Forget the “half-off” car sales and “buy one, get one free” mattress deals, because a more traditional celebration will be taking place in Williamsburg this Memorial Day weekend.

May 28, the Kimball Theatre will host a storytelling initiative to raise money for the 1st Lt. Todd W. Weaver Memorial Award at the College of William and Mary. First Lt. Todd Weaver ’08, died in combat in Sept. in Kandahar, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

Currently in the process of being established by his family, the scholarship fund will pay for one government major’s study abroad experience each year. The scholarship will be implemented within the next year.

As someone who showed passion for his country and his family in everything he did, Weaver was extremely affected by the events of Sept. 11, which inspired him to join the military.

“I’ll never forget the day Todd came home on [Sept. 11] during his senior year of high school, he knew that [going into the military] was what he wanted to do,” Todd Weaver’s mother Jeanne Weaver said. “That year it was so hard to get him to focus on college. Looking back on it, he was focused on [Sept. 11].”

After some encouragement from his parent, Weaver enrolled at James Madison University after high school, but then took a tour in Iraq. After returning home, he transferred to the College.

“He said that he wanted to go to the school that would give him the best possible education, and that school was William and Mary,” Todd Weaver’s father Don Weaver said.

While at the College, Weaver majored in government and international relations. He achieved very high grades and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Weaver had always wanted to travel but was unable to do so until his senior year due to his commitments to ROTC. During his lifetime he lived in five countries and traveled to 35.

During the fall semester of his senior year, Weaver studied abroad in Russia, when his life began to drastically change.

“He wanted to go to Russia because it wasn’t the easy way out,” Don Weaver said. “A lot of kids go to Spain or Italy, but Todd wanted to challenge himself. He was a man who was focused on the moment. He was going to grab life as it came to him, and shape it as he went along.”

The Weavers recall that their son’s study abroad experience shaped his life in numerous ways. It was there that he proposed to his wife, Emma.

Emma Weaver recalled that he had bought a tiny ring there for 1,000 rubles — the equivalent of $40. He proposed to her at a town on the Black Sea in Russia.

After his time in Russia, Weaver went back to Williamsburg to finish his degree at the College and to prepare for the active duty that awaited him. Within the first 10 days of May that year, he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, received a commission as an officer in the army, and married Emma.

“When you say ‘I do,’ you don’t say ‘I do’ to your husband, you say ‘I do’ to an army lifestyle,” Emma Weaver said. “Wherever Todd was going to go, I was going to go.”

Todd and Emma Weaver moved from Virginia to Georgia and then to Tennessee — where their daughter Kylie was born. Just a few months after she was born, Todd was deployed to Afghanistan.

“When he was going to Iraq, he had no one to worry about except himself; this time he didn’t want to leave Kylie,” Emma Weaver said.

While overseas, Todd kept in close touch with his family back home through Skype, e-mail and the occasional phone call. Emma recalled that Weaver would always ask her how Kylie, “the sweetie,” was.

“Todd’s first sergeant said that they must have watched Kylie’s first birthday video clip over 1,000 times,” Don Weaver said.

During his time in Afghanistan, Weaver maintained the connection with his family, yet continued to build a relationship with his fellow soldiers and to fight for his country.

Even after his return to the College, Weaver continued to leave a strong legacy of loyalty and determination and touched the lives of his friends and family.

Private donations as well as the Student Athletic Advisory Committee’s sales of the “One Tribe One Family” wristbands have gone to raise money for the scholarship. So far, over $30,000 has been raised, with $18,870 coming from the SAAC wristband sales. Over $50,000 needs to be raised in order to fund the scholarship.

The Williamsburg Story Telling Collaborative approached Weaver’s wife Emma with interest in using Todd’s story as the main focus for their Memorial Day concert, which is part of the “Stories that Make a Difference” concert series. The Collaborative will tell Weaver’s story along with that of other soldiers.

“He did what he did because he believed in William and Mary, his soldiers and his family,” Don Weaver said while addressing student athletes at their end of the year awards ceremony. “We are very proud of him and very proud that he went to William and Mary.”

