As the price at the pump escalates, so does research and interest in alternative fuel sources, including organic-based ethanol.

p. At first glance, ethanol-based fuels may appear to be an attractive alternative to expensive petroleum fuels, but a closer look reveals that hidden costs and scientific misrepresentation may make these fuels just as costly as their petroleum counterparts.
Ethanol can be produced using a variety of organic materials, including corn, switchgrass (a perennial grass common in the North American prairie), wood biomass and sugarcane.

p. According to researchers David Pimentel of Cornell University and Tad W. Patzek of the University of California at Berkeley, the amount of fossil fuel energy used to create ethanol exceeds its energy output, leading to a negative net energy gain.

p. This statement of net energy return contradicts statements by United States Department of Agriculture researcher Hosein Shapouri, who claims that returns in ethanol production have “become positive in recent years due to technological advances in ethanol conversion and increased efficiency in farm production.”
Major sources of division on the net energy yield of ethanol stem from which energy components are included in determining the net yield.

p. Pimentel suggests that many of the energy inputs are excluded from USDA and other assessments on ethanol in an effort to make ethanol fuels appear to be a more efficient alternative to traditional gasoline.

p. Inputs that are omitted include fossil fuel energy used in the production of corn and fermentation of ethanol, farm labor costs, farm machinery costs, consumer tax costs for subsidies and the environmental impacts of both producing and burning ethanol.
Many politicians have used ethanol for political purposes, especially in the midwest, where farmers would benefit from increased ethanol use.

p. Senator John McCain, however, has voiced his concern about the efficiency and cost of producing ethanol. McCain states that when direct subsidies for producing ethanol are included, a gallon of ethanol costs around three dollars.

p. Pimentel takes this idea further and suggests that when the low energy return of ethanol is included, the cost of producing a gallon of ethanol that is equivalent to a gallon of gasoline is around $7.12.

p. Currently, biofuels like ethanol are being marketed as more “eco-friendly” than petroleum fuels, but researchers like Pimentel, Bernd Franke of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and Guido Reinhardt of German-based Institute for Engergy and Environmental Research suggest that the burning and production of ethanol-based fuels incur significant negative environmental impacts.

p. Producing corn leads to soil erosion and contamination with pesticides, groundwater depletion and contamination, pollution and eutrophication (nitrogen enrichment) of rivers, streams and lakes.
Air and water pollution also result from ethanol fermentation. In 2002, this led the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a warning to plants engaged in the process to reduce emissions or risk being shut down.

p. The burning of ethanol in automobiles combined with the fossil fuel energy necessary to produce ethanol significantly contributes to increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

p. The use of other organic materials, such as switchgrass, soybeans and wood biomass also yields similar negative energy returns and pollution costs.

p. However, ethanol production using sugarcane has been demonstrated to be economically positive in Brazil; other countries that produce sugarcane, like Jamaica, are hoping to increase their ethanol production.

p. Research suggests that ethanol production could be considered an attractive method of transitioning from our current dependence on petroleum-based liquid fuels to innovative future energy sources such as solar, hydroelectric and wind.

p. Ethanol most likely will not be sustainable if its fuels are used simply to replace petroleum fuels; thus fuel conservation methods and innovative approaches to development, like new urbanism (New Town for example), are stressed.

p. For now, consumers can expect to fill their cars with increasing quantities of ethanol as global oil production decreases, but should not expect ethanol to be able to quench our thirst for cheap, liquid energy.

p. Two gunshots were fired but no one was hit outside the Days Inn on Richmond Rd. last night around 11:30 p.m. when a large group of people started fighting after leaving an 18th birthday party in the meeting room of the hotel.

p. Two student eyewitnesses, freshmen Se Won Chung and Chris Robinson, were walking approximately 25 feet from the parking lot when they heard the first gunshot.

p. “I didn’t know what to make of it at first,” Robinson said. “Se Won thought it was a firework. I saw that there was sort of a brawl. My first instinct was just to run away from it.”

p. He said that there were 50 to 60 people in the parking lot.

p. According to a woman who was in the Days Inn at the time and asked not to be named, the people were mostly 18- to 20-year-old boys.

p. “Everything was fine, and then all the sudden there was chaos,” she said, adding that after the Days Inn manager told the boys he was calling the police, they moved down the street and continued to fight. Then the first shot was fired.

p. Robinson said that two to three minutes later he heard the second shot as police were arriving on the scene. He said many people dispersed, and police were stopping people and patting them down.

p. The woman in the Days Inn said the shooter has not been caught and that police are still investigating.

p. Williamsburg Police declined to comment.

