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Student Assembly seeks to delay election
The College of William and Mary’s Student Assembly Senate is planning to postpone next week’s senate and presidential elections due to a lack of interested candidates.
The SA released the list of candidates after last week’s deadline to declare had passed. Many positions had one or no interested persons. Sixteen of 27 total positions on the ballot were uncontested.
“I think that the Elections Commission did another poor job of advertising the election, and as a result no one has run for some of the positions,” SA Sen. Erik Houser ’10 said. “This doesn’t reflect a change in opinion of the SA, just that no students knew an election was going on.”
Only three current SA members will seek re-election as senators. All incumbent senators from the Class of 2011 declined to seek re-election, and only two members of the Class of 2011 elected to run for the four open senator positions.
SA policy mandates that the date of the election cannot be changed after Thanksgiving of that academic year. Houser said he believes the law was put into place to ensure presidential candidates would not change the date for political gain.
Former SA Elections Commissioner Jazmine Piña ’11 resigned March 4 to seek election as Class of 2011 Treasurer. Andrew Gardner ’12 was appointed to fill the position and is currently in communication with potential candidates.
A constitutional amendment will be required to change the date of the election.
Houser said he would sponsor a bill at Tuesday’s SA meeting to move the election from its original March 24 date to March 31. He said co-sponsors of the bill would be drawn either from graduating seniors or SA members not seeking re-election.
The bill will call for additional information sessions to be held Wednesday and Thursday nights, as well as reopen positions for declarations of candidacy. Campaigning will then officially begin Thursday at midnight.
Since the bill calls for a constitutional amendment, it will require a three-fourths majority to pass in the senate. If this occurs, the bill would then be moved to the undergraduate and graduate councils for discussion and passage March 22, and upon passing those boards the bill would be signed into law by SA President Sarah Rojas ’10.
“Since the decisions [to declare candidacy] were due, several [SA] members have been contacted by people who hadn’t known about the election or were too late. This shows there are students who want to run and there was no reason not to let them to run,” Rojas said. “Everyone who wants to run and is eligible to run should be able to, and we want to make sure everyone can.”
All candidates for class president are currently running unopposed, although this is subject to change pending the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting.
David Alpert will run for the Class of 2013, Sen. Matt Schofield will run for the Class of 2012 and Mike Tsidulko will run for the Class of 2011.
Ben Brown ’11 and Chrissy Scott ’11 emerged as this year’s candidates for SA president.
Brown, who currently serves as the SA chairman, will run with Sen. Betty Jeanne Manning ’12 for vice president.
“I’ve been really impressed [by] the way she’s been willing to lead the Student Life Committee,” Brown said. “Anything she sets her mind to, she does.”
Scott serves as SA Deputy Chief of Staff and will run with Kaveh Sadeghian ’12 for vice president.
“Kaveh represents what I want to do — reach out to student groups,” Scott said. “I want more interaction between major student organizations and minor ones.”
Brown said he would focus on inefficiencies within the SA, and open the process of allocating money for student groups.
“When it comes to day-to-day student life the most important job the Student Assembly has is the allocation of [funds],” Brown said. “That process isn’t working as efficiently as possible.”
He said he would work to streamline the process.
“In interaction [with campus groups] there is too much red tape,” he said. “The system we have now for getting that money back is entirely too inefficient.”
Scott said that although she is happy with advances the SA has made on issues such as the four-person rule and campus housing, the work is far from over.
“Continuing to work on those issues [is important],” she said. “We’ve had great success in changing [the three-person rule] from three to four, but there are still lots of restrictions. We need to work to remove those.”
Scott also stressed the importance of increasing transparency in the SA.
“One of the big things to work on is the budget process,” she said. “A lot of organizations on campus don’t understand what goes on [behind the scenes.]”
Houser said the tentatively reopened positions will allow for a greater degree of change within the SA.
“I encourage anyone who has ever had even a passing interest in student government to run for a position this year,” he said. “This is a transformative time for the SA, and with fresh, new minds it can become a better overall organization.”
The senate will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Miller 1027.
State’s budget spares College
The College of William and Mary is safe from further budget reductions — for now.
In an e-mail sent to the College community Monday, College President Taylor Reveley announced that the budget adopted by the Virginia General Assembly Sunday did not go any further than the previously imposed 32 percent funding reduction.
