the flat hat 03-15-13
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The Flat Hat 03-15-13TRANSCRIPT
Partly cloudyHigh 58, Low 43
Index
News Insight News News Opinions Variety Variety Sports
Today’s Weather Inside OPINIONSThe BOV’s political problem13 of McDonnell’s 14 BOV appointees have donated to Republican causes. The BOV is too important to politicize. page 5
Inside VARIETYA whole new ShakespeareThree students actors utilize improvisation and humor in “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abriged).” page 7
Vol. 102, Iss. 40 | Friday, March 15, 2013 The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper of The College of William and Mary Flathatnews.com | Follow us:
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The F lat HatThe F lat HatSPORTS >> PAGE 8
College falls to Keydets Sophomore pitcher J.T. Castner gave up three earned runs as VMI downed the Tribe.
VARIETY >> PAGE 6
Behind the platformAll you ever wanted to know about the SA candidates but were afraid to ask.
Longest-serving Director of FBI since J. Edgar Hoover to address graduates
Tickets describe their plans for the
COMMENCEMENT
STUDENT ASSEMBLY
Current Student Assembly Undergraduate Council members Stacey LaRiviere ’14 and Alicia Moore ’14 believe they are ready to “inspire, engage, lead” the student body at the College of William and Mary.
“The inspire part means … recognizing what issues William and Mary students care about the most and making sure that that is reflected in the work that we do,” Moore said. “The engage part is actually going out to students and getting them involved in the process. The last part of our slogan, lead, relates to how we execute things.”
LaRiviere and Moore plan on training leaders, reaching out to the City of Williamsburg and
BY CLAIRE GILLESPIEFLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
Stacey LaRiviere
In 2004, FBI Director Robert Mueller worked to challenge the White House over concerns about domestic wiretapping. Now, Mueller will visit the College of William and Mary as the 2013 Commencement speaker during the May 12 ceremony in William and Mary Hall.
Former President George W. Bush nominated Mueller as FBI Director in 2001. In 2011, President Barack Obama asked Mueller to extend his term two years, making Mueller the longest-serving FBI director since J. Edgar Hoover.
Before his term as FBI director, Mueller received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree from New York University. He also served in the
Marine Corps, earning a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and two Navy Commendation Medals.
“After college, Robert Mueller immediately began a life of public service, first in the United States military and later
in law,” College President Taylor Reveley said in a press release. “He now continues that service
at the helm of the FBI and has proved himself to be a leader stalwart in his convictions and integrity.”
Mueller also received a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1973 and subsequently worked as a litigator in San Francisco. In 1998, Mueller served as the U.S. attorney in San Francisco, until Bush nominated Mueller for FBI director.
During the commencement exercises, Colonial Williamsburg President Colin Campbell and Warren Buck M.S. ’70 Ph.D. ’76 will both receive honorary degrees. Mueller is
Mueller to speak at commencement
See COMMENCEMENT page 3
See LARIVIERE page 2
Student charged with harrassment
CRIME
Presidential Candidates
Dylan Frendt Chase Koontz John Woo
Dylan Frendt ’14 and Courtney Cox ’14 met as transfer students last year and even though they’re new to the College of William and Mary, they aspire to represent the student body as Student Assembly President and Vice President.
Frendt and Cox aim to improve campus life by making the SA more transparent and accessible to all students. Frendt pointed out that every student has a right to know and change where the tuition-funded student activities fees go. The team plans to improve SA transparency through a variety of social media outlets.
“Starting day one we are going to make … a ‘What’s SA doing for you?’ blog,” Frednt said. “We’d log every
BY ZACH HARDYFLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
See FRENDT page 2
Chase Koontz ’14 and Melissa Alim ’14 cannot wait to finish one another’s thoughts when they talk about things they love. While they come from two very different backgrounds, they share two important features: the College of William and Mary and their friendship.
In their campaign, the two Student Assembly candidates proposed many changes for the future of the student body, and they all come back to their slogan: “Leading With You.”
“[Leading With You] is the whole way we are going about our campaign,” Koontz said. “It is important for setting a tone if we are fortunate enough to be elected, and how we would continue for next year.”
BY BAILEY KIRKPATRICKFLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
See KOONTZ page 3
While freshman roommates and fellow Delta Chi brothers John Woo ’14 and Griffin Stevens ’14 banter about being stuck together for three years and about who is actually the snoring culprit, their campaign to become the next Student Assembly President and Vice President is far from a laughing matter.
“Between the two of us, we know most of the other candidates, and it seems like everyone is taking it very seriously and doing a great job doing what we’re trying to do—getting their names out there,” Stevens said. “The only reason I would say that we’re better [is], because we think we’re better obviously, and we really
BY KATHERINE DOWNSFLAT HAT STAFF WRITER
See WOO page 2
VS. VS. VS.
A freshman at the College of William and Mary was arrested Monday after allegedly posting death threats to two female students on CollegiateACB before spring break.
Benjamin Zavelsky ’16 faces charges of two counts of threats of death or bodily injury and two counts of harassment by computer that could result in possible jail time. He will appear in Williamsburg-James City County District Court April 25. Zavelsky is currently banned from campus.
“He is under no-trespass and no-contact order from the William & Mary Police Department,” Director of News
BY KATHERINE CHIGLINKSYFLAT HAT EDITOR -IN-CHIEF
BY KATHERINE CHIGLINKSYFLAT HAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
See HARASSMENT page 4
Data shows link between governor politics and BOV appointments
When Sue Gerdelman ’76 was appointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) to the Board of Visitors, her resume seemed to fit in well with those of the rest of the board. As an alumnus, she already had strong
ties to the College of William and Mary, like most members who either studied or taught at the College. After graduating, Gerdelman worked to support the College, another similarity she shares with many BOV members. But Gerdelman shares one trait common with almost every other
McDonnell appointee—she’s been an active donor to Republican candidates and causes.
Of the 14 people either appointed or re-appointed to the BOV by McDonnell, 13 have a history of donating to Republican candidates. Robert E. Scott J.D. ‘68 (originally appointed by
former Gov. Tim Kaine (D) and re-appointed by McDonnell in 2012) is the only member of McDonnell’s 14 who does not have a history of donating to Republican causes.
According to Federal Election Commission records, those put on the BOV by McDonnell have donated a combined $520,000 to
Republican campaigns, political action committees and advocacy groups, and over $12,800 to Democratic causes.
Nonetheless, all BOV members have longtime ties to the College. The BOV oversees almost every function of the school, including decisions on faculty
and administrators, budgets and fundraising.
“The board has to approve basically everything that happens at the College,” SA President and Student Representative to the Board Curt Mills ’13 said.
See BOV page 3
BY JARED FORETEKFLAT HAT STAFF WRITER
2013
CLAIRE GILLESPIE / THE FLAT HAT ZACH HARDY / THE FLAT HAT BAILEY KIRKPATRICK / THE FLAT HAT COURTESY PHOTO / RORY SIEGEL
Mueller
BOARD OF VISITORS
future of the Student Assembly
“
zach hardy / the FLAt hAt
a ThOUSaNd WOrdS
newsinsight News Editor Veronique BarbourNews Editor Annie Curran
ThE BUzz
“When I became Rector, I sort of checked my politics at the door to some extent ... because my allegiance is to William and Mary above all else at this point.
