A new system at the College that allows members of the community to anonymously report incidents of bias has come under fire, primarily from conservative news sites and blogs.

p. The Bias Reporting System was created several weeks ago by the College Diversity Committee and exists “to assist members of the William and Mary community who have been affected by incidents involving bias related to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or other protected conditions.”

p. Sam Sadler, vice president for student affairs and co-chair of the Bias Reporting Team, said that “showing a willingness to look at issues is the best way I know to let people know that the community cares. I think it’s really the ultimate statement of community.”

p. Critics worry that the system is open to abuse because it allows anonymous reports. A full-page ad in The Flat Hat last week, paid for by FreeAmericasAlmaMater.org, brings up the possibility that students could make up allegations to get back at professors who gave them a bad grade or significant others who had broken up with them.

p. Although students may leave complaints without giving their name even to the administration, the bias reporting website says that students must leave their name if they want their complaint to be explored.

p. College administrators say that there is little need for concern. “Personally, I don’t think we would take any action unless we knew who filed the report,” Sadler said.

p. “[We’re saying,] if you want to tell us about something, do it. It can give [us] a gauge of the tenor of this College. Is it useful beyond that? No.”

p. Sadler added that the current wording on the website about how to react to unnamed complaints may be a little unclear.

p. In response to those who say that the system gives too much discretion to the administration, Sadler pointed out that some level of trust in the administration would be necessary for anything to happen.

p. “It seems to me that at a college like William and Mary, the students, administrators and faculty make pretty sound judgments most of the time,” he said.

p. Blogs such as instapundit.com, which get over a million visitors a week, have posted on the issue.

p. “I’ve heard of speech codes, but I’ve never heard of anything quite like this,” National Review Online columnist Stanley Kurtz wrote in his post titled “East Germany Hits Virginia.”

p. Kurtz does not agree with Sadler’s assessment of the competency of College administrators.

p.“Given this history of administrative conduct (or misconduct) those who do not share President Nichols’ views on what constitutes bias in the matter of the Wren Cross episode — and beyond — seem to me to have a very real basis for fearing abuse of the new Bias Reporting System,” he wrote in a post yesterday.

p. Brian Whitson, director of news services at the College, said that many other colleges have nearly identical reporting systems.
The list includes the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Georgetown University, Cornell and the University of Wisconsin in Madsion, among others.

p. Concerns about free speech also arose at many of those colleges when the systems were first implemented, and parallels to Orwell’s 1984 were also drawn.

p. There were 64 bias reports filed at the University of Virginia in 2006, according to a column in the Cavalier Daily, the student newspaper.

p. Sadler said that the decision to institute the Bias Reporting System was made by the Diversity Committee at the College, and that it was not prompted by any particular incident.

p. He added that the committee looked at the systems in place at other schools when designing one for the College.

Facebook is not essential for all.

p. Hailed across campus as a method of communication, publicity, social networking and procrastination, Facebook has redefined the meaning of friendship in cyberspace since its introduction in 2004.
Despite the overwhelming popularity of Facebook, there remain individuals on campus who have avoided the Facebook scene.

p. These students generally had the same reasons: either their friends did not use Facebook, they were never inclined to make an account or saw it as a possible burden in the future.

p. “I just never felt like making one,” Alli Loudermilk ’11 said. “I hated Myspace in high school so I didn’t think Facebook would be any better.”

p. Many non-users feel it is simply unnecessary.

p. “There are other ways to be social,” Jane Goodall ’11 said. “I’d much rather be more proactive and use the phone or instant message my friends.”

p. Someer Onsha ’09 felt the same.

p.“It just doesn’t seem necessary — I get by without it,” he said. “[When looking for events on campus], there are plenty of other avenues to take; between friends and Sam Sadler’s e­-mails, I’ve got all my bases pretty much covered.”

p. Sometimes non-users find their lack of an account an inconvenience, but they say these obstacles seem insignificant in the long run.

p. “I couldn’t get personal information on people my fraternity was thinking about rushing, and that was really annoying,” Kevin Roelofs ’08 said.

p. Roelofs had a Facebook account but deleted it.

