VARIETY >> PAGE 5
SPORTS >> PAGE 8
Find out more about the three TWAMPiest United States presidents for President’s Day.
First-year women’s lacrosse head coach Hillary Fratzke aims to revitalize the program.
Jefferson went on studying binges Taking a fresh look
The Flat Hat
Vol. 103, Iss. 36 | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
Flathatnews.com | Follow us:
of The College of William and Mary
FACULTY
COLLs to cost $1.1 million Administrators discuss costs BY ARIEL COHEN FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
The College of William and Mary’s new general education requirements curriculum will end up coming to a total price tag of $1.1 million in the first four years, and an extra $700,000 annually after that. At the moment the College, a public institution, receives just 12.4 percent of its operating budget from the state. The remaining funds are dependent on private donations and fundraising. “I think that the combination of the William and Mary Promise and increased philanthropic efforts will allow us to [adopt the new curriculum],” Provost Michael Halleran said. “If the price tag were $10 million, I would have said ‘Whoa, See COLL page 3
SA ELECTIONS SCHEDULED Student Assembly elections are scheduled for March 20. In order to run for a position, students must attend one of four information sessions. After attending a session, declaration of candidacy is due Feb. 28 and campaigning will begin March 11 at 12:01 a.m. The information sessions are Sunday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in Washington 301; Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Sadler Center York Room; Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Sadler Center York Room; and Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in Washington 301. Questions about elections can be directed to the SA elections commission at wmelections@gmail. com. Check back with The Flat Hat for more coverage of 2014’s SA elections. — Flat Hat Managing Editor Meredith Ramey
Part-time adjuncts to be credited for class preparation time
Higher education leaders, officials discuss amount adjuncts work
3
The administration ruled that adjuncts spend
Full-time adjunct professor Laura Friedman spent nearly
1
1 /4
hours answering student emails the day before papers were due.
hours of prep time for each hour spent in class.
“
Although I really applaud the recognition that it takes time to prepare for class and assignments ... I don’t think it reflects the amount of work adjuncts do.
— President of the Faculty Assembly Suzanne Raitt
“
ACADEMICS
GRAPHIC BY KATHERINE CHIGLINSKY / THE FLAT HAT
BY KATHERINE CHIGLINSKY Flat HaT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Full -time adjunct professor of English Laura Friedman spent nearly three hours Sunday answering emails as students prepared to turn in their papers Monday. In addition to rereading the material for her classes and planning lessons, she noted that she often spends more than an hour preparing for classes. Quantifying the amount of work that part-time adjunct professors perform both in and out of the classroom has become a topic of discussion among higher education leaders and public officials. The Obama administration ruled in early February that colleges and universities should account for preparation time when determining how many hours part-time adjunct professors should work during an average week to see whether the professors are eligible for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Based on recommendations by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal
Revenue Service, the administration ruled that part-time adjuncts should be credited with 1.25 hours of preparation time for each hour spent in the classroom, in addition to credit for office hours and required meetings. The Affordable Care Act requires that employees who work 30 hours or more per week receive health insurance and allows full-time employees to apply for the Commonwealth’s health benefits plan. In response to the act, former Gov. Bob McDonnell, R-Va., proposed an amendment to the Commonwealth’s Manpower Control Act, requiring that any part-time state employees work 29 hours per week on average. The College of William and Mary, as a public entity in Virginia, must limit the work of part-time employees to fewer than 29 hours per week on average. Questions arose about how to calculate time for part-time adjunct faculty members, who typically teach two courses at the College. “Although I really applaud the recognition that it takes time to prepare for class and assignments … I don’t think it reflects the amount of work
RESIDENCE LIFE
