Led by senior Brian Sklodowski, a contingent of the Tribe teams participated in a tune-up Saturday at the Mason Spring Invitational in Fairfax, Va. While Sklodowski recorded the lone qualification of the day, there were 10 personal records and a number of top 10 finishes.

“It was a very good weekend for the ones who ran,” head coach Stephen Walsh said. “People that needed a race got a race; everyone else is getting ready for this weekend.”

Sklodowski’s time of 3 minutes, 50.45 seconds in the 1,500-meter race was good for tenth place in the competition and earned him and IC4A qualification.

“For me it was just kind of a tune-up,” Sklodowski said. “This is the bulk of midseason going into championship season, so at this point you just want to stay sharp and on your toes.”

Saturday marked the second weekend in a row that Sklodowski ran the 1,500-meter race. At the Colonial Relays last weekend, he placed 19th in the event with a time of 3:53.93.

“[Qualifying] was the goal, but it’s just one of the goals along the way,” Sklodowski said. “I still have to take another three or four seconds off it, but this one builds up my confidence a little bit and definitely sets me up nice at UNC.”

Another impressive performance came from senior Dan Klatzkin, who earned silver medals in the shotput and discus. His shotput of 15 meters gave him a personal record by over four inches.

Freshman Matt Renn, meanwhile, set a pair of personal records in the discus and the hammer throw. His hammer toss of 42.82 meters topped his previous best by more than 11 feet.

Junior Matt Clark ran a career-best 15.03 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles to move up to tenth in school history in the event.

“It was a huge jump for him,” Walsh said. “It was a little cold this weekend for sprinters. For him to do that in the conditions he did is good and he should jump again in North Carolina this weekend.”

On the women’s side, senior Alyssa Gaeto also left her mark in the record books in the triple jump. Her distance of 11.12 meters ties her for eighth all-time at the College.

A pair of freshmen, Anna Rose and Kayla Trantham, set personal bests in the javelin toss, throwing
30.62 meters and 28.43 meters, respectively.

Deadlines for submitting textbook requests to college bookstores for fall 2011 classes are fast approaching across the nation. Although faculty members are responsible for turning in these orders, students are the group primarily influenced by the process, as it directly affects how much their already expensive textbooks will cost for the upcoming semester.

“Having not paid for books in high school, I was astounded and a little bit outraged as to what I have to pay for now,” Michael Vanderloo ’14 said.

A National Association for College Stores 2010 Student Watch report estimated that students spent approximately $667 on textbooks during the 2008-2009 academic year. A 2004 study by the Government Accounting Office noted the average price of textbooks has tripled over the past two decades and has risen at twice the rate of inflation.

This price increase is due in part to the fact that the market for textbooks is controlled by roughly four companies that own about 80 percent of the market share, according to an economic report by Dr. James Koch, an economics professor and president emeritus at Old Dominion University.

It is also dependent, however, on faculty practices. If professors submit textbook requests on time, the College of William and Mary bookstore buys students’s used copies of books needed for future semesters at 50 percent of their original value. These books are then sold again at a reduced rate.

If professors miss the submission deadline, however, the College bookstore purchases back textbooks at a less generous rate and does not offer as many used books for the next semester’s classes.

The high price of textbooks at college bookstores has led some students to forgo them altogether and pursue other options.

“When I first came to school, I purchased books straight from the bookstore, but now I try to save some more money and search for the best deal online,” Wils Desonne ’13 said.

According to the 2010 Student Watch study, students reported purchasing 59 percent of their assigned text books through their college’s bookstore or its website. Students are finding the other 41 percent of their textbooks from various online sources that market themselves as alternatives to traditional college bookstores.

Popular websites among students at the College include Amazon.com, Half.com and Chegg.com.

According to “Little Incentive to Control Costs,” a July 2010 New York Times article by founder and executive director of ForgiveStudentLoanDebt.com Robert Applebaum, it is unlikely prices will decline even with the rise of online textbook vendors.

