Flat Hat 3-16-12

VARIETY // The families who share their homes with College students, p. 6

The Flat Hat Rearranging

Vol. 101, Iss. 38 | Friday, March 16, 2012

The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper

ACADEMICS

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of The College of William and Mary

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Society of the College criticizes faculty committee’s reforms to the undergraduate curriculum, proposes own changes by ken lin FLAT HAT news editor

The College of William and Mary may have educated Presidents of the United States in the past, but a panel involved with higher education, organized by the Society for the College, indicated that the College’s current curriculum fails to prepare graduates to be the nation’s future leaders.

The panel’s featured speaker, American Council of Trustees and Alumni President Anne Neal, spoke about the Council’s recent finding that a staggering proportion of college graduates failed to learn anything in college, and many took courses that required little writing and composition. Neal decried the fact that so many recent college graduates in the United States remain unemployed or underemployed, tying the phenomenon to a failure of universities to

provide them with the necessary and practical skills that would allow them to be productive members of society.

“Students are putting in about half as many hours studying today as they did 50 years ago, and it shows. You can’t learn if you aren’t being challenged, and in too many places today’s college students simply aren’t,” Neal said. “Our colleges and universities are, frankly, pandering to students by offering them a dizzying array of choices while failing to do the hard work themselves, pointing them to what they need to learn and to succeed as adults. … I’m worried that the same problem is coming to rest here at William and Mary.”

Neal in particular cited the shortcomings of the College’s General Education Requirements, which, according to the panel, could easily See curriculum, page 4

Katherine chiglinsky / THE FLAT HAT

LECTURE

WILLIAMSBURG

Peace Corps veteran shares experiences

Incumbents dominate City Council ballot

From border wars to Vietnam War

by Maggie kern Flat hat assoc. news editor

Chic Dambach wove stories of dysentery, the Vietnam War and his time as President of the National Peace Corps Association into his speech to students at the College of William and Mary, an annual top-producer of Peace Corps members.

Dambach, current President and CEO of the Alliance for Peacebuilding and Chief of Staff for Congressman John Garamendi, filled the Commonwealth Auditorium with thoughts on violence, war and peace when he spoke about his experience with the Peace Corps and peacebuilding Tuesday.

A Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia from 1967 to 1969, Dambach then served as President of the National Peace Corps Association from 1992 to 1998.

He worked with leaders in Eritrea and Ethiopia to help end their border war and has involved himself with many humanitarian causes, from ending violence to ending hunger. Following all these experiences, Dambach remains positive about the future.

“The days are better today than they were in the ‘good ol’ days,’ … and a way we are making the world better is through peacemaking,” Dambach said.

Dambach He went on to discuss his inspirations for devoting his life to humanitarianism. In particular, he focused on his involvement in the 1960s student activism movements concerning racism, the Gag rule, the Vietnam War and environmental issues.

As a twenty-year-old, Dambach desired to save the world and join the Peace Corps. Yet such desire did not preclude Dambach’s admittance that the organization is not perfect.

“We don’t save the world [in the Peace Corps], but we try to make things at least a little bit better … What a great way to start one’s life,” Dambach said.

He explained what he learned from his time with the Corps, including the necessity of listening and learning from others, mutual respect and enjoying the adventure of life. Dambach also detailed some of the less savory lessons he learned abroad.

“The dysentery… it’s real,” Dambach said.

The reality of his time abroad shed light for Dambach on larger societal problems.

See Peace corps, page 3

Index News Insight News News Opinions Variety Variety Sports

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Today’s Weather

Budget concerns, downtown development monopolize platforms

bY Katherine chiglinsky Flat hat news editor

Three incumbents return to the race as the Williamsburg City Council election heats up.

Mayor Clyde Haulman, Vice Mayor Paul Freiling ’83 and council member Judith Knudson are each seeking re-election to the governing body in the May 1 election.

Members serve six-year terms, with elections held on even-numbered years.

According to Kate Hoving, communications specialist in the city manager’s office, there were five candidates for two seats in 2010 and six candidates for three seats in 2008.

The incumbents compose the majority of the ballot, with Ginger Crapse ’89 as the only newcomer in the race.

Haulman City council work is continuously changing as the economy imposes budget constraints and the town’s leaders look to develop better relations with

the College of William and Mary. In fall 2009, nine houses were charged with violations of the three-person rule. In May 2010, Scott Foster ’10 J.D. ’14 was the first College student ever elected to the council.

Haulman believes the relationship has continued to steadily improve.

“Those types of relationships don’t change Freiling overnight, and I think over the last couple of years we worked really hard, and over the least three or four years it’s really paid off,” Haulman said.

To encourage the relationship, Haulman meets monthly with College President Taylor Reveley to discuss issues affecting the College.

Pressure from the General Assembly has recently dominated the conversation. The College, along with several other Virginia universities, has agreed to admit additional in-state students over the next four to five years. The Class of 2016 will have an additional 38 in-state students. The increase will serve as

See INCUMBENTS, page 4

construction

all photos by Michelle gabro / THE FLAT HAT

The College of William and Mary broke ground for the initial phase of the new fraternity housing complex. The project, estimated to cost $26 million, will begin during the spring semester with an estimated deadline of 2013. The housing units will include 11 housing units and provide 187 beds, increasing the amount of on-campus housing.

Inside opinions

Inside SPORTS

Excessive new travel restrictions

The College should allow students who want to study abroad to make judgments concerning safety. page 5 Stormy High 82, Low 55

part of the plan to add a total of 150 in-state students to the College.

With state-mandated growth, the College faces problems of housing and funding.

Haulman noted that cooperation between the city and the College will help with the growth.

He plans to continue his monthly meetings with Reveley to maintain the communication.

“We have to work with the College to see how they plan to handle the growth,” Haulman said. “If it needs students, where are they going to be housed? What do we need to do?”

Serving as a faculty member from 1969 until his retirement in 2011, Knudson Haulman believes he understands the College’s perspective while also sharing the view of a city resident.

“I feel like I have a foot in two worlds,” Haulman said. “It’s been very useful for me.

I talk with students and have feedback about

Tribe downs Quinnipiac

Three runs in the 7th and 8th inning pushed the College past Quinnipiac as the College improves to 12-7 on the season. page 8

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News Editor Katherine Chiglinsky News Editor Ken Lin fhnews@gmail.com

The Flat Hat | Friday, March 16, 2012 | Page 2

THE BUZZ

You can’t learn if you aren’t being challenged, and in too many places, today’s college students simply aren’t.

—Anne Neal, President of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni

BEYOND THE ‘BURG

Lauren Stephenson covers news regarding the Surry County coal plant, Student Assembly elections, Maxim magazine’s accolade of Gooch Drive being the “Sexiest Street in America” and interviews Williamsburg City Council candidate Ginger Crapse ’89. She asks Crapse about her position on the three-person rule and the current state of the community.

From “Tube Talk,” a blog by Katie Snyder ‘13 “Television shouldn’t just be another way for Geico to tell you to switch to their insurance, and it shouldn’t just be about passing the time before class. Just like film and music, TV is a reflection of our culture. Just like our parents

and grandparents watch Happy Days with fond nostalgia, we’ll be doing the same in twenty or thirty years. Like it or not, the lasting shows on broadcast networks are the ones we’ll be watching on Nick at Nite when we’re forty and fifty.”

Videos Online

Streaming coverage of Tribe Athletics press conferences, including postgame interviews, press conferences and game recaps from @FlatHatSports.

In our weekly “That Guy” series, Ariel Cohen ’14 sits down to talk with RA and former rugby player Sebastian Kreindel ’12.

COURTESY PHOTO / PNMEDIA.CHASERNOW.COM

A recent court ruling determined that Virginia Tech was negligent in emergency management during the 2007 shootings committed on its campus.

Virginia Tech ordered to pay $4 million each to two families of victims from 2007 shootings

A THOUSAND WORDS

According to the Guardian newspaper in London, a jury in Christiansburg, Va has found Virginia Tech, site of the 2007 series of shootings that resulted in 32 deaths, negligent in the deaths of two victims. It was determined that former students Julia Pryde and Erin Peterson died as a result of a careless delay by the university in notifying the student body of the ongoing crisis. The university has been ordered to pay the families of these two victims $4 million each, a move both the university spokesperson and the office of commonwealth Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, R, deemed disappointing. They argued that the shootings could not have been anticipated, and that the reaction times of university administrators and police were reasonable, given the situation.

