Vol. 101, Iss. 50 | Friday, April 27, 2012
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
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Fire damages house adjacent to Ludwell No one harmed in blaze that claimed house on Rolfe Road due to the efforts of College students and local residents bY katherine chiglinsky Flat hat news editor
A chimney fire destroyed a house on Rolfe Road immediately adjacent to the Ludwell Apartments Wednesday night. The house, owned by Gregory and Kathy Price, suffered extensive damage, leaving only one wall remaining. No one was harmed in the fire. Jackie Richard ’13, Katherine Russo ’12 and Kristen Hamel ’12 were in their Ludwell apartment Wednesday evening when they noticed smoke near their back window. “At first, I just thought it was fog,” Russo said. “We decided to go outside anyways
and look at the house. We thought we saw flames in the chimney, so we started pounding on the doors and windows.” Richard began calling 911 while Russo and Hamel continued knocking on the door to alert the residents. Williamsburg City Council candidate Ginger Crapse ’89 was canvassing in the neighborhood with high school student Aaron Goldstein when they noticed fire coming from the house’s chimney. Crapse and Goldstein joined the three students from the College of William and Mary who were already at the scene. When no residents responded to the knocking, the group split up, knocking on various other doors.
“I ran around the other side, banged on the door and it did no good,” Crapse said Wednesday night. “I kicked the door in. You can’t fool around. You’ve got to get the people out.” According to Crapse, the couple was watching a movie with their friend Barbara Murphy in the basement. Due to the barking of the couple’s two Jack Russell terriers, the group failed to hear the knocking initially. “I just said, ‘Get the things that you can physically grab in five minutes because it’s just in your chimney now, but it’ll spread,’” Crapse said. Goldstein and the College students continued to call 911 in the meantime.
The homeowners, Murphy and the two dogs escaped the blaze in time. “I never imagined that the fire would spread,” Russo said. “By the time the fire department got there, it had engulfed the whole house.” Due to the distance of the house from the road, fire crews had difficulty accessing the house with their equipment. By one a.m., they were able to fully access the house. “I think we were all just in shock,” Richards said. “It seemed to be contained in the chimney. We couldn’t believe it spread so quickly.” Crapse credited her quick thinking to the intensity of the moment and to her
General assembly
How will the state budget affect the College
experience as a police dispatcher. “Well, adrenaline kicks in,” Crapse said. “You have to be clinical, you have to be logical, and the people in the house are not going to be because they’re emotionally attached to the house.” The three students stayed with the couple as crews responded to the scene, holding their dogs as they tried to console the homeowners. “We just knew that we needed to help them,” Russo said. “It was so sad because the fire spread quickly and all we could do at that point was help console them. I think that all three of us would like to continue to help them though. They’re going through something really traumatic.”
Student assembly
SA approves new cabinet
Funds possible Dalai Lama visit bY meredith ramey Flat hat assoc. news editor
The second and last meeting of the 320th Student Assembly senate witnessed the debate and approval of nearly all Executive and Review Board nominations. The senate also passed the His Holiness at the College Act, which funds a visit by the Dalai Lama, and the 2012 Closing of Session Act. Brett Prestia ’14 was unanimously approved as secretary of finance. Prestia has served as the class of 2014 treasurer for two years and as Mills treasurer of the Delta Phi fraternity. “I think I’m qualified for the job,” Prestia said. “I’m like a Lannister, if you watch Game of Thrones.” The senate also approved Stacey LaRiviere ’14 as secretary of public affairs. LaRiviere previously served as undersecretary of public affairs in Richmond and led the Road to Richmond program this past year. “I’m really, really excited for public affairs this year,” LaRiviere said. “I really want to increase the relationships students have with the Richmond See cabinet page 3
photo illustration by jill found / THE FLAT HAT
Recently proposed state budget would grant College additional funds by chase hopkins flat hat assoc. news editor
In a move surprising to only few, the state hand that feeds the College of William and Mary’s finances will take money away under a new budget recently passed by the Virginia General Assembly. The proposal must still be approved by the governor and return to the General Assembly before it will take effect, but the current version contains contradictory decisions regarding support for the College. “The College fares very well on the capital side, the investments in the early stages of planning for Tyler Hall being especially appreciated,” College Provost Michael Halleran said. “The operating budget presents a mixed picture. There are new funds contributed by the state, but also state-mandated new costs.” The academic expectations create a costly financial model, according to College President Taylor Reveley.
Index
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“Our undergraduate program is not a state school undergraduate program, it is a very different kind,” Reveley said. “We have had the best undergraduate program, hands down, of any state school in the country — or for that matter, in the galaxy. That is an expensive model, because it involves a lot of professors and a lot of what we call ‘engaged learning’ — professors actually knowing students, actually dealing with students, in-class and out. This is very expensive.” The steadily decreasing level of state funding, currently as low as 12.9 percent, has placed an increasingly large burden on the College to finance itself. The next budget authorizes a long-desired College-wide salary bonus for this year and a base pay increase in fiscal year 2014, but leaves the College to provide 70 percent of the funding for both measures. “The last state-authorized base salary increase was in 2007,” Director of University Relations Brian Whitson said. “The most recently passed state budget includes the 3
percent bonus, which of course does not go into the base salary. But they include a 2 percent [increase] in 2014 on base salaries. That would be the first increase in 6 years [that] the state has authorized.” While many deem these changes refreshing and overdue, the budget proposal is not entirely beneficial to the College. In addition to requiring the College to meet 70 percent of pay increases, the General Assembly also mandated that the College contribute more to its employee health benefits fund as well as the employees’ retirement fund for College employees. Despite the allocation of funding for capital construction projects, these additional fiscal burdens cost the College more money than it is being granted. Nevertheless, College administrators remain optimistic for the time being, relieved largely because state funding did not decrease any further and the highly politicized in-state and out-of-state student
Inside opinions
BOV convenes
Reveals designs for ISC III by staff reporters the flat hat
Committee on Audit The College of William and Mary’s seasonal Board of Visitors meetings began late Wednesday afternoon with the meeting of the Committee on Audit. “The official audit report, although expected to be finished at the time of the meeting, has been delayed and will not be published for a few months,” Director of Internal Audit Michael Stump said. After coming to a quorum, the committee began with its audit on compliance, led by University Compliance and Policy Officer Kiersten Boyce. The committee spent a majority of the open session discussing compliance with state and federal laws concerning the protection of minors on the College’s See BOV page 4
Inside VARIETY
An epidemic of apathetic students
Sunny High 69, Low 48
See budget page 3
Administration
Showing up late to class has become the norm on campus and both students and professors are now quick to excuse apathetic behavior. page 5
Alum honored for military service The Basic School at the Marine Corps base in Quantico will be dedicating its new student quarters to Donald McGlothlin ’01, who was killed in action in 2005. page 8