The Blue & Gray Press

THE

BLUE &GRAY

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON STUDENT NEWSPAPER

NOVEMBER 20, 2014

VOLUME 88 | ISSUE 11

PRESS

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE

Room and board prices to rise in 2015-2016

Students turn out for Greek life town hall MARIAH YOUNG Managing Editor

ALISON THOET Editor-in-Chief

Residence hall room rates and meal plan costs will increase next year by about $150 and $100 respectively at the University of Mary Washington. The Board of Visitors approved the increases at their most recent meeting this past weekend.

Dining and residence hall expenditures are solely supported by student fees, not by the state, according to Rick Pearce, vice president of administration and finance.

The increase for next year results in a two percent change for room rates and four percent change for meal plans.

Eagle Landing residents will experience a $200, or three percent increase, while the UMW apartments will rise by eight percent, which is at least a $500 difference, according to the rates approved by the UMW BOV last Friday.

The increase in room charges is due mostly to the constant cost of maintenance and utilities. However, the eight percent hike for the UMW apartments results from the establishment of a repair and replacement fund that covers both the apartments and Eagle Village, according to Pearce.

Meal plans increased due to the cost of food, which went up between 3.5 and four percent since last year. Increased food rates are also due to maintenance and Sodexo employee costs and wages.

Pearce led a group of people, involving Doug Searcy, vice president of student affairs, budget administrators and residence life officials to set the appropriate numbers.

•ROOM AND BOARD | 2

Ginny Clark/ The Blue & Gray Press

MAN ENOUGH? White Ribbon Campaign tackles sexual violence | 11

Yes or no?

Students on Greek life

MAKE “I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE CONCERNS, BUT IT SHOULD NOT NEGATE THAT FACT THAT IT PROHIBITS OTHER STUDENTS FROM ECERCISING FREEDOMS.”

MAKE “I DON’T THINK YOU NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN GREEK LIFE TO BE INVOLVED.” -RAY CELESTE TANNER

MAKE “I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADDRESSED THAT RAPE CULTURE IN FRATERNITIES IS NOT A STEREOTYPE, IT IS A FACT.” -PAIGE MCKINSEY

-ZACH YOUNG

IN THIS

ISSUE

1922

Students, alumni, community members and members of the university administration crowded into Lee Hall room 411 to speak about the possibility of Greek life coming to the University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg Campus.

On Nov. 19, senior Alyssa Smallridge hosted a non-university sponsored town hall, moderated by Professor of Communication Jessy Ohl. While there were clear comments concerning the negative aspects about Greek life being institutionally recognized on campus, there were also people in support of Greek life as well as some in favor of the way UMW currently functions.

Currently, there are two nationally recognized fraternities, Kappa Sigma Rho Chi Chapter and Psi Upsilon Phi Delta Chapter, that exist, but the University does not recognize them.

Multiple issues were discussed during the town hall, including that many students choose to attend UMW specifically because of the lack of Greek Life.

“I chose UMW for a unique and different experience, unlike so many schools across the country,” said senior Ciara Peacock.

Other students expressed support for Peacock’s statement.

“The lack of Greek life made me feel the most happy and the most safe here.

UMW is the only public school in Virginia without Greek life,” student Julia Michaels said.

Most students supported the idea that the university is a unique environment, but pro-Greek life members in the audience believed the University was denying fraternities the right to assemble on campus for meetings and gatherings.

Christian Hughes, member of Psi Upsilon argued, “Fraternities want to be considered part of student life but instead are denied rights given to student organizations.”

Hughes and other speakers spoke of the instance this fall when Psi Upsilon was not allowed to have a table at the fall Club Carnival, an event for UMW students to gather information about all the clubs on campus.

One of the largest issues about having Greek life at UMW was discussed by the president of Feminist United on Campus, Paige McKinsey.

“Rape culture in fraternities is not a stereotype, it is a fact,” said McKinsey. “This is sexism, this is classism, this is discrimination, and we do not want it here.”

Other students discussed their problems with Greek life not lying in the culture but rather the economic and institutional issues of Greek life.

Students questioned where the “resources” would come from, how students that could not afford dues would pay and where Greek housing would be if it ultimately came to the university.

•GREEK LIFE | 10

ONE NOTE

BILL COSBY

WESLEY WINS

One Note Stand concert raises money for scholarship fund

Rape allegations resurface against Bill Cosby

Athletic department takes a local boy under their wing

LIFE | 6

VIEWPOINTS | 5

SPORTS | 12

NEWS THE

BLUE & GRAY PRESS

MISSION

The Blue & Gray Press is published every Thursday in the University Apartments Clubhouse for our university community. The goal of The Blue & Gray Press is to produce high quality and accurate news in a manner compliant with the Society of Professional Journalists ethics code. In its coverage, The Blue & Gray Press strives to highlight the community of the University of Mary Washington, as well as deliver fair and accurate coverage on the issues important to our students.

EDITORS-AT-LARGE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alison Thoet

MANAGING EDITOR Mariah Young

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jonathan Polson

SECTION EDITORS NEWS Hope Racine Nephthalie Lauture

VIEWPOINTS Tess Osmer

LIFE Amanda Motley

SPORTS Chris Markham

ONLINE Lauren Brumfield

PHOTO

Ginny Clark

ADVERTISING TEAM BUSINESS MANAGER Cara Sexton

FACULTY ADIVSOR Steve Klein

Board of Visitors votes to raise room and board prices •ROOM AND BOARD | 1 Pearce tracks budget changes and expenses yearly to figure out how to offset certain expenditures.

The rates for next school year were finalized in mid-October and voted on by the BOV. Beatrice Ohene-Okae, a sophomore environmental science major, is an organizer for UMW Students United, a coalition of the Virginia State Power Network, geared toward promoting diversity, transparency and accessibility, according to OheneOkae.

UMW Students United sat in on the BOV meetings on Nov. 13 and 14 to show that UMW students wish to be present at important university decisions.

“It’s disturbing because even with student presence and awareness, we weren’t able to stop something like this,” said Ohene-Okae. “I wouldn’t call this a loss, but something we can use to push our campaign forward.”

With three younger siblings awaiting college, Ohene-Okae pays for her education by taking out loans and applying to scholarships so her siblings will not have work so hard to pay for their educations.

Continuous rising in tuition costs is an issue that future generations of students must deal with as well. “[The Virginia State Power Network campaign] to topple student debts is going to be fundamental to future generations,” said Ohene-Okae.

According to Pearce, the total increase of six percent spanning two years for meals and rooms is quite low. However, the costs of rooms and meal plans will continue to rise annually, as “the costs of doing business go up every single year,” said Pearce.

This upward trend for tuition can only go higher with the five percent cut in general fund appropriations that will hit public universities and colleges in Virginia, including UMW, in 2015.

“It’s not just the buildings and the residents halls that they’re making you pay more for, it’s your meal plan and things like that,” said Chelsea Mills, a senior biology major in the five years master program for education. “They’ve increased prices a little bit everywhere that just make it next to impossible to pay for school. They need to figure out a way to, maybe, cut things where we don’t need them.”

According to a previous article pub-

Taber Andrew Bain/ Flickr The cost for students living in Eagle Landing and the UMW apartments will be higher than other halls.

lished in The Blue & Gray Press, Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s Chief of Staff, Paul Reagan, distributed an email to rectors and presidents of universities and colleges in Virginia suggesting that each school prepare savings strategies in light of the state budget cuts.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission recently offered recommendations for making higher education more affordable, including curbing the cost of construction on campus, according to an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

JLARC determined that Virginia’s public four-year institutions have an average net cost of $18,530, ranking them fifth highest in the nation, according to the Times-Dispatch. In addition, Virginia schools are usually amongst the top 10 or 15 percent in the nation, according to the Associated Press.

With its decentralized higher education system, Virginia schools’ virtual indepen-

dence allows them to expand non-academic services, despite the lack of state funding in favor of student debt increases.

Academic facilities at UMW such as the Information and Technology Convergence Center and the Student Center are typically paid using state loans and then repaid through student fees. According to the AP, institutional debt services resulted in an average of $689 for students in 2013.

