The field trip to Harvard appeared to be a normal educational trip. The sixth graders explored the classrooms and admired the ancient statues, but when they were given a paper clip and told to exchange the paper clip for a gift from a college student, the spark within the students grew.

For children who hail from lower income households, the chance to interact with successful college students reminded them of the opportunities that MATCH, a public charter school in Boston, offered them. As a tutor at MATCH, formerly known as Media and Technology Charter High, alumna Barbara Luckett ’10 has seen the opportunities grow for the disadvantaged students.

One of Luckett’s students, a sixth grader at MATCH, was continuously shuffled through the school system even though he struggled with reading. With the help of instructors at MATCH school, the student finally found his voice.

“Just this past week, he volunteered to read something off the white board in front of his entire class, and although he needed help to sound out several words, he did it, and I was so proud of him,” Luckett said.

As a member of the MATCH Corps, Luckett spent a year in Boston tutoring inner-city students in a structured educational environment. The school, which opened in September 2000, admits around 440 students into the middle school and high school. The kids generally come from low-income households and have struggled with traditional public school education for years.

“Most of the students we serve come from low-income families, are black or Latino, have about a 1-in-20 chance of graduating from college, and enter MATCH significantly behind grade level,” Colin Bottles, director of recruiting for the MATCH school, said. “Each tutor’s job is nothing less than to change the arc of his or her students’ lives.”

The program is similar to Teach for America in that recent college graduates apply for positions to teach disadvantaged youth. Unlike Teach for America, however, MATCH school pairs up tutors with only six or seven students so that trusting relationships can form between teachers and tutors.

“Some [college graduates] are considering other urban education programs, but ultimately choose MATCH because they’re attracted to our ‘depth over breadth’ approach, in which tutors work very closely with a few students rather than try to manage a class of 20-30 kids,” Bottles said.

Luckett wasn’t immediately sold on joining teaching programs after college.

“I didn’t really even consider applying until winter of my senior year, after I had been tutoring a local eighth grade student in pre-algebra for a few months,” Luckett said. “While that experience was easily one of the most frustrating parts of my week, it was also the most rewarding, and it made me realize how easy it is for a student to slip through the cracks in our public education system.”

During the finals week of her senior year, Luckett traveled to Boston for an interview with program coordinators. As a result of that trip, Luckett, like her fellow tutors from colleges such as Wake Forest University, Harvard College, Boston College and Cornell University, has dedicated one year to the 440 students in grades six through 12.

For recent college graduates like Luckett, teaching programs offer an alternative to the traditional post-college job search while still focusing on their values.

“William and Mary students are very service-oriented and interested in making a difference to those around them,” Holly Meyers, assistant director and liason to the School of Education at the Sherman and Gloria H. Cohen Career Center, said. “The teaching programs appeal to students because they provide opportunities to make a positive impact in others’ lives. Organizations that focus on closing the achievement gap and improving the lives of youth fit in to William and Mary students’ values.”

Although teaching programs like MATCH and Teach for America offer a different path after graduation, they still allow graduates to pursue their ultimate career goals.

“The programs require anywhere from one-to-four-year commitments, so for students interested in pursuing other opportunities such as graduate school, the time commitment is reasonable and allows them to pursue this passion as well as other goals down the road,” Meyers said.

The tutors volunteer at the school for a year and live in housing located right above the classrooms. Members of the MATCH Corps immerse themselves in the experience of teaching.

For Luckett, the 6:30 a.m. arrival time signals the beginning of a school day with both dedicated adults and deserving students. With tasks ranging from breakfast duty to sixth and seventh grade tutorials, Luckett spends her mornings directly interacting with all of the students she serves. She tutors two sixth graders and two seventh graders individually during the day, but also interacts with many other students.

The strength of the connection between tutors and students is most evident in the evening, when Luckett fills out forms about the day and takes time to call each of the students and their parents.

After dropping its original acronyms, MATCH has adopted other personal acronyms, including Many Adults that Care Here, My Approach to College Happiness and even Mentoring and Tutoring Charter High. The personal acronyms reflect the close relationship that forms between the tutors and the community of parents and students.

“‘Many Adults That Care Here’ is definitely the acronym that stands out to me,” Luckett said. “Even with the long day, the strict structure, the heavy workload and the demerits, there’s a lot of love at this school. Each and every tutor cares so much about their kids — and we call them our ‘kids.’ The kids are at such an impressionable age where they really look up to us, want to hang out with us, and make us proud.”

While the tutors generally dedicate 60 hours per week to the students and school, for Luckett, the reward of the long hours lies in the individual experiences, such as the sixth grade student who, for the first time, had the confidence to stand up in front of his class and read off the board.

“This school is going to permanently change his life trajectory and being part of that is just an amazing experience,” Luckett said.

