It seems that not even a visit from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II can derail that most sacred of College traditions — Blowout.
While classes may be cancelled for the Queen’s May 4 visit, most students plan to celebrate Blowout Thursday, Friday or both days. As of last night, 568 students had joined the Facebook group “Friday is Still Blowout,” while more than 250 students had joined groups advocating the celebration of Blowout on both Thursday and Friday.

p. Junior Chris St. Cyr, who, along with junior Will Ingersoll, created the “Friday is Still Blowout” group, said that the Queen’s visit did not change his Friday plans at all, although he now plans to celebrate on Thursday as well.

p. “It changed some peoples’ plans because they have tests and stuff Thursday, but that’s why we created the group,” Cyr said. “I imagine [Thursday] night there’ll be a big party. It’d be sweet if the Queen came out.”

p. Other students are also planning Thursday and Friday celebrations.

p. “I’m going to welcome [the Queen] in style by getting completely wasted,” one freshman, who requested to remain anonymous, told The Flat Hat. She went on to say that while she was excited to see the Queen, the only effect Her Majesty’s visit would have on her Blowout plans would be a more dignified drinking manner.

p. Another freshman, who also requested to remain anonymous, said that he planned on getting a free sobriety T-shirt for blowing a 0.0, then going out to party.

p. He later conceded that he might not be able to hold out until the breathalyzer event, which begins at 9 p.m. at the University Center Terrace Thursday.

p. In an e-mail written April 27, Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Sadler acknowledged potential concerns about the Queen’s visit affecting Blowout.

p. “Many of you have written to express concern that moving the last day of classes for this semester to Thursday would ruin traditions you have come to enjoy — bell ringing for seniors, merriment in the Sunken Garden and elsewhere, blowing a Double 0, etc. Let me reassure you that isn’t the case. Everything is just being moved up a day.”

p. “You will have your day. That’s important. And Friday will belong to the Queen for her visit,” he added.

p. Blowout revelers might choose to celebrate both days but should be forewarned: the Queen’s visit means security will be very tight over the traditional Blowout period, and the Secret Service will be on campus.

p. However, the general sentiment is that this probably won’t stop many partiers, as Blowout is not generally characterized by a great deal of caution.

For the second time in the past year, the College’s administration will receive a proposal aimed at making the school more environmentally friendly.

p. Three students at the College currently taking Professor Maria Ivanova’s graduate seminar on climate change will present their proposal to College President Gene Nichol and Vice President for Administration Anna Martin tomorrow morning after presenting to Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Sadler Monday. They will encourage Nichol to pledge to make the College carbon neutral by signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.

p. The proposal, researched and written under Ivanova’s guidance by senior David Sievers and graduate students Massey Whorley and Kristen McCann, builds upon a proposal delivered to College administrators by Professor Timmons Roberts’ spring 2006 environmental sociology class.

p. Whorley, who took Roberts’ class last spring as a senior, said that the new proposal addresses the issue from more than just a cost and benefit analysis, which is what Roberts’ class prepared.

p. “They attacked it purely from [the angle of] ‘This makes business sense. You invest here, you get these returns, it pays off,’” he said. “It didn’t exactly sink in. We have incorporated the cost-benefit analysis, but we also take a more ethically based approach. … This is less about what we should do, and more about what we have to do.”

p. Carbon neutrality, Ivanova said, is not a new trend.

p. “The Queen is coming Friday, and the Queen has officially announced that her whole trip to the United States is carbon neutral. She has also committed to making her offices in the Palace carbon neutral by 2012, so it’s a pretty serious commitment. We think it would be a very appropriate time for the president to also commit and sign the PCC before or on Friday.”

p. The proposal suggests achieving carbon neutrality through efforts other than carbon credits, and the focus of the proposal is cutting back on emissions. “Our general approach is that we’re going to make every effort to reduce emissions, improve efficiency and, eventually, purchase clean energy and clean electricity,” Whorley said. “Offsets are pretty much our last option. They are probably the easiest thing to do, but they don’t cut to the core of the issue.”

