The Virginia Informer VOLUME IX . ISSUE 3 . DEC 4, 2013 INSIDE features sports opinion arts & culture Ten former Tribe leg- ends have been announced for enshrinement in the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame for 2014. See page 9 So where does William & Mary line up in this fight for fitness? See page 14 “Diversity” is a hack- neyed term. It means ev- erything and nothing all at once—a kind of catchall expression that never fails to be politically correct... See back page THE INDEPENDENT PAPER OF RECORD AT THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY see page 8 See page 6 For many, winter is a time of low energy, bad moods and longing for the sun to show its face. But for others, these feelings are much more extreme and longstanding. Bike Tickets On the rise
Transcript
The Virginia InformerVolume IX . Issue 3 . DeC 4, 2013
insidEfeaturessportsopinionarts & culture
Ten former Tribe leg-ends have been announced for enshrinement in the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame for 2014.
see page 9
So where does William & Mary line up in this fight for fitness?
see page 14
“Diversity” is a hack-neyed term. It means ev-erything and nothing all at once—a kind of catchall expression that never fails to be politically correct...
see back page
The InDepenDenT paper of reCorD aT The College of WIllIam anD mary
see page 8
see page 6
For many, winter is a time of low energy, bad moods and longing for the sun to show its face. But for others, these feelings are much more extreme and longstanding.
Bike TicketsOn the rise
NE WSPagE 2
Mission StatementThe Virginia Informer is an independent, non-partisan, student run publication devoted to reporting the news
to the William and mary community. We exist to provide an alternative to school sponsored news
sources. We do not, and never will, receive any financial support from the College of William and mary. We will not shy away from controversy or be afraid to
challenge the norm. We strive to inform and engage our readers via responsible journalism and in-depth
reporting, while fostering and giving voice to opinions that are often shut out by the campus establishment.
Volume IX . Issue 3 . DeC 4 2013esTablIsheD In 2005
The Virginia InformerCsu 7056, p.o. box 8793Williamsburg, Va 23186
Meetings are held Mondays at 8 p.m. in Washington 307
The Virginia Informer is produced by students at the College of William and Mary. The opinions expressed in articles, photos, cartoons, or ads are those of the writer(s) or sponsor(s). This paper is produced for the benefit of students at the College and is available at no cost for members of the greater Williamsburg community. However, copies should be taken only if they are meant to be read and enjoyed. Letters to the editor are welcome and can be submitted via e-mail or mail.
On any given week stu-dents receive a number of brochures, pamphlets, and take-out menus, but to any student looking for off-cam-pus housing an advertise-ment for Griffin Arms likely stood out.
In June, construction will end on a new three-story mixed-use development near Merchant’s Square. Last Spring, the City of Williams-burg lifted a housing density cap with the aim of revitaliz-ing the City’s “downtown” by bringing in new shops, devel-opments, and housing. Grif-fin Arms, located on Prince George Street, fits the ticket by incorporating first floor shops and three-bedroom luxury apartments on the second and third floors.
Features in the apart-ments include granite coun-ters, hardwood floors, and furnishings. Each of the three bedrooms will have a private bathroom.
Greg Granger, the prop-erty owner, owns other prop-erties in the area, but in-tends for this one to be “the most sought after housing on or off-campus.”
The sticking point for many students may be the $2400 to $2700 a month price tag. Given the city’s three-person rule, which allows only three unrelated people to live together in a dwelling, rent comes in at $800-900 a month per occupant. As well, the apartment requires a re-fundable $6,000 deposit.
Students will also have to pay to park at the city-owned parking deck nearby, where rates run $60 a month, with incentivized pricing for lon-
New apartments, retail spaces for leaseBy Justin ShawlerStaff Writer
ger-term parking. “I think it will fit every
student’s needs. I don’t know if it will fit every student’s budget,” said Granger
The Informer spoke to a couple students looking to live off-campus next year, both said they are not consid-ering Griffin Arms.
“I would not pay 800 [dol-lars], regardless of location or features,” said Lindy Sellew (’16). She added that she is looking at a house because of the greater size and appeal, and feels “bitter” about the construction site because it wakes her up frequently.
Granger said he is at-tempting to accommodate concerns about construction noise by limiting construc-tion hours to after 8:00am on Monday-Friday, 9:00am on Saturday, and 10:00am on Sunday.
Jessica Evans (’16) ex-pressed similar concerns about the price and also found the construction incon-venient.
“The appeal of renting an older home or apartment is more representative of the Williamsburg experience,” said Evans.
Granger insists that the monthly rent is “competitive, especially for something that offers a private bedroom, and private bathroom, and is furnished.” For compari-son, room rates for doubles in Jamestown and One Tribe Place are $3165 a semester per person.
He furthered his point about desirability by add-ing that he’s already been in touch with six potential tenants, many of whom were members of sororities look-ing to live together.
“Thus far, the units that
I have leased have all been to sorority girls. It depends on what people like as a neigh-bor,” said Granger.
While he certainly will not disobey the City’s three-person rule, he does allow subletting with his approv-al to accommodate various needs. He gave an example where four people might lease together because one occupant is studying abroad one semester and another is studying abroad another se-mester.
For reasons of confiden-tiality, Granger could not specifically name businesses that were considering mov-ing into the ground floor, but spoke vaguely about them in an interview with the In-former. While he is exploring many options, he encouraged student input, even asking students to submit sugges-tions to him.
“I do not have anyone signed yet, but we have had interest from a variety of res-taurants, ranging from dif-ferent types of international cuisine to a steakhouse . . . to places that might feature bagels or donuts. I have in-terest from places that might focus on tanning and more salon-type features. And I have had interest from re-tail stores and clothing,” said Granger.
He added that he does not want to jeopardize the viability of other local busi-nesses, saying he is not seek-ing to attract competition for places like Retro’s Good Eats.
“I would never put in another hot dog store right there,” explained Granger.
See “GRIFFIN ARMS” page 4
College Cambio: W&m social media gets a shake-upBy Sam GloverStaff Writer
Facebook. Twitter. Tumblr. Craigslist. William & Mary students use these sites on a daily basis to stay informed, keep up with their friends, cope with classes, and buy text-books. In short, they help fulfill the predominant needs of life as a college student. Three Tribesmen, however, are seeking to change the social media game on campus by adding a new site to the mix, one they hope will be the site William & Mary students use before all others: College Cambio.
The founders of the site, Matt Sniff (’15), Joe Laresca (’15), and Hareesh Nagaraj (’15), say the site, which relaunched last month, will offer an “undiluted” experience for students by serving the various functions of all of the current social media websites.
What is College Cambio exactly? According to Sniff, “The idea behind College Cambio is to have a place where you would go every day to check up and see what was going on around campus,” seeing breaking news and events that you would otherwise miss on campus bulletin boards.
“It is exclusive to William & Mary, and it is everything that happens on campus and it is put online,”added Laresca, “to put it in the plainest terms.”
Sniff says that once students sign up for College Cambio, which is free, they will see its three categories: a personal feed, a market feed, and a campus life feed.
The market feed, much like it sounds, would be a place to buy and sell items, but it also gives students the option of so-liciting items they need. The campus life feed would be home to news from various classes and campus organizations. The personal feed would be tailored to the individual user, allow-ing the user to see news from their clubs, classes, and discus-sions.
“It is really meant to take the stress out of remember-
See “CAMBIO” page 5
phoTo by ben Zhang
from left: hareesh nagaraj, Joe laresca, and matt sniff (’15).
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Last month, William & Mary President Taylor Reve-ley had his contract extended into 2017. As he begins his next four years, The Inform-er decided to check in with the President to see why he is staying, what he thinks of his presidency thus far, and what he wants to do going forward. The conversation has been edited to reflect key aspects of the dialogue.
Informer: Why did you de-cide to stay on for four more years?
President Reveley: Well, first, it is a marvelous school. I believe in it. Second, the Board of Visitors is a very collaborative, congenial part-ner for me, in working for the good of William & Mary. If it didn’t believe in the institu-tion, and I didn’t believe that the Board was deeply com-mitted to progress at Wil-liam & Mary, I wouldn’t have done it. Those two things are crucial. But I do believe in the institution and I do have confidence in the board.
Informer: What is about the institution and the Board that gives you confidence?
President Reveley: Well this is a school with an in-credible history and a re-markable track record of excellence, and it’s a school with enormous potential to be even better, in my judg-ment. And I see us doing great deeds with relative-ly limited resources on all sides. So its really easy to get enthusiastic about William & Mary.
I think the Board is made up of people who are smart, who have taken the time to understand where higher education is in the United
By Sam GloverStaff Writer
States these days, particularly public higher education, and who truly have got their eye on the ball in terms of what William & Mary has to do to keep moving forward. That makes for an extraordinarily good Board. By no remote stretch of the imagination are Boards always good. This one is good.
Informer: Where is higher education right now, especially public higher educa-tion?
President Rev-eley: Its real clear where public higher educa-tion is, it is not being funded by the public. A generation ago, 43% of William and Mary’s operating budget came from the taxpayers of Virginia. We’re now down to what, 13%? And it is headed south. William & Mary was a private university from 1693 until 1906. In 1906 we deeded our real estate to the commonwealth in exchange for operating support and, of course, bricks and mortar support. The state has still been coming through with bricks and mortar, or has been, but the operating sup-port is really headed south. And that means if you are an institution which is pub-licly owned, and you have the capacity to figure out how to fend increasingly for your-self, that’s governing reality for state systems, not just in Virginia, but everywhere. William and Mary is unusu-ally able to fend for itself, and that is what we’re doing.
Informer: What are your plans for the next four years?
President Reveley: I
Student assembly, Scott Foster prepare for may electionBy Sam GloverStaff Writer
While the fall election may have been only a month ago, the spring elec-tions are right around the corner.
This May members of the Tribe will have the opportunity to vote in the election for Williamsburg City Council. Two council seats are empty, and multiple candidates likely will be on the ballot, one of them potentially being the Tribe’s own Scott Foster (’10, J.D. ’14). Foster told the Informer that he was unofficially planning to run for reelection.
“There’s no indication that I will not, but I haven’t made an official deci-sion yet,” said Foster.
While Mr. Foster is making his plans, the Student Assembly says that it is ready to roll out its own efforts for the spring elections, with previous efforts as a model, according to Director of Voter Registration Brady Meixell (’16).
