High ticket sales for the My Chemical Romance and Muse spring concert have given UCAB’s members reason to smile, the concert’s organizers said Wednesday.

p. According to senior Emmagene Worley, UCAB’s Music Committee Chair, the group has sold over 1,000 student tickets for the show, while Ticketmaster has sold several thousand public tickets.

p. “Sales started out fantastic — all-time highs. We would really like to sell out all the student tickets to make this the biggest show we’ve had in a really long time,” Worley said in an e-mail.

p. Joe Lowder, the College administrator who worked with UCAB to help bring MCR and Muse, is also pleased with the results. As assistant director of College activities, he helped facilitate the deal between UCAB and the AEG/Artshow, the company that is bringing MCR/Muse to campus.

p. “The biggest concert here in the recent past was Wilco last year, which was just short of 3,000 attendees, so already having 4,000 tickets sold is a great sign. UCAB should be pleased,” Lowder said in an e-mail.

p. “Ticket sales are already at levels we have never seen before, but there are 8,000 available,” he said. Around 1,200 students tickets remained last week.

p. Both Worley and Lowder stressed the importance of a successful show in attracting big names to the College in the future.

p. “If we can get a significant portion of the student body to buy tickets, it would make attracting big name concerts so much easier,” Worley said. “Artists would begin to view the College as the kind of venue they want to play, and then it would make getting more and bigger acts easier.”

p. According to Lowder, future big-name concerts at the College will be a “business decision” based on this show’s success.

p. “It is all market based,” he said. “If [AEG/Artshow] sees this is a good market for live music, they will probably want to come back.”

p. Worley said that she was happy to book high-profile acts like Muse and My Chemical Romance.

p. “Muse is one of the top acts in Europe and sold out Wembley Stadium [on] two nights. Not to mention that My Chemical Romance brings the best light, sound, video and pyrotechnics show we will have ever had here at William and Mary. Even if a student is not the biggest My Chemical Romance fan, this show has a lot to offer,” Lowder said.

p. He praised the band and said that by attending the concert students are increasing the likelihood for high-quality bands at future College concerts.

p. “They both put on unforgettable live shows, complete with all sorts of theatrics combined with great musicianship,” Worley said.

p. “What better way to help make a difference in the quality of entertainment at the College than attending a quality concert? This show is going to be spectacular,” she added.

p. The My Chemical Romance and Muse show is at 8:00 p.m. April 28. Student tickets are $16 and are available at the Kaplan Arena box office from 8:30 to 5:00 p.m. daily until they sell out.

According to Williamsburg area resident Kristie Ross, she and her cousin, Sheena Washington, were recently denied service at the International House of Pancakes on Richmond Road because they are black.

p. Just before 2 a.m. March 10, Ross allegedly was told by the night manager that she was banned from the IHOP, despite never having eaten there before.

p. “She said ‘You people don’t know how to act,’” Ross told the Daily Press. “I said, ‘Who is you people?”

p. According to the Daily Press article, Ross claimed to witness a number of incidents of discrimination while she tried to call the phone number for IHOP’s headquarters to complain. Ross said she watched as several groups of white customers were seated while nearly 40 black customers were turned away.

p. Another black customer who was denied service, Sherrell Roane, also said she was discriminated against.

p. “When we looked in, that’s all we seen was Caucasian, no African-American people,” she said on a WAVY-TV news report.

p. A white customer, Alaina Northern, was ordering food for a black friend when she said the manager noticed for whom she was ordering.

p. “She realized the to-go order was for him, and she said she was going to refund the money. She went to the register, got the money, gave it back to me and asked us to leave,” Northern said.

p. Police were already near the IHOP because of an earlier brawl at the Library Tavern. Officers reported that approximately 70 customers, many of whom were black, were turned away between 1 and 2 a.m.

p. “A lot of them were being very rowdy, cussing,” Major Jay Sexton of the Williamsburg Police Department said. He added that IHOP, as a 24-hour restaurant, often has issues with drunk and disorderly late-night customers.

p. Georgia Owen, the night manager who turned the women away, turned comments over to IHOP spokesman Patrick Lenow. He said that the restaurant may deny service to people who are or previously have been disruptive, and that when one unruly group was asked to leave, some innocent people may accidentally have been denied service in the confusion.

