SPORTS // Northeastern snaps Tribe’s streak, p. 8
Vol. 101, Iss. 37 | Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
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williamsburg
SA presidential race kicks off Candidates launch campaigns by meredith ramey FLAT HAT assoc. news editor
As spring break draws to a close, campaign posters are beginning to sprout up across campus, drawing students’ eyes to potential Student Assembly presidents and vice presidents for the 2012-13 academic year. The race officially begins today, and the list of potentials is diverse. Dallen McNerney ’14 and Stacey LaRiviere ’14, Noah Kim ’13 and Sky Sprayberry ’15, Curt Mills ’13 and Melanie Levine ’13, Grace Colby ’13 and Alyssa Zhu ’14, David Alpert ’13 and Meghan Moore ’13, and Andrew Canakis ’13 and Andrew Salamone ’13 are all running as candidate pairs for president and vice president. McNerney is involved in various positions within the SA Senate and LaRiviere is undersecretary of Public Affairs and vice president of Scholarship for the Pan-Hellenic Council. The pair met in Yates Hall and emphasizes the importance of making the SA more accessible to the student body. Stressing a “grassroots” approach, the two state the SA operates too much from the top down, and instead should take a bottom up approach and hear the needs of students. “[The students] don’t know or care about the SA,” McNerney said. “That’s a problem with the SA. We do a terrible job advertising and looking out for students’ interests.” Kim and Sprayberry also will be running on the same ballot. Kim is currently chair of the senate and was chair of the Senate Finance Committee for the 2010-11 school year, while Sprayberry is the 2015 vice president of Social Affairs. The pair’s platform focuses on increasing transparency in the SA, as well as the importance of responding to the needs of the student body. “If we are elected, we will be able to work as a team; to support each other as well as challenge each other,” Sprayberry said in an email statement. Neither Mills nor Levine are current members of the SA, but both have held positions in the past. The two stress their diversity as a ballot, with both candidates coming from different backgrounds on campus but sharing a feeling of discontentment with SA productivity. “The SA this year has taken great strides in many areas in its purview. However, on many issues, the organization has simply fallen short,” Mills said in an email. “The SA Senate this year stands to pass the least number of bills in years, and the College has failed to produce a candidate for the Williamsburg City Council, among other shortcomings … Melanie and I feel we can use the SA to create a new, stronger sense of campus unity.” Colby has served as Senate Finance and Budget Committee chair, while Zhu is undersecretary of student services. Alpert previously served as the class of 2013 president. These campaings, along with the ticket of Canakis and Salamone, were unable to be reached for comment at press time. Elections will take place Thursday, March 22.
Courtesy Photo / JACLYN CARROLL
Residents of affected areas turned out to speak against the construction of the new coal plant. Despite opposition, the Dendron Town Council approved the plan.
Up in smoke
Citizens, SEAC unable to prevent coal plant construction plan by ellie kaufman / FLAT HAT chief staff writer The prospect of the largest coal plant in the state of Virginia being situated a ferry’s ride away from Williamsburg has led some town residents and College of William and Mary students to speak out at town council podiums in disapproval. Their concerns were disregarded, however, when the Dendron Town Council members voted unanimously March 5 in favor of allowing the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative to build the coal Despite strong opposition from area residents, the town council approved two measures previously recommended by the Surry Zoning Commission that laid the groundwork for the coal plant’s construction. The first measure called for Dendron, a small town located across the James River from Williamsburg in Surry County, to be re-zoned as a commercial and industrial space. The second measure recommended a conditional−use permit for the coal plant. Both were approved by the seven-person town council a week later. This approval dealt a serious blow to the College’s Student Environmental Action Coalition, which has been campaigning in opposition to the coal plant for two years.
williamsburg
See Coal, page 3
politics
Crapse enters the race Incumbents have a challenger
bY vanessa remmers Flat hat news editor
Another candidate has joined the race for a Williamsburg City Council position at a time when the ballot has changed rapidly, leaving only incumbents. Changing the ballot is exactly what the new candidate, Ginger Crapse ’89, intends to do. “Much to their [the incumbents’s] dismay, I am running,” Crapse said. “No election should occur without some challenger. It is very difficult to challenge issues when only incumbents are in the race.” Of the five city council positions, three are up for reelection in May. The other two seats, one held by Scott Foster ’10 J.D. ’14, will be up for reelection in 2014. Crapse successfully filed to declare candidacy by the March 6 deadline, according to Williamsburg’s voter registrar Win Sowder. Candidates were required to complete a petition with 125 signatures, among other forms. See crapse, page 2
Index News Insight News Opinions Variety Variety Sports Sports
Jaclyn Carroll ’13, who has been working closely with SEAC on the Surry Coal Plant Campaign, has seen evidence of local opposition since the beginning of her involvement. “On one level, there is massive opposition to this project locally,” Carroll said. “When you go to a hearing and you see so many people speak in opposition to a project and you see the town council unanimously vote for it, you wonder why.” Fifteen people spoke in support of the proposed plant at the town council meeting and 55 people spoke against
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Today’s Weather
Cloudy High 74, Low 54
VT shooting survivors lose gun battle
Governor signs bill lifting restriction on handgun purchases bY maggie kern Flat hat assoc. news editor
Restrictions on handgun purchases loosened in Virginia after Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) repealed relevant legislation, despite opposition from the families of those affected by the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. McDonnell signed a bill Feb. 28 that repealed legislation passed in the early 1990s that limited an individual’s handgun purchases to one per month. The bill was signed after McDonnell met with the families of students who were killed or injured during the Virginia Tech shooting. The families asked McDonnell to veto the bill, arguing that public safety may be put in danger when guns are made more accessible.
110
Murders and non-negligent manslaughters involving handguns in 2010 (Source: Virginia State Police)
2,046
Robberies involving handguns in 2010 (Source: Virginia State Police)
1
Virginia’s ranking as the state of origin for firearms used in New York City crimes (Source: New York Daily News) Courtesy Photo / www.vibrakeys.com
“I had a very emotional, a very informative discussion with the families, who told me why I should veto the bill,” McDonnell told
Inside opinions
Surry coal plant controversy
While advocates on both sides of the issue argue over job creation and environmentalism, the true solution is somewhere in the middle. page 4
Inside VARIETY
The Roanoke Times on Tuesday afternoon, See gun bill, page 3
Gooch Drive brings sexy back
Maxim magazine has recently voted Williamsburg Gooch Drive — which runs by the Grind and the health center — the sexiest in America. page 5