Finals are just around the corner, and we all know what that means: stress. Look out for the “de-stress events” that various campus organizations will put on in the next few weeks because you know they’re coming: free de-stress kits, coloring sessions and Pet-A-Puppy day. Surprisingly, clubs at the College of William and Mary have yet to profit from a scientifically proven stress reliever — sex. Imagine the ad in Student Happenings. “Brand new orgy club! Meeting Tuesday before finals to de-stress! Come out and be an exciting part of the most fun way to de-stress! Leadership positions available! Don’t forget your handcuffs!”

Seriously, the weeks leading up to finals can feel like time spent in a pressure cooker, where it seems like only a matter of time before you — and everyone around you — start popping like popcorn. If you can grab a study buddy to act as an interactive model for that anatomy class you eventually plan to take (here’s looking at you, pre-meds), then you should absolutely take advantage of the opportunity — for everyone’s sake.

But what happens when the pressure is turned up too high? What if you’re in the situation, and you thought you had everything under control, and all of a sudden something isn’t going as you had planned? She’s not wet, or you’re not hard, or things ended too quickly, or they won’t start at all? When studying chemistry seems like a better alternative to having real life chemistry, the situation needs to be re-evaluated. The best suggestion I have is to take a deep breath, slow things down a little bit, and go in for a long sexy kiss.

The kiss can work to divert the awkwardness, slow down the pace, get everything back on the right track, and get the essential juices flowing — all at the same time.

When you’re in one of those nightmarish situations where you can’t get it up or — even worse — you can’t seem to keep it up, repair the situation with the sexy kiss. Make sure your partner feels and try not to freak out. The stress of finals is just that — stressful. And stress has impacts on our bodies we don’t recognize, or sometimes refuse to recognize until our body ties us to a chair and orchestrates an intervention. Think about your state of affairs beyond the two obvious reactions: “OMG, is it broken?!” and “#Notwinning.” Are you exhausted? Are you turned off? Is some other life issue really bothering you? If any of these things are true, it might be time to turn in the condom, at least for a while. Take the condom off, take the pressure off, and get a different kind of de-stress in: Take some time out for cuddling and TLC with your partner. Being told that your partner is having an off night can be a rather awkward experience, but it’s a lot less awkward than trying to stimulate an unresponsive partner for over 45 minutes.

Stress-caused sexual problems do not, of course, solely apply to men. Sometimes the ladies are faced with issues as well, but don’t worry, there are solutions. Here’s what to do when she’s not wet: Slow everything down. Stop fingering her like she’s a mouse button, and you’re trying to win an internet flash game. Be more reserved, touch her more softly, kiss her with more restraint. Kiss her mouth and her neck and her nipples and that place right below her belly button. If that doesn’t work, oral sex is pretty foolproof — unless you’re trying to fit in a de-stress session between study sessions, and you’re short on time. In that case, lube is the best friend you’ve ever had. Make sure the lube is water based (oil based lubes will eat through condoms) and apply liberally. Think about how much fun Slip ’N Slides are. Lubed vaginas are kind of like that, except better.

So, you’re wound more tightly than you realized and you come more quickly than you would have liked. There’s good news. Vaginal and anal sex are not the only ways to pleasure your partner. Find another way to give him or her the stress relief they are looking for. Maybe a sexy massage is in order? Oral sex? A furious shower makeout session? Take the time to rest up, champ, and maybe you’ll be ready for round two sooner than you think.

Undoubtedly, sexual situations that don’t go as planned can be awkward. Figuring out what you want and what you need can go a long way. It might just be a matter of changing positions or locations. Having a cramp in your leg from putting it behind your head can easily mess with your mojo and maybe your partner’s cat really is watching you while you have sex. It’s important to know when to call it quits, especially if your de-stressing process is causing you or your partner more stress. So keep calm and get it on, even through finals.

__Krystyna Holland is a Behind Closed Doors columnist and will be starting an orgy club for the upcoming finals season. Contact her at kaholland@email.wm.edu.__

__This article was co-authored by Ariel Cohen__

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again. The time when Jewish students at the College of William and Mary trade in bread for matzo, Natty Light for Manischewtz wine and science textbooks for biblical stories to gather with family and friends to celebrate Moses. Yes, it’s Passover again.

A Jewish rite of spring, Passover commemorates the biblical story of Exodus in which the ancient Israelites escaped from slavery in Egypt and journeyed to their homeland of Canaan. This celebration is one of the most holy and widely observed Jewish holidays.

“Passover has always been one of my favorite holidays,” Jane Rabinovitz ’13 said. “I love the food, the Seder and the story. It’s fun to have people ask why you’re eating sandwiches on crackers.”

Although there is so much more to the culinary delights of Passover than matzo, carbohydrate depravation has increasingly become the hallmark of the eight-day celebration.

According to legend, as the Israelites rushed to flee Egypt, they did not have enough time for the bread they were baking to rise. Hence they had to take unleavened bread along with them on their 40-year journey to Israel.