“When next semester rolls around, our main thrust will once again be the tried-and-true method of tabling in the Sadler Center lobby during meal hours registering students to vote,” explained Meixell in an e-mail to the In-former. He add that the SA will provide absentee ballots for students who have left for the summer before Election Day. See “ELECTION” page 4
Four more years: an interview with President Taylor Reveley
See “REVELEY” page 4
Meixell touted the support of the SA Senate as crucial to getting out the vote.
“The Senate was an important partner for us in the fall elections, pro-viding necessary funding and support. We expect a similarly close relation-ship this coming semester, as we both have a strong interest in making sure students are involved and make their voice heard in the upcoming city elec-tions,” added Meixell.
According to Meixell, Senate funding is crucial for getting out the vote, especially when it comes to “Hark Upon the Ballot Box” t-shirts. The Senate recently voted against selling the popular t-shirts before the recent guberna-torial election. Many Senators expressed a desire instead to use the t-shirts to promote the May City Council election.
Meixell says that there will be a “push” for the return of the “Hark Upon the Ballot Box” t-shirts for the City Council election.
“There’s a great demand for them amongst the student body and they’re one of our most effective promotional tools for Election Day,” he added.
As for the prospect of someone following in the footsteps of Scott Foster and running as a student candidate, Meixell remained neutral, saying “while
phoTo CourTesy of Wm.eDupresident Taylor reveley.
wanna keep pushing in the areas we’ve been pushing. I wanna be sure we are build-ing a sustainable financial foundation for this century--gotta have that sustainable financial foundation. We’ve made an enormous amount of progress towards it, we gotta keep pushing to make sure that progress continues. Part of that is continued em-phasis on lifelong ties to our alumni, cause alumni are crucial to our future.
I’m working to pull VIMS more into the rest of the uni-versity. You know, VIMS is, what, 18 miles away? It uses a different color scheme for its iconography. I wanna in-tegrate VIMS more into the rest of the University.
We’re thinking about how do we have a significant footprint, or a significant presence in that whole family of issues that involve health-care. Issues that are going to dominate the national dis-course I think for the next generation. I don’t think you can be a be a leading national university if you’re not doing something in the healthcare sphere. No, that does not mean you have to have a
medical school, though, obvi-ously, we are in conversation, or we are doing what I now call dating Eastern Virginia Medical School. Whether it will lead to mating I have no idea, but we are dating. But one way or another, we have to figure out how were going to be involved in those health issues. We don’t have to have a medical school to do it, though most of the univer-sities that are really involved in them do have medical schools.
Informer: Would you like for Eastern Virginia Medical School to become William and Mary’s medical school?
President Reveley: The dating analogy is perfect, Sam. Now, I’m not sure you all date the way ancient creatures like I used to date, but dating means not in a herd but one person at a time get together without benefit of a herd and see if there are things they enjoy doing together. And if there are, they think about build-ing on those things, and where they might lead. And
sometimes, in the old days, when you used to date, two humans, it lead to nothing. You decided you didn’t re-ally like each other, there weren’t things you could do together productively. You might not be able to agree on where to go out, or on which flick to go see, you know, it might not work. Sometimes, dating in the fullness of time lead to mating. You actually got married. Well, we’re dat-ing. We’re seeing if there are some common academic pro-grams we can create, we’re seeing if there are some com-mon research projects involv-ing faculty from both schools that we can work on. We’re seeing if we like each other. I have no idea where it will all lead and I am perfectly content to date, and I am perfectly content to date for quite some time before mak-ing a decision. So, as I said, the analogy is perfect.
Informer: What have been your biggest accomplishments in your presidency?
President Reveley: First
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eleCTioN: Williamsburg City Council elections approaching
From page 3
REVELEY: Tyler renovation next for campusFrom page 3
it would be great for campus-wide turnout for a student to run, the Student Assembly does not endorse candidates.”
Councilman Foster echoed Meixell’s sentiment.“If a student were to run, I’d be happy to talk to them
and tell them my experience. So, I wouldn’t discourage any one student or non-student from running-- lets put it that way,” said Foster.
Foster says he knows of “ a number of students who would do an excellent job,” but would not name them. He continued, “It is not for me to sit back and pick somebody. That wouldn’t be fair.”
Although the SA will not endorse a candidate, Meixell is striving for the highest student voter turnout possible.
“In the end, we’re not so much concerned with any spe-cific number as we are on taking every measure available and giving students every opportunity possible to register to vote and either show up at the polls on Election Day or submit an absentee ballot. Local elections are decided by paper-thin margins and the student vote can make a huge impact. We saw that [in 2010] with Scott Foster’s success-ful candidacy,” said Meixell.
Foster provided evidence of what it means to have a student voice on the council, speaking about the numerous efforts he has made serving in that capacity.
“I have accomplished a lot of what I have set out to accomplish,” said the first-term councilman, “focusing on downtown development, especially with regard to stu-dents.”
More specifically, he supported the development of off campus housing for students, such as City Lofts and Griffin Arms, and the development of Scotland and Prince George St., where the Jewish Mother will be moving.
“When you contrast the student experience in Wil-liamsburg today with what it was when I was elected, student life has gotten a lot better off campus. People feel some ownership in the town. It is pretty cool,” noted Foster.
major accomplishment was helping a pretty divided campus and alumni body come back together again and focus on the welfare and happiness of William & Mary. That happened reasonably quickly.
Second, I had to fill a lot of senior positions with very, very able people and it was a huge amount of flux of senior administrative level and deans. I did that pretty quickly and very ef-fectively to get a really good group of group, to ensure we have a really good group of leaders on campus.
One of the most important things for a leader to do is to provide a context in which ev-eryone can relax and do their best work, not have to worry about whether the ship of state is about to run onto the rocks, worst case, or simply has no idea where it is trying to go. And, if a leader can do that, then everyone else can do a great job at whatever it is they’re doing. Stu-dents learning, teachers teaching and doing research… across the board. But as soon as you get caught in a situation where people are concerned about the stability of the institution, and whether it has any concept of what to do with itself, people stop doing their best work and start spending an inordinate amount of time speculating on what’s up, what’s next, is it going to be okay. So I provided, I think, that sort of stability in that direction; it enabled people to really focus on what they need to do best. So a huge amount of effective teaching and research and learning and administrative work goes on here.
Informer: What is next for the campus?
President Reveley: Tyler, which is next door to Tucker, is the next renovation. The next major construction project will be the Integrated Science Center, Phase Three, which is a big one. Then we have the Arts Complex. Once Tyler is renovated, then some of the Mortonians will be able to leave Morton Hall and refuge to Tyler, or find new life in Tyler, I should say. The Integrated Science Center is a huge project and we hope to be able to start on it fairly soon and it will be the third and final phase of the science complex. The next really huge un-dertaking after the science complex are the arts, because we have wonderful arts programs-- music, theater, and dance, visual arts--doing their thing, their respective things, in really awful quarters. We’ll probably start with music. Something is going to have to be done with Campus Center at some point because it is being held together with bubble gum and bailing wire, but I think the biggies for immediate purposes are let’s renovate Tyler and let’s build the Integrated Science Center Phase Three.
Informer: Will the William & Mary Promise be the future of tuition at the College?
President Reveley: It will certainly be an important element in it and of course it had both an increase in in-state tuition and a great increase in need based financial aid. They always have to go together. When you increase tuition, you gotta increase need-based financial aid so affordability is there. Raising in-state tuition is very difficult politically, so we did a number of other things to make it palatable politically. But the point is in the same way we have got to become more productive on campus, those of us who work here, and then in the same we’re saying to our alumni, ‘If you want William & Mary to continue to be great, get behind the wagon to help push’, and in the same way we say to our out-of-state students, ‘You gotta pay a lot to come here’, we have now started saying to our in-state students from families with the means, ‘You gotta help too.’ That is the only way to make it work, and we are the only state school in Virginia to have done it, and frankly I think we’re the only state school anywhere to have done it, and that’s one reason why I have such confidence, financially, in our future.
More student shops and restaurants were on the agenda for many student advocates in the last few years, including former Student Assembly President Curt Mills (’13) and City Councilman Scott Foster (‘10, J.D. ’14). Mills spoke before City Council last spring, arguing that development near campus would benefit students and residents alike. Foster recently told the Informer that he considers efforts to attract more local developments, like Griffin Arms and City Lofts, and restaurants, like the Jewish Mother, one of his key achievements during his time on City Council.
However, local businesses in Tribe Square recently told the Virginia Gazette, a local newspaper, that the College’s student meal plan requirements have hurt local business. It remains to be seen how successful businesses in Griffin Arms will be.
gRiFFiN aRmS: New apartments near W&m
phoTo by ben Zhangapartment construction underway, available for lease for next fall.
From page 2
Students reflect on Reveley
“I love that reveley was reelected. I think he has incred-ible personality and his presence on campus only enhances
the William and mary experience.” Cam Menchel (’17)
“If reveley weren’t reinstated, I don’t think it would re-ally affect me. I think he’s a dynamic person on campus and I love his persona but I don’t think that his reelection makes
a huge difference in my life. I’m rather apathetic.” Sam Newman (’17)
“I’ve liked reveley since I arrived here. I think he’s done great things for the school and, as far as I know, he’s making the school a better place every day he is here. While I don’t think the president has a huge affect on me personally, I’m
pleased he was reelected.” Conor Dowd (’17)
About President Taylor Reveley
reveley is serving as the twenty-seventh president of the College after being temporarilty appointed in february 2008, then officially appointed in september 2008.
alma mater: princeton university, university of Virginia school of law
before coming to William & mary, reveley practiced law at hunton & Williams in richmond, Va.
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ing everything and really just create a place where it is almost like the only place you have to be to get the scoop on anything you want at this college. Anything you need should be on here,” said Sniff.
The founders of College Cambio have a two year his-tory with the site dating back to the “Hurrication” of 2011 when Laresca and Sniff met. As Laresca tells the story, the two became closer after that.
“We were at the gym one day and Matt said ‘Lets make something’” explained Lares-ca. The two developed their ideas from there, with Lares-ca suggesting a place where students could communicate with each other and Sniff suggesting a marketplace for electronics. The third found-er, Nagaraj, joined the proj-ect with Laresca and Sniff after a summer program at Princeton.
The Student Assembly’s involvement with College Cambio has grown over the past few years, from presi-dential administrations not wanting to deal with “two freshman” to fitting perfectly in the agenda of the current administration, according to Sniff.
“The Cambio fits perfect-ly into what their agenda is in terms of bringing the SA more attention and really getting things out there in the limelight. I think Cam-bio can serve as a platform for them to get more things noticed and get more partici-pation in the things that they do,”said Sniff
CAMBIO: Juniors relaunch social media website exclusive to W&MFrom page 2
Sniff wants to advertise SA events through Cambio, saying that Cambio would be a “prominent spot for the SA to mesh their content with our content.”