The Story Telling Collaborative will be held at 7 p.m. May 27. Admission is free, but donations will be taken at the door. All proceeds from the event will go to help fund the memorial scholarship.

Here find ourselves at the end of another academic year at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. We have arrived at the time when seniors make one last desperate attempt to get laid, juniors freak out about having to declare for graduation, sophomores lose it about having to choose a major, and freshmen get drunk like college will never end. It is only appropriate that we take a moment on this, most sacred of all days, Blowout (or “Last Day of Classes” as AMP so sanitarily puts it), to pause and reflect on the year gone by.

What can one say about the Living Wage Coalition? We watched them win our support, promptly lose our support, and then sit in a building for a while. No one doubts their conviction nor the suggestion that everyone deserves a fair wage. But I’m sick of being harassed as I walk across the Terrace. No, I do not have a dollar to donate to the cause, and no, I do not want to hear about the plight of the average custodial employee. I just want to order my Quiznos in peace without being made to feel like Hitler for not signing your petition. Even College President Taylor Reveley is against you, and Reveley loves everybody: He’s like Santa Claus. At any rate, we can all say we witnessed the year of the LWC, and next year when they’ve stopped caring, we can all say, “What? What the hell is the LWC?”

We were fortunate enough to witness another excellent year for the football team (complete with another year of giggling at the name “Laycock,” tee-hee), and another year of futile irrelevance for the basketball team. Do you know how frustrating it is to make your March Madness bracket and see that every team has beaten William and Mary? It’s like rooting for the Vatican step team.

We spent another year at the mercy of the Williamsburg weather. Going from summer to spring again is always an ordeal. It’s fun going from crotch-like humidity, to unfathomable temperature swings, to clinically depressive grayness, before arriving at sinus-obliterating pollen. It’s hilarious to me now when fourth-grade level history textbooks wonder why the first few colonies here didn’t work out. British nobles spent 12 months here, said “screw that,” grabbed their prescriptions for Allegra, and went to Boston. I’m debating doing the same.

We saw the initiation of the administration’s new plan for fraternity housing. This is really a fabulous plan, because nothing discourages the horrible evils of beer pong, fun and camaraderie like giving us an entire street to ourselves. Also, in a brilliant attempt to prevent the corruption of freshmen, Yates will now be completely surrounded on all sides by fraternity buildings. I imagine the first year after the dorms’s completion will be like “Dawn of the Dead,” with backwards hats, Sperrys and “Wagon Wheel” closing in on all sides.

All of that being said, we did witness some things in which we can be proud of at our alma mater. Once again, the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, the Mason School of Business and the College as a whole continued to climb in the national rankings. Our effort towards sustainability earned us the highest grade in our history. We saw the newly admitted class of 2015 boast the highest diversity of any in the College’s history. The football team was named CAA champion, the club hockey team was crowned conference champions, and the Model United Nations team came in second in the world. That’s pretty damn impressive.

I rag on this school a lot, but sincerely, there’s no place in the entire world I’d rather be. At the end of your four years, you’re going to look back and wonder if you made the right choice. If you can look back on the last year, and as you’re packing up the bookcase you never used, the air conditioner that never worked, and the textbooks you couldn’t sell back and smile to yourself and say, “It was a good year,” then, damnit, you did something right. Have a great summer, and I’ll see you in the fall.

__Jason Rogers is a Confusion Corner columnist and has received his prescription for Allegra and train ticket to Boston. Contact Jason at jerogers@email.wm.edu.__

As a DJ on campus, Alex Khumrets ’13, known to his fans as Walex, has played at all the typical venues, including formals, philanthropies and date parties. However, unlike most musicians, his short musical career has also landed him concerts at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. and features in international magazines.

“People assume he’s been doing it for longer, but it has only been about a year,” Ishan Bardhan ’13, Walex’s manager, said.

Most of the events Walex is hired for involve playing and mixing some popular Top 40 songs. Although it is not his main interest, he still finds playing the top hits to be entertaining.