A report by the McAuliffe administration says tuition could be made more affordable if schools limit non-academic and capital spending in favor of academic funding, according to AP. While fees are increasing for this year, the university is trying to minimize the burden on students as much as possible.

“We’re trying to keep it fairly low. They could have gone up higher, but we tried to cut some costs,” Pearce said.

Fire drills become top priority following fire hazards in recent years EMILY HOLLINGSWORTH Assistant News Editor

A series of fire drills will take place in academic and administrative buildings across the University of Mary Washington campus over the next few months.

Beginning on Oct. 27, the university’s Emergency Management and Campus Fire Safety department conducted drills that last between 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of the buildings.

According to Ruth Lovelace, director of emergency management and safety, UMW organizes evacuation drills once every year on academic and administrative buildings.

The announcement of the fire drills on the Eagle Eye online faculty newsletter explained that the drills are conducted in order to “comply with state fire safety guidelines and to enhance the safety of the UMW community.”

The drills will not take place during the week of Dec. 8-12 in order to accommo-

2

date students and faculty who will be taking or administering final exams.

In residential areas, the drills are performed more frequently, approximately three times each semester. According to Lovelace, residential occupancy areas have a high risk for fires.

The University has encountered fire risks in the past. A fire on the fifth floor of Mason Hall in November 2012 caused 159 students to temporarily relocate due to water damage from the sprinkler system.

Preventing damage caused by arson and accidental fires, as well as ensuring student safety, is not solely the responsibility of the university’s Emergency Management or Fire Safety programs. Residential students are involved as well.

According to Briant Atkins, UMW fire safety officer, the student evacuation drills are led by students involved in the nationally recognized “Student Fire Marshal Program.” Students in the program receive training in using fire extinguishers, fire safety awareness, evacuation procedures and fire alarm system operations, according to the Emergency Management and Safety website.

A designated student fire marshal that acts as a Senior Resident Assistant is also placed in each residential hall on campus to ensure that other students will be safe if an emergency occurs.

The program benefits students as well as the fire safety officers and the emergen-

ON MONDAY, NOV. 10, A STUDENT USED A FIRE EXTINGUISHER TO PUT OUT A GREASE FIRE.

cy management and Safety program on campus. “[We would] never get anything else done [without the group],” Lovelace said.

Providing and testing equipment, such as fire alarms, is also an important aspect of fire safety on campus. On Monday, Nov. 10, a student used a fire extinguisher to put out a grease fire at Eagle Landing.

Lovelace was relieved that the equipment and the student’s knowledge of handling an emergency situation had stopped a potentially dangerous accident.

“Who knows what the damage could have been if the fire had gone past the sprinkler system,” Lovelace said.

On Nov. 24-28 and on Dec. 8-12, the drills will not take place due to the Thanksgiving holiday and final exams. The drills will resume on Dec. 1-5 at the Stafford North, Stafford South and Dahlgren campuses and on Dec. 15-19 in Monroe Hall, the Jepson Science Center and the Heating Plant.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

SPORTS

Women’s basketball secures Tipoff Tournament title in dominant fashion

MIKEY BARNES Staff Writer

The University of Mary Washington women’s basketball team completed a home sweep this weekend as they won the Hyatt Place Tipoff Tournament.

The opening tournament consisted of the season opening games for the UMW women’s team, and four universities competed in total. UMW hosted the tournament in the Anderson Center, showcasing visiting schools such as Widener University, York (N.Y) College and Virginia Wesleyan.

The tournament started with excitement, as Widener snuck away with a twopoint victory over Virginia Wesleyan on a missed layup at the buzzer. The victory by Widener placed them in the championship game against the winner of the UMW vs.

York game.

It became evident early to whom Widener would be playing in Sunday’s championship battle as UMW opened up on a 19-0 run to start the game. The run was led by senior Claire Haeuptle as she knocked down a pair of three-pointers along with scoring from six of her teammates during

the stretch. Well displayed passing and team with nine boards. shot taking helped UMW get out to a 46The Eagles’ defense held York to a dis14 lead at the half. mal 19.2 shooting percentage from the Following halftime performances by the field. The outstanding play on both sides of UMW dance team and cheerleaders, the the ball for UMW put them in the champiEagles came back out and displayed sim- onship game against Widener. ilar success. After a 13-1 start in the early Widener started the scoring for the championship game parts of the second with a 2-0 lead, half, the Eagles the only time for extended their the entire game lead to 59-15. The they were ahead.

UMW lead would UMW then went reach as high as on a 12-0 run led 51 points and did by multiple basnot fall below 43 kets from senior for the remainder Caitlin Ciniero of the game. to grab a 12-2 Haeuptle led the Susan S/Shutterfly lead.

After Eagles with 16 UMW outscored its opponents by 67 points in the two games. continued sucpoints on their way to an 88-40 route of York College. The cess on offense and defense, the Eagles 88 points scored by UMW ties the school went into the half with a 20-point lead at record with the 2004-05 team for most 34-14.

The ladies of Widener proved stronpoints in a season opener. Alongside Haeuptle were great performances by senior ger offensively in the second half, but it Aubrey Howland, who put up 14 points was not be enough as UMW held on and and five rebounds, and freshman Taylor grabbed the 19-point victory and the Hyatt Barton, who scored eight points and led the Place Tipoff Tournament title.

“It felt amazing. To have actual fans there, to win for them made it even better. It was like a dream come true,” Barton said.

Ciniero led the Eagles in the championship game with 10 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Brianne Comden added nine points and seven rebounds.

Barton, named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, totaled 14 points and 19 rebounds over the two games.

“I was shocked that I was chosen. I am so honored by it,” said Barton, a freshman out of Baltimore, Maryland. “After the game, I found my parents crying because they were so proud of me, it made the feeling even better.”

Senior Aubrey Howland and freshman Kelsey Dean were also honored for the great play as they too were named to the all-tournament team.

The Eagles will travel to Annapolis, Maryland to take on Division I Navy on Thursday, Nov. 20. They will return home on Nov. 22 to take on Washington & Lee at 1 p.m. in the Anderson Center.

Revamped men’s basketball team drops home games NATIONALS BOUND: Teagan Young and Lauren Braney qualify for national meet.

DAVID MERCER Staff Writer

After making an impressive run into the NCAA tournament last year, the revamped University of Mary Washington’s men’s basketball team struggled in their opening games last weekend.

The Eagles hosted their first two games of the season on Nov. 15 and 16. The teams invited were Lynchburg College and Randolph-Macon College.

The Eagles took on Lynchburg on Saturday, and a boisterous student body came out to support the team. The Eagles faced an early deficit from which they could not recover, losing to the Hornets 73-55.

Senior guard Taylor Johnson, however, supplied a bright spot for the team in the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Johnson sparked a fire in his teammates, and they worked hard to get back into the game as the Eagles closed the gap to single digits in the third quarter, but the feat was just too great to surmount. Both the fans and the team left disappointed and seeking redemption the next day.

Freshman forward Eric Shaw suffered an ankle injury and was not able to play in the team’s next game. He was on the sideline cheering his team on the next day in their game against Randolph-Macon.

The Eagles will also be without junior guard Haden Thompson this season as he will undergo a season-ending surgery on his thumb. He would have filled another position on the team as a guard.

“We got outworked in the first game,” Thompson said. “It wasn’t as much about x’s and o’s as it was about a collective team effort to play hard.”

After the upsetting loss in the first game, the Eagles came ready to play on Sunday.

Men's Swimming:

Nov. 15 vs. Howard (W) UMW: 192 Howard: 53

women's Swimming: Nov. 15 vs. Howard (W) UMW: 197 Howard: 56

Susan S/Shutterfly John Lutkenhaus led the Eagles in scoring in their game against Randolph-Macon, scoring 17 points.

The team got off to a great start in the game and got the fans involved early.

With Shaw out, sophomore forward John Lutkenhaus provided the spark that the team needed to stay in the game.

“With Eric out I knew someone had to step up,” Lutkenhaus said. “I made every

“I know that if we play with fire in our hearts for the rest of the season, we can contend for the CAC championship.”