University of California to ask about sexual orientation According to ABC News, the academic senate of the University of California initiated a proposal that would require incoming freshmen to indicate their sexual orientation as straight, gay, bisexual or transsexual when they accept their offer of admission. California community colleges and the California State University system already solicit for this information. LGBTQ students at the University of California, Los Angeles told The Daily Bruin that they believed this change would likely lead to improved benefits for the LGBTQ community.

Ohioan goes on stabbing spree in downtown building

CHristina glass / the FLAT HAT

CORRECTIONS The Flat Hat wishes to correct any facts printed incorrectly.

Corrections may be submitted by e-mail to the editor of the section in which the incorrect information was printed. Requests for corrections will be accepted at any time.

The Flat Hat ‘STABILITAS ET FIDES’ | ESTABLISHED OCT. 3, 1911 ‘STABILITAS ET FIDES’ | ESTABLISHED OCT. 3, 1911

According to the Huffington Post, an unnamed man wielding three knives went on a stabbing spree that injured four people in Columbus, Ohio Wednesday. The man began his attack at the admissions office of Miami-Jacobs Career College, which is a technical school. One bystander disarmed the assailant of one knife, leaving two additional concealed weapons. After engaging bystanders throughout the building, the man eventually fled into the street, where the man was shot by police. At the time, he was only a few blocks away from the state capitol. The attacker and three victims were sent to a hospital in the area in critical condition. The fourth victim had only minor injuries.

COURTESY PHOTO / WIKIPEDIA.COM

A Dartmouth College newspaper column alleges systemic hazing problem.

Greek system at Dartmouth College embroiled in turmoil over alleged hazing incidents According to Fox News, Dartmouth College student Andrew Lohse wrote a column in January detailing hazing abuse by the college’s chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He detailed his experience as a pledge, alleging he had been forced to do heinous tasks involving vinegar, rotten food, vomit and other bodily fluids. In the weeks after the column’s publication, over 100 faculty members wrote letters to the administration calling hazing a common problem at the university. However, Lohse himself has faced various charges relating to threats of physical harm, drug use and illegal use of alcohol.

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News in brief College found in box office film

Ducibella receives PGA award

Student and professor get PBK award

In Disney’s newest movie, “John Carter,” the title character’s nephew attends the College of William and Mary.

Though he is summoned home to New York City, Disney confirmed that the William and Mary they refer to is the College. The science fiction film is based on the classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and follows the interplanetary travels of Carter as he battles Martian forces.

Other movies have previously mentioned the College in a number of other popculture references, including “1776” and “Nims Island.”

The College has also appeared in the ABC TV Show “Dirty, Sexy, Money” and NBC’s “The West Wing.”

Professor Jim “Duce” Ducibella of William and Mary’s University Relations staff was honored by the MAPGA with the Earle Hellen Sports Media Award.

Ducibella reported on golf tournaments for the Virginia-Pilot for 27 years before joining the College faculty. He also served as Redskins “beat” writer during his stint with the Pilot.

The award recognizes Ducibella as an outstanding individual in the field of journalism for exemplary contributions to MAPGA and as an outstanding journalist by his/her peers.

“I would be lying if I didn’t say I was very pleased to have someone cite me for my body of work,” Ducibella said.

Phi Beta Kappa had their annual meeting for the celebration of its members’ achievements. The dinner was held in honor of physics student Allison Oldham ’13, Associate Professor Robert Leventhal and Associate Professor Barbara Watkinson.

Leventhal, who teaches German studies courses at the College, was honored with the John D. Rockefeller Award for the Advancement of Scholarship.

Watkinson also received the Rockefeller Award for Excellence in Teaching. She teaches in the art and art history department at the College.

Founded at the College in 1776, PBK embraces “freedom of inquiry and liberty of though and expression.”

Page 3

Friday, March 16, 2012

The Flat Hat

administration

Richard Bland College names new president

Former New York community college president Debbie Sydow named by BOV to lead junior college

by vanessa remmers flat hat managing editor

The new president of Richard Bland College, the sole junior college in Va and an affiliated institution of the College of William and Mary, has been announced.

The College’s Board of Visitors concluded their meetings this week with a unanimous decision to replace Richard Bland’s outgoing president, Robert McNeer, with Debbie Sydow.

McNeer is retiring after 16 years as the school’s president.

The BOV conducted a thorough, nationwide search for the fourth president of Richard Bland College.

“In the end, it became apparent to the selection committee and the Board that Dr. Sydow offered a unique combination,” Rector of the College and BOV member Jeffrey Trammell ’73 said.

As a first-generation college student with an appreciation for two-year college programs, Sydow said that Richard Bland resonated with her for many reasons.

“Richard Bland College is a wellrespected institution with a liberal arts focus, and students and faculty are passionate about their place and Richard Bland College has a special relationship with the College of William and Mary,” Sydow said.

Sydow will leave Onondaga Community College after 12 years

as its president, leaving the college with more than double the student body population. She attributed the increase to altering the curriculum so that it better met students’ needs. Such accomplishments impressed the BOV when making its decision.

“She is a recognized, national leader in higher education, focused on how to make two-year institutions like Richard Bland effective,” Trammell said. “She has a proven track record of building the academics and finances as the current president of a two-year institution, and she is highly motivated with excellent communications skills.”

One of the greater challenges she faced while at OCC was the prevalence of unions.

“Obviously in New York, there are a lot of unions. Faculty and staff were unionized, but the administration wasn’t,” Sydow said. “I gained a lot of experience in negotiations, which were designed for two parties to sit at table and work toward resolution. I was involved in working through three contracts, which was a really good training ground for effective communication, working with different groups of people. These are the leadership skills that I will bring to Richard Bland College.”

Sydow says that becoming acquainted with the college and the surrounding community and starting to craft the new

courtesy photo/ WM.EDU

New president of Richard Bland College, Debbie Sydow, poses with the RBC Statesman, the College’s mascot, after being unanimously chosen as president.

strategic plan are two of her priorities.

“Richard Bland College has so much to build on, and it is in a good position to build on at a time where there is this shift in higher education,” Sydow said. “We need to understand better

the resources we can utilize in order to build off of this foundation.”

Naming declining state funding for higher education as one perpetual challenge, Sydow expressed a need for Richard Bland to re-evaluate its tuition

and fee structure.

“We [Richard Bland] need to be more entrepreneurial. We have added student housing, and auxiliary services is looking at ways to utilize existing resources in new ways,” Sydow said.

Student assembly

SA authorizes three referendums for upcoming elections Funding allocated for humanitarian activities, cultural events and environmental awareness initiatives by meredith ramey flat hat assoc. news editor

The Student Assembly senate approved three referendums to add to the SA election ballot Tuesday.

The referendums will ask for student opinions regarding continued free STI testing, free massage chairs in Swem Library and a $1 donation to a socioeconomic fund for financially struggling students at the College of William and Mary.

Vice President Molly Bulman ’13 also returned to the senate Tuesday after multiple absences due to a class conflict.

The senate proceeded to pass a variety of bills, including the Unite 4 Humanity Grant Act and the Feed the Children and their Parents Act. The Unite 4 Humanity Grant Act, sponsored

by Sen. Matt Paganussi ’14, passed unanimously after little debate. The Act allocates $2,977 to aid in funding a series of events for Human Rights Week, a collaboration between various groups on campus.

“There’s actually going to be a number of virtual and physical activities on the Sunken Garden, including a mural where students can go up and put their handprints,” Paganussi ’14 said.

The Feed the Children and their Parents Act allocates $2242.81 to provide pastries and coffee to students and parents during the annual Day for Admitted Students. It passed after the senate added an amendment to take the funds from the Student Reserve rather than the Student Activities and Events Fund.

“The Activities and Events Fund is directly raised from student fees,” Senate Chairman Noah Kim ’13 said. “That fund is primarily used to benefit current students at the College who have already paid into that fund.”

christina glass / THE FLAT HAT

The Student Assembly allocated $2242.81 to fund refreshments, including pastries and coffee, for incoming students and their families during Admitted Students’ Day at their meeting Tuesday.

