p. College student Judd Kennedy ’08 was recently awarded the Marshall Scholarship by the British Consulate General.

p. The Marshall Scholarship, awarded to 40 outstanding American students looking to pursue a graduate degree in any focus at a British institution, was named after U.S. General George C. Marshall. The scholarship was created in 1953 by an act of parliament to honor Marshall’s involvement in the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. The award provides winners with full university expenses for two years.

p. Kennedy, who is currently majoring in Middle Eastern Studies at the College, plans to use the money to pursue a master’s degree in both international law and international management from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. Kennedy is the third student in the College’s history to win the award.

p. Recognizing Achievement in Leadership chose four students to receive Outstanding Student Leader of the Month Awards.

p. Colleen Murray ’08 won for September, Jim Donecker ’08 for October, Michelle Gannon ’08 for November and Jessica Kim ’10 for December.

p. Murray has been the program director of College Partnership for Kids for three years. Donecker has been a co-leader of the Student Organization for Medical Outreach and Sustainability for three years. Gannon has been the editor of the Colonial Echo for three years. Kim coordinated the new Campus Kitchens program.

p. RAIL accepts monthly nominations for students who show dedication to student leadership and campus life.

p. *6 million*

p. Members of the Baha’i faith worldwide, including Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight Schrute on NBC’s “The Office.”

p. *$30,000*

p. The cost of rapper Paul Wall’s grills, which are a form of jewelry worn on one’s teeth.

p. *1936*

p. The year actress Mae West first delivered her famous quip, “Is that a banana in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

p. *250 million*

p. The number of pounds of tart cherries the state of Michigan produces annually, or about 75 percent of the U.S. crop.

p. *1928*

p. The William and Mary Quarterly was produced, offering a glimpse into colonial College life. The Quarterly found that students had often been riotous. One reference was of Charles W. Byrd, who had “introduced a horse into the College and rode him repeatedly through the upper passage.”

p. *1960*

p. “Dress up Day” was held by the Student Assembly to boost morale during the time of “Thanksgiving to Christmas apathy.” Twenty-five percent of males in the student body participated.

p. *1978*

p. A student was arrested over Thanksgiving Break for trespassing around the basement of Small Physics Lab. Further investigation by Campus Police found that the student had been living in the basement of Millington Hall since the beginning of the semester. According to Tom Howe ’79, he lived in Millington since he spent so much time working on projects there.

p. *1984*

p. A student was arrested over Thanksgiving Break for trespassing around the basement of Small Physics Lab. Further investigation by Campus Police found that the student had been living in the basement of Millington Hall since the beginning of the semester. According to Tom Howe ’79, he lived in Millington since he spent so much time working on projects there.

_In Danger of Extinction: Fishing May Kill Off Vaquita Porpoise_

p. According to a Nov. 16 Nature News article, the most critically endangered species of porpoise may go extinct in two years.

p. The vaquita, the smallest species of porpoise, is found only in the northern part of the Gulf of California. Scientists estimated in 1999 that the total population numbered 600. The results of a recent Conservation Biology survey estimate that only 150 have survived.

p. The greatest threat to the species is fishing. Fishermen kill approximately 40 vaquita per year as bycatch in nets. Scientists believe that once the vaquita population falls below 100, the species will no longer be able to sustain itself because of the lack of genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is the degree of variation of genetic traits among individuals of a population. Without genetic diversity, the population as a whole is less able to cope with environmental change and disease. In a population with low genetic diversity a single disease could wipe out the majority of the species. Genetically diverse populations have greater chances of survival.

p. The World Wildlife Fund, Nature Conservancy and Conservation International have made a joint $10 million pledge to buy fishermen’s boats and pay them not to fish.

p. Although this solves some immediate problems, long-term solutions are also necessary. The fishing industry in the region cannot be stopped entirely, but fishing regulation enforcement can be improved. Areas where nets are legal need to be more stringently regulated. In addition, money should be invested in developing safer nets. Nets can be designed with acoustic deterrents. These deterrents should be tested for safety and effect. If these deterrents are successful, they should be made compulsory for all legal nets in the region.

