Home Blog Page 33

Women’s soccer: East Carolina’s offense leaves Tribe with disappointing tie

By
-

After feeling the sting of a loss Thursday for the first time this season against Richmond, William and Mary (4-2-1) entered Saturday’s contest at East Carolina seeking to right the ship against the Pirates.

After 90 minutes of swashbuckling, the College left Greenville, N.C., feeling as low as Davy Jones’ Locker after a disappointing 2-2 tie.

“It was above average without being where we needed it to be,” head coach John Daly said. “I thought we needed to be more efficient and clinical with our play in the attacking third. They retreated a lot and gave up ground. We had a lot of possession and more shots but we didn’t really take advantage.”

The Tribe began the match on a high note, as junior midfielder Mallory Schaffer took the feed from sophomore forward Audrey Barry and fired a shot past the ECU keeper after just 10 minutes had elapsed in the game. Schaffer’s score gave the College an early 1-0 advantage, a lead it would keep for the majority of the first half.

While Daly was happy with Schaffer’s performance, he offered some constructive criticism.
“Mallory played well; she did really well; she won the ball leading to the opening goal and got on the end of the cross from Audrey Barry to finish it,” Daly said. “She really needed to steady us down a bit in midfield, she needs to take control emotionally of the team.”

The Tribe cruised along for the majority of the first half, registering three shots on goal. But just as the period was set to come to a close, the Pirates evened the count at one goal apiece on the strength of Kelley Johnson’s first goal of the season.

“We scored a good early goal but we gave up a very soft goal,” Daly said of his team’s first half performance.
After the break, the College once again scored quickly. Junior forward Cortlyn Bristol drove the ball on the attack and found freshman midfielder Aly Shaughnessy. Shaughnessy set up, and slipped the ball past the ECU keeper in the lower-left corner for her first ever career goal.

Midway through the second half, however, ECU leveled the score once again. The Pirates’ Lexi Miller scored a header goal in the 71st minute to tie the match at 2-2.

Junior goalkeeper Katherine Yount made two crucial saves, but she also allowed two scores. Along with Yount, Daly thought that his defense did not perform exceptionally well.
“We should have done a better job defensively,” Daly said.

The game then proceeded to two overtime periods, neither of which yielded a winner for either squad. Bristol launched a shot in the first overtime period, but wasn’t able to convert it. Likewise, freshman forward Anna Madden registered a shot on goal in the second overtime, but it also did not connect.

On the whole, the College statistically dominated the game. The Tribe recorded 17 shots on goal to ECU’s 10, with 11 of those shots coming in the second half alone. The Tribe also bested the Pirates in corner kicks 5-2, but ECU registered nine saves on goal to the Tribe’s two.

While the outcome was not what the College had hoped, Daly felt that the match helped the Tribe learn a few lessons that would serve them well for the rest of the season.

“I was a bit concerned [coming into the game] and we totally outplayed them,” Daly said. “It’s one that we let slip. We have to be more efficient with our finishing.”

College remembers 9/11

By
-

Seven tolls of the Sir Christopher Wren Building Bell called members of the College of William and Mary community to gather at sunset Sunday for the College’s Sept. 11 10th Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony.

Luminaries displaying handwritten memories of Sept. 11, 2001 lined the entrance to the Wren Courtyard where people collected in somber commemoration of the event that indelibly shaped their lives. Each of the seven tolls represented an alumnus who perished in the terrorist attacks. The names of the deceased echoed through the crowd, followed by messages of recognition, understanding and hope.

“We gather … to remember. To remember, for all else, that it is not death that has brought us here, but love,” Reverend John Kerr, Episcopal campus minister, said.

Kerr spoke to the glassy-eyed crowd to inspire them to honor and appreciate what he called the selfless love of the courageous men and women who sacrificed themselves for their country. His message was that it is the love people give and receive, not their pain, that defines them.

“In their last moments, we heard them choose to reach out to their families and friends with words of encouragement and love,” Kerr said.

Huddled groups of students leaned on one another. The widow and family members of 1st Lt. Todd Weaver ’08, who died in Afghanistan in 2010, sat among the other speakers, there to honor their beloved, fallen soldier.

