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Confusion Corner: Lost in inebriation

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There’s really nothing about college I love more than inebriated discussions. I’m not sure why, but there’s always that point during any college social gathering — and it may have to do with the feigned intellectual, collegiate atmosphere campuses tend to have — when a very intense, involved conversation arises. If you’ve ever stayed at a party past 1 a.m., and you’re not making out on a loveseat in the corner, or trying to find your coat so you can get the hell out, it’s probably because of a particular conversation. Alcohol plays an interesting role in conversations. It’s the whole reason that people feel comfortable sharing insights and concerns they’d never voice while sober, but it also impairs their ability to coherently voice those concerns. Of course no one realizes this at the time, as they are blathering on about this band or that friend’s girlfriend. But pressed the next day for a recap of that discussion, the one they seemed feverishly devoted to the night before, they’ll admit there wasn’t much to it. The problem is exponentially confused if one, or God forbid, both people involved in the conversation are enrolled in a philosophy class. Those ever involved in a “How do I know I have hands” conversation know what I mean.

But drinking merely heightens the inherent comedy of any real, substantial communication. Language is a problem. Everyone realizes this when running up against actual language barriers; it’s what makes studying abroad so simultaneously eye-opening and frustrating. Forget the Chinese word for toilet paper at a Beijing supermarket and you’re screwed. But we seem reluctant to realize that no two people, even fluent English speakers, are actually ever speaking the same language. The meaning you associate with a certain word, or at least its connotations, is almost certainly not exactly the same as someone else’s. I remember one conversation I had with a friend — in broad, un-intoxicated daylight — where I tried the entire time, missing the entire content of the discussion, I might add, to figure out his use of the word “mimetic.” Only after a few weeks in a classics class am I beginning to even get a grasp of the concept, but I’m never actually going to access the idea he was trying to express. Milan Kundera’s brilliant novel, the “Unbearable Lightness of Being,” plays on this disconnect for comedic effect, as if his two lovers’ different understanding of the connotations of parades is the reason they can never know each other. But in most situations — Kundera’s characters notwithstanding — we recognize when there’s a fundamental misunderstanding. Normal conversation deftly acknowledges, even respects, certain constraints of language. But what I love about drunken conversations is that they just smack up against these barriers like a bird against plate glass, as if they’ll get you to understand if by sheer force of conviction.

Whether or not it’s possible to get around this misunderstanding I’m still unsure; the only method I’ve yet found is, again, in fiction. Dave Eggers wrote his book “What is the What,” which he termed a “fictionalized autobiography” in the voice of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee. Based on his interviews with Deng, Eggers combines Deng’s fascinating story with his own experience, creating a narrative that either man might have experienced. It’s an exercise in sustained empathy, the likes of which is rarely seen in writing, fiction or non. William Burroughs, for my money, plays a similar game in “Naked Lunch.” He’s an author who spent his entire drug-addled life consorting with various characters — cops, bookies, addicts and gigolos. His novel seems to evoke something of each of them, and they are each written in the style of prose appropriate to their characters: science fiction, detective fiction and even the detached pseudo psychological journal are all spliced together, as is Burroughs’ fashion. It’s like reading 12 books at once, each by a different author. Some authors strive to find one authentic tone; he has a cupboard full — a feat I can only attribute to sincere empathy.

Of course, when I tried to explain this to someone at a party, the only reaction I got was a long stare and a response, the gist of which was “I have no earthly idea what you’re talking about.” He had read the same book and was far more concerned with something entirely different. So we just talked louder and louder until someone who had no interest in either of our concerns finally told us to go home.