p. The vaquita is the second species of porpoise to be pushed toward extinction in the past decade. The same human activities harmful to the vaquita, like fishing and pollution, were also detrimental to the Yangtzee River dolphin, the baiji. The baiji was declared functionally extinct in December of last year after an expedition intending to transfer the surviving members of the species to a cleaner waterway failed to find a single suitable one.

p. The fight to save the vaquita is a part of a larger struggle to maintain biodiversity. Biodiversity, the variation of species on Earth, is important to the health of the Earth just as genetic diversity is important to the health of populations. The more diverse the species of Earth are, the more the Earth is able to adjust to shifting climates and conditions.

p. The major problem with preserving biodiversity is that the benefits to the environment in general are barely affected by the loss of a single species; the overall health of the world did not change much with the loss of the baiji. Unfortunately, the most important people to convince, the fishermen, have the most to lose financially. It is hard to convince fishermen to quit their jobs to save an obscure porpoise. It is therefore the responsibility of the governments of the world to provide subsidies and incentive-based fishing management, which will maintain biodiversity.

p. The costs of these preservation programs for single species may seem high, but each species lost is a loss for biodiversity. A common analogy made is that every species on Earth is like a rivet in the hull of a ship. Every species lost is another rivet wrenched out. A few rivets can be lost to no effect — in fact, many can be. But eventually one too many will be plucked out, and the ship will sink.

p. The Student Assembly senate passed five bills covering a wide array of topics during its last session of the fall semester.

p. The Saving Students Money and Paper Act, sponsored by Sens. Joe Luppino-Esposito ’08 and Caroline Mullis ’09, passed unanimously. The bill proposes the posting of information in Swem Library on how to print on both sides of a sheet of paper and minimizes the printing of cover sheets.

p. “It’s pretty much a common sense thing,” Mullis said.

p. The Ping Pong Provision for Purposeful Playing Act, sponsored by Sen. Walter McClean ’09, also passed unanimously. The bill allocates a combined $600 for the purchase of a ping pong ball dispenser that will be placed in the University Center basement. $300 will be spent on the dispenser, $150 on ping pong balls, and $150 will be spent on balls that will have the College’s logo printed on them.

p. Balls will cost 25 cents each and McClean said that the Student Assembly will soon be profiting off of the machine. McClean also said that the SA’s capability to print on the ping pong balls could result in the selling of advertisements on the balls which would generate further revenue.

p. “It will probably be up and running by the end of the semester,” he added.

p. The SLS Partnership Act, sponsored by Senate Chairman Matt Beato ’09, was also passed unanimously. The bill allocates $30,000 from the consolidated reserve to pay Student Legal Services to give law advice to students. Most of the advice will be given by third-year law students under the supervision of an attorney. Before the bill the SLS was only permitted to present the law to students; now, advice can be given and third-year law students may represent students in court.

p. Beato said that the $30,000 should last for an estimated two years, with periodic re-evaluations of the program by the SA.

p. Beato added, “This is one of the most researched programs we’ve put through the SA.”

p. The Protect the Freedom of Speech Act, sponsored by Sens. Michael Douglass ’11 and Ben Brown ’11, passed 14-1-4. The bill seeks to prevent the theft of newspapers from the UC entrance. When the bill was previously introduced in the senate, it was sent back to committee to gather information on the proposed security camera to be placed in the UC’s entrance. The newly revised bill proposed replacing the security camera with a sign to deter students from stealing newspapers. McClean addressed the likelihood of the sign being vandalized or stolen. “I don’t think it will work, and when it doesn’t work we’ll introduce something a little harder,” Douglass said.

p. The Flu Shot Encouragement Act, sponsored by Sen. Ryan Eickel ’10, passed unanimously. The bill allocates $55 toward the production and distribution of informational flyers stating where, when and for how much flu shots can be obtained.

p. Secretary of Finance Andrew Blasi ’10 also gave the monthly update of the SA’s finances. “We’re below our spending rate,” Blasi said.

p. The College is well-known for its colonial past, but a less-celebrated part of that history is its role in slavery. A recently passed Student Assembly bill, sponsored by Tiseme Zegeye ’08, seeks a Board of Visitors-established commission to investigate the College’s past.