-Haden Thompson effort I could to help my team.”

Lutkenhaus was able to get his teammates involved, and they were able to stay in the game all the way down to the wire.

He finished the game with 17 points and four rebounds Both teams played hard defense and

were able to get transition points that kept the game close. Despite the hard effort, the Eagles were outlasted by Randolph-Macon, and the final score was 63-58.

“In the second game we came out ready to play and played hard for 40 minutes. We just didn’t finish,” Thompson said.

Thompson is still optimistic about the season and what the team will be able to do.

“I know that if we play with fire in our hearts for the rest of the season we can contend for the CAC championship and make a run into the NCAA tournament,” Thompson said. “I’ll be there supporting my teammates for the rest of the season.”

The Eagles will look to use the opening weekend as a resource that will push them to work harder and be the best team they can be.

“This weekend was a learning experience for the whole team,” said sophomore Isaac Blue.

The Eagles’ next game will be away against Shenandoah University on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.

Weekly Scoreboard Women's Basketball: Nov. 15 vs. York (New York) (W) UMW: 88 York: 40 Nov. 16 vs. Widener (W) UMW: 61 Widener: 42

men's Basketball:

Nov. 15 vs. Lynchburg (L) UMW: 55 Lynchburg: 73 Nov. 16 vs. Randolph-Macon (L) UMW: 58 RMC: 63

Victoria Parent

After stellar performances at the 2014 South/Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships in Rome, Georgia last weekend, senior Lauren Braney (left) and sophomore Teagan Young (middle) qualified for the NCAA national meet in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Young was the regional champion, completing the 6k course in a time of 21:42, winning by eight seconds.

Braney placed seventh overall with a time of 22:39. Victoria Parent (right) also earned All-Region honors by placing 26th overall in 23:16.

The Eagles as a team finished in fifth place out of the 29 competing schools. Young and Braney will race on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Upcoming:

Men’s Basketball: Nov. 21 @ Shenandoah Nov. 22 @ Hampden-Sydney Women’s Basketball Nov. 20 @ Navy Nov. 22 vs. Washington & Lee 1 p.m.

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VIEWPOINTS

Editorial: Support the growth Architect of Affordable Care Act ignites debate over bill’s transparency of up and coming apps

On Monday anyone that has the popular smartphone app Snapchat saw a short video from “teamsnapchat” unveiling the app’s new money sharing feature, aptly called Snapcash. According to the Wall Street Journal, the feature is the result of a collaboration with a startup company called Square that focuses on mobile payment.

The new feature is akin to other money-sharing services rising in popularity, such as the app Venmo or Google Cash.

The development is one of many made

by Snapchat to expand their services and gain a wider audience by offering more features in just one simple app. A few months ago, Snapchat unveiled a messaging system, and the app’s “story” feature has begun to surpass Instagram and Facebook as the most popular way to share photos on social media.

However, while these features might seem convenient, the larger problem with this expansion is the motivation behind the new offerings. The Wall Street Journal noted that the app, which is offered for free, is struggling to bring in revenue after venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins valued the app at approximately $10 bil-

lion and offered an investment of nearly $20 million. The app began selling advertisements last month, and the new Snapcash feature could open the door for Snapchat to “sell goods and services through the app,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

While it makes logical sense that Snapchat seek ventures to expand its services and bring in revenue, their approach is troubling. The features Snapchat is developing are not unique or innovative. As mentioned earlier, the Snapcash feature is modeled off Venmo and Snapchat’s messaging feature is no more useful than iMessage or any other text messaging service. As Snapchat seeks to grow, the company’s mimicry of other innovative apps will ultimately shut out those smaller, developing companies. This is deflating competition and will ultimately stymie innovation.

The development of smartphone applications resulted in a surge of creative technological innovation. If Snapchat continues to hijack the ideas that work, there will be little room for startup apps to grow.

By THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS EDITORIAL BOARD

Social media reunites long lost twins via Youtube

Anais Bordier and Samatha Futerman meet for the first time in their lives, due to social media.

MEGAN FLOURNEY Staff Writer

Our generation has known how to utilize social media since we were in middle school, and it has impacted us in more ways than imaginable.

We can check Twitter, where we follow our favorite celebrities and music artists; we can scroll through photos on Instagram and see what our friends have been up to on any given day; and if we are anything like Anais Bordier and Samantha Futerman, we can now find our long lost twin sister.

According to Kelly Wallace from CNN, Bordier received a screen shot from her friend one day of a YouTube video of a girl that looked exactly like her. She did not think much of it, and since she could not figure out the girl’s name in the video, she dropped it.

About a month later, the same friend sent her another screenshot of the same girl, but this time the girl was in a movie trailer. Bordier began to research the girl and soon found out that her and the girl “shared a birthday and were both adopted in South Korea,” Wallace said.

After more investigation, Bordier learned that the girl was in fact her twin sister separated at birth. She built up the courage to send her newfound twin sister,

4

ABC / Google

Futerman, a friend request on Facebook and message her. They exchanged a few messages, and then decided to chat on Skype.

They finally arranged to meet in person in London and have been inseparable ever since. Both girls said while sharing their story that it is crazy how much they have in common, even though they grew up thousands of miles apart: Bordier in Paris, France and Futerman in Verona, New Jersey.

Without the social media they had at their fingertips, such as YouTube, Facebook and Skype, these girls may never have learned of one another. Both sets of adoptive parents had no idea that the other twin existed. Similarly, both of the girls’ adoption papers listed a single birth, and did not acknowledge the existence of the other twin at all.

It is true that sometimes our generation can be obsessed with social media, and it can be seen in our parents’ eyes as disturbing, negative to our influences and even dangerous. This story is proof though that social media is not all bad. Used in moderation, it can be life changing, and, for Anais and Samantha, their lives will never be the same.

COLEMAN HOPKINS Staff Writer

Throughout this past election cycle, Republican incumbents and challengers blamed their Democratic opponents for supporting President Barack Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

In the past days, several videos have surfaced of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s economics professor Jonathan Gruber, the “architect” of Obamacare and Romneycare, discussing the need to frame the language of the law in such a way that it would deceive the “stupid” American voters. By his account, the law could not have been presented in a direct, plain manner because Americans would have rejected the law due to its basic premise: healthy people put money in to take care of sick people who get that money. Gruber goes onto say that transparency would have killed the bill ahead of time, another inflammatory admission.

Major networks like CNN, FOX or even ABC failed to break the story, and it was not brought to the national stage by investigative reporters either.

Twitter user Rich Weinstein was fed up with Obamacare, which cost him his insurance. He began to investigate the law, which eventually led him to one of its architects, Gruber.

Rich Weinstein, a small investment advisor, found ample evidence of deceiving the voters on YouTube and began circulating his findings to anybody who would listen.

Bloomberg Politics reported that after hours and hours of research, Weinstein found what conservatives had been searching for over the past four years: proof that the ACA’s wording was drafted for the purpose of denying subsidies to states that did not create their own health exchanges.

In the most outrageous clip, Gruber suggests that states that refuse to conform might find that they would not have access to the subsidies. In laymen’s terms, this amounts to a stick up, but its legislative history importance directly impacts the King vs. Burwell case that is heading to the Supreme Court this spring.

The lines that Republicans in particular have picked up have been Gruber’s words on the law’s deceptiveness. Transparency, a theme that the Obama Administration promised to work toward, was one of the biggest failures of the administration. Often compared to the Nixon administration, the Obama administration’s secretiveness has been pointed out equally by the right and by the press, with this scandal being the icing on the cake.

“Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage and, basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever. But basically that was really critical to getting the thing to pass,” Gruber said in one of his video clips.

The videos have not stopped emerging

Newsbusters/ Google Image

either, with six to date and quite possibly more to come, each one containing more political fodder for Republicans to use against Democrats in the likely coming attack on the law during the next session.

Gruber is no stranger to controversial remarks, though his words on Obamacare are particularly explosive. He references the “stupidity of the American voter” and expands on that, stating, “American voters are too stupid to understand the difference” between Obamacare’s tax credits, which is why we should not be honest with them. If this sounds Nixonian to you, then it should, because the idea that the ends justify the means is behind this move.