College President Taylor Reveley spoke about the pain of his personal experience with the terrorist attacks and spoke strongly of the unrelenting character of our alumni and who gave their lives to serve the country.
“It was an utterly terrifying, wholly unimaginable day,” Reveley said. “William and Mary people continue to serve their community in a myriad of ways. I think they always will.”

Reveley commended the courage of College alumni who chose to serve in the armed forces after Sept. 11, 2001 and said they are owed a great debt.

With somber respect, Reveley took his seat, and 17 speakers, including students, professors and Weaver’s family members, approached the microphone to provide quotes of endurance, resilience and healing. Speakers quoted domestic and international political figures, Holocaust survivors and socially-minded celebrities.

“What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway,” Joanne M. Braxton, Frances L. and Edwin L Cummings Professor of the Humanities and English said, quoting Mother Teresa.

Braxton and other speakers empowered those who attended the ceremony to move forward everyday without forgetting the grave importance of what the ceremony represented. They dared the audience to be strong and to live fully for those who laid their lives down for them. In 45 minutes, a fragmented group of people became a Tribe again.

Students seemed to be moved by the ceremony.

“It still feels so close to home for me. It was a nice way to remember when I’m so far from home because you don’t have to be from New York or New Jersey to feel it – everyone was affected,” Alex Phillips ’13, a New Jersey native, said.

The service ended as the crowd accompanied the William and Mary choir singing “America the Beautiful.” Friends wiped their eyes and walked home with hands clasped. A young girl — holding an American flag — danced next to her father in the setting summer sun.

College leaders respond to student criticism, questions

By
-

Students, administrators and faculty met with College of William and Mary President Taylor Reveley and College Rector Jeffrey Tramell ’73 in a public forum turned financial discussion Monday in the Sadler Center Chesapeake room.

A primary theme of the forum was the College’s need for a new financial plan.

“Finances are the core of our challenge,” Tramell said. “The students are great, the faculty’s great, all we need is more money.”

Reveley also expressed his desire to improve the College’s financial situation.

“This place is marvelous in countless important ways,” he said. “Like all state schools across the country, the era of significant state support for the operating budget is over. And it’s not coming back. So in order to sustain William and Mary as the marvelous place that it is, as a genuine Public Ivy, we have to come up with a new financial foundation.”

The president took charge of the topic of finances by outlining a three-part plan to earn the College more money. The new plan boils down to donations from alumni, tuition from out-of-state students and upholding the College’s reputation as a hard-working institution of learning.

“There’s really three ways we’re going about solving our financial problem. One is by trying to raise a lot more money than we have from the alumni and such, that’s the philanthropic group,” Reveley said. “Two is earned income. One way we can earn income is by having out-of-state students, who pay so much more than in-state students, whom we are utterly dependent on to balance the budget … [Three] is by carrying our burden of proof on campus. It’s not enough to say were working hard. Of course we’re already working hard, we’re William and Mary. We’re an elite school. People do a great job here.”

Of the three, Reveley stressed alumni donations as the most important method of funding the College has. Currently, the annual giving rate for College alumni is 23 percent.

“Annual giving is the most democratic method of philanthropic support,” he said. “Now, if you go out, one of you, and become a hedge fund manager and just disgustingly rich, for only a billion dollars we will move Lord Botetourt, put a statue of you right there and on your birthdays we will decorate it with garlands and have wood nymphs dance around it. For $5 billion, you’d be amazed what we could do.”

At one point in the forum, a student brought up the possibility of the College becoming a private institution, to which the president said plainly, “no.”

“I don’t think there’s any possibility of going private, for all sorts of reasons,” Reveley said. “But I think that there is a possibility of persuading the state to give us the sort of freedom in order to support ourselves.”
Other topics discussed during the forum included a growing need for technological integration and a concern for a lack of appreciation for College staff.

“There is great appreciation by the board and the administration for our faculty,” Trammel said. “We really do cherish them … We are not immune to the forces of society that are changing how things happen, whether it’s technology, whether it’s financial pressure or other things. That is a reality, and I think we have to be careful not to confuse how we do things to any sort of lack of appreciation for the job being done. What matters is that we need to help shape [the future] rather than having it shape us.”

Bachmann boasts of College tax law degree

By
-

Michele Bachmann L.M.M. ’88, one of 11 Republican candidates for the 2012 presidential election, can be added to the list of national figures whose roots run green and gold.