“Since much additional damage had been proposed during the budget negotiations (for instance, employee furloughs in each year of the upcoming biennium, retirement contributions by current employees, and a levy on student fees paid for auxiliary services), the budget is much better for higher education than it might have been,” Reveley said in an e-mail.
While the approved budget does not cut the College’s state funding, it does mandate a one-day furlough for all College employees and grant a 3 percent bonus to state employees, 70 percent of which may have to come from the College’s financial reserves.
Reveley said that the budget was mostly good news for the College, but additional challenges could arise.
“The Governor may propose amendments to the General Assembly’s budget,” Reveley said. “There are not likely to be many, since the Governor made his views known during the legislative process. The final act will come in April, when the General Assembly reconvenes to consider the Governor’s recommendations.”
McDonnell’s order clarifies discrimination
After almost two weeks of debate, the College of William and Mary has received approval from the state of Virginia to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity and expression” in its anti-discrimination policy.
Two weeks ago the College received a letter from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli advising all public universities to strike similar additions from their respective policies. According to Cuccinelli, only the General Assembly can define unlawful discrimination at educational institutions.
Cuccinelli’s letter was met with some resistance from several public universities, including the College. College President Taylor Reveley issued a public statement last week saying the College would review the Cuccinelli’s advice.
“For now, let’s be clear that William and Mary neither discriminates against people nor tolerates discrimination on our campus,” Reveley said. “Those of us at [the College] insist that members of our campus community be people of integrity … We do not insist, however, that members of our community possess any other particular characteristics, whether denominated in race, religion, nationality, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other of the myriad personal characteristics that differentiate human beings … This is not going to change.”
Several days after the statement was released, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell issued an executive directive supporting the opinion that discrimination be based only on merit.
“Discrimination based on factors such as one’s sexual orientation … violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution,” McDonnell said. “Therefore, discrimination against classes of persons set forth in the Virginia Human Rights Act or discrimination against any class of persons without a rational basis is prohibited … I hereby direct that the hiring, promotion, compensation, treatment, discipline and termination of state employees shall be based on an individual’s job qualifications, merit and performance.”
Reveley said the governor’s statement was reassuring.
“We never believed that the commonwealth of Virginia wanted discrimination on its campuses,” he said.
The issue does not appear to be completely resolved, as no official changes have been made to Virginia law, a stipulation that still concerns students who support policy clarification.
Student activists Casey Sears ’11 and Cassie Adair ’11 have challenged both the attorney general and the government on the lack of state-wide protection for sexual minorities.
“We need to counteract people saying we have won, because we clearly have not,” Sears said.
Adair agreed, saying the issue was far from resolved.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is make sure that everyone understands that there are no state protections, that it’s egregious that there are no state protections, and that legislation needs to be passed in order to [protect them],” she said. “So we really have to pressure our legislators to pass overarching protections.”
Sears and Adair said they were also concerned about how the lack of a protection clause for sexual minorities will affect Virginia’s economy.
“This is a really huge economic issue as well,” Sears said. “One of the big things that Bob McDonell ran on was the ‘Bob’s for Jobs’ thing. By taking away anti-discriminatory language throughout the state, we make the state a somewhat hostile place for LGBT employees.”
Adair said the issue is further reaching than expected.
“It doesn’t just affect the LGBT community,” she said. “It really affects all corporations who already have gay employees and don’t want to come here because their employees would have fewer protections in Virginia.”
Sears and Adair have attempted to gather support for legislative change through Facebook, a web-comic and online video blogs. They have also organized protests at several other Virginia universities, as well as a demonstration at the College scheduled for March 18 at 2 p.m. at the Crim Dell Meadow.
Cuccinelli responded Sunday to the governor’s directive in another letter in which he restated his original position.
“While our colleges and universities are governed by boards of visitors with broad rights and powers, those powers are not unlimited,” he said. “Virginia’s public universities are, at all times, subject to the control of the General Assembly. They have no authority greater than that which has been granted them by the General Assembly … [which] has on numerous occasions, including this session, considered and rejected creating a protected class defined by sexual orientation. No state agency can reach beyond such clearly established boundaries.”
The Virginia GA recently voted down an amendment to extend benefits for state employees to same-sex partners.