p. The PCC has three sections that lay out how colleges and universities can achieve carbon neutrality. The first is organizational. The student proposal advocates the creation of an Office of Sustainability to oversee environmentally friendly development on campus. Section two recommends tangible projects that include both individuals and the College as a whole. Section three deals with creating a timetable.

p. One of the problems that Ivanova’s students cannot address fully is how to get students involved. “What we don’t really know is what students would like to see in the curriculum or in college life to respond to environmental issues,” Ivanova said. “Let’s face it, William and Mary is absolutely not on the cutting edge of campus sustainability or environmental offerings in the curriculum. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get there. That’s where groups like SEAC are so helpful.”

p. Whorley said taking action is not as hard as people think. “It’s about changing behavior and about changing attitudes,” he said. Whorley, who Ivanova jokingly called a “born-again environmentalist,” may be the prime example. “When I started this class in August, I didn’t know anything about the environment,” he said. “Now, I bike to school every time I can.”

p. Ivanova and her students are optimistic about their proposal, especially after their meeting with Sadler. “He [Sadler] saw right through to the main purpose of our endeavor. The economic case has been made, and miraculously, it doesn’t stick because people are not just rational actors. People act in what they believe is right. He said, ‘You are going to institutionalize environmental responsibility and sustainability into the mission of the College,’ and that’s exactly how we approached it.”

p. Nichol has until June 1 to sign the PCC to become a charter member, and the group is becoming crowded. “Everyday there are more signatories,” Sievers said. “The question is are we going to be pulled into this kicking or are we going to be setting the standard?”

p. While the proposal is aimed at getting the College committed to carbon neutrality, the group hopes the College will also take up a leadership role to encourage schools that do not have the resources of a Yale University or Cornell University to take up the cause as well.

p. Sievers pointed out that for the younger generation, the environment is an issue with wide support. “It’s not a partisan issue for most of our generation. Last year, there was a CBS/MTV poll that showed that 81 percent of people our age wanted immediate action on climate change.”

p. But the effort must start locally.

p. “We can be the bridge between local and global, red and blue,” Ivanova said.

p. “And green and gold,” Sievers added.

p. View the full proposal here:
http://www.environmentalgovernance.com/docs/William_and_Mary_PCC_Proposal.pdf

__College economics professor Carl Moody endorsed a report
advocating the legalization of marijuana__

College economics professor Carl Moody has endorsed a report advocating the legalization of marijuana, which, according to research conducted by a Harvard University professor, would create savings and tax revenues resulting in a net gain of approximately $10 to $14 billion annually.

p. Harvard economics professor Jeffrey Miron’s report, published in June 2005, is called “The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition,” and has garnered the support of over 530 economists from colleges and universities across the nation.

p. Focusing on federal budgets, Miron’s report notes that “prohibition entails direct enforcement costs and prevents taxation of marijuana production and sale.”

p. Moody said he decided to express his support for the matter because he has long agreed with Miron’s argument, despite the controversy surrounding the issue.

p. “It just makes so much sense. I’ve done lots of research, never published it, but I looked into it, and the cost of drug prohibition is just enormous,” Moody said in a phone interview. “It is controversial, but look who else supports it. I’m with Nobel Laureate winners. If [Nobel Laureate recipients Dr.] Milton Friedman and [Dr.] Vernon Smith can take the heat, so can I. It’s just so sensible, why wouldn’t people agree?”

p. According to the report, lifting prohibition and allowing for the taxation of marijuana would save the government approximately $7.7 billion per year in enforcement costs.

p. Of these savings, $5.3 billion would be accumulated at the state and local levels from such expenditures and $2.4 billion at the federal level.

p. In Virginia, the police, judicial and corrections budget combined is $2,935 million, of which $99.46 million is attributed to expenditures related to marijuana prohibition, the report says.
In addition to these savings, the report says that the tax revenue gains would be considerable.

