Vol. 115, Iss. 8 | Wednesday, September 10
The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
flathatnews.com | @theflathat
VICTORY AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR
JONAH PETERS / THE FLAT HAT
Tribe football outlasts Maine Black Bears in action-packed, rain-soaked home opener CHARLES VAUGHAN // FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
Tyler Hughes was doomed. The junior quarterback crouched at William and Mary’s 48-yard line, the arms of a 245-pound Maine tackle preventing him from standing. He had been pressured, chased out of the pocket and spun around. Now, facing his own end zone with the Black Bears’ defense screaming down his neck, Hughes had no choice but to let himself be dragged to the turf, stifling a drive that would ultimately prove game-deciding. That was what it seemed, at least. “I just knew I had to make a play,” Hughes said. In his first signature moment as a starter, the Tribe signal-caller shed Maine junior defensive lineman Chris Bacon, staying upright long enough to escape his clutches. He reoriented himself and reversed fields, turning towards the blitzing front and rolling to his right. He sprinted up the sideline, making a man miss with a devastating hesitation move before outrunning two more Black Bears. By the time Hughes was finally taken down, he had scurried to the opposing 25-yard line, electrifying what remained of the Zable Stadium crowd while turning a potential third and 7 into a first and 10. Minutes later, he repeated the feat, improvising another mad dash that brought the hosts to the opposing 1-yard line. The Tribe wasted no time taking advantage of its quarterback’s explosiveness, as graduate student running back Rashad Raymond punched in a go-ahead touchdown that helped secure William and Mary’s (1-1, 1-0 CAA) dramatic 28-27 victory over Maine (0-2, 0-1 CAA) Saturday, Sept. 6. On the following drive, graduate student linebacker Luke Banbury deflected a Maine pass into the hands of
senior cornerback Jalen Jones, whose teammates engulfed him in a celebratory mob as William and Mary prepared to run the clock out. “This one tastes good,” William and Mary head coach Mike London said after the victory. “I’m happy and grateful for it.” The game’s frantic final moments stood in stark contrast to its monotonous beginnings: originally slated to kick off at 6 p.m., the Tribe’s home opener was delayed by lightning multiple times. After roughly an hour of waiting, the teams played three scoreless minutes of football before another flash on the horizon forced players and fans alike to vacate the stadium. The players retreated to their locker rooms, but many members of the audience went home. By the end of the night, the loudest remaining supporters were William and Mary students. The game began in earnest at 8:30 p.m. and concluded 30 minutes before midnight, nearly six hours after it was scheduled to start. “My Fitbit watch just ran out because we've been out here all day,” London said. “It's almost 12 o’clock.” Before taking on the Black Bears, the Tribe wrestled with a more unique opponent: boredom. Fired up and ready to take the field at the end of the first delay, William and Mary was forced to linger in its locker room, figuring out how to warm up for a game with no definite start time. According to London, the whiplash between activity and passivity took a mental toll on the Tribe, but his squad did an admirable job of remaining focused during the break. When play eventually resumed, William and Mary took over at its own 46-yard line. “When we had to go in, it was third and 3, and [we] just had to
start over again whenever they said, ‘Spot the ball,’” London said. “Our mindset is, ‘You know what? Just spot the ball. Put it down wherever you want to put it. Parking lot, wherever you want to put it, and then we got to play.’ I thought the guys did a great job of responding to the moment and controlling the controllables. You can't fight Mother Nature, so we just had to adapt to it and get ready, and that's what the guys did.” Despite London’s praise, William and Mary wasn’t particularly sharp when it first reentered the field, committing several of the errors that hampered the Tribe during its loss to Furman. Taking advantage of two Maine penalties, the Green and Gold quickly advanced to the Black Bears’ 23-yard line, where its drive died. On fourth and 7, graduate student kicker Keegan Shackford lined up a 40-yard field goal attempt, but for the second consecutive week, a mismanaged snap forced senior holder Andrew Piercy to tuck the ball and run. He was tackled 11 yards behind the line of scrimmage, kick-starting Maine’s first drive of the night. The Black Bears made it to the Tribe’s 33-yard line before losing steam, but a William and Mary facemask penalty gave them new life. With 2:15 remaining in the first quarter, the visitors took a 7-0 lead as graduate student quarterback Carter Peevy completed a short pass to junior running back Sincere Baines on fourth and goal. The Tribe’s next two possessions went nowhere, and Peevy struck again at the second quarter’s 9:30 mark, breaking free for a 45-yard touchdown run that put the Black Bears up 14-0. See FOOTBALL page 10
ACADEMICS
Inaugural study abroad returnee expo offers community, global insights
Reves Center for International Studies shines light on post-abroad reacclimation at College CLARE GIFFORD FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC.
