SPORTS >> PAGE 8
VARIETY >> PAGE 6
Tribe crushes Dukes on road
Let’s talk about fight clubs
Dixon’s career-high 25 points leads the Tribe to an 84-65 win over James Madison.
Prewitt, Tarpey help a 78-62in win front of a packed Kaplan Arena. Martial arts clubs onCollege campuspick are up emerging fullinforce.
The Flat Hat
Vol. 104, Iss. 27 | Tuesday, February 3, 2015
The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
academics 76%
administration
75%
67%
66%
8%
66%
16%
25%
20%
Sexual assault bill sparks concerns
27%
American Studies Anthropology Psychology Sociology Art and Art History
Gendering degrees Computer Science
24%
25%
33%
34%
See GENDER page 3
See BILL page 3
92%
84%
80%
75%
73%
The graph above reflects the academic majors with the largest discrepancies in the percentages of men and women within the major. The five bars on the left show the five majors with the fewest number of women in comparison to men. The five bars on the right depict the five majors with the fewest number of men in comparison to women. Data is courtesy of the Office of Institutional Research.
Female
American studies, physics, comp sci most imbalanced CAROLINE NUTTER FLAT HAT assoc. news editor
According to a Fall 2014 data collection by the College of William and Mary’s Office of Institutional Research, most majors at the College of William and Mary show somewhere between a 60 percent to 40 percent ratio in terms of gender balance. Most majors had more female candidates, owing to the College’s slightly imbalanced ratio of women to men — 55 percent to 45 percent. The majors that showed the most equal distribution among the genders were accounting, government, geology, international relations and public policy. The most imbalanced majors were American studies, physics
mba STUDENT PASSES AWAY FOLLOWING ILLNESS Zachariah B. Faison, a Flex MBA student at the College of William and Mary’s Mason School of Business, passed away Jan. 27. He was 32. In an email to the College community, Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 wrote that Faison died following a serious illness. Faison, a Norfolk, Va. native, worked for Norfolk Southern Railroad as a General Foreman Mechanical Operations for 10 years. He graduated magna cum laude from Averett University — located in Danville, Va. — with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. “According to those who knew him well, [Faison’s] being in graduate school at William & Mary ‘meant the world to him. He loved learning and new adventures and was looking forward to attending our Global Business Immersions Program,’” Ambler wrote in her email. “Zach was a devoted family man, and a proud member of the Haliwa Saponi Indian Tribe of Hollister, Falson NC.” A visitation and a celebration of Faison’s life will both take place Monday, Feb. 2 at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., respectively. The various events will be held in Virginia Beach, Va. “This is heartbreaking news for the Faison family and all of us who are part of the extended William & Mary community,” Ambler wrote. “Please join me in extending our deepest sympathy to Zach’s family, friends, and classmates.”
— Flat Hat Managing Editor Abby Boyle
Index News Insight News Opinions Variety Variety Sports Sports
Today’s Weather 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Student life
TribeTHON to host dance marathon
Organizers hope to raise $10,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals MEREDITH RAMEY FLAT HAT EDITOR-in-Chief
The College of William and Mary prides itself on community — an idea made evident through its frequent use of the
phrase “One Tribe, One Family.” Eileen Dolan ’16 and Thomas Fergus ’16 hope to expand the definition of the College’s community through TribeTHON — the campus’ first dance marathon to support the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBETHON.WORDPRESS.COM
TribeTHON’s website includes videos promoting the dance event and outlining the group’s goals.
“This is the one thing that we want to bring the campus together. This is the thing we want people to rally around,” Erik Nelson ’16, TribeTHON finance committee chair, said. Dance marathons at colleges and universities around the country support CMNH. When Dolan visited her sister at Penn State, she decided that the service event would be a good addition to the College community. After discussing this idea with Fergus during their freshman year they decided to put the plan into action their sophomore year and registered the club in spring 2014. Now TribeTHON, colloquially referred to as “THON,” hopes to raise $10,000 for CMNH and the local Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va. The 10-hour dance marathon will take place Feb. 14, starting at noon. As of press time, the group has raised $5,235 — 52 percent of their goal — and has two weeks left to fundraise and increase participation — 84 individuals are currently registered to attend. The event’s registration costs $10 and participants can fundraise as teams or as individuals. Fergus and Dolan said See TRIBETHON page 3
Inside Variety
Inside Opinions
Apathetic environmentalism
Sunny, High 45, Low 30
AINE CAIN Flat hat news editor
and computer science. It should be noted, however, that only thirteen students are currently majoring in American studies, which may skew the perception of its percentage results, whereas physics and computer science have between 50 and 100 student candidates. Many students may not be surprised by which genders tend to gravitate toward which academic fields. Derek Richardson ’18 said he believes there would be an imbalance. “I don’t think there would be a balance,” he said. “I feel like some males tend to go one route and females go another. … I would guess that there are more men doing things at the business school or in sciences like physics, and perhaps more
34%
GRAPHIC BY CAROLINE NUTTER AND MEREDITH RAMEY / THE FLAT HAT
Male
Admins, advocates express worry
Officials at the College of William and Mary responded to a bill in the state legislature that would require public universities in Virginia to report alleged sexual assaults on campus to police within 24 hours. The Washington Post reached out to administrators from University of Virginia, James Madison University, George Mason University and the College. Responses from the College and from George Mason expressed some doubts about the proposal’s effectiveness. Associate Vice President for Communications and University Relations Brian Whitson expressed concern over the bill’s potential repercussions in the Washington Post’s article and in an emailed statement. “We have concerns about the unintended consequences of mandatory reporting,” Whitson said in the statement. “Our worst fear is that some Whitson survivors of sexual violence will not come forward if they believe they will be forced into a legal process they don’t want to take part in. In addition, it would be incredibly difficult to pursue a criminal case when the witness does not wish to testify.” Proponents of the bill might cite universities’ apparent lack of resources and ability to deal with crimes like sexual assault. According to the Washington Post, nine out of ten Virginia voters support the idea of making it mandatory for schools to report sexual assault to the police. Senior Assistant Dean of Students and Sexual Assault Response Services Director Donna Haygood-Jackson said that the bill would set sexual assault reform back years. “Sexual Assault is still one of the most under Haygood-Jackson reported crimes and this would create a barrier to seeking support and even resources,” Haygood-Jackson said in an email. “On college campus[es] at times survivors are not ready to even admit what happened was a sexual assault. I truly fear this would impact who came forward for support and resources and only add to the possible feeling of isolation.” Haygood-Jackson added that the Haven is a confidential resource for survivors of sexual assault that is staffed by trained student volunteers.
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