**Finches follow fashion, professor finds**

p. A new study done by College biology professor John Swaddle found that zebra finches “follow fashion.” The study found that although female fi nches have their own innate preferences about what they find attractive in a mate, they change their preferences based on what other females find attractive.

p. Despite the fact that zebra fi nches choose partners based on looks, they are loyal birds that typically mate for life. Swaddle said press that he hopes the study will lead to increased research about the way “social mechanisms may play a role in mate selection.” He also hopes that it will lead to research about whether or not the social preferences effect exists in species other than zebra finches.

**Forum discusses jobs and international students**

The Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance announced at a forum this week that 4,200 jobs are unfi lled in the Williamsburg area. The numbers will be formally published in an upcoming report. According to an article in the Daily Press, 52 percent of these openings are in the tourism industry.

p. The forum, held at the Holiday Inn on Bypass Road, featured a discussion with local employers about international students who contribute to the growing labor pool. According to Chamber officials, about 2,500 to 3,000 come to work in Williamsburg. They are often hired by large employers such as Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens.

Williamsburg Police Department and the York/Poquoson Sheriff’s Office are searching for an unidentified black male that they believe is responsible for the abduction of four females since 2001, WTKR News Channel 3 reported Feb. 13.

According to an e-mail from Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Salder, only one of the women involved was a student at the College. The incident involving that student occurred on Jamestown Road near Lake Matoaka in the Spring of 2002. Whereabouts of the suspects are unknown.

WTKR Channel 3 reported that the unidentified man was suspected of raping, beating and robbing a woman Sept. 12, 2001, attempting to assault a woman March 23, 2002, and abducting two women in his car who were walking on Bypass Road July 29, 2006. Channel 3 reported that both women escaped. One was treated at Norfolk Sentara Hospital.

21 percent
The proportion of professors at the College who are currently looking for another job, based on a new faculty survey. Still, 81 percent said they were either “very satisfied” or “moderately satisfied” with their job at the College.

22
The number of donors who have specifically stated that they will no longer donate to the College due to the removal of the Wren Cross.

16 million
The number of accounts on facebook.com, which is now open to anyone. MySpace.com claims it has 145 million accounts.

1,281 percent
The annual inflation rate in Zimbabwe, which has been over 1,000 percent since last April. The government has responded by declaring inflation illegal and threatening to arrest and punish anyone who increases wages or prices.

$30,502
The average starting salary of liberal arts majors nationwide. Business majors averaged $43,523 and chemical engineering majors got $60,054.

New School of Education to replace Sentara Hospital

According to The Daily Press, the College plans to build a new School of Education on the old Sentara hospital location. The school, which is slated to open in the spring of 2010, is estimated to be a 109,000 square-foot building with about 420 parking spaces.
The Sentara property, bought for $8.7 million, has 12 acres that could be used for development. VP for Administration Anna Martin said that there is more room for future buildings on the property, the Daily Press reported.
The BOV heard updates on other construction projects and discussed possible plans to build an arts complex within the next six years that would house theater, music, speech, dance and the Muscarelle Museum of Art.

Survey shows starting salaries are up for most majors

According to a survey released last week by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers expect to hire 17.4 percent more college graduates than they did last year. Those majoring in marketing and business administration had the highest increases in average starting salary from last year. Business administration majors averaged a 9.2 percent gain. Others that gained were computer science, accounting and engineering.
But there were decreases in liberal arts majors (which include psychology, political science, history and English). They were down 1.1 percent.

**Wednesday, Feb. 7 —** A staff member reported larceny at Jones Hall. She reported the theft of her credit card and the subsequent unauthorized purchase of $1,800. (1)

p. **Friday, Feb. 9 —** A student at Chandler Hall reported that her welcome mat had been stolen from the hallway outside of her door. The approximate value was $20. (2)
—A student reported the theft of a ring from the Rec Center. The estimated value was $300. (3)

p. **Saturday, Feb. 10—** A student at the Graduate Student Complex complained of loud noises and singing. An officer did an area check, but no further action was taken. (4)
—A 21-year-old student was arrested in the fraternity parking lot for being drunk in public. (5)
—A student at Unit D reported vandalism, saying that a brick was thrown at the rear glass door in the unit, breaking the glass. The damages were estimated at $300. (5)
—A student reported vandalism at the fraternity parking lot. He said that someone had broken a window on his car. Damage was estimated at $120. (5)

p. **Sunday, Feb. 11—** An officer reported finding a sign missing from the parking garage on Ukrop Way. The estimated value of the sign was $3,550. (6)

p. Margee Pierce, ’84, said the last thing she wants is to hurt the College. But when a friend sent her an e-mail Dec. 22 about the new Wren cross policy, she decided to withhold donations.