Cuccinelli also sought to separate emotion from legality and acknowledged the sensitive nature of discrimination.
“While issues related to sexual orientation are among the most emotional and controversial, they do not change this fundamental proposition of Virginia law,” he said. “My now well-publicized letter simply stated the current state of Virginia law; it did not advocate for any particular legislative position. Should the General Assembly change the law, my advice will be consistent with it.”
Until further decisions are made by the state government, the College will move ahead with plans to adjust the language of its anti-discrimination policy.
“As for the policy itself, there still needs to be a good deal of consultation with both the Faculty Assembly and the Board of Visitors before we come up with the final language,” College spokesman Brian Whitson said. “We want to make sure we get this right.”
There is no set deadline for the new policy to go into effect.
Public meeting discusses arts district
City officials favor an area on Richmond Road, stretching from Casey Field to the new Walgreens for the location of the City of Williamsburg’s Arts District in a meeting March 2.
The Williamsburg City Council gave the city’s Economic Development Authority permission to research the creation of an arts district in December. Since then, a focus group of artists, bussinesspeople and community members has been established, and nonprofit real estate arts developer ArtSpace was hired to conduct a feasibility project in the city. ArtSpace toured the area and met with the focus group March 2 and 3.
The city held the meeting to give the public an opportunity to discuss the on-going project with representatives from ArtSpace. More than 100 people were in attendance.
The section of Richmond Road emerged as the favorite potential area for the arts district because it is already zoned as mixed-use property and is near dining locations and other shops, as well as transit stops.
The area is also full of vacant properties, a situation an arts district could alleviate.
City officials, as well as members of the community, hope that the arts district, if realized, would bring more business, and therefore revenue, to the city. Many believe the district would allow for more opportunities to enjoy the arts.
The city anticipates a report from ArtSpace in about six weeks.
Williamsburg Mayor Jeanne Zeidler M.A. ’76 could not be reached for comment.
SA to audit student activity fee spendings
The Financial Transparency Act passed unanimously at the College of William and Mary Student Assembly Senate’s March 2 meeting.
The bill will allow the SA to create the positions of two new Student Assembly Auditors. These auditors will be selected by the Joint Facilitation Committee.
“For people who are interested in the position, it could be a really rewarding experience,” SA Chairman Ben Brown ’11 said.
The auditors’s primary function will be to review how the College spends its Student Activities Fee. They will work with the administration to gather relevant financial data and then report the data to the student body.
Brown said that the merit of creating a new position — instead of giving this responsibility to the Executive Department of Finance — is that these individuals could devote their time to one task. Reviewing of these expenditures will be the auditors’ sole responsibility.
According to the Financial Transparency Act, the auditor positions were created because “students deserve to know where every cent of their money is going.”
The SA will make it a priority that this financial information is available to students online.
Secretary of Finance Fayfay Shang ’11 gave a financial update report to the SA.
According to Shang, the SA currently has $161,000 in its consolidated reserve, reduced from the $223,308 budget at the beginning of the academic year.
From the $60,000 budgeted for activities and events, the Department of Finance has appropriated $18,317 to fulfill requests from student organizations. $7,414.17 of this money has been reimbursed to those students who have brought receipts to the Department of Finance.
The SA also unanimously passed the Potentially Necessary eBallot Upgrade Act, budgeting $400 to fund the integration of the student election online voting system into the Blackboard Academic Suite.
The bill seeks the cooperation of the administration to create an independent group of students to run future SA elections.
“This bill ensures that [the independent group] would have the easiest possible time running the elections,” Sen. Betty Jeanne Manning ’12 said.
The SA confirmed three nominees, who were appointed by President Sarah Rojas ’10, to the Election Commission. Ray Ciabattoni ’10, Jill Olszewski ’12 and Brad Sipe ’10 were approved by unanimous consent.
“I know each of them and am confident in their abilities,” Sen. Brittany Fallon ’11 said.
Upcoming business includes discussion of the Consolidated Reserve Use It or Lose It Act, a bill that would limit the money in the SA consolidated reserve to $100,000.
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Mark Constantine announced that the off-campus housing fair will be held today in the Sadler Center Tidewater ballroom.
Constantine said the fair is an effort by the administration to help students who have chosen to live off-campus for the coming year learn about their housing options. Property owners in the Williamsburg area will be available to answer student questions.The fair will last from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m, and food will be provided.
