VARIETY // Third Eye Blind is semi-charming p. 5
The Flat Hat
Vol. 101, Iss. 30 | Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
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Charter day
Gates opens new chapter PHOTO LEFT: MARIKA EMANUEL PHOTO CENTER AND RIGHT: JOHN LEE / THE FLAT HAT
Gates sits down for an interview with members of the student press before his official induction as the College’s 24th chancellor. At right, student speaker Meghan Moore ’13 waits to speak at the ceremony and share her reflections on the Charter.
Chancellor describes his years at the College, experiences that shaped his career by Vanessa remmers FLAT HAT news editor
When Robert Gates ’65 decided he wanted to go to a college on the East Coast, his father was not happy with the decision. But the eventual 22nd secretary of the Department of Defense, 15th director of the CIA and 24th chancellor of the College of William and Mary ultimately won the argument and accepted his College scholarship, although it came at a cost. “My father and I argued about it since the time I was 15, and I was 17 when I came here,” Gates said. “My brother is eight years older than I am, and he went to Kansas State University, so my father says ‘I’ll give you the same amount of money I gave your brother,’ which was $1,500 a year. So, I worked every semester I was here except for
my very first semester.” Besides working, Gates cut costs by serving as a dorm manager, promoted community service as president of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, and served as business manager for the College Republicans, all while majoring in history. Gates could tell he wasn’t in Kansas anymore. “When I came here in 1961 from Kansas, everyone assumed I grew up on a farm, and they asked me if there was cattle rustling and stuff like that,” Gates said. “Having classes that were small enough, there was a real dialogue between the students and the faculty. You go to high school, and you grow up in a very narrow environment where pretty much everybody in your high school is just like you are. And
emphasis here on teaching. I think that the give and take and having classes small enough where there’s actually a dialogue … that experience, I think, is hugely important. ... I think here at the College there’s an emphasis on [the idea] that you don’t have to agree with what others say.” Following the course of the student questions, Gates also discussed his numerous experiences serving a variety of U.S. presidents. See CLASSES, page 2
See CEREMONY, page 3
See GATES, page 3
Before his investiture at the Charter Day ceremony Friday, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ’65 held a questionand-answer session with the members of professors Katherine Rahman’s and Dennis Smith’s International Politics and International Security classes. McGlothlin-Street Hall was filled to the brim, with video cameras and photographers lining the edges.
“It’s very William and Mary on a Friday morning to want to crash a class,” Smith said to the waiting students. The discussion included both lighthearted jesting and serious topics important to the international community. Gates recalled the time he spent at the College — he lived in the attic of Old Dominion Hall his freshman year — and how different the College was then. “All of 1961, out-of-state tuition [was] $316,” Gates said. “I think one of the great things about William and Mary is the
by Katherine chiglinsky FLAT HAT news editor
The College of William and Mary celebrated its 319th year with a grandiose birthday present — the induction of its 24th chancellor, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ’65. At the Charter Day ceremony Friday, Gates spoke about his work in public service and on having recently been selected as chancellor. Gates, who succeeded former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, expressed his initial hesitation about and eventual acceptance of the position. “I thought about this great institution, what it has meant to me personally and its special place in the history of our country,” he said. “I then reflected on the kind of people who had held this post over the past four centuries. The decision to become your next chancellor became very easy, very fast. Then of course, I had no idea then about the chancellor’s regalia — a sort of unique blending of medieval academic tradition and Lady Gaga, or perhaps Mr. T.” In his speech, Gates described his years spent at the College and noted its influence on his career. “It was at this college that I first was exposed to such an environment grounded in what I learned here. I have spent a life in public service,” Gates said. He discussed what he described as the breakdown in the current political system, emphasizing that the government’s failure to collaborate on bipartisan efforts hinders the country. “The moderate center — the foundation of our political system — is not holding,” Gates said. “Moderation is now equated with lacking principles. Compromise means ‘selling out,’ yet our entire system of government has depended upon compromise.” Gates, who holds a doctoral degree in history, stressed that the values
