Mostly sunny High 72, Low 57 Index News Insight News News Opinions Variety Variety Sports Today’s Weather Inside opInIons At Risk: new suicide prevention program e College of William and Mary should do whatever possible to encourage students to participate in a new suicide prevention program. page 5 Inside spoRTs Tribe squashes spiders Behind freshman first baseman Michael Katz’s big day, the College scored a 9-5 road victory over Richmond Tuesday. page 8 Student assaulted Police unable to find suspect cRIme TuITIon bY jIll found Flat hat editor in chieF A female College of William and Mary student was assaulted Wednesday night by an unidentified white male between the ages of 20 and 25. In a campus-wide email to the College community, Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 explained that the suspect approached the student around 9:40 p.m. on the cul-de-sac on Harrison Avenue. He then grabbed her and repeatedly struck her on the buttocks before running away. Despite the startling nature of the attack, the suspect did not seriously injure the student. “Anytime we learn of a student who has been assaulted, either by a stranger (as was the case in this instance) or by a non-stranger, we reach out to offer support,” Ambler said in the email. “e trauma that comes from having been physically The F l at Hat The F l at Hat Vol. 101, Iss. 42 | Friday, March 30, 2012 The Twice-Weekly student newspaper of The college of William and mary flathatnews.com | Follow us: VARIETY // Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee gives advice on education , p. 6 See assault, page 4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Senate urges loan reform Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to challenge student loan policies Tuesday. In an attempt to restructure how higher education loans will operate, Durbin proposed a bill that would forgive student debt if the person holding the loans entered bankruptcy at any point in time. Durbin expressed his discontent with the loan process which financially straps struggling students to a life of debt, and ultimately has negative effects on the economy. Durbin also called out Congress for largely ignoring the predicament of many college students. Both students and administrators agreed that loans recently have become a fact of life for many students at the College of William and Mary. Jennifer Meier, assistant director of the Financial Aid Office, counsels students who rely on student loans to attend the College. “For some students, loans are a necessary thing for them to come to school here — especially for out-of-state students,” Meier said. “It’s a shame that college is no longer affordable. It’s become something that’s really blown out of proportion.” “To attend an elite college in this country, it’s almost a necessity to take out student loans,” Chris Salvi ’12, who uses loans to pay for tuition at the College, said. Others take a more positive outlook on loans. “While I am personally not on student loans, I’m all for student loans that make it possible for a lot of people to go to this school that otherwise could not afford to do so,” Megan Burns ’12 said. Some students feel ambivalent about the implications of absolving student debt in the case of bankruptcy. “ere’s a bit of a moral hazard with the idea of student loans being absolved. It almost gives an incentive for bankruptcy,” Salvi said. “However, certain restrictions and [forgiveness] make sense.” Burns also found the idea of pardoning debt hazardous. “I don’t think that it’s fiscally sustainable for the government to absolve students of their loans,” Burns said. “A better practice See mental health, page 4 bY mAggIe keRn Flat hat staFF writer Student debt addressed See loans, page 4 bY jARed foReTek Flat hat sports editor Tears streamed and candles flickered among a sea of hooded students and community and faculty members as student leaders and professors stood and spoke of how, according to them, justice had yet to be carried out. e tragedy that happened over 700 miles away when an unarmed Trayvon Martin was shot by a community watch captain Feb. 26 hit home for the hundreds of College of William and Mary students who organized and attended a vigil in the Wren Courtyard calling for justice for the black 17-year-old in Sanford, Fl. Hoods were worn to protest comments made by Geraldo Rivera of Fox News asserting that Martin’s hoodie was just as culpable in his death as George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who shot Martin and claimed self- defense, saying that the teenager attacked him, repeatedly slammed his head into the pavement and ultimately went for his gun. Shining the light Students hold a vigil for Florida teen Trayvon Martin See vigil, page 3 couRTesY phoTo / arus.kognito.coM using avatar guide Morgan, the program shows students how to handle concerns. College purchases new mental health program “At-Risk” program uses avatars to explain campus resources for students menTAl heAlTh bY ellIe kAufmAn Flat hat chieF staFF writer You are an Avatar named Jesse. roughout the day, you walk around campus, encountering four friends and discovering their various emotional issues. After a series of social situations, you are put to the test. Should you be concerned about your friends? How do you approach them? What resources are available at your college to help them? All three questions are answered in the new virtual suicide prevention simulation made available to College of William and Mary students March 26. e simulation is designed to help students recognize their peers’ problems before a situation becomes unmanageable or dangerous. You have the lead role in the suicide prevention program, “At Risk: Friends in College,” accessed through the Kognito website under the Office of Health Education link on Wm.edu. “Mental health issues and suicide prevention in particular really require that we take a multidimensional approach,” Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 said. Ambler cited suicide as the second leading cause of death among all college students in a cAmpus mIchelle gAbRo / the Flat hat
Today’s Weather Inside opInIonsAt Risk: new suicide prevention programThe College of William and Mary should do whatever possible to encourage students to participate in a new suicide prevention program. page 5
Inside spoRTsTribe squashes spiders Behind freshman first baseman Michael Katz’s big day, the College scored a 9-5 road victory over Richmond Tuesday. page 8
Student assaultedPolice unable to find suspect
cRIme
TuITIon
bY jIll foundFlat hat editor in chieF
A female College of William and Mary student was assaulted Wednesday night by an unidentified white male between the ages of 20 and 25.
In a campus-wide email to the College community, Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 explained that the suspect approached the student around 9:40 p.m. on the cul-de-sac on Harrison Avenue. He then grabbed her and repeatedly struck her on the buttocks before running away. Despite the startling nature of the attack, the suspect did not seriously injure the student.
“Anytime we learn of a student who has been assaulted, either by a stranger (as was the case in this instance) or by a non-stranger, we reach out to offer support,” Ambler said in the email. “The trauma that comes from having been physically
The F lat HatThe F lat HatVol. 101, Iss. 42 | Friday, March 30, 2012 The Twice-Weekly student newspaper of The college of William and mary flathatnews.com | Follow us:
VARIETY // Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee gives advice on education , p. 6
See assault, page 4
2345678
Senate urges loan reform
Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to challenge student loan policies Tuesday.
In an attempt to restructure how higher education loans will operate, Durbin proposed a bill that would forgive student debt if the person holding the loans entered bankruptcy at any point in time.
Durbin expressed his discontent with the loan process which financially straps struggling students to a life of debt, and ultimately has negative effects on the economy. Durbin also called out Congress for largely ignoring the predicament of many college students.
Both students and administrators agreed that loans recently have become a fact of life for many students at the College of William and Mary.
Jennifer Meier, assistant director of the Financial Aid Office, counsels students who rely on student loans to attend the College.
“For some students, loans are a necessary thing for them to come to school here — especially for out-of-state students,” Meier said. “It’s a shame that college is no longer affordable. It’s become something that’s really blown out of proportion.”
“To attend an elite college in this country, it’s almost a necessity to take out student loans,” Chris Salvi ’12, who uses loans to pay for tuition at the College, said.
Others take a more positive outlook on loans.“While I am personally not on student
loans, I’m all for student loans that make it possible for a lot of people to go to this school that otherwise could not afford to do so,” Megan Burns ’12 said.
Some students feel ambivalent about the implications of absolving student debt in the case of bankruptcy.
“There’s a bit of a moral hazard with the idea of student loans being absolved. It almost gives an incentive for bankruptcy,” Salvi said. “However, certain restrictions and [forgiveness] make sense.”
Burns also found the idea of pardoning debt hazardous.
“I don’t think that it’s fiscally sustainable for the government to absolve students of their loans,” Burns said. “A better practice
See mental health, page 4
bY mAggIe keRn Flat hat staFF writer
Student debt addressed
See loans, page 4
bY jARed foReTekFlat hat sports editor
Tears streamed and candles flickered among a sea of hooded students and community and faculty members as student leaders and professors stood and spoke of how, according to them, justice had yet to be carried out.
The tragedy that happened over 700 miles away when an unarmed Trayvon Martin was shot by a community watch captain Feb. 26 hit home for the hundreds of College of William and Mary students
who organized and attended a vigil in the Wren Courtyard calling for justice for the black 17-year-old in Sanford, Fl.
Hoods were worn to protest comments made by Geraldo Rivera of Fox News asserting that Martin’s hoodie was just as culpable in his death as George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who shot Martin and claimed self-defense, saying that the teenager attacked him, repeatedly slammed his head into the pavement and ultimately went for his gun.
Shining the light
Students hold a vigil for Florida teen Trayvon Martin
See vigil, page 3
couRTesY phoTo / arus.kognito.coMusing avatar guide Morgan, the program shows students how to handle concerns.