Faculty, staff and students demonstrate against budget cuts
Approximately 40 students, faculty and staff of the College of William and Mary gathered March 4 at the Crim Dell Meadow to protest education cuts by the state of Virginia and to call for better wages for College employees.
Throughout the afternoon, members of the Tidewater Labor Support Committee, Virginia Organizing Project and other groups attempted to raise student awareness of the effects of budget cuts through speeches, literature and chants.
“All across the nation, students and workers and faculty are seeing that their state budgets are getting cut and that the state budgets aren’t prioritizing higher education,” Kathleen Brower ’11, a member of the TLSC, said. “Administrations are having to make really tough decisions because their budgets are decreasing, and the way that they’re dealing with that is by laying off workers, cutting different programs [and] raising tuition.”
According to Brower, other universities throughout the state also held protests Friday.
“Students at [Virginia Commonwealth University] and at George Mason [University] are having similar actions, where they’re standing with students and faculty and staff and saying that we’re not going to take this anymore,” she said.
Several universities across the country also organized united days of protest against state budget cuts.
“In California, they’re shutting down, and at New School [in New York City], it’s a total walk out,” TLSC member David Theuner ’10 said.
Protestors said that one of the main sources of frustration was the apparent expendability of higher education in the state budget.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the budget is in a state of crisis,” TLSC member Cherie Seise ’10 said. “We definitely need to prioritize education and vital state programs that they seem to think it’s okay to chop, rather than raising revenue.”
Demonstrators also criticized the College’s lack of efforts to include students in budgetary discussions.
“I really feel like students, faculty and staff have been excluded from the budget process,” TLSC member Michael Bingham ’10 said. “It’s difficult to ascertain exactly what those priorities are because the budget process is just so opaque. It’s difficult to just have a copy of the budget and look at it because that information hasn’t been released to us.”
TLSC member Caitlin Goldblatt ’11 said that the state appears to have abandoned its role in funding higher education in Virginia.
“We would like to see the state really held accountable for the problems it forces the College through,” she said. “Think about what the College means to Williamsburg at large. Half of the population could potentially not be here with the state putting the College in the position that it’s in.”
In addition to the protests, students said that they had begun letter-writing campaigns to members of the Virginia state legislature and planned to call their representatives.
“We’re going to start calling [Virginia Gov.] Bob McDonnell,” Bingham said. “We’re going to start calling our legislators. Because this isn’t just about the campus here and the administration, it’s also about the Virginia state legislature, it’s about the governor’s office, and it’s about trying to get the money to start going back into education at a state level.”
Protestors also suggested ideas to help solve the state’s budget shortfall.
“We’re trying to come up with creative solutions that the state could try to adopt, like this awesome bake sale,” Seise said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to show the state that Virginians want creative solutions to the budget crisis.”
The group held a bake sale during the protest.
According to Seise, Friday’s efforts could have an effect on higher education funding.
“We’re actually giving [raised money] to the state of Virginia,” she said. “It’ll be presented in a check that says, ‘This is how much money we can raise in a day by doing a bake sale. How much can you raise by actually looking at how to get more revenue?’”
Several faculty and staff members came to the protest to show their support for both the students and higher wages at the College.
“We have people who’ve been here 20 years, 25 years, and they’re barely getting $11 an hour,” College employee Devon Futrell said. “The state says after 20 years, you can get $15.77, and they don’t even have it. When are they going to get it?”
According to Futrell, many College employees were appreciative of the students’ efforts.
“If they can come out here and support us, I think that everybody should be out here behind them,” she said. “Students are the backbone of the College. I learned that a long time ago. I think it’s wonderful for them to come out and put their stuff on the line for us. And I think that we should do the same thing.”
Futrell said that students, faculty and staff would continue to fight for higher education funding, even as the College has begun to cut job positions. Courtney Dowell, a substance abuse educator, became the first College employee to be laid off due to budget cuts.
“We should be out here supporting the students because they’re supporting us,” Futrell said. “Whether we get anything out of this or not, I’m behind the students 100 percent.”
Behind Closed Doors: Finding pleasure in a painful paradox
You’re naked, kind of. Wrapped around your body — and, bien sur, your junk — is a black cord. It’s holding your arms in the air and your legs to the ground. Come to think of it, it’s kind of tight. There’s probably going to be a mark there in the morning. A masked man emerges out of the darkness in front of you. He’s got a whip in one hand, and he’s smacking it into the other. He smiles as he comes closer.