— Rector Jeffrey Trammell ’73 on the BOV members’ political affiliations
BEyONd ThE ‘BUrG
cOUrTESy PhOTO / BOStONheRALD.COMA bus carrying Vermont college lacrosse players flipped over after it was struck by a Porsche driven by a 65-year-old man who lost control of his car.
cOrrEcTIONSThe Flat Hat wishes to correct any facts printed incorrectly. Corrections may be submitted by e-mail to the editor of the section in which the incorrect information was printed. Requests for corrections will be accepted at any time.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the great-grandfather of a 7-year-old was convicted of a misdemeanor in Henrico County after the child brought a loaded handgun to Ratcliffe Elementary School. The man convicted was charged with failing to secure a weapon in his home and fined $100. The child took out the gun on his school bus and threatened other children Feb. 4, but the weapon was never fired.
School segregation is worsening in the Richmond-Petersburg area, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. About 10 percent of black students in the area attend a school that is 99 percent or more black. Gary Orfield, an opponent of segregation in schools, said segregation is not only just by race but by the combination of race and poverty. Orfield went on to say the goal of desegregation was about getting better opportunities for children. While Virginia may not be the worst offender of racial segregation, Orfield said it has fallen short of its potential.
The Virginia Gazette reported that a man from Williamsburg won a Product Innovation Award at the 2013 Travel Goods Show in Las Vegas after inventing a new type of travel pillow. Mike Vahey came up with the idea for this invention after an uncomfortable car ride when his head repeatedly fell over and hit the window. His invention is made of two small pillows, one for each side of the rear of the head. Vahey calls his pillow the Travel Halo.
As reported by the Virginia Gazette, Second Sunday has returned to downtown Williamsburg. The bi-weekly festivals feature creations by artisans and take place on Prince George Street. Weather permitting, the festivals will take occur every other Sunday in March through December. Along with more than 50 booths, the events feature activities for children and a variety of performers. Vermont University bus broadsided by Porsche
The Associated Press reported that A 65-year-old man driving a Porsche spun out of control on a wet highway and hit a bus carrying 34 lacrosse players from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. A 64-year-old woman riding alongside the man was killed and the man was left in critical condition. The lacrosse players were unscathed, with the exception of four students who were treated for minor injuries. The bus was flipped on its side after the sports car collided with it leaving the mangled car by the median. The team was on its way from Vermont to a game in Westchester, New York. It was the team’s first away trip of the season.
Washington State University introduces brand-name beef
According to the Huffington Post, Texas A&M University students surprised George H. W. Bush with a flash mob performance. The 88-year-old former president was on his way to College Station, Texas to visit the Bush School of Government and Public Service, which was ranked 33rd in the country among public service graduate programs by U.S. News and World Report. The group had rehearsed their dance three times before Bush’s arrival and performed it to “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”, a song by country duo Brooks and Dunn. Bush was reportedly shocked and delighted by the surprise performance.
building at 427 Scotland Street, which the College intends to use for the AidData Center for Development Policy. The value of the property at 406 Jamestown Road is unknown, but public listings of properties nearby suggest it is somewhere in the $300,000 to $500,000 range.
Vice President for Administration Anna Martin revealed the College purchased the property without a specific use for the building in mind.
“We are aware that it is
currently being occupied by students and their lease will be honored,” Martin said in an email. “We have not yet determined what the ultimate use will be. … There are multiple potential uses for the house. Until we own it, evaluate it and determine how it fits into our master planning, we will not make that decision.”
Martin emphasized that it is normal for the College to acquire excess property and
that the College’s purchase of the property does not mean the current student tenants will be forced out as soon as the deal is finalized. Martin also said the
property was t h o r o u g h l y inspected to
ensure the compatibility of the house with College needs.
“We have people who need space all the time … we would go through our usual process of space management and allocation and decide the most
appropriate use for it,” Martin said. “It will not sit vacant. Whether it will be student rental or something else, we just haven’t decided yet.”
While Drawdy has already secured alternative housing further away from campus, he hopes the College puts the building to good use.
“I wish that there was still a facility around and closer to campus to house theater students, since that is somewhat of a concern,” Drawdy said. “But
ThE PULSEThe F lat Hat | Friday, March 15, 2013 | Page 2
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LaRiviere campaign to incorporate applications for EAC members
Woo to increase student body opinion in SA decisions
Frendt to use applications for cabinet positions
increasing the SA’s collaboration with other organizations.
“We want to inspire people to be engaged [and] to want to participate, not just within the Student Assembly but at the community level,” LaRiviere said.
LaRiviere, who previously served as treasurer of PanHellenic Council, plans on using open applications to appoint the Executive Appropriations Committee to make a more representative body. The EAC, determines the initial budget for the SA and student organizations
and is currently appointed by the secretary of finance. LaRiviere also wants to add an undersecretary of financial outreach to help organizations understand how the budgeting process works.
If elected, the duo will use an open application process to appoint executive secretaries. They hope to have the opportunity to appoint a graduate student to their cabinet.
“This isn’t just an undergraduate campus. There’s the law school and then there’s the School of [Education]. I really think those populations need to be drawn in rather than
separated,” LaRiviere said.Moore, a public health major
and member of Health Outreach Peer Educators, hopes to continue the mental and sexual health efforts of the current SA, including continuing to provide subsidized STI testing and free flu shots.
Even with the proposed budget increase, the budget for STI testing subsidization will be tight. Moore says she will ensure efficient use of the funds and hopes to provide increased health education opportunities.
“If you look at the effectiveness of any program, the magnitude of
the impact is affected by the level of education,” Moore said. “It’s the foundation of everything we do with public health.”
LaRiviere and Moore plan on updating the SA’s website and using an online form to reach out to students.
“You have to live by what you believe in and I think that Alicia and I do that,” LaRiviere said. “We really have the students first in our hearts and in our initiatives. We are trying to make the Student Assembly more student-friendly and I think by working together, Alicia and I can deliver what we promise.”
want student input; we want to turn the Student Assembly into a more open forum.”
Their campaign slogan, “Let Your Voice Be Heard,” reflects their platform to increase student involvement in the decision-making process of the SA. If elected, their plan includes weekly forums with students to gauge and respond to student concerns, and to find out which issues are most important.
“It’s the same with the Delta Chi executive or a student organization executive
— you need to know what your organization wants to be able to lead them,” Woo said, referring to his role as Delta Chi president. “If you don’t know what they want, then you’re just choosing what you guys are doing.”
Woo and Stevens believe increased student input would also manifest itself in public referendums and online polls, especially for issues such as the artists brought to AMP-sponsored concerts.
“That’s been a common theme throughout our entire time that we’ve been here — there’s been a significant
amount of people who wouldn’t go to those events because they weren’t attracted to the artist decision,” Stevens said. “You’re not going to make everyone happy obviously, but we feel like we could do a better job having a more cohesive agreement on who we want to visit because there’s a lot of money involved behind those decisions.”
While Woo commends current SA President Curt Mills ‘13 for the work he has done in his term, Woo and Stevens would like to see the SA become a more transparent body.