College purchases new mental health program“At-Risk” program uses avatars to explain campus resources for students
menTAl heAlTh
bY ellIe kAufmAnFlat hat chieF staFF writer
You are an Avatar named Jesse. Throughout the day, you walk around campus, encountering four friends and discovering their various emotional issues.
After a series of social situations, you are put to the test. Should you be concerned about your friends? How do you approach them? What resources are available at your college to help them?
All three questions are answered in the new virtual suicide prevention simulation
made available to College of William and Mary students March 26. The simulation is designed to help students recognize their peers’ problems before a situation becomes unmanageable or dangerous.
You have the lead role in the suicide prevention program, “At Risk: Friends in College,” accessed through the Kognito website under the Office of Health Education link on Wm.edu.
“Mental health issues and suicide prevention in particular really require that we take a multidimensional approach,” Vice President for Student Affairs
Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 said.Ambler cited suicide as the
The Flat Hat Insider keeps you updated on all the news that didn’t make it to the print edition. Catch up at http://flathatnews.com/category/news-videos/.
| Friday, March 30, 2012 | Page 2
The BUZZ
“We’ve come to stand for justice, to stand for the memory of one whose been
taken from this world for no other reason than for being.—Director of the Center for Student Diversity Vernon Hurte
BeYonD The ‘BURG
The F lat Hat‘STABIlITAS eT FIDeS’ | eStABLISheD OCt. 3, 1911
25 Campus Center, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. 23185
The College Board and ACT Inc. released a number of new security measures Tuesday after a major cheating scandal in Long Island, N.Y. According to The Huffington Post, the scandal involved 20 current and former students who allegedly hired other people to take the standardized exams for them. Some “ringers,” or the people paid to take the tests, received as much as $3,500 to take the exam, simply flashing phony IDs when they showed up for the tests, in order to pose as other students. In an attempt to deter this practice, students must now submit photos of themselves when they register for the exams. School administrators will have to compare the picture submitted during registration with the individual signing in to take the test. The photos will also be sent to the student’s high school with the test scores for further identification. These new measures will take effect in the coming fall.
CoURTeSY PhoTo / WIKIMeDIA.ORGA student at Michigan State University fell from a sixth-floor window. She survived the fall but remains in critical condition at Sparrow hospital in Michigan.
Private military academy hosts first Gay Pride WeekFollowing the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Norwich University,
the nation’s oldest private military academy, is celebrating its first Gay Pride Week. Norwich University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Allies Club was founded September 20, 2011, the day DADT w
as repealed. According to The Huffington Post, the group wrote in a
Virginia Institute of Marine Science professor Robert Diaz is part of a new study attempting to measure the ocean’s monetary value. Diaz is co-editor of “Valuing the Ocean,” a study conducted by an international team of scientists and economists to try to tally the costs and savings associated with the decisions humans make that affect the health of the ocean.
The study estimates that if human impacts continue at the same rate, then the total cost of ocean health decline on the global economy will be $428 billion per year by 2050. However, the study ultimately expresses a proactive message, and states that local actions to change the negative human impact on the ocean can make a global difference.
Carter’s Grove in disrepair
The plantation once owned by colonial aristocrat Robert “King” Carter was once among Colonial Williamsburg’s many attractions, but it is now falling into disrepair. At one time, the plantation hosted both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson 1762.
The plantation was donated to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in the late 1960s but was sold in 2007 to Halsey Minor. According to The Washington Post, Minor is currently involved in bankruptcy proceedings concerning his failure to make payments for and maintain the upkeep of the plantation. A judge has appointed a trustee to take control of the plantation due to Minor’s inability to do so.
Busch Gardens opens new ride
Busch Gardens opened for its 37th season Saturday, March 24. This year’s season is host to a variety of new attractions, including the new Entwined: Tales of Good and Grimm, which debuted in the Das Festhaus show.
The Mach Tower will also open this season, serving as the park’s newest and tallest attraction. According to the Busch Gardens website, the new attraction will bring riders nearly 240 feet in the air and then drop them at speeds of 60 mph.
The park also expects to open a new roller coaster, the Verbolten later this spring. As a multi-launch, indoor/outdoor coaster, it is described by the park as one of the first of its kind usual this year.
neWS In BRIeF
FRom “SImPlY SUSTAInABle,” A BloG BY TAYloR ChAmBeRlIn ‘13
VIDeoS onlIne
Streaming coverage of Tribe Athletics press conferences, including postgame interviews, press conferences and game recaps from @FlatHatSports.
Redistribution services, collaborative lifestyles, and product service systems all take the age-old idea of sharing and thrust it into the 21st century. Utilizing advanced networking technologies connect people like never before, we can now
access transportation, apparel, food, living accommodations, and travel opportunities, without relying on highcost, newly-minted goods. We can save money and the planet without losing the fortunate lifestyles that we have become accustomed to.
In our weekly “That Girl” video, Taylor Hurst, a distinguished senior, joins us to talk about her different experiences during her four years at the College.
CoRReCTIonSIn the March 27 issue, The Flat Hat incorrecty attributed quotes to the Director of Dining Services Larry Smith. The quotes were from sustainability intern Becca Starr ’13.
Elizabeth DeBusk Editorial Writer
First Amendment rights tested at Temple UniversityA Temple University student was arrested for taking photos of a
traffic stop outside his home, according to the New York Daily News. The student, Ian Van Kuyk, is currently studying photojournalism at the university, and journalism advocacy groups say the police violated his First Amendment rights. Police say Van Kuyk and his girlfriend were arrested not for taking photographs, but for other offenses. The case is viewed by many as being an issue of free speech. Andrew Mendleson, the chairman of the university’s journalism department, said, “This is not about journalists … This is about all citizens.”
Noah Willard Graphic Designer
CAmPUS PolICe BeAT
March 19 to March 261
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3
Tuesday, March 20 — A bicycle was reported stolen from the Harrison Lot behind the Units. The amount stolen was estimated to be $340.
Wednesday, March 21 — A bicycle was reported stolen from 500 Ukrop Way. The amount stolen was estimated to be $150.
Saturday, March 24 — A bicycle was reported stolen from 104 Jamestown Rd. The amount stolen was estimated to be $125.
Sunday, March 25 — An individual was arrest for drunk in public at the Meridian Coffee House.
Sunday, March 25 — A student was arrested for possession of marijuana at Tribe Square.
Standardized tests target false identification
Michigan State visitor injured in six-story fallWhile playing catch with friends at Michigan State University,
a high school student fell from a sixth-floor dorm window and is now hospitalized. The student is in critical condition at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Mich. and has been identified as 18-year-old Alexandra Pew. According to The Huffington Post, campus police found no indication of suspicious activity in relation to the accident. Pew merely was visiting campus and playing in a dorm lounge when she fell and broke through the glass of the window.
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by chase hopkinsflat hat assoc. news editor
Like many other 21st-century universities during this time of declining state support, the College of William and Mary has had to balance the needs of its students with the availability of funding.
In recent years, adjunct professors have become a useful strategy as the College attempts to maintain its commitment to a strong liberal arts education without compromising its financial stability.
“The College does employ adjuncts but they are [providing] a small portion of our instruction, the vast majority of which is carried out by full-time faculty,” Provost Michael Halleran said in an email. “Because they typically teach only one course, their headcount suggests that they do more of the instruction than they in fact do.”
Since 2008, the number of adjuncts at the College has risen from 165 to 184, echoing trends from other universities across the country. Currently, tenured professors account for approximately 57 percent of the College’s entire faculty, reflecting the College’s attempt to retain low student-to-faculty ratios through the use of less expensive, non-tenure-eligible faculty.
“Many of them are professionals who bring their unique expertise to the classroom and provide courses in specialties that would not otherwise be offered,” Halleran said in an email. “They also help us meet surges in demand for particular courses. In short, adjuncts enhance our curricular offerings. It is true that in teaching individual courses, they do not receive the same level of salary but budget is not
the driving element in our use of adjuncts, which by [national] standards is very low.”
Since 2006, the College has increased its full-time faculty from 636 to 666, while over the same period adjunct professors have increased in number from 165 to 184, making adjuncts 22 percent of the total faculty. College administrators note that none of these new adjuncts were added to the arts and sciences faculty, and that they correlated with an increased enrollment of 327 students since fall 2008.
In some of the College’s other schools, such as the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, adjuncts are even viewed as particularly valuable assets. This is because many are employed in the fields in which they teach as practicing lawyers, businessmen, judges, etc.