Are you having a nightmare or a wet dream?
It all depends on where you draw the line between pleasure and pain. Although the two are purported to be opposites, many people find that in the heat of the moment, they are indistinguishable.
The example above is an extreme. Most people draw the line before whips, chains and welts, but everyone has a threshold, and most people are titillated by a little bit of pain now and then.
Many of us associate these themes with BDSM, which refers to bondage, dominance and sadomasochism. We write off the value of a little pain while in bed. We must give up the notion of the sexual divide — the myth that some people are into pain and others aren’t. Sexual differences are quantitative, not qualitative. It’s not if you like pain, it’s how much pain you like.
Disagree? Consider the case of spanking: You’re doing it like Fido, and your arms are on her hips. Suddenly, you notice her nice, firm butt. Go ahead, give it a little smack. Light spanking is pretty vanilla, but it is nonetheless a mixture of pleasure and pain. Other painful sex acts include hair pulling and biting.
So why mix it up? Pleasure is pleasure; leave it alone, right? Wrong. Adding pain to the equation provides a nice contrast. If your partner nibbles your nipple then starts sucking on it tenderly, you’re likely to enjoy the sucking more than you would have if you hadn’t been bitten.
Rough play can be a sign of passion. Bringing your animalistic side out for a little while to ravish your bedmate is often a good idea. Many people, given a safe environment, appreciate the idea of a partner being so turned on they can hardly control himself or herself.
Additionally, the idea of incorporating pain is considered very naughty. And who among us doesn’t want to find themselves occasionally on Santa’s bad list?
For me, the realization that many people mix pleasure and pain was surprising. One of my close friends revealed to me that he’s into being choked during sex. My first reaction was, “Why would you do that? You seem so normal.” The truth is, he’s not that aberrant. Choking isn’t my cup of tea, but it’s not my place to judge where he draws the line.
Now if I were to hop into bed with him, we might have a bit of an issue. What would be the appropriate way to bring up such a fetish? Would it be best if we stopped during foreplay to decide that later on in the night my hands would be around his neck? Or should I just spring it on him in the moment (“Surprise! You can’t breathe!”)?
As with any sexual preference, it’s all about feeling your partner out. First-time sex tends to be pretty bland, but once you’ve hooked up a few times, it’s alright to let your freak flag fly. If you’re too embarrassed to ask, consider the source of the shame. Sex is an adult activity for many reasons. One of them is that you have to be mature enough to speak openly about your fantasies.
One critical note: Trust is essential. This is true in all kinds of sex, but especially when pain comes into the picture. There’s a huge difference between your long-time girlfriend attaching electrodes to your nipples and asking you to call her “Big Mama” and a one-night stand you found at the Green Leafe Cafe doing the same.
Now go buy some candles and drip them all over your privates. Let your woman scratch her nails down your back. Go nuts. Go crazy. Flout the idea that pain and pleasure are separate entities. And could you maybe choke me a little, too?
__Maya Horowitz is the Flat Hat sex columnist. She prefers sandpaper sheets to satin ones.__
Falling back down the rabbit hole
When Tim Burton decided to direct the live-action version of Lewis Carroll’s beloved “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” two cults began anticipating what was sure to be either an epic flop or a great trip back to Wonderland.
Thankfully, it was the latter.
For those that have never read the book or seen the original 1951 Disney movie, the new version of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ will be an enjoyable and trippy experience. Those already familiar with the story will either be upset by how the latest interpretation varies from the original or enjoy it as an opportunity to reunite with some familiar characters.
The movie opens with Alice as a young girl, scared by nightmares of her adventures in Wonderland. It then jumps forward 13 years to her would-be engagement party, where, despite believing her adventures a dream, a familiar white rabbit leads her into Wonderland once again.
Here is where the story devolves into a traditional epic. There is a prophecy, the reluctant hero, a battle between good and evil and, inevitably, a happy ending.
The Red Queen has taken over Wonderland, wreaking havoc and desolation. Only Alice can slay the jabberwocky and restore the crown to the White Queen.