p. “We’re sorry that happened because that is never our intent,” Lenow said. “Most important is the safety and security of our guests, and that’s why the decision was made.”

p. “It’s discrimination in the worst way when you say you can’t be seated because you don’t know how to act,” Ross told the Daily Press. “You can’t judge me because this person or that person starts trouble. You can’t judge every black person because of one.”

p. Ross said that she has contacted the NAACP, which is looking into the matter and may conduct an official investigation. Calls to the local NAACP office went unanswered.

p. This racial discrimination suit comes on the tail of a similar suit against IHOP. According to the March 24 Wichita Star, four women were forced to leave a Kansas City IHOP earlier this month after two of them kissed.

p. According to the women, the kiss was tame.

p. “It was a casual kiss,” one of the women, Eva Sandoval, said. “It was the sort of kiss I would give my grandfather.”

p. IHOP, however, claims that the kiss was overtly amorous and that the manager asked the women to tone down the public display.

p. “We’re welcoming to all. That’s how we built our business for 50 years,” Lenow said. “What’s not welcome at our restaurants are bold displays of affection, with open-mouth kissing and caressing.”

p. The women, along with gay rights group PROMO, the Missouri LGBT equality organization, protested outside the Kansas City IHOP last Friday. They initially demanded an official apology and for the manager to be fired, although they later demanded only sensitivity training.

**1930**
Rogers Hall reportedly suffered $100,000 worth of damage after a fire that started in the elevator shaft and spread, destroying the entire roof. The roof windows and third floor were completely destroyed by the flames and the upper stories had to be rebuilt. The College managed to move all classes except for labs, so no classes were canceled.

p. **1966**
According to a survey done by campus political science professors, 40 percent of students at the College were in favor of escalating U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Twenty of the 663 students surveyed were in favor of immediate withdrawal of troops. A survey of faculty members found that 39.6 percent favored a withdrawal and 31 percent supported current policy.

p. **1979**
A proposal for a student “Fall Break” was given to then-President Thomas Graves to be ruled on later that week. The recommendation from the Academic Calendar Advisory Committee suggested that students get a weekend plus Monday and Tuesday off in the middle of October each year.

p. **1985**
The Rev. Jerry Falwell spoke at the College in front of 2,000 students, 100 of whom were protesters. He came to the College at the request of Doug Phillips, chairman of the Young Americans for Freedom. Phillips’ father was the national director of the Conservative caucus. Falwell described the College as “more than any other school part of the old Virginia aristocracy where you don’t see such activism for the left or the right.”

Michael K. Powell, the College’s current rector and former FCC Chair was appointed to Cisco’s Board of Directors Mar. 22 according to Associated Press reports. Cisco Systems Inc. makes routers and switches that direct data traffic over computer networks.

p. “[Powell’s] broad experience with the communications sector — from his support of affordable, widespread broadband deployment in the United States while FCC chairman, to his understanding of the enormous possibilities created by the convergence of data, voice and video — makes him an invaluable addition to the board,” John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco, said in a statement.

**23.6 percent**
The percent of The College budget that is funded by the State of Virginia. 35.5 percent comes from tuition and student fees, while government grants, donations and other sources make up the rest.

p. **16 percent**
Athletic spending amounts to 16 percent of all spending on academic instruction and support at the College, according to the Fiscal Year 2006-2007 Executive Summary. Academic instruction and support includes faculty salaries and department funding as well as library and IT services.

p. **205 feet**
The vertical drop on “Griffon,” the nearly-completed roller coaster at Busch Gardens. It will open May 25 and is being advertised as the world’s tallest dive coaster without a floor.

p. **25 percent**
The percentage of Americans who believe in horoscopes, according to a June 2005 Gallup poll of 1,002 adults. See The Flat Hat’s horoscopes on page 6.

p. **118**
The death rate, per 100,000 of fisherman and fishing workers. Fishing work is the most dangerous profession, according to a 2005 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