“The students completely deserve to see everything that
the Student Assembly is doing. They should make it as easy as possible for anyone to see where the money is going,” Woo said.
Their platform also emphasizes access to more student services, such as late-night dining options using meal swipes, 24-hour access to study spaces in academic buildings for those who do not have access to buildings such as the Integrated Science Center or the Mason School of Business, and more cooperation with the police including ride-alongs to encourage increased awareness of students’ rights and minimize misunderstandings.
meeting we attend, every student we meet with, every faculty member or city council member and write about what we spoke about. … We’d write about absolutely everything we do for students.”
Frendt and Cox praised a number of initiatives already in action — including Tribe Rides and STI testing.
“I think [current SA President Curt Mills ’13 and Vice President Melanie Levine ’13] have done very well with placing themselves in the public eye, through email, being seen on campus, and being
friendly,” Cox said. That’s a huge part of the SA.”
Frendt explained, while preparing for his run, that many people he met with felt Mills and Levine appointed friends to their cabinet. To correct this, Frendt and Cox propose to make certain executive positions application based.
“These positions, like Secretary of Finance and Student Outreach, need to be application based,” Frendt said. “[The applications] should be emailed to students several times … and to department chairs so they can give them[to] students in class. Then, say, an
[economics] professor could tell their students, why don’t you try and be the finance chair?”
Neither Frendt nor Cox have worked for the SA before, but Frendt argued that by being new to SA they lack the “insulation” those already involved have, allowing them to have a broader understanding of the College’s student body.
“Over the past few months we’ve gone through the constitution, the code, past legislation. I’ve talked to [SA Madame Chair] Kendall Lorenzen [‘15], and I’ve been to senate meetings,” Frendt said. “We started with nothing, but we
learned and observed how the Student Assembly works and how we can bring everything together.”
The two are involved on campus in other ways. Frendt is a newly elected member of the honor council and he also gave a speech during Charter Day. Both Frendt and Cox serve as president of their hall councils.
Jonathan Marlton ’13 Brown, Hunt and Reves RHA advisor said he feels that Frendt’s experience in hall council will help him if elected to the SA.
“He’s great at organization. He set up different committees that work well, and is great at delegating tasks,” Marlton said.
LARIVIERE from page 1
WOO from page 1
FRENDT from page 1
Future undergraduate councils may be smaller and more closely tied to the Student Assembly senate if current proposals made in the Code Revisions Committee’s discussions this week go into effect.
The proposals outline a plan to reduce the number of Undergraduate Council positions from five to three, combining the positions of Vice-President of Advocacy and Vice-President of Social Affairs and transferring the duties of the secretary to the Vice President.
“I think that would be the best solution for cutting the waste, making those three positions more prestigious so that people would run and at the same time, having the senate hold Undergrad[uate Council] to keep promises as well as enact senate [initiatives],” Secretary of Finance and former Class Treasurer Brett Prestia ’14 said.
The proposed changes would require the Class President to attend senate meetings and sit on senate committees, where they can vote in passing a recommendation for senate bills.
“I think that gives legitimacy to the position,” Sen. and former Class President Drew Wilke ’15 said. “They can sit on committee meetings and just talk … and they can relay that information back to their class.”
Currently, the Student Assembly Code requires one senator from each class to attend the Undergraduate Council meeting each week. However, only Senate Chair Kendall Lorenzen ’15 consistently attends the meetings. The Code Revisions Committee plans on enforcing this policy more rigidly than previous
administrations.Each class in the Undergraduate Council
currently goes through the same budget application process as other student organizations, making it difficult to apply for funding due to the restrictions the Executive Appropriation Committees makes on events that are not campus-wide or that involve food.
“Basically, [Undergraduate Council has] the same rights as the Quidditch club right now,” Prestia said. “I think [they] should have an exception. [They] should go through a special EAC process or a special senate process that would eliminate the restrictions that we have.”
Traditionally, the Undergraduate Council has been charged with running class-wide events, like the Last Chance Dance and Homecoming activities. This smaller Council may focus on uniting their class through larger events.
“The thing that we like to do the most isn’t just events for our class but an event for the whole school that we sponsor as a class,” Class President Ethan Teicher ’16 said. “We’re making an impact on campus — that’s what is most important.”
Besides the reductions in size, committee members plan on enacting all changes before the end of the year.
Concerns over the independent nature of the EAC, which determines the initial budget, may prompt the committee to appoint a member of Undergraduate Council to it in future code revision discussions.
The committee also discussed the section of the code that relates to elections. Members hope to clarify actions that are allowed in the pre-campaign period, like building a website and organizing campaign staff.
SA updates proposed Undergraduate changes
STUDENT ASSEMBLY
The F lat Hat Friday, March 15, 2013 Page 3
ABBY BOYLE / THE FLAT HAT Students line up outside of Pita Pit to await their free pita and other free merchandise including t-shirts and sunglasses.
not eligible to receive honorary degrees while in office, but the College plans to award a degree once his term expires.
The ceremony also will
include opening remarks by Chancellor Robert Gates ’65.
“I look forward to welcoming our graduates, their families and our honored guests,” Gates said in a press release. “I also look forward to hearing from Director
Mueller, who I consider one of our nation’s most dedicated public servants. Bob is a friend, and I have a great deal of respect for him and his leadership of the FBI. There is much we can all learn from his experiences.”
BATTLE OF THE PITA PITS
BY CLAIRE GILLESPIEFLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
Koontz ticket wants interactive SAKoontz and Alim focus on collaboration with
students, faculty and administration, as well as on diversity initiatives, pulling on Alim’s experience as an international student from Jakarta, Indonesia. Two of the central initiatives of their campaign are helping integrate international and graduate students more deeply into the College community and furthering mental health initiatives to find innovative ways to help students de-stress.
Koontz and Alim posted a teaser video on their website about their plans and photos of their current efforts. They also held a concert yesterday by the Crim Dell meadow to garner more support and bring students together.
“We want things to be interactive instead of instructive,” Alim said. “The media going around with our campaign is evident with our social media push through Facebook and Twitter. We want people to enjoy the experience so we are really trying to be inclusive in our campaign.”
This technological interest has translated to the pair’s proposed creation of a more inclusive and transparent SA website which currently falls below the requirements outlined by the SA Code. With the help of Koontz and Alim’s friends, the new website would be an easy way for students to find important information in one place and
reduce the number of e-mails sent out by the SA.“It is a greatly untapped resource that the
Student Assembly isn’t taking advantage of right now,” Koontz said. “A stronger website could create a larger platform for students to make connections with organizations and could be a great resource for students.”
Koontz, a government major, and Alim, a biology major, came across these ideas because of their involvement in multiple clubs and activities on campus. Both share research experience in their respective departments and served as orientation aides in the past.
In terms of candidate experience, Koontz brings his SA background to the platform, having served in the SA senate and executive branch as the current Secretary of Outreach under current SA President Curt Mills ’13.
Alim is involved in groups such as S.O.M.O.S., AMP, South Asian Student Association and Branch Out. Koontz also worked in the Dean of Students Office and is a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
“We’re just two great friends who think we can bring a lot of voice and opinion into the student assembly,” Koontz said. “We love interacting with our fellow students, and we do that anyways, so it would be a seamless transition. We are open to anyone’s ideas, and we hope people see that during the campaign.”