Adding to the drama is the revelation that Gruber was paid millions by the same “stupid taxpayers” whom he was trying to deceive about Obamacare.

In Minnesota, Gruber made $329,000 for participating in a bi-weekly email list, a single meeting and for printing a copy of the weekly reports on his progress. In Wisconsin, he made $400,000 for the same set of tasks; in Oregon, Maine, West Virginia and Colorado, he was paid similar sums for the same services.

At the time, a portion of Congress felt that his salary was illegal at worst and a compromise of interests at best.

However, according to the Washington Times, the Government Accountability Office found that while he was paid $297,600 by the Department of Human Services for his propaganda, he was not technically contracted by the government to do so, rather he did it on his own time. He was really just paid for analyzing the costs as well as the implementations.

Though Gruber apologized on MSNBC to Ronan Farrow for his “off the cuff” remark, it is unlikely that this will blunt rejuvenated Republicans who are coming off an election high and are eager to finally kill the contentious law.

The Gruber revelations bring up very serious issues with the already unpopular law.

The White House has responded to the scandal by stating that it had no idea Gruber was paid to contribute on the law or that they endorsed anything that he said in regards to the intelligence of the American voter.

Although this contradicts Gruber’s own admission that he had met with the President to personally discuss the implementation of the law as well as the wording of it, bringing up even more questions about honesty.

Regardless of what the Gruber said on Obamacare, the most disturbing part of the entire ordeal is that Weinstein was not a spy or hacker on the warpath. He was simply a listener who tuned into what the creator of the law was saying, which reflects very, very poorly on those in the press who are paid to inform the people and are supposedly committed to breaking big stories.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

VIEWPOINTS

Editor: Mona Osmer | blueandgray.views@gmail.com

Bill Cosby: the behind the scenes reality on and off the set

Immigration reform poses new questions for millions DVIDSHUB/ Flickr

MONA OSMER Viewpoints Editor

ALEX SAKS Staff Writer

Numerous allegations of sexual assault are reemerging regarding the beloved television star Bill Cosby.

Cosby, whose alleged predatory acts date back several decades, was recently ousted by comedian Hannibal Buress during a comedy act, referring to the “The Cosby Show” star as a “serial rapist.”

During a recent interview with NPR’s Scott Simon on the topic of Cosby’s loaning of art pieces to the Museum of African Art, Simon asked about the recent sexual assault charges. Cosby respond with a deafening silence.

“You’re shaking your head no. I’m in the news business. I have to ask the question,” Simon said. “Do you have any response to those charges?”

No verbal reply could be ushered out of Cosby, who would then go on to cancel several interviews, including an appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

According to the Washington Post, over a dozen women have accused Cosby of harassment, with allegations dating back as far back as 2004 when Andrea Constand filled a lawsuit against Cosby for sexual assault.

So why is this court case just now making recent headlines?

When Constand called for others to testify against Cosby during her suit she was met with a positive response by a woman named Barbara Bowman. Constand offered Bowman the opportunity to testify anonymously against Cosby, but Bowman refused to hide her personal story from the public any longer. Unfortunately for Bowman, her voice was quickly stifled after Cosby rushed to settle the suit for an undisclosed amount of money.

Unfortunately, it seems that the right amount of money can make the most egregious actions fade away, but they could

Zapit.com/google

never be erased from Bowman’s memory.

Recently, Bowman emerged in the public spotlight with her article published in the Washington Post, featuring a first hand account of her sexual assault by Cosby as a teenager.

Bowman has received the well-deserved attention the issue needed for so many years. Finally, it would be her chance to share her story with the world.

In her article Bowman recounted how she shared her story with Daily Mail Reporter Lycia Naff regarding her early relationship with Cosby.

“Cosby won my trust as a 17-year-old aspiring actress in 1985, brainwashed me into viewing him as a father figure, and then assaulted me multiple times… I’m certain now that he drugged and raped me.

But as a teenager, I tried to convince myself I had imagined it,” Bowman said.

Bowman has carried a heavy burden of disillusionment since her teenage years.

She recounted the failed attempts at sharing the incident with her agents, friends and family, which resulted in complete silence on the issue for many years, until recently.

“A girlfriend took me to a lawyer, but he accused me of making the story up. Their dismissive responses crushed any hope I had of getting help; I was convinced no one would listen to me. That feeling of futility is what ultimately kept me from going to the police,” said Bowman.

Now in 2014, the public forum of the Internet has finally given Bowman a voice.

Victims of Cosby’s sexual deviance can share their stories with one another, in an age where information is exponentially more accessible.

No longer can one can shrug off these allegations. There are now numerous, detailed accounts of sexual assault at the hands of Cosby. No longer can celebrities use their wallet to weasel out of trouble.

“I am not going to give up this fight until it gets done,” President Barack Obama has incessantly vowed in regards to immigration reform.

The Washington Post reported that as of Monday Obama is planning to revoke the threat of deportation for millions of illegal immigrants. Already, the administration has granted temporary legal status and work permits to over 580,000 young undocumented immigrants, commonly known as DREAMers, through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program announced in 2012.

The problem with this plan though, I believe, is that revoking the threat of deportation does absolutely nothing for either political party.

Here lies the problem: the Obama Administration’s 2013 foreign aid budget request would have continued the recent downward trend in assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean. The Administration has requested some $1.7 billion for the region to be provided through the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. If Congress appropriates funding at the requested levels, Latin America and the Caribbean would receive nearly nine percent less assistance than the region received in 2012, and about 11 percent less than in 2011.

The proposed cuts are widespread, affecting nearly every foreign aid account. Colombia, Haiti and Mexico would see some of the largest absolute dollar declines, but would remain the top three regional recipients reports the Congressional Research Service.

As a university that has roots in two major organizations standing to aid the development and welfare of individuals, specifically those in Honduras, through Students Helping Honduras and La Ceiba, a student run micro finance organization, we are very much attune to the effects of immigration

laws and the realities of the world around us.

If the U.S. were to increase the level of funding of foreign aid the international community, we would see large improvements. Domestic politics however are focused on smaller issues. Republicans believe that they have a duty to protect those who pay taxes and deport those who do not, while Democrats believe that the U.S. has the responsibility of caring for those who have come to the U.S. on the prospect of the famous ‘American Dream.’

The uprooting of the immigration system to be revamped and reformed is indeed long overdue, but the problem is not going away unless economic stability is achieved in countries where the immigration stems from. Obama’s flashy acts of abolishing the threat of deportation are blinding Americans from reality. Yes our country is flawed, and the system needs reform. Millions in the U.S. suffer from the faults of the immigration system. But have we focused on the fact that it stems from the instability of foreign countries?

Increasing foreign aid would potentially cure the seed from which our domestic immigration issues spur from.

The fact is that politics tend to overlook the future and focus on the present, on campaigns and votes. Its time to work toward ensuring international stability, developing infrastructure in failed states and therefore eradicating the need for immigration from places where poverty is unavoidable.

Politicians rarely link this two issues together. It is time to debate, simultaneously, the growing immigration issues and the inescapable fate of poverty that individuals face in countries such as Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico which drive millions to flee to the U.S. for jobs that most individuals do not even want in the first place.

Saving millions from deportation will do nothing but further the ignorance of the bigger issue.

2014 Immigration Reform • The president does not have the authority to give anyone legal status in the US. But the current system gives the executive branch broad authority to decide what it wants to prioritize when it comes to immigration enforcement.

• Most

critics of executive action think that any attempt

to grant relief from deportation to immigrants, or roll back immigration enforcement, means the president is “refusing to enforce immigration law.”

Upf.tv/ Google

5

LIFE

Editor: Amanda Motley | blueandgray.life@gmail.com

One Note Stand uses fall concert to highlight scholarship fund

One Note Stand

Emily Hanson Staff Writer

The members of One Note Stand (ONS) took the stage last Wednesday night to the cheers of fans, family and friends for their fall concert entitled “Battle of the Sexes.”

The theme for the concert was introduced to the audience in a five minute video before the group took the stage.

The video featured various clips of the ONS members in practice and it also showed specific members speaking to the camera in a reality show style about scripted problems they have with one another.

