VARIETY >> PAGE 6
SPORTS >> PAGE 8
Resurrected aviation organization hopes to give students the opportunity to fly.
Flat Hat Sports Editor Chris Weber reflects on a fall season full of promise.
The first rule of flight club
Potential: Spoiled, fulfilled
The Flat Hat
Vol. 103, Iss. 26 | Friday, December 6, 2013
The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
CONSTRUCTION
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VIRGINIA
Debate over state quotas Loudon County lobbies state BY Ariel Cohen and Zach Hardy Flat Hat Assoc. News Editor and Chief Staff Writer
$ Inside the ISC-3
See ISC-3 page 4
See QUOTA page 4
By summer 2016, the College hopes to move faculty and students to a new science facility. The third installment is currently awaiting state code review. The building will include an academic computing center, auditorium and interdisciplinary lab space. BY Bailey Kirkpatrick Flat Hat Assoc. News Editor
While the College of William and Mary’s two Integrated Science Center buildings house the biology, chemistry and psychology departments and their respective labs, the buildings may gain reprieve from the number of students and classes through the addition of an ISC-3. The College hopes to move faculty and students into the new building by summer 2016. Construction drawings for the third building will soon go to the State and Code Review for approval. The state will review the design, looking specifically at cost measures, and confirm a final budget for the
Williamsburg
CAMPUS
Woods face deer overpopulation
Behind Morton’s sunken myths History filled with problems caused by foundational issues, building settling
Neotropical migrant birds suffer BY kaitlan Shaub The FLat Hat
The biology department is currently studying the changing aspects of local wildlife, especially in the College Woods located behind the Recreation Center. Biology professors Matthias Leu and Martha Case and their students are studying the impact of deer browsing on the College Woods. Deer browse among the leaves, twigs and buds of forest plants, which are staples of the traditional deer diet. Because of the interconnectedness in an ecosystem, deer browsing has many adverse effects on the entire woods. Case, who studies lady’s slipper orchids in the area, has watched her research disappear as the deer have eaten all of her specimens. According to Case, what once was a large population of about 200 specimen has dwindled to only a handful of individuals. Leu “Under normal circumstances with a deer population that is not so dense, the deer would be eating stuff anyway, it’s just they wouldn’t be eating everything,” Case said. Case noted in a preliminary estimate that nearly 40 percent of the species in the woods could have been wiped out due to deer browsing. The inability of See DEER page 3
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BAILEY KIRKPATRICK / THE FLAT HAT
College on the project. Similarly, a team of code review officials will look over the detailed construction drawings to ensure it is compliant with code for all building systems and structures. These construction drawings are the final phase before actual construction begins. Throughout the planning process, there has been a back-and-forth discussion of how much the state is willing to pay for the project. Some of the design has already been cut down in order to lessen the cost, but the College hopes to save what is left in the design scheme and begin construction in 2014. “We want to try to build this as quickly as possible
About 65 percent of the College of William and Mary’s student body comes from Virginia and nearly half of those students are from northern Virginia. Legislators from Loudon County in northern Virginia are now lobbying state lawmakers to increase the number of in-state acceptances in public Virginia colleges and universities. According to The Washington Post, the initiative has proven controversial as many northern Virginia families feel spots at elite public schools should be reserved for in-state students. But, most higher education institutions schools need the revenue from higher out-of-state tuition rates to fund some of their programs. Dean of Admissions Henry Broaddus said that, at no point, does the school reject well-qualified in-state students in order to make room for out-of-state students. He also said the College does not use admissions quotas to determine how many students from a certain high school or area they will accept. “We are fortunate enough to attract an applicant pool with far more qualified students than we could accommodate without growing the Jones enrollment in a way that does real harm to the scale of a William and Mary experience, the hallmarks of which are personal attention from faculty and a close-knit community,” Broaddus said. Vice President of Finance Sam Jones said that he does not see Virginia changing the amount of out-of-state students admitted to schools anytime soon. The College has a need-blind admissions process, which means that students are accepted without consideration
Today’s Weather 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
BY MADELINE BIELSKI FLAT HAT Staff Writer
Morton’s myth may be built on faulty foundations, but that doesn’t mean the building itself is without fault. “This [building] is not very functional and not very aesthetically appealing,” government Professor Clay Clemens ’80 said. “It’s not very attractive looking and all sorts of little features of it just don’t work.” Morton Hall, the College of William and Mary’s home for the economics, sociology and government departments, has been known for its complications on campus since its construction in 1973. To Clemens, the largest problem Morton has faced over the years has been its faulty foundation, which, at one point in time, appeared to be sinking. About 15 years ago, it was discovered that Morton’s foundation was settling, causing the building to be essentially pulled apart, a phenomenon evident in the cracks that line the
LING BEISECKER / THE FLAT HAT
Morton’s foundational issues have caused cracks in the walls and empty space beneath the basement was found in the past.
basement walls. To monitor the cracks, Facilities Management installed small meters that measure the shifting of the buildings foundation, which can
Inside opinions
Management investigated the area beneath Morton’s basement and discovered the floor was See MORTON page 3
Inside VARIETY
Don’t let finals ruin your health
The allure of the 24-hour study binge is strong, but staying healthy during finals week is vital to your success. page 5 Cloudy High 77, Low 43
still be seen today on Morton’s basement walls. Almost a decade ago, the problem became even more prominent when Facilities
Walk this way
Enthusiastic, backwards-walking student guides reveal their most memorable tour moments. page 7