Vol. 106, Iss. 2 | Tuesday, August 30, 2016
The Flat Hat
The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
Man shot first weekend back Witnesses report altercation outside The Crust CRIME
NEWS ANALYSIS
Crust shooting a rarity in quiet town 5 shootings in 6 years
CAMPUS
30th birthday party ends with gunfire
Flathatnews.com | Follow us:
1,100 students lived within 1,000 feet of shooting
SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
Witnesses reported a late-night argument unraveling into gunshots Saturday morning, leaving one injured. The gunshots were reported outside The Crust, a pizzeria and bar frequented by students on Richmond Road. According to bar manager Michael Poissant, before the shooting took place, the night was much like any other Friday night. A local man chose the venue to host his 30th birthday party, Poissant said. Though the venue remained open to the public, the man had requested that the club play reggae music that night. By midnight, hours into Poissant’s shift, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. If anything was unusual, it was that the night was going better than normal, he said, as people danced and listened to the music. “Everyone was giving each other hugs and loving each other,” Poissant said. The patrons were in their 30s, not college students. They were polite, Poissant said. The type who, after they finished a drink, would look for a trash can. According to Poissant, The Crust isn’t prone to violent incidents. The worst incidents that had taken place there — tame in comparison to what would unfold later in the night — are marked on its walls: a remodeled bathroom, fixed after students had trashed it at a sorority formal; a repaired wall, repainted after it was punched through by football players (Tribe Athletics had no comment). With students, Poissant said, there is often wear-and-tear on the facility, but seldom violence or drama. By chance, there was a small police presence at the party that night. A food
Over 1000 students lived or were at local establishments within 1000 feet of where shooter fled down Richmond Road following incident.
Exactly four months prior to Saturday morning’s shooting, on April 27, 2016, the Williamsburg Police Department responded to a report of multiple shots fired at a Williamsburg residence on Page Street. The responding officers discovered several rounds had struck a residence at that location. Witnesses reported that shots were fired from a black SUV, which fled the area. In the four months following the incident there were no other shootings in Williamsburg. For new students on campus, Saturday morning’s shooting outside The Crust happened during their second weekend at the College of William and Mary, at a time when they had little context of Williamsburg’s crime history. But, for returning students and Williamsburg residents, this shooting may be an anomaly. There have only been three similar incidents since February 2015. According to Major Greg Riley of the Williamsburg Police Department, Saturday’s incident was not normal for Williamsburg. In fact, in his over 25 years at the station, he does not remember a similar incident occurring. “Let me put it in this context for you,” Riley said. “We do not have a lot of this type of incident.” Riley said that other cities, such as Richmond and Newport News, have much higher rates of violent gun crime, mostly because they are larger, more populous cities. Riley added that in their work with the William and Mary Police Department, the Williamsburg Police Department takes the enforcement of gun laws very seriously. Out of 61 recorded crimes involving a gun — which include charges of brandishing a firearm and of being a felon in possession of a firearm — 41 resulted in an arrest. But, at a national level, violent gun crimes are not as unusual. Since the mass shooting at Virginia Tech in April 2007, mass school shootings have been at the forefront of the conversation on campus safety. “Regardless of the situation, our primary concern is always the safety of the campus and its members,” William
See SHOOTING page 3
See PROXIMITY page 3
See GUN VIOLENCE page 3
Bouncer shot, halting night of reggae TUCKER HIGGINS AND KAYLA SHARPE FLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR
KAYLA SHARPE FLAT HAT DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR
It was 1:00 a.m. when Cece Hess ’18 was awakened by police sirens as they sped past the Delta Gamma Sorority House on Richmond Road. She initially assumed that a freshman in Monroe Hall needed medical attention or that a fraternity party was being broken up. It wasn’t until an hour later that she received a text from a friend alerting her that a shooting had taken place outside The Crust, a local pizzeria and bar located in Tribe Square. The next morning her parents called to check on her and express their relief that the shooting hadn’t taken place on campus. “[The email] made it sound like [Tribe Square] wasn’t centrally located on campus,” said Hess. “That’s crazy because now my parents thought it was far off, but really it was right there.” In fact, over 1,160 students live within 1,000 feet of where the shooting occurred along Richmond Road. On-campus residence halls in the area include the Bryan Complex, Sorority Court, Old Dominion Hall, Monroe Hall and Tribe Square, an upperclassmen apartment complex which is situated directly above The Crust. In addition to the residents in the area, students spent the evening in local bars and making late-night trips to
Wawa. Tribe Square resident Rukmini Bhugra ’17 was in Paul’s Deli with friends when she received a text from a friend who was in the vicinity when the shooting occurred. “I started getting increasingly nervous because I realized that there were people I cared about in the area, but also I realized that there was somebody armed in the area,” Bhugra said. Bhugra said she immediately called her friend to get more information. “He said someone fired into the air and I started getting very flustered,” Bhugra said. “Meanwhile, no one in the bar seemed perturbed at all. No one seemed to have known about this.” Bhugra said that it took about 30 minutes for people in the bar to learn about the incident and that students learned about the shooting by word of mouth and social media. When she saw police cars outside, she knew that an incident had indeed occurred. Across campus, students checked on their loved ones. Sorority members sent warnings to group messages, Orientation Aides made sure their freshmen were home safely and friends woke their roommates to tell them what had transpired. Hannah Major ’19 was passing through the area with friends when she witnessed events unfold. Around 12:45 a.m.