p. “No cross, no cash,” she said.

p. That’s the motto of an online listing of alumni connected with SavetheWrenCross.org who made the same decision as Pierce. Currently 22 have signed, including four members of the Fourth Century Club, a group of alumni who contribute $1,000 or more annually.

p. “I know for a fact that a significant number of donors have informed the College that they are withholding donations due to President [Gene] Nichol’s decision,” Pierce wrote in a Jan. 31 e-mail to The Flat Hat. “Many alumni give annually and once the decision to stop donating is made, it may be difficult to recapture those donors. A relatively predictable income stream to the College is being interrupted.”

p. Vice President for Development Sean Pieri disagrees, saying that the number of alumni listed as withholding donations is insignificant compared to the 58,303 people who contributed to the Campaign for William and Mary, of which about 70 percent were alumni.

p. Nichol announced to the Board of Visitors Feb. 9 that the record $26 million raised in the fourth quarter of 2006 put the campaign above its $500 million goal six months ahead of schedule. Pieri said that between July 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2006, 14,917 people donated to the campaign, compared to 14,859 during the same period in 2005.

p. He added that as a result of the controversy some people have withheld donations while others decided to start donating.

p. “Donations are up; the number of donors is up,” Pieri said. “Everything is trending positively.”

p. Pierce, though, felt that the fourth quarter numbers proved little.

p. “I would guess most of the final quarter donors were unaware of the policy change or the controversy surrounding it,” she said. “However, the same day I received my friend’s e-mail informing me [of the decision] … I received an e-mail from William and Mary asking me to donate money and ‘Remember the Magic…’ To many alumni, the cross is part of the magic.”

p. Pierce resides in Orange County, Calif., where she lives with her husband and three young children. She said that, despite being a busy mother, when she heard about the policy change she dropped everything to find out more.

p. She signed both the SavetheWrenCross.org petition and the “No cross, no cash” listing. She said that until last year she felt that the College was managed well, but now she fears its financial status and academic reputation will suffer.

p. “If this controversy remains in the papers and on the internet while we await the decision of the President’s committee, some students who have been admitted to several universities may choose another over William and Mary,” she said. “I have also heard from several friends with juniors in high school who say William and Mary was on their list for applications, but if the cross stays out, so will their children.”

p. Pieri said that it is not uncommon for donors to withhold contributions to schools due to various issues, but that the number of people who have contacted the College to do so is small.

p. “Any time that somebody indicates to us that they’re going to withhold a donation … we work very hard to try to restore those relationships,” he said. “Students are the ones negatively impacted.”

p. With its highest response rate ever, the recently released faculty survey reported that 81 percent of faculty members who answered the survey say they are “very satisfied” or “moderately satisfied” with their positions at the College.
This 2006 survey is the sixth faculty survey at the College. Previous surveys were conducted in 2003, 1999, 1996, 1993 and 1991.

p. The 81 percent satisfaction rating was included in a preview of the results at the Board of Visitors meeting last week. This particular figure was from a question on the survey that read, “On the whole, how satisfied are you with your position at the College?”

p. “This is an increase over the last survey (Faculty Survey 2003 was 78 percent), but not as high as in 1999 (86 percent),” Kulick said.

p. Unsatisfied faculty cited salaries as the main problem. Twenty-one percent said they were looking for jobs elsewhere as of October 2006. Not all of those on the job market will necessarily leave the College, but they are looking at other options, Kulick noted.
The response rate for the survey was 72.7 percent. The last survey in 2003 had a response rate of 62 percent, which was considered outstanding at the time, according to President of the Faculty Assembly Katherine Kulick.

p. “This [72.7 percent] is a very strong response rate by any measure, considering that nearly three-fourths of all full-time tenured and tenure-eligible faculty took part in the survey,” Kulick said.

p. From a list of 16 possibilities on the survey, faculty were to choose their top priorities for the future. The overall top priorities were increased funding for salaries, student financial aid and faculty research.

p. “The full results of the Faculty Survey 2006 are still being analyzed; there were many more questions,” Kulick said.
As soon as it is complete, a final faculty survey will be posted on the Faculty Assembly website.