Trammell says politics unrelated to BOVGraduation to host Mueller
“They approve who the [College] president is, they approve who the provost is, they approve everything down to tenure, and they approve tuition increases.”
Appointees’ political views lining up with those of the governor who appoints them is nothing new. Kaine also tended to appoint donors to his party to the BOV. Of the 13 members he added or re-appointed, only three were prominent Republican donors.
Rector Jeffrey Trammell ’73, the chief officer of the BOV and originally appointed by former Gov. Mark Warner (D), said political affiliations are unimportant for the BOV.
“When I became Rector, I sort of checked my politics at the door to some extent,” Trammell said. “Because my allegiance is to William and Mary above all else at this point. … We do everything we can to further the College’s interest. The Board members use relationships … to the extent
that they can be helpful to the College. They do it in Richmond and in Washington.”
The process by which the governor makes these appointments is unclear, but Mills speculated that oftentimes it’s based on personal relationships.
“Generally everybody on the Board knows the governor or the previous governor, whoever appointed him or her,” Mills said. “So often these are influential people in Virginia and specifically in Richmond, and often members of the Board will volunteer to do advocacy on behalf of the school. By in large, governors appoint friends, people of close influence and donors a lot of times.”
None of those appointed by McDonnell actually had any record of donating as an individual to his campaign, but almost all had donated to George Allen (R), Virginia governor from 1994-98 and senator from 2001-05 before failing to re-capture his Senate seat in 2012. McDonnell’s
appointees together have donated more than $55,000 to Allen’s various campaigns.
Even with Democratic donors still serving on the board, Trammell thinks the College is fortunate to have a governing body that works so well together. As a member of a national board of college board heads, he said he sees what it can be like when a BOV and college’s administration aren’t on the same page. For example, the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors recently ousted their president, setting off a public outcry that ultimately led to her being reinstated.
“William and Mary is very fortunate in that regard,” Trammell said. “We get along with each other. For example, we don’t have the Chair of the Board fighting the President publicly.”
McDonnell could not be reached for comment on this story.
Flat Hat Staff Writer Katherine Downs contributed to this report.
COMMENCEMENT from page 1
BOV from page 1
KOONTZ from page 1
““ I was the most proud that every customer waited in line for so long, yet they still thanked us when they received their pitas.
—Nelson Lang, founder of Pita Pit
Read the full story by Flat Hat staff writer Ariel Cohen online at Flathatnews.com
ONLINE
Member donations lean right
FH
The F lat HatFriday, March 15, 2013Page 4
Lt. Governor candidate visits campusAneesh Chopra talked to students about changes he would make to the commonwealth if elected
Marketing Suzanne Seurattan said in an email.
CollegiateACB allows users to post anonymously and create message boards for various colleges and universities The site notes in its policies that it does not moderate most posts, but it will delete any post that threatens an individual or specific group.
The victims notified the
College police of the online threats. William and Mary Chief of Police Don Challis noted that this type of online threat is a rare occurrence at the College.
“I have not seen a threat before that identified specific victims as was the case in these postings,” Challis said in an email. “The seemingly anonymous nature of public boards makes it easy for someone to post just about whatever they want. That
makes it difficult to prevent these types of postings.”
College officials notified students of the incident through a campus-wide email Wednesday.
“While this incident is not characteristic of the type of community we value at William & Mary, it is an important reminder about ‘anonymous’ postings on online, public message boards,” Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 said in an
email. “These message boards are not necessarily anonymous and we take all threats — in any form — very seriously.”
Zavelsky was released on bail Thursday, March 14 at 8 a.m.
POLITICS
This Wednesday, Virginia Lt. Gov. candidate Aneesh Chopra visited the College of William and Mary to talk about his campaign and vision for Virginia’s future. About 30 people — mostly students — gathered in Blow Memorial Hall’s third floor lounge to hear him speak.
Chopra began working in the public sector full time as former Gov. Tim Kaine’s secretary of technology 2006-09, and then served as the nation’s first chief technology officer under President Obama 2009-12. Chopra announced his intent to run in
July 2012, and submitted about 20,000 signatures — double the required number — for ballot access.
If elected lieutenant governor, Chopra aims to use his background in technology to improve Virginia’s economy. He used crowd funding as an example of how technology can be used to help entrepreneurs launch businesses. Crowd funding is a way investors who often collaborate over the internet can pool money to support businesses and organizations.
He also discussed at length how technology can be used in the classroom. While working with Kaine, Chopra developed a program to help uneducated Virginians earn their GEDs with IT credentials.
“We’re about 100,000 graduates short of losing the
accolade of best-educated workforce in the country,” Chopra said. “We have to find a way to get people to finish, and not just two and four year degrees but also industry certificates. … To do this, we’re going to have to find innovative solutions, not just more money or political maneuvering.”
By focusing on these ideas, Chopra aims to reverse Virginia’s reputation as a socially conservative state, which developed under the leadership of Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
“I believe the commonwealth can be faster, smarter and fairer for every Virginian; unfortunately this vision will be inhibited by the current structure of Richmond,” Chopra said. “[Richmond] has hijacked common sense policy and turned Virginia from the best managed state, the best place to raise a family, to the centerpiece of late-night comedy shows.”
Although he criticized Virginia’s current leadership, Chopra challenged the common notion that the Republicans and Democrats accomplish few things without bitter disagreement, labeling this notion as a fiction developed by the media for their own purposes. Chopra pointed out that the JOBS Act, which helps provide money for new companies and was passed with strong bipartisan support, received very little media attention because it did not portray a dysfunctional Washington.
Throughout his talk, Chopra expressed confidence in the potential for cooperative bipartisanship in the future. When asked by a student how he
would work with southwest Virginia’s conservative representatives as lieutenant governor, he expressed confidence that his constituents would be receptive to the progressive legislation he hopes to introduce if elected.
“In the southwest, there may be leaders — I don’t believe them to exist but they might — who don’t want change,” Chopra said. “But there are people who want a better life for their families. … I believe there are people hungry for change.”
Noah Kim ’13 invited Chopra to campus. Kim, who currently works for his campaign as a voter-registration activist, hoped the visit would both inform students and help recruit volunteers for his campaign.
“For me, watching him speak is what drew me to him,” Kim said. “I was following him when he was still chief technology officer, and the level of policy expertise he brings to issues like education, technology and healthcare is really mind-blowing to me … and I think hearing him speak on those things will resonate with people.”
Economics major Andrew Bryant ’15 attended Chopra’s talk and was impressed with Chopra’s message and enthusiasm.
“I enjoyed listening to him speak very much; he seems very excited and passionate about harnessing the ideas that everyday people have,” Bryant said. “It was definitely worth my time. In general, I want to learn more about state politics, so I just stopped by.”
STUDENT ASSEMBLY
Senate delays budget decision, SA to receive more funds
KATHERINE CHIGLINSKY/ THE FLAT HATLt. Gov. Candidate Aneesh Chopra talked to students about his ideas to reinvigorate Virginia’s economic status.
