**Tuesday, Jan. 15 –** A 20-year-old student was arrested and charged with grand larceny of a wheel lock and destruction of property. He was released on a $2,000 bond.

– A bike was reported stolen on the 100 block of Wake Drive. Its estimated value is $25. **(1)**

–A student reported the theft of a parking decal worth $275 from his car while parked in the William & Mary Hall Lot. **(2)**

p. – A 19-year-old student was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol at Unit F. He was released on a summons. **(3)**

p. **Wednesday, Jan. 16 –** A professor reported that glass from the front door to the Ceramics Studio had been broken. The estimated cost of repair is $25. **(4)**

p. **Thursday, Jan. 17 –** An individual from Jones Hall reported the theft of a Wii game. No action has been taken since contact with the last student who checked it out has not been made. **(5)**

p. –A 21-year-old student was arrested and charged with embezzlement of $5,000 from organization funds. He was released on a $3,000 bond.

p. **Friday, Jan. 18 –** A 19-year-old student was arrested at the intersection of Jamestown Road and Indian Springs Road for operating a motor vehicle after illegally consuming alcohol and for underage possession of alcohol. **(6)**

p **Saturday, Jan. 19 –** A police officer reported that a vehicle on Wake Drive had been egged and covered in powder. The estimated damage to the vehicle is $100. **(1)**

p. – A student from Yates Hall reported the theft of a coat, keys and student ID. The student later called to say that the items were retrieved. **(7)**

p. **Monday, Jan. 21 –** An R.A. from Unit H called to report damage to a student’s door. The estimated damage to the door is $100. **(3)**

**1930**
Five College students departed with Dr. E.C. Branchi, professor at the College, on a 12,000-mile road trip to South America. The caravan reached Buenos Aires three months later after covering over 500 miles of land lacking roads. Branchi attempted to obtain a signature in each country they passed in support of the construction of an intercontinental highway.

p. **1961**
The William and Mary Choir made their first radio debut on the NBC radio program “Great Choirs in the United States.” The chorus received a spot on the program by sending in a tape-recorded audition to NBC. The chorus sang “Regina Coeli” from Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” for the show.

p. **1977**
Construction work continued around campus, including a $59,000 renovation to the third floor of Washington Hall and multiple new sidewalks for the purpose of “beautifing the campus.” Construction, which began in November, was set for completion in March.

p. **1986**
The College’s academic ratings increased from four to the maximum five stars in the third edition of the “Selective Guide to Colleges” by Edward B. Fiske, education editor of The New York Times. The College continues to have a five-star rating today.

**$1,000**
The amount of money that an arrested drug dealer from Maine won through a lottery ticket. The ticket was promptly confiscated by police, who claimed that the ticket was bought with illegal drug money.

p. **60 mph**
The speed that driverless cars have to exceed to be pulled over by police according to California law.

p. **277**
The number of parrots that a man attempted to smuggle into Belarus while riding a bicycle. When confronted by border police, he abandoned the birds and fled back to the Ukraine.

p. **31,200**
The amount of money required for a Swedish firm to incorporate body heat from a nearby train station into their building’s heating system.

The Student Assembly passed the Closing of the Gun Show Loophole Act and the Student Input on the Gene Nichol Referendum Act during Tuesday’s first session of the spring semester.

p. There was also a failed attempt to override SA President Zach Pilchen’s veto of the Protect the Freedom of Speech Act, and two pieces of new business were presented.

p. Senate Chairman Matt Beato ’09 was not in attendance because of his position on the Colonial District Soil and Water Conservation Board; Senator Joe Luppino-Esposito ’08 served as interim chairman.

p. The Closing of the Gun Show Loophole Act, sponsored by Sens. Devan Barber ’08, Michael Douglass ’11 and Brittany Fallon ’11, encourages the state of Virginia to pass legislation prohibiting the sale of guns at gun shows without a prior background check and was passed 15-0-1. The Virginia House had voted down a similar piece of legislation prior to the SA’s passing of the bill. The Virginia Senate voted the legislation down Wednesday morning.

p. The Student Input on the Gene Nichol Referendum Act, sponsored by Alex Kyrios ’09, proposed to put the question, “Do you believe Gene Nichol’s contract should be renewed?” to a referendum vote during the March Student Assembly election and was passed 15-0-1.

p. Senators debated whether the referendum would incite more controversy regarding Nichol or give an accurate picture of the student body’s opinion toward him.

p. “No matter what, the College will be torn apart by controversy,” Douglass said. “The students should have a chance to be heard.”
SA Vice President Valerie Hopkins ’09 also raised the question of whether such a referendum is the SA’s responsibility.

p. “Yes, this is our job to put [a] referendum to the students about anything we see fit,” Kyrios replied.

p. Douglass’ motion to override Pilchen’s veto of the Protect the Freedom of Speech Act failed 10-7, falling short of the required three-fourths of the vote. The bill was passed by the senate during the fall semester and discouraged students from taking more than one copy of a free campus publication.

p. It also proposed placing signs in the University Center entrance to deter such behavior. Pilchen was on hand to defend his veto and cited part of the bill as irrelevant because the SA does not have the authority to direct the Honor Council, Judicial Council or Campus Police with regard to trial or investigation of students who steal or destroy publications. Pilchen also referred to the placing of signs in the UC as “patronizing.”

p. Senators debated whether signs informing students that it was illegal to take more than one copy of a registered publication would be considered didactic or informative, and whether these thefts are still a relevant problem.

p. “I pretty much think it’s a dead issue,” Sen. Walter McClean ’09 said. “I really think this is something we can just drop.”

p. The two pieces of new business presented were the Steer Clear Re-establishment Act sponsored by Sen. Sarah Rojas ’10, and the Heath Ledger Condolence Act sponsored by Kyrios.

p. The Steer Clear Re-establishment Act allocates $1,842 from the consolidated reserve to William Healy ’09 to recreate the Steer Clear program. The program was previously run by fraternities and sororities, but suffered from a lack of volunteer drivers; the new program will pay drivers $8 an hour. The bill proposes that Steer Clear should run Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. If passed at next week’s SA meeting, it would begin operating Feb. 1. The Heath Ledger Condolence Act honors the passing of the young actor.

p. Finance Secretary Andrew Blasi ’10 also gave an update of the SA’s finances, reporting that so far the SA has spent an average of $5,700 per month out of the consolidated reserve, which is under the budgeted amount of $8,125 per month.