“Popular music is becoming a lot more combined with techno influences,” Walex said. “Good club hits are almost like techno songs that I would be playing, which makes it nice for me because I have more fun at DJ gigs.”

Outside of performances, Walex’s main interest is in techno music, and he spends much of his free time experimenting with new tracks and stretching his creativity.

“I DJ in order to pay for my hobby of making techno music,” Walex said. “There are two kinds of gigs — the ones people want to dance to and play certain songs, and then gigs like the 9:30 Club, where they want to see us perform as an artist, not as an iPod shuffle.”

Although Walex does many events on his own, he is also part of a music duo called Vedet. The other half of Vedet, Michael LeGore, is a sophomore at the University of Virginia. Despite their distance, the two are still able to produce tracks together by sharing music online.

“I’ve had a lot of interest in making music and I’ve always been involved,” Walex said. “My friend was really into techno music like Daft Punk and JUSTICE … he introduced me to it and we started producing around the fall of last year.”

Vedet has already been featured internationally despite being around for such a short time. Last year, they produced a mixtape that caught the attention of a German magazine, which included a feature about Walex and LeGore.

“In order to gain recognition, you make mixtapes,” Walex said. “So you DJ a lot of songs that you feel influenced you into a forty [minute] or hour-long track. We combined a lot of American and European music.”

A more local accomplishment was their performance at the 9:30 Club for a design firm’s networking event. Vedet was invited to perform based on employees’ submissions regarding what artists they wanted to play at the event.

“Our friend sent us in as a joke, but then we started promoting it and releasing more songs so that people would know more about us,” Walex said. “We placed number three, and we had just gotten started at this point.”

The concert was a defining moment for Vedet, since it helped to establish their band as well as to get their name into the public sphere — although that did not go quite as planned.

“For each band they displayed your name, which [for us] they misspelled. So everyone was chanting ‘Veget’,” Walex said. “The worst part was going home and seeing so many hits on Twitter for ‘Veget’ and not nearly as much for ‘Vedet.’”

Despite this small hitch, their fan base has been steadily growing as they continue to produce more tracks. Since Williamsburg does not have a big techno scene, Walex said he was looking to expand his music in the D.C. area.

“He DJ-ed a few parties in D.C., like at hotels and on New Years’ Eve,” Bardhan said. “Our friends [have] a bunch of parties, so we bring equipment in and start playing music. It works better when [Walex and LeGore] are both at home.”

Although he does not foresee DJing and making mixtapes as a lifelong career, Walex is still excited to explore the different places that his music will take him. Right now, he and LeGore are concentrating their efforts on producing more tracks and gaining recognition throughout the techno scene.

“The concert [at the 9:30 Club] is online and it is a fantastic performance,” Bardhan said. “I’ve never seen him [Walex] so happy as when he DJs.”

As the end of April approaches, so, too, does summer break. For many College of William and Mary students, this will be a time for relaxation, research, jobs and internships. For some, however, it is also the ideal time to go to the movies and catch up on the latest Hollywood flicks. If they are looking for a break from the heat or to kindle a passion for film, this summer’s moviegoers can expect the release of 45 films between May and August. Here are just a few highlights.

Winnie the Pooh
The loveable yellow bear of our childhood returns on the big screen in this sequel to the 1977 animated feature “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.” With watercolor illustrations and a screenplay based on one of A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books, this film harkens back to the classic era of Disney animations, capturing the innocence of life spent in the Hundred Acre Wood. Viewers will surely reminisce of their childhood as they watch Pooh and his friends set out to save Christopher Robin from a creature called “Backson” and to find Eeyore’s missing tail.
Directed by: Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall
Starring (voices): Jim Cummings, Craig Ferguson and John Cleese
Release Date: July 15, 2011
Rated: G

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
The end has arrived. After 10 years of Harry Potter premieres, this film concludes an era filled Quidditch matches, Hogsmeade visits, dragons and butterbeer. Yet while many fans may dread this inevitable finale, they, too, will appreciate what “Part 2” has to offer: action-packed scenes filled with fire, explosions and heart-racing stunts; an anxious-ridden screenplay detailing Harry, Ron and Hermione’s last efforts to destroy Voldemort’s horcruxes; and the looming question of whether or not Harry will prevail in his fight against the Dark Lord. Returning director David Yates will certainly provide a fitting end to this multi-million dollar and internationally-acclaimed film franchise.
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint
Release Date: July 15, 2011
Rated: N/A

