Washington College Women’s Soccer Team Safely Back on Campus After Bus Fire Cancels Opener

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The Washington College women’s soccer team was back on campus safe and sound after a bus fire en route to their first game of the season. The team was barely out of Kent County, not yet to Church Hill on Maryland Route 213, when the bus taking them to their afternoon game at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., caught fire.

Team members seated at the back of the bus first noticed smoke coming in from a vent near the bathroom. They alerted the team coaches and the driver, who pulled over to the side of the highway.  Players say there was one panicky moment when the hydraulic system that opened the coach’s doors failed, but the driver was able to open the door manually. The team waited a safe distance from the bus and watched as smoke turned to flame.

Local volunteer firefighters arrived to put out the fire, and College vans transported the players back to campus. There they met with a team of administrators and counselors that included Athletic Director Bryan Matthews, two health center crisis counselors and Director of Student Development Beth Anne Langrell. Although most of the passengers were able to get their personal items off the bus, a handful of the players did lose valuables that included electronics.

The bus was operated by Gene’s Limousine Service, based in Federalsburg, Md.  The College is awaiting the results of the investigation into the fire being conducted by the State Fire Marshal and the Maryland State Police.

Athletic Director Matthews stressed that the first priority was the safety and wellbeing of the students. He praised the quick and responsible actions of the players and coaches in evacuating the bus safely and thanked the emergency first responders who came to the scene. “It’s not the way we wanted to open the women’s soccer season,” he said, “but we are certainly thankful that no one was injured.”

The game against Randolph-Macon has been postponed without a make-up date. On Sunday, September 2, the Shorewomen travel to Allentown, Pa., to play Cedar Crest College. That game begins at 2 p.m.  

Men Will Bravely Step Into High Heels April 12 for Wobbly March Against Sexual Violence

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The third annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event at Washington College will send men of all sizes wobbling down Washington Avenue in bright red 4-inch heels Thursday afternoon, April 12, to raise awareness of sexual violence issues. Pre-walk festivities kick off at 4:30 p.m. on Martha Washington Square on the College campus (rain location: the Johnson Fitness Center). The actual march begins at 5 p.m. and ends about 20 minutes later in Fountain Park, downtown Chestertown.

Organizers stress that, while the heels will be issued only to the male participants who register in advance, everyone is welcome to don sensible flats or sneakers and accompany the men on their perilous walk. Supporters also can gather in Fountain Park to await the marchers’ arrival.

To register for the event, email Director of Student Development Beth Anne Langrell at student_development@washcoll.edu or call the Student Affairs office at 410-778-7277. A $5 fee is required, with all proceeds going to For All Seasons, a nonprofit that provides mental health services, including a Rape Crisis Center, throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Each walk participant—male, female, heels or no heels—who registers byApril 9 will receive an event T-shirt. However, registrations will be accepted until the start of the walk, and T-shirts will be distributed if still available.

The Walk-A Mile events were started 10 years ago in California by Frank Baird, a volunteer with a rape-crisis center who labeled it “The International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence.” There are now dozens of walks held in communities across the country.