__Kevin Mooney is the Flat Hat Confusion Corner columnist. He fully supports drunkenly talking your acquaintance’s ears off, as long as he is not one of them.__

That Guy: Joe Kessler

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__Despite the cold, dreary weather outside, Joe Kessler’s attitude is unmistakably positive. A Florida native, Joe’s perspective is sunny side up when it comes to academia, hanging around with monkeys, crypt crawling, even watching horrible movies. Our conversation allowed him to open up about his opinions of the College of William and Mary’s unique Greek life, his interest in theater and film and his desire to save the world’s endangered languages.__

*Where are you from?*

I grew up in Vero Beach, Fl., where most people haven’t even heard of William and Mary. Usually when I told people where I was going after high school they’d get either this blank look like, “Is that a private school?” As soon as I came here to visit, I just knew it was the right [school] for me.

*When did you first hear about the College?*

I feel like I’ve always heard of it. My family is a huge fan of the “1776” musical. Thomas Jefferson has a line in there where he’s bragging about being a William and Mary graduate. Little things like that. I always knew it was a good school and had a good reputation. When I was applying to colleges I didn’t know
where I wanted to go, so I just applied to six or seven schools that I thought sounded good.

*Once you got here, how did you decide what to major in?*

I’m a linguistics and anthropology double major. When I first came to school I was undeclared, and I just took classes that first semester that sounded interesting to me. One of them was Study of Language, the introductory linguistics course. And then the next semester I just still kept taking classes that sounded interesting. At one point I realized that most of these interesting classes I [was] taking [were] linguistics, so I thought, “All right. That’s great. I’ve got that figured out.” Anthropology snuck up on me as a second major, though. There’s a lot of overlap with that and linguistics, so that helped. And there was one class, professor Barbara King’s Ape Communication and Human Language course, that I wanted to take because it appealed to the linguistics major in me, but it was an anthropology-majors-only class, so I talked to professor King and I thought, “Well, I’ll declare anthropology as a second major so I can get in that class.” And then, as I was talking to her, I realized that I’m actually pretty close to fulfilling the anthropology major credit-wise.

*What kind of activities are you involved in?*

I’m involved in a lot less now than I used to be. When I first came to college, pretty much the only thing I was involved with was SKIFFY, the College’s science fiction and fantasy club. Around sophomore and junior years, I just started joining a whole bunch more things. I pledged my fraternity, [Theta Delta Chi], sophomore year; I was part of the Information Technology student advisory committee for a while; I did some stuff with internal affairs for the Student Assembly, some Mystic Theatre things. It just kind of hit an overload at one point. Last spring I was taking an academic overload of 20 credits, and with all the other things I was doing, too, and it just got to be a bit too much. I sort of had to step back and realize I like all these different activities but maybe it was time to focus on just a few of them.

I’m also a tour guide with the Spotswood Society, so I give tours of the Wren Building once a week. I heard they were accepting applicants, and I had heard of the crypt crawl where only those kids in Spotswood Society are allowed into the crypt underneath the Wren Chapel, and that sounded like fun. You have to put in a full year of being in Spotswood Society before you’re allowed to go down in there, so I did that the first time last spring.

*What kind of activities does SKIFFY engage in?*

SKIFFY tends to be composed of bad movie fanatics. Like “Mystery Science Theatre 3000,” we watch a lot of that. My freshman year we got a group of people together to go out to the theaters to go see “Snakes on a Plane.” Earlier this year we watched this terrible, terrible movie called “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus,” which is every bit as bad as it sounds. I love terrible movies like that, so it’s a lot of fun to just sit there and make fun of it with your friends. That’s what the club is all about.

*What kind of post-grad options are you looking into?*

I’m applying to a couple different programs, all for a linguistics Ph.D. Actually, yesterday I heard back from the first one. Buffalo in New York said yes, so I’m excited about that. That was one of my top two choices. Back when I was applying to colleges I applied to a few different schools; at least this time I have the advantage that I actually know what I want to do, whereas I definitely was completely clueless when I was applying to undergrad.