Students bullied, threatened on CollegiateACB site
BY ZACH HARDYFLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
HARASSMENT from page 1
Senators examined the proposed budget for the 2013-14 academic year at their meeting Tuesday, Feb. 12. Dozens of student organizations, the publication council and the Student Assembly split the proposed budget of $695,800. Due to a $30 addition error, the senate amended the budget and tabled the final vote until next week’s meeting.
In the budget-making process, organizations submit budget requests during the fall semester and are given money based on the discretion of the SA-appointed executive appropriations committee, SA President Curt Mills ’13 and Senate Chair Kendall Lorenzen ’15. Organizations then have the opportunity to appeal the budget decision made
for their group to the senate finance committee. The finance committee already evaluated the budget after considering appeals before spring break and forwarded the budget to the full senate last Sunday.
As it stands, the SA is the only organization to obtain more funds than requested in the fall. Secretary of Finance Brett Prestia ’14 attributed the $13,000 increase to the unanticipated finances needed to continue funding free STI testing, which resulted in the subsidization of the program earlier this semester, and the increase in the cost for airport shuttles.
“We wanted to make sure the Student Assembly could fund the school without having to put special bills in,” Prestia said.
AMP is slated to receive the largest sum of money of any student organization
at $130,500, a decrease of $14,000 from last year’s budget. Steer Clear’s proposed budget is the second largest at $16,530, a $3,378 increase from last year’s budget.
AMP divides its money among a variety of areas including both the Charter Day and Homecoming concert. Steer Clear’s budget goes toward paying the salaries of student workers who run the program.
Sen. A.J. Sapon ’13 raised concerns that the organization Students for Life will receive twice as much money as Voices for Planned Parenthood, according to the proposed budget.
“I think, personally, the nature of the organization should be disregarded when allocating funds,” Sen. Ishan Bardan ’13 said.
VOX originally requested $1,640 but was granted $150.
“The budget is a line item budget, and
the reason that VOX is getting less [than Students for Life] is because most of their individual requests that they were asking for could not be funded at all,” Prestia said.
The finance committee does not fund food catering, unless food is a necessary aspect of an event as in the case for many cultural activities. Also, off-campus events and events not open to the entire campus are not funded.
When the final budget is approved by the senate, a task set for next Tuesday’s meeting, the 2013-14 student activities fee will be determined by dividing the budget by the number of full-time students at the College of William and Mary. Mills then has the opportunity to approve or veto the budget. If vetoed, the budget will return to the senate for further discussion.
Lorenzen introduced the Tribe Rides
Reevaluation Act, which would grant an additional $1,500 to the Tribe Rides program established last semester, partially through a similar SA act.
“As we get later and later in the semester, more and more people seek out mental health services,” Lexie Mellis ’14 said. “Following that projection, it looks like there are going to be around ten or possibly a few more student using Tribe Rides by the end of the semester, even if we don’t bump up advertising, which is also planned. …it looks like we will need at least $1,500 and up to $2000 to continue funding all [the] rides as well as providing rides for projected students of the relatively conservative estimate of ten students by the end of the semester.”
Lorenzen assigned the bill to the finance, outreach, and student life committees.
Prestia attributes additional allocation to SA to necessary increases in STI fund, shuttles
FHFor more on this developing story check back with The Flat Hat.
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BY CLAIRE GILLESPIEFLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR
Freshman under no-trepass order from William and Mary police after arrest Monday
ONGOING
When I sat down to write this, my farewell to The Flat Hat, I chose to find a witty, heartfelt anecdote to sum up my time at the paper. I could talk about my fear the first time I walked into the office or how the executive editor’s compliment on my headline-writing skills hooked me. I could go on about the stories that made me reevaluate how I saw the College of William and Mary, the pains of removing countless Oxford commas and the very specific pleasure of figuring out just the right design at the exact moment you need it.
When it comes down to it, however, there’s really only one thing to talk about — the people. When reading The Flat Hat, most people may see mere newsprint or words on a computer screen, but I have been fortunate enough over the past four years to learn that every issue of the paper does not just mean a few hundred words slapped together and printed, but hours upon hours of hard work from some of the smartest, hardest working, most dedicated people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Without credit, pay, an advisor or really a decent lighting system, they produce eight pages of newsprint and corresponding online content twice a week, every week.
For a long time, my Flat Hat motto has been “It always gets made,”
referring to the somewhat mystical way in which an issue can seem impossible on a Wednesday afternoon and be sent off to the presses by very early Friday morning. The teamwork, the effort, the leadership, the compromises and the quick thinking that go into that process are what The Flat Hat is all about, more than any mere anecdote I can give.
The team that has been put together to continue this tradition of dedication is an outstanding one. They have varying levels of experience and different motivations for being a part of the paper, but they share the common thread of caring — about the College, about the students, about newspapers in general. While it might seem like working on the newspaper staff is a great thing to put on a resume, no resume can make you look at a page on InDesign after nine hours in the office at three in the morning and induce you to start over because it could be better. Only caring can do that.
To ensure that the newspaper maintains its readability and consistency (including heavily editing this piece, I’m sure), Rebecca Marshall ’14 and April Smith ’14 will serve as copy chiefs this year. They bring to the position years of experience in navigating the murky waters of writers’ interesting phrasing and questionable punctuation and will surely continue the strong tradition of copy chiefs.
Former Online Editor Zach Hardy ’15 will bring his creative outlook to the position of chief staff writer. Matt Camarda ’16 will step into the position of editorial writer to wrangle together the opinions of the Editorial Board twice a week.
Hayley Tymeson ’15 and Benoit Mathieu ’15 have shown a
considerable talent and dedication in photojournalism since they joined the staff and will bring these assets to the role of photo editors for the coming year, bringing the paper alive in a dimension beyond words.
In the role of opinions editor, Zachary Frank ’15 will continue the long tradition of doing amazing things in a minimal space, where his wit will serve him well. Benming Zhang’s ’16 exciting personality will make him another in the line of online editors who think outside of the box on a regular basis.
The sports section finds itself in the very capable hands of Chris Weber ’15 and Jack Powers ’15. Their keen eyes for games as well as page designs will keep the sparkle in the sports section over the next year. They will have the help of former sports editor Jared Foretek ’14 as a production assistant, whose critical eye helped the entire paper this year.
Ainé Cain ’16 joins Abby Boyle ’15 as variety editor this year, bringing a fresh outlook to add to Abby’s creativity and dedication. Sarah Caspari ’15 will be missed as variety editor next year, but her fiery spirit has made her an integral part of the section this year. The variety section is the creative center of the newspaper, and their efforts will build on those of the variety editors of the past.
The largest and busiest section, news, is now in the capable hands of Veronique Barbour ’16 and Annie Curran ’16. While they are both freshmen, they’ve already shown the drive and smarts it takes to make a good news editor.
Three very capable women will lead this team — Ellen Wexler ’15 at executive editor, Meredith Ramey ’15
at managing editor and Katherine Chiglinsky ’14 at editor-in-chief.
Ellen spent this year doing something I thought was impossible — revitalizing opinions. As executive editor she will lead variety, opinions and photos, bringing the same push for progress to those sections that served her well in opinions.
Stepping up to the position of news editor halfway through this year, Meredith made the transition from associate to editor in a way that, frankly, amazed me. Her care and excitement for journalism brought fresh life into her section and will help her oversee news, sports, online and copy in the coming year.