**Tuesday, March 27 —** A student reported larceny on Landrum Drive at 3:20 p.m., after a bike with an estimated value of $25 was stolen. **(1)**

p. —An annoying phone call was reported in Taylor Building at 4:05 p.m. **(2)**

p. —Larceny was reported outside of Unit C after a bicycle, estimated value $100, was stolen at 6:45 p.m. **(3)**

p. —A noise complaint was reported at the Sunken Gardens at 11:59 p.m. **(4)**

p. **Wednesday, March 28—** At Landrum Hall, a student reported larceny for items estimated at a $72 value. **(1)**

p. **Thursday, March 29 —** At 11:22 a.m., a student reported larceny outside of Spotswood Hall, where a bicycle estimated $300 in value was stolen. **(5)**

p. —Outside Unit C, a student reported a case of larceny after a punching bag with an estimated value of $60 was stolen. **(3)**

p. —Another case of larceny, reported by a student outside Zable Stadium, involved a cell phone and pair of pants being stolen, with an estimated total value of $240. **(6)**

p. —At 11:07 p.m., a report of vandalism of the bamboo forest near the Crim Dell was filed. **(7)**

p. —At the Ludwell Apartments, a computer incident was reported at 2:58 p.m. **(8)**

p. —There was a stolen property offense reported on Ukrop Drive after a parking decal was stolen at 4:09pm. **(9)**

p. **Saturday, March 31 —** A student was arrested at 1:45 a.m. on James Blair Drive for being drunk in public. **(10)**

p. —A report of vandalism was filed at 4:43 p.m. after a vehicle was damaged, estimating $700 in damage, outside Unit E in the Fraternity Complex. **(3)**

p. **Sunday, April 1 —** A student reported larceny of two credit cards and cash, estimated value of $50, outside the Fraternity Complex. **(3)**

—A student reported a stolen bicycle with an estimated value of $300 outside Tucker Hall at 7:54 p.m. **(11)**

p. **Monday, April 2 —** A student reported larceny outside Pleasants Hall when a bicycle, estimated $25, was stolen. **(12)**

The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, the Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention and several other groups are hosting the College’s annual Sexual Assault Awareness Week from April 1 to April 13.

p. “[The goal of Sexual Assault Awareness week is] to raise awareness about the issue of sexual assault and invite students to take a more active role in becoming educated about the issue, creating an environment that is more supportive of survivors, and in ending sexual violence on our campus,” Trisha Hunsaker, the sexual assault educator at the Office of Sexual Assault Services, said.

p. Hunsaker said that in the last six years that she has overseen the event, participation has increased.

p. This year, free T-shirts offered at two of the events and topics on sexual education are being used to promote student participation in the week-long event.

p. In addition to the FMLA and ASAP, Sexual Assault Peer Advocates, Every 2 Minutes, One in Four, Student Assembly, ISC and Delta Gamma Sorority contributed to the event.

p. Hunsaker said that a video on incest, a topic related to sexual assault that [is] not often discussed, kicked off the week. A self-defense workshop was held on Tuesday in Tidewater A.

p. Take Back the Night, an integral part of sexual awareness week, was held at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Crim Dell Meadow. The event included a march, a candlelight vigil and a motivational speech by a sexual assault survivor and former student of the College about the social implications of surviving a sexual assault on campus.

p. The event ends April 13 with a panel discussion entitled “Porn and You: Articulating Healthy Sexuality,” which explores the link between pornography and sexual violence and whether pornography contributes to a culture that eroticizes violence.

p. Sexual Awareness Month is held nationwide every April. A candlelight vigil was held last night.