“At the Law School, adjunct professors are a vital part of our faculty,” Marshall-Wythe School of Law Director for Communications Jamie Welch-Donahue said in an email. “However, they usually only teach one course per semester and almost always have full-time responsibilities elsewhere in the community as practicing attorneys or judges. Similar to our full-time faculty, our adjuncts take seriously their roles as mentors to our students. Our adjunct professors share their time with students outside of class to offer them guidance and advice as they plan their legal careers.”
Whatever the debate about adjunct professors, full-time faculty remain the largest component of the College’s undergraduate program.
“It is important to note that the figure cited for tenured faculty … only factors faculty head counts,” Director of University Relations Brian Whitson said in
an email. “In this case, 57.3 percent of all William and Mary faculty, considering full-time equivalents, are full-time tenured professors. When considering both tenured and tenured-track full-time professors, this percentage increases to 74.5 percent. … All of those numbers compare favorably with the best schools in the country.”
College administrators note that the presence of adjunct professors is largely designed to compliment that of full-time faculty.
“Adjunct faculty bring to the classroom perspectives gained from years of practicing law that enriches our students’ understanding of the roles and responsibilities of lawyers,” Welch-Donahue said in an email. “These professors come from a range of practice areas, having worked as judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and as attorneys in government agencies, corporations,
or nonprofit organizations.”The current version of the College’s strategic
plan denotes the continued emphasis on undergraduate education that has earned recognition across the country and the globe. Adjunct professors are seen as a necessary component to maintaining that status quo, their replacement with tenure-eligible, full-time faculty perceived as fiscally unsustainable.
“[The College] combines the best elements of a liberal arts college and a research university with select graduate and professional programs,” the strategic plan reads. “[The College’s] success in blending those two aspects is our great competitive advantage. To an extraordinary degree, we effectively integrate teaching and scholarship and provide powerful faculty-student interaction. That is our great competitive advantage.”
An increase in temporary faculty members since 2006 offsets declining support from the state
Adjunct professors help College’s financial situationFaculty
The F lat Hatfriday, March 30, 2012page 3
VIGIL from page 1
john lee / the flat hatfull-time faculty members, such as Professor Michael tierney, compose the majority of the faculty at the college.
by bailey kirkpatrickflat hat assoc. variety editor
General Education Requirements courses, required by the College of William and Mary in an effort to provide students foundational knowledge, have become a fixed part of many student registration schedules.
Yet this curriculum may be changed by the Curriculum Review Steering Committee, a project that began in April of last year.
“This process is very much in the present tense,” Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences Eugene R. Tracy said. “The draft proposal continues the primary commitment to student learning and recommends, for example, the retention of the foreign language requirement and some version of the popular freshman seminars.”
The Society for the College, an outside group that is separate from the Alumni Association and the College, recently voiced criticisms of the current curriculum requirements.
Although no changes have been announced yet, the Steering Committee will present a new curriculum proposal to the faculty of Arts and Sciences for consideration later this year.
“While the Steering Committee is not unmindful of possible repercussions, its charge is to steer an intellectual conversation among the faculty that results in the best possible set of general education requirements for our students,” Tracy said.
Faculty input into the curriculum has been a long-standing tradition at the College.
“When we say ‘faculty as a whole,’ we’re talking about hundreds of faculty [members] who are deeply committed to our students’ success,” Tracy said. “Through their work and their deliberations, they are seeking a faculty consensus on a new curriculum that results in an affirmative vote by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.”
The Steering Committee has, however, encouraged students to begin thinking about what exactly a liberal arts education means to them and how it will help them begin to shape their futures.
“The proposed approach conceives a new curriculum that emphasizes inquiry, communication and collaboration throughout the undergraduate years and encourages students to integrate their knowledge of the liberal arts and to learn to think broadly and critically,” Tracy said. “Basically, the structure is intended to help students make sense of the liberal arts experience and connect the dots
between one course and another.”While Tracy noted that it is important to
understand the opportunities available after completing a liberal arts education, there are many student criticisms of the current requirements for GERs or languages.
“I think, as far as changes are concerned, the one that always frustrated me most was the language requirement. I am a psychology major with a minor in women’s studies. For students that aren’t going into a field that requires a language like me, they shouldn’t have to take four semesters of a language just to satisfy that requirement,” Dexter Strong ’13 said. “That’s four different classes I could have taken toward a major, minor or GER.”
These requirements have inhibited some students from focusing on the major or minor that they are working towards.
“I honestly wish we had the option not to take certain GERs once we’ve chosen our major. When I declare my government major, I don’t want to still be required to take chemistry. It isn’t like in that time I am going to find new-found love for the subject,” Liam MacDonald ’15 said. “That being said, I really wish I [weren’t] required to take two different science courses.”
Developing course plan hopes to continue liberal arts eduction while connecting skills between different classes
Steering Committee reevaluates General Education Requirementsadministration
The message of the vigil, however, was clear: Martin was the latest in a long list of unarmed black men shot and killed because of racial profiling and stereotyping, and that, with Zimmerman still walking free, the justice system once again seemed indifferent.
“We’ve come to stand for justice, to stand for the memory of one who’s been taken from this world for no other reason than for being,” Director of the Center for Student Diversity Vernon Hurte said in an opening prayer.
Following the prayer, a 911 call from someone living in the gated community where Martin was shot was played over the speakers. Attendees stood in silence as the phone call played — two minutes and 30 seconds in which high-pitched screams for help can be heard over and over in the background until the sound of a single gunshot puts an abrupt end to the screams.
“It was decided to play that tape because we didn’t want to make it seem like we weren’t in the process of taking action. We wanted to remind people in a very chilling and jarring way that this is why we’re here. This is a life that was taken that’s never going to come back,” College National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter head Danny Greene ’12 said.
After the 911 tape, a moment of silence was held, poems were read and songs were sung.
Toward the end, Jason Palmer ’13, a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, read a brief reflection on how he felt after hearing of Martin’s death.
“I’m reminded of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Stokley Carmichael, Jesse Jackson and the many others who fought for justice. And I thank them for their work, but I am not complacent. Make no mistake, we have come a mighty long way, but we still have longer to travel. This road
is apparent by the most unfortunate death of Trayvon Martin,” Palmer said.
The vigil concluded with readings of Civil-Rights Era poet Audre Lorde’s “A Littany for Survival” and a portion of King Jr.’s 1963 “Great March on Detroit” speech.
Zimmerman’s claims of self-defense have shone a light on Florida’s “Stand your Ground” law, which allows the use of deadly force if one feels that such force is necessary to prevent “imminent death or great bodily harm,” regardless of retreating first and whether at someone’s home or in public.
Zimmerman made the first related 911 call of the day himself, telling the operator that, in response to a string of break-ins in the neighborhood, he’s following “a real-suspicious looking guy.”
“This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something,” Zimmerman said.
In reality, Martin was walking to his father’s house with a bottle of iced tea and a bag of Skittles for his brother.
“These assholes, they always get away,” Zimmerman said in the call.
Zimmerman then tells the operator that he’s following Martin, to which the operator responds, “We don’t need you to do that.”
What exactly ensued is unknown, but the importance of the “Stand your Ground” law looms large, given that Zimmerman claimed self-defense, despite his apparent refusal to avoid the confrontation and retreat.
After the Sanford Police Chief stepped down in response to the national outcry, a grand jury convened to explore whether charges should be brought against Zimmerman.
Greene implored students to research the law and the “Castle doctrine,” from which it stems.
“This is a prime opportunity for us to understand that just because something is lawful does not mean it’s just,” Greene said. “We have the power to use our voices as students, members of our community, and future professionals for the influence of legislation
that affects our whole society.”Organizations involved in organizing the event
included the Student Assembly’s Department of Diversity Initiative, Student Bar Association, Black Law Students Association, William and Mary NAACP, the Mu Upsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, the Kappa Pi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Ebony Expressions Gospel Choir, the Sigma Lambda Chapter of Sigma Gamma and Xi the Theta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi.
Crowd gathers in Wren Courtyard to call for justice in alleged racial profiling
michelle Gabro / the flat hathundreds of students gather for the candlelight vigil.
Students and community members hold candlelight vigil for slain teenager, play 911 tapes to call students to action
anita jianG / the flat hatsteering committee hopes to change Ger requirements.
The F lat HatFriday, March 30, 2012Page 4
Student Assembly elections Tuesday spurred a number of proposals concerning both the elections commission and the elections process.
The proposals include a possible election review committee and the SA Presidential Runoff Act.
