Two weeks after his graduation from the College of William and Mary, Bill Lawrence ’90 packed up and drove across the country to Los Angeles, California. The 22-year old Kappa Alpha fraternity brother from Connecticut plugged his way through the Hollywood grind for years before catching a writing gig on a new television program named “Friends.” The show took off, helping Lawrence realize his dreams of becoming a TV writer. Now 40, the “Scrubs” and “Spin City” creator returned to his alma mater this week as one of the College’s most successful alumni. He took time out of his schedule to chat with us about his college days, making it in the business and not being able to knock ’em back like he used to.

**The Flat Hat:** What was your experience at the College like?

**Lawrence:** I had a blast. I still hang out with some of the guys I went to college with and some of the girls I went to college with. I think as a kid you get caught in this trap where everybody tells you that college is going to be the best four years of your life. And when you get here you’re like ‘When does the giant party start?’ But when you leave you’ll realize that it’s one of the best times ever — and I’ve always felt that way about this place.

**TFH:** When did you realize you could make it as a television writer?

**Lawrence:** It took me about two years out there. The drag was I got hired on a new TV show called “Billy,” which was a sequel to “Head of the Class.” So I’m getting paid to write. And then in your head you go, ‘This is going to be a huge hit, I’m going to be doing this forever.’ And it got canceled after four episodes. So I was like, ‘Oh no.’ I did manage to keep getting work, but I was still living hand to mouth. I had to go back to tending bars and waiting tables on the side.

**TFH:** What’s it like being back here?

**Lawrence:** I will give you a piece of advice. When you’re 40, and you come back here thinking you’re going to drink beers like you did when you were 20, the answer is you can’t.

**TFH:** What advice would you give somebody trying to make it in the entertainment business?

**Lawrence:** If you can imagine yourself doing something else, go do something else. But if you’re so passionate about it that you can’t even dream of doing something other than being a writer or an actor, then you’ve got to suck it up and go for it and jump in. And don’t let how scary it is stop you.

__“Because Lord knows I need the caffeine,” Erin Houston good-naturedly says as she holds a warm paper cup of Earl Grey. She explains her lingering addiction acquired during the five weeks she spent studying at the University of Cambridge this summer. As we sit down at a corner table at the Daily Grind, it doesn’t take long for me to pick up on this petite senior’s buoyant personality. An English and government double major, Erin transferred here after her freshman year at Wake Forest University and has been in love with the College of William and Mary ever since. A member of Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, Alpha Chi Omega sorority and Every Two Minutes, Erin is passionate about service and social change but still sets aside time to have fun with her friends. I’m fortunate to hear what she has to say about women’s rights issues in Afghanistan, why she’s a self-proclaimed old soul and find out the identity of her not-so-secret CNN crush.__

**Do you have any nicknames?**

I have an odd one. My mom calls me Mango. I don’t really know why. It just came out of being in the kitchen with her one day. My friends from high school all call me Brian because my middle name is O’Brian.

**Erin O’Brian Houston sounds like a pretty Irish name.**

[Laughs.] It’s funny you should say this because I’m actually mostly German, but my mother would have me be Irish, so she made my name Irish. I am Irish, but only a little.

**You mentioned you are very interested in social change. Do you have any specific ideas about what you’d like to do after graduation?**

I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life for a long time. But just over the break I read “Beggars for Change,” by Robert Egger, and it made me realize I want to work on housing and homelessness and sort of reform the nonprofit sector. I just decided a couple weeks ago, and I’m going to do it.

**Are you applying to jobs yet?**

I’m applying to a bunch of jobs right now just to work in that area of the sector, but I want to sort of go bigger and create a safety net for all the different areas of the sector so nobody can fall through the cracks. I want to work in some way to make it a comprehensive approach, which is not usually the way it’s done.

**Do you have a favorite academic building?**

Blair. I studied over in Cambridge, and Blair reminds me a lot of the buildings there.

**Did you enjoy your time spent studying in England?**

Yeah, I did. It was a really different experience. I loved experiencing another culture; it was really enriching. I also took a course on “Shakespeare in Love” there, which is my favorite movie. We got to read all these different plays that were referenced. It’s a great movie, especially if you’re an English dork.

**Are you reading anything at the moment?**

Yeah, I’m reading “Fear of Small Numbers,” an essay about minorities and genocide. It’s not light reading by any means, but it’s really interesting. It’s just about historical memory and the fear of being a minority and the majority’s fear of having a minority. I’ve studied Afghanistan pretty intensely; it’s kind of a weird academic fascination. I’ve studied a lot about women in Afghanistan since seventh grade after I read an article about treatment of women under the Taliban. I actually researched a paper on the topic last spring and presented with a professor and another student in Madison, Wisconsin at the Annual Conference on South Asia.