*Do you have a focus that you’re looking at for your Ph.D.?*

What I really want to do for a living is work on endangered languages, language preservation and revitalization. I did work like that this past summer with professor Jack Martin. I went with him and a few other William and Mary students down to Elton, La. to help the Koasati Indians there. We worked with the native speakers and developed a sixth grade textbook for their language, because the situation there is basically that the youngest speaker is about 18. Most of the speakers are actually much older, in their 50s, 60s and 70s. So they’ve only recently realized within the past few years that this is a problem — that kids are just not learning the language in their houses anymore. It was a very rewarding experience, and it sort of made up my mind that that’s what I think I want to do.

*What was the biggest surprise you encountered at the College?*

The weather surprised me. Coming from Florida, I’m used to warm weather year-round. This winter, when I was home, we had a cold snap where it actually got down into the 40s, and everyone was freaking out. No one had proper heating in their houses. Also, I found with Williamsburg weather that it can really fluctuate. You’ll have 70 degrees one day and 35 the next, so I’ve sort of learned to check the Weather Channel every morning when I get dressed, just so I know how hot it’s going to be. Some people think I’m crazy; my friends back home in Florida think, “Why on Earth would you go to Virginia? It’s snowing.” And people here are telling me, “Two of the schools you applied to for grad school, those are up in upstate New York, so what are you thinking?”

*You’re also a Monroe Scholar. What was your project?*

The work I did with professor Martin this past summer, that was my upperclass Monroe project. Freshman year, professor King in the anthropology department was my adviser. Through her class I found out about this chimpanzee sanctuary that’s only about a half hour from where I live back home in Florida, which I had never heard about growing up because it’s a pretty private place. I wrote to them and I asked them if they were taking any volunteers that summer, and eventually I was able to go there and volunteer. Actually, I still go there when I’m home over breaks. It’s a lot of fun. The sanctuary’s called “Save the Chimps.” They’ve got about 200 chimpanzees on the site, and most of them are former biomedical subjects, and Save the Chimps is just a retirement home for them, basically. It’s a place for them to live out the rest of their lives without being tested and injected. Mostly I work there in the kitchens because chimpanzees, especially that many, go through a lot of food. There’s 10 or 12 smaller groups of chimpanzees and each one has its own island that they go out on. It’s tucked away, pretty much off the beaten path. The first time I went there I thought, “Hmmm, this is kind of sketchy,” because it’s in the middle of all this farmland in a very rural area. I love it to pieces now. It’s one of my favorite things to do when I’m back home.

*Have you had any notable changes over your time at the College?*

I feel like a lot for me has changed since I first came to school. When I first came to school, I had no idea what I was doing here; I pretty much came to college because I’ve always loved learning, and growing up my parents definitely strongly encouraged the university experience. I came to college wanting to learn but not really knowing what, and now I’m getting ready to go off to grad school and I have at least somewhat clearer vision of what the future holds. I definitely never thought I would join a fraternity when I first came to college, and I ended up doing that sophomore year. My friends back home still think that’s weird. I’m one of the last people they would have pegged to join a fraternity.

*What is one of your biggest mistakes since you came to college?*

There have definitely been times where I’ve worried that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew academically. I love learning, and getting good grades has always been important to me, and I’ve managed to do that for the most part, but there have definitely been a lot more all-nighters than I would have preferred. As a result of that, there have definitely been times when I couldn’t hang out with friends or do something fun because there was something huge due the next day. In general I try to arrange my schedule so that’s not an issue, and that’s something I’ve definitely gotten better with over the years. There are just so many fun classes offered at the College. I’ve taken so many classes here that haven’t helped me at all with GERs or major or minor requirements or anything like that.

*Do any classes that you’ve taken out outside of your major track stand out for you?*

I’m taking Shakespeare in Film this semester with Paula Blank and Colleen Kennedy. Last year I took professor Blank’s Shakespeare in Language course. Those were both 400-level English classes that didn’t help me at all toward graduation, but they just sounded fun and they have been really enjoyable. I took Arabic 101 last semester and, again, some people thought, “Why are you doing that?” But it was a fun time.