**Saturday, March 17 —** A 36-year-old male was arrested at 1300 Richmond Road and charged with being drunk in public. The suspect was described as a black male, 6’02. **(1)**

p. **Monday, March 19 —** A 25-year-old female was arrested at 100 Matoaka Court and charged with driving under the influence. The suspect was described as a white female, 5’3, 135 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair. **(2)**

p. **Wednesday, March 21 —** An unidentified male was arrested at 3000 Richmond Road and charged with being drunk in public. **(1)**

p. —A 35-year-old male was arrested at 44 Duke of Gloucester Street and charged with being drunk in public. The suspect was described as a white male, 6’0. **(3)**

p. **Thursday, March 22 —** An 18-year-old male was arrested at 1230 Richmond Road and charged with embezzlement. The estimated amount embezzled was $495.60. The suspect was described as a black male, 6’1 in height, 180 pounds, brown eyes and black hair. **(1)**

p. **Friday, March 23 —** A 28-year-old male was arrested at 1200 Richmond Road and charged with being drunk in public. The suspect was described as white male, 5’8 pounds, 160 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. **(1)**

p. — A 25-year-old male was arrested at 1200 Richmond Road and charged with being drunk in public and possession of marijuana. The suspect was described as a white male, 5’8, 200 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. **(1)**

p. — An unidentified male was arrested at 1000 Capitol Lodge Road and charged with driving under the influence. The suspect was described as a white male. **(4)**

The Student Assembly Review Board voted against hearing a case filed by sophomore Cliff Dunn — who formerly worked within the SA executive’s Finance Department — against SA President senior Ryan Scofield and his secretary of finance, senior Bradley Justus.

p. The case was largely symbolic, as the Review Board has no punishment powers, and resulted from conflicting interpretations of SA procedures: what Dunn considered robbery, the Scofield administration considered standard operating procedure, causing a dispute about whether precedent can trump SA rules when allocating money to student organizations.

p. Until recently, the SA code said that presidents cannot allocate more than $750 from the speakers fund, campus events fund, multi-cultural event fund, new event initiative fund or conference fund without approval from the Executive Appropriations Committee. The code was amended by the Student Organizational Funding Act II, which allows presidents to allocate up to $3,000 without approval from the senate.

p. Before the amendment, Scofield routinely allocated more than $750 to student organizations. Justus said the administration was following a precedent set three years ago by former SA President Brian Cannon, under whom the finance code was written.

p. “[The senate] let the precedent ride instead of the unusable code,” Justus said, noting that it was widely known that the administration did not adhere to the rules. “Anybody who’s in favor of an SA that’s actually responsive to students … has to see this as a code that hinders the SA’s ability to help the students.”
He added that Dunn never approached anyone about the issue before filing the case.

p. Dunn, who is currently running for SA senate, said he decided not to talk to anyone about his concerns because Scofield and Justus had previously ignored his other unrelated complaints. He filed the case and sent them a letter of resignation from his position within the Finance Department, to which Scofield replied: “Unfortunately, neither Bradley nor I are prepared to accept your resignation. But I can offer you this … you’re fired. Thanks for nothing, Ryan.”

p. Scofield said he was angry with Dunn for filing the case without discussing the issue with him.

p. “He was very unprofessional, personally hurtful and cowardly in his actions,” Scofield said. “Frankly, he was wasting everyone’s time in a futile effort to make a name for himself in light of the upcoming general elections. He used to meet weekly with Bradley and had regular access to me if he ever had a problem with anything.”

p. Dunn said he filed the case to bring the issue to the public eye. “It seems like we have these rules for a reason. One would think there’s a reason behind them,” he said. “They’ve been robbing the bank for a while, and they need to stop it.”

p. Dunn also expressed concerns about the potential for the president to break the current limit of $3,000, since he was breaking the previous limit.

p. Justus responded by saying that the senate chose not to enforce the $750 limit because it was unreasonable, but now they would be willing to enforce the $3,000 limit.

p. SA Senators Walter McClean and Matt Beato, both sophomores, sponsored the Student Organizational Funding Act II in order to end the inconsistency between how much the code says can be allocated by the president and how much actually is allocated.

p. The bill says that the $750 limit has become outdated and unrealistic.

p. In a statement submitted by Scofield and Justus to the Review Board — which issued a statement Friday saying it found insufficient reason to hear the case — they said that the senate had already solved the problem through legislation that incorporates the precedent into the code.

p. “The senate took the high road and rather than bring a case, they changed the legislation — a much more appropriate, professional and responsible approach to resolving problems at this level of student government,” Scofield said.