Laresca, who is an Un-der-Secretary for the SA’s Outreach Department, says Cambio will help their mis-sion as well.
William Plews-Ogan (’15), Communications Direc-tor for SA President Chase Koontz (’14), said in an e-mail that the administration not only backs the site but also agrees with it in prin-ciple.
“Chase and his staff have been actively supportive of the site, and are enthusiastic about how the site facilitates interaction between students and student leaders regard-ing upcoming concerts, stu-dents’ classes, important lec-tures, awareness campaigns,
phoTo CourTesy of ben ZhangThe homepage of College Cambio, and what students will see when they sign up for the social media website.
and everything in between. College Cambio provides a space to facilitate much of the instructiveness that this administration deems vital,” said Plews-Ogan.
Cambio’s success stands in contrast to the lackluster improvements being made to the Student Assembly’s own website. The Informer explored the slow progress of integrating the SA’s web presence in an earlier ar-ticle. Currently, the website has been given a facelift and sports a sleek design but lacks crucial components necessary for conducting business with the SA, such as contact information for Senators and executive staff.
Cambio, however, cur-rently has 1700 subscribers, up from 1300 last year. Ac-cording to Laresca, $25,000 has been transacted through the site. College Cambio,
however, is not for profit, or, as Laresca put it, is “for prof-it for the students”who use it to market items.
In terms of their suc-cess with College Cambio, the founders highlighted the value of teamwork.
“As with any company, there are a couple of things that are really important to succeeding, and it is not nec-essarily the idea--although I think Cambio is a great idea in terms of what it is trying to achieve, especially with the students. I think the team and the execution of it are more important,” said Sniff.
The founders cited their experience at the Princeton entrepreneurship incubator in justifying the necessity of teamwork, highlighting the importance of hard work in the process.
When it comes to the
costs associated with the website, it was Laresca who paid for everything.
“We have the skill to build everything we need, it was just that server space, hosting, anything like that, it was my money,” said Lar-esca.
Going forward, Nagaraj has a broad vision for the site.
“We want every cam-pus event to be run on Col-lege Cambio. We want, when you log on and you want to see what’s going on, we want you to go to College Cambio and not Facebook, because it [Cambio] is an undiluted place where only students are,” said Nagaraj.
The founders intend to develop College Cambio at other schools, saying they plan to target Stony Brook and Princeton, among oth-ers, in the coming weeks.
FEaTURESPagE 6
For many, winter is a time of low energy, bad moods and longing for the sun to show its face. But for others, these feelings are much more extreme and longstanding.
These individuals have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a form of depression that occurs at the same time each year, usually starting in the fall and lasting through winter, and less commonly, from spring through sum-mer.
According to the Nation-al Alliance on Mental Health, symptoms most commonly begin in October or Novem-ber, although some “begin to ‘slump’ as early as August” or as late as January, and don’t fully subside until early May. Symptoms are similar to other forms of depression and include anxiety, loss of energy and interest in pre-viously enjoyed activities, social withdrawal, feelings of hopelessness, oversleep-ing and weight gain. Sum-mer SAD symptoms are for the most part similar, except for insomnia, weight loss and poor appetite, increased sex drive and agitation, says mayoclinic.com.
Although relatively little research has been done on SAD, it was formally named
and described in 1984 by Norman Rosenthal at the National Institute of Mental Health in 1984. Changes in melatonin and serotonin lev-els in the brain and how they affect the sleep cycle seem to be a large part of SAD, ac-cording to Kevin Clancey, a predoctoral clinical psychol-ogy intern at the William & Mary Counseling Center.
The most effective treat-ment for SAD, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is photother-apy. Patients sit in front of a light therapy box that simu-lates high-intensity sunlight for half an hour daily. While research on phototherapy is limited, it seems to cause a change in brain chemicals linked to mood and usually starts working two to four days after the start of treat-ments. Although uncommon, the side effects include head-aches, nausea or irritability.
Other treatments include psychotherapy—which ad-dresses through group or in-dividual sessions a patient’s thought patterns, emotions and behaviors—antidepres-sants such as paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem) and venlafaxine (Effexor), exercise or just spending more time outside when it’s sunny.
While many people tend to naturally feel less ener-gized in the winter because of less exposure to sunlight, it is important to understand the distinction between a bad mood and SAD. According to mayoclinic.com, if you notice a cluster of symptoms where “you feel down for days at a time and you can’t seem to get motivated to do activities you normally enjoy … and notice your sleep patterns and appetite have changed” you should talk to your doc-tor or health professional be-cause these are all signs of SAD.
The Student Counsel-ing Center recommends that W&M students come in for an initial assessment if one is concerned about having SAD. After an assessment a counselor will recommend one of the above treatments, said Clancey.
Clancey also stressed that students should feel free to come to the Counseling Center regardless of the situ-ation.
“We treat everyone from issues like homesickness and stress to major depression,” he said. “We deal with a wide spectrum, so you don’t have to feel really depressed to take advantage of the Cen-ter.”
By Krissa LorettoFeatures Editor
By Isabel StevenStaff Writer
Early last month, Typhoon Haiyan ravaged portions of Southeast Asia. It is the strongest storm to have ever made landfall. With winds of over 165 miles per hour and a storm surge of 17 feet, Haiyan washed away nearly everything in its path and took upwards of 6000 lives. Although the storm was the strongest ever, Americans have not provided nearly as much as as they have given to help countries stricken by natural disasters of smaller magnitudes. Paul Atienza ’15 and Jasmin Green 15’ decided to do what to change this.
With the help of Professor Tanglao-Aguas, they created WM Bayanihan: Philippines Re-covery Initiative. “Our goal is to help the Philippines recover from the recent earthquake and super typhoon in an extended and sustained manner until the communities are rebuilt,” said Atienza ’15.
The idea for the initiative came at a FASA meeting. FASA is short for the Filipino Ameri-can Student Association. FASA members decided to branch out and create an initiative open to the everyone at William & Mary. WM Bayanihan is looking for “Anyone on campus inter-ested and passionate about doing something to help the typhoon relief… The word “Bayani-han” reflects the Filipino community spirit; it is composed of two words: ‘Bayani’ means ‘Hero’ and “Bayan” means ‘Nation.’ In essence, it means as we help each other we become heroes for others.”
For students to get involved in the initiative they can help assist at events this semester and next semester or donate whatever amount they can contribute. WM Bayanihan accepts donations at all of their events including tabling, screenings, and vigils. Last week, WM Baya-nihan held a vigil for the Philippines in the Wren Chapel and hosted a Filipino Film Festival in Tucker Theater.
Although the Typhoon made landfall several thousand miles away, it hit closer to home than many students realize. There are several William & Mary students from the Phil-ippines and many others have family members there. William & Mary student Jenna Tan was directly impacted in that the typhoon hit her family’s hometown. “Having your hometown devastated is a moment in your life that you never expect to happen, and I feel is equally traumatic for all,” she said.
Last October, Hurricane Sandy hit my hometown of Toms River, New Jersey. Some of my close friends lost everything they owned including their houses and cars. Power was out for weeks, and in some houses, it was off for months. Hurricane Sandy’s winds were only half the strength of Haiyan’s and the damage was catastrophic. The week after Sandy, Americans had
Dealing with Seasonal affective Disorder
W&M Bayanihan seeks to aid Haiyan victims
The Gift-Giving Guide
(for broke college students)
See “BAYANIHAN” page 7
Aviation at W&M reaches new heightsphoTo CourTesy of amy baIley
William & Mary, as we all know, is a highly acclaimed university. We’ve come out on top of lists such as “Most Beau-tiful Campuses” and “Smartest Colleges”, and placed 9th in Forbes’s list of Top Public Colleges in 2013. But we stay high in more ways than one (no, I’m not talking UC Boulder style)—William & Mary’s newly reinstated Aviation Club is ensuring that the school remains at high altitudes both in rankings and in the Williamsburg skies.
Evan Brandolino (’16) decided to restart the once inac-tive organization at the beginning of the semester in hopes of rekindling the school’s interest in aviation.
“I think I’ve always been interested in aviation in one way or another,” says Brandolino. “I finally started flying this past August and I’ve been flying pretty regularly since then. I love it. I really wanted to meet other people at Wil-liam & Mary who are interested in flying, and I figured this would be a great way to do it. When I heard it was inactive I thought someone should start it up again. So I did.”
The William & Mary Glider club was originally founded in 1930 by a small group of students and later grew into a college sponsored flight school, which offered aviation classes and a chance for students to receive pilot licenses along with undergraduate degrees. At its peak popularity, the program trained over 30 students and went on to license over 24. Min-nie Savage, a dedicated member, went on to join the famous “99’s” (The International Organization of Women Pilots). Amelia Earhart even made appearances at events and was deemed an honorary member of the flight school. Due to a drop in student enrollment and funding, the program was discontinued and all aircraft was sold. A small Flight Club still persisted after the shut down of the program, only to disappear in 1935 when membership dropped.
After almost 80 years of silence, the club is back in ac-tion and ready to recruit interested students and take to the skies.
“We want to meet with the Williamsburg Flight Center to have events at the Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport every once in a while,” says Brandolino. “We want to be an event-based club in the sense that we meet in the classroom pret-ty regularly but we’ll make an effort to actually do things, whether it’s a flight day at the airport, visiting an aviation museum in Richmond, or going to an airshow in Norfolk.”
You don’t need to be an experienced pilot to participate. The club welcomes everyone, regardless of experience or lack thereof.
“We get a lot of beginners,” says Daniel Ryan, a flight instructor at the Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport and Wil-liam and Mary grad himself. “There’s only a couple things you have to do to start flying. As required by the FAA, you have to be medically able do fly and you have to prove you’re a U.S.
By Amy BaileyAssociate Features Editor
See “AVIATION” page 8
PagE 7FEaTURES
The holiday season is in full force at William & Mary and with it comes the ever present gift-giving anxiety. Not only are you broke, but you have no idea if your roommate is planning on buying you a gift, let alone a thoughtful and expensive one. And what do you do when that random acquaintance that you’ve had lunch with maybe 3 times pops up with the sweetest little present? Here is a guide for the poor college student in an awkward gift-giving world.
For your roommate:You live with this person, so hopefully you know them well enough
to know what they would or wouldn’t want. If you’re on a tight bud-get, don’t be afraid to stretch your crafting abilities and make your gift! Write whatever you want on a ceramic mug (you can find them at the dollar store!) and bake in the oven at 350° F for 30 minutes.