__Turning a potential negative into a positive seems to be one of Joe’s strong points as he remarks on his academic overloading and scheduling conflicts. Joe makes it clear that he enjoys learning, whether it be introductory Arabic or how to feed monkeys giant popsicles. Fortunately for Joe, the College offers tons of opportunities in education, which he seems to have taken full advantage of, both in and out of the classroom.__

Additional CAP suggestions

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_Click image to enlarge._

Greek life revisited

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Let’s face it: The state of Greek life at the College of William and Mary is far from perfect. From housing issues to an unfortunately singular focus on alcohol consumption, a range of problems prevent fraternities and sororities from realizing some of their varied and lofty aims. The CAP report’s recommendations, released this week, ranged from the frivolous to the direly needed, and now the administration must work to separate the wheat from the chaff to make positive changes that will help create a better environment for Greek life now and into the future.

The 25-page assessment was expansive and honest. It frankly addressed issues like alcohol, but not in a way that derided all drinking. For instance, it has long been a problem that alcohol enforcement varies between Student Affairs, Residence Life and the Campus Police, making it very unclear where the line is drawn. For students, it is great that this message is finally being heard.

As far as College policy is concerned, there were two other major areas of focus: fraternity housing and the status of Greek organizations on campus with respect to the College. Since the need for new fraternity housing is self-evident and College President Taylor Reveley has begun taking steps toward the creation of a new Greek village, we will focus on the second.

In the College’s eyes, all student groups — from a movie club to a fraternity — are created equal. The needs of a Greek organization differ sharply than those of a standard club. The College has already created Greek Life positions. The report says that it should also establish a committee with the mandate to recommend changes to College policy. We endorse this suggestion, with some reservation. The College has been very effective at allowing fraternities and sororities to maintain their independence over the years. As a result, the community is fragmented; organizations like the Inter-Sorority Council and the Council for Fraternity Affairs are somewhat hobbled as a result. Going forward, the College should do what it can to give the nature of Greek life more frank recognition. More centralized cohesion should allow for a more effective implementation of beneficial policies overall.

Positive change to the College’s Greek life will not happen overnight. However, change is certainly within reach and the Greek community isn’t going anywhere. We should get started.

Once warm welcome turns cold

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It was only a few months ago that President Barack Obama’s whirlwind Asian tour stopped over in China, and the president received a very warm welcome. In the past week, much of the warmth the Chinese felt toward the United States, and Obama specifically, has disappeared. In what has become an almost daily event, Beijing and Washington have been consistently issuing statements berating each other. This change in relations was as sudden as it was dramatic, most likely due to its rather superficial nature. Throughout history, presidents have tried to overshadow domestic opposition by drumming up international conflict.

Some say that such tension is inevitable as China’s power and influence grows relative to the United States’s. China naturally finds it can flaunt U.S. authority with greater impunity and challenge America’s hegemony. However, this theory has some problems. Chinese power has been on the rise for quite some time, and it is unlikely that tensions would appear overnight. Moreover, the issues fueling the spat are by no means novel. Rather, Obama’s sudden about-face — from a president seemingly soft on foreign affairs and dependant on China’s treasury holdings to one who is apparently ready to fight — is seen by the Chinese as more political than substantive, and thus they see no need to compromise or back down.

During the Obama campaign, and into the first year of his presidency, Obama espoused a less confrontational foreign policy strategy, famously offering to open dialogue with Iran and other American foes. When he was elected, the Chinese applauded his emphasis on cooperation over conflict, but showed him little respect. During his Asian visit, he was proudly paraded around the country, but sent home empty handed. The Chinese offered only vague promises of cooperation on major issues.

It did not help that earlier last year Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had asked Beijing to keep buying U.S. debt. As a result, the Chinese perhaps thought they had little to fear from this new administration. Obama did not seem combative in foreign relations and still needed China to invest in the United States.

