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Keeping it cool Hofstra Tribe thrashes
Tribe drops midweek game
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A review of Williamsburg’s cones, cups and custards. Prewitt, help College pick up a 78-62 winthe in front of aatpacked Dixon’s Tarpey six three-pointers key a 100-79 rout for College KaplanKaplan Arena.Arena.
Vol. 104, Iss. 40 | Friday, April 10, 2015
Continuing its nine-game road trip, the College fell 7-4 at Longwood.
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Worker solidarity group launches Seeks to raise Sodexo wages ÁINE CAIN Flat hat EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
11th consecutive year with record number of applications MEILAN SOLLY Flat hat CHIEF STAFF WRITER
The College of William and Mary accepted just under a third of its applicants for the class of 2019, with 4,950 applicants of a record 14,951 receiving emails offering admission. 2015 marks the 11th consecutive year of record-breaking application numbers. The tally is up 3.1 percent from last year, when 14,500 applicants vied for a place in the class of 2018. “We’re always so impressed that students we offer admission to not only have outstanding aca-demic records, but we tend to find that they’re very interesting people,” Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission Timothy Wolfe ’95 M.Ed. ’01 said. “Either [they] have done some very interesting things or accomplished a lot outside of the classroom.” In terms of academics, 89 percent of this year’s applicants are expected to graduate in the top 10 percent of their classes. Prospective students’ median SAT score was 1410 — based on the 1600-point scale combining critical reading and math scores. Last year’s
median SAT score was 1420, while the previous year’s was 1410. 32 percent of admitted students are students of color, approximately the same percentage as last year. Seven percent are international students, down two percent from last year’s admissions cycle. Come next fall, 1,520 new students are expected to enroll at the College. Prior to receiving news of their admission, future members of the class of 2019 were subject to a rigorous vetting process, according to the admissions office. According to Wolfe, every application is read by at least two readers. Many applications are also read by a third reader, or they go through a committee process where a group of admissions officers read over applications and make final decisions together. Applicants are also permitted optional 30-minute interview sessions conducted by one of 12 senior interviewers. “We have a lot of freedom to design our own questions,” senior interviewer Adam Enochs ’15 said. “Everyone has what they call ‘fun See 2019 page 4
Rafael Snell-Feikema ’18 and Aharon Logue ’18 organized an interest meeting for a workers solidarity campaign in Blair 201 Wednesday, April 8. The meeting focused on securing higher wages for Sodexo employees on campus. The group alleged that the food services corporation will be able to fire employees without warning over the summer and offers employees meager ten-cent raises. Meeting attendees discussed the company’s supposed reputation for union busting and intimidating workers into taking on more hours. Snell-Feikema expressed his belief that students at the College of William and Mary often overlook social justice issues closer to home. “We’re a campus that likes to think of itself as very liberally-oriented and politically active, but we have very little actual direct action,” Snell-Feikema said. “We have an environmental group that does great work, but other than that we have advocacy groups that basically table and will have an event that does philanthropy and we don’t care about problems that are happening on our campus. We’re a lot of talk. I felt like this was a way to fix that.” The group plans to promote campus worker appreciation as part of their campaign. In SnellFeikema and Logue’s presentation, the organizers said that they hope to foster better connections between students and workers. They also said they will avoid taking any action without consent from the workers. Brendan Thomas ’18 said that he decided to attend the meeting after befriending some Sodexo workers. “I think that the workers are sort of faceless here,” Thomas said. “I always try to say hi to the people who are working. Most [students] don’t. One time I was walking by and I said hi to [a worker] in the morning and he said, ‘You know, that was really nice, no one says hi to us.’ And I was like, you know what, you’re right, people should say hi to you and people should
COURTESY PHOTO / WM.EDU 4,950 applicants were accepted to the Colllege of William and Mary’s Class of 2019 out of a pool of 14,951, reflecting a 33% admissions rate. This was a record-breaking year in terms of application numbers.
See SOLIDARITYpage 3
STUDENT ASSEMBLY
WILLIAMSBURG
Former Wawa shift manager Whitaker sworn in as Student Assembly president found guilty of embezzlement 323rd Student Assembly sworn into office, Reveley and Danly speak Given 50 hours of community service TUCKER HIGGINS FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR
Former Wawa Shift Manager Muriel Gibson pled guilty to misdemeanor embezzlement Thursday and received a 90-day sentence, all of which was suspended. She also received 50 hours of community service. Gibson, 63, was arrested Feb. 6 at the Wawa store on Richmond road and charged with grand larceny, a felony. The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor Thursday because Gibson did not have a criminal record. A felony embezzlement charge carries a sentence of between one and 20 years in prison. Gibson’s case was prosecuted by Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Michael Gaten ’01 J.D. ’04, who alleged that the defendant had stolen $320 since the beginning of December 2014. According to the criminal complaint, Gibson stole the money in $10 increments in order to pay her bills. “She took $10 from the register, and when confronted she admitted to it,” Gaten said at trial. According to court documents, Wawa Loss Prevention Officer Anthony Becica discovered the embezzlement. Becica did not immediately respond to requests for comment. “I am embarrassed to say that this happened, but it did, and I am sorry,” Gibson said Thursday. According to Gibson, her husband, who was present at trial, was unable to work because of a back injury. “In the winter time, the college kids go back home, and our See WAWA page 4
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Amelia lucas FLAT HAT assoc. news editor
Members of the College of William and Mary’s 323rd Student Assembly were sworn in during an inauguration ceremony held in the Wren Chapel Wednesday evening.
After thanking supporters, newly swornin SA President Yohance Whitaker ’16 spoke about the student body’s ownership of SA and SA’s responsibility to serve all students. It was his first presidential address. “In my oath, I promised to do more,” Whitaker said. “I call each of us here today
AMANDA WILLIAMS / THE FLAT HAT Yohance Whitaker ’16 is sworn in as SA President in front of family, Student Assembly members, and President Taylor Reveley .
See INAUGURATION page 3
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to do more, not less. So let us go forth, serve the College and do more.” Whitaker mentioned plans promised in his campaign platform, including improving SA and William and Mary websites and lessening the financial burden on students with an SA textbook program. “The programs outlined here are not just empty promises,” Whitaker said. “With our work, we will be able to produce a reality for every single student on our campus.” College President Taylor Reveley, the keynote speaker, addressed the highs and lows of holding office in his speech. “My point is, holding office is not always…light,” Reveley said. “But all this sounds utterly grim. Let’s think about how leading can be a joy. At its core, leadership is power. This power has the capacity to influence what happens, to get things that need to be done, to make the difference.” Reveley emphasized that holding office can be a learning experience, offering practice in capturing people’s attention and being persuasive. He commended inaugurated SA members for continuing the College’s tradition of service. In his last speech as SA president,
Increasingly demanding job requirements and skyrocketing tuition prices are forcing students to take on debt now in order to have access to a financially-successful future. page 5
Do you play croquet?
College’s croquet team offers fun for all. page 7