__Freshman put on probation for calling 911 when his roommate vomited blood__

Despite the College’s new amnesty policy, a College freshman received a probationary sentence from both the College and the commonwealth of Virginia for underage consumption of alcohol early this semester. The student called 911 Jan. 22 when his roommate began vomiting blood after consuming alcohol.

p. “I woke up at four in the morning and heard [my roommate] throwing up,” the freshman told The Flat Hat. “I smelled something funny and got a friend. We turned on the light and saw a lot, a lot of blood. At that point I called the paramedics.”

p. According to the freshman, who requested that his name be withheld, he had a considerable quantity of alcohol in his room, information that he volunteered to the police. “I was fully cooperative with the police and they said that in their report,” he said.

p. Soon after, the student received an e-mail from the Dean of Students Office.

p. “I went before the area director and got put on two semesters probation [from the College] and six months probation from Virginia, alcohol education from the school and alcohol education from James City County,” he said.

p. The case raises questions about the extent of the College’s new alcohol amnesty policy.

p. “I was told that the alcohol amnesty policy did not apply to me because [the incident] was so serious,” the freshman said. “I’m not doing this interview to whine — I definitely did something wrong — but I think there should be clarification of the alcohol amnesty policy … Since I was told that it didn’t apply to me, who would it apply to? I think I would fit the policy,” he added.

p. Student Assembly President-elect Zach Pilchen seemed to agree with the student.

p. “Not only had he been written up by Campus Police, but the Dean of Students Office had put him on judicial probation,” Pilchen said. “This upset me greatly.”

p. Pilchen said that he felt the incident sent a dangerous message to students.

p. “If an amnesty policy had subjective limits, it wouldn’t be an amnesty policy. Amnesty is an absolute term,” Pilchen added. “You can’t have, ‘amnesty unless we don’t think so.’”

p. Pilchen advocated the creation of an informal policy where students who qualified for medical amnesty are not charged by Campus police but instead referred to the dean of Students Office.

p. Chief of Campus Police Don Challis did not think that the amnesty policy should apply to Campus Police. “[Amnesty] can’t apply to police,” he said. “It’s not practical. We get students who say, ‘I need help,’ but when the ambulance shows up [they] won’t go. Our primary goal is the safety of the person involved.”

p. Challis also stressed that Campus Police seek alternatives to arrest.

p. “We’re not out to make every arrest possible; if so, we’d make more. For every arrest we make we have at least four referrals.”

p. According to Challis, the amnesty policy is misinterpreted by many students. “It wasn’t designed to be a free pass. I think people expect too much from it, like [the incident] never happened.”

p. Pilchen and the students involved in the January incident both called for clarification of the College’s alcohol amnesty.

p. “Hopefully this will all be chalked up to a simple mistake on the Dean of Students’ part, and this altruistic student’s judicial record will be expunged,” Pilchen said.

__Ying Yang Twins may perform next fall__

The College has, by popular demand, won a contest to have the Ying Yang Twins, an Atlanta-based R&B/Hip-Hop “crunk rap” duo, perform on campus. The contest was sponsored by the website Eventful.com.

p. The group was expected to play May 4, but due to an unexpected booking error, their label has demanded that they appear in Europe on that same date.

p. Eventful.com is a forum for people across the world to “demand” an event by requesting a person or a group to visit their town. According to Eventful.com, the rap superstars are in demand by 259 people in Williamsburg who have logged onto their website and requested their appearance at the College.

p. According to the rappers’ website, the Ying Yang Twins, “with the help of Eventful.com, will let fans determine which five colleges get added to their 2007 tour,” indicating that they should have known their scheduling conflicts in advance. Ranked first above the other four winning universities, the College will definitely be added to the Ying Yang Twins upcoming tour at some point, according to the Ying Yang Twins website, YingYangMusic.com

p. Although entering the contest was not UCAB’s idea, the music committee contacted the Ying Yang Twins’ manager as soon as they were notified that the College had won. They scheduled the date for the concert, but received an e-mail late Wednesday evening canceling the event.