Now all that has changed; leading up to this week, Clinton publicly criticized China for its restrictive internet policies, its cyber attacks on the United States and its refusal to help the United States address Iran’s nuclear program. However, the real offensive began last weekend when Obama announced a multi-billion dollar sale of weaponry to Taiwan. As China considers Taiwan to be its own territory, they were naturally displeased and responded by cutting off military-to-military dialogue and threatening sanctions against U.S. weapons companies involved in the deal. Obama responded Tuesday by announcing a meeting with the Dalai Lama, whom China views as a Tibetan separatist, and accused China of currency manipulation Wednesday. These moves further angered the Chinese, who, in turn, issued more threats.

This sudden shift from respectful economic dependence to ever-growing hostilities is stunning, and most likely a function of politics more than of policy. It is unlikely that the Obama administration changed its China policy so drastically. Furthermore, the Chinese response cannot be explained simply by disagreements over Taiwan, currency or Tibet — these are not new to U.S.-Sino relations and have always been handled without major turmoil. It is the political context of the situation that has caused the spat.

According to China Daily columnist Huang Xiangyang, the Chinese see this new, tougher stance as a political ploy by Obama to score much-needed public support at home. They do not think he is serious in his threats and are therefore not backing down or compromising. Thus, both sides are issuing rhetorical broadsides — hopefully with little intention of real harm.

E-mail Ed Innace at einnace@wm.edu.

Virginia Senate launches preemptive strike on universal healthcare

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The democrat-controlled Virginia Senate passed the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act this week that — if passed by the Republican-controlled house — would make it illegal to force Virginians to purchase healthcare as well make it illegal to fine Virginians for not doing so. Wherever you stand on universal healthcare, this bill is an abomination to the democratic process, which the Virginia General Assembly supposedly intends to uphold. To pass this bill while President Barack Obama and his administration are retreating from their plans for healthcare reform is the ultimate display of stubbornness. Why not wait until the administration actually produces any legislation before voicing opposition to it?

Under the guise of protecting “the blessings of liberty,” this bill merely protects the profits of private health insurers and ensures that Virginia is exempt from any variety of universal healthcare. If Virginia senators actually cared about the federal government infringing on their ability to purchase private healthcare they would voice their concerns in a more hospitable way to allow Virginians the free choice to participate in a public healthcare option, if they so choose.

This bill brings front and center the elitism that is at the heart of the anti-universal healthcare movement. As well-paid legislators, the GA has nothing to lose by electing not to participate in universal healthcare. It is the average citizen who loses the ability to participate in a universal healthcare system that would most likely be cheaper than private insurance. Contrary to the opinion of the GA, universal healthcare is not intended to force citizens into a one-size-fits-all healthcare plan. The goal of universal healthcare is to allow all citizens the right to have health insurance that is not controlled by a private enterprise whose ultimate goal is profit. The only freedom the GA is protecting with this bill is the freedom of private health insurers to charge exorbitant rates while providing minimum coverage.

A government-run healthcare plan would ensure that citizens with pre-existing conditions are shown the same care as those with clean bills of health. While this may not mean much to those who can pay for their healthcare out-of-pocket, it means a great deal to those who cannot afford healthcare and whose lack of preventative care has left them with conditions deemed uncoverable by private insurers.

The principles behind a public healthcare option are the same as those behind public schools. All citizens must pay into public education because, as a democratic society, we have deemed basic education every citizen’s right and not a privilege for those who can afford it. If one is not satisfied with public education, one has the freedom to purchase a private education, just as a citizen covered by universal healthcare has the ability to purchase additional private healthcare if they choose to do so. This bill is equivalent to deeming Virginians exempt from paying the taxes that go to public education — considering how the GA treats the College of William and Mary — this may very well be their intention.

Although I have outlined some reasons for the adoption of universal healthcare, you don’t have to be a socialist to see why the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act is an assault on the democratic process. Above all, this bill is a preemptive strike on any possibility of a public health care option before any such legislation has been proposed. The Virginia Senate has demonstrated that it is unwilling to participate in an open discourse on this issue and has chosen to end the debate before it has even started.