p. The bill, entitled The Research Into and an Apology for William and Mary’s Role in Slavery Act, is part of a growing movement by states and universities to examine and, in some cases, apologize for their slaveholding pasts. In April, the Virginia State Senate and General Assembly voted to express “profound regret” for their slaveholding past, and the University of Virginia recently apologized as well.

p. “Some people think what I am doing is very radical and has come out of nowhere, but that is not true. Attempts to confront our racial past are happening all over the country,” Zegeye said in an e-mail.

p. The bill seeks to redress the College’s slaveholding past. According to a forthcoming publication by English professor Terry Meyers in the Bill of Rights Journal, the College owned a tobacco plantation whose slaves helped fund College scholarships.

p. In addition, many of the College’s most famous buildings, including Wren, the Brafferton and the President’s House, were likely built using slave labor, according to Colonial Williamsburg Historian Carl Lounsbury.

p. It was also reported that colonial students and professors were allowed to bring their personal slaves to school with them, and presidents of the College were known to own slaves.

p. Zegeye’s bill calls for the BOV to “establish a commission to research the full extent of the College of William and Mary’s role in slavery,” report its findings publicly and establish a memorial to the “contributions of slaves at the College.”

p. According to Zegeye, all senators were in favor of recommending that the BOV establish a commission, although some did not favor issuing a formal apology.

p. “It wasn’t something that the student senate needed to get involved in when we have so many other pressing issues,” Senator Joe Luppino-Esposito ’08 told the Daily Press. Luppino-Esposito voted in favor of establishing a commission.

p. Zegeye told The Flat Hat that she hopes to present a report to the Board in February detailing the request.

p. “I am asking the BOV to apologize because they represent WM as an institution, the same institution that was responsible for our role in slavery,” she said.

p. RateMyProfessors.com, a staple in the course selection process of most college students, recently published its first collection of Top 50 lists. The College ranked number nine overall for top faculty.

p. This is the first time that RateMyProfessors.com has used the student input from the website to recognize the schools and professors with the highest ratings.

p. The schools with the top faculty on the website were judged based on the highest combined average ratings among their faculty. Professors are rated in four different categories on a scale of one to five: easiness, helpfulness, clarity and rater interest.

p. Brigham Young University in Utah is ranked the number one university with the top faculty on the website. The College ranked above number 15 University of Virginia and number 11 James Madison University. The only Ivy League university to make it on the top 50 list was Cornell University, ranked number 50.

p. The large discrepancy between the ratings of the U.S. News and World Report and those of the website is the result of ther website ranking schools solely on the opinion of the students who visit the website while the U.S. News rankings are based on statistical data, including average freshman retention rate, student-faculty ratio and selectivity.

p. Princeton University is the number one national university in America in the 2008 U.S. News ratings. BYU is ranked number 79 by U.S. News. The College is ranked number 33.

p. “The group of students who tend to post comments on online sites may not be a representative sample of students who take the courses,” mathematics Professor Dana Johnson said. “Also, it is possible that a student is unhappy with a grade and uses a negative comment to spite the professor; there are usually two sides to the matter and the professor has no way of responding.”

p. Johnson has visited the website in the past to check her ratings, but says that they do not affect the way she conducts her class. She believes that the course evaluations that students fill out when each course is taken are more accurate.

p. It is no secret that college campuses are notorious breeding grounds for mononucleosis, the infectious disease often spread through saliva that generates symptoms including fever, fatigue and sore throat.

p. However, students should be especially wary of contracting “the kissing disease” this winter because it appears to be on the rise at the College.

p. The Student Health Center, which in the past has treated approximately 58 cases of mono a year, has already diagnosed 48 students this semester, according to Sarah Irwin, a health educator at the College.

p. This increase, however, has not been enough to place the disease within the top 10 diagnoses at the health center, which is visited by about 130 students each day. The leading diagnosis is upper respiratory infection, followed by depression.

p. Nor do sexually transmitted diseases rank among the most common diagnoses at the health center. They treat approximately 40 cases of STDs per year and have seen 18 so far. The most common are chlamydia, herpes and Human Papillomavirus.

p. “The best general health advice I can give is to sleep and wash your hands,” Gail Moses, M.D., director of the Student Health Center, said. “In the case of STDs, a lot of people have them and don’t think they do. I would encourage routine screening if you are engaged in high risk activity – any unprotected sex.”