Home Blog Page 162

CORE discusses lack of diversity

-
0

Around 40 College of William and Mary students and faculty members met Thursday at the Commons to discuss the future of the College’s diversity.

As part of the first Conversation on Reconciliation and Equality of the semester, a panel of College Provost Michael R. Halleran, Hispanic studies professor John Riofrio and biology professor John Swaddle answered students’ questions on subjects ranging from diversity in department curricula to the College’s hiring practices.

“Look at a college catalogue from 1950, or from 1900, and you’ll see that things were very different,” Halleran said. “If you look ahead 50 years to 2060, it’s going to be different from what we have today. The question is, ‘What do we want it to be?’”

Bailey Thomson ’10 said that certain programs and majors at the College should be reworked to emphasize the global nature of academics.

“What concerns me most about what we have at William and Mary is this ‘othering,’ especially with things like [general education requirement] 4, because you have ‘outside the Western tradition,’” she said. “And names like ‘women’s studies’ add to that othering.”

According to Swaddle, the College also lacks student, faculty and curriculum diversity within certain disciplines.

“I don’t think there’s a single African American science professor at William and Mary,” he said. “There’s not a single African American biology major … We need to talk about things other than Darwin and Mendel and his peas. There are other important people out there.”

While most attendees agreed that efforts were needed to increase the College’s academic and social diversity, Riofrio said that traditional practices would be difficult to overcome.

“I think that inertia plays a huge role in hiring,” he said. “A professor of French leaves, and we need a new French professor. A professor of Spanish leaves, and we need a new Spanish professor.”

Swaddle said that, ultimately, creating a more diverse College would largely be based on the actions of students.

“They don’t have to accept it,” he said on the lack of diversity. “They can fight against it, because that’s what we expect students to do.”

Doctor seeks to heal town-gown relations

-
0

David Dafashy, a physician at the Student Health Center, wants to be more than just your go-to guy for aches and afflictions; he wants to be your go-to guy at the Williamsburg City Council.

Dafashy officially declared his candidacy Feb. 12, following the announcements of Scott Foster ’10, Planning Commission member Sean Driscoll and incumbent Bobby Braxton.

Born and raised in Williamsburg, Dafashy attended Matthew Whaley Elementary School and many of the College’s homecoming parades, experiences that greatly influenced his perspective of the city.

After graduating from Johns Hopkins University, receiving a degree from VCU’s School of Medicine and completing his residency at the Mayo Clinic, he returned home. He is currently in his second year working at the campus’s Health Center.

“I’d always been interested in government … but I’d been particularly interested since moving back here in May of 2008,” Dafashy said. “It started when I was talking to a next-door neighbor about things happening around town and how they took place.”

His concerns in Williamsburg politics evolved from a few letters to the city council into a campaign defined by a broad range of issues that he feels the city needs to improve upon.

“I’m a really big environmentalist,” Dafashy said. “I want to work very hard to preserve Williamsburg’s natural environment.”

He plans to encourage residents and tourists alike to take advantage of the city’s parklands and recreational facilities.

Dafashy also hopes to enhance and promote the town’s historical assets to boost tourism, which has declined drastically in the past several years.

“Tourism is our largest industry,” Dafashy’s campaign director, Adam Rosen ’10, said. “Now is not the time to cut back on spending. These are tough economic times and everyone is cutting back. In a time like this, we need to do more.”

Rosen also addressed another issue posed by the current economic crisis: increasingly unaffordable housing and the deteriorating quality of life.

“[Dafashy] is concerned at times that the council isn’t looking forward enough to where the city is going,” Rosen said.

Williamsburg’s unemployment rate as of December 2009 was 3.2 percent higher than the national average, but Dafashy hopes to decrease that gap by boosting tourism. He asserts that he has an image of a greater Williamsburg and an effective strategy for keeping the community as well as the students informed and involved.

“I really think that open lines of communication are key. To me, it’s my job to elicit that information and get a growing sense of what students consider to be important to them,” he said.

As both a resident and staff member at the College, Dafashy says he will bring an open mind and a balanced perspective to a Council that seems, to many students, more town-friendly than gown-friendly.

When asked about town-gown relations and the recently revised three-person rule, Dafashy said that he thinks work still needs to be done.