“I am calling for the creation of a temporary committee for the senate, an election review committee,” Senate Chairman Noah Kim ’13 said. “I think that it would be good to review exactly the way in which the last election was conducted.”
This committee, if created, would review the past election process, in which a variety of complaints and violations surfaced. The election resulted in a total of 15 complaints and multiple suspensions, affecting five out of the six presidential tickets.
According to Kim, the committee would be comprised of both SA members and non-SA students. Kim stated that any interested students should contact him about the committee.
Following Kim’s suggestion, Sen. Jimmy Zhang ’15 introduced the SA Presidential Runoff Act.
“The general idea behind this bill is that we want to show majority support for the [SA] president,” Zhang said. “Taking into account the fact that we just had a very close [SA] election and multiple candidates running … we believe this is extremely important because we want the [SA] to be as responsive as possible.”
Curt Mills ’13 and Melanie Levine ’13 won the election by 36 votes. The six-candidate election was unusual; in past years, only two to three candidates have ran for the positions of SA president and vice president.
“[The bill currently] proposes a ranking system
where we rank each candidate if there are multiple candidates running,” Zhang said. “It will get the [SA] candidate to be elected by majority support.”
Zhang described other ideas various SA members, including Mills, have introduced, like the institution of a system to force candidates to make more of a commitment when running for SA President, such as a requirement of 100 signatures to be on the ballot.
As of now, Zhang is unsure which ideas will make it into the final bill and is working with other SA members to finalize the bill for next week’s senate meeting.
The SA also discussed the It All Starts with You T-shirt Act II, which would fund T-shirts for the Sexual Assault Awareness Week scheduled for next week.
“They are going to say ‘Tribe’ on the front and on the back, ‘It all starts with you,’” bill sponsor
and Sen. Douglas Haynes Law ’13 said. “These will be distributed at the individual events and at the tabling outside Sadler.”
Senators debated the bill as new business but decided to table the bill for further discussion in committees when questions from multiple senators arose of whether the funds should be allocated from the Student Activities reserve or the off-campus account.
“[Last year’s bill] designated half of that amount from the off-campus account, which is the appropriate place to do these kinds of projects from,” Kim said. “I’m not sure if this is the best use of the money we’ve collected from students.”
Kim reminded senators who will not be serving in the next session to make sure the pending bills have sponsors in the next session. Two senate meetings remain in the current session, before transition, scheduled for April.
SA proposes review of election rules after recent campaign
In a time when nearly a third of the U.S. population graduates from college, and when 5.8 million students have been loaned some amount of money by the federal government, some are questioning whether the benefits of a diploma outweigh the cost.
Recent results of the Collegiate Learning Assessment, an essay exam designed to measure the amount students learned from freshman to senior year, have cast some doubt on exactly how much undergraduate students are soaking in during their time at college.
Richard Arum and Josipa Roska, authors of “Academically Adrift,” incorporate survey responses, transcript data and the CLA into a research study which in fact, concluded that for a large proportion of students, the answer is that a diploma is not worth the cost.
Their analysis of over 2,000 students at 24 institutions of higher education indicated that 45 percent of students demonstrate no significant improvement in such skills as critical thinking and writing during their first two years of college.
Administrators assert that this is not the particular case at the College of William and Mary.
“There is zero evidence that this is true at [the College] and much evidence to the contrary,” Provost Michael Halleran said in an email.
Critics of the study argue along similar lines, pointing out that the size of 2,000 students is too small to draw conclusive results.
“CLA in my view is too narrow a measure and doesn’t reflect adequately the breadth of skills and knowledge that are developed in college,” Halleran said in an email.
The educational community is divided on the topic, some believing that the CLA could usher in a new era of accountability, others saying it is entirely incapable of rendering judgment.
“I don’t think it can adequately measure the intangibles you learn throughout your college career, so the CLA doesn’t seem very plausible,” Elena Rosenblum ‘15 said.
Questions about the CLA’s validity have revived discussions concerning other ways that college administrators measure student learning.
At the College, there are multiple tracking mechanisms in place to gauge how successful students are without necessitating a test such as the CLA.
“In addition to routine course work, we have capstone projects of all sorts,” Halleran said in an email. “Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the College’s accrediting body, mandates that each department or program have an assessment plan and we monitor program effectiveness that way, as well. We also follow our students’ success in the world, whether immediately in professional or graduate school or more broadly. By all these measures, our
students fare extremely well.”Despite rising tuition costs, College
attendance continues to increase every year. In addition, a bachelor’s degree is now a requirement for a number of professions in which it was not previously. While only about 57 percent of the nation’s students graduate in six years, the College graduates 90 percent of its students on time, and for some students, the value of the College education involves more than just obtaining a diploma.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea [the CLA] because, as a senior, there are a lot of things I learned as a freshman that I could not regurgitate,” Jocie Scott ‘12 said. “Throughout college, I’ve learned more about how to articulate my ideas than the specifics. There is also so much more to college. You learn all about how to live on your own and make it in the real world.”
Halleran pointed out that the responsibility for learning lies both with the student and with the professor.
“College provides a large range of opportunities and students develop a host of skills and habits of mind,” Halleran said in an email. “Critical thinking is clearly an extremely valuable one, so is the ability to construe texts, analyze data, argue — orally and in writing — persuasively, ask probing questions, think creatively, respect different points of views and develop the confidence to make a difference in the world. William and Mary students stand out by these measures.”
Critics of the Collegiate Learning Assessment speak out against size of study sample
Test claims students learn little during collegeacademics
by sarah kleinknechtFlat hat staFF writer
Funds T-shirts for Sexual Assault Awareness Week, debates sources of funding for shirts
harini manikandan / the Flat hataccording to the Cla, 45 percent of students demonstrate no significant improvement in studies.
by meredith rameyFlat hat assoC. news editor
Program focuses on peer response Senator addresss financial burdens
campus-wide email.“Prevention is really critical
because there is so much we can do if we can intervene with the students early,” Ambler said. “The truth is we are all in a position to help one another.”
The 30-minute simulation takes you through a series of social situations in which a guide tells you how your interactions are received by the other avatars. The simulation aims to help students recognize warning signs in friends’s behavior, how to talk to them if their behavior becomes concerning, and where to find resources on campus.
“[In the program,] there are situations that aren’t uncommon,” Ambler said. “You can see then how you would put yourself into a helping mode in a variety of interactions with people on campus.”
While this program focuses on peer-to-peer prevention, a similar program was purchased for faculty and staff a year ago. After the College received a donation from the McGlade family toward health education, administrators decided to purchase the program for students.
“Last year, we highlighted a similar module that was designed specifically for the staff to do the same sort of thing to help faculty see signs of students that might
be in emotional distress,” Ambler said. “Anecdotally, the feedback was very positive. The situations presented were very realistic.”
Research from the company who created the program indicated a significant increase in self-motivated student prevention upon completion of the course. In a program assessment survey taken by 512 students from 35 universities, 82 percent of students said they are likely or very likely to approach and refer a fellow student who is exhibiting signs of psychological distress after completing the module.
“Research tells us that students are most likely to turn to friends and roommates when they are having trouble, so it makes sense that our prevention efforts would target the very people to whom students turn most often,” Ambler said.
David Alpert ’13 completed the module after receiving Ambler’s email. Alpert felt that the portrayal of mental health issues in the program was realistic.
“It stresses the fact that mental health is on a continuum,” Alpert said. “It’s not like you are either seriously ill or completely healthy, but college throws a bunch of different challenges and situations at us, and it is up to us to not only keep ourselves in check but to also look out for the members of our community.”
This preventive measure is one
of various programs established at the College designed to promote mental health and address mental health problems among students.
“This program is a part of the plan for risk reduction and serves as a complement to other programs and resources on campus such as counseling, peer education and extended orientation,” Graduate Assistant for the Office of Health Education and Dean of Students Office Justin Jackson said.
In order to make sure the program would be effective before purchasing the year-long license, the Office of Health Education evaluated the program beforehand.
“Several staff members in Student Affairs and a number of Health Outreach Peer Educators pilot-tested the program over the summer and in the beginning of the fall semester, strongly endorsing the program,” Jackson said.
The program will be available to students for a year. Additionally, students who complete the computer simulation program before April 15 will be automatically entered in a drawing for a Playstation 3.
“The most important thing is to raise awareness and reduce negative stigma to seek help,” Ambler said. “We want anyone on campus to feel empowered to step in so that a person can receive the help he or she needs.”
MENTAL HEALTH from page 1
would be to ensure on-campus employment or a type of work-study arrangement to help the students pay off their loans.”
Burns also questioned whether the idea of debt forgiveness for student loans would be politically palatable given the current economic environment.