Despite the simple and generic storyline, there is a plot. Rather than sitting back and enjoying the opiate-induced musings of a 19th century writer, there is a clear beginning, middle and end. In a smart move, Burton, rather than creating a whole new storyline, centers the plot on a portion of the book.
Diehard Alice fans will enjoy the many cameos of familiar characters like the rocking horse flies, the flower women and the hedgehog, as well as the lines of Carroll’s prose written into the movie’s dialogue.
Burton also makes Alice’s life in the real world mirror her adventures in Wonderland. Her would-be mother-in-law shouts about roses; a la the Red Queen, and an annoying set of twins prattle on just like Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
Most of Burton’s interpretations of the story’s characters are creatively conceived, putting an edgy spin on the cartoon versions. Alice, played by newcomer Mia Wasikowska, is the same spunky girl determined to forge her own path and think for herself, even in a world full of nonsense. But the new grown-up version of Alice, in search of her “muchness,” takes bigger risks and thinks on her feet. Johnny Depp, as usual, is excellent, portraying the Mad Hatter as a crazed but sympathetic man in desperate need of some hair care. Helena Bonham Carter plays the giant-headed Queen of Hearts to perfection, and Anne Hathaway plays a great White Queen without overacting the part.
Perhaps the only character letdowns are the Chesire Cat and the Caterpillar. Sadly, we just don’t get to see enough of the Cat, and the Caterpillar sounds a bit too much like Severus Snape of the “Harry Potter” films.
The movie’s last 10 minutes, in which Alice returns from Wonderland, make for a cheesy ending to an otherwise adult version of the classic children’s tale. It’s less believable than Wonderland.
All in all, it’s an enjoyable, and at times funny, venture to a world that holds a special place in many people’s childhood memories.
Upon leaving Wonderland, Alice comforts the Mad Hatter by saying she’ll be back soon. We can’t wait.
Deserted sons lack depth in new show
In Fox’s newest comedy, “Sons of Tucson,” three brothers trying to stay out of foster care move halfway across the country to set up new lives for themselves. After their father is imprisoned for bank fraud, there is only one thing missing from their seemingly foolproof plan: a dad. To remedy this inconvenient situation, Gary, Brandon and Robby Gunderson hire the first guy they can find to the position. But Ron Snuffkin (Tyler Labine), a local Sports Space employee living out of his beaten-down station wagon, ends up becoming more than just a temporary fix to the brothers’ situation.
Gary (Frank Dolce) the middle brother and the brains of the operation, thinks the brothers will only need Ron to sign them up for school, so the trio offers Ron quick and easy money in exchange for a small performance. Ron plays his part convincingly, signing the boys up for school and attempting to avoid suspicion by spinning a heartbreaking tale involving Hurricane Katrina, a dead mother and new beginnings in Tucson.
After a few hilarious bumps in the road, one disastrous trip to grandmother Ethel’s, a hijacked car and an intimidating blonde debt collector named Larry, Ron and the three brothers realize that they have a somewhat symbiotic relationship. Ron needs the money, the brothers need a father, and Ron is fairly good at coming up with stories and keeping up the whole charade. In order to maintain their new lifestyle in Tucson, the brothers soon realize that they are going to need a more permanent fake father figure, so they offer Ron a full-time position.
Out of this strange partnership develops a new American family with a twist of modern economic crisis. Ron serves as the entertaining, albeit oblivious, Jack Black-type of father figure, trying to take care of three kids who are clearly in desperate need of a real dad. Gary, the mastermind, is a nerdy boy-genius who is probably the most responsible of the family. Brandon (Matthew Levy), the older but less mature brother, plays the part of stereotypical male teenager, trying to establish his new cool image in Tucson. Robby (Benjamin Stockham), the youngest, is your typical boy, fascinated by video games and monster trucks; but underneath that seemingly playful exterior, Robby seems to be the one most affected by his dead-beat dad’s absence.
Together, the four make an unfortunate situation into an entertaining life. The boys live out the childhood dream of no adult supervision, complete with an unlimited money supply, while trying to appear to be a normal suburban family. The show itself, a kind of “Malcolm in the Middle” comedy minus the conventional family values, is a mindlessly entertaining quick break from your average prime-time soap opera, and promises to become a must-see on Fox’s Sunday night comedy block. The show premiered March 14 and is scheduled to air Sundays at 9:30 p.m.