“I am confident that both factions can work in a constructive way to come up with an agreeable compromise,” he said.

Dafashy’s strategy involves canvassing local neighborhoods, weekly meetings with campaigners and sessions with community and college organizations. He recently met with representatives Eric Robinson ’11 and T.D. Crowley ’13 of Students for a Better Williamsburg.

He looks forward to March 15, when his first campaign event will be held at the College and he hopes to gain student votes. In the end, he wants to serve the city’s dynamic community.

“Williamsburg is a combination of wisdom and experience with passion and intellectual ability,” Dafashy said.

Add fifty freshmen, say faculty

-
0

The College of William and Mary Faculty Assembly discussed increasing freshman classes by 50 students to help alleviate budget shortfalls at a meeting Tuesday.

College Provost Michael Halleran noted that although the College could potentially see an increase in stimulus money over the next fiscal year, the base budget would still lag by at least $6.7 million.

Assembly President and physics professor Gene Tracy stressed a need to explore more sources of revenue and cost-saving.

“We’re going to fall off a cliff in a year unless we figure out ways to increase revenue,” he said. “We may even have to suspend the freshman seminar program until we’re back on solid footing, in order to free up faculty resources. I’m not advertising doing away with freshman seminars, I’m just facing reality.”

Other faculty expressed reluctance toward eliminating freshman seminars, with economics professor Will Hausman referring to them as “a signature of the College.”

According to Halleran, one option to recover a portion of the lost funds would be to increase the number of incoming freshmen by approximately 50 students in each incoming class.

“One [argument for increasing class size] is money; that is the main driver. We have an enormous shortfall coming upon us,” Halleran said.

He noted that a budget deficit could limit the salaries of new professors and place constraints on hiring, especially with no promise of a raise in the near future.

“If the trade-off is somewhat more students or fewer faculty, I’ll argue for the former any day of the week,” Halleran said. “Friends elsewhere in-state are happily opening their doors — [University of Virginia] is talking about adding 1,500 [new students] over the next few years.”

Assembly Vice President and sociology professor Kate Slevin disagreed.

“Arts and sciences would bear the brunt of this,” she said. “Fifty more students means three and a half more freshman seminars, more academic advisors, and students are already expressing huge pressure about getting into [general education requirements because of class limit constraints].”

Chemistry professor Lisa Landino agreed, noting that an increase in students would put further stress on labs.

“We don’t want a situation where a student with an aspiration to go pre-med can’t get into a necessary lab class because we don’t have time or space,” she said.

Faculty members, including Tracy, instead pointed to the athletic department, questioning its funding.

“One thing that will engage the faculty is if there is a serious look at the athletic program,” Tracy said.
Currently, $1,000 of a student’s tuition is allotted to the athletic program each semester.

“There is already an egregious student fee to athletics,” business professor Todd Mooradian said. “One undergraduate has to work three full-time weeks just to pay that fee.”

Overall, though they recognized the pressures of increasing class size, faculty members mostly agreed that admitting 50 more students each year could increase both revenue and quality.

“Another benefit of increasing class size is producing more alumni, who are hopefully giving more back to the College,” law professor Alan Meese said.

Meese noted that the Marshall-Wythe School of Law has already increased some class sizes from about 175 to 215 over the past few years.

Mooradian said career services would also benefit from an increase in class sizes, explaining that certain companies do not come to the College for career expos because of its relatively small student body.

Halleran added that a 50-student increase to new freshman classes is a little less than a 1 percent difference and would not risk the quality of the student body.

“Our applicant pool is still, statistically, very strong,” he said. “An additional 50 admitted students would probably have zero percent impact on potential quality.”

SA aims to make all of campus open for free speech

-
0

The College of William and Mary Student Assembly passed the Free Speech Defense Act by unanimous consent at its weekly meeting Tuesday.

The bill is a response to campus regulations that ban all chalk messages placed by student organizations and limit the locations where students can protest to designated “free speech zones.”

“Free speech zones are a serious violation of the First Amendment,” Sen. Erik Houser ’10, the bill’s co-sponsor, said.

The bill seeks to express student opposition to the regulations and publicly commend College President Taylor

Reveley and the administration for their continuing efforts regarding freedom of speech on campus.

