VARIETY // Catering to students, p. 6
Vol. 101, Iss. 48 | Friday, April 20, 2012
housing
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
Quality renovation
Developer announces plans for new student apartments by katherine chiglinsky FLAT HAT news editor
An under-utilized hotel on Richmond Road will be rejuvenated with a new development designed for students of the College of William and Mary. A proposal before the Williamsburg planning commission would add student housing at the current location of the Quality Inn and Suites, situated on Richmond Road near High Street. Real estate developer and planning commission member Demetrios Florakis proposes to convert the 118-bedroom hotel into a 94-bedroom student apartment complex called City Lofts. The complex would include wireless internet, fitness rooms, a computer lounge, a dining area, study rooms, a swimming pool and a bike garage. Florakis hopes to complete the project by April 2013. Unlike Tribe Square, City Lofts is independent of the College and therefore will not be included in the lottery system, offering an off-campus option for waitlisted students. “It’s projects like these
that showcase the progress that the city is making,” planning commission member Chris Connolly ’15 said in an email. “City Lofts is a step in the right direction in helping to address the lack of variety in off-campus student housing.” The proposal includes space for one property manager and four Resident Community Assistants to help with security and management. Florakis plans to have students serve as Resident Community Assistants, but he has not finalized management. The College is expected to add 150 additional in-state undergraduates over the next three years, which See HOTEL, page 3
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williamsburg
Businesses hiring more Local employment increases bY ariel cohen Flat hat staff writer
Despite continued high national unemployment rates, nearly half of all Williamsburg businesses hope to hire more employees in the next year. As Williamsburg makes an effort to increase tourism revenue, more local businesses are making an effort to increase in size. As a result, more College of William and Mary students have found their jobs searches in local Williamsburg restaurants and shops successful. In a survey conducted by the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance, county officials found that Williamsburg employment has increased 24.7 percent during the past year, while 47.3 percent of local businesses that responded to the survey said they would be adding jobs within the year. “I think that the people are very optimistic. You have half the businesses expecting to increase employment this year and that is occurring because they are optimistic about business conditions. And about half of them expect their profits to increase this year, as well,” President and Chief Executive Officer of the Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance Dick Schreiber said. But such optimism does not always produce the promised results. Last year, 48 percent of businesses said they expected to increase employment, but only 28 percent actually were able to achieve that goal within the year. “We have a case of optimism, but optimism at the time of the survey may not hold throughout the year,” Schreiber said. During the school year, many College students choose to work off campus at restaurants and local businesses in Colonial Williamsburg and New Town. With the opening of Tribe Square this year, many students have found jobs at The Crust, Pita Pit and Subway. Emma Merrill ’13 has worked at the Barnes and Noble Cafe in Colonial Williamsburg since the fall of 2010. “When I first tried looking for a job, I had to be very persistent because all students are looking for employment in the same general area,” Merrill said.
Katie demeria / THE FLAT HAT
See EMPLOYMENT, page 2
A developer proposes to convert the Quality Inn and Suites, located on Richmond Road, into a 94-bedroom student apartment complex. The building is expected to be closed by April 2013.
campus policy
Six proposed changes to handbook released for student comments Changes address medical amnesty policy, Student Conduct Council and intellectual property rights by meredith ramey flat hat assoc. news editor
Every year, the campus community has the opportunity to voice what it thinks should be changed about policies at the College of William and Mary by proposing changes to the student handbook. This year, there are six proposals, each of which focuses on different aspects of campus life. The first proposal involves intellectual property rights and would prohibit students from selling professors’ slideshows, handouts, notes, etc. to other students or the general public. Dean of Students Patricia Volp said this proposal is merely putting something that is already assumed to be a rule into writing. “A majority of people will look at that and say you’re kidding,” Volp said. “We’re filling a gap there.” Another important proposal will ask students to report their arrests within
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72 hours of the incidents, regardless of where they occur. The issue, according to faculty, was partially spurred by the death of University of Virginia lacrosse player Yeardley Love and the involvement of George Huguely, another U.Va. student. The incident revealed the administration’s lack of knowledge of Huguely’s previous offenses, which resulted in the enactment of a similar policy at U.Va. “U.Va.’s policy has, in fact, served as a guidepost,” Associate Dean of Students Dave Gilbert said in an email. “Their experience with the Yeardley Love murder caused many institutions to evaluate the advisability of an arrest disclosure policy in order to ensure the safety of all students and other community members. … The disclosure policy would augment the information we already receive from Williamsburg and William and Mary Police and other police departments in the area.” The enforcement of the proposal, Volp noted, would depend mainly on
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efforts by students. “Students are expected to comply, but we’re not going to force them to comply,” Volp said. Another proposal moved to rework the application process and makeup of the Student Conduct Council. The change broadens the applicant pool by expanding the number of possible positions for each grade, allowing the committee to choose the most qualified candidates from the whole group if there are not enough applications from a specific class. “The issue is about changing the membership to give a better chance for having a really good council,” Volp said. “A little bit more flexibility is all that it asks for.” Co-chairs of the Student Conduct Council Colette McCrone ’12 and Montana Young ’12 agreed with the changes this proposal could allow. “There’ll be a time when we have more people applying from one class and not enough for another class,”
Inside opinions
Inside “The Conduct Council is an essential part of the College, and as such, it should not have to scrape the bottom of the barrel just to have enough members from one social class.”
See staff editorial, page 4 already does not report these incidents outside of the College community. “It doesn’t disappear, but we wouldn’t report it internally [after a year],” Volp said. In addition, the proposal seeks medical amnesty protection for organizations, which currently can face violations if someone attending the organization’s event seeks medical See handbook, page 3
Inside SPORTS
The nature of motivation
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McCrone said. “If you have a perfectly good candidate, it seems silly to turn them away and have a smaller council.” The council currently follows a 6-54 distribution with six members of the council from the senior class, five from the junior class and four from the sophomore class. Another proposal suggests a revision of the sexual misconduct policy and procedure, specifically the clause regarding the responsibility of the reporting party to investigate his or her own case and report on it. The proposal would assign the task to the case administrator. The disclosure of incidents that received medical amnesty was the subject of a proposition put forth by the Student Assembly. The proposal suggests that the administration would not report incidents involving medical amnesty to College internal administration, such as campus employees, after a year has elapsed since the incident. The administration
Professors play an important role in regard to how motivated their students are, and so we should strategically place professors in certain classes in order to keep students motivated. page 5
College topped at ECU
East Carolina University’s eight-run sixth inning derails the Tribe on the road Wednesday. page 8