**That’s very impressive. As for other literature, who is your favorite fictional character?**

Elizabeth Bennet. I aspire to be like her in every way.

**Are you into any television shows?**

Not particularly. I enjoy “Lost,” but I can’t say I’m an avid watcher. ’m a CNN junkie. I don’t watch TV, just
CNN.

**What’s your favorite CNN show?**

“Anderson Cooper.”

**Any particular reason?**

Uh … silver fox? [Laughs.]

**So many people say that … But it’s so true! Starbucks or the Grind?**

Starbucks, but only because I was a barista.

**What’s your favorite thing to get?**

A tall, nonfat, half-with-syrup, peppermint mocha. Clearly a barista.

**What would the soundtrack to your life have on it?**

It would be mostly jazz. I love Ella Fitzgerald, Coltrane. I’m kind of an old soul in that way. I like a lot of the really old stuff, a lot of the Gershwin standards, [that] sort of thing.

**What’s something people around here probably don’t know about you?**

I have always had this inner wanting to be a sex ed teacher. It’s important — not enough people talk about it. So many people are scared of it or have the wrong idea about it.

__I saw Erin a few days later at the Office of Volunteer Services Alternative Spring Break Service Trip lottery. This service-savvy gal is already getting an opportunity to work for affordable housing by heading south during our week off to build houses with the Habitat for Humanity group in Charleston, South Carolina. Even on her breaks, Erin uses her time to help other people.__

“Marley and Me,” “Yes Man,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “Four Christmases,” “Twilight” and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” What do all these films have in common? They all have graced the number-one position at the box office in the last two months and have an average of 40 percent fresh rating from the nation’s top critics at RottenTomatoes.com. Thank you America, for continuously propelling shitty movies to the big screen and making the public dumber after every viewing. Adding insult to injury, ‘Blart’ had the second-biggest opening ever in the month of January, behind last year’s surprise juggernaut “Cloverfield.”
Think back to “Cloverfield’s” intense marketing campaign — keeping the monster hidden and all? ‘Blart’ didn’t have that, unless you consider Kevin James riding a segway and sliding across the ground to bemarketing. It wouldn’t have been such a crime but these scenes weren’t the sole highlights of the film.
America, why do you watch such terrible movies?

The axiomatic reasoning among analysts and studio heads as to why Americans continuously catapult atrocious films to box-office glory is that Americans seek to escape when they go to the theaters. This is why films with depressing subject matter, or films that provide social and political commentary such as among other elements, marketing resulted in box office failure for most of these movies. Does that mean bad movies are easier to market? In a sense, yes. In the case of ‘Blart,’ all the studio had to do was play up on the fact that the goofy star Kevin James (“Hitch”) had the IQ of a doughnut.

In fact, I could write a doctoral thesis about America’s obsession with cheap, beer-drinking flicks. Don’t believe it? Explain why “Big Momma’s House” had a successful sequel. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

All in all, low-IQ films are generally easier to market because they appeal to the lowest common denominator. But really, has the American audience actually sunk to that level?

So, what kinds of movies should Americans watch? Well, good ones, of course, that also manage to be entertaining. Wait, a movie can be good and entertaining? Yes, it can! Can it be thought-provoking as well? Yes, it can! While watching the majority of this year’s Oscar contenders, it dawned on me that not only were many of these films good but they were also very entertaining. Films, like “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Frost/Nixon,” managed to make me jump out of my seat, cheering with sheer joy. Not only were they engaging but they also provided thought-provoking themes and social commentary that put the films in a grander scope. Many subscribe to the notion that the Oscars will always reward the purely serious films that only the arthouse crowd can truly appreciate. I completely disagree with that notion — take Robert Downey Jr.’s supporting actor nod for “Tropic Thunder,” for example. While the Oscars do snub many quality flicks, generally, if a movie is considered a viable Oscar contender, it’s because it’s compelling and entertaining.

It’s a travesty to hear stories of people, like that of Darren Aronofsky (“Requiem for a Dream”), who went through hell and high water to make their films. Aronofsky, who directed “The Wrestler,” an ambitious story of an aging grappler dealing with the implications of the real world — faced many challenges in the creation of his film. He was mocked for refusing to cast Nicholas Cage (“National Treasure”) as the lead in his film and nearly lost his job for pushing Mickey Rourke (“Sin City”). As a result, he received a shoestring budget for a film that most likely was not going to be picked up by a major distributor. It was, however, and the film received two major acting nominations for best supporting actress (Marisa Tomei, “My Cousin Vinnie”) and best actor for Rourke. After having won a Golden Globe for his role, Rourke is a major contender for the Oscar.