I can’t imagine a better editor-in-chief than Katherine. Her smarts and journalistic mind are matched only by her dedication and hard work. I’ve never worked with a more impressive all-around journalist and editor, who cares not only about reporting and writing but design and production as well. She will lead the paper into a new age while maintaining the standards that have been set by her predecessors.
While the paper may have a stellar cast of editors this coming year, The Flat Hat loses a large class of seniors who have done impressive things in their time here.
Stephanie Hubbard ’13, who served in her position for three years, and Kate Hoptay ’13 saved me, and every writer on this paper, from looking like fools countless times as copy chiefs.
Anita Jiang ’13 came on as photography editor this year and helped to make the paper come alive with images. Our departing editorial writer, Elizabeth Debusk ’13, made sense of many rambling editorial
board sessions and turned them into meaningful pieces this year.
Chief Staff Writers Ellie Kaufman ’13 and Chris McKenna ’13 leave behind an impressive legacy for their position, rooted in consistent and in-depth reporting. Although Vanessa Remmers ’12 graduated early, her humor and special brand of brilliance made her time as managing editor unforgettable and invaluable.
The things Mike Barnes ’13 has done for this newspaper cannot be overstated. He served a second term as sports editor this year, after transforming the paper last year as editor-in-chief. The work he did during his tenure as editor-in-chief fundamentally altered aspects of a 100-year-old paper and set a new standard for leadership of this newspaper.
My right-hand woman, Katie Demeria ’13, has played a more important role in the production of The Flat Hat this year than anyone else. She brought to the position of executive editor a caring that helped to make everyone feel at home in the office and created an atmosphere of consideration for others that made the paper run. This came in addition to her impressive skills with writing, design and people management.
While I know all of us are sad to leave, I’m ecstatic to see how the new staff changes and grows along with the paper in the next year. I’d like to have a quippy sign off like they do on television, but since print is the one true medium, I’ll leave the new staff with the most important thing I’ve learned in my four years on The Flat Hat: Make sure you care. And always spell check.
Editor’s note: Outgoing Editor-in-Chief Jill Found reflects on the year
opinionsThe F lat Hat
Opinions Editor Zachary Frank Assoc. Opinions Editor Matt Camarda
| Friday, March 15, 2013 | Page 5
Keep politics out of the BOVExamining the current Board of Visitors
for the College of William and Mary, one can see a pattern: Whenever a governor
of a different party takes office, he appoints members with a history of donating to his political party. And the trend is only getting more partisan; with his 14 appointments, Gov. Bob McDonnell installed 13 people who had donated to Republican campaigns, and one Democrat donor, whom he reappointed. McDonnell’s selections differed slightly from those of his predecessor, former Gov. Tim Kaine, who appointed three Republicans and, based on their donations, two neutral candidates. Kaine, however, still gave the vast majority of his appointments to people who donated heavily to Democrats. The BOV is too important to be used for political gifts by governors of either party.
At first glance, the BOV seems to be a figurehead group, but it holds a significant amount of power. Members maintain final approval over important aspects of the College, including the budget, appointments to certain administrative positions and the contract for the College’s president. Last summer, U.Va. proved that BOVs are instrumental in the operations of universities. While they only meet four times a year, they have the power to shape the institutions.
When appointing BOV members, governors have quite a hefty responsibility. There are a variety of vastly intricate and complex factors that should go into the appointment of a BOV member. These include leadership skills, prior experience advocating on behalf of the College and a general sense of competency and ability — to name just a few.
To select the most qualified candidate, governors should consider such factors almost exclusively; something like a
candidate’s political affiliation should never enter into the decision-making process.
The College’s current BOV members have impressive resumes and certainly seem like qualified appointments. If the governors only considered such factors when making BOV appointments, they acted in the best interests of the College and should be commended. As the record number of BOV members appointed by a governor of the opposite party in recent years remains at three, it is certainly possible that this is not the case.
While we are not disputing the qualifications and commitment of the current BOV, we wonder whether other, more qualified candidates are overlooked when governors choose to search within their own party. When governors limit their selections so narrowly, the College loses out on potentially valuable perspectives and ideas. A breadth of both is what makes us great and will continue to make us so.
Campaign contributions and political ideology should not determine or disqualify potential appointees. When governors consider whom to appoint, the main factor should be how the individual plans to serve the College, rather than the political leanings and campaign donations of the individual. Out of fairness to College students, Virginia governors should keep politics out of what should be a politically blind and nonpartisan group that exists to benefit students.
Jill FoundOUTGOING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
STAFF EDITORIAL
?“Reaching out and taking a personal interest in what the students really want the Student Assembly to do.”
Chris Coelho ’15
STREET BEAT
“Buy me tickets for a Beyoncé concert.”
Zoe Johnson ’15
“Have realistic expectations about what they can really do to help the student body, and then have those expectations be about something that I care about.”
Krystyna Holland ’13
— PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS BY ZACHARY FRANK
The Student Assembly
election is next Thursday.
What’s one thing a
candidate could do to
guarantee your vote?
COMMENTS @THEFLATHAT““ Even as the construction continues,
the question still remains: How far will this development go? Universities across the country continue to spend millions of dollars on expanding facili-ties and supplementary services for students, even while state support dwindles and tuition rises. How many extra students will the College admit in order to finance this expansion, and what effect will it have on the College’s priorities to maintain small class sizes and a focus on student development?
— Silence_Dogood on “Sadler addition moves towards expanding dining area”
The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Flat Hat. The editorial board, which is elected by The Flat Hat’s section editors and executive staff, consists of Abby Boyle, Matt Camarda, Katherine Chiglinsky, Meredith Ramey and Ellen Wexler. The Flat Hat welcomes submissions to the Opinions section. Limit letters to 250 words and columns to 650 words. Letters, columns, graphics and cartoons reflect the view of the author only. Email submissions to [email protected].
PATRICIA RADICH / THE FLAT HAT Of the 14 College of Wiliam and Mary Board of Visitors members that Governor Bob McDonnell appointed and reappointed, 13 members contributed to Republican campaigns. Former Governor Tim Kaine appointed and reappointed 13 members to the BOV, eight of whom had made campaign donations to Democrats.
varietyThe F lat Hat
Variety Editor Abby BoyleVariety Editor Áine Cain
| Friday, March 15, 2013 | Page 6
Which Harry Potter character are you most like?
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Breaded chicken sandwich.
My typical WaWa order is a medium-sized macaroni and cheese, a liter bottle of water
and some of WaWa Pam’s conspiracy theories.
Coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, oh my! I love stopping in with friends after my 9am class and
pouring a pick-me-up for the day! Occasionally, there’s a doughnut
with my order, too.
Chicken Strips Bowl with mac and cheese.
A sandwich, then typically life advice
from Pam.
A late-night Chicken strip Mac’n
Cheese Bowl with BBQ sauce.
At WaWa, I usually buy Reese’s eggs.
I always get the shorti oven roasted turkey with spinach,
pepper, and swiss cheese. Most usually paired with Gourmet Medley Utz (especially if I’m
feeling classy).
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During the life of Jean-Jacques Rosseau
The 18th century
Ancient Rome
Any period when it was okay to put people in
stocks
The American Revolution
The 1st century
The 1980s
The 1990s
Candidates with theCandid
Summing it up: Piecing together the SA hopefulsWhat is your
typical WaWa order?