p. “I couldn’t keep up with the pictures of me that other people were posting, and I’m not sure when something embarrassing will come up,” he said. “I’m applying to medical schools and don’t want to be turned away for pictures.”

p. Mike Roberts ’08 agrees; he transferred to the College during the fall of 2006 after spending his first two college years in the Northern Virginia community college system.

p. “[In an environment] riddled with commuters and adult students … Facebook certainly wasn’t something a majority of students had,” he said.

p. Adults with children or individuals holding full-time jobs probably did not have time to engage in “Facebooking,” Roberts said.

p. “Upon coming to [the College] and hearing hardcore about Facebook, it simply sounded, well, silly,” Roberts said. “After experiencing the workplace and the ‘real world,’ getting a Facebook account seemed to me a step backwards into a realm that I felt I had already left — like high school.”

p. Although these Facebook abstainers have thus far avoided the website, there has been encouragement from peers to acquire an account.

p. “My friends all have one and they always say I should get one, but I really don’t see the need,” Loudermilk said.

p. For Goodall, pressure from friends to start a Facebook account has decreased in recent months.

p. “During orientation people were always encouraging me to get [on] Facebook, but now many people remain indifferent to the fact that I don’t have one,” Goodall said.

p. Some individuals without Facebook remarked that they receive compliments for maintaining their Facebook celibacy. Roelofs sees other benefits.

p. “I think it worked out in the end because I got more phone numbers,” he said.

p. These students do not represent the majority on campus; most feel they cannot live without Facebook.

p. “Because my cell reception here sucks, Facebook is a way for me to communicate with friends from other schools — it saves my life,” Maisha Hossain ’11 said.

p. The College’s Facebook network is not lacking in membership; as of Oct. 21, the network had 12,806 members including graduate and undergraduate students and alumni.

p. Enrollment at the college is around 7,500 students; about 5,500 of those are undergraduates.

p. High school use of Facebook varies, but most create an account upon entering college.

p. Sarah Rybarczyk ’11, from Washington state, explained that she only got a Facebook account “to stalk [her] roommate.”

p. “Everyone in my high school used MySpace instead of Facebook,” Rybarczyk said. “Even then I didn’t have a MySpace because I could see my friends every day. I only got a Facebook [account] to contact my roommate over [the] summer, and now I hardly use it.”

Guster frontman Ryan Miller [Left] leads a packed Matoaka Amphitheater in renditions of some of the band’s most popular songs.

The performance concluded a day full of events commemorating homecoming, which began soggily when the annual parade and float contest were canceled due to rain. As the skies cleared, the football team nearly pulled off an upset of 4th-ranked University of Massachusetts before two late touchdowns gave the Minutemen a 48-34 victory at Zable Stadium.

__After contracting life-threatening MRSA, student hospitalized, treated and released__

A student at the College was hospitalized Oct. 19 when she contracted Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, a disease that has been showing up in schools nationwide. She was treated and released.

p. According to the Daily Press, almost 40 cases of the disease, an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, have been confirmed recently in Virginia. Ashton Bonds, 17, a senior at Staunton River High School in Bedford County, died Oct. 15 of complications from a serious MRSA infection after being hospitalized for a week.

p. Since the infection is now present on campus, experts warn that students should be careful to wash their hands frequently. The infection spreads through skin-to-skin contact with an infected person or contact with an infected surface.

p. According to Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Sadler, the disinfectants that the College cleaning staff already use are effective against MRSA.

p. There have been many recent reports of MRSA in the United States. This disease, formerly prevalent in hospitals and jails, has become increasingly common in schools, possibly due to the crowded conditions.

p. “Lately there has been a lot of attention in the press to the infection … because in its more serious ramifications, it can be hard to treat and because there seems to be an increase of cases in the local area,” Sadler said in an e-mail to students.

p. MRSA has been diagnosed in other states, including the case of Omar Rivera, 12, of Brooklyn, N.Y. who died Oct. 14.

p. “I want you to know that it is not unusual for our Health Center to diagnose and treat cases of MRSA,” Sadler said in the e-mail.

p. “All of the MRSA infections we have had at William and Mary have been treated successfully and very few have required hospitalization.”