The Minnesota congresswoman graduated from the William and Mary Marshall Wythe Law School with a Master of Law degree in 1988, and has since drawn on her educational background in times of political trouble.

“I’m not only a lawyer, I have a post-doctorate degree in federal tax law from William and Mary,” Bachmann said when Fox News Host Chris Wallace asked her if she was a “flake” June 26, 2011. “I think that would be insulting to say something like that because I’m a serious person.”

Bachmann was born in Waterloo, Iowa and moved to Minnesota when she was 13 years old. She graduated from Winona State University in Minnesota in 1978 and then received a J.D. from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., in 1986. After receiving her degree from the College in 1988, Bachmann worked as an attorney for the Internal Revenue Service.

Bachmann’s enrollment in the College has been a source of controversy because she attributes the decision to divine instruction and her husband, Marcus Bachmann, who runs a Christian counseling center.

“My husband said, ‘Now you need to go and get a post-doctorate degree in tax law,’” Bachmann said Oct. 15, 2006, during her first congressional campaign. “Tax law? I hate taxes. Why should I go and do something like that? But the Lord said, ‘Be submissive. Wives, you are to be submissive to your husband.’ And so we moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia, and I went to William and Mary Law School there…. Never had a tax course in my background, never had a desire for it, but by faith, I was going to be faithful to what I felt God was calling me to do through my husband.”

Bachmann became the first Republican woman to represent Minnesota in the House of Representatives in 2006. She has been an outspoken opponent of President Barack Obama since his election in 2008.

“I’m very concerned that he may have anti-American views,” Bachmann said about Obama on MSNBC’s show Hardball. “That’s what the American people are concerned about.”

In addition to forming the House Tea Party caucus, Bachmann sits on the Financial Services Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency.

Wallace’s line of questioning reflects the controversy Bachmann has created during her campaign, both from her statements and her struggles with migraine headaches. Bachmann’s campaign denied that migraines would affect her ability to lead as president.

“On multiple occasions, we had to basically turn out the lights in her office, shut the door and put a virtual do-not-disturb sign on her office for hours on end so she could lie there and try to recuperate from the headaches,” a Bachmann staffer told Politico.

Bachmann led the Iowa straw poll with 29 percent of the 17,000-person vote Aug. 13, 2011.

“You have just sent a message that Barack Obama will be a one-term president,” Bachmann said after her straw poll win, according to a New York Times article. “This was a wonderful down payment on taking the country back.”

All within 24 hours

By
-

Mark Zuschlag ’15 and Sarah Carroll ’15 auditioned for the 24 Hour Play Festival at 8 p.m. on Saturday. By 8 p.m. on Sunday night, they were married and seeking advice from Brazilian and hippie marriage counselors.

The 24 Hour Play Festival, sponsored by Alpha Psi Omega, the theater honor fraternity, began on Saturday with auditions, followed by casting, writing and rehearsals which began as early as 8 a.m. on Sunday. Students produced six plays, varying wildly in their plots, characters and themes, but connected in subtle ways.

The beginnings and ends of the performances flowed seamlessly — the final line of each play became the first line of the following play. Within the two parameters set and the actors cast the previous night, writers were free to craft their plays.

Coleen Herbert ’14 collaborated with Colleen Patterson ’14 in order to write their play, “Dark. Musical. Comedy.”

“As we began to toss more ideas around, the lines became more flexible; in no time they became generative,” Herbert said. “Colleen and I started the creative process by throwing words around, discussing ideas and interests, and talking about the strengths of our cast. When we started to gather a cohesive plot, we drew a plotline. From there, the play essentially wrote itself.”

Working in Herbert’s dorm room, the pair wrote furiously until 6:30 a.m. on Sunday when they sent the final version to the play’s director, Kevin Place ’14.

Other writers established strategies to cope with writing throughout the night. Logan Wamsley ’12 and Joshua Burns ’12 alternated between writing and napping in 30 minute increments. Burns ended up taking the first nap of the night, while still trying to think of ways to incorporate their assigned first line: “You’ve never done your own laundry.”