“I loved how personal they were with the audience; it made it that much better,” said Lexy Maratellos, a freshman sociology major.

Despite their efforts to act at odds with one another, there was clearly a strong chemistry between the members of the group, and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves throughout the concert.

“My favorite songs were the Feel Again/The Dog Days Are Over mash-up and Who You Are,” said Anna Beardsley, a junior anthropology major.

The group performed several songs, including “Love Never Felt So Good” by Michael Jackson featuring Justin Timberlake, “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, “You Don’t Know Me” by Ben

Folds featuring Regina Spektor and “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder.

“I really enjoyed the song arrangement. There was a lot of variety, and the atmosphere seemed very energetic and personable,” Beardsley said.

Just before intermission, the girls of the group performed the incredibly popular song, “All About that Bass” by Meghan Trainor.

The intermission featured two performances

by UMW’s Performing Arts Club, titled “Remixed” and “Clap Your Hands.”

The PAC performances were well received by the audience members.

“I love PAC. They are all such talented dancers with an enormous amount of passion,” Beardsley said.

Just after intermission, the boys of ONS performed the “Hooked on a Feeling” cover from the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack.

The “feud” between the boys and girls of the group ended shortly after the boys’ performance as they asked the audience to cheer for whichever group performed their song better.

There was one senior solo performance of the night by Bronwyn Stokes, who performed “Who You Are” by Jessie J and made a heartfelt dedication to former ONS member Robert “Bob” Er-

BellaAcappella falls short in fall concert LEAH VAHJEN Staff Writer

The BellAcappella group put on their fall concert on Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium. The concert was themed “Southern Bellas” incorporating southern attire and songs.

There were eight songs on the program, which included the following: “Somethin’ Bad” by Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars, “Ghost” by Ella Henderson, “Panic Cord”

by Gabrielle Aplin, “Take Me to Church”

by Hozier, “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit, “Girls Chase Boys” by Ingrid Michaelson, “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran and “Gunpowder and Lead” by Miranda Lambert.

Many of these songs were arranged by members of the BellAcappella group itself, usually featuring one or two soloists. The girls took turns providing soft beats to accompany their selections, creating the illusion of music that a capella derives much of its intrigue and popularity from.

Despite their use of a nifty pitch-pipe Smartphone App, there were definite pitch issues once in a while; however, the large crowd was extremely supportive, even requesting an encore, which the Bellas met with a rendition of Maroon 5’s 2014 single “Maps.”

Throughout the show, the crowd kept the atmosphere filled with energy, fre-

quently whooping and cheering on the performers. The audience was a hodgepodge of relations to the singers, from roommates and friends, to siblings, parents and grandparents.

Jennifer Dunn and Hope Racine were by far the crowd favorites for soloists, gaining the most applause and named recognition from a variety of audience members.

“I really liked Hope’s performance. This was my first a cappella concert on campus, so I had no expectations, but I was delighted and surprised,” said Noelle Carlson, a sophomore Spanish major.

“My favorite performance was ‘I See Fire,’ and I really like that this is an all-girl group,” said Clara Martin, a sophomore Spanish and English double major.

During the program’s intermission, the University of Mary Washington student and beat-boxer TylaDubya wowed the audience with a short set of amazing, original beats. His use of the sensitivity of a microphone definitely beat that of the Bellas, whose voices were often startlingly loud at moments that would have otherwise been positively show stopping, and contrastingly rather quiet as a group.

While these 16 women are respectable artists and seem individually talented, they could benefit from a better selection of songs to suit the styles and ranges of their members.

Go to Page 9 for pictures.

“My favorite performance was ‘I See Fire’ and I really like that this is an all-girl group.”

-Clara Martin

6

icson. Stokes is the ONS business director and a senior psychology and business Spanish double major.

“I also enjoyed the tribute to Bob, the sense of community we have is shown through our on-campus groups and the music speaks to how much of a heart we have here at UMW,” Beardsley said.

During the dedication ONS president Ian Spangler explained to the audience how the group, in accordance with the Ericson family, was trying to raise $25,000 for a scholarship honoring Ericson to be endowed by the university.

The group has raised over $7,000 since last May for the proposed Robert Ericson Environmental Research Endowment and is hoping to continue in their work to honor their friend.

“This was one of the best concerts One Note Stand has ever had. It was so surreal singing my senior solo, but I couldn’t have asked for a better group to finish my chapter with One Note,” Stokes said. “Our audience’s cheers and support fueled our performance, like always. We always love performing for our friends and family, and One Note has some great things in store for next semester.”

Humans of UMW

By NANCY MILROY

“Bhangra is a dance usually done to welcome spring. It originated in the northern area of India, the Punjab region. It’s an energetic dance performed by both males and females, and is a fusion of the Punjab cultural music and Western music. It’s become a worldwide thing. Ten years ago, Bhangra Beat started out in the Underground. It became more popular and moved to the Great Hall. Now it is held in the Anderson Center because it’s so popular. Everyone should go. One of the reasons I applied to Framar House was because of Bhangra Beat.

Anyway, the event is FREE. It is on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. in the Anderson Center. The Bhangra teams of Virginia Tech, William and Mary, UVA and VCU will be there. We’re so excited. The whole house has worked hard on it since September. The Office of Residence Life and the Center for International Education have been a great help. We’re trying to make our predecessors proud and also draw in the community of Fredericksburg.

We will also have a bangin’ after party at Taj Indian Cuisine.”

Filagot Taye Senior Psychology Major.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

LIFE Ingredients: 1 can of pumpkin 1 box of spice cake mix 1/2 cup of water

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 2. Empty out contents of cake mix to a large mixing bowl 3. Put canned pumpkin into cake batter 4. Measure out water and empty into bowl 5. Mix together until a batter is formed 6. Place batter into cupcake wrappers 7.Bake for 20 twenty minutes

Tip: Pop the cooled muffins into the freezer.

They stay good for up to three months and can be popped into the microwave for 30 seconds for the perfect morning treat.

J.D. Hancock/Flickr

AMANDA MOTLEY Staff Writer

Pumpkin seems to be the biggest craze this year. Whether you are behind the trend or not, you cannot deny that it is a staple fall treat. I like my breakfast to be fast and portable, but I don’t like to skimp on the taste. I was more than thrilled when I found the perfect pumpkin recipe that allows me

to eat healthier and still have breakfast on the go breakfast.

This recipe for pumpkin spice muffins is vegan, healthy and only requires two ingredients. Just combine water and canned pumpkin, and you will have the perfect combination. This recipe is perfect to take on the go or for a casual brunch with friends.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s ‘Nightcrawler’ makes audience’s skin crawl

Teaser Trailer/YouTube

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Louis Bloom in the new movie “Night Crawler.” This pormance was noted as Gyllenhaals best role.

KELSEY MOORING Staff Writer

This twisted film will have you looking through the crease of your fingers the entire time. Jake Gyllenhaal is at a career high in this film, playing Louis Bloom, a self-motivated crook who will go to any length to get the best story for the local news station. After he is inspired by Joe Loder (Bill Paxton), a veteran freelance stringer, Bloom leaves his old life behind as a petty thief and creates his own video production company.

Louis uses his manipulative nature to

persuade Rick Garcia (Riz Ahmed) to become his assistant for a low wage of $30 a night. Being practically homeless, Garcia could not afford to turn down the insulting amount of money.

He was placed with the daunting task of navigating Bloom to whatever location offered the best “money shot.” Rick constantly got lost and turned around, but how could he not be? The man behind the wheel possessed no moral compass whatsoever.

Louis is a sociopath with controlled violent tendencies, but, like many sociopaths, he mandates an eerie charm. The

most frightening thing about Louis Bloom is his eyes. They are sunken into the sockets and gleam with hatred. You never know whether or not he is on the verge of lashing out in an uncontrollable wave of violence or simply scheming his next meaningful acronym.

Louis studies everyone he comes into contact with. He learns their weaknesses and insecurities and uses it against them in order to get what he wants.

He abuses his well-known ability against Nina Romania (Rene Russo), a producer of a local news station, over a

chilling dinner scene.