“I think this is a really great way to express William and Mary and all the wonderful things we have to offer,” Sen. Jill Olszewski ’12 said.

The Foundation for Individual Rights recently designated the College a “green light” school. FIRE describes green light schools as colleges and universities with policies that nominally protect free speech. Houser said a motivating factor behind the Free Speech Defense Act was to maintain the College’s standing.

Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Mark Constantine said that administrators
want to work with the SA to protect students’ rights to free speech.

As part of the plan, the College would designate the Crim Dell Amphitheatre as a permanent free speech area, available at all hours and open to all students on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The SA also passed the Get With the Times Act, a bill to allocate funds to have The New York Times delivered to campus daily for the remainder of the semester. The bill passed in a 13-2 vote with two abstentions.

The act sets aside $4,250 for the distribution of 200 copies of the New York Times at five campus locations. The current plan provides 50 newspapers to the Sadler Center, 50 to Alan B. Miller Hall, 50 to the Marshall-Wythe School of Law School, 25 to the Campus Center and 25 to the Commons.

The Finance and Budget Committee, which gave its positive recommendation for the proposal before the vote, decided last week that only one national newspaper should be delivered.

Sen. Betty Jeanne Manning ’12 said that the remainder of the semester would serve as a trial period and that student feedback would then be used to determine the future of the program

The senate also heard from Steer Clear representatives about the need for new vans. Steer Clear Director Zoe Grotophorst ’11 and Assistant Director of Operations

Carolyn Cardwell ’11 said that there are many problems with the current
vans, including doors that do not open properly as well as several broken interior lights.

Additionally, Grotophorst and Cardwell said that drivers cannot charge the Steer Clear cell phone in either van and one van has at least 100,000 miles on its odometer.

The Financial Transparency Act, which would provide the SA with information
from the administration for budget-making decisions in the future, is scheduled to be discussed at a later session.

Men’s basketball: Seniors led Tribe on great run

-
0

Senior night is over, and David Schneider’s jersey was not lifted to the rafters.

Danny Sumner was not inducted into the College’s Hall of Fame. Sean McCurdy and Steven Hess did not go down in the record books.

Did they deserve to be honored, to see their names among the all-time greats? Quite honestly, no.

The closest is probably Schneider, and he’s still 400 points short of all but one of those who have had their jerseys retired.

It is a shame you can’t retire memories though, as this team traded in memories like currency. You can take your pick of favorites, here is mine:

For 10 minutes this season, the Tribe was perfect.

Go back and look at the box score from the first game against VCU. From a Sean McCurdy missed free-throw with 18:27 in the second half to a missed Kyle Gaillard jumper with 8:56 left, the Tribe did not miss a shot or commit a turnover.

It was a feat that would have been impressive against St. Mercy Sisters of the Poor. But these guys played 10 minutes of perfect basketball against VCU, the best team in the CAA at the time.

And they beat Wake Forrest, at Wake Forrest, something no ACC team has done this season. They beat Maryland, at Maryland, for the Terrapin’s only home loss this season.

Have they faded down the stretch? Of course, but only in relation to our heightened expectations.
For a 10-game stretch this season, the Tribe was the best team on the floor. And this senior class was a big part of that success.

There was the shooting guard with the awkward-looking shot, who seemingly willed his teams to victories by outrebounding and outhustling his opponents. There was the forward with all the untapped potential, turning into the player we all imagined him to be with three straight three-pointers to start the game at Maryland. There was the point guard who could barely stand last year on two bad ankles, breaking the press and leading the Tribe to one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the country. There was the center who was barely expected to play, taking off inside the foul line and slamming home dunks against some of the best big men in the ACC.

Sports are cruel, though. The hare, more often than not, outruns the tortoise — the bigger, badder man usually wins the battle at the line of scrimmage. And just when we started to believe that maybe all the experts had been wrong, the Tribe fell slowly back to earth.

It was probably unrealistic to think this team was going to win the CAA. No matter what you think of opposing coaches, they usually know their stuff when it comes to basketball, and they picked the Tribe to finish 10th in the CAA. They aren’t anywhere near that bad, but their current position is most likely a realistic one.