If you’re feeling a bit more spendy, consider giving them a scarf or gloves to help fight off the cold winter months. Everybody loves useful gifts, so the warmer the better!
For that random person who you sometimes eat lunch with:While it’s super sweet that she thought to get you something, it’s
okay if you have no idea what to give back. But now you must decide, is this person someone you want to spend money on, or will baked goods do the trick?
If you’re thinking he or she is worth the money, head over to the closest Sephora and peruse the under $10 section. There’s a variety of makeup, nail polish, lip balm and shave gels that won’t break the bank. Even if you have no idea if the person will like whatever you pick out,
By Erin MorrisStaff Writer
CarToon by molly aDaIr
The Gift-Giving Guide
(for broke college students)
donated $145 million. The two storms are almost incom-parable because Haiyan com-pletely trumps Sandy. There are still over one thousand people missing. Don’t forget that Typhoon Haiyan also caused damage in Southern China, Vietnam, Micronesia, Palau and Taiwan.
Although the storm was the strongest ever, Ameri-
don’t worry because it’s the thought that counts the most!Now, if you’re on the other side of the spectrum and have no inter-
est in spending much on this person, bake some cookies. No need to give away the whole batch, it can easily be split up between anyone you’d want to give a little treat to. Or save the rest for yourself to enjoy while watching a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Christmas Special. You can easily wrap up the cookies in some tissue paper and finish it off with some ribbon.
For the friend who agreed not to get you anything, but still did:You agreed to not exchange gifts, whether it be because neither of
you can really afford it or if you’re taking a stand against the materi-alism of the holiday season. Either way, they pop into your room the day before winter break starts with the most thoughtful and meaningful gift. So what’s your next move? Craft!
Even if you’ve never crafted before, this is the easiest way to show you care about this person, without breaking the bank! Plus, you can wait and give it to them after break, so you have a solid month to perfect your craft of choice.
Everybody has a favorite movie, so look up famous lines from your friend’s movie of choice. Then head over to Michaels and find a small canvas. Look up some cool lettering on Pinterest or Google and let your imagination run wild! Your finished product doesn’t have to be perfect, but it will definitely show your friend just how much you care.
Whether you’re best friends, or just acquaintances, a holiday gift is a great way to show someone that you care. So let your creative juices start flowing and rock this holiday season by giving the best gifts!
BAYANIAN: Philippines Recovery Initiative to coordinate fundraisingcans have not provided near-ly as much as as they have given to help victims of natu-ral disasters of smaller mag-nitudes. A week after Haiyan hit, Americans had raised only $33 million for disaster relief efforts. That is roughly equivalent to Kobe Bryant’s salary for the 2013-2014 sea-son. In the week after the deadly earthquake that hit
Haiti in 2010, Americans had raised over $300 million. One month after the earthquake in Haiti, 52% of Americans had donated to a relief fund.
It has been almost a month since Haiyan made landfall and the rebuilding in the Philippines is expected to take 5 years or more. Sur-vivors in coastal villages are roaming around searching
for food. Hundreds of chil-dren have been orphaned. In total, 11.5 million people have been affected by Hai-yan. That is more than the entire population of the state of Virginia. Haiyan victims need any help they can get. WM Bayanihan has raised nearly $2,000 so far. In the first four days of their mis-sion, they were able to feed
1500 people. “Every cent counts!” said Atienza.
Bayanihan is currently working with the Student Assembly to coordinate fundraising events for the spring semester. If you are interested in learning more about WM Bayanihan, visit http://www.wm.edu/as/afri-canastudies/bayanihan/.
From page 6
OTHERPagE 8
During one of the torren-tial downpours that William & Mary students are all too familiar with, senior Allie Rizzo (’14) escaped the storm by ducking into Madison Hall earlier this fall. Worry-ing that her bike would be ruined in the rain, she left it inside the dorm, making sure to place it out of the way. Her bike was taken to the Police Station for being ille-gally parked and Rizzo was charged $5 for its return.
Rizzo and many other William & Mary bikers who received tickets this Fall were confused by the pen-alty, considering that before this semester bike tickets were scarce and generally non-existent.
“The money they’re get-ting from ticketing bikes seems to not be worth the ef-fort they’re putting into regu-lating the bikes,” Rizzo said.
According to William & Mary Parking Services, the rise in ticketing can be at-tributed to the beginnings of a new project that will create more of a bike friendly atmo-sphere on campus.
This project, which aims to create a “culture” of biking on campus, will include ad-ditional bike racks, stations for upgrading and maintain-ing bicycles, air pumps for tires, covered bike storage, a consolidated website for information on bikes, and a network of local and campus bike “experts”. As part of this effort, Parking Services has increased its own enforce-ment of bikes on campus, is-suing tickets and removing bikes from handrails and fire escapes.
“Bikes have always been
under the purview of Park-ing Services,” explained Bill Horacio, the Director of Parking Services. “The regu-lations concerning bicycles have not changed just the fre-quency and enforcement. For example, parking personnel are able to remove bikes from handrails, which has always been a safety concern, while they are enforcing parking.”
The William & Mary Stu-dent Assembly has jumped on board with a plan to get a grant in order to contract with a bike sharing company similar to Zipcar. The com-pany would provide specially designed bikes and distrib-ute them across campus. Stu-dents could pay a fee upfront to use the bikes as needed, potentially saving the money and hassle of owning a bike or bringing one to campus.
Horacio supports the effort but worries that the Student Assembly does not understand the complexity of the project. According to Horacio the need to change this “culture” is coupled with the fact that the bike sharing company will need to con-tract with the school, which would require a process more complex than the SA imag-ined.
The Student Assembly’s point-person for the project is Class of 2015 President Bri-anna Buch (’15) who clarified that the SA is not trying to control the process and that they are creating a student liaison for Parking Services and other transportation is-sues.
“We are just trying to of-fer as much student support as possible for this project. Exploring the grant is part of that support, but comes second to the culture change on campus. The grant app is
at the very primitive stages and Gabriel Morey is the one currently exploring it,” said Buch in an e-mail to the In-former.
This new vision of a friendlier, more expansive Parking Services stands in contrast to the impressions many students seem to have of the organization. Many students complain about high fines, costly tickets, and confusing signs.
Over Fall break, sopho-more CJ Dube (’16) was ticketed twice. Assuming that the weekend would ex-tend through that Monday and Tuesday, in which the College held no classes, he parked in the partially filled Zable parking lot on Sunday night and received a ticket. Without seeing the ticket on his windshield, he parked between the Caf and Wil-liam & Mary Hall on Monday morning and received a sec-
Increased bike tickets part of new bike “culture”By Justin Shawler & Vini CunninghamNews Editor & Associate News Editor
phoTo by ben Zhangbill horacio, Director of parking services.
ond ticket, making two in 24 hours.
Dube believes the two tickets would have been avoided if he had been aware of the continued parking regulation during Fall break, a period in which Parking Services didn’t send out any information regarding their parking policies.
“They could easily send out an email to everyone at the school, but they don’t. And then they go and ticket people,” Dube said. “[The Parking Services’] communi-cation skills just aren’t good enough because students always seem like they’re in the dark and end up paying fines.”
Horacio acknowledged the need for better communi-cation, saying “Communica-tion and signage can always be improved. The challenge is finding the right delivery methods given the diver-
sity on campus among user groups.”
Horacio believes the fines and fees are fair. The prices are set each year in a bud-get process that involves the Parking Advisory Committee and the Board of Visitors.
“Those that use or partic-ipate in the parking program will contribute financially to support the program. This is accomplished through the sale of decals, temporary passes and special event space reservations. The greater the participation the lower the cost,” said Horacio.
Parking Services, a branch of the College’s Aux-iliary Services, is a self-sus-taining organization that must use decal and ticket revenue to pay for salaries, maintenance costs for park-ing lots, and an annual debt payment of about $1 million that accumulated with the construction of the parking garage in 2006.
AVIATION: Brandolino (’16) reinstates club this semesterFrom page 6citizen. Other than that, you
can come out here and start learning how to fly.”
“During my first lesson, I was controlling the airplane,” says Brandolino. “I was turn-ing, climbing, descending—you really start getting a feel for the plane from day one.”
It sounds easy—but be-fore you throw away your plans for law school and de-cide to become a pilot, you may want the scoop on the time and financial commit-ment.
“It’s not a cheap hobby, but there are ways to mini-mize the costs,” says Bran-
dolino. “It’s hard because flying has become more ex-pensive in the recent years I think due to the aviation gas prices. For me, I had a paid internship over the summer and I’m taking pretty much all the money I made and putting it towards this. My parents are generous enough to help out.”
Getting your pilot license can take a toll on your free time as well as your savings account, requiring a mini-mum of 40 hours.
“It’s definitely an expen-sive process, but you don’t have to do it all at once,”
says Brandolino. “If you fly and log your hours, those hours are there for good. If you start and realize it’s too much, you can stop and take it up again whenever.”
Not sure you actually want to be a pilot? No wor-ries. The club welcomes any-one interested in aviation, regardless of their skill or training intentions. It also offers prime opportunities for new experiences and net-working opportunities out-side the college.
“The airport needs young people,” says Ryan. “It’s such a fantastic resource. The peo-
ple that come around here, especially the older ones, are phenomenal people in their fields. Not a lot of them are professional pilots, but some are NASA engineers or bank-ers—we get all different types of stuff. They’re very influential people who would be good to meet. This is a re-ally great place to hang out even if you don’t necessarily want to go into flying. There are just a lot of good people to meet here and they’re all going to help you out.”
“If people think they might be interested they should come to a meeting,”
says Brandolino. “It’s not only for people who want or have a license, we just want anyone who’s interested in aviation. It’s a new experi-ence, and who knows? You could fall in love with it.”
It’s “plane” to see—the Aviation Club is pretty fly (and way cooler than these puns). If the thought of fly-ing a plane or calling Ame-lia Earhart your honorary co-member excites you, then come out and take part in the new era of Tribe flight. Meetings are every Monday in Tucker at 7:30 pm.
PagE 9SPOR TS
After last year’s mis-erable 2-9 campaign, nobody would’ve thought of a 7-5 season as a disappointment. But that’s exactly what hap-pened after last Saturday’s 31-20 pounding at Richmond, crushing the Tribe’s playoff hopes.
Two weeks ago, the Tribe were sitting at 7-3 and the playoffs seemed like a fore-gone conclusion, with the Tribe only needing to win one of their final two games to lock up a spot. However, after back to back heart-breaking losses to end the season, the Tribe will spend December watching the play-offs from home with the rest of us.