“Everyone — even the professors who often profit from royalties from textbook sales — except the student has a monetary incentive to keep things just the way they are,” Applebaum wrote.

Managing Editor Becky Koenig contributed to this article.

In Haiti, education is hope.

On Sat. April 8, Père Wilfranc, priest and principal of Catholic Campus Ministry’s sister school in Thomonde, Haiti, spoke to students about his work as well as the larger role education can provide in helping to rebuild Haiti.

Wilfranc contributed to the creation of an eighth grade class at his middle school in the hopes of increasing both the number of opportunities for students to continue their education and the overall success of the middle school.

“In the level of intellectual activities for the students, we have made a lot of progress,” Wilfranc said. “When I arrived, there were only six students out of every 25 who succeeded in passing the state exams. A few years later, we were able to have 18 out of 25 who pass the exams, and last year we had 100 percent pass the exams.”

When asked about the best thing people can do to aid Haiti, Wilfranc particularly emphasized education.

“For every young person in Haiti who is able to succeed, that’s another person to help others. It’s an idea of mutual benefit,” Wilfranc said. “Through education, young people can acquire the skills to then take up responsibility to help the country. You can’t perpetually live on assistance from other countries.”

Wilfranc discussed the ways the middle school students are already giving back.

“The students [pool] together their resources and try to provide something for those who are even more poor than they are in the region of Thomonde,” Wilfranc said. “They have some agriculture at the school, and they use the food that they grow to give to the poorest of the poor.”

Wilfranc went on to talk about the other problems Haiti faces, such as cholera, hunger and a weak government. According to Wilfranc, foreign influences have played a part in perpetuating some of Haiti’s problems, particularly with UN peacekeepers allegedly bringing cholera to the island.

Danny Yates ’13, who was translating for Wilfranc, noted Haiti’s lack of self-sufficiency, especially regarding agriculture, which has led to an increase in poverty. One of the main causes of this decreasing self sufficiency were Free Trade policies pushed on Haiti by the Clinton Administration. While Bill Clinton admits this was a mistake, Haiti was pressured to remove protectionist policies on their rice production, and as a result Haiti now relies heavily on rice imports from the United States. While Haiti was pressured to reduce tariffs, the United States continues to subsidize its own rice production.

“In 1990, Haiti produced enough rice to be self-sufficient, but nowadays 90 percent of the rice is imported from places like Texas and Arkansas,” Yates said.

Even given all of Haiti’s problems, Wilfranc said education should be prioritized, as it is an investment in the country’s future.

“There are so many problems in Haiti that you have to make a list of priorities, and although [Haiti faces numerous problems], I believe the priority has got to be education,” Wilfranc said.

After Grayson Orsini ’12 inquired about the role of the church in Haiti, Wilfranc emphasized the importance of the church in the efforts to rebuild the nation.

“Parents don’t have the resources to provide much to their children, and the government is weak and not able to do much, so many people look to the church to provide aid,” Wilfranc said. “We welcomed 150 students at the middle school who didn’t have any means to pay. In this way, the church is playing an important role in education throughout the country.”

When discussing the government, Wilfranc brought to attention the recent election of Michel Martelly as the president of Haiti. While Wilfranc says he thinks Martelly has promised too much and is too much of an idealist, he says people are hopeful that with Martelly’s support, things will change.

What gives Wilfranc the most hope, however, are the students themselves.

“Although these students suffer, they still have tremendous joy. As tough as life is, it is this joy that gives them the hope to persevere,” Wilfranc said.

The College of William and Mary announced that it named Stephen E. Hanson as the new vice provost for international affairs and director of the Wendy and Emery Reves Center for International Studies Friday.

“I’m a big believer in getting a full understanding of the situation you’re in before launching any initiatives,” he said. “I’ll be meeting with deans, meeting with faculty, meeting with students and with community members around Williamsburg.”

Hanson said his first year at the College will be devoted primarily to getting accustomed to his new surroundings.