adjuncts do,” President of the Faculty Assembly Suzanne Raitt said. The calculation included time for office hours and required meetings, but Raitt noted that the definition of office hours is more flexible nowadays, especially with email communication between students and professors. “We spend time with students that isn’t strictly part of an office hour, but what we owe to them as educators and advisors,” Raitt said. Many faculty groups pushed for a higher ratio, suggesting at times that adjuncts should be credited for two hours of preparation time for every one hour in class, while college administration groups pushed for a smaller ratio, according to Inside Higher Ed. Friedman noted that setting a general calculation guideline remains complicated, as different courses require varying workloads. “I think that obviously it’s really hard to make one rule that applies to everyone,” Friedman said. “If you’re teaching a new class that you haven’t taught See ADJUNCTS page 3
VIRGINIA
Number of single rooms on campus increases Deeds’ mental health Students discuss reasons for choosing singles or for opting to have a roommate BY ABBY BOYLE FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR
500 450
One may be the loneliest number, but when it comes to choosing housing in college, some students prefer to live without a roommate in single rooms. A recent article in The Atlantic titled “The End of the College Roommate?” said that at many colleges and universities, offering an increased number of single rooms has become something of a trend, although singles are still the exception on most campuses. At the College of William and Mary, Director of Residence Life Deb Boykin said there were 380 available single rooms for the 2013-14 academic year. Before the acquisition of the Hospitality House, 339 singles were available on campus. Next year, 474 singles will be open, marking an increase of 94 rooms from this year. However, Boykin said she does not necessarily see a tendency toward an overwhelming number of students requesting to live by themselves. “What may be a trend on other campuses might not be a trend on our campus,” Boykin said. “Anytime we’ve built new housing … like when Jamestown opened in 2006, we did focus groups to see what our students wanted, and they wanted a mix of doubles and singles because many of our students still like the experience of sharing a room with someone.”
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Mentally ill can be held for 24 hours
NUMBER OF SINGLE ROOMS ON CAMPUS
BY REBECCA HEINE THE FLAT HAT
With a limited number of singles on campus, students will almost inevitably live with a roommate at some point in their years at the College. Boykin said she finds many students have an affinity for the experience of sharing a room. “I think there’s a friendship and companionship that you have in a double room
Two months after the loss of his son and previous College of William and Mary student Austin “Gus” Deeds, Virginia Senator Creigh Deeds, D-Va., introduced new legislation to the Senate that addresses mental health services in the commonwealth. The upper chamber unanimously approved the proposal Feb. 10. With the new mental health bill, authorities are able to detain a mentally ill individual for up to 24 hours in emergency custody until a psychiatric bed can be found, extending the previous limit by 18 hours. In November, Deeds was stabbed multiple times by his son, Gus, who then shot himself. Gus had been released from emergency custody hours earlier after the local Community Services Board was unable to find an available psychiatric bed in the area within the allotted time period of six hours. The College’s Government Department Chair John McGlennon pointed out that there is some controversy over Deeds the number of hours, with some law enforcement officials wanting a shorter period of time than Deeds’ proposed 24 hours. “I think that the concerns of the law enforcement folks are basically that they don’t particularly want to be responsible
See SINGLES page 3
See DEEDS page 3
350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15 GRAPHIC BY ABBY BOYLE / THE FLAT HAT COURTESY PHOTO / WM.EDU
The College of William and Mary’s acquisition of the Hospitality House last year allowed for more singles.
The increase in the number of single rooms next year is due to additional rooms becoming available in One Tribe Place, as well as some rooms in the basement of the Bryan Complex being converted from doubles into singles, Boykin said. In freshman halls, Boykin estimates that there are about 17 available singles on campus, located in the Green and Gold Village, Jefferson Hall and Yates Hall.
Today’s Weather
Index News Insight News Opinions Variety Variety Sports Sports
400
Inside opinions
Inside VARIETY
In defense of the essay
Even if they’re put off until the last minute, essays are still worthwhile assignments. page 4 Partly cloudy High 60, Low 38
bill passes unanimously
Lights, camera, action
Foreign filmmakers helped expand the Global Film Festival’s selection of diverse creative short films from the College of William and Mary and beyond. page 6