It was a bitter end to what has been an otherwise spectacular season for the Tribe. The vaunted defense, which had given up an FCS low 12 points per game, was helpless against the Spiders’ rushing attack giving up 149 yards and three touchdowns. And the offensive woes con-tinued, as the running game couldn’t get started and
Brent Caprio, despite having a career day throwing for 250 yards, couldn’t get the ball into the endzone.
This highlights what has been a season-long trend for the Tribe, who are 0-4 in games where they give up more than 20 points. The Tribe finished the season ranked 95th in the country in scoring offense, and 102nd in total offense, while rank-ing in the top 20 in turnovers lost and scoring a measly 21 points per game.
The offense consistently failed to make plays when it mattered most, making huge mistakes against both West Virginia and Towson in the closing minutes. Their big-gest struggles came in the passing game, where they failed to find any kind of con-sistency. Senior quarterback Michael Graham started the majority of the games, but suffered an injury against James Madison. Prior to his injury, he was playing very well for the Tribe, throw-ing for 1000 yards and five touchdowns. However, Brent Caprio took over for him fol-lowing the injury, and he was clearly out of sync with
his receivers, especially on passes down field.
For the majority of the season, the running game was the anchor of the offense. Mikal Abdul-Saboor led the charge with several hundred yard games. However, down the stretch, teams started to load the box against the run, and the offense faltered. Without an effective pass-ing game, the Tribe were unable to move the ball con-sistently in their final few games.
These end of year strug-gles mask what has other-wise been a great season for the Tribe, however. The turnaround from last season ties for the second biggest im-provement in wins in school history, and has resulted in Jimmye Laycock being nomi-nated for the Eddie Robinson award (the FCS version of coach of the year).
The Tribe were also well represented on the all-CAA teams. Renaissance man Tre McBride, who led the team with 1533 all-purpose yards, including 801 receiving and 5 touchdowns, was honored as
By Stephen GricoskiStaff Writer
Football Review: Team falls short of playoff aspirations this season
phoTo CourTesy of TrIbe aThleTICsrecent Caa player of the Week, Tre mcbride (’15).
W&M Athletics Hall of Fame announces class of 2014By Nate KreshSports Editor
On November 26th, with just two days before Thanksgiv-ing, William & Mary gave ten members of the Tribe some-thing to be extra thankful for.
Ten former Tribe legends have been announced for en-shrinement in the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame for 2014. The list includes former student athletes Ashleigh Akens Rabe ‘94 (women’s basketball), David Corley, Jr. ‘03 (football), Ann Ekberg Saunders ‘03 (field hockey), Tracey Leinbach ‘81 (women’s golf), Carrie Moore ‘99 (women’s soc-cer), Billy Owens ‘95 (men’s soccer), Lisa Rayner ‘96 (wom-en’s track and field), and Trevor Spracklin ‘01 (men’s tennis), along with Debbie Hill (former head volleyball coach) and Dan Stimson (director of track and field/cross country).
ashleigh akens Rabe (Ashleigh Akens when she patrolled the hardwood at William & Mary Hall) was a basketball standout. A two-time selection to first-team All-CAA, Akens Rabe was a critical piece in the Tribe’s run to the 1993 CAA Championship game, the Tribe’s first. At the time she gradu-ated, Akens Rabe held the record for most double-doubles in a season, with 19 in the 1993-94 season. Additionally, her 9-game double-double streak still stands as a school record. Upon graduation, she was also the first women’s basketball player in Tribe history to play professionally, finding a home overseas with a Belgian team.
David Corley, Jr. was a gridiron ironman in his time with the Tribe. The last four-year starter the Tribe has had at quarterback, Corley holds the school record for consecutive games started (42) and never once missed a snap due to in-jury in his 45-game career. A former Atlantic-10 (now CAA Football) Rookie of the Year in 1999, Corley holds career re-cords in total yards of offense (10,948), passing yards (9,805) and touchdowns (72), in addition to being the only player in Tribe history to record over 9,000 passing yards and over 1,000 rushing yards in a career.
ann Ekberg Saunders (Ann Ekberg during her time with the Tribe) was a centerpiece of the field hockey program’s modern era zenith, helping to lead the team to its first two NCAA appearances. In addition to being named 1999 CAA Rookie of the Year, Ekberg Saunders would earn second-team All-American honors in her senior season. She would finish her career at third on the Tribe’s all-time points list with 120 (54 goals, 12 assists), and her senior effort of 51 points sits at third all-time for a single season.
Tracey Leinbach, in her time with the Tribe, put the wom-en’s golf program on the map. A three-time Virginia state champion from 1978-80, Leinbach would also help lead the Tribe to the 1981 AIAW Division II title. Her finish of sixth overall would earn her All-American honors, making her one of only three All-Americans in school history. Leinbach’s in-duction will actually be her second, as she entered the Hall with the rest of the 1981 championship team. Upon gradu-ation, Leinbach was the single-season record holder in both fall and spring average scores, shooting 79.3 in fall 1980 and 84.5 in spring 1980.
Carrie Moore’s time with the Tribe saw her, and the wom-en’s soccer team, unleash an astounding run of dominance. Moore was a four-time All-CAA selection, including three first team selections in 1996, 1998 and 1999. During her time on the team, the Tribe racked up four straight conference titles and four straight NCAA appearances. After the conclu-sion of her career at The College, Moore would be drafted 14th overall by the Washington Freedom in the inaugural W-USA draft. While the league would be short-lived, Moore was selected to an All-Star team, and the Washington Freedom would win the league’s championship in 2003. Moore was also
See “HALL OF FAME” page 11 See “FOOTBALL” page 11
SPOR TSPagE 10
By Alex CookAssociate Sports Editor
What is there to be said about this year’s basketball team so far? At 3-3, this year’s had its ups and downs already, but for some reason, it seems that coach Shaver and the boys are bent on mak-ing this season an emotional roller coaster for fans of the Tribe. From starting off with a 13-3 run against No. 16 Wichita State, and leading at halftime, to getting embar-rassed at home court Kaplan Arena to the less-than-stel-lar High Point panthers, this year’s Tribe has been utterly unpredictable so far in their 2013-2014 campaign. There have been bright spots, and disappointments, standout performances and let-downs, but what does it all mean for William and Mary basketball in the coming months?
In short, things appear to be getting better recently as the Green and Gold have started to gel as a team. The scoring load has started to be spread around, shouldered by the expected Marcus Thorn-ton and Tim Rusthoven, but also true freshman Omar Prewitt. The 6’6” forward from Mount Sterling, Ken-tucky has already garnered CAA rookie of the week hon-ors on two separate occa-sions, and leads all rookies in
the Colonial Athletic Associa-tion in rebounding, field goal percentage, steals, 3-point-ers made, and is second in scoring, assists and blocked shots. Of the new faces for the Tribe, Prewitt has clearly distinguished himself with a silky touch from behind the arc, and an ability to score from practically anywhere on the court. His shot-making ability should spread the floor for the rest of the Tribe’s marksmen from outside, and give center Tim Rusthoven some space to work on the low block. Coming off the bench on every occasion, Prewitt has still managed to earn the third-most points in Tony Shaver’s line-up, and is second on the team in both assists and rebounds.
Through six games few would have expected the Tribe to have lost to Hampton College on the road, or High Point at home (both teams that were dispatched eas-ily last season), and to have downed the perennially-solid Scarlet Knights of Rutgers on their home floor. Howev-er, basketball mediums ev-erywhere will tell you that a team like William and Mary, that leans heavily on effec-tiveness on the offensive end, will live and die by shooting success. Though this year’s team looks to be leading a more balanced scoring attack
than last year’s squad (that led the CAA in three pointers made), early stalls offensive-ly in the High Point game, and the loss to Hampton have put the Tribe in unfavorable positions early that have been difficult to overcome. More consistent scoring from the starting line-up in the opening minutes, as well as tighter defense couldn’t hurt the Green and Gold’s chances going forward. As expected, junior guard Marcus Thorn-ton has been the most consis-tent scorer for the Williams-burg side, with big Timmy Rusthoven averaging five fewer points per game than his Upper Marlboro, Mary-land counterpart. Thornton is only one basket away from the scoring lead in the CAA this season, averaging a solid 19.8 points per game.
Statistically speaking, the Tribe seem to have ev-erything you could want out of an
offense. They lead the CAA in assists, and are third in turnover margin. They have the conference’s high-est field goal percentage, and are only second in scoring of-fense. They hung nearly 100 points on VMI at home on November 28th for the high-est offensive output in nearly ten years. What’s the diag-nosis for the lackluster per-formances that have charac-
The ups and downs of Tribe
basketball
terized the Tribe early this season? Basically, bad luck.
In the loss to Hampton, the Pirates roared out of the gates to a 19-3 advantage, knocking down eight of their first nine shots, while the Tribe remained cold from the field. In the same vein, against High Point, an un-enthusiastic William and Mary allowed the Panthers to slowly build a 25-11 ad-vantage that the Tribe were never able to recover from. Only three days after, the Green and Gold found them-selves down ten points to the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers with one half to go. Looking back, this might be one of the most significant moments of the year for the Tribe, who rattled off twenty straight points after the start of the second period, eventually beating the American Ath-letic Conference opponent. The Tribe kept that momen-tum rolling into the Thanks-giving-eve tie with VMI, who
were subsequently trounced. The Lexington squad, who were used to being the team scoring all the points (the Keydets have topped 100 on two occasions this season), found themselves unable to cope with the firepower of the Williamsburg team, in a game where scoring-leader Thornton only contributed 11 points, quietly extending his double-digit scoring streak to thirty-eight games.
As for what this sea-son holds for the Green and Gold, your guess is as good as mine. If they can produce they way they’re capable of on the offensive end, they can surprise a few teams this season, with a chance to up-set the Mountaineers of West Virginia on December 29th. If they can play effective de-fense, they have a shot at be-ing at the top of the table in the CAA. But those are both huge “ifs,” and consistency so far is not the hallmark of this team.
phoTo CourTesy of TrIbe aThleTICssenior center Tim rusthoven had a career game against VmI.
