Following President Barack Obama’s announcement that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces, approximately 300 students flocked to the Sunken Garden in celebration.

The crowd of students continued to grow creating a celebratory rally in the Sunken Garden as the William and Mary police surveyed the scene. Rallying turned into controversy as a Findley Parke ’11 drove his car onto the Sunken Garden blasting music while waving an American flag out of the sunroof.

“I was with the crowd and then I noticed that there was a key element missing,” Parke said. “I drove out into the middle of the Sunken Garden, turned up the speakers and everyone seemed to be enjoying it.”

William and Mary police, who had been overlooking the crowd, quickly took over. A police car blocked the gate to the Sunken Garden, stopping Park from exiting.

“I drove very slowly when I got in the Sunken Garden. The gates were already open,” Parke said. “The police officer was kind enough to be like, ‘Look, you should probably leave,’ but as I came back to the gates another police officer came out of his car and was a little more aggressive.”

Police officers issued Parke a ticket for reckless driving and endangerment of lives.

Requests for comments from William and Mary police were immediately not returned.

Students followed Parke and the car towards the end of the Sunken Garden, chanting, “Let him go!” When students found out Parke received a ticket, they began to collect donations for him.

“He was blasting music and having a good time, and then I guess the cops had a problem with him being there,” Ian Kingsbury ’13 said. “They came over to talked to him. Then everyone followed the car out here. They were pissed that the cops made him stop.”

Students watching the situation quickly rallied around Parke.

“Most of the crowd were bystanders,” Chris Beacham ’13 said. “It was pretty ballsy of him to play music as he drove away.”

Nick Shmedding ’12 questioned the celebrations.

“I understand that Osama bin Laden is a major mass murderer and he deserved to be brought to justice, but I don’t think it is reasonable that we are celebrating quite this unreservedly,” Schmedding said.

A spontaneous celebration broke out in the College of William and Mary Sunken Garden Sunday night in reaction to U.S. President Barack Obama’s announcement that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces.

Chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!,” renditions of America the Beautiful, and firecracker explosions reverberated as approximately 300 students demonstrated their support of the news.

“Justice has been done,” Obama said in a live televised broadcast slightly before midnight May 1.

In his speech, Obama announced that U.S. forces had killed bin Laden near Islamabad, Pakistan, and are in possession of his body. The president provided historical context for the al-Qaeda leader’s death, noting that it occurred nearly ten years after the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., which bin Laden helped to orchestrate.

Obama emphasized that the U.S. is not at war with the Islamic faith, and urged Americans to remain united.

After watching the president’s speech Eric Dale ’14 walked back to his dorm, passing the Sunken Garden and the approximately thirty people assembled there. Reaching his room, he decided to turn around and join the gathering crowd.

“People were streaming into all corners of the Sunken Garden,” Dale said. “I figured I should get back out there with a camera, because I will be kicking myself if I don’t get some photos to remember this. I decided to come back out and do some reveling.”

Dale said that he felt most people were reacting to the news in ways he felt were appropriate.

“I think it’s more important for people to come together and celebrate America than celebrate the death of a man who hated America,” he said.

The assembled students cheered, sang, and displayed American flags. Several students climbed on top of the Pepsi truck remaining on the Sunken Garden from Friday’s Last Day of Classes festivities. One of these students asked for a moment of silence to remember the victims of the September 11 attacks. Another student drove a car onto the field and waved an American flag through the open sunroof, until William and Mary Police officers required him to remove his car from the area.

Few are aware that even at an institution of the College of William and Mary’s caliber, some students endure academic rigors while coping with learning disabilities.

When Blaise Springfield ’13 came to the College, he made a request to the Disabilities Services office.

Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, he asked if he could take his exams in a separate location, in order to accommodate his learning disabilities.

Springfield said Disability Services refused to include the information in his documentation so that teachers would know to accommodate him, and has since been required to take tests in regular lecture halls alongside his classmates.

“Professors are hard to approach,” Springfield said. “Unless you are very assertive about what accommodations you have, they don’t necessarily give you the accommodation … It’s like they haven’t been instructed in terms of higher education for students with learning disorders.”

According to the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, a learning disability is defined as “a neurologic disorder that causes difficulties in learning that cannot be attributed to poor intelligence, poor motivation, or inadequate teaching.” Common learning disabilities for students at the collegiate level include ADHD, dyslexia, and disabilities affecting processing rates.