And it was probably only fantasy to imagine this team getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The deck is stacked against mid-major teams anyway — it seems like it was practically loaded against the Tribe, a team that has never made the tournament.

But we believed; we believed it all, because they made us believe.

This team, these seniors, were the best team on the floor for 10 games this winter, in spite of every conventional notion about basketball. They were not taller, not faster, not more athletic than their opponents, but for 10 games, they were the best.

And for 10 minutes versus VCU, they were perfect.

These seniors know a little something about being perfect. For a three-game span in Richmond two years ago, they almost played their way into the tournament, getting as close as this school has ever gotten to the Promised Land.

These four guys — Hess, McCurdy, Schneider and Sumner — were perfect more times than we, as fans, could ever ask for.

Do they deserve having their numbers retired? No.

But it deserves our thanks and praise, as these four seniors graduate having reached as close to perfection as possible.

And for that we say thanks.

Confusion Corner: Conquering Colds

-
0

Being sick in college sucks. Alright, being sick anytime sucks, but you remember the time in like elementary school when you used to hope beyond hope for a sick day? This was the time when you did not just want to pretend to be sick — parents tend to see right through that when they whip out the thermometer anyway — but you wanted to have just enough of a temperature for them to relent with a heavy, almost ironic sigh, “I guess you can stay home today.”

Then, your mom takes the day off from work. “The kid’s sick,” she tells them, provoking a symphony of “aw” on the other end of the line. You’re too naive to realize that it’s a sick day for her, too. With her presence, you have Gatorade on demand — your choice of flavors. (No, of course not the yellow one. Who drinks the yellow one?) You watch the “Land Before Time” series, entries one through five. You watch daytime soaps, but, confused by the steady, lugubrious and flow of melodrama, soon switch over to NickToons. It’s a strangely spent day, without the quick recovery and afternoon of playful frolicking you’d expected — but there’s still a degree of enjoyment to the whole thing.

Now, years later — without the sympathy your “rumbly stomach” used to elicit — you’re left completely to your own devices. Make yourself chicken noodle soup? Preposterous. You don’t even own chicken noodle soup, or crackers, Gatorade or ginger ale — all the wonderful, magical nutrients that used to pack your family’s pantry. It seems more like a treasure trove, in retrospect, than you’d ever imagined. Instead, you look in your own refrigerator, and all you find is a half-eaten package of Kraft singles and leftover chili. You have the sneaking suspicion that, if you weren’t sick already, these would more than easily do the trick.

Not to mention, everybody who hears you’re sick has some opinion on the matter, as if your illness turns them into WebMD incarnate. “Get some rest.” “Get some exercise.” “Stay hydrated,” they’ll tell you, to the point where the mere sight of Gatorade makes you more nauseous than you were before.

There’s the obvious compulsion to get work done as well. Unlike in fourth grade, you’re not missing hand-turkeys and multiplication drills. Instead, it’s presentations, quizzes and notes for that class in which you just got a ‘C’ on the midterm. There’s always the assumption that, sure, you’re not feeling great, Bub, but there’s shit needs doing. But your mind’s more scrambled than the immune system-boosting shake you, unsuccessfully, tried to make a few hours earlier.

Instead of focusing, your mind feverishly races from one topic to another: What’s on TV? Why is it called “All My Children?” Are the characters all cousins? Where do ducks come from? Ke$ha songs are like crack cocaine. (I can’t remember why.) Where do ducks go in the winter? Someone’s asked me that before. I should eat Ramen. I should shower. I should shower in Ramen.

And you know you should eventually head to the Student Health Center. Your immune system has obviously failed, once again, at its primary purpose. Reinforcements are needed. But the idea goes against every self-reliant bone in your body. You’re an adult now. Plus, you’re pretty lazy. You’re here. It’s there. The distance seems insurmountable.

But you get there, burst through the frosted glass doors with a sniffle, and low and behold: it’s everything you dreamed of. The place is filled with tissues — not scattered with used ones like your dorm room, but boxes upon boxes of fluffy, moisturizing tissues. They hear your symptoms and the nurse toward the back sincerely says, “Aw.”

After a quick diagnosis — just a virus, they say — you’re led to a room in the back with an adjustable bed and red woolen blankets that recall those at your grandmother’s house the memory is completed by a sort of inviting musty smell.