“I don’t think a proposition like that would go over well with the population, either,” Burns said. “That’s thousands upon
thousands of dollars that now become the burden of the American taxpayer. ... How does money that helps a student come back to [the American taxpayer]?”
Salvi mused that the burden of paying for higher education should fall on the shoulders of the colleges rather than on the government itself.
“There needs to be more pressure on colleges to reduce debts — you can reduce costs without sacrificing education,” Salvi said.
LOANS from page 1
student assembly
Student victim of assault on Harrison Ave.
assaulted is very real, and it is important for victimes to know that they are part of a caring and responsive community.”
The student contacted William and Mary Police immediately after the attack. Police canvassed the area and were unable to find the suspect, who was described as wearing a white button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves, shorts and black shoes.
“While the suspect appeared to be of traditional college age, we don’t know if he is affiliated with the College or not,” Ambler said in the email.
According to Ambler, students must be aware of the possibility of crime on and around campus.
“This incident last night is an unfortunate reminder that crimes can and do occur,”
Ambler said in the email. “There may be nothing we can do to fully insulate ourselves from the reality of crime in our world.”
Campus officials emphasized the importance of all students making concerted efforts to ensure their personal safety, especially after dark and around the Williamsburg community
“When going off campus, it is always smart to travel in groups and stay in well-lit areas,” Director of University Relations Brian Whitson said. “Let someone know where you are going and when you have arrived.”
In her email to the College community, Ambler encouraged students to inform authorities when they feel they are in danger.
“Call the police immediately if something happens to you or if you see suspicious activity — on campus or off, use 911.”
ASSAULT from page 1
Pushes for private student loan reform in Congress
Suspect described as wearing a white-button down shirt
Suicide. For most of us, it doesn’t seem to exist. It’s merely a construct of our imagination; it lives in the realm of possibility. There’s no way it could happen to our friends, family or the people we know. It’s just a term we’re taught to fear.
Nevertheless, the College of William and Mary administration is on a mission. The Office of Health Education, with the help of Kognito’s At-Risk for University Students program, is prepared to drag suicide out from the shadows and into everyday consciousness.
There’s no need to describe why the College needs such a program. Past tragedies speak for themselves. That said, the program aims to help prevent future suicides and suicide attempts.
I applaud the College’s adaption of the program; it is a step in the right direction. More than that, it’s a leap in the right direction.
First, the program has few downsides. What’s the harm? It’s a voluntary program designed to make students more aware and prepare them to help someone in a time of distress. There’s not a syllable in that sentence that should make any student groan or roll their eyes.
It’s voluntary. That means you don’t have to do it. This isn’t like AlcoholEdu — it’s not a program that requires a commitment or forces you to memorize the part of the brain affected by alcohol (it’s the hippocampus — I think). It’s not a lame set of animated PowerPoint slides either; it’s a well designed Avatar simulation. It’s already better than AlcoholEdu — this program at least looks cool.
It’s meant to make students aware and prepared to help someone in distress. If you have a problem with that, you can stop reading now.
This really is a win-win situation. It’s as if one of your
professors walks up and literally hands you the answers to Monday’s test. Not only that, but if you take the answers, you’re saving someone’s life. All you have to do is flip through and learn. It’s quick, painless and a no-brainer.
You might argue that you’re just too busy. I can buy this argument, as this is a campus of classic overachievers and kids who constantly push the boundaries of sleep-deprivation.
This is why I propose the College gives out rewards for participation. I know the email that the College sent out to the student body says that one student will win a Playstation 3 game console. But, come on — no one wins those things, right? So let’s make the reward something actually feasible.
Option one: Give a quarter of a credit for each time a student participates. That way, if students takes part in the program each year from their freshman year, they can accumulate up to one credit. If scuba-diving one weekend is good for one credit, surely a program focused on suicide
prevention is worthy as well. Option two: Five or 10 — the number
isn’t important — students get drawn randomly from a list of those who have completed the program. These students receive priority registration — they can register 10 minutes ahead of their classmates. Now you want to participate,
don’t you? Option three: Same format as above, but the selected
students get the first crack at the William and Mary Police bike sale in the fall. Motivation? Yep, especially for people like me, who only have about two out of seven gears working properly.
In all sincerity, though, I highly encourage every student to take part in this program. With suicide being such a major issue on campus, do your part as a member of the Tribe. Inform yourself and be ready to help others.
While the material benefits of participation aren’t very high, the moral and the I-want-to-be-a-good-person benefits are. Buck up and take half an hour out of your day, not for yourself, but for that someone who will need you down the road. Do it for them.
Handling the exorbitant price of a college education is nothing short of a heavy burden. This is especially true in times like these, when families are struggling from job loss and the opportunities for work without higher education are minimal. This struggle is coupled with the fact that many average American families have had to dip into their life savings just to get by daily — forget paying $50,000 for tuition per year. In addition, many universities encourage incoming freshman to make enrollment commitments before releasing tuition
information for the coming year. This is unacceptable.
It is in the best interest of students and their families to have concrete numbers in front of them when choosing a university. Sometimes a difference of a few thousand dollars between College A and College B could mean the world for a student. It could mean more money for books, room and board, or living expenses. It could mean more money saved for a student’s siblings or more money to travel between home and school. The exact tuition numbers are crucial for making informed decisions. After all, is it not in everyone’s best interests for students to come out of college with as little debt as possible?
Certainly, evidence that colleges are trying to trick prospective students doesn’t exist; schools have to wait for state budgets to be available before
tuition can be set for the following year. But this is hardly an excuse, and perhaps the process of securing the budget for universities needs to be moved along at a faster rate. Encouraging higher education in this country is important, and not leading students and their families astray in the process is key. In order for families to properly plan, they need to know these numbers.
If it truly is not possible to receive state budgets before late spring, universities could extend the universal May 1 deadline, even just to the end of the month. This would stop putting pressure on students to commit as early as possible. Universities also could move back early decision deadlines to accommodate the change in the customary May 1 deadline. This would give students more time to weigh their different options and
put less pressure on them to decide as soon as possible. It may be in the best interest of the college to establish their classes as soon as possible, but it seems clear that this is not in the best interest of students. Especially within
state universities, change in this area needs to happen. As it stands now, this process is unacceptable and harmful to students and their families.
It’s a step in the right direction. More than that, it’s a leap in the right direction.
As the mass movement of stalking Banner in order to add and drop courses begins again, one thing is clear: Students at the College of William and Mary are eager
to register for classes. For many students, the faculty and course offerings are what differentiate the College from other universities during the application process. The College consistently must attempt to offer the best selection of classes that will prepare students for their future studies and careers, and in order to do so, the faculty and administration must evaluate ways to improve the academics of the school. That said, a recent plan to overhaul the current course offerings set forth by the Society for the College raises many questions as to how well these evaluations reflect the student population.
The plan presented by the Society generalizes course offerings, preventing students from taking specialized courses in fields like history and English. Furthermore, these generalized courses leave huge gaps in the material covered, requiring knowledge only of American history and government, rather than a more global approach, and blatantly ignoring departments like women’s studies and art history.
The Society may have hosted panels to discuss these changes to the curriculum, but its members clearly do not understand the students at the College, and even more alarmingly, they appear to have made no attempt to do so.
These specialized courses, which the Society says fail to “challenge” students, require in-depth learning and promote critical thinking skills. The courses suggested by the Society seem to be dumbed-down versions of current classes and are reminiscent of high school course offerings. These generalized courses would require enormous class sizes, meaning that students would lose the one-on-one interactions and connections that they currently have with professors.
To add insult to injury, the Society believes these changes are necessary because students are not working hard enough. Anyone involved with the College must realize how much time students dedicate to studying. Even outside of class, students actively engage in many extracurricular activities, oftentimes spreading themselves thin in order to stay involved on campus. With mental health services being such a prominent issue in the student body’s mind, we find it appalling and offensive that anyone would make such an outrageous claim about students’ study habits.
The College has the responsibility to continue to improve itself — and we have. We are still a prominent institution of higher education after 319 years. We are eager to see the changes that the Faculty Steering Committee proposes. While these changes have yet to be unveiled, we can at least rest assured they were created by members of the College who have face-to-face interaction with students on a regular basis.
If these specialized classes have taught us anything, it’s that there is a difference between insulting something and critiquing it; critiquing requires an actual understanding of the matter. Perhaps members of the Society should reconsider what it means to be “for the College” if they do not know or understand the students at the College.
