Since arriving at the College of William and Mary in 2016, Visiting Assistant Professor Jessica Stephens has become a well-loved and core member of the Classical Studies department, and her infectious energy and enthusiasm have attracted students across disciplines to the department. Over the past few years, Stephens has pioneered new courses that connect ancient history to contemporary issues, widening the scope of what has traditionally been considered “Classics.” Read on to hear about Stephens’ novel approach to this corner of academia as well as her efforts to foster community with students.

Taylor Robertson ’23 details his journey creating art through AI image generators like Lensa and Midjourney, discussing their current capabilities, potential benefits, and ethical and legal considerations.

True crime media is nothing new — society has always had an interest in shocking and gripping cases, especially taboo ones. However, social media platforms like TikTok have sparked conversations about the ethics of true crime. Is it ethical to call true crime “entertainment?” Emma Saunders ’24 attempts to sort through the convoluted tangle of opinions on the intersections of social media and true crime.

Katie Fitzgerald ’26 takes a trip down memory lane, reminiscing on the good ol’ days of the emo 2000s while reflecting on the current emo trend in all its glory. By looking at examples of both pure, nostalgic emo music, as well as more mainstream, clout-chasing artists capitalizing off of a trend, join us as we attempt to discover the cause of this resurgence.

This past January, my parents and I visited the place they had met 25 years prior: Cairo, Egypt. While all my previous travels have offered insights into the country I was visiting, this trip in particular allowed me to see firsthand what I had learned in History and Government classes at the College of William and Mary. Egypt has been a vibrant place for over 5,000 years, and I was able to experience the brilliance of both ancient and modern Egyptians.

In a world of fast fashion and social media, it can be difficult to keep track of the latest trends. What is even harder to understand is why “old” trends are re-emerging. Join Ava Edwards ’26 as she examines why corsets, tracksuits, bell bottoms, and more are back — at least for now.

A fairly ubiquitous childhood experience, fairy tales have long served as a repository of delight and fascination for young children. However, through careful analysis of the source material that modern fairy tales ostensibly seek to retell, Sharon Sandler ’25 reveals the dark and even grotesque underbelly of these seemingly innocent stories. Through thick and thin — that is, disturbing and even more disturbing — Sharon braves the depths of the Brothers Grimm’s twisted tales, tracing their problematic ties to violence, incest, cannibalism, misogyny, and even the rise of Nazism.

The whimsy of Y2K and all its associated context seems to be scratching an itch for our generation. More than just a yearning for tacky fashion, our nostalgia may be an attempt to restore the youth to our increasingly soulless society.

Studying abroad invokes a range of emotions, including exhaustion and burnout. Continue reading for a brutally honest appraisal of a semester abroad in Granada, Spain.

Ethan Kula ’24 explores the bridge between East and West laid down by fortune cookies from Sadler Center Court. Even though their fortunes are meant to be a comforting act of trust in one’s future told from the East, he discovers that the Western mindset towards the future has seeped into the heart of the fortune cookie, betraying any pretense of its Asian origin.

I have aphantasia, the complete inability to visualize.

When imagining the dining options at our very ample selection of dining halls (yes, all three), what comes to mind? Probably not vegetarian options — while the typical William and Mary food, which, for the purpose of this article we can abbreviate to TWAMF, does not leave much room for clear vegetarian-based options, they do exist if you know where to find them. Prestin Tran ’26 explores how and where students can find options suitable for a vegetarian diet both in and beyond campus dining halls.

In this semester’s staff-curated playlist, we’re celebrating all that is reflection. The following is a collection of songs that make us think, evoke nostalgia, relive moments, and see things from new perspectives. Join Flat Hat Magazine staff in our trip down memory lane by scanning the code below.

After spending my freshman year at the College of William and Mary, I uprooted myself from my new family and moved across the Atlantic — 3,537 miles away — to Scotland. When I applied to the Joint Degree Programme with the University of St Andrews, I knew it was going to be an amazing adventure: two years at two separate universities, two distinctly different college experiences merged into a singular degree. In this coastal oasis, I have found another community that I can honestly call home.

We are our own worst critics. Join Emma Henry ’25 as she discusses her journey with trichotillomania, a compulsive hair-pulling disorder.

Think back to any major moment in your life and, chances are, there is at least one song that you can tie to it. Mary Beth Bauermann ’24 traces the evolution of music technology and playlisting practices, both of which provide a lens through which we can analyze music and the ways it complements memory.

**Warning: this article may induce feelings of existential dread, melancholy, or wanderlust. Proceed at your own risk.**

This semester, Flat Hat Magazine held its third short story contest open to all students at the College of William and Mary. Participants were asked to write a short story based on the song “Reflection” from Disney’s Mulan. Katie Kauppi ’23 and Mateus Dutra ’23 wrote stories incorporating literal and metaphorical reflections on the self. Kauppi evokes nostalgic simplicity in her story of a young adult reflecting on life through the lenses of a father’s sunglasses, while Dutra examines the experience of self-reflection at a pond. Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who submitted!

Coffee in hand, Georgia Thoms ’23 sat down with student entrepreneur Celeste Phillips ’24, owner of The Crochet Chameleon, a small business that sells crochet plushies and patterns. The quiet chatter of students in Earl Gregg Swem Library provided the backdrop to Phillips’ story about her business journey from small-time seller to friends and family to business owner of a popular Etsy store with over 36,000 Instagram followers and 2,600 sales. This conversation has been edited for concision and clarity.

As part of our “Reflection” theme, we wanted to take a closer look at the increasingly popular return of Y2K fashion. As if we’ve traveled back in time to the early 2000s, our daily wardrobes are populated with low-rise jeans, tracksuits, tiny sunglasses, chunky shoes, and more. We wanted to capture current interpretations of Y2K style by Gen Z in this photoshoot, so we incorporated iconic cultural staples, including the Burn Book from Mean Girls, a flip phone, and a Juicy Couture purse. Because Y2K is not solely an American or Western tradition, we wanted to portray cultural diversity in our representation of Y2K and thus incorporated jhumka earrings as a way to recognize the presence of heritage and tradition in an individual’s style — mainstream media often westernizes Y2K fashion, erasing the multicultural backgrounds of the individuals wearing these clothes. The bright colors, funky patterns, and blast-from-the-past outfits that we pieced together served as a fun way of depicting an aesthetic that is both modern and nostalgic, reflecting the evolution of fashion trends and culture.