“Here’s some pills, honey. They might make you a little drowsy, so why don’t you just rest here a bit. I’ll go get you a ginger ale to take them.” You snuggle in to the blanket and you notice “The Land Before Time” resting in a bin near the roll-away TV. You think about popping it in, but you’re overtaken by sleep before you even get the chance.

__Kevin Mooney is a Flat Hat Confusion Corner columnist. He’s turned his alcohol funds into medication funds for the weekend.__

Episodic accounts span topics from spirited to staid

-
0

The lights have gone down, and the crowd has finally gotten quiet. A back door opens, and at least two dozen women file in and take seats in the front of a lecture hall. What is most striking about the group is how different its members are. Almost all wear some combination of red and black. Some have a bit of white. Several ethnicities are represented. Clearly, this will not be an ordinary night at the theater, and any notions to the contrary are dispelled when the language takes a distinct turn toward the anatomical. But when the show in question is Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” who would expect anything different?

As the title suggests — with all the subtlety of a charging rhino — this is a show about being a woman, and all that entails. In a series of direct conversations with the audience, one and sometimes up to four, actress talks about topics which range from first sexual experiences to, in one memorable piece, just how angry a sex organ can get. These stories were culled from interviews done by Ensler of over 200 women about their bodies and sexuality. What came out of those interviews is often surprising, funny, and at times even, tragic. Monologues about Bosnian women forced to endure sexual assault and genital mutilation practices in Africa and Asia serve as sobering reminders that all is not right with the treatment of women around the world.

Although this style of theater leaves little room for ambiguity of message, it is altogether effective and entertaining with the right people performing. Some are the right people. Some aren’t. Thankfully, the fine readings far outnumber the uninspired ones. Performing with her own character is Karina Tejada ’11, speaking as a young girl happily seduced by an older woman. Tejada handles one of the toughest monologues from the play with poise, with a realistic yet distinctive portrayal.

Examining the merits of a certain four-letter-word, beginning with ‘C,’ Katie Dalby ’11 brings the most comic energy to the play, and is a welcome reprieve from the somber details of atrocities committed against women. Also worth looking out for is Virginia Butler ’11, who plays a female-only prostitute and describes the fine art of moaning during sex.

“The Vagina Monologues” is tempered from greatness by a few performers holding it back. But for those pieces performed effectively, a performance of the show can be an unforgettable night. This particular production is no exception.

SHHO livens local hip-hop culture

-
0

When looking down the list of stops on Tanya Morgan and Kooley High’s most recent tour, it seems like a normal list, hitting all of the major cities: Chicago, New York City and … Williamsburg. As a part of this year’s annual Student Hip-Hop Organization concert, Tanya Morgan and Kooley High will be headlining, accompanied by many local performers and additional acts.

This year’s show will be held tomorrow in the Sadler Center. SHHO is a club that focuses on exposing the College of William and Mary community to hip-hop. Every year, the club hosts a free concert with different local and national performers to highlight up-and-coming hip-hop music.

“Our goal with SHHO is to have students who never listen to hip-hop enjoy and listen to it,” SHHO president Blair Smith ’11 said. “They are able to meet the artists and buy their merchandise, and it is also a way for the artist to get his or her name out there.”

In order to provide these shows for free with a long list of performers including local artists Intalek, Nikelus F, Smiles Crew and JB, SHHO fundraises throughout the year and teams up with other organizations.

“This year we are co-sponsoring with IPEX, the Center for Student Diversity and [AMP] Late Nite funding,” Smith said.

In addition to performances, SHHO will be collecting donations for the J.Dilla Foundation. The J.Dilla foundation is a non-profit organization that helps fund inner city music programs and provides music scholarships.

“I thought it would be cool to add a service aspect to our shows,” Smith said.

While Kooley High has performed at the College before, it is Tanya Morgan’s first time visiting the Williamsburg area.

“I have never been there before,” Von Pea of Tanya Morgan said. “I think it’s going to be cool. It’s all ages and it’s free, so everybody can just come and check it out.”

The SHHO concert proves to be a very different performance from the other stops on Tanya Morgan and Kooley High’s High Fidelity tour.