Which time period would you most like to visit?
SA President Dylan Frendt ’14
SA Vice President Courtney Cox ’14
SA President John Woo ’14
SA Vice President Griffin Stevens ’14
SA President Chase Koontz ‘14
SA Vice President Mel Alim ’14
SA President Stacey LaRiviere ’14
SA Vice President Alicia Moore ’14
Friday, March 15, 2013 Page 7The F lat Hat
Students present a modern, funny take on the Bard
LAUGHWATCHENJOYJoin the revolutionary army on the barricade
this weekend at AMP’s Monthly Blockbuster screening of Les Miserables. The film received several Oscar nods this year and walked away with awards for supporting actress, sound mixing and make-up. Les Miserables is set in early 19th century France and tells the story of a man who breaks his parole after spending 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. Screenings will take place in the C o m m o n w e a l t h Auditorium of the Sadler Center tonight at 7 p.m., tomorrow at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. Admission is $3.
Get a taste of Caribbean fashion at Mas Madness, the Students of the Caribbean Association’s first annual Caribbean carnival-themed fashion show Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Chesapeake A room of the Sadler Center. In addition to a showcase where models will exhibit popular fashions from the Caribbean and Africa, the event will include dancing, prizes and live
performances by groups like the College of William and Mary’s African Cultural Society. Admission is $3 and proceeds will benefit the Amazing Grace F o u n d a t i o n of the islands Antigua and Barbuda.
Comedian, writer and actor Kevin Barnett will be coming to the College of William and Mary to perform a comedy act Saturday at 8 p.m. in Lodge 1. A Florida native, Barnett now lives in New York and has appeared on Comedy Central and in College Humor videos, and is a panelist on MTV’s #FAIL. He also has written credits for the 2011 film Hall Pass, starring Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis, and the 2007 film The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller. Admission to the event is free.
TRAVELLeave the tri-cornered hats behind and get off
campus for a day. The department of art and art history is taking a trip to Washington, D.C. Sunday for a tour of the National Gallery. All students, faculty and alumni are invited. Department Chair
and Associate Professor of art and art history C a t h e r i n e Levesque will lead the tour and answer any questions regarding the trip. The bus will leave at 8 a.m. from the Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall parking lot and will return by 5 p.m.
The College of William and Mary is a treasure trove of memorable moments, whether it be watching the sun rise over campus, observing College of William and Mary President Taylor Reveley on his now extended four-minute commute to James Blair Hall (poor guy), or scaring the little furry squirrels that already outnumber us. In summary, our four years at the College are filled with so many small, incredible experiences we can never hope to be able to count them all.
Some of our experiences at the College are momentous, such as Convocation or LDOC, during which every minute has great potential to become a part of an incredible collection of memories, laughs and priceless photos. The majority of our experiences, however, will be much smaller, such as a free croissant or smoothie from the Daily Grind, or a sunset drive on Colonial Parkway after a full day of sunburn on Jamestown beach. In reality, our days are made up of little things that we rarely take the time to appreciate. These small moments are more wonderful when we take the time to notice them.
For example, March is mostly recognized for its long awaited spring break, a collection of rigorous midterms, and overall, just another month on the calendar. However, this month of sunshine and light rain will also bring us our very first flowers and a campus in full bloom of pink and light green trees. It will bring out our picnic blankets, colorful shorts, light dresses and the flip-flops that have been shunned and imprisoned in our closets since Homecoming. Duke of Gloucester Street will once again become filled with sweaty and smiling joggers. Students will fill up Aroma’s and Berrybody’s while sunbathers and Frisbee players fight over patches of grass in the Sunken Garden. No longer will our student body be pegged as the rain-jacket-and-north-face-sporting hermits that we have been reduced to since fall semester exams.
Better yet, March leads to April, which turns out to be the best month of all. April ordinarily signifies the ending of another glorious year on our campus, and for seniors, it signals that a graduation they have feared to count down to is around the corner. In everyday life, April also brings hours to be wasted socializing on the terrace, sunbathing on the Sunken Garden, and strolling in the local parks and outlets in search of the perfect summer travel clothes. It is a time of beach and sunscreen, letting go and making incredible summer travel plans, hiking, ocean trips and the required Frisbee investments. You should be craving a 7-Eleven mango slurpee and slight sunburn just thinking about it.
Whether you spent your break frolicking on the beach with your family or closest friends, skiing in the mountains, or simply enjoying the comforts of home, forget the overwhelming amount of emails and papers on your to-do list. Instead, take this as a reminder to enjoy the little things, the importance of which we always somehow manage to overlook. Forget your shallow worries and do not stress over major things that you cannot control. Instead, focus on the little things with great love and even more passion, and take the time to enjoy spring for the wonderful things it can bring. You are about to enter into 50 days filled with sunshine and renewal. We must enjoy our time here, for many of us will never again be as carefree as we are in the first days of spring on this campus, the very moments and beautiful days we will miss for the rest of our lives.
Dasha Godunova is a Confusion Corner columnist and has been watching the Weather Channel for the first day of shorts, flip-flops and slurpees.
Marching onward
CONFUSION CORNER
The elements all seem to be there. The actors wear tights, they speak mostly the Bard’s carefully crafted dialogue, and words like ‘doth,’ ‘therefore’ and ‘thou’ spring from their lips, but something is amiss. Suddenly, a profane ‘yo mamma’ joke is told, an audience member is harassed, and an expletive-filled rap about Othello begins. If anything can be garnered from “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),” it’s the fact that this isn’t the same Shakespeare that your grandfather read.
The show, produced by Shakespeare in the Dark and written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, makes a bold proposition to the audience. In the play’s duration, three actors act out every single Shakespeare play, a self-proclaimed feat that has never before been attempted. Needless to say, they fail miserably, thus lending the parenthetical afterthought “abridged” to its title.
The actors themselves, Maddy Benjamin ’14, Nathan Sivak ’13 and Aidan Smith ’16, seem game for any amount of irreverence and often find themselves waging humorous personal battles against political correctness. For example, at one point in the play, Sivak and Benjamin contemplate to exhaustive lengths whether it is tolerable for a white male to play Othello instead of, as the Bard pictured him, a street-smart black man.
It’s moments like these that the play’s director, Ricky Portner ’14, particularly enjoys.
“What I really like about it is that it’s somewhere between a scripted show but mixes in quite a bit of improvised pieces,” he said.
Improvisation, it seems, is definitely one of the major strengths the play has going for it. The three actors are all members of William and Mary’s Improvisational Theater team. Although their academic years differ, they have a professional history with each other.
“One of the wonderful things about IT is that you have to learn to anticipate their performance style,” Benjamin said, referring to her thespian colleagues. “Already knowing them makes me more comfortable
doing this show that’s already kooky and out there, but we’ve got each other to fall back on.”
The exact amount of improvisation, however, differs depending on who you ask.
“All of the Shakespeare dialogue is Shakespeare,” Benjamin said. “The rest of it is guidelines. We know where the scene has to go, we’ve rehearsed a couple jokes, but how it gets there is up to how we’re feeling at the moment.”