To commemorate their struggle, Jews do not eat any form of leavened bread during Passover. Cue the introduction of matzo. During Passover, Jews abstain from the five main grains: wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt.

“I plan on observing Passover this year, but I think it’s going to be hard because most of the food in the dining halls has some sort of bread in it, which you can’t eat during the holiday,” Arianna Zell ’14 said.

According to Director of Operations for William and Mary Dining, Larry Smith, Dining Services has worked with Hillel, the Jewish student organization on campus for the past 12 years, to coordinate kosher foods as Passover meal options for observant students.

This year, kosher options for Passover will be served each day at the Commons, Sadler Center, Marketplace and the Mason School of Business’s Boehly Cafe. Each location will provide matzo, hard-boiled eggs, gefilte fish, tuna fish and horseradish as meal options for students observing Passover.

“All dining services does to help is put out some matzo, some horseradish and some gefilte fish, which no one wants to eat anyway. Other than that, they don’t change the dining options to accommodate Passover,” Jacob Saracco ’12, said. “It’s very difficult to keep Passover here, and in the past, I found myself breaking just to get the nutrition I needed.”

Smith emphasized that if a student required any further accommodations during Passover, Dining Services would be more than willing to try to fulfill their requests and suggestions.

Despite these efforts, observing Passover can be difficult for some College students, especially while away from home.

“We used to be slaves in Egypt, so it’s nice that they give us such good food for Passover,” Dan Lefler ’12 said. “Hillel did a really great job this year.”

For students who wish to celebrate Passover in a more traditional setting, Hillel provides two Seders each year for students who want to join in the celebration of the holiday with fellow college students.

“Here at the College, Hillel offers Jewish students some semblance of their typical Passover by holding Seders on the first two nights, providing kosher [for food] for Passover dinners each night during the holiday, and allowing students the opportunity to help with the preparation,” Evan Meltzer ’14, the event coordinator of Hillel said.

A Passover Seder traditionally involves retelling the story of the Israelites’s liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt, represented by a ceremonial Seder plate as a centerpiece. A Seder plate includes maror, charoset, karpas, z’roa and beitzah, all symbolizing elements of the Exodus story.

One large theme of a Passover Seder is education; a common feature is a question-and-answer session that allows participants to gain an understanding of the meaning of the holiday.

One of the most frequently asked questions is, “Why is this night different from all others?”

For Meltzer, it is a time for reflection.

“I think that the story of Passover offers college students a unique source of faith and perseverance in their actions that will help them with the difficulties of the end of the year,” Meltzer said.

Saturday, the College of William and Mary’s radio station, WCWM, hosted what was perhaps the loudest event held on campus in some time, with free musical entertainment from two unique and talented performers.

“I’ve literally spent over 200 hours over the last couple months making this all happen,” Concert Director Todd Van Luling ’13, and co-host of his own radio show, Aesthetic Octopus, said. “In the week leading up to WCWM Fest, I’ve been spending at least eight hours every day on this.”

Originally scheduled to take place under the King and Queen tent in the Sunken Garden, inclement weather forced the WCWM Fest to be moved to the Commonwealth Auditorium in the Sadler Center. Due to the indoor location, some of the planned outdoor activities, including a Batman moonbounce and custom stencil T-shirt spray-painting, have been postponed to an undetermined date.

However, despite this last-minute change in plans, well over 100 students still came to show their support and to have a good time on the dance floor under the flashing lights.

Nonetheless, students like Arthur Schechter believed that the event was able to cater to a large and diverse number of student groups on campus, and are looking forward to future WCWM Fests.

“I think this was the first of many branching-out events which will proceed to put [WCWM] on the map of campus, so to speak,” Schechter said.

The featured artists, Pictureplane and Dominique Young Unique, provided all sorts of danceable beats, which appealed to varying tastes in music. Like most of the students at the event, Shannon Davis ’13 found out about WCWM Fest through friends and Facebook and had never heard of the artists, but is glad to have discovered them.

“I really liked both artists,” Davis said. “They were unique in their own ways. The music was really good. I couldn’t stop dancing.”

Davis, like many of the other students, was unfamiliar with the artists, but WCWM Fest provided the opportunity for discovery.

“[The two artists] aren’t recognized by 90 percent of this campus despite their incredible talent,” Van Luling said.

At the end of the night, students made their way out of the Sadler Center having thoroughly enjoyed electronic house beats, smooth yet rapid-fire lyrics and hours of dancing with their friends.

Van Luling believes the event was a huge success and hopes that WCWM will receive more funding in the future to host even more amazing concerts in the coming years.

“It’s important to show that William and Mary, even though we’re a smaller school, can bring quality acts and put on really good concerts,” Carr said.

Whether students were familiar with the artists or not, the general consensus among them is that the event was just plain fun.

“Who doesn’t like good music?” Schechter said.