p. Depending on the method of taxation, anywhere between $2.4 billion (if marijuana were taxed like an ordinary product) and $6.2 billion (if it were taxed like alcohol or tobacco) would be accrued annually.

p. Many of the endorsers of the report, however, think that the economics are only part of the problem about marijuana prohibition.

p. Moody feels that the social impacts of lifting prohibition would all be positive.

p. “It’s an unnecessary infringement on rights as a person and the right to do what you want with your body. It’s not anybody else’s body; it’s not the government’s. I support [legalization] on philosophical grounds,” he said.

p. His support for the issue of legalization also stems from his view of the negative impacts of prohibition on society and individual freedoms.

p. “Prohibition leads to empowerment of the law enforcement and police side of government. We’re not a police state, but if you stop people from doing what they want, it reduces freedom overall. [In situations like this,] police are forced to go undercover or rely on snitches or break into houses [to seek out the criminals.] If prohibition were lifted, there would be a significant shift of usage from alcohol to marijuana, and also from more intense drugs to marijuana, which [in comparison] is pharmacologically mild,” Moody said.

p. Prohibition, in Moody’s opinion, is the reason that harder drugs have become more popular.

p. “[During prohibition in the 1920s,] beer wasn’t smuggled in, they took in hard alcohol. Essentially the same thing holds true now. Dangerous designer drugs are popular because they’re easier to smuggle in. You can’t fly a plane of marijuana leaves,” Moody said.

p. The report has been summarized in a letter to President George W. Bush, requesting “an open and honest debate about marijuana prohibition” and advocating reform that would allow a system of regulation and taxation similar to that used for the distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages.

p. “I don’t expect significant movement [to change marijuana policy as a result of] the report,” Moody said.

p. “This is essentially one drop in a Chinese water torture method to change [the current] policy. Our one drop says ‘your policy is stupid.’ Sooner or later, reason will win out.”

If you’re hoping to go to the Commencement ceremonies this May, you are likely out of luck. According to the College, Commencement tickets will not be available to the general public.

p. Only graduating students will be able to obtain tickets. The College announced that each degree candidate is entitled to four tickets. Some students who filled out an online form were able to get a fifth ticket.

p. Because of the size of this year’s graduating class, the College needed to put in place these strict limits for guest tickets for the main Commencement exercises in William and Mary Hall.

p. With the high demand for tickets anticipated again this year, the Commencement Committee reminded students that the selling of tickets is strictly prohibited. However, the College does not restrict students from giving excess tickets to their classmates.

p. After speaking with several graduating students, it seems that the rule is largely respected. Most who requested a fifth ticket were allowed. However, most are struggling to get tickets beyond the mandatory maximum.

p. For the students who cannot secure enough Commencement tickets, the College encourages them to invite those unable to attend the main ceremony to meet them at the diploma presentation program that follows.

p. Most of the other activities on Commencement weekend are completely open to the public.

**Friday, April 20 —** An unidentified minor was charged with domestic assault and battery at 500 Roycroft Street. **(1)**

p. — A 47-year-old black female was arrested at 500 Merrimac Trail and charged with assault and attempt to burn. **(2)**

p. — A 22-year-old white female was arrested at 400 Capitol Landing Road and charged with embezzlement. **(3)**

p. **Sunday, April 21 —** A 24-year-old black male was arrested at 100 Matoaka Court and charged with attempted capital murder, use of a firearm, use of a concealed weapon, having a stolen weapon and driving under a suspended license. **(4)**

p. — An unidentified individual was arrested at 300 Dunning Street and charged with disorderly conduct, being drunk in public, failure to obey lawful order and trespassing. The individual was later charged with breaking and entering and assault and battery. **(5)**

p. **Sunday, April 22 —** An unidentified black male was arrested at the IHOP on Richmond Road and charged with petit larceny. **(6)**

p. —A 24-year-old white male was arrested at 2100 South Henry Street and charged with driving under the influence and refusal to submit to arrest. **(7)**