The College recently named Thomas E. Mann the 2007 Hunter B. Andrews Fellow in American Politics.

p. Established in 1998 to honor the late state senator and College alumnus, the Hunter B. Andrews Fellowship has allowed the College community the privilege of interacting with distinguished public figures including U.S. Congressman and noted civil rights leader John Lewis, journalist, editor and author Walter Isaacson and Sandy Berger, national security advisor to President Bill Clinton.

p. Among the several activities planned for him, Mann is looking forward to the upcoming public forum, which will be held March 26 and 27 in Tucker 120 at 7:30 p.m.

p. “I will make an initial presentation on ‘Have the 2006 Elections Begun to Mend the Broken Branch?’ This will include assessing how well the new Democratic majorities in Congress are doing relative to the commitments they made prior to the election,” Mann said.

p. Mann majored in political science as an undergraduate student at the University of Florida. While pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, He was granted an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship.

p. After the fellowship, Mann served a staff position at the APSA. There he later served as executive director designed and executed a poll for Representative James G. O’Hara, completed and defended his dissertation, collaborated with Ornstein on a Congress Project sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute and served as Director of Governmental Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he today serves as the W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow in Governance Studies. The Brookings Institution is one of America’s premier policy think tanks. Mann’s current projects include studies on election reform, redistricting, campaign finance and congressional reform.

p. The political scientist and author embraces both scholarship and public affairs and sees his visit to the College as yet another interesting opportunity.

p. “I hope to make a case [to students] for serious engagement in public life — as citizens, public servants, politicians and public intellectuals,” Mann said.

Darryl Stephens, a senior at Armstrong High School in the urban center of Richmond, will be a member of the incoming class of 2011.

p. Stephens, a foster-child who aspires to be a pediatric neurosurgeon, is on his way to earning a college education thanks to Gateway William and Mary.

p. Introduced by President Nichol Aug. 26, 2005, Gateway William and Mary offers exceptional in-state students who would otherwise not be able to financially afford college a way to attend the College without having to take out loans.

p. The program allows these students to graduate college debt-free. The aid package, worth $50,000, will cover tuition, room and board, textbooks and fees. About 45 incoming freshmen will receive similar packages, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

p. When Gateway William and Mary was first introduced, President Nichol told William and Mary News his goals for the program.

p. “William and Mary is determined to live up to its heritage to be both great and public,” Nichol said. To do so, we must ensure that Virginians from all backgrounds can enjoy the benefits of our programs. This innovative effort is in keeping with Thomas Jefferson’s aspiration that ‘worth and genius [be] sought from every condition of life.”

p. President Nichol presented Stephens, 17, with the full-aid package to the College.

p. “This is a very generous package from us,” Nichol said to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “We’re investing in this young man.”
The College called Stephens at his high school for what he assumed was a college admissions interview. When he arrived to the conference room, however, he was awarded the financial aid package instead.

p. Among the many people to congratulate Darryl were Virginia State Senator Benjamin J. Lambert III and Louis W. Sullivan, George H.W. Bush’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, who had traveled from Atlanta to applaud Stephens, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Sullivan and Senator Lambert are chairman and vice-chairman of the Virginia-Nebraska Alliance, a group whose aim is to increase the number of minorities in the health-care profession.

p. With the help of the Virginia-Nebraska Alliance, Stephens was put in contact with Partnership for the Future, which first piqued his interest in the College.

p. Along with the distinguished guests who shared in the moment, Stephens was also greeted by familiar faces. An assistant principal who shared her home with Stephens before he moved into a group home last year and a director from Owens & Minor, a supply-chain solutions company that Stephens has worked for the past three summers were also present, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

p. “It’s a dream come true,” Stephens said as he clasped his letter.

p. According to William and Mary News, the applicant pool for the class of 2010 was the most diverse ever with 2,179 students of color applying to the College. This is an increase of over one hundred applicants compared to last year’s pool.

p. “[The College] is hoping that we can continue to be creative in terms of how we reach out to a variety of audiences and populations across the Commonwealth and across the nation,” Associate Provost for Enrollment Earl Granger said.