Four other pieces of legislation were introduced to the senate: the Voices of South Asia Act, the Recycling Awareness Stickers Act, the I Am W&M Week Act and the Competition Fund Reorganization Act. The Voices of South Asia Act, sponsored

by Kim, would allocate various funds to aid in the production of an intercollegiate dance competition and other activities to promote Asian culture on campus, which would be run by the

South Asian Student Association. “[The celebration] would not only promote culture on campus but also elevate the profile of the college nationally,” Kim said.

Senator Kendall Lorenzen ’15 sponsored the Recycling Awareness Stickers Act, which would pay for stickers to put on dorm recycling bins to explain what should and should not be placed in the bins.

While wearing last year’s T-shirt, Kim

introduced the I AM W&M Week Act, which would fund this year’s festival T-shirts. The shirts will depict words submitted by students that they feel define them. These will be presented in a “word cloud” in the shape of I AM W&M. “They’re going to be really great looking T-shirts,” Kim said.

The Competition Fund Reorganization Act would work to publicize and reorganize the Competition Fund.

Dambach views peace as possible Peace Corps veteran acknowledges flaws in organization PEACE CORPS from page 1

“The use of violent force is not reasonable, rational or acceptable,” Dambach said. “War is about people, not numbers … Why is violence acceptable, honorable, noble and heroic at the nation-state level?”

Peace is possible, according to Dambach, but he says that peace must be built as a real and effective citizen-based phenomenon.

Students who attended the event expressed interest in the Peace Corps and in the idea of nonviolent responses to conflict.

“The world is in ruins in every way, and I get depressed with it,” Tom Sheldrick ’13 said. “But this talk was good. I mean, I’d be interested in joining the Peace Corps now.”

Other students expressed gratitude and excitement that Dambach came to speak at the College on Tuesday.

“I think it is so cool that Chic would come to such a small school to talk about these things … especially because so many students here care so much about peace-building and the world,” Liz Barclay ’13 said.

History of the Peace Corps March 1, 1961

President John F. Kennedy signs the Executive Order to establish the Peace Corps.

August 30, 1961

The first group of 51 Peace Corps volunteers travels to Ghana to begin the program.

April 1964

The Peace Corps Partnership Program provides a link between U.S. contributors and oversea requests for assistance.

Dec. 29, 1981

The Peace Corps becomes an independent federal agency.

Sep. 2005

Volunteers are deployed domestically for the first time. graphic by katherine chiglinsky / THE FLAT HAT

Page 4

Friday, March 16, 2012

The Flat Hat

Business school

Steady rise in female business school applicants

Mason School of Business takes further steps to encourage women to enroll in graduate programs by ariel cohen Flat hat assoc. news editor

As more women are entering the business world, the Mason School of Business has made a concerted effort to attract a greater amount of female students to its graduate business program.

According to a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education, women nationally make up approximately half of all medical and law schools students, but less than one third of students enrolled in graduate business schools.

Yet in 2011, a record 41.1 percent of people taking the General Management Admissions Test were women. This slight increase has been matched by a nationwide increase in female students attending business schools.

“Usually when I’m on a team [within the business school], I’m the only girl,” Mason School of Business MBA Internal Vice President Laura Allen M.B.A. ’12 said. “But that hasn’t really hindered me from doing anything. Even though I’m part of the small percentage of women, the program is really good about including all different perspectives of genders, race and other minorities. So, I never really feel like a minority even though I am.”

Many graduate business school programs currently require a minimum of three years of coursework, but specialized one-year master programs

offer recent college graduates immediate business education in a shorter time span. Such offers are becoming increasingly attractive for women, who make up 57 percent of applicants.

While the College’s business school does not offer a one-year masters of finance program, their one-year masters of accounting program attracts more female applicants than does the traditional three-year program.

“Not to stereotype, but the reality is that women are on a different timeline typically,” Mason School of Business Director of M.B.A. Admissions Amanda Barth said. “Especially international women, it is expected that they get their education at an earlier age because they have obligations back home.”

This domestic trend is even more prevalent internationally. International female students surpass their American counterparts in business education, representing up to 64 percent of students taking the GMAT, as opposed to the 39 percent in the United States.

“It’s a total environment change for me because in my previous work the gender ratio is more balanced, sometimes more female than male.

I didn’t feel uncomfortable when I got here but it was a little strange that were so many men in the class,” Louise Sun M.B.A. ’12 said. “Sometimes I feel there is a difference in class discussion between the sexes.”

Christina glass / THE FLAT HAT

The Mason School of Business, in line with international trends, has seen an uptick in female applicants to the one-year masters of accounting degree.

In addition, the College’s graduate business program works in conjunction with two business school professional associations, the Forte Foundation and the National Association of Women MBAs, to try and attract women to graduate programs.

“We try hard to counsel women through the process, make them feel

welcome in our community and make sure they’re thriving,” Barth said. “We are trying really hard to get over our 30-percent marker.”

By recruiting female applicants at job fairs and facilitating programs for women already in the school, these two groups aim to make female M.B.A. candidates feel more at home in a

historically masculine field.

“I know a lot of colleagues and fellow M.B.A.s participated in the NAWMBA events,” Allen said. “William and Mary does a very excellent job in bringing in speakers from large firms to talk about their experiences as a woman in the business world. It’s nice to have that support system.”

City Council incumbents talk budget issues, city planning

Candidates hope to boost the local economy and build better working relations with the College

Incumbents at a glance:

incumbents from page 1

where they’re coming from.”

Haulman served as the dean of Undergraduate Studies, chair of the Music Department, assistant to the president and chair of the Economics Department during his time at the College.

As an alumnus of the College, Freiling also believes that he understands the two perspectives well. He noted the importance of town-gown relations in response to the pressures coming from the General Assembly.

“The best thing we can do is support Reveley and the administration’s position on that,” Freiling said. “The primary way is communicating regularly with our state legislators, Watson and Senator Miller.”

Freiling currently serves as director of the special gifts program for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. As vice-mayor for the city council, Freiling noted that fiscal concerns dominate the majority of the current conversation in the local political environment.

“We have a real financial challenge facing us. We have to do everything we can to sustain our efforts while keeping a realistic budget,” Freiling said. “We need to try to grow the business contribution to the budget and concentrate on our tourism efforts. All of those could help bring in revenue which would take the pressure off the budget.”

Freiling credited the recent adoption of themed months to encourage tourism in the city. In September 2011, the city kicked off arts month with a concert by the Virginia Symphony at Matoaka Amphitheater that had an overall attendance of approximately 1,200.

Clyde Haulman • • •

Has served since 2000; elected mayor in 2010 B.A., M.S., Ph.D, Florida State University College connection: Professor of economics since 1969; served as dean of undergraduate studies 198993, Assistant to the President, chair of the economics department, and a variety of other administrative posts

Freiling also said that the synchronization of the comprehensive plans for Williamsburg, James City County and Yorktown will help all areas. While each jurisdiction will adopt its own plan following a public hearing in November 2012, they will hold joint work sessions to discuss the issues brought up by citizens at public forums held in February and March.

“It allows us to look at some issues that cross over our boundaries,” Freiling said. “There are lots of things that don’t begin and end at the Williamsburg border. We should take into account what each other is doing to lead us to greater cooperation down the road.”

Cooperation among the communities has taken

Paul Freiling

• • •

•

Has served since 2003; elected vicemayor in 2010 College connection: Undergraduate class of 1983 Works for the development staff of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation as Director of Special Gifts Program Previous city experience: planning commission

off in the recent year. The economic development authorities of the city of Williamsburg, James City County and York County participated in Arts month in September, hoping to spike tourism throughout the area.

All of the incumbents noted that the revitalization of downtown, with the proposed Prince George Street housing and retail complex, is another development plan which should attract tourists to the city and boost revenue.

Council member Judith Knudson said that while the fiscal constraints facing the city council in the coming year would prove trying, the revitalization of the downtown would be an innovative step for the city.

Judith Knudson

• • • •

Has served since 2008 B.A. in history, University of Michigan; M.A. in political science, University of Central Florida College connection: Former assistant dean of admissions Previous city experience: James City County Board of Supervisors; board of zoning appeals; planning commission

She also noted the importance of town-gown relationships alongside the recent state mandates for growth.

“I think [the relationship] is going really well right now,” Knudson said. “It has a lot to do with the efforts of Reveley. He’s really been involved.