p. **Monday, April 23 —** An unidentified individual was arrested at 1300 Mt. Vernon Road and charged with vandalism. Police reported that a glass door was damaged. **(8)**

p. **Tuesday, April 24 —** A 32-year-old white male was arrested at 300 Richmond Road and charged with being drunk in public and trespassing. **(6)**

p. — A 29-year-old white male was arrested at 200 Armistead Avenue and charged with driving under the influence and failure to stop at a stop sign. The individual was a habitual offender and was also charged for violating his parole. **(9)**

p. — An unidentified male was arrested at 200 Richmond Road and charged with larceny. Officers reported that he stole golf clubs and a golf bag. **(6)**

p. **Wednesday, April 25 —** An unidentified individual was arrested at 200 Merrimac Trail and charged with larceny of a black and gray Yamaha Raptor ATV. **(2)**

p. — A 27-year-old black male was arrested at the corner of Page and Second Street and had his driver’s license revoked. An officer at the scene reported that this was his second time his license was revoked. **(10)**

**1929**
The College ended its version of freshmen rules. The tribunal enforcing the rules decided that the freshmen would no longer be subject to curfew and other regulations during finals. At the time, the tribunal had not decided whether or not the freshman rules would be regulated or even enforced the following year. On the night rules were to end, tribunal officials expected a party or even a “small riot.”

p. **1948**
The College’s enforcement of a new no smoking rule went into effect. Smoking, eating and drinking soft drinks were no longer allowed in teaching classrooms. Students could engage in these activities in study hall rooms and where permitted by the instructor. Smoking would also be allowed during midterm and final exams.

p. **1973**
College professor Vernon Edmonds was reprimanded by the sociology department after being accused by four black students of racism after they received grades of “No Credit” in his social problems course. The department reprimanded him for “alleged vagueness and selectivity concerning grading criteria,” but did not specifically mention the issue of discrimination.

p. **1982**
A campus police car struck a student in the Ewell parking lot. The officer involved in the incident was responding to a false burglar alarm set off in Ewell. The student was sent to Williamsburg Community Hospital and released. He suffered no injuries.

**$43.21**
The cost per student of getting free access to the bus lines. The money also pays to have Green line busses run in convenient places for students.

p. **$3.12**
The amount the college paid last year per ride taken by students or staff.

p. **77 percent**
The percent of student and faculty bus rides taken on the Green line. Red line use makes up a large portion of the remaining 23%, according to Bill Horacio III, Parking and Transportation Manager at the College.

p. **5 percent**
The increase in student and staff use of non-Green line busses over the last two years.

A great blue heron swoops down and grabs a mummichog out of a salt marsh. An old deadrise workboat trolls into a marina after a long day of pulling crab pots. A school of menhaden float quietly on the top of water, suffocated by anoxic (oxygen-poor) conditions that have struck the Chesapeake Bay.
This scene, while fictitious, is demonstrative of the beauty and tragedy that the bay holds.

p. The livelihood and majesty of the bay is in danger as rising coastal populations and pollution continue to degrade its waterways.

p. In recent reports by the Chesapeake Bay Program and the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science, the health of the bay is described as dismal and has been given a grade of D- by the University of Maryland.

p. There were certain areas that did better than others, including the upper and lower portions of the bay, but as a whole, the health of the bay is a serious concern.

p. “None of it is in very good shape. 2006 wasn’t a particularly good year for the bay,” Bill Dennison of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science said.

p. The University of Maryland’s report, entitled “Chesapeake Ecocheck,” gave the bay a grade of D- based on a poor water quality index, poor biotic index and extreme weather.

p. The water quality index in the bay was especially low due to low chlorophyll A concentrations and poor water clarity caused by very turbid water, meaning that the water was laden with suspended particles of mud and sediments.

p. However, there were high levels of dissolved oxygen in most parts of the bay except in the deeper channels, where dissolved oxygen is naturally lower.

p. Poor phytoplankton communities and a dramatic reduction in bay grasses gave the bay a poor biotic index.