“The nap didn’t end up happening because I got caught up in watching game play commentaries on my brother’s YouTube Channel — and I was going to have a tough time incorporating laundry into our script,” Burns said. “When Logan woke me up from my YouTube commentary coma, he had already integrated the line into a rich bedroom drama explored through a laptop drama about ambiguous gender identities and the search for truly loving parents.”

Burns and Wamsley submitted their play by 7 a.m. on Sunday morning, eager to hear feedback from their directors. Burns admitted that working with a partner is like playing Minesweeper; As each writer becomes attached to their ideas or mines, they become protective of their creation. But working in pairs has it’s benefits — no one encounters writer’s block.

“With two writers, there can’t really be a hang-up because hang-ups happen when you’re alone and you lose confidence in an idea,” Burns said. “But when you’ve always got that other writer in the room, twiddling their fingers with excitement because they’ve got a particular idea to share; then there are no hang ups, no loss in momentum. You always got another in the barrel. Stir your partner from his nap — you got a freshened ally.”

With the plays submitted, directors gathered up the actors to begin rehearsals. Some of the actors had participated in other plays at the College before, but for new students, the festival was their first opportunity to continue their passion for acting in college.

“I was going to go into withdrawal if I didn’t join the theater program,” Chris Papas ’15 said. “This festival was interesting. I was glad that it went as well as I thought it would and I’m glad I tried it out.”

For returning students, the festival promised another chance to over-book their day with acting. Bobby Kogan ’12 participated the previous year and decided to return for another year.

“Out of all the festival, I really love the first read-through, because it’s a whole new creation,” Kogan said. “It’s a magical feeling to be some of the first people to act in that play.”

The actors and directors worked all day on Sunday to memorize and perform the plays. Fitting rehearsals into one day proved to be intense, but for many of the actors, the shortened time made the event more exciting.

“After an intense 24 hours, it’ll be nice to just perform it,” Skyler Garrison ’15 said. “But this event just skips the crap and gets to the exciting part of theater.”

Sunday at 8 p.m., the groups gathered to perform the six plays in front of a packed audience.

“Everything about the event was new for everyone,” Kogan said. “There’s an understanding between the audience and the actors. It’s our first time performing a brand-new creation and people really understand that.”

For the writers, Sunday evening was the first opportunity for them to see their creations take shape.

“It surpassed all my expectations,” Herbert said. “[Colleen Patterson and I] were nervous to see it performed, but as soon as the opening lines were heard, I knew that everything was going to be all right.”

Only 24 hours before, the writers and directors had selected their cast and received the opening and ending lines for their plays. Despite the fears that plagued some writers while crafting their scripts, the finished products surpassed any expectations.

“It’s always more than you hope,” Burns said. “The actors, the directors, your writing partner — they all blow you away, and you’re left asking, ‘Did I make myself so clear that they could run off with my idea and take it to places that I didn’t think of going?’”

Participants condensed the normally lengthy routines of theater into only a couple of hours. Diverting from the regular track of theater, the festival allowed participants to experience theater at the College in a very unique, fast-paced and thrilling environment.

“The festival is a strange beast because when it is happening, it’s nothing more than making connections with your cast, performing for each other, but when it’s over, everyone just goes their separate ways,” Burns said. “I mean, if you didn’t save your program, you might not even have known it happened.”

Silent Students

By
-

Remember 2010, when the students of the College of William and Mary were impassioned about their Williamsburg community? We, as students, were tired of that silly three-person rule. We were tired of not having a voice in this community. So we decided to change that (or at least to attempt to).

Scott Foster ’10 was elected to the Williamsburg City Council by an overwhelming margin, due largely in part to the active pursuits of students. The students of the College spoke up to gain representation in the City of Williamsburg, but this past Sunday; it became clear that our voice was lost again. It was a whisper, almost completely ignored by the city.

There seems to be some hypocrisy here at the College. Students complain that Williamsburg residents are unfair to students, that Williamsburg residents don’t respect students as residents of the city. We have no right to complain because we have not acted to change city regulations and policies.

This past Sunday, a motion was raised which would increase the number of rooms that could be rented out in an owner-occupied home, such as a bed and breakfast. It failed. Why?

Perhaps because few college students actually attended the council meeting. Danielle Waltrip ’14, the Student Assembly Undersecretary to Williamsburg, was the only person to speak in favor of the proposal. She was literally surrounded by opposition to the bill. Students at the College in support of the bill should have been there to speak up for themselves. But they weren’t, and they didn’t.