“I am deeply honored and personally thrilled to accept the position of vice provost for international affairs and director of the Wendy and Emery Reves Center for International Studies,” Hanson said in a press release.

Hanson shared his excitement about coming to the College.

“I feel like this is a really great fit, and my wife and I really look forward to joining the William and Mary community,” he said.

Before coming to the College, Hanson served as vice provost for global affairs and the Herbert J. Ellison professor in the department of political science at the University of Washington.

“I come to the position with over a decade of experience in international education,” Hanson said. “I’m [also] really devoted to teaching myself and won a distinguished teaching award at the University of Washington.”

The new vice provost received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1985 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1991. From 2000 to 2008, he served as the director of the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies.

Hanson will oversee all international programs, serving as an advocate for international efforts of all five schools at the College by expanding existing programs and implementing new ones.

“It’s a position that’s designed to promote internationalization in all its aspects at the College of William and Mary,” Hanson said. “We’ll get some great opportunities to get the world to know about this great
institution and its history.”

Hanson will be reporting to College Provost Michael R. Halleran to help accomplish some of the College’s key initiatives.

“Adding an educator of Stephen’s background and experience is an enormously positive step in our continued efforts to expand William and Mary’s international presence,” Halleran said in a press release.

Hanson is currently finishing his year at the University of Washington and will assume the role of vice provost Aug 1.

In the face of national budget cuts and laws redefining and restricting reproductive services, the College of William and Mary chapter of Voices for Planned Parenthood, or VOX, conducted an emergency contraception sale in the Sadler Center Friday.

At the sale, students were able to receive sexual or reproductive service information, ask a Planned Parenthood representative questions, get free condoms, or sign up to obtain the emergency contraception known as Plan B.

“Because of our relationship with Planned Parenthood, we were able to sell emergency contraception at a discounted rate of $15,” VOX President Michelle Munyikwa ’11 said. “If budget cuts to Planned Parenthood continue, they will not be able to provide services at these discounted rates.”

Last Tuesday, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) issued an amendment to Del. Terry Kilgore’s (R-1) HB 2434 Bill that would establish a health insurance exchange restricting abortion services in all cases except those involving rape, incest and those in which the life of the mother is threatened. Additionally, the governor added an amendment that would restore funding for abstinence-only education in Virginia.

“The legislation passed in the senate will likely have consequences for access to first trimester abortions for women in our state,” President and CEO of Virginia League for Planned Parenthood Paulette McElwain said in a press release. “This attack on reproductive health care could close nearly all of the 21 physicians’ offices that provide first trimester abortions in Virginia, particularly affecting low-income and rural women.”

Students for Life, the College pro-life advocacy group, generally agreed with the governor’s amendment, but was not wholly supportive of the amendment’s conditions.

“Students for Life does support the budget cuts to these programs that promote abortion,” President of Students for Life Sarah Cameron ’11 said. “Students for Life does not support abortion in any case, rape or otherwise. We do care about the women who have gone through these horrible experiences, but abortion is not equal in its treatment of the women and child. Abortion puts the woman above the child.”

Munyikwa reiterated VOX’s opinion that every woman and her partner have the right to make the choices that are best for them. VOX has described the national budget cuts to Planned Parenthood as a crisis.

“Planned Parenthood provides all types of reproductive health care, not just abortions,” Munyikwa said. “Lower income males and females will be affected the most.”

According to the Planned Parenthood, 3 percent of the services Planned Parenthood are related to abortion. Other services include pre natal programs and parental training programs.

“Because Planned Parenthood provides abortion services, we do not support the organization at all,” Cameron said. “We do not feel that the good services that Planned Parenthood offers justifies our support for their programs at all. If they ever decided to not have abortion services, we may re-evaluate our stance.”

Students for Life and VOX were also divided in their support of the sale of contraception.

“We do not support the sale of contraception at any time because it prevents the implantation of the egg … It is basically the same as abortion,” Cameron said. “We don’t see abortion as a health issue, but a social justice issue. We see abortion as murder of an innocent life.”