p. The benthic, or bottom-dwelling, communities, such as clams and worms, were in very poor condition due to low dissolved oxygen levels and abundant suspended particles.

p. The area of the bay that is covered with submerged aquatic vegetation has decreased throughout most regions. There has been some resurgence in the Upper Bay.

p. Extreme weather played both a positive and negative role in the health of the bay in 2006.

p. Average freshwater flows were around what is expected.
However, a very dry spring followed by an intense summer rain event threw the natural system out of equilibrium. These events caused many temporary, negative effects for habitats and organisms.

p. Interestingly, the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto actually helped the Chesapeake Bay by ending a harmful algal bloom in the Potomac River caused by eutrophication, or nutrient enrichment.

p. The mixing and cooling reduced thermal stress on bay grasses and increased dissolved oxygen levels in bottom waters.
The James River received one of the better scores in the report. It was given a C- for overall health.

p. It also received a C for water quality and habitat health because of a high water quality index and strong dissolved oxygen levels, but earned a D for the biotic index because of a very poor phytoplankton community and a moderate benthic community.

p. The Chesapeake Bay Program’s report on the bay included a section on the restoration efforts that are occuring.

p. There have been far-reaching efforts to decrease pollution, which are aimed at doing what is necessary to bring the bay off of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “impaired waters” list.

p. It is estimated that approximately half of the pollution efforts needed have been undertaken in the past two decades.

p. Other goals are aimed at restoring habitats, managing fisheries, protecting watersheds and fostering stewardship of the bay. Environmentalists hope to educate and recruit local citizens for this effort.

p. A management policy that involves the interacting relationship between different species and their interaction with the environment is also being implemented.

p. Efforts like these and others are what is needed to restore the Chesapeake Bay to the healthy and flourishing body of water that it once was.

p. The future of the bay as a habitat for organisms, a source of livelihood for watermen and a playground for boaters, swimmers and other recreational users is at stake if the problems of the bay are not adequately addressed and corrected.

Although most people have heard of Monroe scholars, many outside of the program are unsure as to what it entails. Monroe Scholars represent the top of their class. Requirements for Monroe scholarships for entering freshman include high GPA and standardized test scores.

p. “[Scholars must also have] concern for community, intellectual depth, curiosity and demonstrated devotion to learning for learning’s sake,” the website of the Charles Center, which regulates the program, says.

p. Those selected as Monroe scholars have the option to live in Monroe Hall for their freshman year and to register early for classes their first semester. They also are expected to complete a research project the summer after their freshman year. They are given a $1,000 grant for the projects, which.vary depending on their personal interests.

p. “I’m going to compare Samurai films and the classic American Western film,” freshman Mike Erickson said. “[The project] isn’t just an excuse to watch movies,” the potential film studies major added.

p. Freshman Dan Villarreal said that he will be visiting drugstores in New York City and interviewing clerks, “to determine the association between certain speech features and the prestige of the neighborhood.”

p. Monroe scholars also are expected to conduct research after their freshman year. Senior John Bell said that for his freshman project he purchased a sitar and studied Hindustani classical music. His upperclass grant was used for his history honors thesis about authenticity in music subculture.

p. “I wrote a paper analyzing the interplay between national and international level governments,” senior Ryan Scofield said. He added that he got to do hands-on work in Washington, D.C., with Virginia Sen. John Warner and with the NATO in Belgium.

p. Junior Devin DeBacker’s upperclass project involves, “revisiting Machiavelli’s ‘The Discourse’ in its original Italian and trying to consistently resolve it with his ‘The Prince,’ as the former advocates a republican government and the latter … a totalitarian government.” DeBacker has also received the Batten Pre-Honors Research Grant from the Charles Center, an award which he credits in part to his Monroe connections.

p. According to many Monroe scholars, however, most of the time there is little work, if any, involved.

p. “Drawing up a proposal for my summer project is the only thing I’ve actually done,” Erickson said. “There are Monroe lunches, but I haven’t attended any.”

p. Freshman Brad Akin agrees.

