Vol. 106, Iss. 9 | Tuesday, October 25, 2016
The Flat Hat
3:36 A.M.
The Weekly Student Newspaper
No
First alarm Discharge of fire extinguisher
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of The College of William and Mary
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5:47 A.M. Second alarm Malicious pull of alarm
5:52 P.M. Third alarm Smoking in room
11:23 P.M. Fourth alarm Malicious pull of alarm
m r a l a
NICK CIPOLLA / THE FLAT HAT
Residents of One Tribe Place had to evacuate the building four times on October 16 because of fire alarms going off at 3:36 a.m., 5:47 a.m., 5:52 p.m. and 11:23 p.m.
Three fire alarms in OTP were result of malicious intent KAYLA SHARPE FLAT HAT DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR
In an article published Oct. 4, The Flat Hat reported that a local SANE nurse was available in Williamsburg 24 hours a day. We were wrong, and regret the error. See a statement from the Editor-in-Chief on page 5. A statement from The Haven also appears on that page.
The fire alarm at One Tribe Place went off four times Oct. 16, three of which the Williamsburg Police Department said were the result of malicious intent. According to the Williamsburg Fire Department, residents were forced to evacuate the building at 3:36 a.m. after the alarm was triggered by the discharge of a fire extinguisher. Just over two hours later, at 5:47 a.m., fire crews were called to the building again when the alarm was activated. The two later fire alarms, at 5:52 p.m. and 11:23 p.m. respectively, were triggered by a student smoking inside their room and another activated alarm. One Tribe Place Area Director Richard Schofield, along with residents, evacuated the building following the 3:36 a.m. fire alarm, which went off when someone discharged a fire extinguisher in the fourth floor lounge and elevator. “When a fire alarm goes off, especially in the middle of the night, you have no idea what set off that alarm,” Schofield said. “My first thought is always [to] get out of the building.” Schofield later learned from a member of the Williamsburg Fire Department that somebody might have purple residue on their hands from using the fire extinguisher. He coordinated with officers from the WMPD to check students’ hands for residue as they re-entered the building. Consequences for maliciously pulling fire alarms extend beyond
FUNDRAISING
the College. Williamsburg Police Department Major Greg Riley confirmed that there is a code for falsely summoning the police and fire departments that would be handled by the WMPD, as One Tribe Place falls within its jurisdiction. Riley said that if caught, a student could be arrested for this offense. Williamsburg Fire Chief Pat Dent also said that individuals who tamper with fire alarm systems can be charged. “If somebody continues to maliciously pull alarms, or they tamper with an alarm system or extinguishers, we can actually charge individuals for reimbursement for the department and the manhours,” Dent said. Dent said that while the charge depends on the number of crew members and apparatuses sent to the scene, fines are approximately $300 per incident. Carmi Thompson ’17, who lives on the fourth floor of One Tribe Place, recalled seeing smoke coming out of the kitchen when she evacuated during the first alarm and said she was struck by the seriousness of the situation. Schofield claims that there was no smoke coming from the area and that what Thompson saw was likely the residue from the chemical fire extinguisher. “It hangs very much like smoke in the air, which is actually what set off the fire alarm,” Schofield said. As the day went on, Schofield and the Residence Life staff in One See FIRE page 3
WILLIAMSBURG
For the Bold surpasses national trends WPD to get body cameras Fundraiser has not seen post-launch dip in alumni giving typical of other campaigns EMILY MARTELL FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
Fundraising efforts at the College of William and Mary continue to ramp up, with a record-breaking $46.3 million raised in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017. Much of this success can be attributed to the continued success of For the Bold: The Campaign for William and Mary. The For the Bold campaign has three pillars: reaching 40 percent alumni participation by 2020, strengthening alumni engagement and raising a billion dollars. Now, a year after the campaign’s public launch, $623.8 million have been raised towards the third goal, representing over $52 million raised since October 2015. University campaigns commonly face a level of deflation after the first year of the campaign launch, as the initial ballooning of excitement wears off. Vice President of University Advancement Matthew Lambert ’99, who spearheads the effort, differentiated between the College’s campaign and other university efforts in avoiding the loss of momentum.
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“It is common in campaigns of this magnitude to face a post-launch dip in giving but William & Mary continues to buck national fundraising trends and has made remarkable progress since the start of the public phase of the For the Bold campaign,” Lambert said in an email. To Lambert, this success is due to continued engagement of the College with alumni. One way the College has devised to avoid a post-campaign launch slump is to simply keep launching the campaign. Starting with the green and gold illumination of the Empire State Building Sept. 29, which coincided with the launch of For the Bold in New York City, a series of regional campaign launches will be underway in the spring, including launches in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. A particularly successful subset of the campaign has been directed toward scholarships. $200 million have been raised for scholarships alone, nearly a third of the total campaign value. Although new numbers on alumni participation rates are not released until
the conclusion of Fiscal Year 2017, the previous fiscal year ended with 28.7 percent alumni participation, falling short of the 30 percent target for the year. According to Lambert, however, the College has not fallen behind the 40 percent goal by the conclusion of the campaign in 2020. “We closed the first quarter nine percent ahead over last year, which puts us on track to reach the overall goal,” Lambert said. For the conclusion of FY 17 in June, the College seeks to achieve a 31 percent alumni participation rate. Campaign chair Sue Gerdelman ’76, said that the campaign is not merely about impressive statistics and the $1 billion; instead, for her it is about the support and engagement of every member of the College community. “For the Bold is an investment in the people who make William & Mary so extraordinary — and we wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of the Tribe community, including faculty, students and staff,” Gerdelman said in an email.
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approve funding for updated PD equipment YUTONG ZHAN THE FLAT HAT
The City of Williamsburg’s City Council approved the request from the Williamsburg Police Department to purchase body-worn cameras in their meeting Thursday, Oct. 13. With the approval of the purchase, the WPD will equip its patrol officers with body-worn cameras in six to eight weeks. Incidents in several cities in the United States, such as Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo., involving police brutality have raised concerns among communities and police departments. Because of these concerns, in 2015 the WPD initiated a plan of equipping its officers with bodyworn cameras. In reports given by the Rialto, Calif. Police Department, the Phoenix, Ariz. Police Department, and the Orlando, Fla. Police Department who have implemented these cameras, data
has shown that the cameras have reduced complaints against police officers. Based on those reports, WPD expects that equipping the officers with body-worn cameras could provide evidence in court, assist in exonerating officers that received complaints and identify inappropriate behavior. According to the presentation given by the WPD Chief Dave Sloggie in November 2015, the WPD plan to purchase AXON body-worn cameras produced by Taser, which have a 12-hour battery life, can operate in low-light and feature a wide-range lens. The initial first-year cost of the plan is $49,632, and the subsequent annual cost is $38,016. The cost over the five-year period would be $201,696. These costs include 32 AXON body cameras, 5 docking See POLICE page 4
Inside Variety
Inside Opinions
Beauty products shouldn’t make you feel ashamed
2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
City of Williamsburg City Council votes to
Alexandra Fielding ’18 discusses the harmfully labeled “FatGirlSlim” line of beauty products offered at the local bookstore. page 5
A look inside “Building the Brafferton”
Rediscovering an integral piece of the College’s history through art. page 7