But we have an enormous problem that the state insists that the College gets bigger without providing funding.”

For Knudson, she hopes to encourage the public’s role in city council decisions.

“It would be my goal to continue whatever it is we’re doing,” Knudson said. “If it’s not working, I would like people to call me and say there’s this problem — that’s why we’re elected.”

Panel curriculum proposal attempts to renew liberal arts Faculty-designed curriculum does not do enough to prepare graduates for real world, Society claims CURRICULUM from page 1

be fulfilled by courses that would not prepare students for civic participation or the professional world.

“What about other vital subjects such as writing, history and economics? Here, more disturbing news: The College does not require graduates to take even one solid course in any of these subjects,” Neal said. “Technically, there is a writing proficiency requirement, but students fulfill it by taking freshman seminars that do not focus primarily on composition. Then there is the world cultures and history requirement. The U.S. history course does satisfy this requirement, but so do courses on jazz, hip-hop, European history and archeology. In other words, the College thinks U.S. history is optional.”

The Curriculum Review Steering Committee, composed of faculty members from a broad range of departments and tasked with reforming the undergraduate curriculum this year, drafted a tentative plan that has drawn ire from the Society’s membership.

Society President Andrew McRoberts ’87 emphasized the committee’s unwillingness to provide the Society with relevant materials or to meet with the Society on the issue.

“No one, not one person from the faculty steering committee for the College was willing to show up and talk to us and the public about the progress of curriculum reform at the College,” McRoberts said.

“That’s not transparent, and that’s not good governance.”

The Society then provided the most recent draft version containing the committee’s proposals. Under this proposal, the GERs would

be replaced by a system of seven courses: one freshman seminar designated COLL 150, and another designated COLL 100 to “give all first-semester students a common experience that sets them on their way toward a coherent four-year journey of discovery and maturation … challenge them to think about important ideas, and give them practice in writing about and discussing those ideas on the college level.” One course each at the COLL 200 area in the categories of “Culture & the Arts of Interpretation,” “Social & Humanistic Understanding,” and “Scientific & Quantitative Reasoning,” would be required. A junior colloquium on “a global perspective on the world” and the composition of a senior-year portfolio of the college learning experience would punctuate the students’ final year at the College.

“My sense is that there’s potential value in the new portion the College is looking at,” Society board member Matt Ames ’80 said. “But at the same time, by themselves, the proposed courses go in the wrong direction, because although they change the GER system, they don’t result in a more focused and stronger undergraduate curriculum.”

The panel pointed out some of the shortcomings of the committee’s proposed system, such as the fact that the three courses at the COLL 200 level would have to substitute for all nine courses under the current GER system. It would be extremely difficult, according to the Society, to find a class providing students with both a solid mathematical component and a strong scientific foundation for the “Scientific & Quantitative Reasoning” requirement.

The Society defined the liberal arts as those courses that would provide the student with “a solid grounding in the skills and

knowledge necessary to assume a practical and effective leadership role in public and private life” and has claimed that the College must adapt to the changing nature of the global environment in order to continue producing quality leaders and citizens. To that end, the Society compiled a master list of subject matter that a core curriculum for the College should cover, among them: oratory and written communication, psychology, economics, American history and government, mathematics and foreign languages.

“We recommend replacing the current GER system with a stronger, deeper, and more focused set of requirements incorporating a specific list of courses,” a Society-compiled briefing packet states. “The result would be a common curriculum to be spread out over 15 credits in each of the first two semesters and 12 credits in each semester of the sophomore year.”

The Society’s plan would require all College students to follow a common curriculum with required courses to be selected from each subject. For example, all incoming freshmen would have to take one course each in writing, economics, mathematics, American history, and a foreign language during their first semester under the Society’s plan. The Society stated that their plan seemed far more comprehensive and more accurately reflected the demands of the modern era.

“I have no interest in telling the faculty how to do their jobs,” McRoberts said. “But I also know that in the end, the academic quality of the institution is a reflection on the commonwealth of Virginia, it is a reflection on each of its graduates, and on each student who may want to come here, and that’s why it’s important.”

opinions

Opinions Editor Ellen Wexler fhopinions@gmail.com

The Flat Hat | Friday, March 16, 2012 | Page 5

Rights, risks and restrictions

Editorial cartoon

Carter Lockwood Flat Hat Staff Columnist

By Rachel Brooks, Flat Hat Cartoonist

Starting this summer, students who are looking to study abroad will have to contend with a new Travel Warning Policy if they hope to take part in a program connected with the College of William and Mary. The policy comes into play if a student wants to study at any school with which the College has a partnership, receive any funding, attend any trips with faculty or transfer any credit.

The restrictions are effective for any country for which the U.S. Department of State has issued a travel warning. Students who want to travel to one of these countries while still affiliated with the College will have to receive prior approval from a special committee.

The actual power the Provost is taking isn’t new — they’ve had this kind of control for a while now — but it does represent a symbolic extension of the College’s claim to regulate your rights as a student. We’re all adults, and there are certain international travel decisions we can make by ourselves. We didn’t need a State Department directive to know that the situation in Syria is a little turbulent right now, and hopefully every student at the College understands that going to North Korea is a bit risky.

This is the issue at the core of a review process: The same trigger is being applied to countries with wildly different levels of risk, and the Committee’s guidelines don’t seem to be set up in your favor. We would hope that the Travel Warning Review Committee is fully capable of handling these sorts of issues. However, it isn’t transparent enough right now to inspire confidence that the trips you might plan aren’t

going to run into problems. The “academic and personal preparation” of students will be considered; I’m sure the notion that one needs to be “prepared” before going abroad will come as news to everyone who thought part of the point of traveling was to introduce themselves to things they didn’t know existed. Another factor is the “academic or service learning necessity” of the trip — I’m racking my brain trying to think of a) what on earth a “necessary” study abroad trip would be, and b) when exactly the administration forgot that college is a time when you try things simply because you think they might be fun.

Of course, the elephant in the room of this process is liability — the College isn’t going to risk being sued for everything it’s got while you’re in a potentially dangerous country. First, this shouldn’t affect transfer credit in any way — the College can accept credit from any institution in the world, including those with which it has no legal relationship. Second, I’m sure most students who really want to take a particular trip aren’t going to have a problem signing half a dozen waivers. That leaves “federal regulations” as the last obstacle. Jumping through those hoops is best left to the College’s lawyers, but anything that seriously inhibits the ability of students to travel should be made more explicit, and anything that doesn’t should be worked with in the least restrictive manner possible.

Above all, the College might simply insist this is all a matter of wanting students to be safe.

That’s nice, but outside of the legal issues, it’s a conversation best left to a student’s parents.

Students inevitably are going to want to take trips to countries that the administration and the State Department may think are dangerous. Weighing this risk versus a possible once-in-a-lifetime experience is best left to the student. The College ought to give us the latitude to do so.

Email Carter Lockwood at crlockwood@email. wm.edu.

Street Beat

What do you think of the General Education Requirements, and what do you think should change?

Avoiding flocks of drunk alumni Homecoming Parade

Being in a flock of drunk alumni

“I learned a lotgame. from my “The football GoGERs. Tribe!”

I’m not a history person, so it was a lot of history for me.”

Sam Meadows ’12 Cattie Olson ’12

“The homecoming step show and Black Student “Aafter fewparty are a that littlethe unreasonable. on.heavy ” I Organization think there’s aputs really science requirement.”

Cheryl Williams ’13 Shawn Burley ‘13 Meagen Monahan ’13

The Cheese Shop “Friday’s events — the parade, the pep rally,mind and them, the block out with friends “I really didn’t but “There’s a lot of [history]. It’s just “I’m“Hanging a music major and I’m and “I’d rather have them changed.

— seems like a legit having good times.and More time toI don’t like them at all. I’m not I’mparty not looking forward to theday, really a little heavier than everything bad at science a dayone.” of fun.” spend with the people you like.”going to look at rocks after I science else.” math.”

Lemondre Watson ’13 graduate. I wish I could take them Micah Jasny ’14 pass/fail.”