p. Sadler had some advice for avoiding MRSA.

p. “Among those [precautions] are washing your hands regularly with soap and water or using an alcohol-based sanitizer; showering immediately after exercise; avoiding the sharing of towels, razors or other items which can transmit bacteria; and putting a barrier such as clothing or a towel between you and objects others might use,” he said.

p. Students at the College do not seem to be overly worried.
“It’s kind of scary to know that MRSA has been diagnosed here, but I don’t really think about it very much,” Cameron Glenn ’11 said.

p. But precautions were still taken. “We cleaned and disinfected our room, though, just to be sure,” Stacey Jefferson ’11, Glenn’s roommate, added.

__Nichol said he didn’t know until February that donor
planned to revoke past pledge__

p. College President Gene Nichol seems unable to escape criticism related to last year’s Wren cross controversy. Questions continue to surface regarding his handling of a $12 million pledge that a donor revoked because he disagreed with Nichol’s decision to remove the cross from permanent display in the Wren chapel.

p. An online group advocating Nichol’s removal says that he knew about the lost pledge months before his Feb. 9 announcement that the College’s seven-year fundraising campaign had reached its $500 million goal. The revoked pledge became public when the Daily Press broke the news Feb. 28, and campaign figures were subsequently adjusted to reflect the lost $12 million, dipping the campaign back below its goal.

p. The allegation that Nichol misrepresented campaign figures comes less than a month after the Board of Visitors announced that it would be reviewing Nichol’s presidency to determine whether or not to extend his contract, which expires in June. The allegation stems from a letter written by the donor, James McGlothlin ’62 J.D. ’64, to the online group that wants Nichol fired, ShouldNicholBeRenewed.org.

p. McGlothlin stated in the July 18 letter that he indicated to former College President Timothy Sullivan in Dec. 2006 that he was no longer going to make the donation. ShouldNicholBeRenewed.org alleges that Sullivan then forwarded the information to Nichol.
Sullivan released a statement Wednesday saying that he communicated all relevant information to the College. He would not provide any details about the content of the information.

p. “I can say with honesty and sincerity that I have done my very best to pass along all information important to the College as soon as I have known it and in the clearest possible terms,” he said. “It is more proper that these communications be revealed by the College administration than by me.”

p. The Flat Hat has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for correspondences between Nichol and Sullivan.
In an interview last Monday, Nichol said he discussed the donation with Sullivan, but Sullivan did not tell him that McGlothlin was revoking the $12 million pledge.

p. “I knew that Mr. McGlothlin was upset with the decision I’d made on the cross, and I was concerned about it — I was concerned it would affect his future giving to the College,” Nichol said. “I did not know and did not believe that he was revoking this prior pledge.”

p. ShouldNicholBeRenewed.org spokesman Jim Jones ’82, who gave a presentation in July to several BOV members urging them to fire Nichol, believes that the president lied to the College community in order to improve his image during the Wren cross controversy.

p. “In late 2006 and early 2007, Nichol was in the midst of a public relations nightmare,” Jones said. “Nichol needed to be able to release some good news to show that his ship of state was still afloat. Thus, there is a clear motivation for Nichol to have ignored the information on the withdrawal of the $12 million donation.”

p. Last February, the Daily Press obtained a letter sent by McGlothlin to a former BOV member saying that he was withholding a large contribution to the College.

p. The revoked donation caused the Campaign for William and Mary to fall back below its $500 million goal, which it later surpassed before its June 30 end date.

p. The Wren Cross controversy and its aftermath have divided members of the College community, with students and faculty largely in support of Nichol.

p. The Facebook.com group “Renew Gene Nichol’s Presidency” has 792 members, while ShouldNicholBeRenewed.org’s petition calling on the BOV to fire Nichol has 684 signatures.