The Beaver
In this dramatic comedy, Mel Gibson stars as Walter Black, a failed toy company executive and family man who feels that he must live through a beaver puppet in order to communicate with others. The film provides a unique perspective on how an individual must overcome depression and find renewal in his life. Interestingly, Gibson’s mentally submissive role in this film contrasts his normally strong, dominant characters, such as his starring roles in “Braveheart” (1995) and “The Patriot” (2000). If successful, this film will show a new side of Gibson’s acting ability.
Directed by: Jodie Foster
Starring: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and Anton Yelchin
Release Date: May 6, 2011 (limited)
Rated: PG-13

Hangover Part II
Stu (Ed Helms) is getting married in Thailand, and after a night of partying with Stu’s soon-to-be brother-in-law, he and his friends Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) find themselves in a strange apartment with a monkey — and without the brother-in-law. The sequel to the 2007 smash-hit comedy, this film follows the trio on yet another escapade as they search for the missing brother-in-law in the colorful streets of Bangkok.
Directed by: Todd Philips
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms
Release Date: May 26, 2011
Rated: N/A

Cowboys & Aliens
It is 1873 when Jake Lonegran (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the Arizona Territory desert. Knowing neither his identity nor his place of origin, he comes upon the Wild West town of Absolution, where he soon faces townsfolk who regard strangers with a wary eye. But he is not the person, or rather the creature, that they should fear most — indeed, when aliens attack, the citizens stand behind Lonegran as he fights to save the town from destruction. Combining the nostalgia of historical fiction and the thrill of science fiction with the directing expertise of Jon Favreau (“Iron Man”) and Steven Spielberg (“Saving Private Ryan”), the film is sure to please any viewer eager for a unique take on extraterrestrial invasions.
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde
Release Date: July 29, 2011
Rated: N/A

Super 8
It is the summer of 1979, and a group of small-town adolescents begin to produce a movie. While filming at a train station, they witness a calamitous train wreck, but fail to tell people what they saw that night. Their town soon becomes the scene of a military camp as the Deputy Lamb (Kyle Candler) seeks to expose the truth behind mysterious disappearances. In a style similar to the 1977 classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Super 8” delves into the relations between human and creature, conveying the plotline’s tensions through awesome computer-generated special effects and a superb orchestral score.
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka and Kyle Chandler
Release Date: June 10, 2011
Rated: N/A

Cars 2
Racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and rusty tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) are on a mission to see the world. In this sequel to the 2006 Pixar hit, McQueen is given the opportunity to race in the first World Grand Prix, but as he prepares to be the fastest racecar in the world, Mater becomes entangled in espionage with the premiere British spy, Finn McMissile (Michael Caine). Although this film does not include the voice of the late Paul Newman, who played Doc Hudson in the previous “Cars” film, “Cars 2” is expected to follow in the footsteps of its Academy Award-winning Pixar predecessor, “Toy Story 3” (2010), and garner an acclaimed reputation of its own.
Directed by: John Lasseter and Brad Lewis
Starring (voices): Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine and Jason Isaacs
Release Date: June 18, 2011
Rated: G

Larry Crowne
Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks) lacks a college degree, and, now, a job. In an effort to jumpstart a new stage in his life, he enrolls in college, where he meets similarly ambitious students and the beautiful yet unenthused public speaking teacher, Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts). Although she is married, Crowne falls in love with her, and he soon finds that his life is still worth living. Albeit in a different setting, this film maintains the much-respected onscreen dynamics between Hanks and Roberts first established in the 2007 film “Charlie Wilson’s War.” Can the duo pull off another charmingly romantic relationship without it ultimately appearing unnatural?
Directed by: Tom Hanks
Starring: Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts
Release Date: July 1, 2011
Rated: PG-13