Mikal Abdul-Saboor ’15 Sarah Prowitt ’14 ’14 Gabrielle Graves C.J. Thomas ’12 ­— photos and interviews by Michelle gabro ­— photos and interviews by Katie Demeria and Ellen Wexler

Editorial

Editor’s note: Outgoing Editor-in-Chief Mike Barnes reflects on the year Mike Barnes

Outgoing Editor-in-Chief

All of the greatest sports movies have one thing in common: They tell the story of an underdog who overcomes the greatest odds and the toughest foes to cap an improbable signature victory.

Our love of the underdog is what causes us to empathize with Rudy and Rocky and to derive such great joy from seeing David defeat Goliath.

In spite of the many great sports movies I have watched, I firmly believe that the underdog story of the 2011-12 Flat Hat staff is the best I’ve ever seen.

This staff has faced and overcome more challenges than any other staff in recent memory. One year ago today, we were very young and very inexperienced. Despite our youth, we were passionate and unafraid to test the norms and push the boundaries of this newspaper’s capabilities.

As the year progressed, our staff and newspaper have blossomed, and I am incredibly proud of the work we have produced. In one short year, we have completely transformed multiple aspects of The Flat Hat. In August, our design staff introduced a sleek redesign for our print edition, allowing us to improve the look and feel of our paper.

More importantly, with the help of our friends at Smellycat Productions, we dragged our 101-year-old newspaper

into the 21st century via a beautiful new website, which debuted in February. In addition to these momentous events, we also managed to produce 52 print issues, upholding the standard of quality and professionalism which has become expected of this newspaper.

None of this would have been possible without the tireless work of our staff members, especially our two seniors, Walter Hickey ’12 and Becky Koenig ’12.

While his methods may be unconventional, Walter has continually impressed me with his tireless dedication and enthusiasm. Walter’s computer science expertise proved invaluable during our lengthy website reclamation project, and he is one of the driving forces behind the beautiful website you see today. Walter also made his mark on the other sections as well, bringing his eye for analysis and unconventional style of humor to each page of the newspaper.

Over the past year, Becky has had an enormous impact on how our News section operates. Becky singlehandedly taught me and the rest of the staff the ins-and-outs of news coverage and is one of the best writers on staff. In addition to Becky’s printed work, she also has been an excellent Managing Editor behind the scenes — skillfully diffusing problems and remaining a steady source of good advice.

While we will certainly miss Becky and Walter, I am exceedingly confident in the rest of our returning staff.

After a semester and a half of capably steering the Variety section, News Editor Katherine Chiglinksy ‘14 stepped up when we needed her most to become

News Editor. Katherine made an instant impact, breathing new life into the layouts and design of the News section.

Katherine will be joined by Ken Lin ’13, a former Associate News Editor, whose dedication and expertise allowed him to rise through the ranks quickly. I am excited to see how Katherine and Ken guide News into the next year.

I normally try to steer clear of making grandiose statements about the history of this newspaper, but I am confident that outgoing Opinions Editor Elizabeth DeBusk ’13 is the finest headline writer this newspaper has ever seen. After two years as Opinions Editor, Elizabeth will become the writer behind our unsigned editorials. Ellen Wexler ’15 will rise from Associate Opinions Editor to assume the reigns. Ellen has written many insightful columns over the past year, and I know she will continue to do so.

Like Ellen and Ken, Sarah Caspari ’15 and Abby Boyle ’15 graduated from our intern program and have risen to the rank of section editor. As Variety Editors, they will draw upon the design skills and story-brainstorming processes passed down to them. I know that Sarah and Abby are ready to assume the challenge.

Few staff members have shown as much dedication as Sports Editor Jared Foretek ’14, as demonstrated through his thorough coverage of Tribe athletics and his passion for our website. I am excited to see him return for another year at the helm of the sports section.

Always the model of stability, our Copy staff will once again be directed by our two wonderful Copy Chiefs, Kate Hoptay ’13 and Stephanie Hubbard ’13. Stephanie and Kate carefully comb

through the grammar and style of every article to save the paper from potentially embarrassing mistakes, and we all thank them for it.

After a year and a half of dutiful service as Photos Editor, Michelle Gabro ’13 will become Chief Photographer. As Photos Editor, Michelle dramatically improved the infrastructure of the Photos section, and the section blossomed under her leadership. John Lee ’14 and Anita Jiang ‘13 will lead Photos for the next year. Both John and Anita have snapped visually appealing photos for us, and I am confident their work will only continue to impress.

Ellie Kaufman ’13 will retain her position as Chief Staff Writer for part of the next year. Ellie did a wonderful job training future members of The Flat Hat through her work with the intern program, and she always brightens the mood in the office. Chris McKenna ’13 will also serve as Chief Staff Writer this year. Over the past two years, Chris has proven one of the most reliable writers on staff, and he will be able to showcase these talents in his new position.

Zach Hardy ’15 will take over as Online Editor. Over the course of the past year, Zach has provided quality video footage and features, and he will continue to build the reputation of the online section.

Nara Yoon ’12 served as the paper’s business manager this year, and her expert accounting skills helped the newspaper thrive through tough economic times.

I am pleased to announce that a trio of experienced and enthusiastic

executive staff members will oversee this talented staff.

Incoming Executive Editor Katie Demeria ’13 is one of the most squared away people you will ever meet.

During her time as Variety Editor, Katie consistently blew us away with her mastery of InDesign, careful planning and skillful ability to manage others.

Katie has done an excellent job of training others, and I am confident that she will be a great asset to the next staff of Opinions and Variety editors.

If you are going to work in a cramped basement for hours on end, it is always good to have a few colorful personalities to break up the monotony. One of ours is incoming Managing Editor Vanessa Remmers. While she wasn’t making us laugh, Vanessa consistently made the best out of tough situations and overcame a bevy of obstacles to take News to new heights. Vanessa has a great eye for news and is one of the hardest working people I know. She will do an excellent job overseeing News and Sports.

I have always considered being the Editor-in-Chief of The Flat Hat a great honor and can think of no one more deserving of such an honor than Jill Found ’13. During her time as Executive Editor, Jill was my right hand man, and she never hesitated to do whatever it took to help ensure the success of the paper.

Jill took a leading role in transforming The Flat Hat this year, as she was at the center of many of our biggest projects.

I know Jill will be successful, and I wish her and her staff the best of luck as they guide the 102nd volume of the Flat Hat to even greater heights.

variety

Variety Editor Abby Boyle Variety Editor Sarah Caspari flathat.variety@gmail.com

The Flat Hat | Friday, March 16 , 2012 | Page 6

From the cradle

to the dorm

CONFUSION CORNER

As students, College landmarks change in meaning and value

BY NATALIE FERENBACH / FLAT HAT ASSOC. VARIETY EDITOR

F

or high school seniors, the prospect of transitioning from home to a college dorm is often both terrifying and exciting.

For Alexandra Schofield, age nine, and Kyle Schofield, age six, home and a college dorm are the same.

Alexandra and Kyle traveled directly from the hospital where they were born to a college dormitory, and they currently reside in the College of William and Mary’s Landrum Hall. Area Director Rich Schofield and his wife both worked in residence life as students, and — excluding their first three months of marriage — they have continued to live in residence halls together ever since. Rich Schofield includes Alexandra and Kyle in his work wherever possible.

“I call them my little ‘[Resident Assistants] in training,’” Rich Schofield said. “They know all about the campus policies.”

As Landrum residents, Alexandra and Kyle have developed many of the same likes and dislikes as their college-aged neighbors. Alexandra echoed an oft-cited complaint about the Landrum elevator.

“It’s extremely scary to hit the stop button,” Alexandra said. “My mom won’t even ride the elevator.”

When Kyle’s friends hear that he lives in a college dorm, their first question is: What is it like to live with so many crazy, loud people?

“Their bedroom is near the main door in the [Landrum] lobby,” Rich Schofield said. “In some ways, they can now sleep through almost anything, unlike my sister-in-law’s kids.”

Life at the College offers an abundance of opportunities — opportunities that are not limited to college-aged students. Such activities include sampling the dining options at the Sadler Center Dining Hall, enjoying fireworks in Colonial Williamsburg, attending basketball games, bonding with RAs and hanging out in the Sunken Garden — although Rich Schofield concedes that they make a point of avoiding the Sunken Garden during events like Campus Golf. While Kyle and Alexandra are too young to go to the Student Recreation Center, they do enjoy running up and down the spiral staircase in Sadler for exercise. When eating in Sadler, Kyle, like many students at the College, loves cereal for dessert.

