The State Board of Elections approved changes to a state statute Saturday that gives students the right to register to vote at their campus address.

The updated statute considers a person’s primary home to be the physical location where they live and what they consider to be “the center of his domestic, social and civil life.” It was approved unanimously by the three-member board after a two-day meeting at the capital.

“Since I have been here, I have not heard of any students being barred from voting in Williamsburg if they wanted to,” Student Assembly Secretary of Public Affairs David Witkowsky ’11 said. “However, I am hopeful that the more explicit language will encourage more out-of-state students to feel comfortable participating in local elections during their time here at the College.”

The previous status was considered vague on many issues, and was left open to interpretation for each registrar. At Virginia Tech, where then-candidate Barack Obama was holding a voter drive, the local registrar incorrectly warned students that a change in residency could have severe consequences for their taxes and scholarships. The new statute uses explicit language that aims to prevent this sort of situation from happening again.

This weekend’s vote marks an end to a process that began this spring, when the General Assembly passed legislation requiring the board to create uniform regulatons for determining a voter’s residence.

“For William and Mary students nothing changes, they will continue to be able to do what they’ve always done — which is register to vote,” Williamsburg voter registrar Winifred Sowder said. “I don’t see how the recent statute will change anything for the city of Williamsburg, nor would I say the students voting before now have affected the city, either.”

Sowder became the city’s voter registrar on July 1, when she replaced previous registrar Dave Andrews. Andrew’s tenure in office was considered adversarial among students, as they were often discouraged from
registering in Williamsburg.

When Sowder became registrar, students became able to vote as long as they were a U.S. Citizen and held proof of residence within the City of Williamsburg. She is a member of the Virginia Residency Task Force, who worked for months to bring about the changes made in the statute.

“I don’t know if turnout in Williamsburg will change,” Witkowsky said. “We’ve been fortunate enough to have Ms. Sowder allow us the right to vote in Williamsburg as it is. Now we can be sure that if she ever leaves we will be guaranteed the same opportunities.”

The College of William and Mary student body has an active history of involvement in Williamsburg. 1,400 students registered to vote in the 2008 elections.

Former Student Assembly Senate Chair Matt Beato ’09 ran for City Council in 2008 and obtained 893 votes, 15.6 percent of the total vote.

The news has not been well received throughout Virginia.

“I’m against it because I think the students have more of a vested interest in their hometown and I think they’re not tax paying citizens, and they don’t really understand the politics of the city that they’re coming to school in,” Harrisonburg resident Elaine Keegan told WHSV-TV.

The board included a provision in the statute which prevents voters from changing their residency for the purpose of voting in a particular precinct. This addresses the concerns of some who fear that people will change residency to a certain locality for the sole purpose of altering the outcome of an election.

The U.S. Department of Justice must still approve the changes before they can be implemented.

Three College of William and Mary students were cited for violating the City of Williamsburg’s new noise ordinance within 24 hours of it going into effect.

Williamsburg Police Sergeant Edward Schneider issued summonses to the students living at 219 Harrison
Ave. for being in violation of the noise ordinance at 1:04 a.m. on Monday Aug. 24.

The ordinance went into effect Sunday, Aug. 23.

The residents of 219 Harrison Ave. said they notified the neighbors immediately surrounding of their house of plans to have a party.

According to the residents, none of their neighbors had expressed opposition to the party.

The police, however, received a complaint from a resident who lived several houses down the block.

The complainant allegedly came to 219 Harrison Ave. after the police arrived and repeatedly refused to cooperate with the students in finding a solution to the problem.

All three students are 21 years old and will appear in the Williamsburg-James City County General District Court on Sept. 11.

Five days after the Aug. 24 citation, the residents said they had a smaller gathering at their home.

The students said several of them investigated the street at 11:55 p.m. to ensure that little noise from the gathering could be heard outside. Ten minutes later, the residents said that a Williamsburg police officer had been called to the scene.

The residents recieved another summons for a noise ordinance violation. The incident report cites that the violation was filed at 12:04 a.m.

Aside from providing reports of the incident, the Williamsburg Police Department refused to comment about the noise violations.

The City of Williamsburg passed new noise and nuisance laws this summer, expanding liability for nuisance violators and instituting a complex noise ordinance.

The changes were prompted by a General Assembly bill that allows Virginia localities to require property owners to remove graffiti in a timely manner.

The Williamsburg City Council passed the new nuisance ordinance, which restricts littering, grafitti and other annoyances, at its July meeting. The new law extends liability for violations beyond that of occupants to include property owners and their agents and representatives. It also requires property owners to remove graffiti within 15 days and expands the definition of public nuisance.

