VARIETY >> PAGE 6
SPORTS >> PAGE 8
Humans of New York-inspired photoblog seeks to capture the College’s community.
Sports Editor Jack Powers explores the College’s lack of minority head coaches.
Are we human or are we TWAMPS? Something’s amiss
Vol. 103, Iss. 28 | Tuesday, January 21, 2014
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
REsidence life
SigEp, SAE join fraternity row No more independent houses
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of The College of William and Mary
Making the move Student Life
BY Daria Grastara The Flat Hat
Two of the fraternity houses built last year and occupied by independent students will be home to the brothers of the Virginia Kappa Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Virginia Delta Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon starting in fall 2014. “Two chapters [that] had been assigned houses for this academic year lost their housing privileges last spring, leaving the houses unassigned,” Director of Residence Life Deb Boykin said. “The presidents of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Phi Epsilon were happy to know they were granted housing.” The fraternities followed ResLife’s website criteria for new special interest housing proposals and submitted their requests before Thanksgiving. The Special Interest Housing Committee then reviewed the proposals and discussed them at length. The recommendations were handed to Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06. Boykin also took part in the determinations. “The fraternity houses were constructed to house fraternity chapters and a community building to serve fraternity and sorority life on campus,” Boykin said. While renovations will not be made to the reassigned fraternity houses, chapter letters will be added to the exteriors to match the letters currently provided on the other houses. Sigma Phi Epsilon became a recognized fraternity in fall 2010, built on the Balanced Man Program, an initiative committed to not following conventional pledging rituals and to helping students Boykin adjust to life in and out of college. “The biggest reason I joined was the opportunity to create something where I felt like I belonged,” Sigma Phi Epsilon member Joe Acosta ’14 said. “I liked some other fraternities on campus but knew I didn’t fit in perfectly with most of them. I felt like I fit in with a few guys that were in Sigma Phi Epsilon at the time, and I knew I wanted to help build an organization that I’d be proud to be a part of.” Acosta and his fraternity brothers followed developments with the fraternity complex very closely. The fraternity knew they would not be included in the original housing assignments due to a lack of size, but planned to apply this fall. “It certainly is frustrating when you don’t have a central place on campus that you and your brothers can call your own,” Acosta said. “Having the house on campus will be huge boost for us in terms of on campus presence. It will be a great tool for rush and be a great central location where our brothers can gather. I’m excited to come back to school in the future and see our continued success.”
CAROL PENG / THE FLAT HAT
About 70 transfer students are acclimating to life at the College of William and Mary this semester BY Madeline Bielski FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
Although the past few weeks have seen many students return to campus to begin their spring semester, a few recent arrivals are only just beginning their academic careers at the College of William and Mary. Each year, thousands of students in the United States make the decision to transfer colleges due to unmet expectations, the pursuit of a different educational experience or a variety of other reasons. According to the College’s website, around 200 students are accepted as transfers for the fall semester and another 70 are accepted for the spring semester.
The appeal of the College varies from one transfer student to another: some are attracted to the academics, others to extracurricular activities. Dale Golden ’15, who transferred to William and Mary from Indiana University-Bloomington in the fall of 2013, was attracted by the College’s attitude toward its students. “As I was researching the school, I really liked how the mindset of the school was ‘we want you to be here’ not ‘we’ll let you be here,’” Golden said. “I think that’s a big difference.” Similar to the process freshmen undergo when applying to schools, the transfer process involves an application. Its questions are more transfer-specific, and it is submitted after freshmen applications are collected. The College
also offers a transfer orientation period for accepted students. Transfer orientation is something that Sarah Boegner ’17, who transferred to the College from the University of Notre Dame this spring, credits with helping her transition into the College community. “[Orientation involves] a lot of getting you acclimated with William and Mary and all the resources they have here and trying to get you acclimated with some of the people around you,” Boegner said. Alia Prasad ’17 transferred to the College this spring from Vanderbilt University. She said current students assisted her in adjusting to the College. “The students who are already here See TRANSFERS page 3
Residence Life
ALUMNI
Beds shift in 2014-15 housing changes
College alum arrested on suspicion of rape
Chandler closed for renovations, all 330 beds in One Tribe Place available
Sharper released on $200,000 bail
BY SANG HYUN PARK FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
The College of William and Mary’s Residence Life office announced a number of changes for on-campus housing next year. These changes continue reshuffling practices that started last year after the College purchased the Hospitality House, now called One Tribe Place. “We think the changes we are making will make living on campus more attractive,” Director of ResLife Deb Boykin said. “We hope that students will continue to see living on campus as something that they enjoy and [consider] beneficial to their education.” The ResLife changes include the closing of Chandler Hall for the 2014-15 academic year. The hall was scheduled to be closed this year, 2013-14, but was reopened after unforeseen complications with One Tribe Place renovations. The Chandler renovations will include efforts to improve its facilities and freshen its appearance by adding central air-conditioning
Index News Insight News Opinions Variety Variety Sports Sports
BY ARIEL COHEN FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
See RESLIFE page 3
See SHARPER page 3
FILE PHOTO / THE FLAT HAT
All 330 beds in One Tribe Place will be available next year. Many were closed due to mold and renovations.
as well as new bathrooms, windows, doors and ceilings. Substance-free housing, currently on the third floor of Chandler, will move to the first floor of Landrum Hall.
Today’s Weather 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Komal Parhar ’15, a resident assistant in Chandler, said that she feels the renovations
Former College of William and Mary football player and former National Football League defensive back Darren Sharper ’96 was arrested on suspicion of rape by the Los Angeles Police Department Friday night. Soon after the arrest, he was released on $200,000 bail. The LAPD is investigating the former Tribe defensive back in relation to two possible sexual assaults that occurred in October and early January, both in west Los Angeles. The New Orleans Police Department also recently released a statement saying they are investigating another claim of sexual assault against Sharper Sharper, filed Sept. 24. While playing at the College under head coach Jimmie Laycock, Sharper received All-American honors twice and was
Inside opinions
SPORTS
A modern alternative to the foreign language requirement
Snow High 41, Low 16
Amid the current curriculum upheaval, the foreign language requirement should be revised to include programming languages. page 4
Tribe roll Dukes
Junior guard Marcus Thornton couldn’t miss as a hot-shooting College performance proved too much for visiting James Madison. page 8