ScheduleWed, Dec. 4 - v. richmond - home - 7 pm
sat, Dec. 7 - v. Wofford - aWay - 2 pmfri, Dec. 20 - v. goucher - home - 7 pm
sun, Dec. 29 - v. West Virginia - aWay - 3 pmWed, Jan. 1 - v. old Dominion - home - 7 pmsat, Jan 4 - v. Western Illinois - aWay - 8 pm
Wed, Jan. 8 - v. Drexel - home - 7pm
The Tribe men’s soccer team ended their season with a heartbreaking loss to George Mason in a penalty shootout. After outplaying Mason for a majority of the 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minute overtime, their playoff hopes were crushed as they could not convert on the penalty shootout. This loss eliminated them from the NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup, and effectively ended the Tribe’s season.
Failure to convert was the theme of the game for the Tribe. Their 24 shot attempts easily eclipsed George Mason’s 9, yet the score remained even at 2-2 for the entirety of the game. Despite the hot start to their attacking, the Tribe was saddled with a one goal deficit in the 34th minute after a deflected shot by Timi Mulgrew ended up at back at his feet, who then promptly buried it into the right corner.
This prompted a furious Tribe attack. The Tribe forced a corner kick on the ensuing possession. After the cross was initially deflected, defender Roshan Patel collected the rebound outside the box and curled it into the upper right corner for the 36th minute equalizer. The attack continued as the Tribe pressed Mason until the half. In the 43rd minute, Ben Coffey of the Tribe had an open look on Mason keeper Steffen Kraus. Kraus deflected the first attempt right back at Coffey. In predictable fashion, Coffey took another shot that was cleanly saved by Kraus, ending the half on a dramatic note. At the end of the half, William and Mary had out-shot George Mason 11 to 5, with a 1-1 draw to show for it.
The Tribe, once again, came out firing in the second half. They were able to amass five more shots and a corner kick with just one shot attempt from Mason’s attack, yet did not come away with anything. Following this fifth shot, Mason finally mustered an attack that ended with a ball in the back of the net for Mason in the 72nd minute by the feet of Wes Severn. The Tribe showed its resilience once again; in the 79th minute, Jackson Eskay fired a rocket at the 22 yard mark, landing in the upper left corner of the goal. The 2-2 score would hold up for the remainder of regular time.
Close but no cigar seemed to remain a prevalent theme in overtime. In the first overtime period, Riley Maw fielded a breakaway in the 95th minute, but was not able to convert. This missed chance would haunt the Tribe as both periods of extra time expired, leading to the penalty shootout. The penalty shootout start-ed off abysmally, as the Tribe’s first shooter Will Smith was not able to beat Kraus. Tribe goalkeeper Mac Phillips got his hands three penalty shots, with only one save to show for it. Despite this, the Tribe shooters did not help, missing two shots leading to their defeat.
It was an unceremonious ending for a storybook season for the Tribe. Coming off their first losing sea-son in a decade, the Tribe came back with a vengeance with an overall record of 11-5-3 in 2013. Despite the first round exit of the Tribe, the groundwork has been set for a solid future. A notable key to success for the Tribe was redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mac Phillips. Phillips racked up 4 CAA Rookie of the Week awards over the course of the season for his strong play. His development as well as the development of other key members of this team could be what the Tribe needs to make the deeper run in the playoffs they were looking for. Whatever the case, this team will be hungry next year, and will definitely be worth keeping an eye on.
PagE 11SPOR TS
By Kevin Lee Staff Writer
the CAA Special Teams player of the year, as well as being named an all-CAA first team receiver and second team Kick Returner. Senior offensive lineman Matt Crisafi was also named to the first team.
The Tribe also had four players named to the first team defensive squad, including Junior lineman Mike Reilly, who contributed 47 tackles, 11.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. Reilly was fifth in
the nation in sacks. Linebackers Airek Green, who contributed 82 tackles, four interceptions, two forced fumbles and four sacks, and Luke Rhodes, who contributed 98 tackles, also made the team. This is in addi-tion to Senior safety Jerome Couplin III, who led the team with 113 tackles.
There were a handful of third teamers as well. Mikal Abdul-Saboor, who led the Tribe with 840 rushing yards and six touchdowns was the third team tailback, and Junior Darnell Laws was named full-back. Kicker John Carpenter and cornerback Deandre Houston-Carson were also named to the team.
The defense, the heart and soul of the Tribe, was one of the best units in the country. They were ranked in the top ten in both total and scoring defense, and they forced 19 turnoves for the season.
Next season looks good for the Tribe, as they return most of their starters. They only lose seven players to graduation. Although the losses of Crisafi and Couplin III will hurt, they return playmakers such as Mc-Bride, Green, and Abdul-Saboor. The defense looks again be in great shape, and the running game, which averaged close to 200 yards a game for the first half of the season, returns its major contributor in Abdul-Saboor, and hopes to build on this early success. Their biggest question moving forward will be at quarter-back, as both starters graduate. The only quarterback on the roster who’s had significant game experience is last year’s starter Raphael Ortiz, who will be entering his senior season. Although the season didn’t end the way they would have hoped, the Tribe look to be in good position to contend for a CAA title next season.
named one of the 25 best women’s soccer players in CAA history during the league’s 25th Anniversary celebration.
Billy Owens had one of the most storied careers in Tribe soccer history, no easy feat for such a strong program. Owens and his teams racked up three CAA regular-season titles, a CAA Tournament championship and three NCAA tournament appearances. Owens earned All-CAA first team honors following his sophomore campaign, and was named to the All-CAA second team follow-ing his freshman and senior seasons. Owens currently maintains the Tribe record for as-sists in a career with 41, and his 111 career points places him 4th on the all-time list. His 13 career game-winning goals also place him second all-time for the Tribe.
Lisa Rayner’s outstanding track and field career made an indelible mark on both Wil-liam & Mary and the CAA as a whole. In her time at The College, Rayner would be-come the only female field athlete to earn an All-American distinction in Tribe his-tory, placing 11th in the high jump at the NCAA Championships in 1994. Rayner also picked up the CAA title for the high jump in 1994, comprising one of her 20 overall first-place finishes in her career. She still holds the school’s indoor and outdoor high jump records (1.81 and 1.78 meters, respectively), along with the indoor freshman high jump record and the outdoor triple jump record (5-6.5 and 38-10.25, respectively). In addition to her accolades while a student, Rayner was named one of top 25 athletes in track and field history at the CAA’s 25th anniver-sary celebration.
Trevor Spracklin’s had perhaps the most prolific career in Tribe men’s tennis histo-ry. In 1999, while ranked No. 97 in the na-tion, Spracklin was named the CAA Player of the Year en route to leading the Tribe to an NCAA Team Tournament appearance. Spracklin would earn another national ranking in 2001, finishing his senior season ranked No. 26. Spracklin’s 1996-97 cam-paign would see him set the Tribe’s single-season records for singles and doubles wins, with 34 and 32 respectively. Spracklin is also William & Mary’s all-time career leader in singles and doubles wins, with 110 and 113 victories respectively. Spracklin would play professionally for six years after gradu-ation, earning a ranking as high as No. 734 worldwide in singles competition and No. 319 in doubles play.
Debbie Hill was a coaching legend in her time at The College. A central figure in the development of the women’s athletic pro-gram at William & Mary, Hill served as vol-leyball coach for 30 years before ending her tenure in 2007. A five-time CAA Coach of the Year, Hill and her teams earned seven straight CAA Championships from 1985-1991, during which time they held a 56-game winning streak within the conference. Adding an eighth title in 2001, Hill led her team to the Tribe’s first NCAA appearance in that same season.
Dan Stimson’s influence on the Tribe and beyond has certainly made him worthy of enshrinement in the Hall. In his career as director of the Tribe’s men and women’s
phoTo CourTesy of TrIbe aThleTICs
senior roshan patel in his final game with the Tribe shot into the upper right corner to pull the game even at 1-1.
From page 9
From page 9
FooTball: Tribe in good position for Caa title next season
lost chances haunt Tribe soccer in penalty lossHALL OF FAME
Please visit our website for the full list of inductees
Yule LogaR TS & CULTUREPagE 12
By Catherine BelteManaging Editor
With the semester coming to a close, I am unsure what the student body is more excited about: a well deserved winter break or president reveley dressing up as santa for the annual
yule log Ceremony. a celebration rich in tradition, the students of William and mary have gathered in the Wren Courtyard since 1934 to throw their symbolic sprigs of holly into the roaring fire. William and mary students took a moment to share what worries they will be
throwing away into the fire this year:
phoTos CourTesy of CaTherIne belTe
improv comedy groups focus on people, communityBy Polly LauerStaff Writer
“Uh hi, is this improv club?,” I asked the blue-shirt-ed boy sitting in Washing-ton 307. My friend, Marisa Paipongna, a fellow fresh-man, shifted uncomfortably as we waited for his answer. We entered to find another boy. Looking at us, then at each other, then back at us, blue-shirted boy, freshman James Ramser, chuckled and responded, “Nope. This is French club! We’re in a lan-guage classroom; why would an improv group meet here?”
Bewildered, we nod-ded. After a second’s delay,
I snorted to myself, realizing that he was improvising. Un-fortunately for Marisa, she still thought we were intrud-ing on French club.
Putting her high school French to use, she said, “Bonjour, comment vas-tu? Désolé pour l’interruption.” Continuing with the joke, he replied with, “Uh Oui, uh je suis uh bien!” My lack of French experience left me with one comment, “Ba-guette!”
Finally, senior Becca Herries entered. Smiling, she said “Hi! I’m Becca,” and turning to the boys, “Why are you scaring them away! We want more people to play
with!” As a whole, this was a pretty typical experience at Improv Club.
The College’s first inter-action with Improv was in 1986, with the founding of Improvisational Theatre, IT. The twelve-member group brings family-friendly laughs to campus and events around the country. IT was kind enough to let me sit in on their practice one Tuesday evening. This practice in-cluded a wide array of silly improvisational games.
They played “Stunt Dou-ble,” a game where two peo-ple would be in a scene and, when one felt inclined, would summon a stunt double to See “IMPROV” page 13
take their place and act out whatever (usually incredibly physical and mock-violent) action necessary.
Ranging from Nebraska to a furniture store to a Bi-ology lab, these sketches took place anywhere imag-inable. When called upon, stunt doubles would bound onto stage with few lines but lots of physicality, enacting whatever the scene had set up, from resting on termite mounds to sampling pillows with a face.
“Party Quirks” required one member to leave, while three others deliberated on what strange quirk they wanted to display at the
absentee’s party. Once the member returned, he or she would host a party and have to guess their guest’s odd tendencies. One man treated his fingers like pets, while another suffered traumatic flashbacks to every American war.
