Alex Haglund, The Flat Hat. Senior Scott Brown won the title crown at the seventh annual Mr. William and Mary pageant Wednesday night. He defeated several campus celebrities, such as Student Assembly President Ryan Scofield.

The Finance and Budget Committee of the Student Assembly Senate will hear appeals on its student activities budget this weekend. A total of $582,900 is estimated to be allotted, based on a projected student body of 6,700 and about 150 organizations.
Appeals began yesterday and will continue today from 4 to 7 p.m. The committee will also meet Sunday to begin deliberation of the appeals.

p. By Wednesday, 15 out of about 150 possible organizations had submitted appeals.

p. “I would say that about 20-25 groups appeal on average; I suspect we will get up to that amount,” Sen. and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Matt Beato, a sophomore, said.

p. “The SA budgeting process is interesting because many groups follow one of two budgeting strategies, or some combination of both. They go for the ‘shoot for the moon’ strategy, where organizations may submit extremely large budgets, hoping that they will receive a higher percentage of funding, even though they may not need all of it. Or they use the ‘just what we need’ strategy, hoping that submitting a realistic budget will be looked kindly upon. It is difficult to know which is which sometimes, and the appeals process helps us figure this out,” Beato added.

p. The budget process began in December. SA President Ryan Scofield and Secretary of Finance Bradley Justus, both seniors, submitted a call for members of the Executive Appropriations Committee, which consists of a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior and two graduate students. They were named by Scofield and Justus over winter break. They can all vote, and Justus serves as chairman, though he can vote only in the case of a tie.

p. During January, the Committee held hearings, met with groups to talk about their budgets and deliberated. The Committee then sent their budget to Scofield, who is able to make changes. He sent the budget to the Senate Finance Committee, who are now hearing appeals. In past years, the SA president conducted appeals.

p. Organizations were able to view their totals in the Student Activities Office to determine whether or not they wanted to pursue an appeal. The committee is currently reviewing the submitted appeals.

p. Organizations that choose to pursue an appeal are assigned dates and times to present the appeal and also submit in writing why they feel they need additional funding. After Thursday and Friday’s appeals, the senate committee will discuss and rule on the appeals.

p. Finally, the entire senate will vote on the budget, Scofield will sign or veto it and Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Sadler will present it to the Board of Visitors for their approval. The budget will probably be final before spring break, Beato said.
Beato, Vice President for Student Activities Mark Constantine and Senate Finance Committee Secretary Walter McClean are also involved in the process; they may watch the proceedings but cannot vote.

p. “It’s probably fair to say that no organization will be cut at this point, barring some sort of discovery that the appropriation was done for something we can’t fund. It’s probably also fair to say that only organizations that appeal will receive more money,” Beato said.

p. Funding follows rules set by the SA and the Student Activities Office, as well as Virginia and United States laws, and they must be “viewpoint neutral” according to the Supreme Court, which addressed the issue of student fees in 2000.

Adam Boltik expected many hurdles when he decided to run for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, but a $1,180 registration fee for the Republican primary was not one of them. The high fee forced Boltik, a junior at the College, to consider abandoning his campaign.

p. Boltik describes himself as a “conservative Republican” on his website, BoltikForSupervisor.com, and believes that Springfield would “benefit from a representative with a youthful vigor and the tenacity required to strike compromises with a Democrat-controlled Board.” Unfortunately, Virginia’s high primary registration fees effectively prevent him from running.

p. “You have to pay $1,200 just because you identify yourself with the party. It needs to be that anyone who wants can step up and run, not who has been saving up the longest,” Boltik said.

p. Ironically, Boltik’s difficulties in raising enough money to cover the fee may have bolstered his chances of success. Jan. 18, The Washington Post ran an article describing his situation and frustration with his election efforts. He told The Flat Hat that several groups interested in helping approached him after it was published.

p. “I’ve gotten a lot of calls from people saying, ‘Hey, you’re right,’ and willing to put up money. I’m going to go ahead and definitely consider [running],” he said.

p. While the Post quoted Fairfax County GOP Chairman Eric Lundberg as supporting Boltik’s enthusiasm, others, such as incumbent Springfield Supervisor Elaine McConnell, questioned his candidacy’s viability.

p. “I bet everyone will spend $100,000 or darn close to it. If people can’t financially raise $1,200 for a filing fee, are they going to be able to maintain a campaign?” she said in an interview with the Post.

p. Boltik disagrees. “I don’t see why someone thinks you have to spend that sort of money on any campaign. On a local campaign you can get by just fine relying on friends and donors,” he said. “It’s ridiculous to think only the rich people can run for office because they have $100,000 to spend.”