“I like to put Coco Puffs with the marshmallows from Lucky Charms,” Kyle said.

Alexandra and Kyle also take part in special events at the College.

Alexandra has helped out as a cheerleader in the football games and as a judge in the Mr. Barrett contest. Kyle won a fish at the Sadler Center Carnival almost two years ago, and it still lives in his room in Landrum. The kids have taken part in the Homecoming Parade with Barrett Hall, attended movie nights on the Sunken Gardens and

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danced at the Barrett Cotillion.

“We try to take advantage of everything we can while we’re living here,” Rich Schofield said. “We go to programs — in buildings and on campus — that other kids don’t get to do.”

As children of an Area Director, Kyle and Alexandra have also had experiences entirely different from those of many undergraduate students at the College. Over winter and summer breaks, Alexandra and Kyle enjoy some of the perks of living in an empty dorm.

“We get to ride scooters up and down the hallways when no one is around,” Alexandra said.

Alexandra also plays an active role in icebreaker games and check-in during RA training at the beginning of the school year, and Kyle has made friends with the Campus Police officers. The school bus even picks up Alexandra and Kyle outside of Barrett in the mornings.

“Substitute drivers often run into difficulties, though, because they don’t think to look for a dormitory,” Rich Schofield said.

Despite occasional challenges, raising children on a college campus also offers quite a few advantages from a parental perspective. For example, Kyle and Alexandra are picked up and dropped off each day for school at their parent’s place of work, allowing for greater job flexibility in the event that the kids get sick.

Alexandra and Kyle have developed strong communication skills through constant contact with students and their parents’ co-workers. At the very least, Rich Schofield and his wife have avoided one issue that many parents struggle with: where on Earth to find a babysitter.

Dasha Godunova

confusion corner columnist

After eavesdropping on several admissions tours this week, I’ve learned that we harbor a fairly large vendetta against Harvard University for being the only college in the entire nation to have been founded before us. I have also learned that our tour guides (and, full disclosure, I’m incredibly guilty of this myself ) often mention some very wonderful traditions and locations to make our campus seem that much more fantastic to the terrified high school students and their overprotective parents. Unfortunately, the traditions and places that we brag about to our visitors are the very same ones that change their meaning slightly once you become a full-time student at this fine institution.

First and foremost, despite having free access to all Colonial Williamsburg attractions just by owning a school ID, a fact that draws happy ooohs and aaahs from the parents on each tour, few students choose to spend their time being enlightened in the colonial ways of shoe-and-paper making. Instead, Duke of Gloucester Street continues to be used solely for dog-petting, running, cider mug walks and the occasional photo scavenger hunt.

On the bright side, for new 21-year olds, beer is still served in the taverns, so we are the only school where an 18th-century-themed bar hop continues to be a possibility.

Another is our very own mascot, the Griffin. Despite its instant success and beloved adoration by the student population, T-shirts depicting the Griffin in all his waving glory continue to have the lowest recorded sales of all College of William and Mary paraphernalia. College administrators are stumped and have attempted to solve the problem by adding pants on the giant mythical bird. Its subsequent lack of relation to anything Tribe or Warrior Feather-related remains an issue as well. In fact, any alumni sporting Tribe Fever apparel should be reinstated back to student-status as soon as possible, and coerced into holding fantastic tailgates in honor of the past mascot on the back of their Mercedes and Escalades at least once a week.

On the sports side, all of the Tribe sports fanatics pictured in the welcoming Admissions Office appear to have been kidnapped without any hope of ransom. In reality, stadiums suffer from poor attendance. Promises to the community of free tabs for participation are to no avail. If you come across any of the Tribe fans of which the legends speak, please make sure to detain and return immediately. We look forward to a new and conquering win over U.Va. next year.

The Crim Dell serves as the best example of a place that changes meaning once students step foot on campus. While no student knows the origin of the story, the Crim Dell Bridge is avoided much like the bubonic plague. In fact, it’s common knowledge that any step on or toward the fated structure will result in absolute destruction of any future romantic partnerships. For fear of shriveling up all alone, without even a Harry Potter book to keep you company, always keep at least 20 feet between yourself and the picturesque architecture.

Fortunately, swimming in the vicinity is still highly encouraged.

However, no matter how much fun we can poke at the things that make our school so unique, they’re also probably the very reason we fell in love with the College in the first place. For, as the seasons change and as the sun shines on our pale and paper-swamped selves, the one thing that will never change is this incredible campus and the fantastic students we wake up to each morning. So, on your next walk to class, wave at the tour, walk around the multiple mud puddles, and smile because, unlike all of the lost and scared high school juniors you walk by, you’re living the college life they can only dream of.

Dasha Godunova is a Confusion Corner columnist and is always careful to maintain a 20-foot gap between herself and the Crim Dell Bridge.

Watch

learn

enjoy

Did you want to see 2012 Best Picture nominee “The Descendants,” but missed your opportunity? Luckily, you have another chance tonight and tomorrow night: AMP is playing “The Descendants” at 7 and 9 p.m. in the Sadler Center Commonwealth Auditorium.

“The Descendants,” directed

by Alexander Payne, won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for four other Oscars. The movie stars George Clooney and Shailene Woodley, and follows a family coping after one of its members goes into a coma after a boating accident. Admission to the movie is $2.

The second annual Lemon Project Symposium will be held at the Bruton Heighs School in Williamsburg this Saturday. The all-day event will begin at 9:30 a.m, concluding at 4 p.m. and will include a portrayal of a free black woman living in Williamsburg in the 18th century by a Colonial Williamsburg Interpreter. All of the sessions will focus on the theme “The Journey Continues: Learning from Difference.” The symposium is free and open to the public, but attendees should COURTESY PHOTO / ACESHOWBIZ.COM register early.

Looking for a way to get in the St. Patrick’s Learn about hip hop culture and enjoy 11 dance performances at the same time tomorrow Day spirit and compete for prizes at the same with ORIGINS: Hip Hop Show the Sadler Center time? If so, gather a team of four and sign Commonwealth Auditorium. The event will take up for AMP’s ShAMProck, a luck-of-the-Irishplace from 3-5 p.m. and is being put on by the themed scavenger hunt and dance party. Each William and Mary Bboy Club, who will perform team will compete for the best time in the along with 11 other groups from across the ShAMProck course, and the fastest teams will be awarded country. Each prizes. After the group will competition is teach the completed, the audience dance party will about hip finally begin. hop culture The event is and then scheduled for discuss what 9 p.m., but you exactly hipmust register hop means your team of to them, in four people addition to ahead of time performing to participate. their routines.

COURTESY PHOTO / WILLIAM AND MARY NEWS

compete

The Flat Hat

Friday, March 16, 2012

The writer who writes about writers

Page 7

Bram’s recent work reflects ‘uphill battle’ present in earlier novels

COURTESY PHOTO / GAYCITYNEWS.COM

BY KATIE DEMERIA FLAT HAT EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Christopher Bram ’74 writes about relationships. He describes brothels in New York City and the many complexities behind marriage. His novels about directors turn into movies about monsters.

Bram has written nine novels during his career, along with nonfiction works, essays and screenplays. He has earned the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement and is currently a professor at New York University.

He has placed himself among the half dozen most important gay writers in America in the last decade, according to Bram’s friend and English professor at the College of William and Mary, Thomas Heacox.

Bram’s most recent work, “Eminent Outlaws,” investigates the lives of prominent gay authors who have established themselves in the literary world, following them from the years after World War II to the present. Bram focuses on specific authors and how they have affected gay liberation.

“People like James Baldwin, who was black but also gay, and wrote a couple of really powerful gay novels,” Bram said.

“But he is for some reason remembered now for being black rather than being gay.

He wrote about sexuality in his fiction, and race, class and politics in his essays.

So, the mainstream gives more attention

to his essays.”

It seems appropriate that Bram’s most recent work tells readers about prominent gay writers, since, according to Heacox, the characters in Bram’s novels exemplify the traditional uphill battle through which gay authors often have to go.

“The sort of common strain for the writers in “Eminent Outlaws” is that they had to work harder than most writers because they were overcoming an obstacle that straight writers did not have to overcome,” Heacox said. “And I think that applies to a lot of gay characters in Chris’s novels. You could expand on that to say it’s a sort of theme in gay literature.”