In Williamsburg’s CVS and Walgreens pharmacies, the price of Plan B ranges from $30 to $50. The less expensive Plan B sold at VOX’s event can last for up to two years.

“It [the two year life span of Plan B] will be good for students who may need emergency contraception in the future, like if a condom breaks, and even if a friend needs it, and they don’t happen to have $50 on them at the time,” Munyikwa said.

While the majority of the students who came up to VOX’s table asked for information or picked up free condoms, Munyikwa said they sold a considerable amount of Plan B during the four-hour sale.

Munyikwa noted this was typical of the emergency contraceptive sale VOX has every spring and is also typical for Planned Parenthood in general.

Because VOX is not legally allowed to sell Plan B over the counter, students were asked to provide verification of their age and their mailing address in order to receive the emergency contraception later in their mailboxes.

U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine spoke at the Virginia Young Democrats annual convention at the College of William and Mary’s Trinkle Hall Sunday. Hosted by the College’s Young Democrats branch, the convention featured numerous other speakers and was attended by more than 100 student participants.

Kaine was a last minute addition to the convention. His campaign held off scheduling events until the announcement declaring his candidacy was made last week. After announcing the bid, schedulers contacted Jenny Fornoff, vice president of the College’s Young Democrats, Wednesday night.

“It was sort of [a] surprise,” Fornoff said. “I had contacted the scheduler like two months ago about him coming, but because he hadn’t declared yet, they were holding back all of his scheduling requests. I got the final call on Wednesday night that he could come.”

Kaine closed the three-day convention on an uplifting note by inspiring those in attendance about the upcoming elections.

“Something that I find frustrating is that, while we all believe in the same thing, it is hard for speakers to be influential,” Young Democrat member Zann Isacson ’13 said. “Tim Kaine spoke in a way that was very inspiring and very motivating. He has a great plan, and he is really experienced.”

Kaine arrived at the event early and was able to meet a number of the delegates before speaking. Fornoff found this to be a welcome change from most other speakers.

“He is the first politician I have ever seen be genuinely early to something to speak,” Fornoff said. “He was able to mingle and go around table to table and meet people individually.”

While Kaine’s speech closed the ceremony, other convention speakers included Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), former Congressman Glenn Nye, former Lieutenant Governor candidate Mike Signer, Gene Magruder of the United Steelworkers, Del. Robin Abbott (D-93), Del. Bill Barlow (D-64), Del. Jennifer McClennan (D-71) and Executive Director of the Democratic party of Virginia Dave Mills. Election of Virginia Young Democrats leadership for the upcoming year, changes to the Virginia Young Democrats constitution and break-out sessions during which delegates discussed party issues were also part of the convention.

“The point of convention is to bring Young Democrats from across the state together,” Isacson said. “It brings individuals together who all have the same beliefs – getting them rallied up to support the cause. There is a lot of talk of what it means to be a Democrat and what we can do as Democrats to help the party.”

The convention includes high school, county, city and college chapters. This year, the convention hosted 130 delegates from county, city and college groups statewide. The convention is hosted at a different venue each year.

“There is a bidding process to hosting the convention,” Fornoff said. “You have to send in your presentation and be chosen, and then the work begins.”

Fornoff and the Young Democrats have been planning the event since mid-December. The convention was an opportunity for many new members to become more involved in the club.

“Because there was so much work involved, it gave some of our newer club members the opportunity to get more involved,” Young Democrats President Katie Deabler ’11 said. “I think the experience will enhance the leadership of the club in the next few years because so many club members were able to take an active role in the planning and execution for the convention.”

Fornoff agreed the event allowed the club to come together.

“I think it definitely built a strong coalition within our club,” Fornoff said. “We had a huge class of freshmen this year, and from this experience, they are now really well-prepared for the coming years. We will step up our recruitment of new members in the fall, but I think this will help us because they will know what it is like to host a big event now.”