__Students felt targeted by city after they were cited for
debris in backyard__

Nine months of legal wrangling over a rental house has left two students feeling that the city of Williamsburg does not want them living there.

p. “We were an inconvenience they were trying to get rid of,” Kerry Flanagan ’08 said.

p. Flanagan, Jenna Casebolt ’08 and landlord Gary Shelly ’72 allege that the city mishandled their case. In late September 2006, Shelly received a notice from the city saying that the backyard of the house Flanagan and Casebolt were renting from him was suffering from “blighted” conditions. The notice listed the offenses as debris, uncut grass and outdoor use of indoor furniture. The charges of uncut grass and outdoor use of indoor furniture were dropped, but Shelly eventually went to court over the debris charge.

p. The first notice sent to the tenants included photographs of the backyard, taken from a neighbor’s backyard. However, according to Casebolt, Flanagan and Shelly, the neighbors had not granted the city permission to take pictures from their yard. James Banton, a property inspector for the city, said that inspectors always ask for permission from neighbors when photographing adjacent backyards.

p. The initial notice came as a surprise to the tenants. Unsure what debris the notice referred to, Casebolt, Flanagan and Shelly did nothing to remove the lawn furniture, garden tools or inflatable pool that had been photographed during the inspection.

p. According to Shelly, the inspector testified in court that the initial photographs of the inspection had not developed. Therefore, he provided photos taken from the neighbor’s yard.

p. After failing subsequent inspections, Shelly was taken to civil court for not removing the debris from Casebolt and Flanagan’s backyard. He was found guilty.

p. The source of the complaint that led to the initial inspection is unknown. According to Casebolt, Flanagan and Shelly, neither of their neighbors had contacted the city regarding the backyard.

p. Following the verdict, Casebolt and Flanagan said that the city hired contractors to remove debris from their backyard. Casebolt and Flanagan said that this debris included lawn furniture and garden tools. A compliance officer allegedly showed up at the house to remove the debris.

p. After Casebolt and Flanagan threatened to call the police, the compliance officer overseeing the removal consulted with the city attorney handling the case. The furniture and tools were immediately returned. The contractors left the yard in the same condition they had found it.

p. When the case went to the docket court on appeal in May, the city dropped the charges, citing that Shelly had complied and passed an inspection that took place that day. Shelly told the judge he had done nothing to comply with the city complaint.

p. Although all charges against Shelly, Casebolt and Flanagan were dropped, they said they felt the city infringed upon their rights. Casebolt and Flanagan said they do not know how the city inspector gained access to their backyard to remove their belongings.

p. “We were treated as a nuisance,” Casebolt said.

p. Shelly agreed. “I do not believe what happened at that house would have happened at a typical rental house,” Shelly said. “In my opinion, it’s because it’s a student house.”

p. Banton claims students do not receive more complaints than other renters. He said the city handles complaints regarding student renters no differently than it handles other complaints.

p. Banton said that every resident has to comply with the same code.

p. “Everything that’s written up, it’s out of the book,” he said. “Being in Williamsburg, there are codes you have to adhere to.”

**Incident occured on Jamestown Road after a dorm party**

A female College student was assaulted and robbed on Jamestown Road while walking home from a party in Jamestown South at 2:13 a.m. Oct. 27.

p. The suspect approached the student on the right side of the street and first asked where the party was taking place.

p. He then proceeded to steal the student’s purse, injuring her face and arm in the process. The student’s injuries were not serious.

p. The suspect, a black male, is thought to be about 5’9” and in his early 20s.

p. At the time of the incident, the victim reported the suspect as wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and a knit hat with a brim.
Since the assault and robbery occurred beyond College property, the Williamsburg Police Department has been handling the investigation.

p. According to a Williamsburg police representative, 12 assaults and robberies occur each year on average.

p. Of those incidents, the number of robberies that actually involve College students are few.

p. “All suspects meet three criteria: the ability, the desire and the opportunity,” the representative said. “We cannot change the ability or the desire, but as citizens we can avoid giving them the [opportunity] to commit the crime.”

p. To prevent robberies, the Williamsburg Police Department suggests being smart in one’s decisions and always traveling in groups.

p. “Avoid being by yourself out late at night,” the representative said. “If you see something suspicious, don’t be afraid to call the police department.”