In fact, the production team was quick to emphasize just how different each show will be for the audience.
“Most of the dialogue is script as road-map,” Benjamin explained. “And we find our way along that as we see fit.”
In fact, the show’s spontaneity seems to fuel the process for the assembled cast and crew. “It allows the actors to literally live in the moment of the show,” Portner said. Indeed, the cast seems most at ease when riffing with each other.
“With people at my disposal like Aidan Smith, Maddy Benjamin, and Nathan Sivak,” Portner said, “I couldn’t say no.”
For the rest of the crew, the creation process is just as exhilarating as the performance.
“They’re jamming it all together and often doing categories of plays all at once,” crew member Maddie Dippold ’16 explained. “They’re taking whatever genre a Shakespeare play is and making it all funny.”
Putting an original spin on a well-known playwright’s iambic pentameter isn’t entirely out of the actors’ realm of familiarity.
“Ricky describes the three characters as kind of like a family with myself in the father-figure role, Nathan as mother and Aidan as precocious child,” Benjamin said.
But one thing that the Bard probably did not intend was twenty-first century characters inserting themselves into his plays.
The characters on stage go by their given names but play exaggerated versions of themselves.
“It’s fun because I’m playing a character with my name,” Benjamin said. “But I’m not playing me.”
Indeed, if the individuals on stage were to appear suddenly on the College of William and Mary’s campus, it would probably draw more than a few suspicious glances. The characters are energetically crass throughout the production with various ridiculous costume changes thrown in for the sake of variety.
“People should come expecting a very fast-paced, very funny, kind of vulgar, kind of Shakespeare, physical comedy,” Dippold said.
Portner shares a similar sentiment. “It’s irreverent; it’s insulting; it’s hilarious. It
is ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).’”
There will be two performances of the “Complete Works.” March 15 (the Ides of March) and the other March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day) in the Campus Center’s Little Theater.
BY BRIAN BOLTFLAT HAT STAFF WRITER
Dasha GodunovaconFuSIon coRnER coLuMnIST
Shaking up ShakespeareMaddy Benjamin ‘14, nathan Sivak ‘13 and Aidan Smith ‘16 will perform “The complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” this weekend in the Little Theater of the college of William and Mary’s campus center. Shakespeare in the Dark produces the show and Ricky Portner ‘14 serves as the student director.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF RICKY PORTNER
COURTESY PHOTO / TOONARIPOST.COMCOURTESY PHOTO / MOVIES.NYTIMES.COM
BY JONATHAN IYOBFLAT HAT STAFF WRITER
On a day when the weather could not make up its mind, Virginia Military Institution (6-12) had no problems decisively topping William and Mary 6-2 in the College’s (12-7) fifth game in six days.
Not much went right for the Tribe, as it failed to score in the first five innings. The Keydets were not in much better shape until third baseman Ray Lopez scored in the third inning off right fielder Brandon Angus’ two-out double, giving VMI a one-run advantage. The College would remain behind for the rest of the game as VMI ran away with the win.
“I thought they outplayed us in pretty much every phase of the game,” head coach Jamie Pinzino said. “I thought they swung it better than we did; I thought they pitched it better; I thought they played better defense; I thought they ran the bases better.”
The College’s pitching struggled more than usual, with sophomore pitcher J.T. Castner (1-1) recording his first loss of the season and three earned runs over the course of six innings. Pitching improved after the sixth, especially after junior pitcher John Sheehan put up two strong innings, allowing no earned runs with two strikeouts. Freshman pitcher Mitchell Aker wrapped up the game, allowing one earned run and one strikeout.
“I thought J.T. was pretty good,” Pinzino said. “I think what hurt him a little bit was command of his secondary pitches. … As the game went along, they were able to sit on his fast ball a little more.”
Offensively, the Tribe struggled to get started. Hits were scattered across the second half of the game, but the Tribe rarely threatened to score.
The Tribe, unable to capitalize on its efforts, went 2-for-8 in situations with a runner in scoring position. In contrast, the Keydets went 5-for-11.
Senior first basemen Kevin Nutter went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored a run, while senior designated hitter Jackson Shaver followed with a hit and a run scored. Senior center fielder Ryan Brown and junior second basemen Ryan Lindemuth each recorded a hit and a run batted in.
In the top of the fourth, catcher Matt Winn smashed a single to bring the Keydets’ lead to 2-0. Then, Lopez drove in VMI’s third run of the contest on a two-out double into left field, bringing the lead to 3-0.
The Tribe finally countered the offence in the bottom of the fifth. After the Keydets scored two runs in the top of the sixth, Shaver hit a line-drive single to get himself on base. Facing a 1-2 count, Nutter belted a single that drove Shaver to third base. After Shaver scored off a groundout, Lindemuth hit a single that drove Nutter home, bringing the deficit to 5-2.
“We certainly swung it better as the game went along,” Pinzino said. “We gave ourselves a couple chances, but when you don’t play well and you don’t put consistent at-bats together throughout the game, you rely on one or two opportunities where you need a key hit.”
The Tribe’s best opportunity came in the bottom of the seventh. Poised to make a run, junior left fielder Willie Shaw started the inning off with a walk. Freshman catcher Ryan Hissey followed with a single before senior shortstop Ryan Williams struck a masterful bunt down the third base line to load the bases with just one out. The Tribe was poised to strike and get back into the contest.
However, the next two at-bats saw a groundout that caught a runner at home and a strikeout to end the seventh inning.
“We had our one chance really; I think it was in the seventh inning,” Pinzino said. “We had two poor at-bats in a row, and we just didn’t give ourselves enough opportunities to win the game.”
In the ninth inning, VMI scored one more run as Drew Bryan’s single sent Lopez home, giving Lopez his second run of the game. Lopez had two runs batted in and went 3-for-4 for the game.
Next up for the Tribe is the start of Colonial Athletic Association play, as the College travels to Delaware Friday. First pitch is at 3 p.m.
BASEBALL
Tribe struggles at the plate as Virginia Military Institute’s pitching staff puzzles batters
sports The F lat Hat | Friday, March 15, 2013 | Page 8
Sports Editor Jack PowersSports Editor Chris [email protected]
Keydets slide past College
CHRIS WEBER / THE FLAT HAT
Senior first baseman Kevin Nutter fields the attempted pick-off throw from sophomore pitcher J.T. Castner against VMI.
FHSee Flat Hat staff writer Mick Sloan’s coverage of Tribe lacrosse’s loss to No. 9 Virginia at Flathatnews.com.
ONLINE
Liberty avenges loss to College with 6-2 win BASEBALL
William and Mary out hit Liberty Tuesday night but couldn’t pull out the win as the Flames won 6-2, and Liberty (11-5) avenged its 5-3 loss to the College March 5.
Senior pitcher Matt Wainman (1-2) took the loss, pitching seven innings and giving up three earned runs on nine hits. Wainman’s eight
strikeouts couldn’t keep the Flames from plating five runs.
At the plate, sophomore designated hitter Michael Katz went 4 for 5 with a run scored. Center fielder Ryan Brown also chipped in with four hits as the Tribe out hit the Flames 14-10.
— Sports Editor Chris Weber CHRIS WEBER / THE FLAT HAT
Freshman infielder Jonathan Sarty batting.