VARIETY // Faculty and staff reflect on their own days at the College, p 4-5
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Spaces from Chandler Vol. 102, Iss. 16 | Friday, October 26, 2012
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
residence life
administration
AC
Added to Chandler
Chandler, Landrum and Barrett Hall will be the first dorms to be updated in a long list of $98 million worth of renovations
187
Fire safety
Spaces Added in Frats
Updating
“Campus will be torn up but it will all be worth it.” by veronique barbour the flat hat
Residence Life has set its sights on Chandler Hall as one of the newest construction projects at the College of William and Mary. Director of Residence Life Deb Boykin noted that construction on Chandler will start next year. “Chandler is the next building we planned to do,” Boykin said. “At one time, we did individual building renovations like this over two summers, but because of the scope of work, we will take Chandler offline from the summer of 2013 through the summer of 2014.” When the building re-opens, it will have central air-conditioning along with new windows, doors, ceilings, and bathrooms. With Chandler offline for the next year and the new fraternity houses opening in the fall of 2013, Boykin said spaces for upperclass students will increase. The new fraternity houses have 187 spaces while Chandler has 151. Recently, Redsidence Life sat down to look at all the
Student assembly
Senate works to improve transparency Students unaware of Senate role, SA launches awareness campaign by Meredith ramey flat hat news editor
They control $650,000 in student funds. They fund AMP, the Publications Committee, Filipino-American Student Association, and nearly every other club or organization on campus. They are integral in Charter Day, WCWM radio, I AM W&M Week and Homecoming celebrations. They are elected by students every year. They find a place in every issue of this newspaper. Why do students know so little about them? In answer to the call for transparency and student engagement, the Student Assembly Senate began their What Can the SA Do for You and What Else Can the SA do for You campaigns. These initiatives are why senators can be seen stationed outside the Sadler Center during dining hours on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. “It gives students the opportunity to come right to us and tell us what they want,” SA Senator Ishan Bardham ’13 said. “We’ve only been doing it for two weeks, and we’ve already gotten some phenomenal responses.” The initiative builds on other transparency-related policies enacted by the executive branch under SA President Curt Mills ’13 and Vice President Melanie Levine ’13. The pair has introduced the use of office hours and more frequent See sa page 4
News Insight News Opinions Variety Variety Sports Sports
needed renovations for each dorm. Including major to minor renovations, the total estimated cost would be nearly $98 million; however, projects would be spread out over several years. These changes range from making the buildings more energy efficient to adding airconditioning in certain buildings. Anne Reed ’13, Head Resident of Chandler, believes that renovations for Chandler are much needed but will affect housing options for upperclassmen students next year. “The renovation will definitely hurt upperclassmen looking for housing because Chandler is a great dorm, centrally located, and has large rooms and suite baths,” Reed said in an email. “That being said, the entire campus is undergoing major changes in campus living due to the new fraternity houses opening. Students needs will still be met, things will just be a little hectic. Chandler needs renovation. It’s a great dorm but it is old. They will be putting in
looking into green technology to decrease
Energy Costs
See renovations page 3
Long road for EVMS plan Medical school merger faces logistical hurdles by ken lin flat hat assoc. news editor
The proposed partnership between the College of William and Mary and Eastern Virginia Medical School will have to pass rigorous examinations of financial costeffectiveness and organizational feasibility to have any hope of coming to fruition. The steering committee, comprised of 13 professors and administrators from a variety of departments, has been assigned the task of studying the possibility of a merger. The committee includes five distinct subcommittees: academic programs, academic culture, organization structure and legal issues, budgets and health care, and political matters and communication. One of the committee members is adjunct assistant professor of biology Beverly Sher, who also serves as the College health professions advisor. “It’s not a situation where other people come and sit in at this point, but the committee members have been going out to members of the College community to elicit lots of feedback,” Sher said. “Provost Michael Halleran has basically said that he is committed to having this be an open process.” Sher is satisfied with the current relationship between the College and EVMS, which includes an early assurance program for College undergraduates applying to medical school. She also feels that a merger would have very little effect on students at the College preparing for medical school. “We are already EVMS’s biggest feeder school. … They take a fair number of our people as is, so I just don’t think it would change things that much,” Sher said. “It might be that it’s easier to do research in a med school lab, but EVMS is a long way from here. See EVMS page 3
construction
New Town route project falls out of the fast lane Plan to construct multi-use trail for College stalls due to funding by adam swack the flat hat
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A combination of red tape and insufficient funds has halted a proposed project that would provide students at the College of William and Mary a safer and more efficient access to the New Town Shopping Center on Monticello Avenue. The city’s Comprehensive Plan recommends a multi-use trail along Monticello Avenue from Treyburn Drive to Ironbound Rd. that would allow for a safe walking route to New Town. The current configuration forces students to make the trek in the bike lane along Monticello Avenue, a road with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour. Under normal circumstances, the city would have the green light to proceed on the project, which is estimated to cost $2 million. However, Monticello Avenue is owned by the state and the surrounding property is owned by the College. This means that the land sited in the city’s Comprehensive Plan is not under the city’s jurisdiction. “In normal circumstances, like if this were on city property, we would make a recommendation and then the city would
hayley tymeson / THE FLAT HAT
The College owns the property on either side of Monticello Rd., but lacks the funds to install a multi-use trail.
follow through,” Planning Commission member Chris Connolly ’15 said. “In this case, it is kind of a weird situation because you’ve got so many different actors.” Since the city’s efforts are stalled, either the College or the Virginia Department
Inside opinions
Ten misconceptions about Obama and Romney
Republican columnist Andrea AronSchiavone and Democratic columnist Alex Cooper debunk common rumors about both presidential candidates. page 7
of Transportation could undertake the construction, but neither wants to pick up the tab. The College’s six-year capital project plan See MONTICELLO page 3
Inside SPORTS
College claims CAA regular season title
Powered by Rutter’s two goals, the Collge notched a 3-0 victory over Old Dominion, propelling them to a CAA regular season crown. page 8