Graphic by Molly adair / the Flat hat
Tuition transparency: Enrolling at a college before knowing the costs
opinionsThe F lat Hat
opinions Editor ellen Wexlerassoc. opinions Editor elliott hay
The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Flat Hat. The editorial board, which is elected by The Flat Hat’s section editors and executive staff, consists of Katherine Chiglinsky, Elizabeth DeBusk, Katie Demeria, Jill Found and Vanessa Remmers. The Flat Hat welcomes submissions to the Opinions section. Limit letters to 250 words and columns to 650 words. Letters, columns, graphics and cartoons reflect the view of the author only. Email submissions to [email protected].
“I definitely think we need to help students who graduate with their immense debt.”
katie Mitchell ’14
Should the government absolve the debts of students who have declared bankruptcy? StrEEt bEat
“I would just ask why students would have to do something so serious as declaring bankruptcy.”
Manal Saif ’12
“It would be great if that could happen.”
kenay Sudler ’12
“My instinct would be not to do that. It’s a lot of money disappearing.”
katie poe ’14 — photoS and intErviEwS by katiE dEMEria and Jill found
“From the student’s perspective, it would be really helpful.”
Marissa beale ’14
“At the root of the issue is rising cost of education. Someone so young shouldn’t declare bankruptcy.”
ian anderson ’15
varietyThe F lat Hat
Variety Editor Abby BoyleVariety Editor Sarah Caspari
Film writer, producer and director Spike Lee spoke at Phi Beta Kappa Hall Tuesday, March 27. In his talk, Lee stressed the importance of exploring your interests while in college and forging your own path. He also answered questions from audience members about both his work and national issues.
Here at the College of William and Mary, we have something called “the bubble.” All students remain within the bubble — otherwise known as “not real life” — throughout college. It usually consists of running from the Student Recreation Center to the Campus Center and back to cross another task off the never-ending but often pointless to-do list. This fake life also often includes naked triathlons through the picturesque colonial city, going on international or tropical adventures during winter break, and applying for another club or volunteer position without enough time or sanity to attend to it.
Like I said, not real life.
The other half of the population, whether faculty, Williamsburg retirees, and all other residents and families most commonly known as the rest of the Williamsburg residents, happens to live outside of our bubble. Their ordinary lives are filled with work, work and more work. The occasional trip to Busch Gardens does happen, but it is often replaced by public television, as well as concerts, shows and food real people actually have to pay for out of their own pockets (Dining Dollars do not apply). Their days are then topped off by substantial responsibilities such as paying bills and correctly filling out tax forms, all of which seem like distant or mythical creations to many students. These people, along with the continually disoriented tourists, are also wonderful patrons of the shops on Duke of Gloucester Street, supporting places such as the Peanut Shoppe, a place known by students as the magical land of free and never-ending samples.
However, with the aforementioned bubble in mind, most of us continue to be appalled at the relationship, or lack
thereof, received at the hands of the city as we gallivant around in our vibrant youth. To our surprise, the two groups frequently collide in interactions which culminate in students paying unjust fines for noise violations and breaking housing capacity regulations. The fact that the city fails to offer any substantial student discounts on items not directly related to pizza or pricey William and Mary apparel offered by the newly renovated Barnes and Noble bookstore continues to offend — and the vicious cycle continues.
However, as spring semester continues and we physically train our bodies to survive the shenanigans that take place right before final exams, I think it’s important to remember that there are always two sides to every window. Let’s consider a hypothetical scenario set on a Thursday night.
Scenario one, student perspective: A College student, of unknown age and questionable sobriety, stumbles into a backyard that resembles the location of the party for which she is searching. To her dismay, a demonic bathrobe-
dressed neighbor of the party house opens his door and utters very angry, police-related words at the innocuous student. Said intoxicated student now becomes terrified, but refuses to admit defeat, quickly jumping a nearby fence, ripping her dress and walking away with several bruises to show for it. She spends the next week recounting the story of bravery and abuse to the entire student body — not a good start.
Same scenario, opposite perspective: For the sake of this character study, the neighbor has been assigned the purely arbitrary pseudonym of Mr. Funhater. Mr. Funhater, a Williamsburg gentleman, has just spent another grueling day at work, and an even worse night at home with his two screaming kids. He is attempting to spend a rare evening at home relaxing, and catching up on the latest episode of “House.” Unfortunately, the Kanye music next door has reached an obnoxious volume, and his 6 a.m. Friday alarm looms closer and closer. To top it all off, Mr. Funhater then looks out of the window only to see a lost college
student trampling the flower bed he so carefully and painstakingly planted over the weekend. At this point, the story simply cannot end well.
However, I tell this hypothetical story not because I am trying to start a conflict over the student and city roles by highlighting their almost non-existent relationship, but because I am a student myself, and I am beginning to realize that there are two sides to every story. So before you head out into your weekend festivities and trample the rest of Mr. Funhater’s carefully planted tulips and hyacinths, remember that we are not the only ones trying to live peacefully in this small, historical town. Most importantly, remember that when you are in the working world yourself, you should avoid living within a 20 miles of any college campus — that’s just common sense.
Dasha Godunova is a Confusion Corner columnist and may or may not have at one time known, witnessed or been the flowerbed-trampling college student in question. All hypothetically, of course.
CONFUSION CORNER
Considering College-community relations from another perspective
Dasha GodunovaConFuSIon Corner CoLuMnIST
The Spike Lee you know as one of the leading filmmakers of his time was not the Shelton Lee his professors knew during his first two years at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
A C-minus student, Lee was just getting by, doing no more than was absolutely necessary to pass his classes and remain in school.
“I was just a step away from failing,” Lee said, speaking in a packed Phi Beta Kappa Hall Tuesday evening. “I was just not motivated. I was not going to do anything more than was required in class by my teachers.”
It wasn’t until the summer of 1977, after his sophomore year, when Lee returned to his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, that he discovered his passion for making movies. Or, as he put it, when “film discovered me.”
After his friend gave him a camera and film that she wasn’t going to use, Lee went around the city shooting anything and everything.
“It’s not like a ball of lightning hit me,” he said. “I had nothing to do. I didn’t have a job. I didn’t want to spend my summer on the stoop playing stratomatic baseball. So I spent the whole summer running around New York City filming.”
Then, at the suggestion of a professor at nearby Clark Atlanta University, where Lee also was taking classes, he turned the project into a documentary.
“[My professor] took interest in me. … Many times that fall semester it was time for him to go home and see his wife and new baby, but he stayed late to help me,” Lee said. “That’s why I think teaching is a great, great profession. So tomorrow, if you have a teacher that’s great, tell them.”
Lee’s message for the students in attendance was two-fold: College is the place to find your passion, not to follow the path your parents have
set out for you; to set yourself up for a career path that you’ll love, not necessarily one that will make you richest.
“I don’t even need an alarm clock. [At] 4 a.m. I shoot out of the bed like I shot out of a cannon because I’m getting ready to do something I love,” he said. “If you do something you hate, people need a crane to get you out of bed.”
The writer, director and producer of numerous critically-acclaimed movies like “School Daze,” “Do the Right Thing” and “Malcolm X,” spoke about his own development as a filmmaker before discussing the social issues that inform so many of his movies.
His emphasis on education, he said, was in large part directed at the black community.
“Specifically for the people of color, education’s more crucial than ever,” he said. “We have a record number of young African-American men killing each other. We have more young brothers incarcerated than in colleges and universities, and we’re at a point where half of African-American men don’t graduate high school. All this comes back to education.”
The second half of his time on stage was spent in a question-and-answer session that ranged from playful banter with the audience to serious discourse on the issues facing the black community and the nation as a whole.
After a Michael Jackson impression that left the audience in stitches — Lee directed a music video for Jackson — someone bluntly asked, “What do you think of Tyler Perry?”
Lee, who stirred controversy back in 2009 when he indirectly called Perry’s movies and TV shows “coonery and bafoonery,” refused to answer, but later touched on Perry’s work in response to another question, crediting Perry to an extent but lamenting the one-dimensionality that many Hollywood projects assign to black characters and the black experience in America, something he primarily blamed on the TV and
film industry’s “gatekeepers.”Perhaps Lee’s most poignant answer was in response to the last
question of the evening, regarding the ending to his 1989 film, “Do the Right Thing.”
The Brooklyn-set movie nears its conclusion when the protagonist, Mookie, played by Lee, reacts to police killing his best friend — Radio Raheem, who is black — by tossing a trash can through the storefront of the neighborhood pizzeria, Sal’s, which is owned by Italian-Americans. The questioner asked whether the film was celebrating Mookie’s actions, which led to a riot and the destruction of Sal’s.