Returning to Improv Club for a second time on Wednes-day the 20th, I was delighted by a range of games and a special guest appearance. Af-ter a few rounds of three-line sketches, which involve two partners having a comical interaction consisting of only three lines, the group then
I don’t travel home very often so I’ll be throwing away the worry that I won’t be able to reconnect with my friends back home in san Diego.
Caroline Stuart (’16)
Michael Clark (’15)I will stop worrying what other people think.
Nikki Terrell (’16)The fear of never finding a job.
Marissa von Nessi (’16)getting into the business school.
Sabina Batchvarova (’15)The worries of applying to 50 billion internships.
PagE 13aR TS & CULTURE
moved onto long-form. Two characters would be interact-ing, and if another member was inclined, he or she could tap out one of the characters. The tapper stepped in as a totally new character with a new location, interacting with the old character from the prior scene.
Having finally mustered up the courage to partici-pate, I joined the scene as a terrified psychiatric nurse squaring off against Keenan Thompson. Still in character from a former scene, he was discussing angels versus de-mons. Our banter was inter-rupted by a knock at the door. We all stopped and turned.
To our shock, a police-man entered. He looked at us seriously and after told us that he had come in to arrest us. After noticing our grimac-es, he laughed and informed us that he was locking up for the night.
But being a sociable group, the gang invited him to join. He stepped into the scene, and, after some gar-bled jokes at which we all laughed confusedly, left. But before his departure, he gave his handcuffs to sophomore Maria Caragiulo, who pro-ceeded to cuff Thompson.
After we heard the door click after the policeman, we all stared at Thomp-son, cuffed in the center of the circle that had formed around him. Thompson just shrugged, and we continued improvising. Eventually the policeman returned, remov-ing the handcuffs and partic-ipating in some imaginative scenes. Improv has a tenden-cy to draw the silliness out of everyone, even rigid police-men.
With four troupes pres-ent at the College, improv has become a sub-culture on campus. Improv club, IT, Sandbox, and 7th Grade
Comedy all have different approaches to the same craft. But, there are overlaps. Im-prov is a team sport. Giv-ing each other constructive feedback after every scene, the members coach them-selves and strive for only the best. For instance, at IT, they stress the importance of maintaining the placement of imagined items and stand-ing towards the front of the stage.
During a show, the co-medians are not necessarily searching for laughs. Instead they are attempting to reflect real life emotions and inter-actions in surreal situations. A scene’s hilarity should en-sue from this recognizable reality, not from forced jokes.
The groups are centered on people: all improv groups stress building strong rela-tionships, which is not diffi-cult when the members are so fun. Despite their very different interests and activi-ties, they all have a common love for comedy. Up on stage, it is necessary to trust your partner completely and to anticipate where he or she intends to take the scene.
The community aspect of improv clubs extends past graduation. In IT, a large alumni network exists. Ev-ery year, after the two to four new members are selected from the candidate pool of about fifty, the newbies’ CSUs are overwhelmed with welcome mail from alumni.
According to IT members, improv has lots of rewarding perks. Stephen Bennet, a se-nior, stated, “It’s playtime for adults!” The surprise and general silliness keeps everyone laughing, comedi-ans and audiences alike . All members agree that they ap-preciate the break from real-ity, welcoming the chance to pause their studies and to just be ridiculous.
From page 12
phoTos by ben Zhang
inside improv
Fitness- /‘fitnes/ noun 1. the condition of being physi-cally fit and healthy. Sounds simple enough. The trite rec-ommendations to exercise regularly and eat healthy are the same blurbs told to us by doctors and magazines alike. From Health & Fitness to Cosmopolitan, the range of tabloids scream similar warnings: to be fit is to be healthy, and equally accu-rate is its inverse. But many findings show that we might need a bit more convincing than those simple words to “go for a run”. A national survey taken in 2005 affirms that 3 out of 10 college stu-dents are either overweight or obese. Further, 9 out of 10 students eat fewer than five servings of fruits and veg-etables per day, and nearly 6 out of 10 students partici-pate fewer than 3 days per week in vigorous-intensity (20 minutes or more) or mod-erate-intensity (30 minutes or more) physical activity (American College Health Association).
So where does William & Mary line up in this fight for fitness? The answer does not simply depend on whether a student can run a marathon or lift twice their weight, but how they take care of their body in terms of the multi-faceted issue that is fitness.
Perhaps the greatest re-source on the W&M campus is the Recreation Center, just a short walk from the new fraternity complex, the Green & Gold Village, and the Caf. Bob Gough, Associ-ate Director of Campus Rec-reation provides much in-sight into the expectations, goals, and results of Rec Cen-ter on campus fitness culture. On average, he explains that 1199 students walk into the Rec Center each day. He be-gins by acknowledging that the gym isn’t just for the athletically-inclined. “There are only 900 student athletes on campus,” Gough explains, so really the Rec Center is geared toward a much larger population than those in-d i v i d u - als on Varsity
teams. While most teams work with strength and
conditioning coaches, and
One step closer to fitnessBy Nicole ParaboschiAssociate Arts & Culture Editor
aR TS & CULTUREPagE 14
come into the Rec Center particularly in off season to supplement what they’re do-ing on their own, Campus Recreation staff have worked to target more than those students with such a strong motivation to stay fit. In fact, full time faculty and staff have membership included as part of their benefits pack-age, and the Rec even has a lunch time class marketed toward the faculty and staff, working to make a more ma-ture crowd welcome and com-fortable in the workout zone.
So what about those stu-dents who have zero interest in sports? The kids that just happened to be picked last in gym class and have held that minor, but still present, bit-terness from middle-school? Cue the recent name change to the gym. While the facility was once called “Recreation-al Sports”, administration renamed it “Campus Recre-ation” in hopes of being more inclusive with all programs that the facility offers.
But upon entering through sliding glass doors to the ID swipe-in, it’s not just the administration that sur-rounds you. In fact, the Rec Center offers a large number and wide variety of student employment, from lifeguard-ing, to Intramural Sports Of-ficials to Personal Trainers. Caitlin Bryan (’14) works as a Facilities Supervisor and is responsible for opening and closing, handling patrons, emergency management, and much more. I managed to catch her Friday morning shift, on her way into a Group Fitness class. Describing the Rec Center, she smiles like she’s describing a hometown: “It’s definitely an environ-ment that’s encouraging and supportive. You have a vari-ety of fitness classes for all different fitness levels; even within one class...there’s per-sonal training, a pool, the weight room...”. That’s per-haps what Bob’s most proud of too, that people describe the atmosphere as “social” and “friendly”. No one wants to workout where they will be judged, and according to the students themselves, the atmosphere captures what W&M is all about: providing an accepting place where all individuals can thrive.
Still, fitness is about more
than that tough cardio rou-tine to a techno version of Bruno Marz. Society has fi-nally begun to look at fitness as more than a one-sided coin. Natasha Sotnychuk (’14), also a Campus Rec-reation Facilities Manager describes fitness as a combi-nation of “strength, cardio, stretching, flexibility. It’s about having a healthy mind and a healthy body”. Slowly, classes like “Broga” (Bro-yo-ga) are popping up, encour-aging flexibility in all indi-viduals seeking fitness. This new way of thinking can not only help prevent injuries (think overuse, tightness of muscles, hypertension, etcet-era) but seems to truly make a difference in the mentality of W&M students.
Natasha argues, “When people say they don’t have time to workout, it’s hurting themselves”. Megan Holton, a grad student at W&M agrees, explaining, “It’s a de-stressor for me. I like to take a break from doing my other work”. Caitlin adds, “I will study at the gym because it has such an air of produc-tivity that there’s not a lot of distraction. Everyone’s focused, everyone’s in their zone, and it helps me buckle down. It also helps a lot with time management, balanc-ing work, fitness and school, making sure none of them fall behind”.
So how to get involved in W&M’s fitness culture? Set your own goals, even if they’re small. Try a Fitwell pass, and get into any of the various group workouts from Zumba to kickboxing. The first week of Spring Semester, participate in “Free Week”, where all fitness classes are free, or join a sports club or IM team. Natasha says the Rec offers so many options in order to “help people find their niche,” that the fitness culture at the College is tru-ly able to thrive. Thinking about joining the movement? Tie up those old Reboks and prepare to be greeted by some of the friendliest staff you will meet, and know that, by the time you leave, you’ll be one step closer to physical and mental health. One step closer to fitness.
Other than the occasional cider run or leisurely stroll down Dog Street, many students at the College try to avoid the ceaseless activity in Colonial Williamsburg. The his-tory and tradition of Williamsburg is appreciated from afar; praised in travel brochures and college tours. The perks of living in a historical area are tempered by complaints from students about a lack of nightlife and noise restrictions.
For some students, however, the situation of the College in Colonial Williamsburg was the deciding factor during the school search, “The number one reason I looked at [William & Mary] and applied is because Colonial Williamsburg is here,” Stacy Loveland (’17) said.
Loveland is not alone, Colonial Williamsburg is seen as a place where history comes to life and the history of Virginia is preserved. “I remember being very excited when I learned that William & Mary had a Revolutionary War reenacting group and was certainly one of the pluses of the College over the other schools I was considering,” Scott Scott Campolongo (’17) said.
Campolongo was referring to the College Company, Wil-liam & Mary’s Revolutionary War Reenacting club. Members of this club can be seen firing muskets during Tribe football games and participating in reenactments all across Virginia. In fact, members of the College Company get to reenact with the 7th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line. An ad-ditional benefit to joining the College Company is access to their historically accurate costumes, which can be extremely expensive.
For those who prefer to make their own clothing, keeping outfits historically accurate can be a time-consuming chal-lenge. At the age of 15, Loveland spent over three months creating a historically accurate dress that consisted of “nine yards of silk and eight yards of velvet.” Loveland has made five historical dresses and hoops, petticoats, gloves and shawls. She sees the hours devoted to hand-stitching cos-tumes as a labor of love, “I enjoy making dresses because it is fun to watch it all come together.” Loveland does admit to making some exceptions for the sake of time, such as using
a sewing machine or plastic boning on a few of her dresses, but everything visible on the outside of her pieces is sewn by hand.
When asked whether they would like to work in Colonial Williamsburg in the future, both Loveland
and Campolongo answered in the affirmative, “The reen-actment [the College Company] had two weekends ago was a wonderful experience for me and the interactions with the public and the chance to share what I love with people is absolutely something I would love to continue to do,” Cam-polongo said.
Loveland went even further, “I want to live and work [in Colonial Williamsburg] and spend the rest of my life here.”
By Sophie GoeweyArts & Culture Editor
Costume makers and history reenactors keep history alive on campus
phoTo CourTesy of sTaCy loVelanD
stacy loveland (’17) pictured above in the stocks.