The city of Williamsburg’s unemployment rate dropped by almost 2 percent over the last six months of 2006, according to statistics released by the Virginia Employment Commission. In December 2006, the Williamsburg unemployment rate was about 5.1 percent, a statewide rate of 2.7 percent and 4.3 percent nationally.

p. The overall statistics, however, can be misleading. According to Art Batten, office manager of the Williamsburg Area Employment Commission, because of the relatively small workforce within Williamsburg City, the Employment Commission generally looks at James City County as a whole.

p. “Overall, our area, [James City County], remains right at the same unemployment level as Virginia and well below the national rate. Williamsburg is a pretty good place to be right now,” Batten said.

p. He explained that the Williamsburg area’s employment rate is largely driven by student and tourist impact.

p. “Over the past three years there has been a trend [in unemployment rates] that has been pretty regular. [The unemployment rate] will spike in January when seasonal employment ends. It drifts down in May when people get jobs at Busch Gardens and Water Country, then it will spike in June and drift back down after August when the students return,” Batten said.

p. The College is the city’s top employer, followed by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Foundation-owned Colonial Williamsburg Hotel. Sentara Health care and Aramark Campus, in charge of food supply and distribution for the College, round out the top five.

p. As a major employment force within the community, the College, with its 7,544 students and 763 faculty members, also contributes to the local economy through spending. According to a study by the Wessex Group posted on the Office of Economic Development’s website, the College and its partner, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, contributed $301 million to the Williamsburg area economy and generated 3,371 jobs within the area between 2004 and 2005. Students and visitors added over $41 million to the local economy.

p. “The community is looking at ways [to try] to bring the right mix of facilities to the campus area. For example, there are not many clothing stores that cater to the college crowd, so we are always looking for those types of stores for the area,” Batten said.
Additionally, the College is active in the economic development of the Williamsburg area. The Foundation for William and Mary is a partner in the construction of New Town, the mixed-use development off of Route 199 that incorporates shops, restaurants and housing into one location.

p. For the 2006 to 2007 school year, the College has also identified economic goals including increased student retail opportunities and a plan to place the School of Education on the old Sentara Hospital grounds.

A discussion titled “Jamestown — 400 years in Retrospect: A Cross Cultural Look at the First Settlement” kicked off the 2007 “State of the Black Union” series held at Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall Friday afternoon.

p. Headed by a panel of historians and professors, including Vice President for the Historic Area Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Rex Ellis, the discussion focused on American Indians, Europeans and Africans of early America.

p. Other participants included notable Princeton University religion and African American Studies Professor Cornel West. The panel discussed the multiple cultural perspectives that make up Jamestown’s colonial history.

p. “We don’t do a service, as historians to the American people, by telling only one little strand of the story,” said Darlen Clark Hine, a professor of history and black studies at Northwestern University and a member of the panel.

p. Subjects approached by the panel were wide-ranging and included slavery, interactions between Virginia’s Indians and English settlers and the role of greed in American history, The Daily Press reported.

p. The discussion, though a prequel to other events, remained a highlight of the series. “This conversation really sets the stage for the conversation we want to have tomorrow,” said Tavis Smiley, host of the “Black State of the Union” conference.

p. History professor and panelist Cassandra Newby-Alexander also expressed optimism in how the discussion could set the stage for a deeper understanding of American history.

p. “I’m hopeful that discussion will begin the process — after 400 years — [of looking] at the realities of our past, not what we want to see, but what truly existed,” Newby-Alexander said.

p. After hosting the panel at the College, Smiley traveled to Hampton University for the “State of the Black Union’s” daylong symposium recorded live on C-Span.