“You are about to reach the end of your two-year contract, and we both know you never make it past that – so just help me out with my wants, and I will give you what you need,” Louis said.

That is just one example of the brutality of his words, but the intended purpose of the scene is to shock the viewer.

All in all, “Nightcrawler” circles around a bit before it gets into a steady pace and gains momentum, but once the plot picks up it does not stop. As Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut, he produces a tremendous thriller, and it definitely places him on the radar of directors to be watched.

Gilroy paced “Nightcrawler” brilliantly so that the audience never had to wait too long for the next wow factor.

The movie can be slow and unnecessary in some moments–in fact the entire last scene of Louis at the police station deems to be almost completely useless to the overall ending.

Although the movie literally “crawls” on at some points throughout, the overall effect of Gyllenhaal’s performance blows away any past role he has portrayed – he has developed exceedingly well as an actor and it truly shows in this film.

“Nightcrawler” is tense and intense, grim and captivating, and it explodes with energy and a dark sense of humor.

7

Letter to the Editor: Apathy and Atrophy at UMW

University Relations

It seems like over the past four years I’ve been at the University of Mary Washington has become stricken by a disease, a cancer. I’m not sure if it is internal to the students, faculty, or the administration, but what is for sure is that it is causing more than a fair share of issues at UMW. There seems to be a great deal of complaining about how UMW is run, our activities, our campus, the food. There are accusations of an administration that isn’t listening. I know because I am one of UMW’s harshest critics, but after that I know it is a great school.

I learned the hard way after I transferred out of UMW and then returned less than a year later. To me though, it seems like we have a student body that isn’t talking.

Recently a motion passed through UMW student senate proudly proclaiming, UMW students want fraternities and soror-

ities on campus. Really? Does this seem like something UMW students want? This year student senate consists of only around 25 students. Fifteen mostly Greek affiliated students voted yes, ten students not associated with Greek life voted no.

Student senate no longer is representative of the student body. At this ratio you would think that over 60 percent of the student body was associated with fraternities and sororities. It has also passed executive cabinet 3-0-6, in order of yes, no and abstaining.

This really is just the latest though in a chronic issue of student involvement on campus. Whether it is clubs or more important institutional organizations such as Student Senate, students are surprisingly lacking and therefore their voice is lacking.

I do have some hope; previously student senate called in Apogee, the school’s

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on-campus internet provider for a hearing.

Our findings where shocking. UMW ranked as one of the lowest out of all public state schools for internet speed.

In addition, Apogee claimed they had an 80 percent student satisfaction rate. We provided our finding and with a Senate of 40 some students, they took our questions and complaints seriously.

Apogee has since increased its speeds somewhat and since we caught Apogee and the university during their contract negotiation period, Apogee will also consistently increase speeds over the next few years.

Our work in Senate has benefited the student body more than we have been given credit for. We also called in Sodexo to hear concerns from the Senate as well, albeit with few senators, our concerns were not so well received.

Senate’s latest victories are just the tip

of the iceberg of the real power that students wield to change campus for the better, but with the dramatic decrease in participation, so does our power. I think a lot of people believe or have been taught to believe, at some fundamental or unconscious level, that the system doesn’t work. I n reality, our systems do work, but only when people are constantly involved in them. Join Student Senate to make your voice heard, join other on campus clubs to influence the things that you care about.

But whatever you do, do not sit by idly, complain, and not make those complaints heard; you can make change happen.

Patrick Burnett, Student at the University of Mary Washington

Are you a Student group or club leader?

Want us to cover your event?

Let us know!

Send us a short email with your event and details that we should know! We will always try our hardest to cover student-run and student-sponsored events! blueandgray.press@gmail.com Thursday, November 20, 2014

LIFE

Chelsea Peretti proves she is ‘One of the Greats’ on Netflix

Netflix/YouTube

Chelsea Peretti has made a name for herself on her popular podcast and on the show “Brooklyn Nine Nine,” but her new special solidifies her as “One of the Greats.”

JONATHAN POLSON Associate Editor

Instant streaming is no longer an untapped medium when it comes to entertainment. Smaller movies are often released via video-on-demand formats before even making a big screen debut, and the Netflix originals “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black” have proven that instantaneous, all-at-once entertainment is the new go-to format.

Now even comedians, such as Aziz Ansari and Bo Burnham, are taking advantage of this arena, ditching the classic HBO special – the former sign of truly making it in comedy – and opting to release stand-up specials on Netflix. This past Friday, Nov. 14, Chelsea Peretti released her dynamic, bizarre and completely hilarious special

“One of the Greats.”

Peretti told Vulture that she chose Netflix because it’s a service that she actually uses and that, in the internet age, it’s ultimately more strategic to put out content that is instantly accessible rather than the old-school network format, where a special would be aired at a certain time only.

The tricky part of this format for comedy, though, is that the standard, one-hour stand-up performance is usually no longer sufficient to capture and maintain the attention of viewers who have such a wide breadth of choices available just two clicks away. Peretti is able to sidestep this issue by offering something that is more than a special.

The show begins with Peretti riding a motorcycle through her hometown of the Bay Area, with a deep-throated voiceover

chronicling her journey to this point. It’s this absurd, faux-serious approach to comedy that makes Peretti stand out amongst other comedians.

Her meta-performance, from the moniker as “One of the Greats,” to the shots of Peretti herself dressed as a clown taunting her on-stage self, to the staged audience reactions, these are all aspects that make the special more than just an hour of sidesplitting comedy. The performance is part of a grander commentary on the darker sides of the jokes.

Peritti’s humor is so well crafted that it’s impossible to miss the message. From pointing out the absurd, commonly accepted “humor” of male-dominated comedy to her self-deprecating commentary on conventional gender roles, Peretti does more than tell jokes, she gets the viewer to think

about why they’re laughing.

Peretti’s humor is more than just observational; it is almost confrontational in its commentary.

The tone is set at the beginning of the special, when Peretti places her hand on her hip, juts her torso forth a bit and exclaims, “I like to always get into a stand-up stance, you know?

Just, I always put my arm here so you guys will be like, ‘Uh-oh. Looks like this comedian’s probably going to be telling it like it is.’”

The joke is tongue-in-cheek and perfectly captures what Peretti does best – acknowledging and highlighting the absurdities of the world and leaving it to the audience to figure why they’re laughing so hard.

BellaAcapella fall concert photos

Ginny Clark/The Blue & Gray Press

Erin Waters, senior music major, performed “Maps” by Maroon Five.

Ginny Clark/The Blue & Gray Press

Bridget McCormack, sophomore business major performed “Boys Chase Girls” by Ingrid Michealson.

9

NEWS

Student Government Association challenged regarding constitutional oversights

JONATHAN POLSON Associate Editor

Student Senator Benjamin Hermerding spoke with the University of Mary Washington’s Student Government Association Executive Cabinet on Monday night about violations and a lack of adherence to the SGA constitution.

Hermerding, a senior political science major and the newly elected chairman of the Senate’s Constitutional Review Committee, presented the Executive Cabinet with a copy of the constitution highlighted and annotated in areas that he believes are not correctly followed.

“To say that I like law and order is a serious understatement,” Hermerding said in the opening of his presentation.

He also presented a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order, the rules under which both the Executive Cabinet and the Student Senate run their meetings. Hermerding presented a quote from Henry Robert’s account, stating, “Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of liberty.”

“I think what we have going on here is what Mr. Robert would call the least of real liberty,” Hermerding said. “The most of real liberty is having a constitution that is agreed upon by our people - that is the student body - and then followed faithfully, which gives us legitimacy. And followed transparently, which gives us legitimacy.”

Hermerding addressed various representatives on the Executive Cabinet in regards to their committee’s requirements under the constitution.

His list of violations included the lack of a secretary and press secretary on the Legislative Action Committee, the lack of a vice chairperson on the Academic Affairs Committee, the absence of the Commuter Student Association’s bylaws in the SGA constitution and the failure to update the the SGA website with the current Executive Cabinet members, among others.