“You could build another Sal’s Famous Pizzeria, Mookie said that. Sal’s has insurance,” Lee said. “Radio Raheem is not coming back. Of course that’s a fictional character, but Sean Bell’s not coming back and Trayvon Martin’s not coming back. That’s why Mookie did it. I wrote that script in 1988, and here we are in a so-called post-racial society, and we’re not there yet. So, people, we got a lot to do as Americans.”
BY JARED FORETEKFLAT HAT SPorTS eDITor
ALL PHOTOS BY MICHELLE GABRO / THe FLAT HAT
An evening withSpike Lee
COURTESY PHOTO / DeePSeArCH.DeVIAnTArT.CoM
Friday, March 30, 2012 Page 7The F lat Hat
The blaring music subsides. Students silently form a giant circle, holding colorful bags in their hands. After a brief informative speech about the significance of the event, the countdown commences. Suddenly, the music blasts again, and the participants immediately dash toward each other in a spirited frenzy, launching explosions of color from the bags of powder. Chaos ensues. A hand covered in blue slides across another participant’s cheek. Eyelids shut in an attempt to avoid a flying ball of green powder. A girl, hands overflowing with red powder, chases a guy who intended to be merely a spectator. In a matter of moments, crisp, white shirts display a collage of rainbow powder, destined to take on the appearance of a bag of Skittles forever.
Last Sunday, March 25, the Hindu Student Association organized the fifth annual celebration of Holi at the College of William and Mary. Holi, a traditional Hindu festival, commemorates the coming of spring and the loosening of social structures to promote equality.
“My favorite part was the beginning because there was a lot of anticipation … you couldn’t really even see at all once you were in there because the powder was everywhere,” Lauren Richardson ’13 said.
Also known as the Festival of Colors, Holi represents the blurring of age, gender, status and race under a rainbow of powders.
“My favorite thing about Holi is that it promotes equality amongst all regardless of backgrounds, so the idea is that when you cover up everyone with color you
all look the same … I think that’s a really important message,” Hindu Student Association Vice President Anushree Banerjee ’12 said.
Although a religious organization coordinates the event, Banerjee emphasized the universal quality of this underlying significance.
“[Equality] is a big part of Hinduism, but it’s really a piece of all cultures, backgrounds, religions, everything,” Banerjee said.
President of the Hindu Student Association Ambika Babbar ’14 drew attention to the growing importance of Holi as an event on campus because of this applicability.
“Holi means the beginning of spring, and it means a great time with a lot of friends — just celebrating life,” Babbar said.
Holi’s annual presence and popularity on campus confirms that every student, regardless of his or her religious affiliation, can unite to celebrate the festival.
“I’ve been on the board since my freshman year, and back then it was our second Holi ever and we only had about 17 people, and it’s grown to over a hundred this year … I like to think that it’s more of an annual event for everyone on campus,” Banerjee said.
Banerjee noted that a change in location to the Sunken Garden, among other updates to the event, contributed to the success because of its centrality on campus.
“The best part was that the SA gave us a lot of funding, so we were able to buy twice the number of colors [as] last year,” Banerjee added.
Neal Chhabra ’14 credited a more enthusiastic turnout to the incorporation of music into the event.
“We got the campus AV tech to come out, so we were able to just blast the music in the middle of the Sunken Garden,” Chhabra said.
Richardson noted that events like Holi provide students the opportunity to experience different cultures firsthand that are not typically within reach of a U.S. college campus.
“It’s one thing to read about [different cultures], but because I’m a poor college student I couldn’t travel to India, so it was nice to be able to have this,” Richardson said.
Bob Bonney ’15 is one of many students who attended Holi without any prior knowledge of the festival.
“Events like this increase people’s understanding of cultures,” Bonney said. “I didn’t know anything about Holi, and now I’m leaving knowing all about it from this experience.”
For others, Holi at the College is a time to reminisce about a cultural event they have celebrated since birth.
“I grew up in Northern Virginia, but my family and all our close family friends would get together and go to the local temple to play Holi and it was always a lot of fun,” Chhabra said. “So it’s really great to be able to do that on campus.”
Although a staple for some and a new addition for others, it seems as though its continuous improvements and its advocacy for diversity and equality ensures that Holi will remain an annual feature to welcome spring’s arrival at the College.
“I think it’s becoming a great tradition here,” Babbar said.
Students at the College of William and Mary are used to calling themselves members of the Tribe, but at the Spring FISH Market last weekend, “community” was the watchword.
Alpha Phi Omega and Beta Theta Pi hosted their first Spring FISH Market in Merchants Square on Saturday. Proceeds from the event were donated to FISH, a local volunteer group that provides emergency relief to members of the community, and Global Playground, a nonprofit whose roots lie at the College but whose influence extends worldwide.
“We want to raise food and clothing donations for FISH and also raise money for Global Playground, which is a nonprofit started by two William and Mary [alumni],” former APO vice president of philanthropy Aidan De Sena ’13 said.
Global Playground is a nonprofit founded in 2006 by Doug Bunch ’06
and Doug Smith ’06. The organization’s most recent project is building a primary school in Vietnam.
The event was created to encourage philanthropy at the College outside of the Greek community. To reflect this goal, the organizers worked to gear the event toward the student body as a whole, as well as toward the rest of the local community.
“We decided that we’d like to make a philanthropy that went past the Greek community,” Beta President Nick Hampson ’13 said.
Hampson, who played a major role in the organization of the event, emphasized the goal of strengthening the bond between the College and the greater community.
“We want to work with the community, and show our culture to the community,” he said. “What I hope to come out of it is thinking of philanthropy events in a new way.”
In light of this goal, selecting a location for the event became a key component in
the attempt to bridge the gap between the College and the city.
“We’re hoping this is a way to bridge William and Mary and the community, by having it [the event] in Merchants Square,” De Sena said.
APO’s current vice president of philanthropy, Abby Ahearn ’13, agreed that a key objective of the event was to enhance collaboration between the College and the rest of the community by exposing what the College has to offer.
“It seems like the community is really supporting this event,” she said. “It is a really great resource that more people should tap.”
The FISH Market was originally scheduled for last semester, but the Merchants Association preferred to postpone it until the spring. Preparations for the event have been taking place since the fall.
“We [have] had biweekly meetings since last semester,” De Sena said. “We had to come up with a marketing plan for the Merchants Association to make
sure we were professional, we had to do a lot of running around, and we had to ask for donations.”
Despite these setbacks, Ahearn believed that the overall experience of working with Merchants Square was a positive one.
“They [the Merchants Association] have been really great to work with,” she said.
In the week leading up to the event, members of Beta collected donations of clothing and non-perishable food on the Sadler Center terrace, while members of APO sold raffle tickets for a Kindle Fire and other prizes from different businesses in Merchants Square. At the event Saturday, other student organizations, including Reveille, the Gentlemen of the College, Doubletake and a jazz ensemble, provided entertainment.
This collaboration of student groups within the College reflects the greater unity that the organizers of the Spring FISH Market were aiming to achieve
between the College and the outside community. De Sena called the event a “collective William and Mary effort.”
“It’s great to see so many organizations come together,” he said. “Hopefully, this will become an annual event.”
The impact of the event was both local and international. FISH works to improve the quality of life of members of the Williamsburg community by collecting food, cash and clothing donations. Meanwhile, Global Playground provides educational opportunities worldwide by building schools in developing communities.
“I really think that Global Playground is a great nonprofit, and I love that we work with them, and I want people to have a lot of fun,” Ahearn said.
While inclement weather forced the event to end early, the organizers were grateful for the time they had and hope to bring the Spring FISH Market back next year.
“We appreciate people just sitting down and listening,” De Sena said.
Philanthropy bridges gap between College and cityFraternities organize first Spring FISH Market to raise money and engage the community
BY SOPHIE MASONFLAT HAT ASSOC. VARIETY EDITOR
BY SARAH CASPARIFLAT HAT VARIETY EDITOR
Holi festival promotes equality by blending backgrounds
ALL PHOTOS BY RAQUEL PHILLIPS / THE FLAT HAT
Students gathered on the Sunken Gardens Sunday to celebrate the coming of spring in the traditional Hindu style — by throwing colored powder on each other.
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sports The F lat Hat | Friday, March 30, 2012 | Page 8
Sports Editor Mike BarnesSports Editor Jared Foretek
Wells, Kern pace College with impressive finishes; Missouri wins overall tournamentBY MIKE BARNESFLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
After opening its spring season with a pair of seventh place team finishes in the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate in February and in the Bash at the Beach two weeks ago, the Tribe entered last weekend’s C&F Bank Intercollegiate with hopes of improving its season.