“I’m looking forward to the experience of the show, not even so much any artist in particular,” Von Pea said. “Doing shows that are all ages are more fun for me. They appreciate it more.”

One of the local performers featured in this year’s concert is Jerome Waller ’12. Waller, who goes by the stage name JB, has recently become much more serious about his music.

“In middle school and high school it was just a hobby,” Waller said. “Last year I released my first mixed tape, and from there it has really just taken off. I have done a few radio shows and a few things locally since then.”

This will be Waller’s first time performing at the College. While he feels comfortable performing in front of countless strangers, performing for his peers is another story.

“I’m excited and also nervous,” Waller said. “Being in front of people that you know makes it a little different, especially at a school like ours where you don’t really see anyone outside of the classroom atmosphere.”

Waller became involved with SHHO after attending last year’s concert.

“I found out about it after last year’s annual show,” Waller said. “When I found out about it I got really interested. I went to a couple of things last semester and really joined this semester.”

For Smith, watching the club grow over the past three years has been a rewarding experience. This year’s show promises to be bigger than the past year’s shows.

“JB is a classmate of mine. I haven’t been able to see him perform so I am excited about that,” Smith said. “I am also excited about the B-Boy cipher, and especially about having other schools come out.”

For local performer Intalek it will be his fourth time performing at the College. Although not a member of SHHO, Intalek has been very involved with the organization.

“I was actually found by [Smith] through my music online,” Intalek said. “Word of mouth got around to [Smith] and SHHO, and she booked me for their show last year. From then on I have been in close contact with her about any upcoming performances.”

As the show date draws nearer, Smith and members of SHHO prepare for the biggest annual concert they have hosted at the College.

“I feel like it’s going to be a great event,” Smith said. “I envision it to be bigger than it has been since the three years on campus. It’s been getting a lot of attention.”

News in Brief: 26 February 2010

-
0

*School of Education honors alumna*

Lucia Villa Sebastian M.A.Ed. ’87 Ed.S. ’92 Ed.D. ’96, the chief academic officer for York County Schools, received the College of William and Mary School of Education’s 2010 Jo Lynne DeMary Award for her contributions to education.

Sebastian is also an assistant adjunct professor at the College. She has held a variety of positions in Virginia schools, including director of curriculum and student achievement for York County, principal of James River Elementary School in Williamsburg and assistant principal of Bethel Manor Elementary School in York County.

Former recipients of the award include Virginia Sen. Tommy Norment J.D. ’73 and former New Kent County School Superintendent J. Roy Geiger II ’72 M.Ed. ’77 Ed.S. ’86 Ed.D. ’94.

*College law professor’s works to be published*

College of William and Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law resident scholar Charles Hobson is compiling for publication works by St. George Tucker, a member of the Class of 1772 and the second law professor at the College. Hobson compiled 1,600 pages of notebooks into three manuscript volumes titled “Notes of Certain Cases in the General Court, District Courts, and Court of Appeals in Virginia, from the year 1786 to 1811,” as well as Tucker’s notes on U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court case from 1813 to 1822.

“Tucker’s legacy has not been fully appreciated,” Hobson said. “This is particularly true of the massive collection of his law papers that have reposed in Swem Library’s Special Collections since 1938.”

Hobson’s work was funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation and the Warren W. Hobbie Charitable Trust, as well as other contributions. Currently, he is in the process of revising the 2,600-page edition.

Campus Police Beat – February 9 to February 16

-
0

Friday, Feb. 19 — An individual reported theft of wallet in a vehicle at Stadium Drive. Estimated value was $150 cash.

Saturday, Feb. 20 — A non-student was arrested and charged for allegedly driving under the influence at Confusion Corner.

Sunday, Feb. 21 — An individual reported vandalism at Zable Stadium. The estimated value of damages was $150.

Sunday, Feb. 21 — An individual reported vandalism of a car at Yates Drive. Estimated damage was $150.

1...161162163...455Page 162 of 455

ABOUT US

The Flat Hat has been the College of William and Mary's student newspaper since 1911. It covers the College and the surrounding area of Williamsburg, VA, printing on Tuesdays of the academic year.

FOLLOW US

© 1911-Present. The Flat Hat. All Rights Reserved.