Hermerding encouraged board members to read through their sections and bring forth necessary changes, as he, Senate President Nate Levine and Senate Vice President Alex Obolensky are currently

POLICE BEAT drug possession On Nov. 18, marijuana possession was reported at approximately 10:37 p.m. in Arrington Hall. One student received an administrative referral.

theft On Friday, Nov. 7 a theft was reported in Seacobeck Hall between 7:20 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. The case is pending.

On Nov. 17, a petit larceny occurred at Eagle Landing at approximately 2:45 p.m. The case is pending.

Benjamin Hermerding Hermerding is currently the longest sitting senator in the Student Government Association.

work to update the constitution.

“We are working to change stuff in the constitution, so if you guys read through your sections, as I recommend you do, let us know if there’s a problem and we will be adjusting it,” Hermerding said. “I know a lot of this is tedious, a lot of this is not

On Nov. 19, a case of grand larceny occurred in Monroe Hall at approximately 11:30 p.m.. The case is closed.

working with administration officials such vandalism as Cedric Rucker, associate vice president and dean of student life, to find and amend On Nov. 18, a case of vandalism oc“archaic” aspects of the current constitu- curred at approximately 2:13 p.m. at Jepson. The case is pending. tion.

“These are the things that I have been aware of, that we’re not following the constitution as strictly as we liquor law violations could be. Sometimes I’ll mention it, especially in On Nov. 15, a case of public intoxicamy report [to the Executive tion occurred on Double Drive at apCabinet],” Levine said. proximately 11:52 p.m. Two students One of the biggest conwere given administrative referrals. flicts Hermerding presented was student elections to the Senate and a failure of fair representation of the The information was compiled with assistance from UMW Police Manager James DeLoatch student body. Additionally, and Fredericksburg Police Department Public “Each residence hall shall Information Officer Natatia Bledsoe. have at least one senator notwithstanding the numThe Blue & Gray Press will publish the ber of residents in said resnames of students who are formally idence hall.” Currently, the charged by the University of Mary WashSenate does not have a rep- ington Campus Police or the Fredeicksburg resentative from each hall.

Police Department to have committed The constitution allows acts of extreme violence against members for as many senators as “a total number of the UMW community or pose a large of voting members equal to the College threat to that community, when names are released to the public. The Blue & Gray student population divided by fifty,” and student senators are elected by gaining 50 Press will publish names and write articles about criminal acts on a case-by-case student signatures, and then the senator is basis according to the aforementioned approved by the majority of sitting senaparameters. tors. The constitution also states that “The

“EVERY GROUP, BE IT THE UNITED STATES GOVT OR THE UMW SGA HAS A SET OF RULES UNDER WHICH THEY NED TO FOLLOW. WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE CHANGING THOSE RULES, THEY NEED TO ABIDE BY THEM.” -Benjamin Hermerding fun. It’s difficult to find these things, but these are the rules that we run under, and we need to do them right.”

Levine, who as Senate president also serves as vice president of the SGA Executive Cabinet, noted the ongoing efforts to change the constitution in order to make it more practical to the university’s current standing. He mentioned that he has been

•SGA | 11

Students debate pros and cons of institutionalized Greek life at UMW •GREEK LIFE | 1

Jim Groom/ Flickr

10

Those in support of Greek life discussed the benefits of Greek life, including the need to be around “like-minded” people; the privilege that other recognized clubs get.

“My fraternity has helped me to see all sides of UMW and learn to really love my school,” said Zach Young. “Your fellow students are being prevented from fully participating in their school community. I understand that there are concerns, but it should not negate that fact that it prohibits other students from exercising freedoms.”

Some students believe that the University should give Greek life a test trial and let the university students implement Greek life in a “unique” and “Mary Washington” way.

As of now, the status of Greek life is in the hands of administration, according to

Martin Wilder, clerk of the UMW Board of Visitors. ““If it were to come to the BOV it would be through the administration. There’s nothing currently before the board.”

Many members of administration thought the event was a very good example of university members coming together to respectively discuss important issues.

“I thought it was a great example of the energy, the thoughtfulness of UMW students, “ said Wilder. “The points that were raised were excellent points on all sides. A lot of issues were brought up.”

In addition, Vice President of Student Affairs Doug Searcy thought that the conversation was meaningful.

“I look forward to commenting in the future,” said Searcy. “Tonight I would like to let the student voice stand as the only voice and congratulate our students on a meaningful discussion.”

Thursday, November 20, 2014

NEWS Student advocates against college alcohol abuse HANNAH BRATTON Staff Writer

The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control chose seven students, including senior Emily Young from the University of Mary Washington, to travel the state going to various colleges in order to talk about the dangers of drinking, as part of their College Tour.

Emily Young became involved with the College Tour through the Virginia Department of ABC’s Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project Conference.

“YADAPP aims to stop the use of drugs and alcohol in high schools and communities around the state. I attended this conference in high school, and I have been on staff ever since then,” Young said. “I spent one year as a youth leader, two years as a junior staff, and this year I am interning for the Virginia Department of ABC as well as doing College Tour.”

As a peer advisor, Young’s job is to facilitate the student portion of the College Tour, along with her six other peer advisors. The Peer Advisory Council is held responsible for marketing each stop on the College Tour in order to get the maximum number of students to attend each stop throughout the state.

At each college, students have the opportunity to listen to speakers who share harsh truths about drugs and alcohol in order to educate students on how to drink responsibly.

“The PAC also facilitates activities like Alcohol Trivia throughout the day and gives students chances to compete against each other for prizes. However, our most important responsibility as this year’s PAC is to facilitate the Grant Plan for Success,” Young said.

According to Young, the GPS allows students who attend College Tour to work with the teams they came with and create a plan to encourage students to be safe and drink responsibly, discouraging any binge drinking and underage drinking.

Students then are given the option to submit their plan to the Virginia Department of ABC. Winners could win up to $500 in grants to implement their proposal.

For Young, promoting a sober lifestyle on campuses is a high priority.

“Drinking on campus, especially at parties, can often be unsafe and lead to larger problems. Alcohol poisoning, spiked drinks and other serious situations can be present when alcohol is involved on campus,” Young said. “I want to eliminate the possibility of some of these issues and create a safer environment for everyone.”

According to Young, harmful drinking behaviors can come in all shapes and sizes.

“The most detrimental effect of alcohol use is that people think it’s harmless because It’s just one drink. They start out with one, which leads to another, which leads to another,” Young said. “In addition to damaging their health, they make bad decisions because they don’t have control over the things they say and do...This opens the door for people to be in some very bad situations.”

Young tries to promote a sober lifestyle in her everyday life by making a conscious choice not to drink and surrounding herself with other people who make that same choice.

“It can often be hard to make the best choice when you are constantly surrounded by people who make the wrong one,” Young said. “By choosing to have fun without alcohol in the mix, I maintain a sober lifestyle, and I encourage others to do the same.”

11

Student senator highlights SGA deviations from constitution •SGA | 10

Arvind Glover/ Flickr The college tour stops at many universities throughout Virginia to teach about responsible drinking.

White ribbon campaign pledges men against sexual violence SARAH GRAMMER Staff Writer

On a brisk Wednesday afternoon, men throughout the University of Mary Washington took to Campus Walk wearing white ribbon in an effort to stand up against violence on women.

These ribbons were a part of the university’s White Ribbon Campaign, led by the UMW Campus Police and the Athletic Department on Nov. 10 through the 14.

The goal of the campaign was to raise awareness and put a permanent end to violence against women, and it is one of the many campaigns the university has held this year to combat sexual assault. “ T h e White Ribbon Campaign was focused on men taking a part in stopping sexual assaults,” explained Leah Cox, special assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion. “The White Ribbon campaign that takes place all over the world since 1991, which focuses on men, was just one initiative.”

As stated on their campaign site, “White Ribbon positively engages men, young men and boys through relevant educational programming that challenges language and behaviors, as well as harmful ideas of manhood that lead to violence against women.”

According to the White Ribbon campaign, violence against men has doubled since 2005. The campaign encourages men to take a stand against violence for themselves as well as women. It provides them with ways of knowing when they are being abused and offers them safe ways out. Similar programs exist for victims of abuse in same sex relationships.