Furthermore, punishment for violators was upped from a class three misdemeanor to a class one misdemeanor.

“That doesn’t mean that the court is bound to mete out class one punishment,” City Attorney Joe Phillips said at the July City Council meeting, “but it can go that high, i.e. a $1,500 fine and a year in jail.”

The city’s new noise law stems from an April Virginia Supreme Court decision, which struck down Virginia Beach’s similar noise law, disturbing to a “reasonable person,” as too vague.

Since the April court ruling, Virginia Beach has restricted noise in neighborhoods to 55 decibels, about as loud as a dishwasher and five decibels softer than normal conversation, outside a house after 10 p.m.
Williamsburg’s new noise law differs from Virginia Beach’s new ordinance. Instead, the city’s new law specifies 11 situations that Phillips said account for almost every noise complaint.

The situations include television, radio or musical instruments audible across residential lines, horns or whistles in general, yelling or shouting between 11 p.m. and 7a.m. and gatherings of 10 or more people lasting 30 or more minutes that is not contained inside and is audible across property lines.

Phillips noted at the council’s August work session that the new ordinance is similar to that used in Blacksburg, Va., home to Virginia Tech. In fact, he said, much of the ordinance was copied from Blacksburg’s municipal code.

As a catch all, the city also specified maximum noise levels to be referenced in the case of an unforeseen situation. In residential areas, noise is limited to 65 decibels between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. and 55 decibels
between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Normal conversation averages around 60 decibels.

First-time violators face a class 2 misdemeanor charge, which carries a $300 fine. Subsequent violations within a one-year period warrant $500 fines.

Council member Paul Freiling ’83 questioned the radio and television situation, which applied all day under the original proposal.

“If somebody’s sitting on their porch and happens to have a radio on, and the radio can be heard 11 feet away, and their property line is ten feet from the porch, then they are by definition here violating the noise ordinance when, if they were simply out mowing their lawn, they’d be making far more noise than they ever could with the radio,” Freiling said.

Phillips confirmed that Freiling’s scenario was correct.

“I guess I have a little bit of a — and I understand the challenges here, and the difficulties here — but I have a little bit of a concern about this, and perhaps it’s unfounded,” Freiling said. “But I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t a potential for situations to exist where there are already contentious relations between neighbors that could become exacerbated when this sort of tool comes into somebody’s arsenal, to get back at a neighbor for some other perceived offense, just to make their lives miserable.”

“That certainly is a chance that exists,” Phillips responded. “Unfortunately, we have no ability to use a reasonable person standard anymore, which would come into play and apply to what you’re talking about.”

Williamsburg Police Department Chief of Police Mike Yost testified that amending hours to the television and radio situation would not burden police. He noted that while over 400 noise complaints were registered last year, few made it to court.

“I could count them on my hand, the number of summonses we actually issued, because the officers really work hard at mitigating these things … and most of the time people comply,” Yost told the council. “When they don’t, they’ll write a summons.”

After some discussion, the council voted to amend the ordinance for television and radio noise across property lines to apply between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Freiling also questioned events pertaining to the College of William and Mary. College-sponsored events on campus property are exempt from the ordinance, but events hosted by groups other than the College, are not.

Although he expressed concern that events such as tailgates at the Alumni House, located on the edge of campus, could be in violation of the ordinance, Freiling did not pursue the matter further.

The new noise ordinance went into effect Sunday, Aug. 23.

Huntington, Va. resident Garrick Pridemore, 27, was tasered by a Williamsburg Police Department officer after struggling with a group of officers outside the Green Leafe Café on Scotland St. at approximately 2 a.m. Saturday.

An eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, reported that the incident occurred as the delis were closing for the night. Pridemore was urinating in a flowerbed when police approached him, the eyewitness said.

The officers asked for his identification, but Pridemore refused and tried to move past them. Officers then wrestled him to the ground and tasered him.
The WPD report goes into more detail.

“It started with a gentleman urinating in a flowerbed,” Major Suzanne Geary said. “An officer went over to speak about [the] urination.”

Police officers asked for Pridemore’s identification. Pridemore demanded to see the officers’ identification, getting up to one inch away from an officer’s face. He found his identification after first handing the officer his insurance card.

Officers noticed that Pridemore showed signs of intoxication — smelled of alcohol, was slurring his speech and had an unsteady balance. Police then informed him that he was under arrest. A struggle ensued, and an officer began wrestling with Pridemore.