p. Boltik also criticized the entrenched nature of the county’s Republican hierarchy. “The party structure is real rigid up there,” he said. “All of that gets in the way of democracy.”

p. Boltik’s primary issues are the high property taxes that he says are forcing those who work in Fairfax County to move farther and farther away from their jobs. Increasing demand for real estate has raised property values and taxes along with them, he said, hurting the county’s middle class.

p. “The amount you have to pay just keeps going up. A lot of people who work in the county can’t afford to live in the county they serve,” he said.

p. If his bid to get in the Republican primary is unsuccessful, Boltik may consider running as an independent. “I’ve actually been contacted by the head of the state Independent Green Party. He’s told me that if, I can’t get the funds to do it he’d be willing to sponsor me in November,” Boltik said.

p. “The thing about being the independent is you don’t have to go through the primary. That’s definitely something I’ll consider,” he added.

p. The Independent Greens are a fiscally conservative party, perhaps best known in the state for running Gail Parker, a retired Pentagon analyst, in Virginia’s 2006 Senate election.

p. Whatever happens, Boltik said he isn’t ready to give up yet.
“Say what you want about the chances of winning, but some things are worth trying and some things are worth fighting for.”

Yesterday, students voted for next year’s 24 members of the Undergraduate Honor Council. The Honor Council is comprised of eight members from each of the Classes of 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Students were allowed to vote for up to eight candidates per class, regardless of their own class, and the eight candidates with the most votes in each class were elected to the council.

p. From the 12 candidates of the Class of 2008, those elected to the council are Joseph Andrews, Sophie Broaddus, Dexter Bush-Scott, Judd Kennedy, Roshan Patel, Natalie Ronollo, Ayesha Shaukat and Matt Taylor.

p. From the 20 candidates of the Class of 2009, those elected to the Council are Katie Adams, Rob Cottrell, Julie Dewberry, Will Eaton, Kyle Kearney, Ashley Poling, Kelley Quinn and Jon Sladky.

p. From the 28 candidates of the Class of 2010, those elected to the Council are Christine Dang, Michael Castellano, Rory Eaton, Chase Hathaway, Dawson Lindauere, Kristen Pantazes, Bailey Thomson and Alexandra Whitehead.

p. Elected Honor Council members will be sworn in within two weeks and will then sit concurrently with the present council members for 45 days for training purposes.

p. The Honor Council conducts hearings and investigations of students accused of violating the Honor Code, a pledge students make upon entering the College. Cases involve accusations of lying, cheating and stealing.

p. The College’s honor code is the oldest in the country. Voting was conducted over the Student Information Network. Detailed election results are available on sin.wm.edu.

The effects of slavery in early America live on in more than the history classes in James Blair Hall. Some of the College’s oldest buildings were likely built by slaves, though detailed records are lost.

p. The Brafferton, President’s House and Wren Building and Chapel were likely built using slave labor. However, reliable accounts are sparse, according to Dr. Carl Lounsbury, a lecturer at the College and architectural historian in Colonial Williamsburg.

p. “There are accounts for the building of the main College building [the Wren] which show payments that went to prominent individuals for bricks, carpenters’ work, shingles and timber, etc,” Lounsbury said.

p. “These men, such as Philip Ludwell, were contractors who hired skilled white craftsmen, as well as used their skilled and unskilled black slaves to work on the building in various ways,” he said.

p. Lounsbury said that slaves may have cut timber, dug the foundations of the buildings or hauled materials to the building site. This is based on analogous evidence, Lounsbury said.

p. No specific names of any slaves survive, just the names of a few white craftsmen hired as carpenters, bricklayers and joiners.

p. “Just how many slaves did similar skilled jobs is unknown, but it seems probable that there were some. For example, two of James Blair’s servants were hired as carpenters to work on the College building,” Lounsbury said.

p. Less is known about the Brafferton and the President’s House, except that Henry Cary Jr. was the contractor for the President’s House and the Wren Chapel.

p. “I presume that Cary had a combination of free and unfree laborers and craftsmen who worked for him. Unfortunately, none of his accounts or business records survives,” Lounsbury said.
Despite the lack of detailed records, enough information survives to infer this information.

p. Many had not considered the issue, though, including Director of Historic Campus Louise Kale.

p. “Workmen and brick masons were brought over from England, but I haven’t seen anything for sure on the use of slaves,” she said.

p. In Oct. 2006, when Brown University’s Committee on Slavery and Injustice met, the fact that campus buildings were constructed with slave labor was an important issue. The committee suggested building a memorial, recruiting more minority students,and creating a center to study slavery to atone for the university’s 18th century ties to slavery.

p. Harvard University and Yale University also had ties to slavery, but neither addressed the issue to the same extent as Brown.