E-mail Russ Zerbo at rjzerbo@wm.edu.

Football: Laycock signs 13 freshmen to class of 2014

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Despite a late start to the recruiting season, William and Mary Head Coach Jimmye Laycock signed 13 incoming freshmen Wednesday in a group highlighted by depth on the offensive and defensive lines. The class will also be joined by junior transfer quarterback Mike Paulus, a marquee addition from North Carolina.

“We certainly got a good cross-section of players,” Laycock said. “We’ve got some good solid lineman and we’ve got some skill players that give us some flexibility at different positions.”

Due to the College’s playoff run to the FCS national semifinals in December, the Tribe coaching staff had little time to focus on recruiting until after the season ended, almost a month later than usual.

“We weren’t able to have any official visits until the end of January,” Laycock said. “It really put us late in that regard, but the notoriety and attention we got really helped us.”

The most immediate contributor will be Paulus, who decided to transfer to the College just days after the Tribe’s season ended with a playoff loss to Villanova on Dec. 11. A former four-star recruit in the high school class of 2007 from Syracuse, N.Y., Paulus will be thrown into a quarterback battle to replace the departed senior R.J. Archer. Enrolled in classes this semester, Laycock said Paulus was already working out with his new teammates.

“He’s been watching tape and he says he’s been out there throwing with the guys,” Laycock said. “[The starting quarterback job] is wide open, nobody’s been promised anything. And I think that’s what caused all of them to go out and work and look at film right now.”

New Jersey running back Darnell Laws will highlight the group of incoming freshmen. Rated a two-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout.com, Laws ran for 731 yards on 114 carries his senior season at St. Augustine Prep and will likely redshirt his freshman season in Williamsburg.

“He gives us another big runner,” Laycock said. “That’s one thing we were looking for, and if we had an opportunity to sign a big running back we were going to do that.”

The Tribe coaching staff also focused on the offensive and defensive lines after losing several key players to graduation.

Lansdale, Pa. product Stephen Sinnott headlines the group of three defensive linemen, after being named first-team All-State and leading La Salle High School to a state championship this past fall. Meanwhile, Baron Goodwin comes to the College as a second-team All-State offensive lineman from Nansemond-Suffolk Academy in Smithfield, Va.

Raphael Ortiz will be the only scholarship quarterback in the freshman class. The Jersey City, N.J. native threw for 1,610 yards and 18 touchdowns during his senior season at St. Peter’s Prep, making first team All-State honors.

The class also includes a kicker, a rarity for scholarship freshmen. John Carpenter hit all eight of his field goal attempts this past season for Allegheny High School in Cumberland, Md, while recording 50 touchbacks.

Laycock was pleased with the overall depth of the class, and will supplement the group with invited walk-ons in the fall.

“You try to get as good, solid players as you can, hope they can develop, and see where they are two, three years from now,” he said.

Men’s basketball: College falls at ODU as freefall continues

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Heading into its Jan. 20 matchup with Virginia Commonwealth, William and Mary had compiled a 14-3 record, a 5-1 mark in the CAA, and seemed to be on its way to the postseason for the first time since 1983. The College had garnered significant national attention, received votes in the national polls, and was projected to be a contender for a NCAA tournament bid, provided it could maintain its winning ways.

But beginning with a loss against the Rams, the College (15-7, 7-5 CAA) has now dropped four of its last five games, including a 61-42 blowout at the hands of conference rival Old Dominion (18-6, 10-2 CAA) in Norfolk Wednesday.

The two teams met for the second time in 12 days, and unlike the Tribe’s heartbreaking, last second 58-55 loss to ODU at Kaplan Arena, the Monarchs left no doubt this time around, physically dominating the College from start to finish.