At the College, we have a fascination with national and international topics, whether it’s service, business or politics. But we care more about the things we think are glamorous than the things that truly affect us: local politics. We aren’t even talking about Road to Richmond; the one day when we get riled up and lobby for the College. Shouldn’t we always be riled up to improve our college community? We never get that excited about Williamsburg council meetings. Yet, that is where we can make the most impact. Students have the power and opportunity to affect our community for the good, but we aren’t taking advantage of it. We must reach out and take this opportunity to show the city that we aren’t just spending time partying, breaking city ordinances, and being useless. We are smart young people with ambition and determination. We can help improve the city in many ways.

The relationship between students and city residents sometimes strained. But we can’t fix this relationship if there isn’t an obvious push by students to strengthen the bonds between the College students and city residents.

Yes, Foster was supposed to change this, but it isn’t up just to him to make the city better. We must take the initiative to become active in our community and city. We are here for four years. Williamsburg is our home, and we have an obligation as residents of Williamsburg to be civically engaged.

The students at the College must become active in the community if we are going to complain and moan about the perceived injustices we as Williamsburg residents who happen to be college students face. The SA should put council meetings and other Williamsburg activities in Student Happenings; students should attend these events and show residents that we don’t deserve to be rejected. We especially do not deserve to face applause after the rejection of a proposal that would benefit students. Foster and other individuals who are in city government and SA should put forth more of an effort to reach out to students. We must become active. It is up to us to transform this community in to one that is inclusive and supportive of students.

Student input is necessary to make Campus Center renovations useful

By
-

Recently, some randomly selected students at the College of William and Mary were sent a survey regarding possible changes to the Campus Center, located on Jamestown Road. While no questions discussed any definite proposed changes, quite a range of ideas were introduced to students. Ideas like a barber shop, night club or different dining options were all mentioned. This made me think about the current value of the Campus Center and the possibilities for its better usage.

The Campus Center is considered by the College to be the “student union” on campus. However, to be honest, I have never thought of it in that way. The last time I remember visiting the Campus Center was to either to eat at the Marketplace or sign up for block housing in the Residence Life office. I realize many offices are housed there and the building has numerous uses, but as of now it is not really seen as a student union by most of the student population.

That being said, I think the College’s idea of re-designing how the Campus Center is used is a great idea. While the Sadler Center does cover some of the “student union” type facilities, such as the televisions, pool tables, postal services and the Student Exchange, it would be nice to see some other options that would be helpful for students living on campus. As silly as the barber shop suggestion seemed to me at first, when I thought about it, it might actually be a really useful facility for students. I think most students would agree, too, that more dining options (especially if they’re open late) are always welcome. However, with the Tribe Square businesses opening soon, this may not be as necessary.

One of the main questions regarding these changes is whether or not the proposed adjustments would be more focused on practicality or fun for students. Given that the Campus Center is located on the opposite side of campus from many dorms, it may not be seen as a central location the Sadler Center. Therefore, would students make use of new facilities if they were built? In my opinion, the College should definitely continue to research and to talk to students in order to provide options that would be worth the time, money and effort. Currently, many students rarely visit the Campus Center, so the changes would have to be big and popular to draw enough student attention. The College needs to determine what students really want and need on campus.

While this project is in its very early stages, it’s certainly an interesting proposal to think about. I hope the College reaches out to as many students as possible as they research this idea further. I think that a redesign of the Campus Center has the potential to be a very positive and popular action. However, if it is not researched and developed correctly, a redesign could be a huge waste of time, money and space.

Unemployed: silver lining for post-grads

By
-

As most students at the College of William and Mary know, the pursuit of jobs has been particularly difficult for recent college graduates, a generation caught in the throes of a severe economic downturn. Racked by ominous headlines of zero percent job growth, underemployment and a looming double-dip recession, weary applicants often fret about a grim job market devoid of opportunity.

Despite these anxieties, upperclassmen should not lament their countless hours spent slogging through tomes only to reap the reward of an anemic job. The degree still matters. Yet even degree holders may wind up working for mainstream coffee shops or bartending in the interim period after college. Conflict resolution theory might apply to diffusing tensions between two rowdy drunkards, but most graduates hope for more definite career paths that continue to challenge their expressed interests.