“The officer tried to take him down with a basic takedown,” Geary said. “Pridemore [then] wrapped his legs around the officer’s upper body.”

According to the report, a second officer issued a command for Pridemore to stop, but Pridemore ignored it.
The second officer then administered a “dry stun,” applying an electric shock to his leg with the taser without discharging the electrodes.

“A third officer was involved and asked Mr. Pridemore to place his hands behind his back or he would be pepper-sprayed,” Geary said.

Pridemore then released his grip and was charged with public drunkenness. Police detained Pridemore until he sobered up. At this time, it appears that Pridemore will not be charged with public urination, resisting arrest or assaulting an officer.

Last March, College of William and Mary student Walter Luse ’12 was tasered and arrested for using false identification to buy alcohol.

While these two recent incidents ended with the discharge of a taser, Williamsburg police try to refrain from using the weapon.

“Most of the time when officers display their taser … people comply,” Geary said. “It gets displayed more than it gets used.”

_Flat Hat Managing Editor Sam Sutton contributed to this article._

*Wednesday, August 26* — A burglary was reported on the 900 block of Capitol Landing Rd. No goods were reported stolen.

*Thursday, August 27* — The Union Bank and Trust at 171 Monticello Ave. was allegedly robbed. The amount stolen has not been released.

*Saturday, August 29* — An individual was cited for a noise violation on the 200 block of Harrison Ave.

— An individual was arrested for alleged possession of marijuana after an automobile accident on Lafayette Street.

— An individual was given summons on the 300 block of Richmond Rd. for an alleged noise violation.

*Sunday, August 30* — An individual was arrested for driving while intoxicated and consuming alcohol while driving on the 1000 block of Capitol Landing Rd.

*Saturday, August 15* — An individual was arrested on Harrison Ave. for alleged public drunkenness.

New benefits in the government’s GI Bill of Rights may inspire veterans to chose four-year institutions over community colleges, according to an American Council on Education report.

Historically, beneficiaries of the GI Bill enrolled predominantly in community colleges, attending only part time. Relatively few veterans attended public or private four-year institutions.

“While [veteran students] have previously been concentrated at public two-year colleges, these new benefits may encourage them to seek entry into more expensive colleges, particularly if those institutions demonstrate responsiveness to their needs.” Alexandra Radford, the report’s author, said.

The new bill became law in June 2008 but didn’t go into effect until this August.

The law provides veterans with tuition for four academic years.

The total grant may not exceed the cost of tuition at the most expensive public institution in the state in which the veteran attends college.

Associate Vice President of the American Council on Education Jacqueline King predicts that as more veterans benefit from the new GI Bill, more veterans will attend college full time.

Veterans have not always taken advantage of benefits offered by the GI Bill. Only 47 percent of veterans eligible to receive benefits at four-year public colleges chose to do so in 2007.

The report also noted that it is in the interest of both military personnel and institutions of higher education to advertise the benefits offered by the bill.

“The benefits of the new GI Bill must be well publicized by both colleges and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,” King said. “This is to the advantage of both military personnel seeking higher education and the institutions in which they hope to enroll.”

*College to test emergency warning system*

The College of William and Mary emergency warning and mass notification system will be tested Wednesday, Sept. 2. The mass notification system alerts individuals by making calls to land lines and cell phones and through text messaging and e-mail. The system is designed to reach every individual though at least one medium of communication.

The College’s emergency notification systems are tested at the beginning of each semester to ensure that each member of the community is familiar with them.

*Faculty art featured at the Muscarelle*

The 11th Faculty Art Show will be presented by the Muscarelle Museum of Art from Sept. 5 to Oct. 25.

The art show, a collaboration between the art and art history departments and the Muscarelle, features works on paper and canvasses, as well as sculptures. Since 1985, the Muscarelle has invited studio art faculty members to exhibit works every two to five years. The last show was held in 2007.

*W&M reduces carbon emissions by 16 percent*

The College has reduced its carbon emissions by 16 percent per square foot of building space since 2002, according to the College’s first greenhouse gas inventory.

The inventory, compiled by Environmental Science and Policy Program Director and biology professor John Swaddle and Lauren Edmonds ’11, released details regarding possible ways for the college to improve. Improved efficiency in the on-campus power plant contributed most to the reduction, according to the study.

“The greatest improvements that have been achieved in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are due to the investments for utility infrastructure,” Campus Energy Manager Dan Patterson said. “The reduction averages to a 2.5 percent decrease in carbon emissions per member of the College community.”