**Wednesday, Feb. 14 —** A resident adviser at Madison Hall called in to report the theft of food. The estimated value of the food was $40. **(1)**

p. **Thursday, Feb. 15 —** A student outside of Spotswood called to report that her bike was missing. The estimated value of the bike was $100. **(2)**

p. **Friday, Feb. 16 —** A suspect was arrested by the UC loading docks. The suspect, a Williamsburg resident, was arrested for trespassing. **(3)**

**Saturday, Feb. 17 —** A student found near the Alumni House was charged with alcohol possession. **(4)**
— A student reported vandalism in the Yates parking lot. Reported damage to the vehicle was $50. **(5)**
— A student who parked her car behind the UC reported an item stolen from her car. The reported cost of the hood ornament stolen was $200. **(3)**
— A trespass warning was given out to three non-students who were loitering near Matoaka Lake. **(6)**
— A non-student was arrested under a DUI charge on Jamestown Road and Matoaka Wood.**(7)**
Sunday, Feb. 18—A student at Ludwell reported that someone broke the side window on his vehicle. The investigating officer estimated $300 damage to the vehicle. **(8)**

p. Renovations of the Baskin-Robbins in Merchants Square continue, two and a half months after the Dec. 2006 fire that also affected The Peanut Shop and Blue Talon Bistro. If all goes as planned, the ice cream parlor will re-open in late March.

p. The successful reopening of The Peanut Shop yesterday is encouraging, Director of Commercial Properties for Merchants Square Association Marian Ashton said. Business at the Blue Talon Bistro will resume March 10, during the College’s spring break. And, “Baskin-Robbins is being renovated as we speak,” Ashton said, adding that construction workers are currently working on the shop’s walls and plumbing.

Ashton attributes the varying reopening dates to the damage done to each location. “Damage was most extensive at Baskin-Robbins,” Ashton said, explaining that the other two suffered mostly smoke and water damage. If construction goes as planned, Baskin-Robbins will reopen March 20.

p. The cause of the fire may never be known. The only certainty is that the fire started outside, Ashton explained. “If there is a good side to [the fire], it didn’t happen in the middle of summer,” when Baskin-Robbins sees the most business. “Plus, it happened early in the morning so no one got hurt,” Ashton said.

Wireless internet access on college campuses is providing students a way to sit in class without mental engagement. Students significantly jeopardize their GPAs by using laptops in class, studies show.

p. A recent study conducted by researchers at Winona State University in Minnesota investigated the habits of students in large seminar classes and noted that many of those who brought their laptops to class did more than just take notes.

p. 81 percent admitted to checking their e-mail and 68 percent had instant messenger programs signed on during class. 25 percent of students used their laptops to play games.

p. The study found that students’ GPAs were 5 percent lower than those of their laptop-free peers, a result of excessive laptop use.
Many professors at the College feel that laptops cause disturbances for students.

p. “It’s distracting for the instructor to see a student leaning over another student’s laptop to take a look at something that probably has little to do with your class,” Professor Simon Stow of the government department said.

p. The necessity of laptops is dependent on the nature of the course, according to Stow.

p. “I should say that I really don’t like students using laptops in seminars,” he said. “I think people hide behind them and they inhibit discussion, but that may be because of what I teach. If I taught statistics or something, I suppose it would be more acceptable.”

p. Other professors, however, have a more lassiez-faire attitude about the presence of laptops in class.

p. “I think that for students to use laptops makes all kinds of sense,” Professor Melvin Ely, a member of the history department, said. “Their doing so doesn’t distract me at all – except on the rare occasion when the expression on a student’s face suggests that he or she is using the laptop for some purpose unrelated to my class… If I don’t have the ability to keep students more interested in my class than they are in whatever entertainment they might find online, then I probably ought to find a different profession.”

p. For students who believe that their laptop activity goes unnoticed, be warned.

p. “[My opinion of a student who uses a laptop doesn’t change,] unless he or she is unusually ostentations about it. The loud starting up in the middle of class, for example, can be obnoxious, but that seldom happens,” Stow said.

p. In accordance with Stow’s statement, Ely believes that laptop usage rarely affects his classes. When asked if excessive laptop use contributed to weaker classroom discussion or if he observed a correlation between laptop use and lower GPAs, Ely responded in the negative.

p. Ely defended his support for laptops by maintaining that, when used properly, they can be a useful classroom tool for students.
“I don’t see why writing longhand would be more virtuous or effective than typing into a computer, and the latter is more efficient,” he said.