KAYLA SHARPE / THE FLAT HAT
NEW STUDENTS
New students march through Christopher Wren building to open semester
Entrepreneur Nicco Mele ’99 encouraged students to embrace their curiosity at the College SARAH SMITH FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
Each academic year, the College of William and Mary’s Convocation marks the start of fall classes and new students’ journey. This year, students heard from entrepreneur Nicco Mele ’99, College President Taylor Reveley and Class of 2017 President Emily Thomas ’17. “William and Mary is now yours, personally yours,” Reveley said. Following official remarks, new students walk through the Christopher Wren Building and down to the Sunken Garden, where they are met by hundreds of returning students to exchange high fives and cheers for the College. Before they did this, however, they listened to the words of an alum who has spent
Today’s Weather
Index Profile News Opinions Variety Sports
his years post graduation working as a venture capitalist, entrepreneur and media mogul. “I’m not sure what Nicco uses on his business card, but Renaissance Man, superhero … would be plausible,” Reveley said. In his speech, Mele spoke about his time at the College, specifically finding a job on campus and pursuing a variety of interests. During his freshman year he began working for the Tech Department, where he fixed computers for all four years he spent at the College. Mele emphasized that curiosity will help students navigate a complex university and complex world and will help them figure out the big and small things in life. “We are living in a moment of brokenness,” Mele said. “In the midst
of all of this, you must have the courage to hope, you must have the courage to imagine a better and brighter day, and you must take the curiosity that this university will feed you and use it to discover innovative and imagine solutions that will heal this brokenness.” Mele’s speech also touched on the possibilities that attending a liberal arts university provides for new students. “The biggest takeaway [is] that William and Mary really supports you no matter what you want to do, whether it’s medicine or art or glass-blowing,” Alexis Dorsey ’20 said. To mark the Class of 2020’s arrival at the College, was the tradition of presenting the new class with their official banner. Thomas, Class of 2018 President Laini Boyd ’18 and Class of
Carley Schanck ’19 discusses the emergency notification and its unseen personal impacts. page 5 Sunny, High 91, Low 72
Building and into a sea of high-fives. For the new students, these highfives were exciting — and also a physical workout. Joanna Schroeder ’20 said that while it was “awesome” and “welcoming,” her arm was exhausted half-way through. “Honestly I feel very welcome,” Schroeder said. “I feel like so much more a part of this school after that. It was so much fun and there was so much energy.” During Convocation, Reveley also presented the President’s Awards for Service to the Community to School of Education Professor Debbie Ramer and Jiajia Chen ’18. These awards came with monetary contributions to the service organizations of the recipients’ choice. Spokespeople for the service organizations were also in attendance.
Inside Variety
Inside Opinions
Trauma caused by delayed response
2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
2019 President Jonah Yesowitz ’19 aided in this tradition, unfolding the banner from the top of the Wren Building. Reveley also urged new students to take breaks when they were stressed and to enjoy their time at the College. He said that it is normal for students to feel overwhelmed as they learn their way around campus and start taking their first collegiate classes. Most importantly, he wanted students to feel free to sing the alma mater with The William and Mary Choir. “I know you can sing the alma mater,” Reveley said. “Guys, in particular guys, it’s perfectly okay to sing the alma mater — it does not constitute a loss of virility.” With the words, “Are you guys ready to do it?” Reveley welcomed new students to walk through the doors of the Wren
Gordo’s Dog Days
Take a look inside the charitable life of the College’s most famous golden retriever. page 7