There is a certain dignity in confronting the unknown. In fact, some of life’s most valuable lessons arise from the trials and tribulations of living in the margins, emotionally or physically. A low-paid job fresh out of college will not provide the comforts of your youth or the security of your university, but it will instill a sense of drive unparalleled by past endeavors. The desire to improve your quality of life will embolden your passions and fuel a determination to reach your goals.

Furthermore, the transitional phase between schooling and career allows ample time for reflecting on passions, exploring interests and adapting to an independent lifestyle and new environment. Many post-grads have a vague sense of direction, but usually not to the same extent as pre-med students. But even intelligent, driven students need time to wrestle with indecision. They explore the world in the liberal arts tradition, surveying all avenues. Only then can these post-grads comfortably take the next steps toward a stable job.

The pangs of a low-wage job are felt surely, and no one denies that the lack of financial security creeps into all aspects of life. Even so, post-grads should strike a healthy balance between work and exploring passions.
A career will consume decades of your life, and it would be a shame to spend your healthiest years avoiding a social life because of work. These examples fit the extremes, but still bear a resemblance to truth. Finding satisfying work remains important for young adults, but work should never define you, especially at such a young age.

Our society has a way of evaluating one’s stature superficially based on predefined metrics — namely the prestige of a line of work and its relative wealth. Often these variables mirror one-another. I can’t help but think of the throngs of relatives accosting me about future job prospects lately, and the stagnant air of disappointment when I express a passion for developmental economics.

In an age of hyper-specialization, I am unapologetic about my eclectic interests. If everyone were to focus on a microcosm of life, no one would manage to discern the larger issues at hand. Visionaries, artists and dreamers often propel society forward, frequently with the partnership of the more technical trades. Consider architects, who envision beautiful designs for buildings and public spaces. To execute their vision, engineers must calculate the feasibility of the structure, and ground the construction to the laws of physics. Only by cooperation between two seemingly polemic mindsets does the vision cross into reality.

I believe the world works in a similar manner. Non-technical graduates thrust into the working world need time to harness their vision — a vision for themselves and for the world — and sometimes that requires confronting hardships.

Talking about the real world

By
-

While the announcements for guest speaker Kevin Powell emphasized his role on MTV’s “The Real World,” his discussion with students last Wednesday had more to do with the real world than any reality show ever has. 


Powell was born and raised in poverty in Jersey City, N.J. Thanks to good grades and hard work, he earned a full ride to Rutgers University. It was here that he changed his focus in life: A self-proclaimed track dork in high school, Powell became interested in student government and other similar organizations in college, interests which have proven to be stepping-stones for his current political activism.

Last year, Caroline Fulford ’13, part of AMP’s Contemporary and Cultural Issues committee, was shelving books in Earl Gregg Swem Library when she came across Powell’s book, “The Black Male Handbook.” The name caught her attention immediately, and after reading the book, she learned that Powell was not only an author, but an activist helping people all across the world. She immediately set to work to get in touch with Powell to have him visit the College this semester.

“We wanted to move away from commentators,” Fulford said. “We needed people who were really doing something.”

And Powell is doing something. In 2008 and 2010, he ran as a Democratic candidate for Congress in Brooklyn. He fights for equality on a daily basis, for everything from gender rights to equal rights for African Americans. He hopped on a plane as soon as he caught wind of Hurricane Katrina to help with relief efforts. When Haiti was devastated by the earthquake last year, Powell was involved in helping ship thousands of pounds of supplies to aid the survivors.

“I looked him up on Facebook beforehand, and what stood out to me was that he was a male that wanted to discuss anti-sexism and racism,” Alyssa Beda ’13 said. “I decided I would really like to hear what he has to say.”

The focus of his speech at the College of William and Mary, however, involved the steps one needs to take in order to become a leader. The first thing he had students do was picture their first leader, and like many in the crowd, Powell used his mother as his example. He credits his mother, who constantly pushed him to go to college, with much of his success.

“If you’re going to achieve anything, then college and education has to be a part of that,” Powell said.