p. “It’s no more [work] than you want it to be,” Akin said. “I have yet to be mandated to do anything as a Monroe scholar. All of the programs are optional. I think you could even opt not to use your research money, if you wanted to.”

p. Senior Ryan Scofield said his experience was similar to this year’s Monroes’.

p. “I know people who put a lot of work into their summer research, conducting a post-freshman year project as well,” Scofield said. “I know others who didn’t put much work into it at all, aside from the mandated time during the actual summer.”

p. Many Monroe scholars feel they have a stigma of being nerdy or receiving special treatment.

p. “Contrary to what some may believe, it’s not different than being any other student,” Villarreal said.

p. Others believe there is a stereotypical social stigma that comes with being a Monroe.

p. “It’s funny because most people do not realize I am in the program, so they will occasionally make comments about it,” freshman Eric Newman, who opted to live in Fauquier instead of Monroe, said. “Just stuff like, ‘those smart kids are ruining my curve’ or ‘[they’re] always working’ or something. Depending on who I am around, it is a positive thing or a negative thing.”
Despite the stereotype, Monroe scholars believe they know how to have a good time.

p. “My favorite Monroe scholars-related memory would have to be the aggregate sum of our freshman hall experiences,” Scofield said. “There were ‘block parties’ in the lobby, dance parties in the first floor bathroom, bets placed on Yankees-Red Sox series, and lots more. I had a very memorable freshman year with those people.”

p. Bell described the block parties. “We typically just sat around, listened to music, and ate snack mix. It was very low-key.” He also described the antics of fellow scholar Scofield.

p. “[His] exploits are numerous,” he said. “He drank a gallon of milk in under an hour, he went to Wawa wearing only a Speedo, boots and a cowboy hat [and] he frequently inflated condoms over his head. I could go on and on.”

p. For DeBacker, his story — “the classic Monroe story” — is one of love. He decided to live in Monroe Hall his freshman year.
“During that time I casually met Rachel Florek, a non-Monroe who was a gentle combination of sweet and firecracker. Come sophomore year, I’m sitting in my dorm room in Madison basement, and out of nowhere Rachel walked in. It turned out she was trying to look at how someone else arranged their wardrobes, and she recognized me from Monroe. A year and a half ago, we started dating, and now she’s my soon-to-be fiancée. It’s funny how something as little as choosing to live in Monroe affects the rest of your life — or should I say, lives.”

p. According to many “Monrovians,” the scholarship provided an extra incentive to attend the College but only sometimes was it the deciding factor.

p. “The College as a whole impressed me, and I would probably be here as a non-Monroe,” Belanger said. “There are enough research opportunities available to the whole College body that one program wouldn’t have made or broken my decision.”
For others, Monroe was just an added bonus.

p. “I received over $500,000 in grants and scholarships to attend a number of universities, but realized that none of those universities offered me a program where I could further my academic interests and challenge myself with new scholastic opportunities,” DeBacker said. “William and Mary’s Monroe Scholars program provided me with those opportunities.”

p. For Monroe Scholars, the associated opportunities sometimes have even more value than the research grants. For Scofield, networking with fellow scholars was a major plus.

p. “It was wonderful being a Monroe Scholar. Aside from the fact that it enabled me to spend a summer abroad in Europe traveling and learning a lot, it was great to be able to live in Monroe and develop relationships with all of the other [students] who lived there. We became really close as a group, and we still are today,” he said.

p. Other students had similar stories.

p. “Being a Monroe Scholar allowed me to pursue some academic interests [and] curiosities, and I am grateful to the Charles Center for providing me the funds to make those inquiries. I also got to live in Monroe Hall, which was great, and I’ve enjoyed the occasional Monroe lunch,” Bell said. “Many schools’ honors programs are more in the ivory tower mold, and I didn’t want something like that.”

p. After graduation, Bell plans on working with Teach For America, teaching high school social studies in rural North Carolina. Scofield plans on attending Duke Law School.

p. The students all agreed Monroe was a positive experience they would take part in again.