induction. In addition to membership certificates, each student received a pin with Tri-Alpha’s star logo and a blue-and-white graduation cord to commemorate the founding school of Moravian University. All students present signed the official charter. In total, the society inducted 80 new members. To join Alpha Alpha Alpha, students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.2 and complete at least 30 credit hours toward a degree. Following this, Souza inducted 26 faculty members into the society who will eventually serve as mentors for first-generation students at the College. Director of Student Veteran Engagement Charlie Foster M.Ed. ’17 was among the faculty welcomed into Tri-Alpha. He shared that many student veterans also happen to be firstgeneration students and expressed his joy that they were being celebrated. “So I’m a military veteran, and there’s a really high incidence of first-generation students inside the veteran population,” Foster said. “So to me, it’s a really nice celebration of both kinds of students who are often together in both categories.” Foster mentioned the unique challenge of transitioning directly from military service to higher education, with two student veterans being inducted that day. “It makes it harder if they’re first-gen,
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Thursday, Sept. 26, the College of William and Mar y hosted Chinese dissident Wang Dan for an event titled, “Understanding Today's China.” A central figure in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, Wang has recently come under fire for multiple allegations of sexual assault. Wang is an active participant of the Chinese democracy movement and formerly taught at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. In 2023, at least six individuals accused Wang of sexual assault. The department of government, the Whole of Government Center of Excellence, the Reves Center for International Studies, the international relations department and the Global Research Institute sponsored Wang’s recent visit to the College. Visiting assistant professor of government Sophia Hart led a lunchtime talk and evening presentation with Wang. This was the third time Hart had invited Wang to the College. His first visit was in 2009, while his second was in 2019 for the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. “I've always been interested in Tiananmen Square because I worked in the American embassy from 1989 to 1991, and I got there in August of 1989, a couple of months after the massacre. And of course, I didn't meet Wang Dan at that time, but once I came to William and Mary and began teaching, I thought it would be instructive for students to get a chance to meet someone who was a part of that important history,” she said. As an organizer of the 1989 Chinese democracy protests, Wang has been arrested multiple times by the Chinese government. He has since been working as an activist and scholar in the United States and Taiwan. He is currently on a tour for his book, “The Fifty Questions on China.” Both of Wang’s recent talks at the College were widely attended. “It was packed and there were great questions,” Hart said about the lunchtime event. “It was a very nice discussion — those were all very academic questions people were asking, there wasn't anything about the legal case. But there were some professors, mostly students, and it was a very engaging event.” The evening presentation was met with more criticism. Two students independently decided to ask Wang and Hart about the allegations against Wang. One student, who requested to remain anonymous due to being a Chinese national, asked to speak to Wang before the event.
Director of First Generation Student Engagement Joselia Souza speaks at first-ever induction ceremony for Alpha Alpha Alpha, whose initial chapter started in 2018 at Moravian College in Pennsylvania.
Friday, Sept. 27, the College of William and Mary commemorated the inaugural charter of the firstgeneration honors society Alpha Alpha Alpha. The induction ceremony took place at the Alumni House from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., with students, parents, faculty and Williamsburg community members present. With over 150 chapters nationwide, Tri-Alpha assembles first-generation students and faculty in a community of mutual support, celebrating personal and academic achievement. The society’s first ever chapter started March 24, 2018 at Moravian University, growing considerably in recent years across the country. Director of First Generation Student Engagement Joselia Souza hosted the event and began with an opening address to welcome the inaugural class, recognizing the College’s growing efforts to support first-generation students like herself. “As a first-generation college graduate myself, this moment holds a profound significance, both personally and professionally,” Souza said. “It is heartening to witness how much has changed since my own college journey and to see how dedicated William and Mary is to uplifting and supporting first-generation students.” Souza highlighted the organization’s profound significance on-campus, stressing the difficulty of navigating higher education as a first-generation student. “Today, we gather here not only to honor the academic achievements of these remarkable students, but also to recognize the strength, resilience and resourcefulness it takes to navigate and excel in higher education as a first-gen student,” Souza said. Clinical Assistant Professor of Higher Education Chelsea Smith delivered the keynote address. Smith reflected on her own journey as a firstgeneration college student, mentioning the institutional support she wished she had received at the time. “But my circumstances were a direct implication of my journey as a first-generation college student,” Smith said. “I was not aware of the financial implications of attending college out-of-state, I was not aware of the importance of college match-and-fit, and I was not given proper and adequate career counseling.”
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CONSTRUCTION
College to distribute gowns early as Wren building undergoes renovations
Oldest academic building on campus to see scaffolding but classes, special events will remain MOLLY MARTIN NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR
After receiving both federal and state grants, the College of William and Mary is set to renovate the Sir Christopher Wren Building for preservation. Beginning in December, this project will result in the installation of scaffolding and temporary fencing surrounding the College’s most historic building. The Director of Wren Operations and Events Charles Fulcher ’99 explained the collaboration and effort involved in applying for the grants necessary for the preservation of the Wren Building. “The process of applying for a federal grant like this is really an interdisciplinary collaboration, pulling together voices from historic
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campus, facilities and the Office of Sponsored Programs, who helps shepherd all such grant projects across the university,” Fulcher wrote in an email to The Flat Hat. Fulcher further noted the necessity of the project. In a presentation given to the Student Assembly, he explained that an envelope study of Wren Building found that it is experiencing draining and flooding issues, causing leaks and rotting. The building’s bricks also are aging and in need of protection and patching. “We’re preserving the building, making necessary repairs and improvements to keep it standing and thriving for the future. You look at the Wren and you can see signs of its age,” Fulcher wrote. The Wren Building’s last big project occurred over 20 years ago
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and focused on making the structure more comfortable for student and faculty use. Fulcher noted this project focused less on repairing the actual building. “The last big project, called the ‘Wrenewal,’ was over 20 years ago; it lasted from 1999 to 2001. While that project included some repairs, it largely worked on electrical, plumbing, and HVAC in the building, along with converting the use of several interior spaces,” Fulcher added. “During the Wrenewal, the Wren was closed for daily use — something we knew from day one we wanted to avoid during the upcoming preservation project.” The College’s Associate Vice President for Business Affairs Sean Hughes oversees the physical campus and all services that support the
physical campus. When asked about the usability of the Wren Building during construction, he noted the interior will be almost the same as it was before construction. “There will be construction fences around the building, but the entrances will be open, protected and the same width and functionality as they have always had,” Hughes wrote in an email to The Flat Hat. Fulcher remarked that while the building will remain operational, the outside will have an altered appearence. “The environment will admittedly look a little different: scaffolding around the structure, overhead protection at entrances for safety, fencing that will line many of the sidewalks around the building,” Fulcher said.
While it is clear these upgrades are necessary to preserve the nation’s oldest-standing college building, some seniors are concerned about what the traditions they have been awaiting, like Commencement to graduation photos, will look like amidst all the construction. Although senior activities in the spring will admittedly not have the same aesthetic they usually do, Hughes conceded that Student Transition Engagement Programs will be helping graduating students expedite some of their plans, like taking senior photos, to occur before the construction begins. Fulcher shared the College’s intentions to distribute senior regalia early to accommodate the move. READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM
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