Vol. 101, Iss. 34 | Tuesday, February 21, 2012
CAMPUS
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
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RESEARCH
Troy Pelish remembered
Viral research
Students and community gather for service
Bioengineering of a more dangerous bird flu strain creates extra bioethical dilemma
by annie scoggins the flat hat
BY Ken lin flat hat assoc. news editor
All seats were filled and there was no standing room left at the memorial service held in honor of Troy Pelish ’15 in the Chapel of the Sir Christopher Wren Building Monday. Red carnations, yellow daisies and candles graced the altar as guests at the memorial service filed in to their seats. Several speakers, ranging from Pelish’s childhood friends to a member of the Office of the Dean of Students, described Pelish’s positive qualities. As a tribute to his many years as a Boy Scout and his Eagle Scout Award, two fellow scouts presented an American flag while a third, Matt Rosendahl, spoke about the ideals that Pelish strived to live by as a member of the organization. Rosendahl not only recited the Boy Scout oath and law but also explained what they mean to each scout and how admirably he felt Pelish had exemplified them. “Troy truly lived because he lived by the oath and law,” Rosendahl said. “He had touched many other scouts’ lives by working at a summer camp for several years.” Four friends of Pelish then spoke briefly about their time with him. All of the speakers lit a candle after they concluded their speeches, which illuminated the altar in a celebration of Troy’s life. After a prayer led by another friend of Pelish’s, College of William and Mary President Taylor Reveley gave his remarks. “Death brings somber and anguish to the College community,” Reveley said. “But a sudden, unexpected death is especially difficult to cope with.” The ceremony concluded with Reverend Jeffrey Buffkin’s closing remarks. In his address, he asked how could the community move on. The answer, according to Buffkin, could be found in connecting with one another, as the Fauquier Hall residents did when they slept in one of the lounges to keep each other company after they learned of Pelish’s death. Buffkin punctuated the service with a piece of Hebrew wisdom from the book of Ecclesiastes: “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” Pelish was found dead in his Fauquier dorm room Feb. 12. Campus officials notified students
While much of the world remains fixated on the possible dangers of nuclear proliferation, academic researchers’ recent engineering of a more infectious strain of the avian flu could carry even greater potential for disaster and raises serious questions about the ethics of such research. Two separate research teams from the University of Wisconsin and Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands developed a version of the H5N1 bird flu virus to be more transmissible between mammals. Despite the teams’ assurances that the research benefits public health, the U.S. government quickly moved to prevent the publication of the findings for fear that the information could allow someone to weaponize the virus. “I think there’s a lot of potential for good by people knowing about what the mutations are and how many it’ll take … People in a position to do something about monitoring should be aware of what these mutants are, where they’re located in the genome,” assistant professor of biology Kurt Williamson, who teaches courses in virology at the College of William and Mary, said.
“But in terms of publishing it to everybody … they do have a point that there is a risk that somebody with ill intent could misuse this information.” The H5N1 virus was first detected in East Asia in 1997, and has remained transmissible from birds to humans, and, in rare cases, between humans. More than 50 percent of the 600 known cases have been fatal, and the American and Dutch teams found in the course of their research that the virus can mutate in ferrets to become airborne. “This is what everybody’s worried about: What if it becomes transferable easily human-to-human?” Williamson said. “We already have labs throughout the world that monitor what variants of flu are currently in circulation in human populations. This is where the seasonal vaccines come from, so by taking stock of what’s out there, we can develop the best vaccine against it.” Williamson cited his graduate research study interests in bioremediation, the use of bacteria to clean up harmful material in contaminated or polluted environments, as research that would techniquely fall under official oversight. See ethics, page 2
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE GABRO / THE FLAT HAT
See pelish, page 3
Politics
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Virginia Senate race to be clash of two titans Student service Election between two former governors certain to have national implications
OCES summit held on civics
BY Chase hopkins flat hat assoc. news editor
by ELLIE KAUFMAN FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
Political junkies from around the country are turning their attention to Virginia in anticipation of November’s race between two former Virginia governors. The election is predicted to dramatically change the political face of the U.S. Senate. Even in the middle of February, political positioning for the election is already underway as a retiring senator’s vacant seat is being actively sought by George Allen, R, and Tim Kaine, D. The race is currently in a dead heat as both candidates jockey for a better position. Virginia is predicted to be a critical state in the presidential election and a major player in the fight for Democrats to keep the Senate under their control — despite many retiring members. “Whoever wins the presidential race in Virginia, the same party will win the Senate race as well,” First Vice Chairman of the College
Index News Insight News Opinions Variety Variety Sports Sports
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Today’s Weather
Cloudy High 55, Low 41
Republicans Chandler Crenshaw ’14 said. “I think it is different for one senator to tackle unemployment but generally speaking the more senators the Republican Party has, the more opportunities there will be to pass balanced budgets.” The Young Democrats argue that Tim Kaine is a more effective politician judging by his record as governor. They believe that political gridlock in Washington, like that which caused this summer’s debt crisis, could be alleviated by Kaine a senator like Kaine. “If you look at their past records, Tim Kaine was a more successful governor than George Allen was,” president of the Young Democrats Katie Deabler ’12 said. “George Allen was governor several years before Tim Kaine was, and he was very divisive, and he was also not particularly friendly toward education. … His record shows he is not particularly good at compromising.” However, the Allen campaign believes
his time spent in the commonwealth’s gubernatorial office illustrates his dedication to ensuring that Virginians largely determine the course of their state schools. He advocates for decreased federal involvement in all levels of education. “As Governor, [Allen] fought federal intrusion into Virginia education and worked with parents, teachers, administrators and legislators to reform Virginia public education, raise academic standards, and make our schools Allen accountable to parents, students and taxpayers,” the Allen campaign said in a public statement. “There [also] needs to be a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.” In contrast, Kaine focuses more on improving the struggle of many college students to find work post-commencement. While the national See ELECTION, page 2
Inside opinions
New dining policy difficult to digest
By requiring that students have a meal plan for the entirety of their time on campus, the College is only hurting itself. page 4
Inside SPORTS
“It’s universal. An active citizen can be anyone who uses their hands,” Kaveh Sadeghian ’12 said. “Service is not limited.” Sadeghian, along with 239 others, attended the William and Mary Active Citizens Conference, hosted by the Office of Community Engagement and Scholarship, Feb. 17-18. The conference brought various leaders in social entrepreneurship together with students and colleagues in the field from up and down the East Coast. Thirty schools, representing more than 13 states, attended Active Citizens Conference to connect with 15 non-profit agencies. “The purpose was to create a state-wide conference for students to gather to discuss issues of shared interest and shared best practices and models in community engagement and to have William and Mary alumni and experts in the field provide mentorship and expertise,” Director of the Office of Community Engagement and See conference, page 3
Tribe wins two of three
Stellar starting pitching led the way for the College in its first two games of a three-game series against Rhode Island. page 8