“Many people don’t recognize learning disorders as a disability,” Springfield said. “I think that many people see it as a way to get an advantage over other students, but it isn’t. Learning disabilities function just like any other disability; it’s nothing you have any control over. It’s not an embarrassing thing or something you should be persecuted for. But, anyone who goes against our social norms is going to be somewhat scrutinized.”

Students with learning disabilities must meet the same admissions standards as all other applicants to the College, according to Assistant Dean of Students Lisa Colligan.

“Disability is never the basis for admission or denial,” she said in an email. “There is no requirement that a student disclose a disability during the application process. However, a student may benefit from disclosing a disability early in the application process. For example, by incorporating information concerning disability into a personal statement or letters of recommendation, an applicant can explain challenges faced or overcome, as well as explain transcript discrepancies.”

In order for learning disability accommodations to be considered at the College, students must provide professional documentation from a physician to the Disabilities Services office. If they are approved, forms are sent to professors, who are legally required to accommodate students’ needs.

“Accommodation decisions are made on a case by case basis, taking into consideration the impact of a particular disability within the specific context of a college-level academic environment,” Colligan said.

The most common learning disability accommodation at the College is the provision of more time on tests.

Other accommodations include separate space during testing, tape-recorded lectures, peer note takers, seating in the front of the classroom, and access to a computer for tests.

Requesting accommodations for learning disabilities can sometimes be uncomfortable, Matthew Roman J.D / M.B.A. ’13 said. Roman has been diagnosed with A.D.D as well as other learning disorders which make reading difficult.

“A lot of people I know with disabilities won’t admit that they have disabilities here because they don’t want others to think that they have a disadvantage,” he said. “It’s a competitive environment, and I and think a lot of people see [having learning disabilities] as a weakness.”

Professors react differently to accommodation requests, which can create extra work for them.

“I don’t want administrators telling me how to teach my class,” religious studies professor Donald Polaski said. “I’m more than willing to accommodate the basic needs of students … but I can’t teach the class any different. At a certain point, you just have to suck it up and figure it out.”

American studies and religious studies professor Maureen Fitzgerald estimated that on average, in a class of 35 students, one or two have learning disabilities. She said that typically spends an extra four to five hours each semester accommodating such students.

“I think that people are very respectful of the fact that some students need more time and a separate space,” English professor Mary Melfi said.

Polaski seemed to agree.

“What I want is for everyone to come in equal in terms of processing. If a student needs that extra half an hour to equalize everything, then that’s fair,” Polaski said.

Dining hall meal plans will soon become a required component of on-campus life for future students at the College of William and Mary.

Starting with the class of 2015, students will be required to purchase a meal plan each year they choose to live on campus. The policy, which will take effect in fall 2012, will not affect current students at the College.

This change in dining policy stems from Dining Services’s need for increased revenue. Dining Services aims to increase the quality of the dining halls with the expanded participation in meal plans.

“Our goal is that we can take the additional money and use that to finance improvements to our various dining facilities,” Vice President for Finance Sam Jones ’75 M.B.A. ’80 said. “We really need to improve on that and make some fairly significant investments. If we have increased participation, we’ll have more revenue to make those changes.”

The College, along with the University of Virginia and Washington and Lee University, is one of the few Virginia schools that currently does not require all students living on campus to purchase meal plans.

Virginia Tech, for example, mandates that all residential students buy dining options and was named the Best Campus Food by the Princeton Review in 2009.

“We recognize that we need to generate additional revenue to fund those changes,” Carolyn Davis, director of auxiliary services, said. “The majority of Virginia schools require residential meal plans. So, we have looked at that as a potential for our own campus.”

While the plans for the revenue have not been finalized, the College hopes to utilize the money to expand the Sadler Center’s capacity and change the Marketplace layout.

“By having the opportunity to expand seating, we hope to offer a better dining experience at the Sadler Center,” Resident District Manager for Dining Services Matt Moss said. “We recognize a need for new and innovative cuisine on campus and a need to expand our facilities.”

Additionally, the College hopes to utilize information from the students and dining services to re-evaluate current dining options.

“We’ve discussed the need for a wide variety of meal plans,” Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D ’06 said. “We’ll look at some data at how students have purchased meal plans in the past and we’ll work with a food services advisory committee and other students to help develop the program.”