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PagE 15OPINION
By Isabel StevenStaff Writer
I didn’t learn to ride a bi-cycle until I came to college.
Okay, so that’s not com-pletely true. It was still relatively late, though; I didn’t learn until 8th grade because my house has a long gravel driveway that isn’t paved until you hit the main road. One doesn’t re-ally want to risk falling off a bike if there’s a high likeli-hood of getting gravel in your scrapes, to say nothing of the fact that learning on an un-even surface is much harder than a paved one.
My mom taught me at my grandparents’ house on
a rusty bike with non-func-tioning brakes. By taught, I mean I now knew how to bal-ance, pedal slowly and then jump off before running into something. Over the next five years I very slowly im-proved my biking abilities. By senior year I could make wide turns, too.
The housing assignment I received this summer was less than stellar in terms of location. Botetourt Court: about as far from Old Cam-pus as Pluto is from the Sun. I was faced with two options: make the trek on foot, or get a bike.
I bought a bike. A few days before coming to cam-pus my mom quipped that now I’d actually learn how to ride a bicycle properly, or else never use it. Not exactly the vote of confidence I wanted. Nonetheless, I headed off to college determined to, in ad-dition to doing well in class and making new friends,
master riding my bike. The first week saw no
injuries to myself, others or my bike, which I found an achievement in and of itself. On the other hand, I arrived to class sweaty and sticky be-cause biking up hills is hard! There was also that time I was running late to class, couldn’t find a non-stairs path to Washington Hall and had to lug my bike up a flight of steps in 85 degree weath-er. It was made even worse when I discovered there was, in fact, a ramp right next to the stairs. I’m still not sure how I missed that one.
I’ve also run straight into bike racks while attempting to brake and get off my bike, had a flip flop fly right off my foot as I was pedaling and almost fall down the storm drain, dropped my bike when retrieving it from the rack, shoved my foot into the front wheel spokes almost flinging myself from my seat, and of
course, run into people both on foot and bike. Let me take a moment now to issue an open and sincere apology to anyone I’ve hit, almost hit or in any way inconvenienced while riding. I’m sorry, it was my fault, and I sincerely wish I could say it won’t hap-pen again, but it probably will, and I apologize in ad-vance for that, too.
Luckily, learning to a bike tends to have a steep learning curve and pretty soon I learned the art of dis-mounting a bicycle gracefully (very important when wear-ing a skirt or dress), biking with one hand and I’ve even ventured to bike in heels and long dresses and for the most part I’ve been successful. I mean, I may have gotten my skirt caught in the chain once or twice…
People always tell you, among many other things, that college is a time for you to branch out and learn new
(not necessarily academic) things. Bike riding has been that for me this semester, and it’s been a good experience; it keeps me from taking myself too seriously and allows me to laugh at myself when I do something stupid. The worst thing that can happen is you embarrass yourself in front of people, but their memories aren’t that long, I promise, and the best thing that can happen is that you learn a new skill, and in my case, get places a whole lot faster.
Even though I’ve got-ten much better at riding a bike, I still don’t understand when or which gears you’re supposed to use, I can’t bike standing up, try as I might (I just end up bouncing on my seat as I stand up and promptly sit down again), and I have yet to try and hop up onto a curb from the road. Maybe next semester.
learning lessons: How to bike on campus and laugh at yourself
By William Plews-OganStaff Writer
OPINIONPagE 16
By Austen DunnEditor-in-Chief
How to avoid the silent treatment: learning to apologize and say “sorry”
“Diversity” is a hack-neyed term. It means ev-erything and nothing all at once—a kind of catchall expression that never fails to be politically correct but rarely means what we really mean it to mean. Pardon my verbiage, but it seems that all to often, “diversity” is a blanket term that covers and obscures more impor-tant meanings. Is a “diverse” William & Mary dynamic? Eclectic? Welcoming? Ac-cepting? I hope it is all of these things. I hope that the range of backgrounds, reli-gions, ethnicities, races, gen-ders, sexual orientations, na-tionalities, and personalities appearing in newly accepted students’ files is as broad and inclusive, if not more so, when those students gradu-ate. I posit that diversity is not a feature of a college or a community—it is an active process.
Diversity can easily be-come a matter of image. Fig-ures about the ethnic and racial diversity of an incom-
ing class don’t lie, and can be quite telling about the values and character of a campus population. But that’s only half the battle. The rest lies in the environment we create as individuals in a campus community, and the diversity of experiences and character features that we foster in our-selves. But first, let’s play the numbers game. William & Mary’s student body during the 2012-2013 academic year consisted of about 7% African American, 8% Hispanic, and 7% Asian students, and an-other 13% of unknown race or ethnicity. These numbers are on par with academically comparable public schools like UVa. Graduation rates are fairly consistent among all students at W&M as well. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education indi-cated in a recent study that the graduation gap between white and black students at William & Mary is the smallest among public uni-versities, at 9%. This figure stands in stark contrast with California schools like UCLA and UC Berkeley, whose nominally “holistic” admis-sions processes adopted af-ter Proposition 209 in 1996 have led to precipitous drops in Black, Latino, and Native American student popula-tions. UCLA now has a 12%
disparity in graduation rates between black and white students, and UC Berkeley has a troubling 17% dispar-ity. Still, a law professor at UCLA recently spewed accusations that minority students were being admit-ted at comparatively high rates, which sparked mass demonstration on the part of UCLA students. If black students only represented 3.8% of recent freshman ad-mits was black, how could a law professor be convinced that black students were still overrepresented? “How close to zero do they want us to get,” became the slogan of the demonstrations.
It is clear that the num-bers matter. Universities must actively encourage ad-missions and attendance by substantial numbers of every race, ethnicity, personality, and background. Admissions measures must be taken to ensure that these ends are achieved. I am a personal beneficiary of a favorable male admittance rate (43%) at William & Mary, compared to tougher rates for women (29%). Does that make me less qualified? Is that un-fair to female applicants? I don’t know. It seems simple to me: There are fewer male than female applicants. The College wants a more evenly
distributed class by gender. The College accepts a rela-tively even number of male and female applicants. The admissions statistics show a gender disparity. That’s how it is. More important, though, are figures like grad-uation rate disparities that indicate that the culture fos-tered among students more effectively determines the di-versity of a campus than the percentage figures of a fresh-man class. If a group of stu-dents does not feel welcome and supported by a campus community, they will find it more difficult to reach their potential. And that’s where the open, diverse, dynamic William & Mary liberal arts education platform comes in.
A liberal arts education entails the broadening of one’s academic, social, and cultural perspectives. And yes, this process ideally re-quires a representative sam-ple of our world’s population. But it also requires a body of individuals that are individ-ually willing to become more dynamic, welcoming, curious individuals themselves. It requires that each student accept a personal mandate to broaden their horizons—to be curious and welcom-ing and open. Maybe I am a red-haired white kid from Charlottesville, but does that
preclude me from attending SASA meetings or joining Ebony Expressions? I may have been raised a Presby-terian, but does that mean I can’t attend Bruton Parish one week and venture to a Hindu temple the next week?
Okay, maybe I haven’t yet managed to branch out to this extent. But I should. We all should. We owe it to our school and to ourselves, current and future. Visit the “Diversity at William & Mary” webpage and watch the embedded video entitled “Unscripted: Conversations at William & Mary.” Listen to your fellow students who have accepted the mandate to become diverse in their character and their experi-ences at the College. One student remarks, “I’m in CLU, which is Chicas Lati-nas Unidas. Well, I’m not a chica, and I’m not latina, but I am united with them—so that works.” He notes, “You only exclude yourself. Its not like other groups can exclude you.” Don’t exclude yourself. Don’t exclude others. Be dy-namic and be bold and tear asunder the cultural shack-les of expectation that bind you to something less than you can become. If you can do this—if I can do this—then our school will be truly diverse.
Over this past Thanks-giving break, I learned a les-son from my parents.
This is probably some-thing that they have been dying to hear me say since I was born. However, I don’t give them the satisfaction of admitting this often (be-cause, yes, it is true that I have learned many lessons from my parents).
Every year for the Thanksgiving holiday, my family drives seven hours to our cabin in the mountains of western North Carolina. We meet aunts, uncles, broth-ers, cousins, and cousins-once-and-twice-removed in Balsam to spend a few days secluded away from our re-
spective real-world responsi-bilities.
Our last night in Balsam, my immediate family drove down the mountain to visit our distant cousins in their cabin. We were to eat the leftover apple pies and catch-up on where we left off last Thanksgiving. And this we did (along with consuming some apple cider doughnuts from the local orchard).
After a few hours, we piled back on our coats and then piled back into my mother’s Subaru Outback. My mom, afraid of heights and trying to avoid driving back up the mountain, relinquished the driver’s seat to my dad, and we slowly started backing out of the driveway. While debating whether the pie or doughnuts were the better, more favored, desserts, the car lurched and we heard a crunch much like the sound of someone crinkling his or her empty Pop Tart wrapper.
My dad had backed straight into my cousins’ fence, crunching both the hinges to their gate and the bumper of the Outback.
The very first works out of my dad’s mouth were “Oh no,” followed quickly by “Don’t forget you’ve backed into things before,” directed toward my mom. Conse-quently, he rest of the car ride was spent in silence, my brother and I shooting each other looks while my mom sat in the front seat refus-ing to utter a syllable. She was enacting the popular and well-used “I-am-mad-at-you”-tactic from my child-hood: the silent treat-ment.
Now, not only was this un-com-
fortable for my brother and I (because who really knows what to do when parents fight?), but it made me think of something that my father and I have in common.
It takes significant effort for us to apologize.
Now, this does not mean that I never want to apolo-gize. I will feel guilty as soon as I say something hurtful or act in a way I shouldn’t. However, like my dad, utter-ing the words “I am sorry” is hard. Maybe it is because I want to assume that the person I have wronged can tell how guilty and sorry
I feel (but really, I know we have all be taught what hap-pens when you assume). Maybe it is because I think the word “Sorry” is over-used for trivial situations so that when it really matters, the word will have lost its weight.
But regardless, the words do matter. I know that my mother would not have spent the rest of our Friday evening ignoring my dad if he had apologized first. Last year, it took me months to apologize to my brother for yelling at him in a restaurant. And it wasn’t until I said the words that we grew closer again. He even said to my parents that he hadn’t known how I’d felt.
Learning to meaning-fully express apologies is a
hard lesson to learn. But for the sake of being honest with loved ones (and avoiding the silent treatment), it is a nec-essary one.