__College’s second annual dance event raises money for various clubs on campus__

Organizers said that the College’s annual Green and Gold Affair was a success, raising money for various student organizations.
The event sold 1,100 tickets, and half of all ticket sales went to student organizations.

p. The event allows students to designate the sale of their $10 ticket to the campus organization of their choice.

p. AIDS Tanzania, a service organization dedicated to combating the spread of HIV and AIDS in eastern Africa, earned the most money.

p. “Our goal in the dance was to allow an opportunity for any organization to make money … even those that are often overlooked by other fund sources,” Green and Gold Executive President Samantha Fein–Helfman ’09 said.

p. Greek, academic, community service, athletic and special interest groups participated in the fundraising.

p. Only 38 student organizations were allowed to pre-register to receive donations from ticket sales.

p. The organizations were chosen on a first-come, first-served basis to maximize profits for those involved.

p. All of the organizations made profits ranging from $60 to $405.
The Greek organizations plan on donating their profits to their respective philanthropies, Fien-Helfman said.

High temperatures and increased droughts have led to a water shortage that is putting strains on agriculture and drinking water production across the nation.

p. Water shortages in Virginia have led Gov. Tim Kaine to declare the commonwealth in a state of agricultural disaster and to enact restrictions such as open air burning bans across the state in order to mitigate the adverse effects of the water deficit.

p. Virginia is suffering from abnormally dry conditions. Around 85 percent of the state, including Williamsburg, is experiencing a severe drought, while 5 percent of the state, mostly in extreme southwestern Virginia, is experiencing an exceptional drought.
The recent rain brought a much-needed reprieve from the major water deficit but ultimately did not fix the shortage.

p. Most rivers in Virginia are now flowing normally due to the rain, but there are several that are still experiencing low flow. The Appomattox River near Matoaca, Va., and the North Fork of the Shenandoah River near Cootes Store and Strasburg, Va. are still in low-flow conditions, despite the rain.

p. Forest fires in Virginia are also on the rise due to the unusually dry and hot conditions.

p. According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, there have been 79 fires that have burned 704 acres since Oct. 15. Two homes and three structures were damaged in these fires.

p. Virginia forests range from 300 to 500 on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, which is a measure of the dryness of the soil and of duff layers. Values of 200 to 400 indicate the tendency for fires to ignite and spread relatively easily, but large logs and debris are unable to burn in these values. Values of 400 to 600 indicate the potential for larger debris to burn. These fires can smolder and burn for several days, making attempts to control them more difficult.

p. Another aspect of the water shortages facing Virginia is in the freshwater inflow into the Chesapeake Bay by tributary rivers.
September’s average freshwater inflow was around 14,500 cubic feet per second, which is about 41 percent less than the 35,800 cubic feet per second that is the usual average. This is the 16th lowest inflow on record since the first measurements were taken in 1937.

p. Droughts have had major impacts on water supplies in rural and agricultural areas. The United States Department of Agriculture declared 78 counties and 34 cities in Virginia natural disaster areas due to high temperatures and drought.

p. The city of Richmond, Albemarle County — which surrounds Charlottesville — and Loudon and Fairfax Counties in Northern Virginia have all experienced the drought’s negative impacts, including fires and mandatory water restrictions.

p. The water deficit is not only causing problems in the state, but is also wreaking havoc across the United States, including Georgia, Florida, New York and New Mexico.

p. The federal government predicts that within the next five years, 36 states will have water shortages due to increased temperatures, drought, population and urban sprawl, waste and excess of current water resources.

p. The United States Geological Survey estimated that in the year 2000, the U.S. used 148 trillion gallons of water, which equates to around 500,000 gallons of water per person.

p. Coastal states face future water resource problems due to increased populations and depleting water levels resulting from the overuse of resources and saltwater intrusion into fresh groundwater.

p. The water crisis is occurring globally as well, with the continents of Australia, Asia and Africa experiencing current water shortages and droughts.

p. The International Panel on Climate Change suggests that by the year 2050, up to 2 billion people could face major water shortages.

p. Regardless of whether or not future water shortages will be as drastic as projected, one thing is sure: there is not enough freshwater on Earth to supply water limitlessly to a growing global population. Current and future water policy will have to center around conservation and alternative methods of water extraction to ensure that the world will have adequate water supplies.