However, some students were not pleased with the way the campaign was executed.

“The campaign reinforced a gender binary that I, as well as many of my peers, do not believe to be correct,” said senior international affairs major Sarah Chamberlain. “The slogan ‘Man Enough?’ leaves out the gay and transgender populations on our campus because it clearly reinforces a stereotype of what it means to be a man or a woman.”

The seeds for the campaign were planted when three Dominican sisters, Patria, Maria Teresa and Minerva Mirabel, were assassinated for their involvement in attempts to overthrow the government of Rafael Trujillo.

In response to the horrific acts, groups of women from across Latin America gathered in Columbia on July 1981 to take a stand against the violence toward women. This day became an annual protest in memory of the Mirabel sisters.

In 1991 the first official White Ribbon Campaign protest began in Canada by a group of men in response to a horrific shooting of 14 women at the University of Montreal.

By 1998, the Campaign was launched in the United Kingdom by Womankind, a charity that works to support women and girls.

Finally, in 1999, the United Nations officially declared Nov. 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The campaign continued to develop in the United Kingdom through 2009 before it spread again. Scotland appointed their campaign’s first worker in 2009, marking the beginning of progress in the campaign.

As of Aug. 1st, 13 European countries have become involved in the campaign, and 25 more states have signed the convention, but have yet to ratify it.

MAKE “THE CAMPAIGN ENFORCED A GENDER BINARY THAT I, AS WELL AS MANY OF MY PEERS, DO NOT BELIEVE TO BE CORRECT.” - Sarah Chamberlain

Association of Residence Halls (ARH) shall conduct elections for residence hall Senate representatives concurrent with the elections for senators at-large.”

Levine stated that this is the problem he has been working most closely on fixing, but for the time being he believed it was important to continue with the 50 signature rule while working to fix the constitution.

He said his goal by the time he leaves office is to “ensure that my successor has an updated constitution with the changes we want to make, all the constitutional things that are currently not being fulfilled as being fulfilled… and an updated system for electing student senate that ensures that it’s representative of the student body.”

“I believe that the current system, although it used to be representative, falls short and is at this point archaic,” Levine said. “That’s the crux of the problem… I just want to ensure that the system is up to date with what makes the most sense now because the university’s constantly changing.”

Levine also acknowledged that it is important to inform and include students in the process.

“It’s not just changing current things that are broken, it’s also informing students of things that aren’t being fulfilled,” Levine said. “And why not start now? I mean I agree with you that it’s important.”

Hermerding acknowledged the efforts being made, but argued that his biggest problem is the violations to the constitution that currently sits.

“Every group, whether it be the United States govt or the UMW SGA, there is a set of rules under which they need to follow. Whether or not they are changing those rules, they need to abide by them,” said Hermerding after the meeting. “And to not abide by them is to violate the trust that students give to them.”

The conversation remained civil, and the board allowed Hermerding to speak for close to 20 minutes on the subject. Following the meeting SGA President Samantha Worman said she agreed that re-evaluating the constitution is definitely in order so that it can “adhere to the culture of campus” today.

“I completely agree that we need to really re-look and revamp what’s going on and adhere it to our current standards,” Worman said.

Worman also explained that any student can bring a proposed change to the Senate’s constitutional committee. Following the committee’s work, the proposed changes will all go to the Judicial Review Board for review. Hermerding mentioned during the meeting that JRB has all interpretational authority in regards to the SGA constitution.

“Technically the administration doesn’t get to say anything about the constitution,” Hermerding said.

Hermerding explained that the by-laws state any question on constitutional interpretation must be submitted to JRB in a formal letter and “at least 5 JRB members have to be sitting in on the interpretation, and then they’ll offer their ruling on it.”

“I wish more students were here with you because these are all very important issues that you’re highlighting,” Levine said.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

SPORTS

Editor: Chris Markham | blueandgray.sports@gmail.com

Senior tennis star sparks ‘Win for Wesley’ movement at UMW

CHRIS MARKHAM Sports Editor

To say that many people take the gift of life for granted would be a gross understatement. Not often enough do we sit down to appreciate all we have, especially our health. Oftentimes, it is the individuals in the world who have been stripped of this gift that are the only ones who can truly cherish it.

In the world of sports, this idea could not be more apparent, and for 19-year-old Wesley Berry, the lesson could not hit deeper.

At the beginning of the 2014 fall semester at the University of Mary Washington, the athletic department held a “Welcome Back” night for its student-athletes, featuring guest speakers, videos and a ceremonious speech given by Athletic Director Ken Tyler on the department’s goals for the year. However, none of these were the highlight of the night.

It was a young man veiled in UMW gear that stole the show. A young man who seven years prior, in June of 2007, learned he had a brain tumor. Just a year after the detection, another routine MRI in 2008 revealed a second brain tumor. In the following months, Wesley underwent a series of radiation treatments, chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.

Since then, the King George County-native has been in and out of the hospital receiving treatment for his cancer.

As time wore on, support for Wesley grew exponentially while word of his condition spread. It eventually reached the ears of UMW senior tennis star Tyler Carey.

“My dad heard about [Friends of Jaclyn] so then he told me to look into it,” Carey said. “About a year ago I signed up, and over the summer I got a call from a lady saying they had a kid interested.”

Through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, which links high school and college sports teams with children battling brain

Thursday, November 20, 2014

tumors, Carey connected with the young man who would have a huge impact on his life, as well as the rest of UMW athletics.

“I completely give [Tyler] all of the credit in reaching out to this organization, to Wesley’s parents and creating this bond and relationship he was with Wesley,” said Philip Pierce, director of athletic develop-

hundreds of individual sports teams that have adopted a kid and I thought we could offer him a lot more than just what my tennis team could offer him,” Carey said. “Not that we wouldn’t do a good job, but having 500 [student-athletes] involved rather than 12, we can make him feel a heck of a lot more special.”

Carey’s vision came to life in front of all

UMW ATHLETICS WINS FOR

WESLEY

ment at UMW. “It’s truly inspiring and one demonstration to show the community, the faculty and staff and administration just how inspirational and dedicated the students here can be.”

Through his selfless act, Carey sparked a movement within the rest of the UMW athletic department, a movement in which all sports teams joined Carey’s efforts in supporting Wesley and his family.

“If you look at the website it has lists of

the student-athletes who filled the Anderson Center on Aug. 27 when Wesley officially became an Eagle. According to Carey, UMW is the first school in the country to have its entire athletic department adopt a kid through Friends of Jaclyn.

“To be able to bring everyone together and make him part of the family has been truly amazing for him in itself,” Carey said.

The Eagle support did not stop there. In early October, the campaign caught fire as

all of the varsity teams at UMW took team photos with a sign, often autographed by members of team, that read “Win 4 Wesley.” The pictures were posted all over social media and sent to Wesley, who was in the hospital for weeks prior due to a seizure, along with team memorabilia from all programs.

“It was pretty cool to see the whole school come together all for one great reason,” Carey said.

The week of admiration and adornment culminated in Wesley’s release from the hospital and getting the okay to go home.

Members of UMW athletics who sent Wesley their support saw his release as nothing short of a miracle.

“Call it a coincidence, call it whatever you want, I just thought that it was an amazing sign and expression of family, of encouragement, love, passion, and I was proud of our student-athletes for what they did, and I’m proud of Wesley for fighting like a champion,” Carey said.

Due to the chemotherapy, Wesley’s body has been broken down to the point where it can no longer grow and develop. Although he is 19 years old, Wesley is not developed, but stayed to the level of a 12 year old. This underdevelopment keeps Wesley from being able to participate in the sports he loves.

Golf, which is planned to arrive at UMW in the fall of 2016, is Wesley’s favorite sport, according to Carey.

“You don’t realize how thankful you are,” Carey said. “We’re in college, we’re on sports UMW Athletics teams, we get to do all those kinds of things, and he’s been battling brain cancer since he was 12. Everything you do makes you think about him.

It’s life changing in that sense and it makes you more grateful.”

UMW is working with Wesley and his family to set up “Wesley Berry Day” for a basketball game in February in order to raise money for his family and Friends of Jaclyn.

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