Thurs, Oct. 23, 2014

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The Marlin ChroniCle THURSDAY 10.23.14 || MARLINCHRONICLE.VWC.EDU ||

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE

Anthony Dellamura | Marlin Chronicle Students, faculty, staff and administration look on as Dean O’Rourke addresses the community council on Thursday, Oct. 16 that addressed issues prevelent on campus

A COMMUNITY RESPONDS Members of VWC community gathered in the Hofheimer Library to voice opinions, voices, and questions, regarding the lawsuit and the implications it brings to the college. BY AOIFE BRANCO acbranco@vwc.edu

The atmosphere was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. People sat perched atop tables; bookshelves became seats and the floor was slowly disappearing as more and more students, faculty and staff filed in. To gain a better view people ventured to the second floor, giving them an overhead perspective of the meeting; others found a unique vantage point from the staircase. As the first speaker approached the microphone and tapped it a few times to ensure it was working. The room filled with hundreds of people instantly silenced as everyone held their breath, waiting to finally release the tension. “I am Virginia Wesleyan”, Craig Wansink Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Center for the Study of Religious Freedom said . “I am a professor of religious studies. I am bemused that today is national conflict day… I am Virginia Wesleyan and I am disappointed and angry and confused and

grieving and desperate to know each side. I am Virginia Wesleyan and I am perplexed about that letter and every single day I want to ask questions. I am Virginia Wesleyan and, as it turns out, I am impatient.” The Virginia Wesleyan community met in one of the largest gatherings to date, the VWC Community Council. Faculty, staff and students packed into the Hofheimer library Thursday, October 16, to discuss issues they had regarding the Jane Doe sexual assault lawsuit. “The last community council I remember was when we were trying to switch to the four by four credit system,” Robin Takas, director of instructional technology said. “The attendance was so low, only about 10 students participated. We have scheduled community councils in the past, but there was always a tendency to cancel them because there was nothing of urgent business to address and students just didn’t show up.” Community Council serves as an occasional forum to discuss and exchange information on issues of interest to the entire college community. A meeting of the Community Council can be called at any time that members of the VWC community feel there is an issue of interest to the campus. “This gathering of people is an act of faith in you and a testament of the values that bind us together as a community,” said Dean O’Rourke, vice president for academic affairs, Dean of the College and Professor of Political Science. “Today, it’s not my words that count, it’s your words that count.”

O’Rourke’s sentiments were echoed by all of the faculty that spoke at the beginning of the council. “We have a responsibility here,” said Assistant Professor of Political Science Leslie Caughell. “We can always do better, we all rise and fall together. Tell us how we can do better. It is your turn to talk and we are all listening.” Listening was very important at this point in time, after all, students had much to say. The goal for this particular Community Council was to to offer a space where the voices of all members of the community could be heard, in the spirit of expressing their concerns and making constructive suggestions for the future. “I understand there are as many different emotional reactions as there are people in this room,” Greer said. “Each of us is personally affected by this because others are talking about us and that is personal.” The council came to fruition as a result of faculty initiative. “Last Wednesday, a group of members of the faculty met to discuss the issues the lawsuit raises,” Associate Professor of English Stephen Hock said. “Dean O’Rourke also attended that meeting. In that discussion, a consensus emerged that it would be a good idea for Community Council to meet as soon as possible, so that the members of the college community, especially students, could have their voices heard on the issues raised by the lawsuit… [we] then contacted the members of the Agenda Commit-

SEE COUNCIL Pg. 7

Title IX and the Nation

Men’s Lacrosse Speaks Out

Students Protest on Campus

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Changing majors proves popular Virginia grants marriage equality BY VANESSA SMITH vlsmith1@vwc.edu

“What’s your major?” This is usually the first question asked when students introduce themselves to one another on college campuses all across the country. It’s the question that defines any college student, but is not always so easy for college students to answer. Some experts say it is wise to take courses in college that weren’t offered or taken in high school. Ms. Collier, the dean of academic advising at the State University of New York at New Paltz, quoted by the New York Times advises, “You’ve taken the same six subjects since kindergarten. If you don’t know your major, don’t come here and take the same subjects expecting to figure it out.” According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 80 percent of college students in the United States change their college major at least once. On average, over the course of their col-

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lege careers, students will change their major at least three times. At least 50 percent of entering college students are undecided about their major, according to the center. Here at Virginia Wesleyan, there are 34 academic programs and 140 total faculty members, as of fall 2013. The top seven majors, in order, are biology, business, psychology, criminal justice, recreation and leisure studies, education and communication. Biology is the top major at 11.8 percent. There is a large drop in popularity between criminal justice and next in line, recreation and leisure studies. Criminal justice makes up 9.3 percent of majors, whereas only 5.2 percent of students here are recreation and leisure studies majors. Changing majors is not uncommon here at Virginia Wesleyan. According to Institutional Research Director Don Stauffer, the students who were examined fell into two categories: achieved “sophomore status” and attended VWC for more

SEE MAJORS Pg. 7

BY ANDREW PETREY

EVENT:

awpetrey@vwc.edu

“Illegal Love: Tim Bostic on Politics, Religion and Marriage Equality.”

Starting in 2015, the college will offer a number of benefits to same sex domestic partners of full-time and part-time employees under the Virginia Wesleyan College Same Sex Domestic Partner Benefits Policy. The benefits from this new policy include health insurance, tuition assistance, and access to the college library and athletic facilities. Dr. Sharon Payne, Professor of Social Work, as a clinical social worker and a psychotherapist understands the impacts of these recent decisions. “I am happy that VWC has finally included domestic partners in our insurance plans. Now that all persons can be married in Virginia, the benefits will have to catch up,” Payne said. Earlier this month the Federal appeals court in Richmond struck down the ban on same-sex marriage in Virginia, thus becoming the 25th state out of the now 30 states to allow and acknowledge same-sex marriages in the country. The decision stems from the Bostic v. Schaefer lawsuit which was filed

WHERE:

Blocker auditorium tonight at 6:00 p.m. by two gay residents, Timothy Bostic and Tony London, of Norfolk who challenged the state`s ban on same-sex marriage in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. It was the district court’s ruling that the ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. The case was then taken to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals which consist of Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia. Currently, out of these states South Carolina remains as the only with a ban. The Oct.6 decision that the Supreme Court would not be hearing the case enabled the Court of Appeals decision to stand. In other words, with the ruling in effect same-sex marriages could begin in Virginia, opening

10/21/2014 11:24:24 PM


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