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Vol. 104, Iss. 1 | Friday, August 22, 2014
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
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of The College of William and Mary
FEATURE
FILE PHOTO / THE FLAT HAT
Achieving balance SARAH CASPARI // FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
President Reveley looks back on his college years, offers advice to new students
C
ollege of William and Mary President Taylor Reveley likens his introduction to college life to drinking water out of a fire hose — so if moving in, starting orientation and saying goodbye to family seems overwhelming for just one day, that’s because it is. It’s not uncharted territory, though. In his six years as president of the College, Reveley has seen thousands of students face the same challenging situations, and draws on his own experience to help guide new students in the right direction. “The most important thing I had to deal with initially was, there was a huge amount of information coming at me, and it was almost like trying to drink out of a fire hose,” Reveley said. “Just this torrent of information about the school and everything going on on-campus, not just academic. [There are] all sorts of new people to meet, all sorts of places to figure out, like where you find food. Just a whole lot coming at you, and how do you sort your way through it? What do you need to deal with immediately? What can wait a while?” When your academic, social and home lives are all on one campus, it can be difficult to sort out what needs to get done first. Barring varsity athletes whose
class, study, extracurricular and social schedules more or less make themselves, most students need to put the pieces together on their own. Reveley recommends starting with academics and filling in the blanks from there. “Just focus on what matters the most right up front, and I think that will be — from an academic standpoint — what courses are you taking, where do they meet, and how do you get into gear with those courses, number one,” Reveley said. “And number two — it’ll be getting to know your roommates, getting comfortable in the room, in fact, figuring out where you go to eat, and just getting the living arrangements nailed down and reasonably comfortable. And third, start making some friends. A lot of people will come to campus knowing very few, if anybody, else. That’s a great opportunity, but it’s also a somewhat daunting experience, so you need to work on that. Then you can begin to figure out, out of the extraordinary, rich array of an extracurricular nature and a co-curricular nature, what else you might want to do.” See REVELEY page 4
ADMISSIONS
ACADEMICS
New class talented, record-breaking Grant aids core courses 81 percent of incoming freshmen graduated in top 10 percent of class ELEANOR LAMB FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
The College of William and Mary will welcome 1,521 new members to the Tribe for the 2014-15 school year. The new students joining campus were selected from a pool of 14,552 applicants, marking the 10th year in a row the College has seen a record number of applicants. “We’re fortunate to have a competitive applicant pool,” Interim Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission Tim Wolfe said. “We want to put together a class that’s going to be interesting. [We try] to do our best to find students who will thrive in this environment.” Adhering to the College’s standard of academic excellence, Wolfe said the Class of 2018 carries with it a promise of scholarly success. Eighty-one percent of incoming freshmen whose high schools reported class rank graduated in the top 10 percent of their classes, while the middle percentile of the group who took the SAT scored between 1270 and1470.
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In addition to academic prowess, the incoming freshmen also display diversity. Thirty percent of the Class of 2018 is comprised of students of color and 8 percent are first-generation college students. The students also boast a wide variety of interests. Among the incoming freshmen, there is a beekeeper, a published novelist, and an organic gardener who doubles as a
See 2018 page 3
FILE PHOTO / THE FLAT HAT
1,295 students registered to attend this year’s Day for Admitted Students and 1,013 signed in.
Today’s Weather 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
member of a rock band. “Having a diverse student body prepares students much better for the real world,” Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs Jodi Fisler said. “I’ve been at [the College] since 1997, and our incoming class has been increasingly diverse. It’s a wonderful
ROHAN DESAI FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
Earlier this summer, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded the College of William and Mary a $900,000 grant to help aid the College’s transition to a new core curriculum. While the new COLL curriculum will be implemented beginning with the freshman class of 2015, the Class of 2018 enters the College as the last to enroll in the current GER system. As such, they will be able to partake in pilot courses designed to test the waters for the new curriculum. As of February, the new COLL curriculum was projected to cost $1.1 million in its first four years, and an extra $700,000 annually after that. William and Mary News reported that, while the Mellon grant will be used primarily to implement the COLL curriculum, funding will also be put toward smoothing the transition as current students complete their studies under the GER system. The money will also
be used to support faculty who are currently developing COLL courses, and will help fund the new Center for the Liberal Arts at the College. The grant demonstrates support for the College in its Strategic Plan’s stated mission to progress from a distinguished past toward a future where it works to improve upon its standards. In 2013, U.S. News and World Report placed the College 32nd in its ranking of American universities. According to the College’s Strategic Plan for years 2015-2019, the College ranks 114th in financial resources, marking a gap of 82 places between its financial sustenance and actual rank. This discrepancy is larger than any other leading university in the country and demonstrates the College’s ability to maintain its high educational standards with tighter financials. In 2014, the Virginia General Assembly provided less than 13 percent of the College’s funding from the state. The College will offset some of See GRANT page 3
Inside SPORTS
Inside OPINIONS
Why you shouldn’t have it all figured out
Chance of storms High 84, Low 68
Incoming freshmen last to enroll in GER system
During your freshman year, seek out new opportunities and make an effort to embrace uncertainty. page 5
Exploring Tribe fandom
Seasoned fans — and The Flat Hat executive staff — tell their favorite moments from seasons past. page 8