Heacox knew Bram during his time as an undergraduate, but grew closer to him when Bram returned to the College in 1999 as the writer-in-residence. By that time, Bram had already published six novels, including one of his most famous works, “Father of Frankenstein.”

As the writer-in-residence, Bram helped to expand the creative writing program in the English department, which only consisted of a handful of classes at the time.

“I taught one class in regular fiction writing, and then at my suggestion I taught a class in nonfiction writing,” Bram said. “I knew, from my own experience, that you can often get work in that type of writing, since it was more like literary journalism. But curiously enough, the most interesting students were the ones

BOOK COVER COURTESY PHOTOS / CHRISTOPHERBRAM.COM

in the fiction writing class. They were the real self-starters and they were the really passionate ones.”

Although the creative writing program was very limited while Bram was a student, he still managed to take classes and participate in extracurricular activities that fed into his career as a writer.

Bram had been involved in the William and Mary Review, a literary magazine still active on campus. During his years on the publication, the magazine published only pieces by College students, but it has since expanded to accept pieces from writers all over the country.

Reflecting on his time with the Review, Bram commented on the changing attitude of the College. While he was editor, the cover of one of the issues featured a piece of art that depicted a little girl sitting near a pig slaughter scene, and the publication ended up having to defend its choice to use that piece on the cover.

“When I describe all this, I have to remember that it was the early ’70s,” Bram said. “William and Mary back then was a very conservative, old-fashioned school. Something like a real pig’s head on a cover wasn’t seen very often.”

Bram’s time with the film society was an outlet for a love of movies that he claims he has always harbored.

“My work with movies was sort of a continuation of the film society. I still

loved movies when I left college, and now my boyfriend is a filmmaker. So the love continues. And it’s much more interesting to argue about a screenplay that we’re writing together rather than arguing about ordinary couple stuff,” Bram said.

Apart from his work on numerous screenplays, Bram’s novels also have been adapted into major motion pictures.

His novel “Father of Frankenstein,” which depicted the life of director James Whale, was made into the film “Gods and Monsters” starring Ian McKellen.

Bram worked on the movie with director Bill Condon, who showed him drafts of the screenplay as he adapted the novel into a film. And it was even Bram’s suggestion that McKellen play James Whale.

“Bill may have come to McKellen himself without my help, but when I finished the book I saw the movie ‘Six Degrees of Separation,’ and Ian McKellen was in it,” Bram said. “So we sent him a copy of the script.”

“Gods and Monsters” won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and it also was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

“Father of Frankenstein” is one of Heacox’s favorite novels by Bram, and the year when Bram was writer-inresidence was also the year that “Gods and Monsters” received its Academy

Award. Heacox, Bram and a few others gathered at Bram’s house to watch the Oscar presentations together.

“Father of Frankenstein” is just one example of Bram’s particular writing style. He has often been acclaimed for his ability to capture the psychological traits of his characters.

“Chris is a kind of old-fashioned writer in that respect,” Heacox said. “Writers like Dickens and Trollop come to mind as writers whose energy goes into creating a character and helping the reader to understand that character. Voluntary analysis of the character’s thought, that kind of thing … He remains true to a tradition of realistic character.”

Bram’s ability to capture true characters has led him to become known as a distinguished writer throughout his career.

“There’s nothing to say but a lot of words of congratulations in terms of the way Chris has shaped a career,” Heacox said. “And I think he’s done it without compromise. There are very few people who make their living entirely as men and women of letters, either writing fiction or essays or book reviews. But I think Chris made the decision years ago that he was going to be a writer. He’s disciplined, he puts in lots of time, he organized books in an intelligent and efficient way. They’re not cranked out, they’re produced. And I think that’s one of his distinguishing marks. He’s tremendously professional.”

Women’s studies lecture explores the culture of the female celebrity 16th annual Minnie Braithwaite lecture commemorates women at the College

BY SOPHIE MASON FLAT HAT ASSOC. VARIETY EDITOR

“Celebrity is a dirty word in contemporary U.S. culture,” Columbia University Professor Sharon Marcus said to begin her lecture this past Tuesday.

The women’s studies department at the College of William and Mary invited Marcus to come and discuss her research entitled “The Double Life of Female Celebrity” at the 16th Annual Minnie Braithwaite Lecture.

“Like other dirty words — sex, money, Brangelina — we can’t seem to get enough of it, yet have nothing good to say about it. Loved and hated, sought after and scorned, this is one of many ways in which celebrities lead a double life,” Marcus said.

The lecture commemorated both the bravery of Williamsburg resident Minnie Braithwaite’s 1896 petition to attend chemistry lectures and the eventual overall acceptance and integration of women into the College.

“I think it’s important for the women’s studies department to have a major lecture that has as its mission showcasing feminist work every year, and it’s a nice occasion because it brings all of women’s studies together to remember a certain kind of community and [to] have the intellectual stimulation that goes along with it,” English and women’s studies professor Christy Burns said.

After attending the event, many students felt that they gained a greater depth of knowledge and appreciation for the existence of women’s studies

JOHN LEE / THE FLAT HAT

Professor Sharon Marcus of Columbia University lectures on her research regarding the role of celebrities in women’s studies at the 16th Annual Minnie Braithwaite Lecture.

as a major at the College.

“I think a lot of people — myself included — don’t think about how Minnie Braithwaite petitioned to take chemistry classes at the College and as a woman was only allowed to take Shakespeare classes,” Emily Barnett ’14 said.

“Being a science major, that’s something I take for granted.”

Although she has published articles on various topics, including same-sex domesticity in Victorian England, sentimentality and cosmopolitanism in the writings of Anne Frank and the theory and practice of rape prevention in Hannah Arendt, Marcus decided upon this topic by taking into consideration the importance of celebrities in many students’ lives.

“I think it’s important that a college education involves taking a critical look at popular culture as well as high culture, and the celebrity, in fact, turns out to be what links the two,” Marcus said.

As a teenager, Marcus was greatly interested in the lives of celebrities. However, she was most captivated by the past. She enjoyed watching movies from the 1930s and 1940s, unaware that her favorite pastime would later become a source of inspiration for her academic studies.

“I first started doing research and learned how to use an index because I wanted to see which books talked about movie stars that I was especially interested in, so I feel like I came to this topic more as a fan,” Marcus said.

Marcus’s background not only influenced the direction of her research but also the impact of her subject matter, according to Chantalle Ashford ’14.

“The fact that we have a female professor talking about a female subject that wasn’t strictly about

women but that could be lent to all different types of people was really interesting,” Ashford said.

Marcus began her talk by defining a celebrity as someone who is “known by more people than one could ever know.” She focused on the contrasting qualities often held by celebrities through a close reading of an image of Sarah Bernhardt, a Frenchwoman considered to be the most famous woman in the world for approximately 30 years during the late 19th century.

“Bernhardt, in this one image, dissolves binaries of male and female, immortal and mortal, artist and model, subject and object, surface and depth, original and copy,” Marcus said in her lecture.

Even though most of the audience members admitted to never having heard of Bernhardt, many of them were able to draw comparisons to what they know of present-day celebrities, as well as to their own lives.

“I thought it was interesting the way she brought up this 19th-century actress who played with femininity and masculinity and all of these binaries that are supposed to be clear-cut and that even today are hard to break through,” Ashford said.

Marcus blurred the past with the present by directing attention to a celebrity who defied expectations across time periods by presenting herself as both sculptor and sculpture, both modern and classical, and both an imitator and an original. Marcus’s subject matter of the ephemeral celebrity, an image that transcends three centuries, drew the audience back to the original premise of the annual lecture series by comparing the state of gender relations during each century.

“These talks are truly important to show us how far we have come,” Barnett said.

sports

Sports Editor Jared Foretek Sports Editor Mike Barnes flathatsports@gmail.com

The Flat Hat | Friday, March 16, 2012 | Page 8

BASEBALL

JARED FORETEK / THE FLAT HAT

Left: Junior shortstop Ryan Williams swings. Top right: Junior reliever John Farrell pitching the ninth. Farrell got the save after two and two thirds shutout innings. Bottom right: Quinnipiac head coach Dan Gooley makes a pitching change during a walk-filled eighth.