Wednesday, Sept. 3, the Reves Center for International Studies hosted its inaugural Study Abroad Exposition, welcoming back recently returned College of William and Mary students to chat with others about their experience and ask any questions regarding the transfer credit process. The event was organized by Nasha Lewis, associate director of Global Education & InBound Programs. “This expo is for students who have recently gone abroad (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, Academic Year, you all should come!) to connect with each other, GEO staff, get any applicable transfer credit questions answered,” the Global Education Office wrote. Attendees travelled all over for a variety of programs, each spanning different lengths. Some spent this past summer abroad, while others were away for a semester, or even the entire previous academic year.
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Connor Gold ’26, a returnee and a GEO employee, welcomed students at the front desk and shared his takeaways from participating in two international programs during his time at the College. “I think it definitely gave me the best kind of baby steps to sort of understand other cultures and learn new things and learn new people,” Gold said. The Reves Center hosted the event across the building’s two floors. Upstairs, GEO staff offered academic and professional support. Senior Associate Director and Deputy Director of Global Education Molly DeStafney, along with Assistant Director of Global Education Lisa Roney, assisted students with questions about the personal reflection essay and the transfer credit process. Other staff members taught students how to highlight international experiences on LinkedIn and discuss them effectively in job interviews. Downstairs, students had lunch
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while mingling among other returnees. The front desk also offered resources for those interested in studying abroad again during the time they have left at the College. According to Roney, part of the exposition’s purpose was to support students who may be having trouble adjusting to being back home. Studying abroad, for any length of time, fully immerses students in a different culture, and the “reverse culture shock” that can follow is often overlooked. “When students return, there is talk about culture shock going overseas, but it's less talked about, the return shock of coming back from being immersed in that culture,” Roney said. “So when students return, and they are kinda in that just kind of feeling empty and not really knowing how to assimilate back into their normal life.” Roney emphasized that students could greatly benefit from connecting with peers who have shared similar experiences and find support in their company.
“This is a good way that, we hope, students can see each other and kind of have someone else to understand and empathize with and say, ‘I feel the same way, I'm in the same boat,’” Roney said. Generally, studying abroad introduces students to an incredibly wide range of different perspectives and experiences. Hollis Martin ’26, who spent a semester in Rome last fall, described the invaluable impact of his time outside of the United States. “My favorite part was meeting students from all over the country that went to different schools and getting a perspective on education in the United States,” Martin said. For Andrew McKee ’28, an economics major with a business minor, the University College Dublin offered firsthand exposure in his field, something he felt would be difficult to replicate in a traditional classroom environment. “There's a lot of actual hands-on learning where you get to interact with these entities rather than just
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learn about them,” McKee said. “I think that's fairly invaluable, and you get to also talk to not just these businesses but people in Ireland.” He added that the program exceeded his expectations. “Ultimately, what I got out of it was far more than I really went into it thinking about,” McKee said. While studying abroad can offer students a new worldview, traveling to and living in a foreign country is not without its challenges. Political instability, global pandemics or other unforeseen circumstances can disrupt program itineraries at a moment's notice. Abby Kumar ’27, who studied in South Africa this summer, explained how visa complications affected the academic portion of her trip. “We were taking two classes, but it was definitely less academicfocused,” Kumar said. “I think one of the reasons was because my professor wasn't able to actually come, because of visa issues.” READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM
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