SPORTS // Tribe ends spring practice with Green and Gold game p. 8
Vol. 101, Iss. 47 | Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
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Campus
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President Taylor Reveley joins four drag performers at the first LGBTIQ Pride Festival held in the Crim Dell Meadow on Friday afternoon. Reveley claimed that the campus is making progress, as evident by the first openly-gay rector, Jeffrey Trammel.
Moving forward
Campus holds first LGBTIQ Pride Festival to conclude I Am W&M week by vanessa remmers Flat hat managing editor
The sight of College of William and Mary President Taylor Reveley standing in front of four drag queens ushered in the LGBTIQ Pride Fest Friday. The first of its kind in College history, the festival mustered a sense of awareness, tolerance and predominately pride, from the roughly 300 people who gathered in the Crim Dell Meadow for music, performances and tabling.
Reveley struck a wary yet optimistic tone, disappointing some attendees as he reminded the crowd that progress does not always come as fast as they wish. “I think you all are fully aware that we are living in an era of remarkable and constant change,” Reveley said. “I really grew up in the 1950s … and that was the last gasp of an era where if you were a white, heterosexual male in the United States, you really had the world by the tail. You were a privileged class. The difference between the United States of
the early 21st century and the one I grew up in is almost unimaginable.” As evidence of such change, Reveley pointed out that the College recently appointed its first openly gay rector, Jeffrey Trammell, which was met with applause and cheers from the crowd. “So even though the progress is always much slower than we want … I’m telling you, we have made an incomparable amount of progress in my lifetime, and I don’t think it is going to stop. I think it is almost irreversible,” Reveley said.
While some did not agree that white, heterosexual privilege has quite died out, others wished that Reveley had acknowledged what needs to be done in the fight for LBTIQ equality. “I appreciate President Reveley being there — I think it says something good about the College — but at the same time, there are a lot of things that need to be done. His speech didn’t address a lot of the things we have been working on,” Undersecretary of LGBTQ affairs for the SA Kim Green ’13 said. “I wish it would
campus safety
have addressed the language in the antidiscrimination policy.” The President’s words then gave way to drag performances and other live music at the event. While the festival was a first for the College, it is already commonplace at other colleges like James Madison University, and some view the festival as a long-awaited addition to the College’s events. See Festival page 3
City council
Bill to change annual campus safety reports Tax raises spur debate Proposal would require domestic violence, dating violence statistics BY katherine chiglinsky flat hat news editor
The Annual Campus Security Report submitted by the College of William and Mary may soon be expanded to include statistics regarding dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. A bill to reauthorize and expand the Violence Against Women Act was sent to the U.S. Senate floor for consideration Feb. 2. Sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the bill focuses mainly on federal programs for victims of rape or sexual abuse. One provision, however, would require an expansion of the Clery Act, targeting the reporting at institutions of higher education. “In general, anything done to address violence on college campuses is a good thing,” Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 said in an email. “In terms of direct impact, the act would require colleges and universities to add other information to our annual Clery reports — for example, statistics on dating violence, stalking and domestic violence would be included.” The Clery Act, enacted in 1990, mandated that institutions of higher education that participate in federal financial aid
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programs must disclose statistics on campus crime, including sexual assault. With the new provisions to the Act, colleges and universities would have to add dating violence, domestic violence and stalking statistics to their annual report. Colleges and universities only have to include crimes that have been reported to police. Critics of the new provisions expressed concerns that the additional requirements might bog down administration, especially since the Clery Act has been revised five times since 1990. Yet William and Mary Chief of Police Donald Challis said the College would have no problem accommodating those provisions in the bill. “We already have the mechanisms in place to capture the required Clery information,” Challis said in an email. “It will not be difficult to add the new categories. We support any activities that will make this a safer campus.” Proponents of the provision feel that the statistics will bring the domestic and dating violence issues to the forefront. “I would encourage them to have this medium for reporting,” Nicholas Gupta ’15 said. “Awareness is important to addressing those issues.” Dating violence refers to perceived threats
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Inside opinions
Council proposes sanitation study BY ellie kaufman flat hat chief staff writer
to or actual violence between two people in a relationship within the context of dating, while domestic violence tends to refer to violence or the threat of violence between committed partners. According to Senior Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Health Education Donna Haygood-Jackson, education serves as one of the best methods of combating dating violence, domestic violence and stalking on campus. “Sometimes, students don’t really know how to define what’s going on for them, or they might feel embarrassed to tell someone what’s going on,” Haygood-Jackson said. “I think it’s about education — making sure we all understand what it is — and then it’s finding ways for people to come forward; and letting them know that it’ll be confidential and that it will be validated and taken seriously.” With the possible new provisions, datingviolence and domestic-violence statistics would most likely increase. However, Haygood-Jackson warned that people should carefully consider the circumstances surrounding the statistics. “What they might not understand is that we’re trying to provide a safe environment for
Budget changes were the subject of debate at a city council meeting April 12. The budget adoption is currently scheduled for May 10, but proposed changes including an increase on cigarette taxes were brought to the fore of the discussion. Members of the community spoke for and against the proposed cigarette tax during a budget public hearing. City Council member Doug Pons acknowledged the potential danger a tax increase could have on local businesses. “As a non-smoker, it is easy for me to say tax cigarettes but the unintended consequence is that business may leave the city,” Pons said. “When cigarette tax goes up, visits to stores go down and so does spending on other things.” Mayor Clyde Haulman stressed that the tax increase needed to be further scrutinized before making a final decision next month. “Those are taxes that we need to think about very critically before moving forward,” Haulman said. While the Council will not decide on a finalized budget until May 10, a number of measures passed including an amendment to the tour guide license requirements that would allow students 16 and older to work as tour guides in Colonial Williamsburg if certain requirements are met. “We are just providing flexibility so that more well qualified tour guide candidates can have access to these jobs,” Vice Mayor Paul Freiling ’83 said. The Council agreed to the reauthorization of the fiveyear agreement between James City County and the City of
See act page 3
See Council page 3
Why professor ratings aren’t accurate The Princeton Review and Rate My Professor attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of college professors, but the rating systems are both subjective and arbitrary. page 6
Inside VARIETY
Sustainability at the College Earth Week 2012 focuses on the range of approaches to sustainability. Students, faculty and staff celebrate our environment, give back and discuss environmental action. page 6