Over the next four years, the College hopes to phase in the new required residential meal plans in order to improve the quality of Dining Services’ services and facilities.

“The better we can make our dining program overall, the more students will value it,” Ambler said.

Third President of the United States Thomas Jefferson addressed his alma mater from the familiar steps of the Wren Courtyard Thursday. Jefferson, portrayed by historical interpreter Bill Baker, spoke to students at the invitation of the Graduate Policy Association.

The GPA, a group of public policy graduate students, hosts speakers throughout the year. Barker served as their spring guest.

“We just basically wanted to hold something fun at the end of the year for the students because we are Masters students,” GPA Policy Dialogue Coordinator Steven Hanson said. “We just wanted to give back to the campus community in a way that we could, and we thought this was the most appropriate thing to do.”

Hanson viewed the event as an opportunity to use the resources in Colonial Williamsburg that are often overlooked by the campus community.

“While at William and Mary, I attended many Colonial Williamsburg events and, as a result, developed a much deeper appreciation for our country,” Hanson said. “Among the student body, I think that Colonial Williamsburg is an underutilized resource, so to bring a CW re-enactor was an opportunity to attract students that might not be inclined to visit CW.”

Barker is an historical interpreter in Colonial Williamsburg. He plays Jefferson at different points throughout the historical figure’s life. At this event, Barker portrayed Jefferson as the third U.S. president, reflecting on his time at the College.

“Mr. Bill Barker is well-known and does such an incredible job,” Hanson said. “I think the event informed students as to Jefferson’s experience while at the College as well as increased their interest in American History.”

Barker began with a speech to the audience followed by a question and answer period and an opportunity to take pictures. J.T. Fales ’12 noted his ability to engage the audience.

“I was really impressed with his performance and the depth of his knowledge,” Fales said. “I feel like Thomas Jefferson is such an endless sort of figure. He is just so larger than life and it takes a really skilled person to convey that. I think it was very impressive that he stayed in character while interacting with people in front of him.”

Fales stopped by the event to hear Barker speak because he was interested in learning more about Jefferson’s time at the College.

“I was actually thinking about writing some historical fiction at the beginning of the semester about Thomas Jefferson’s life at the College,” Fales said. “I was sitting in my room thinking, you know should I study for my final or should I do something that I am going to remember five years from now?”

While students were in attendance, locals and tourists were also a part of Jefferson’s audience at the event. Jurgen Vsych, a Williamsburg resident, came to watch Barker in one of the many performances of his she has attended.

“I have seen Thomas Jefferson a lot in Colonial Williamsburg,” Vsych said. “Bill is always a great performer, and I never heard him address students before so I thought I would come and see what words of inspiration he had to offer them.”

Barker spoke amidst darkening skies, windy weather and a tornado watch. Although the crowd was small, students, tourists and locals still attended the event.

“For those who were deterred due to the tornado watch, I encourage them to check out Mr. Barker at Colonial Williamsburg, as admissions to students is free,” Hanson said.

The Student Assembly held its last meeting of the year Tuesday, the focus of which was electing nominees to leadership positions for the 2011-2012 school year. Among the acts debated and voted on was a controversial one concerning free STI testing, one of the SA’s most important programs, according to senators.

The meeting began with the election of predetermined nominees to leadership positions. Sen. Noah Kim ’13 was elected as the new Senate Chair, Sen. Ryan Buckland ’13 was elected as the new secretary of Health and Safety, Sen. Caitlin Patterson ’12 was elected as the new secretary of Finance, Sen. Adam Stokes ’12 was elected as the new secretary of Student Life, Sen. Anna Mahalak ’12 was elected as the new undersecretary Representative to the Board of Visitors and Sen. Carlos Quintela ’12 was elected as the new secretary of Outreach. After minimal debate, all of these nominees were elected by unanimous consent.

“Kaveh and I plan to decide on all executive secretaries and undersecretaries before the end of finals, pending senate approval in the Fall,” SA Vice President Molly Bulman ’12 said in an email. “We will also work on the Declaration of Legislative Interests which will contain student stances on local and state issues to be given to government officials and lobbyists groups in the Fall.”

After the elections, the SA switched focus to the new acts that were brought to the table. Acts that were previously agreed upon and were passed unanimously included the 2011 Closing of Session Act, the Final Exams Programs Act, Kim’s Condom Dispenser Act and Sen. Dallen McNerney’s ’14 Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The next topic brought up for debate was the Academic Adjustment Act introduced by Mike Young ’11, which passed unanimously.