It is a mystery why Americans ignore such quality films as “The Wrestler” and instead watch trash on the big screen. Part of the blame can be placed on the shoulders of studio executives who continuously greenlight zero-substance films that Americans will eat up. It has become a simple science where even a guy like me can pretty much guess spot-on how well a film will do — regardless of quality. So, I say, let’s use our resources: Research to see what movies are bad and avoid them at all cost. America, can we stop watching bad movies? Yes, we can!

__Mohammad Rahman is a Critical Condition Columnist. He is going to move to France where they know what good film really is.__

When I walked into Mary Schilling’s office in December, the Career Center’s director looked ecstatic; her face glowed with excitement. Through the generosity of Sherman Cohen, a Manhattan real estate developer who attended the College of William and Mary in 1938, the Career Center was planning a $6 million facelift. The new facility, whose design was released to the media in early December, will overlook Zable Stadium and is expected to be completed by 2010, moving the Career Center’s staff out of its stuffy headquarters in the basement of Blow Memorial Hall.

In addition to the news of its impending renovation, the staff at the Career Center have been tackling the unenviable task of assisting students in navigating what is one of the worst job markets in decades. According to a report released by the annual United States Conference of Mayors meeting, the nation’s unemployment rate stands at 7.2 percent, and is expected to rise above 9 percent by 2010.
Predictably, the College is feeling the effects, most noticeably with on-campus recruiting, which provides jobs to 10 to 15 percent of graduating seniors each year, according to Schilling.

“This is a tough economy — probably the toughest since the depression,” Schilling said. “As with most colleges, we’ve seen a decrease in the number of employers coming to visit on campus. We have 10 to 13 percent less this year [than in the past].”

A number of factors contribute to this decrease. According to Schilling, there are fewer entry-level positions available in many companies. Numerous available jobs are given to students who have secured these positions through summer internships, which Schilling says makes those summer opportunities all the more important in this economy.

In response to the dire economic circumstances, the Career Center has responded by launching new programs for students and by reaching out to the College’s vast alumni base. One such program is Hire WM, an electronic job-posting forum that connects College alums with students who may be interested in the same field. “We hope to generate an increasing number of job postings that are William and Mary-exclusive,” Schilling said.

One other program, the Job Search Boot Camp, a four-hour intensive workshop that took place Jan. 20, was mainly designed to get students moving in the right direction with tips on career preparedness and job search.

“They mentioned that this is the first year they are holding the Job Search Boot Camp, and they started it mostly because of the economy,” Jennifer Peterson ’09 said. Peterson, like many students, is actively trying to get a jump on the job market.

Lauren Jones ’09, who attended the boot camp, said that the workshop addressed aspects of the job-search process that other career programs did not.

“They told us that we would probably need to come up with several backup plans, but I would have preferred they teach me how to sell myself so that I could be the strongest I can be for my number-one job,” Jones said. “At the same time, I can understand that they want to give us realistic expectations.”
The Career Center also must deal with the perception, held by some students, that the programs are quite helpful for those on the business track, while many students of different majors are left out in the cold.

“I think that the Career Center is very helpful for those people that want to follow one of the ‘standard’ paths for W and M grads,” Jones said. “If you want to go work for a big consulting firm or investment banking firm you are pretty much set to go with them.

“If, on the other hand, you are following a non-traditional career path, you are kind of on your own.” Jones, a biology major with a process management and consulting minor in the business school, added that she wished the Career Center had someone who specialized in science-related jobs.

Schilling said that the main reason corporate employers are especially well-represented at College Career Fairs and are active in on-campus recruiting is because they have College recruitment departments within their companies. “Non-profits and smaller businesses don’t have the same type of means,” Schilling said.

She said that while the banking industry has been hit hard by the recession, jobs in consulting and accounting remain popular choices for students and many of these job opportunities remain unchanged from recent years. She also added that last fall’s recruitment featured more government organizations than previous years.

Now more than ever, Schilling and others at the Career Center are emphasizing that students must employ multiple strategies to find future employment opportunities.

“Don’t expect to get a job just through campus recruiting,” Schilling said. “It will be a year when a lot of students get only one job offer, and students need to realize that you may not get your dream job right away.”

As the grim news keeps coming in — 90,000 jobs were lost worldwide last Monday alone — Schilling said that while the Career Center will “ride the wave with the recession,” the most important thing for students to take advantage of past connections, as well as the alumni base of the College.

“Network, network, network,” she said. “And just be thoughtful both about what you need and want in a job.”
Despite a slightly smaller number of employers visiting than in past years, the Spring Career Fair takes place today in the Sadler Center from 12 to 4 and is open to all.