Despite the College’s best intentions, Missouri claimed the C&F Bank Intercollegiate with an 18-over, 870 gross team score, setting a new tournament record. UNC-Greensboro managed a late charge and finished just two strokes behind, 20 over with an 872 total score. CAA rival Old Dominion rounded out the top three, finishing with an identical 872 score, 20 over par.
After shooting a combined 7-over in Sunday’s first round, the College struggled on Monday, slipping from No. 7 to No. 14 in the overall team standings. The Tribe rebounded in Tuesday’s final round to notch a 43-over par final score, good for No. 11 overall.
Individually, Winthrop’s Kamito Hirai captured the individual crown with a 2-under 211. Hirai’s 2-under total score also broke the tournament record. Missouri’s Jace Long and Francis Marion’s Sebastian Backlund tied for No. 2, shooting an even par at 213.
The College was led by junior Jeremy Wells, who finished No. 19 with an overall 7-over, 200. Sophomore Will Smith finished tied for No. 43 at 12-over, while freshman Charlie Kern finished tied for No. 53 at 13-over.
Wells, Kern and sophomore Tanner Taddeo’s play on the first day allowed the College to post a solid, 7-over score on the first day, which left the College tied for the No. 7 position. Wells attacked the treacherous Kingsmill
River Course, securing a 1-under 70, the ninth best individual round of the day. Kern followed up with an even par 71, while Taddeo added a 3-over 74.
Kern and Taddeo finished the day tied for No. 14 and No. 51, respectively. Sophomore Patrick Leisure recorded a 5-over, while freshman Alex Hicks provided the College’s final team scoring effort with an 8-over outing.
Resuming play Monday, the Tribe could not capitalize on Sunday’s good start, and instead fell victim to strong winds. Wells, Kern, Hicks, Leisure and Taddeo combined for a 32-over 309 and tied for No. 14.
Wells was again the low man for the College, but shot a 7-over 78 Monday, taking his two round total to 6-over, leaving him tied for 28th overall. Kern shot 8-over 79, leaving him two strokes behind Wells in a tie for No. 44. Smith, who was playing as an individual, finished the round as the third-highest Tribe player on the leaderboard, as his 77 propelled him to a 9-over two-day total.
In the overall tournament, Missouri’s Long and Emilio Cuartero both shot 2-under, allowing the Tigers to stay atop the team leaderboard at 8-over. ODU finished Monday’s action at No. 2, five strokes back and 13-over, while UNC-Greensboro rounded out the top three with a 15-over.
Following its unsatisfying performance, the College looked to end the tournament on a high note in Tuesday’s final round. Wells rebounded, shooting a 1-over 71 to bring his three day total to 7-over. Smith’s 74 was the second-best score of the day, and was the second best score of the tournament for the Tribe. Kern carded a final round 76, finishing 13-over for the tournament. Leisure’s 1-over 72 landed him in a tie for No. 60 at 14-over, while Hicks finished at 16-over.
The College will take two weeks off and resume play in State College at Penn State’s Rutherford Intercollegiate on April 7-8.
Junior Jeremy Wells led the way, including shooting a 71 Monday.COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS
Freshman first baseman Michael Katz went 2-for-5 with five RBIs and two home runs. The College, which dropped two of its last three against George Mason, took a break from its CAA schedule to face Richmond. JARED FORETEK / THE FLAT HAT
See LACROSSE page 7
BASEBALL
Katz’s seventh inning grand slam propels College over in-state rival RichmondBY MIKE BARNESFLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
After three uneven performances against George Mason, William and Mary hoped to make a strong statement against in-state foe Richmond Tuesday. The College strode up to Pitt Field, and after surrendering an early lead, appeared headed for collapse after the sixth inning.
Enter freshman Michael Katz. With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning, Katz took Richmond pitcher Jolmi Minaya deep. Katz’s grand slam came at a crucial juncture, allowing the College to blow open the game and take the lead for good. As a result, the Tribe went on to squash the Spiders 9-5 in Richmond.
The College improved to 17-10 overall, while the Spiders dropped to 13-9.
Junior righty Brett Koehler kept his perfect record intact Tuesday, moving to 3-0, while junior reliever Ryan Williams allowed zero hits in more than two innings of relief. Coincidentally, Koehler won the battle of undefeated pitchers, as Richmond’s Andrew Blum fell to 3-1 on the season.
The College utilized quick bursts of offense to
overtake the Spiders. Katz paced the Tribe by going 2-for-5 with five RBIs and two home runs. Senior catcher Sean Aiken also performed well, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
After a scoreless first inning, the Tribe offense exploded in the second inning. Williams scored senior left fielder Stephen Arcure thanks to a single, and Aiken drove in freshman right fielder Josh Smith to put the College up 2-0. Williams and Aiken scored later in the inning to put the Tribe up 4-0.
The Spiders remained scoreless until the bottom of the third inning. Richmond’s Matt Zink scored after Mike Small’s single with two outs. The Spiders cut in to the Tribe lead slightly, moving the score to 4-1.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Tribe added another run. Katz hit a solo homer to left center, giving the College a 5-1 lead. Richmond responded in the bottom of the fifth inning, as third baseman Joey Vechhione and JB Gadd both scored for the Spiders after being batted in.
The Spiders then slowly continued to cut into the College’s lead in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Richmond’s Phil Rubarsky hit a home run to right center, bringing the Spiders to within one at 5-4.
With Richmond slowly creeping back into the game
and threatening the Tribe lead, Katz and the College batters came alive in the top of the seventh. To begin the inning, junior second baseman Kevin Nutter was plunked by a pitch and advanced to first. Brown then singled, occupying first and moving Nutter to second. Sophomore third baseman Ryan Lindemuth also was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.
In response to Minaya’s shaky performance that inning, the Spiders sent in pitcher Ray Harron. Katz stepped up to the plate for the College, and as Harron sent his pitch hurtling toward home plate, Katz swung, connected, and sent the ball flying over the fence. Katz’s grand slam put the Tribe up 9-4, a lead they would never relinquish.
The Spiders would muster just one more run. In the bottom of the seventh, Zink hit a single up the left side, sending Gadd home. Gadd’s score provided the final score, 9-5.
Neither team managed to score in the final two innings of the contest, as both bullpens held their own. Williams retired the first two Richmond hitters in the ninth inning, walked one and then Zink flied out to end the contest.
The College will look to continue its winning ways when it hosts CAA rival Towson for a three-game series beginning Friday.
W&M TRIBE
9 5RICHMOND
On the reboundspOtlight
William and Mary’s former assistant basketball coach Jamion Christian was introduced as Mount Saint Mary’s newest men’s basketball head coach. Christian, who started his coaching career at the College, helped the Tribe earn a bid to the National Invitational Tournament in 2010. The same season, Christian guided the College to an appearance in the CAA championship game, the team’s second appearance in the championship in three years. Following three years coaching at the College, Christian accepted an assistant coach position at Virginia Commonwealth University. After one year, Christian returns to his alma mater to help revitalize a squad that went 8-21 last season.
Mount Saint Mary’s Director of Athletics Lynne Robinson praised Christian’s past successes as a main reason for the hire. “Jamion’s successful Division I playing and coaching experience perfectly position him to guide our program. We are thrilled that Jamion has returned to the Mount and we look forward to his leadership in the years to come,” Robinson said.
The College has a tradition of former players or coaches reaching the professional level of coaching. In 2012 alone, Christian joins former Tribe football player Alan Williams, who was named the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings in January.
Former assistant Christian lands Mount St. Mary’s job
jAMION CHRISTIANFORMER TRIBE ASSISTANT
Despite losses to both Richmond and No. 9 Penn State, William and Mary did have a bright spot. Freshman attacker Kaliegh Noon was selected as the CAA Rookie of the Week.
Noon tallied a goal and two assists in the away loss to Richmond before recording two assists during the loss to Penn State. For the week, Noon accumulated a team-high five points. Throughout the season, Noon has been one of the College’s most consistently productive players, racking up 21 points.
The CAA awarded Noon Rookie of the Week earlier in the season as well. While the Tribe dropped the game to Northwestern, Noon found the back of the net twice on just two shots, good enough for the conference-wide recognition.
The Baltimore, Md. native is shooting 52.4 percent on the season, placing 76.2 percent of her shots on goal. Noon ranks fourth on the squad in both shots (21) and goals (11) despite appearing in only eight games.
Watch for Noon to find more playing time next season, as the Tribe graduates six seniors and relies more upon their younger talent. With experience and more time on the field, Noon will look to improve upon her Rookie of the Week awards.
