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Taken down
Last-second heave falls short as Towson holds on for 15-9 conference win in last home game.
Vol. 103, Iss. 23 | Tuesday, November 19, 2013
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STUDENT LIFE
TECHNOLOGY
Some say ‘no’ to condom use
EMAILS
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HACKED COURTESY PHOTO / MICHAELHYATT.COM
Email phishing scams grow
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Email phishing scams are on the rise at the College of William and Mary, with around 60 students facing identity theft since 2011. Around 500 students at the College of William and Mary recently received a scam email attempting to access their private information. The emails were sent using a student’s email account. Experts and administrators are currently investigating the impact of the fraud as well as enacting countermeasures to alleviate it. According to Windows Engineering Manager James Supplee ’70, this is not an isolated event. Similar phishing attempts have occurred frequently since Christmas in 2011, when around 60 students’ identities were stolen. “We’ve been going at it for around 18 months, serious and heavy,” Supplee said. “It’s an endless cycle.” Supplee noted that the primary assailants attempting to infiltrate the College’s system are four to six groups who each possess different scam styles and skill sets. Despite the many filtering mechanisms in place, engineers at the College have found it difficult to prevent all of the phishing attempts. “Our system drops about 90 percent of the emails that hit, and our internal system drops another 50
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students at the College have faced identity theft since 2011
We’ve been going at it for around 18 months, serious and heavy. It’s an endless cycle.
—Windows Engineering Manager James Supplee ’70 on email phishing scams at the College of William and Mary
COLLEGE HAS 9 PERCENT GAP BETWEEN WHITE AND BLACK STUDENTS’ GRADUATION RATES The College of William and Mary has the smallest gap between white and black students’ graduation rates at selective public universities, according to a recent report from the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. Taking into account the number of students who earned a degree within six years, the report showed a 9 percent difference between white and black students’ graduation rates at the College in 2013. Last year, according to the report, 93 percent of white students graduated, while 84 percent of black students did. Overall, the College was ranked 48 out of 58 schools on The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education’s list. Wellesley College holds the top spot, where 89 percent of white students and 92 percent of black students graduated in 2013. In terms of public schools, the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were the Ambler second- and third-highest ranked institutions behind the College. Each had an 11 percent gap. “This is one of those moments where it is important to pause and recognize the success for what it is, and it’s significant. We have a reason to be proud,” Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88, Ph.D. ’06 said in a press release. “At the same time, there’s also a goal for us that’s clear: We need to close the gap. We don’t want any gap for students based on their backgrounds or ethnicity. The demographics of our graduating students should mirror the demographics of our student community overall. We want all students to be graduating at the highest rate.” — Flat Hat News Editor Abby Boyle
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percent,” Supplee said. “It goes through multiple layers, but we can’t stop it all, especially when it’s from an actual student.” In general, students at the College have not encountered any significant problems from these fraud attempts. However, the experience has been unnerving for those subjected to these attempts. “I find it disturbing that so many people in this world are trying to take advantage of others, and it’s scary how easy that can be,” Samantha Cohen ’17 said. The IT administration sent an email to students Nov. 10 explaining what can be done to address the phishing attacks. Some of the tips included ways to identify fraud emails as well as ways to avoid accidentally responding to them. Supplee stated that awareness was key to solving this problem. “The more people can be aware, the better it is,” Supplee said. “We do the best we can with what we have, and we need everyone to use their common sense.” Director of Systems and Support Chris Ward advised students to be mindful of where they place their private information and to always seek help if they were unsure. “Be very careful where you enter your credentials,” Ward said. “If you have the least bit of suspicion, double-check with us.”
Groups encourage safe sex BY HALEY ARATA THE FLAT HAT
At the College of William and Mary, students can get condoms sent to their CSU mailboxes for free. Despite this amenity, some choose not to use this option. A recent study performed by Trojan and the Sexual Information and Education Council of Canada, SIECCAN, found that of the 72 percent of sexually active college students surveyed, about 51 percent do not use condoms during intercourse. Various studies at the College have also dealt with protection during intercourse. A National College Health Assessment survey conducted at the College in 2012 polled undergraduate students on their experiences with sexual activity and protection. Within the 30-day period prior to the survey’s launch, 4.5 percent of male and female students who reported participating in oral sex said they had had used a condom or other protective barrier for oral intercourse. 60.9 percent Garrison who had participated in vaginal intercourse reported using protection and 45.7 percent who participated in anal intercourse had used protection. Health Promotion Specialist Eric Garrison said that, in concordance with the SIECCAN survey, 50.8 percent of students at the College disclosed having used contraception the last time they participated in vaginal intercourse. 49.2 percent answered the question as nonapplicable, while 20.2 percent of students used emergency contraception within the last 12 months of taking the survey. 70.9 percent of students noted using specifically a male condom the last time they engaged in vaginal intercourse; 54.2 percent used a male condom with another form of contraception, also known as the Double Dutch Method; and 26.1 percent used two forms of contraception, not including a male condom. See SEXUAL HEALTH page 3
RESEARCH
College home to 78,000 plant specimens Researchers use information in studying flora, plant diseases, climate change BY KAITLAN SHAUB THE FLAT HAT
WILLI, the herbarium of the College of William and Mary and second-largest herbarium in Virginia, houses a collection of 78,000 different specimens. The herbarium aids in research projects concerning the flora and biodiversity of Virginia, particularly those related to species of the coastal plain. According to Director Martha Case, the herbarium’s specimens help with determining the geographic ranges of species by documenting the variations, both external and genealogical, within a species and identifying plants. “You can actually get all kinds of microscopic and macroscopic information from them because the actual specimen is there, and that includes things like DNA,” Case said. The information gathered from specimens is useful in a variety of projects from creating
COURTESY PHOTO / DAILYPRESS.COM
Herbarium Curator Beth Chambers and Director Martha Case work in the repository.
flora to tracking the distribution of plant diseases. It also can be used to study how climate change affects the flowering, and
Inside OPINIONS
consequently the lives, of plant populations. See HERBARIUM page 3
Inside SPORTS
Please drink originally
The weekly routine of getting dressed up and getting drunk is becoming incredibly boring. page 4 Cloudy High 53, Low 37
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Tribe loses, but receives bid
After dropping the Colonial Athletic Association championship Saturday, the College received an at-large bid to the NCAA championships. page 8