__Students travel to Richmond to meet with senators and delegates__

p. Jan. 22, 55 students traveled to Richmond to lobby Virginia senators and delegates on the importance of funding higher education. Students left campus at 6 a.m. and arrived at the Library of Virginia for a 7:30 a.m. breakfast with legislators, legislative staff, alumni and students. They traveled to the Capitol Building and split into groups to talk with legislators for two and a half hours.

p. Intern for the College’s Office of Public Affairs Seth Levey ’08 helped organize the event.

p. “The legislators love hearing from the students because higher education is a service provided to citizens of the commonwealth. Students are essentially customers providing customer feedback. We understand better than anyone else the impact of funding and are able to provide an important point of view,” Levey said.

p. In fall 2007, the College was faced with a 6.2 percent budget cut when it was already at its lowest functioning funding level ever.

p. “We wanted to put a face to all of the students in need of operating facilities, well-paid professors, and strong financial aid packages,” Student Assembly Vice President Valerie Hopkins ’09 said. Hopkins had the opportunity to speak with various representatives, and other participants described similar interactions. Specifically, students focused on issues of importance to the College. They petitioned legislators to support building projects, especially for the new School of Education.

p. “The College has a particularly notable School of Education, but its accreditation is on probationary status because the facilities are so poor,” Hopkins said.

p. The College’s need to offer competitive salaries to professors was another key lobbying point. The students maintained that because the College employs a highly-skilled faculty, it must provide its members an economic incentive not to seek higher salaries at private institutions. Lastly, students discussed the importance of the Gateway Program, which gives scholarships to students unable to afford education.

p. Road to Richmond allows students the unique opportunity to interact with legislators and represent the College’s interests.
“Most students will not be receiving the benefits of any potential budgetary changes. They all come to protect the College that they love and provide for future generations of William and Mary students,” Hopkins said.

p. SA Sen. Ryan Eickel ’10 described the experience as evidence of students’ desire to help the College.

p. “It was great to speak directly to those that hold the power to affect change and offer us the resources that we need to succeed,” Eickel said.

p. SA President Zach Pilchen ’09 led a group of students to meet with legislators, including Delegate David Bulova ’91. Conversation not only covered issues of funding, but also environmental issues facing Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay.

p. “He reminded me that William and Mary’s impact is so much more expansive than a few acres in downtown Williamsburg,” Pilchen said.

p. According to Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), there are more problems with the governance of the College than with all the other state schools combined.

p. Marshall has proposed a bill to the state House of Delegates calling for a majority of the Board of Visitors to be elected by alumni, as opposed to being appointed by the governor.
Acting upon numerous complaints from alumni in the state, Marshall has proposed this bill as “a long-range effort to amend paralysis in the current Board of Visitors.”

p. “Alumni love William and Mary first and foremost … they are in the best position to care for the school,” Marshall said. He argues that the current system could amount to simply rewarding political supporters of the governor.

p. “We need to find a system that does not depend on wealth and political connections but on people who benefited from the training of William and Mary,” Marshall said.

p. However, according to Brian Whitson from University Relations, this is already the case.

p. “The Alumni Association makes recommendations each year to the secretary of the commonwealth and the governor’s office. I actually believe we are one of the few schools where our alumni association is involved in the process this way,” Whitson said.

p. Though Marshall has yet to contact the College regarding the bill, Whitson remarked that “the current process has brought us terrific boards over the years.”

p. The bill calls for nine of the 17 BOV members to be selected by alumni and eight to be selected by the governor. Within each group there may be two non-state residents, resulting in a total of four non-Virginians in the BOV.

p. Yet the bill has received criticism from some in the College. Rector Michael K. Powell said that he did “not think having a set number of seats controlled exclusively by one segment of the college community is wise or workable,” according to Tuesday’s Daily Press article.

p. However, Marshall disagrees.

p. “[Powell] seems to be arguing that everyone that comes out of William and Mary is from the same cookie-cutter mold, when in fact they come from a wide variety of majors, a wide political spectrum, ethnic spectrum … and their point of unity is William and Mary,” Marshall said. “And since when is unity a bad thing? What ever happened to one nation, under God? You only disagree with [unity] when you disagree with the purpose of oneness.”

p. In the past, Marshall has openly criticized College President GeneDelega Nichol, at one point proposing to have the state-funded portion of Nichol’s salary – about half of the total – withheld in the midst of the Wren cross issue.

p. This was following what Marshall believed to be a violation of the Freedom of Information Act, when Nichol told a different story from what the information in the e-mails regarding the withdrawal of a $12 million donation reported.

p. Today, Marshall sees Nichol’s actions as part of the problem of “paralysis” at the College.

p. “A College president is not supposed to be a friend; he’s supposed to be a director,” Marshall said, using recent College events as an example. “His paralysis with this stupid sex show … why don’t you just get drug dealers to come in and talk about how to make money there? William and Mary is a public forum, but there are restrictions.”

p. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Education and awaits further action.