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Two alumni draw laughs from current students, talk about college experiences.
Junior guard Brandon Britt leads the Tribe past Liberty for its second win.
Conference brings comedians
College douses Flames
The Flat Hat
Vol. 102, Iss. 21 | Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
Flathatnews.com | Follow us:
of The College of William and Mary
Four people. One house.
FINANCES
eServices launches Program allows students to pay bills directly online
What’s the future of the three-person rule?
BY ZACHARY FRANK THE FLAT HAT
Starting this month, the College of William and Mary will begin utilizing a new online program called eServices that will streamline the payment process of student tuition and fees. According to College Bursar Pamela Johnston, eServices was a necessary addition to the College’s financial processing services. “There was a need for the students to be able to navigate through the Student Account self-services module in Banner, to be able to pay directly online, to add a third party payer or authorized user to be able to make payments directly on your account, to receive refunds via direct deposit as opposed to paper checks,” Johnston said. Cait McCormick ’16 supports the idea of eServices. “Well, it looks like a good idea,” McCormick said. “I mean, to be able to pay everything in one place sounds pretty convenient. This sounds like it collects all the extraneous bills and things and puts them all in one place to pay them.” eServices, which the Bursar’s Office began implementing over the summer, will become operational in three phases. The first phase, which began yesterday, will allow students to view and pay their bills online via credit card and will allow parents or other non-students to create eServices accounts and pay on behalf of students. “I think the important thing for this first phase is [for students who] want an authorized user to make payments and view their account activity — they need to authorize that,” Johnston said. Students are looking forward to parental access to online bill-paying through this new program. “I definitely think this’ll be more efficient,” Will Barnes ’14 said. “I tend to find that being able to pay bills online is always more efficient because the minute you open your computer you’re able to get that taken care of. I personally am leaving bill-paying to my parents, but I’m sure they’ll appreciate an easier method of doing this.” The second phase is set to start in December and will allow students to pay for both their spring semester bills and housing deposits via Touchnet, the system through which eServices is run. In this See ESERVICES page 3
Will Hanes ’13, Mike D’Aguillo ’13, Ellyn Greene ’13 and Chris McKenna ’13 live in one of the 12 houses near campus allowed to rent to four unrelated persons.
When Ellyn Greene ’13 and her three roommates signed the lease on their four-bedroom house on South Boundary Street in spring 2010, they were doing something that, just months before, would have been illegal.
ZE FU / THE FLAT HAT
BY KATHERINE CHIGLINSKY // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
According to the City of Williamsburg’s three-person rule, which drew ire from students for years, rental properties were legally allowed to house only three unrelated persons at the maximum. This policy was amended in Dec. 2009, when the city changed the rule to four persons in certain circumstances. The owner of the house on South Boundary Street applied for the program, and the house was one of 12 residences that fit all the requirements for the exception, allowing him to rent it to Greene and her roommates. Now, two years later, Williamsburg City Council has announced that they plan to review the program. In Oct., City Manager Jack Tuttle sent
a memo to the council regarding the program. Since its inception, 18 owners have applied, and 12 of those 18 houses received final approval. In order for a house to qualify for the program, the owner must submit a floor plan and plot plan to the zoning administrator. The house must be 2,000 square feet or greater, excluding unfinished areas or garages, and must receive yearly inspections by the city. “From the perspective of city staff, the program has been successful,” Tuttle wrote. According to a report from Zoning Administrator Rodney Rhodes, the city has not received any complaints that the See HOUSING page 3
CAMPUS
CollegeCambio relaunches its online marketplace website Site will feature a news feed, commenting feature and direct messaging system and will only be open to students BY AINE CAIN FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER
The College of William and Mary will welcome its own Craigslist-type online marketplace with the re-launch of CollegeCambio. CollegeCambio, created by Matt Sniff ’15 and Joe Laresca ’15 in 2011, relaunched Nov. 7 to provide students with an online marketplace specific for them, requiring a College email address in order to participate. As part of the reboot, CollegeCambio streamlined its features and engaged in an online marketing campaign to raise awareness. The site can be used for a range of things, from selling and buying textbooks and electronics to securing rides home during breaks. “We originally came up with the idea last September,” Sniff, who serves as
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the sites chief technology officer, said. “We were freshmen, and we were just thinking about what we could start at the school and what was really needed.” Cambio user Sun Joung ’14 started using the site in its original state and liked what he saw. “I heard about it last year for the first time from flyers all over the campus,” Joung said. “I have used it for selling textbooks. I haven’t sold anything yet For more about but I think it’s CollegeCambio, an awesome check out [way] to sell or flathatnews.com buy things.” for an interview Around with the founders. 1,100 students registered last year, but the founders saw room for improvement and strived to have the site become universally used on campus.
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Sniff credited his summer experience at a startup incubator with helping him to improve the site. “Now, it’s kind of like an iPhone for the campus,” Sniff said. “Everything you’d ever think you’d do or need is on CollegeCambio. That’s the way I picture it.” The new site includes a Twitter-esque news feed, a commenting feature and direct messaging. Chief Executive Officer Laresca expressed that CollegeCambio’s efficiency lies within its exclusivity. “Basically, we wanted to create something just for William and Mary,” Laresca said. “What this site does is put students on a website. It’s where you can search for and find what you need. You don’t have to go on Craiglist and go through city, state and country.” As part of the reboot, the founders
COURTESY PHOTO / COLLEGECAMBIO
CollegeCambio had 1,100 students join last year, but hopes to increase its audience.
went to Student Assembly President Curt Mills ’13 to aid in getting the site to the entire student body. “They pitched me this project over the summer,” Mills said. “I was pretty impressed with what I saw. I tried to give them some insight. I’ve also been in talks trying to integrate the site with the school. Blackboard’s not owned by the school, and if that can be linked, then maybe the College would be interested in backing a homegrown company.”
Inside OPINIONS
Compromise and the fiscal cliff
If Congress doesn’t act, student aid programs will be cut. Become informed and listen to what all sides have to say so compromise can become a possibility. page 4
CollegeCambio Launch Campaign Manager Mackenzie Wenner ’13 has worked to increase the site’s audience and found the re-launch to be a success. “In the last week, we’ve seen huge gains in both the website’s Facebook presence as well as participation in this new college marketplace,” Wenner said. “In my estimation, the campus is embracing this new service wholeheartedly and I am confident that our community will be the better for it.”
Inside SPORTS
Football falls in Norfolk
The Tribe lost its fourth straight Saturday as Taylor Heinecke and the Monarchs held off the College, 41-31. page 8