“[The Academic Adjustment Act] basically simplifies the process by which the Student Assembly interacts with the Faculty Assembly because the current process is just messy,” SA President Kaveh Sadeghian ’12 said.

The last act discussed was the Save SA from Debt Act, introduced by Kim. This act fell under heated debate. It proposed that the SA allocate $15 thousand dollars to pay for STI testing, and another $2,000 dollars if that $15 thousand limit is reached.

“I believe this act is necessary, so that we don’t exhaust all our reserve funds on STI testing,” Kim said. “In the rare event that the $15 thousand limit is reached, we will have $2,000 extra to keep the program going, while we reconvene to decide what to do next.”

Many members of the senate were opposed to this because it limited the amount of money that the SA would spend on testing under the old STI testing act, an act supported by 82 percent of students.

“Students clearly support the old STI testing act, and I cannot support Senate Chair Kim’s act which is, in essence, killing the old act by placing a limit on the amount we are willing to spend on testing,” Sen. Zach Marcus ’12 said.

In the end, the act was not passed.

As the City of Williamsburg wrangles with turning red to black on balance sheets, riding the red and green bus lines will be more expensive for some Williamsburg residents and students at the College of William and Mary.

Effective July 1, the cost to College students for the unlimited bus and trolley usage they enjoy will increase by $1 per semester.

“For the first time since 2006, in response to rising fuel prices, the College contractual rate for FY 2011-12 is scheduled to increase,” College Parking and Transportation Manager Bill Horacio said in an e-mail.
“Consequently student bus service fees which are included as part of the General Auxiliary Services fees will increase one dollar per semester from $26 to $27.”

Horacio explained the College currently pays an hourly rate of $61 for unlimited student use of the green line and a per-ride fee of 50 cents for other Williamsburg Area Transport lines. Due to rising fuel and maintenance costs, as well as future service improvements, those rates will jump to $63 per hour and 75 cents per ride, respectively. Ultimately, the College will pass along the costs to the students, but the per-ride cost with a College ID will remain free.

The increases, however, follow a year in which bus use by College students declined. Ridership on the green line dropped by 7 percent and use of other routes by 20 percent, according to the College Parking Advisory Committee.

Separate from the changes to the College’s contract, WAT has proposed increases to the price of all-day bus tickets and the addition of weekly and monthly pass options for Williamsburg residents.

The proposal would keep the single-ride price at $1.25 and the transfer fee would remain 25 cents, but the cost of an unlimited day-pass would jump from $1.50 to $2. The handicapped fee would increase a whole dollar to $3. Middle and high school students, who currently ride free, would be charged 50 cents for a non-school trip.

One of the reasons for the increases is the expiration of federal grants to WAT.

“We have to find new revenue for the system in 2013 and 2014,” WAT Executive Director Rickards told the Virginia Gazette. “We don’t want our riders to foot the full bill. We want an even split between federal, state, local and user revenues.”

Some riders were worried about the new costs.

“I never buy a one-way, so 50 cents more for an all-day will add up,” Abby McCourt, an unemployed mother of a fourth grader, said. “And then next year I’ll have to pay when I bring my son, so yeah, we’re really going to feel it.”

Others thought it was unfair that those without another mode of transportation would be forced to bare the brunt.

“It’s really going to hurt the people who don’t have any other options,” Lavar Brown, a construction worker from Williamsburg, said. “I’m alright because I got my truck, but I’ve already heard people tell me how upset they are, especially those with kids. It’s going to be like one, two more dollars to ride the bus. It’s tough to do that these days.”

The fare changes will face public hearings over the summer with an approval vote slated for Aug. 17. The plan is for fare changes to take effect in September.

Changes to parking allocation and policy over the past year left some students at College of William and Mary grumbling.

“Parking is a nightmare on campus,” resident parking pass holder Michelle Barber ’12 said. “And everyone knows it.”

While over the past year some resident parking spaces on campus have been replaced by faculty and staff parking spots, the Parking Advisory Committee is also considering changing its fining policies for the 2011-2012 year.

A citation review by the Parking Advisory Committee indicated that the majority of parking citations have decreased over the past year, with a few areas of increased citations.