Former secretary of defense speaks to international relations classes Friday by meredith ramey FLAT HAT assoc. news editor
Gates inducted as chancellor of the College during Charter Day ceremony
Financial aid
General Assembly considers capping amount of financial aid Administrators from Virginia universities travel to Richmond to seek increased financial aid funding bY Ariel Cohen Flat hat assoc. news editor
With one third of the student body receiving financial aid, the College of William and Mary, the Virginia General Assembly and the federal government are working to find ways to keep higher education affordable. Differences between the legislature and the College administration, however, may require the College to find new methods of setting aside funds. Currently, the College sets aside $13 million of students’ tuition dollars to fund financial aid programs. Due to the Higher Education Committee on Tuition and Fees’s Budget General Fund Reviews Item 4-2.01, the General Assembly may cap this number for the 2012-2014 biennium. The Committee hopes to value and appropriate the use of all tuition and fees from instate students that is used to support financial aid in order to enhance
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affordability for low-income and middle-income students. “Anything that caps the amount of financial aid we have isn’t good because it creates problems [with] funding, especially because right now we have a lack of funds from students, so anything that infringes upon our freedoms there isn’t good,” Director of Financial Aid Ed Irish said. For students enrolled in 2008, 30 percent of College students qualified for financial aid this year, 33 percent of all students who applied for financial aid through the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) qualified. During the last fiscal year, the College’s financial aid program required $32 million, with $19 million directed toward need-based aid. “I think that academic excellence has excelled at William and Mary,” State Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment J.D. ’73, R-3, said. “But the thing that I’ve noticed most is how the
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Inside opinions
financial pressure has really increased for the students. It’s remarkable.” On Jan. 25, administrators from various colleges in Virginia went before the committee to argue for increased financial aid funding. Vice President for Financial Affairs Sam Jones represented the College. “The first thing that we argue is give us as much flexibility as possible to use all the resources we have so that we can package them in the best way possible,” Jones said. “In your ideal world, we limit the amount of loans that students have, but, right now, that’s difficult.” Currently there are two main financial aid programs at the College: a state-generated unfunded scholarship program and system of reallocating tuition dollars for aid. The rest of the financial aid money comes from endowments, fundraising and gifts. Since the unfunded scholarship program’s inception, the College has set aside additional funds
Equality at the College
for financial aid. “This program will help the middleclass group that may not qualify for need-based financial assistance,” Norment said. “It’s the middle class group that struggles, and we really need to focus on that.” Other means that students have for obtaining financial aid include federal grants such as Perkins grants. In his State of the Union Address, U.S. President Barack Obama outlined plans to boost federal spending on Perkins loans from $1 billion to $8 billion. He proposed a $1 billion competition among states, encouraging them to keep public tuition rates constant. Institutions would be rewarded for lower net tuitions, constant tuition rates, low-income student graduation rates, and providing educational tools for graduates to get jobs that can repay their loans. Last year, 260 students received Perkins grants, totaling only $500,000
Students at the College of William and Mary come together with guest speaker Dan Savage in support of social equality. page 4
Inside SPORTS
in financial assistance. These grants make up less than 5 percent of the College’s financial aid program’s needs. “Obama’s plan would reward schools where tuition hasn’t increased too much,” Irish said. “I don’t know if that could be us, as the details for the program are very vague right now. Even so, the [Perkins] grants are a pretty small program at the College.” Despite the state’s dwindling funds for education, administrators remain confident that the College can sustain its current financial model while helping students afford a top quality higher education. “I don’t think that people should get nervous about financial aid funding,” Irish said. “William and Mary is clearly supporting the continuation of the current policy, which is allowing us to continue funding current students. I’m guessing that we will get through without too much of a problem.”
Tribe takes two
The College of William and Mary swept its double-header Sunday, first knocking off Longwood before shutting out Morgan State at home. page 8