p. “This wasn’t UCAB’s fault – we followed through with finding out about the concert, contacting their agent [and so on], but they’ve pulled out on us. We’re finding another band for [the last day of classes], and would appreciate the campus support,” UCAB Music Committee Chair senior Emmagene Worley said.

p. The concert was scheduled to be held in the Sunken Garden on Blowout, according to Worley. The music committee will continue to work with the Ying Yang Twins’ agent to schedule an appearance sometime in the fall.

p. “We are trying to reschedule, and they hope to come in the fall,” Worley said.

The housing lottery involuntarily bumped 326 rising sophomore and juniors from the process, 150 students more than last year. Of those bumped, 201 are women and 125 are men.

p. In past years, an average of 100 to 200 students were bumped. Last year, every student who was bumped was reinstated before the beginning of the housing lottery.

p. 2002 is the only year in the College’s recent history when everyone did not get reinstated before the housing lottery. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 2001, there was a surge of students that wished to remain on campus, and over 500 students were bumped.

p. All involuntarily bumped students were invited to come to a meeting at the Little Theater in the Campus Center Monday. Katrina Pawvluk, assistant director of Residence Life, is hopeful that all rising juniors will be reinstated but is not sure about the sophomores who were bumped. Pawvluk said that reinstatement is going slowly because there are not many students willing to voluntarily bump themselves. If a student needs to remain on campus, Pawvluk said that she could find them a place to live, but they would have no say in where they would live or with whom.

p. “I’m afraid I do not have a real good answer for why the process is going so slow this year or why our demand for housing is higher this year,” she said. “The reasons a student may choose to live on campus or off vary greatly and are different for everyone.”

p. She added that it is difficult for students to find affordable housing in the area, especially with Williamsburg’s restrictions on the number of people who can live together in an off-campus property.

p. However, Pawvluk is hopeful for this year’s students. Since the housing lottery is online this year, it extends over a two-week period. Throughout that period, students will continue to be reinstated as others drop out of the lottery. She added that, over the summer, people drop out of the lottery for various reasons, including students who choose to study abroad. She said that she believed if a student is patient enough, that student will get reinstated eventually.

p. “Our priority this summer will be to get students who still wish to live on campus housing,” Pawvluk said. “Usually, this time is spent trying to find transfer students housing, but our priority this summer will be bumped students. Everyone who wants will get on-campus housing.”

**1930**
The College’s Glider Club held its first official glider flight. The first assistant test pilot of the national advisory committee on aeronautics flew to the College to demonstrate the safety and controllability of the glider and assisted students with their gliders. The Glider Club was the first of its kind in the South, and the second college glider club organized in the nation.

p. **1952**
Jackie Freeman was appointed head football coach after J.M. Eason resigned from the position. Eason said that his services were not needed and would prefer working with younger boys in high school and recreational activities. He assumed duties at Hampton High School as football coach was also director of the cites recreational program. Freeman was a College alum.

p. **1967**
The Flat Hat reported on a new kind of drug used amongst students, who created a way to smoke banana peels in order to achieve a psychedelic high similar to LSD. Banana sales increased drastically, despite a scientific report claiming that they had no properties required for a psychedelic high.

p. **1979**
A fire in Lodge 5 caused an estimated $15,000 worth of damage. The Williamsburg City Fire Marshall reported that the fire was probably caused by a short in an electrical cord that had become worn. He believed that sparks from the shorted cord ignited the linens on a bed, causing the fire. The only injuries reported were burns suffered by two firefighters.

Sophomore Kelly Hallinger and junior Ashwin Rastogi were two of 317 U.S. sophomores and juniors honored by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, according to the Office of University Relations. The Goldwater scholarships cover tuition, fees and room and board up to $7,500 per year. Hallinger, a biology major, studied the effect of mercury contamination on bird songs in the Shenandoah Valley, while Rastogi, a math and physics double major, worked with particle physics. The 317 Scholars were selected from a pool of 1,110 mathematics and science students across the country.