Citations involving decal offenses, which incur a $161 fee, experienced the greatest increases. Warning citations for decal violations increased from 1,818 July 1, 2010 to 2,084 on March 30, 2011, which is a 13 percent increase. There was a 10 percent increase in the number of “no decal” citations in the same time interval.

As a solution to the rising number of violations, the Parking Advisory Committee recommended increasing the decal offense fine to $170 in its April 20 presentation.

Loading zone citations, which are lower level citations involving a lower fee, increased by 94 citations for first offenses from July 1, 2010 to March 30, 2011, while first offenses for overtime parking increased by 22 citations in the same time interval.

Committee recommendations focused on a graduated fine scheme that would apply only to Level I offenses. Offenses would increase by $20 after each repeat offense, beginning with a $10 fee for a first offense.

“[The graduated fine scheme] would be more forgiving of a one-time mistake and encourages payment on lesser offenses because of the lower dollar value,” the committee said in its presentation.

The spring semester also saw the reallocation of parking spaces on campus, including the replacement of 12 resident parking spots with faculty and staff parking spots in the Zable Stadium parking lot.

“Faced with these losses the Parking Advisory Committee which includes resident and day students as well as faculty and staff reviewed the overall allocation and agreed to redistribute the remaining spaces accordingly,” Manager of College Parking Services Bill Horacio said in an e-mail.

According to Horacio, parking lot count data indicated that on any given day, there was a surplus of 150 to 200 unused spaces in the William and Mary Hall lot.

“It doesn’t really make sense that if they had a surplus of resident spaces in William and Mary hall lot, they would take away resident spots in the stadium lot,” Barber said. “Residents only park at William and Mary hall if it is a last resort. A lot of that parking lot is used by freshmen with their special parking decals.”

Barber also cited the lack of sufficient notification of the parking change as a reason for discontent among students.

“It was really annoying that they put them there,” Barber said. “I know a lot of people who got tickets because they didn’t know the change had taken place.”

Horacio noted that Parking Advisories advertised the change in the Staff Digest, Student Happenings, the Parking ListServ, its Facebook page, and signage in the lot.

“There is a great need for more resident parking spaces on campus,” Barber said. “It is really bad that people are late to classes because they can’t find a parking space.”

Currently, there are no more are plans to change parking allocation.

“The Parking Advisory Committee felt that no other adjustments to the campus parking scheme and distribution across campus are necessary at this time,” Horacio said.

The Student Handbook will go through another round of changes this summer after students at the College of William and Mary have an opportunity to provide input.

The proposed amendments range from changing language to expanding the College’s policy on alcohol and drug use. Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D ’06 assembled the changes after she received suggestions from a variety of groups on campus.

“I appreciate the careful thought that has gone into crafting this year’s proposals for changes to the Student Handbook, proposals from staff across departments both within and outside of Student Affairs, as well as from members of the Student Assembly,” Ambler said in an email.

Ambler sent out a copy of the proposed changes to students Wednesday.

“At this point, I look forward to hearing what students think about the proposed changes,” Ambler said. “I expect that students will give consideration to what has been proposed and will share their thoughts with me over the coming weeks. Student input is essential and it will inform my decisions about what to recommend to [College President Taylor] Reveley.”

Major changes proposed include an update of the Sexual Harassment Policy, editing the policies regarding posters, banners, signs and decorations, and an addition to the policy concerning drugs and alcohol.
During the proposal stages last year, one suggested change was to the standard of proof required in student conduct cases — from “clear and convincing” to “preponderance of the evidence.” This created controversy over the evidence needed in student conduct trials, and Ambler decided not to include the policy in this year’s proposed changes.

“Last year’s proposal on modifying the standard of proof in student conduct cases got the most attention and the end result, in my view, showed how the system can work,” Reveley said in an email. “After much discussion with students and deliberation we decided last year against adopting that change. It was also not included in the proposal this year, though Vice President Ambler has outlined in her message to students how new guidance from the Department of Education may require us to revisit it.”

Another controversy that arose last year dealt with the fact that the comment period took place over the summer. This year’s comment period opened before the end of the school year.

Come June 1, Ambler will submit the proposed changes, as well as comments made by students, to Reveley for approval.

“In my view it is very important for students take part in this process and I hope [students] will carefully review the proposed changes over the next month,” Reveley said. “This is your handbook and it is important that you have a voice in any changes.”