He encouraged students to have some sort of spiritual foundation, whether it be a religious foundation or one rooted purely in humanity. He also pushed students to constantly develop themselves politically and to cross cultural boundaries. His last piece of advice were specifically directed at college students: To be a leader later in life, you have to take care of yourself now — financially, physically and most importantly, mentally.

“He was incredibly inspiring,” said Maggie Kern ’13. “Because you can’t do everything, sometimes it feels like you can’t do anything. Our country is in ruins in every way, and I get depressed with it.”

But Powell reminded her that “change starts with yourself.”

Powell’s main message, though, wasn’t about politics or government. He spent a good portion of the question-and-answer session trying to convince an ‘aspiring’ author to publish her work and follow her dreams. He believes in humanity and wants to encourage students of this generation to follow through with whatever it is they are passionate about, no matter what. His main belief is that change isn’t going to come from celebrities or politicians, but instead will come from us.

Tribe bounces back against VMI, 24-7

By
-

William and Mary bounced back from its season-opening loss at Virginia Saturday with a dominant 24-7 victory over Virginia Military Institute.

Controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and winning the battle for field position proved key for the Tribe, as senior running back Jonathan Grimes’s touchdown reception and rushing score helped the College to its first win of the 2011 season.

“I thought we were very efficient today,” head coach Jimmye Laycock said. “I wanted to run the football and on defense I wanted to get turnovers and I thought we did both of those very well.”

It looked as though the Tribe, a heavy favorite given that it won the last 24 meetings with the Keydets, could be headed for trouble early, as senior quarterback Mike Paulus continued to struggle with his accuracy and convert third down chances. Coming off a tough performance last week in Charlottesville, Paulus consistently missed high on short throws to the flats.

At the end of the first quarter, the game was scoreless. But the Tribe struck quickly in the second, as Paulus hit Grimes out of the backfield for a six-yard touchdown pass, capping off a 13-play, 75-yard drive.

The game for a time became the Marcus Hyde show. The senior defensive end upended VMI’s tailback on a 4th and 1 for no gain, and later blocked a punt and intercepted a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage.

“I was not attacking as much at all [last week at Virginia],” Hyde said. “I was more prepared this time. I was ready to go.”

It took just five plays for the College to strike again with under two minutes left in the first half. Paulus, who finished the game 11 of 20 for 141 yards and a touchdown, made his best throw on a 34-yard fade to senior wide receiver Ryan Woolfolk, who was streaking down the sideline, setting the offense up at the VMI yard line. One play later, freshman running back Keith McBride punched it in to give the College a 14-0 lead going into the half.

From Charlottesville to Lexington, the performances from both offense and defense were like day and night. After throwing for just 35 yards against Virginia, Paulus turned in a solid performance against VMI, going 11 of 20 for 141 yards and a touchdown. Laycock attributed some of his success to the way the staff simplified the game plan.

“We cut down the game plan quite a bit. Just trying to help the quarterback out a bit and just run the ball more,” Laycock said. “We didn’t have a particularly good game at the quarterback position last week. I thought Mike [Paulus] did a good job.”

Defensively, the contrast from Virginia was stark as well. The Tribe forced the Keydets to turn the ball over twice after forcing none against UVa.

“We gave up the short stuff, which we knew we were going to do but I thought for the most part we played well,”Laycock said. “We got turnovers and we tackled much better.”

The last phase excelled for the Tribe as well. Aside from Hyde’s punt block, the College dominated the field position battle, as sophomore punter Drake Kuhn pinned the Keydets inside their 20 yard line three times.

“That’s huge,” senior linebacker Jake Trantin said. “The special teams is always the first player on defense.”

The College quickly dashed hopes of a comeback in the third quarter. Hyde’s interception gave the Tribe the ball on VMI’s 10, and two Grimes rushes later, the College had a 21-0 lead. Grimes’s two touchdowns bookended his 21 carries for 90 yards.

Grimes was happy to see the backs get so much work against the Keydets.

“We ran the ball a lot more and our run opened up the pass game,” he said, adding that there was little carryover from the shellacking the team took in Charlottesville. “After Sunday we watched the game film and we kind of put it behind us.”

The Tribe will return to Williamsburg next Saturday to take on New Haven in its home opener.

1...323334...456Page 33 of 456
© 1911-Present. The Flat Hat. All Rights Reserved.