Back in the swing of things

With JMU series on horizon, Tribe wraps up homestand with 9-5 win, second straight over visiting Quinnipiac

BY JARED FORETEK FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR

A day after dominating visiting Quinnipiac in a 13-5 win, William and Mary used big nights from sophomore designated hitter Ryan Lindemuth and junior center fielder Ryan Brown Wednesday to pull out a tough win over the Bobcats, 9-5.

After freshman starting pitcher Jason Inghram struggled with his control and lasted just two innings, the College (12-7) needed a patchwork of arms until junior reliever John Farrell turned in one of his strongest performances of the season, getting the final eight outs of the game without allowing a run while striking out five.

“You always try to build a little momentum during the week,” head coach Frank Leoni said.

“Since Northeastern came to town [handing the Tribe two losses over the weekend] we just haven’t been playing our best baseball … it’s good to see our guys just stick with it, don’t panic and come back and win a couple of ballgames. Wins always make everybody feel better about themselves.”

Inghram wasn’t the only pitcher having a tough time finding the strike zone, as Quinnipiac’s five pitchers handed out seven combined walks and hit three Tribe hitters.

The College took advantage of Bobcats starter Matt DeRosa’s control problems early, scoring three in the first on a rally started by a hit bat-

ter, a wild pitch and a walk. Sophomore second baseman Kevin Nutter got plunked leading off the first, then took second on a wild pitch before Brown took ball four. Lindemuth then picked up his first of two RBIs with a single to right, driving in Nutter. After Lindemuth stole second, freshman first baseman Michael Katz drove DeRosa’s 0-2 offering to deep center, allowing Brown to tag and score. Finally, senior catcher Chris Forsten smacked a double to the right-center gap, scoring Lindemuth to give the College a 3-0 advantage following the first frame.

The Tribe tacked on another in the second with a leadoff double by senior third baseman Chris Yates and an RBI single from Brown before the Bobcats (1-8) responded in the third. Inghram walked the first two hitters he saw and Leoni quickly replaced him with freshman reliever J.T. Castner, but the rookie didn’t help himself, fielding the ensuing Quinnipiac bunt and firing it into foul territory behind third base. The two runners came around to score and an RBI single and RBI double later in the inning tied things up, 4-4 in the third.

The final line for Inghram was two plus innings pitched, two runs (none earned), two hits, three walks, one strikeout and one wild pitch. DeRosa also left after just two and a third.

For the next few innings, the game hung in the balance as both teams put men in scoring posi-

tion on various occasions but failed to capitalize.

Sophomore reliever Matt Houston replaced Castner — who left after three innings pitched, five hits and two unearned runs — in the top of the sixth.

Then, in the bottom half, Lindemuth and the Tribe broke through with a two-out rally. Lindemuth started it off by going deep on a 2-1 pitch to give the College a 5-4 lead. “[The Quinnipiac pitcher] was just dumping in slider after slider,” Lindemuth said. “So I was trying to stay right-center and he just left a fastball up and I got the bat on it.”

After senior left fielder Tadd Bower singled and advanced to second on a balk, Katz drove him in with a single of his own, leaving the Tribe with a two-run cushion.

Lindemuth has been one of the College’s most productive hitters this season. After Wednesday he leads the team with a .386 batting average and a .629 slugging percentage, is second in OBP (.488), and has team-highs in home runs (three) and RBIs (19), all while striking out just eight times in 85 plate appearances.

“He’s very confident this year,” Leoni said. “He played everyday as a freshman last year so he was able to get into a comfort zone … In my opinion he’s our best all-around player right now … He’s seeing the ball well at the plate.”

The Bobcats weren’t done, however, plating one in the seventh before Houston — who ulti-

mately picked up his first win of the year after one and a third, one earned and two hits — gave way for Farrell with one out. The righty let up a single but then got the next two batters, keeping the Tribe’s 7-5 lead intact.

The College then got some insurance in the eighth when Quinnipiac’s pitchers completely lost their control, leading to a merry-go-round of Tribe batters that scored two on four walks, one hit batter and a wild pitch between two different Bobcat hurlers.

Farrell then shut the door in the ninth, striking out the side.

“Our original plan was to have [Farrell] go out there and have him maybe get three outs tonight and he ended up getting eight outs,” Leoni said.

Farrell pointed to his pitches working well against the Bobcats.

“My slider’s been a little bit off this year and I just got it back yesterday. I was throwing a bullpen and I got my slider back,” Farrell said. “That’s my best pitch, so tonight I had all my stuff working. It feels good to have everything click tonight.”

The win extends the College’s non-conference win streak to nine, but last weekend saw the team struggle in its conference-opener as the Tribe dropped two of three to Northeastern at home.

The second CAA test of the year begins Friday when the College heads to Harrisonburg to take on James Madison.

LACROSSE

College falls victim to second half offensive onslaught Virginia utilizes opportunisitc scoring and dominant defense to send Tribe reeling with 2-4 overall record

BY MIKE BARNES FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR

While William and Mary head coach Brooke Ireland likely wouldn’t boast about her squad’s 2-4 record heading into Wednesday night’s matchup against Virginia, she could certainly claim that her squad has faced its fair share of healthy competition. In previous weeks, Ireland’s young squad faced No. 5 Duke, No. 2 Maryland and No. 1 Northwestern, losing to all three. As a result, a victory against the No. 10 Cavaliers would have represented a major turning point in the season and the team’s first win over a ranked opponent this season.

The Tribe’s quest for an in-state upset began well, but U.Va.’s secondhalf offensive explosion proved too much for the College, resulting in a 10-3 Cavalier victory at Martin Family Stadium.

The game started off slowly, as neither team scored until nearly 10 minutes after the opening tip. The two squads battled back and forth until a Tribe foul set up U.Va.’s Liza Blue with a free position shot that she converted into a goal. Blue’s goal with twenty minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the first half gave the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead to start the match.

From there, U.Va. continued to apply the offensive pressure. After a pair of missed shots by Julie Gardner and Charlie Finnegan, Virginia’s Katie Slater took advantage of another free position shot to put U.Va. up 2-0. Just over a minute later, U.Va.’s Josie Owen fed Ainsley Baker a beautiful pass that Baker sent hurtling into the net to give the Cavaliers

a 3-0 advantage with 16:32 remaining.

Facing a sudden 3-0 deficit, the College dug in and responded with a run of its own. Sophomore midfielder Katie Stillwell notched a goal for the Tribe with 13:18 left in the opening half. Following another Virginia goal, sophomore attacker Jenna Dougherty added another score, cutting the deficit to two. Neither team could score again before the end of the half and the visiting Cavaliers took a 4-2 lead into the intermission.

The second half began in similar fashion, as both squads were locked in a defensive struggle for the first 10 minutes. Virginia then suddenly broke the struggle by scoring two goals in quick succession, as Slater’s goal at the 19:50 mark was followed by another U.Va. goal 32 seconds later.

Twelve more minutes ticked off the clock before another flurry of offensive activity. Blue, Julie Gardner and Sloan Warren all added Cavalier goals within a 1 minute, 30 second span to give a commanding 9-2 lead with 5:27 remaining. The two schools then traded goals in the final minutes, resulting in the eventual 10-3 margin of victory.

Overall, the College struggled to find offensive rhythm. The Cavaliers outshot the Tribe 26-14, as the College managed just four shots in the opening period. The Tribe also paid dearly for its fouls, as the Cavaliers converted two of its three free position shots into goals. Freshman goalkeeper Lucy Ferguson made nine saves, but surrendered 10 goals while her Virginia counterpart, Kim Kolarik, allowed just three goals and recorded eight saves.

Individually, senior attacker Maggie Anderson, junior attacker Kyrstin Mackrides and Dougherty accounted for most of the College’s offensive production. Anderson and Dougherty both recorded three shots apiece, while Mackrides was the Tribe’s most active offensive player, recording five shots. Stillwell recorded just one shot, but slipped it past Kolarik for one of the College’s three goals of the evening.

While the College failed to overcome Virginia’s streaky shooters, the Tribe will look to right the ship Saturday against another top 10 team when No. 6 Florida visits Martin Family Stadium at 1 p.m.

HAYLEY TYMESON / THE FLAT HAT

Freshman goalkeeper Lucy Ferguson made nine saves, but allowed 10 goals.