“I would say that we simply got beat by an outstanding basketball team tonight,” Head Coach Tony Shaver said. “They’ve got it all in my opinion. They are great defensively, they have great size, great athleticism and they have great speed at the guard position. For thirty minutes, we battled, but we couldn’t stay with them down the stretch.”

The overarching theme of the College’s recent four game skid has been the loss of its strongest asset — its shooting ability. For the fifth game in a row, the Tribe posted an anemic shooting performance, managing to convert just 33.3 percent of its shots.

Most importantly, the College’s usually reliable three point shooting has suddenly dropped off, a fact that was punctuated by a 20 percent evening from behind the arc. While the squad did manage to earn open looks against an ODU defense rated among the top in the nation, it was unable to capitalize.

“I’m concerned [about the shooting], but I really thought that for thirty minutes, we got outstanding shots tonight,” Shaver said. “We missed a few layups. We’re going to shoot the three — people can say all night long, ‘Go inside,’ but we don’t match up inside with these guys. We have been one of the top five shooting teams all year, but we aren’t shooting it right now.”

Sophomore forward Quinn McDowell finished a futile 3 for 9 from the field, while senior forward Danny Sumner converted only two field goal attempts. Senior guard David Schneider continued his recent offensive struggles, going scoreless in the second half while hitting only 2 of 12 shots.

The College’s offensive struggles could be attributed in part to the size and athleticism of the Monarchs’ lineup. Old Dominion used its strength and height to outrebound the Tribe by a decisive 48-25 margin, including 23 offensive boards.

“ODU is big, they are physical, they are better than we are right now,” sophomore forward Quinn McDowell said. “We knew it was going to be physical, we just didn’t capitalize tonight. You just can’t give that team so many second opportunities.”

The Monarchs utilized their second chances and shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, further distancing themselves from a lackluster Tribe that managed to convert only 28 percent of its field goals after the break.

With the loss, the College dropped to sixth in the CAA standings. With six CAA games remaining in the regular season, the Tribe is now focused on relieving the team’s recent woes and regaining at least fourth place in the conference, which would guarantee them a first round bye in the upcoming CAA tournament.

“Coach said that we have kind of hit a plateau lately, and we have to find a way to get better,” McDowell said. “That’s going to be our emphasis in the last third of the season.”

Although the Tribe has already played both Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion twice, several challenging contests loom, including a home matchup against Northeastern and a road test against George Mason. The squad will have a chance to get back on track Saturday in Atlanta, where the Tribe will face Georgia State.

“We just have to rebound on Saturday, and hopefully just get a win at Georgia State, and go from there,” freshman guard Matt Rum said.

For a final box score, click here.

Basketball: Tribe vs. ODU live blog

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The Flat Hat is live, courtside at the Ted Constant Center in Norfolk, Va. as the College (15-6, 7-4 CAA) takes on the Monarchs (17-6, 9-2 CAA) in a crucial CAA showdown. Tune in for play-by-play, commentary, analysis, and more.

Chime in below with comments or questions in addition to the live commentary.

College receives record applicants

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The College of William and Mary received approximately 12,500 applications for the Class of 2014. This is the fifth year in a row that the number of students applying has increased, up 3 percent from last year.

Dean of Admission Henry Broaddus said in a press release that he believes the College’s national reputation, as well as the Office of Undergraduate Admission’s web and print recruitment efforts, helped spur the rise in applications. Admissions office efforts include conducting more prospective student interviews and increased activity on the College’s blogs.

Broaddus could not be reached for comment.

The number of applications from minority students increased 12 percent from last year, and the number of international students applying to the College went up 22 percent, making the pool of prospective freshmen one of the most diverse groups of applicants in the College’s history.

“We are very pleased with this year’s applicant pool — the largest and one of the most diverse in our history,” Associate Provost for Enrollment Earl Granger said in a press release. “William and Mary offers a unique educational experience — one that challenges and engages our student body and prepares them for life.”

The admissions office has begun the process of selecting regular decision applicants for the class of 2014 and will mail out offers of admission by April 1.

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