THE MARLIN CHRONICLE
Master Plan THURSDAY 12.8.16 || MARLINCHRONICLE.VWC.EDU ||
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
BY ASHLEY KLINE aakline@vwc.edu
Hayley Heath| Marlin Chronicle President Scott Miller discusses the college’s master plan with students on Nov. 30. The plan includes renovations to a variety of areas on campus.
President Miller gave students a glimpse into the future of Virginia Wesleyan College by presenting the 10-year Master Plan on Nov. 30. Miller discussed such projects as the construction of the YMCA Partnership Building, the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center, Oxford Village, a new fitness center, fencing around campus, new parking, new dormitories and an outdoor track, as well as a walking path extending to Lake Taylor. Construction of the YMCA Partnership Building will begin on Dec. 8. The building will be constructed outside the arboretum toward the back of campus and will feature three classrooms, a multipurpose room, eight office spaces, a kitchenette and an amphitheater large enough to accommodate 250 people. Students and faculty will use the building during the school year, and the 225 to 250 children attending YMCA’s Camp Red Feather will make use of the building during the summer months. Miller also said that construction of the new Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center would take place in three phases. Miller stated that it is the college’s desire to get phase one underway as soon as possible. However, it still must raise the necessary $14 million in funding. Miller hopes to have this first phase completed within two years. Oxford Village is an apartment complex to be constructed on the 12.8 acres of Wesleyan-owned land directly across from the college on Wesleyan Drive. The Franklin Johnston Group will build the complex. Oxford Village is set to include 252 units, which will include one-, two-, three- and possibly four-bedroom apartments. The apartment complex will include a recreation center, swimming pool and one-lane bowling alley. Miller said that Oxford Village would be “affordable, safe and wellmaintained.” The apartments will be open to students, faculty and those not associated with Virginia Wesleyan College, such as employees of Norfolk Academy and retirees. With the construction of Oxford Village, Miller said he hopes to “attract a different population.” Miller said that construction on Oxford Village would probably begin next August or September since it will take several months to work out all the details.
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Overtime rule on hold, college payroll unaffected
OSU stabbing shocks campus
Marijuana: the blunt truth BY MICKELLA RAST
BY KATIE BROOKS kjbrooks@vwc.edu
mjrast@vwc.edu
A federal judge blocked the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule that would have gone into effect Dec. 1. President Obama championed the rule in his efforts to strengthen the middle class. VWC President Scott Miller, who had opposed the rule, said in his recent Nota Bene that the future of this rule is still uncertain. During Obama’s second term, he worked to enact a new overtime rule with the goal of “making more workers eligible for the overtime that [they’ve] earned.” The new regulation, which the Department of Labor (DOL) attempted to put in place, was finalized over the summer. The new law would have effectively increased the salary threshold under which an employee is covered through current overtime rules. Previously, the annual salary cap was set at $23,660 but was to be changed to $47,476 post-rule. Therefore, workers who would earn over $47,476 per year would not be considered eligible for overtime pay. Any worker making below this amount would be eligible if working over 40 hours a week. Other exemptions include employees who are classified as having executive, administrative or professional duties. In Virginia, these exemptions also include outside sales. Prior to the rule’s blocking, Miller blogged about his perspective concerning the effect of the rule on colleges in The Huffington Post. He noted the vast impact the rule would have, referring to its “potentially severe financial blow to colleges, universities and businesses.” Miller reported that, after financial analysis, Virginia Wesleyan College would have to pay staff an additional $712,845 in overtime as a result of the rule.
There are over 300 recorded slang terms for marijuana. States, animals and commonplace names have all been sacrificed to the altar of colloquialism, the result being jargon such as Chicago green, the magic dragon and Mary Jane. Such names may become nationally known by the end of year due to marijuana legalization laws. Terry McAuliffe, the governor of Virginia, said in an interview with WTOP radio that he would be willing to legalize marijuana statewide as soon as 2017 if legislators are ready to back the measure. He also said that any bills would most likely be specific to medical cannabis, as opposed to recreational. If marijuana were legalized, colleges and universities would have to decide how to incorporate the new laws into their existing framework of rules and regulations. The first of these decisions would be whether to allow marijuana on campus or continue to ban it. If the former is selected, the question then becomes whether to allow students and staff
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BY ASHLEY KLINE
Google Images| Courtesy
aakline@vwc.edu
An attack on the campus of Ohio State University (OSU) resulted in 11 injured persons and one dead attacker on the morning of Monday, Nov. 28. According to CNN, OSU student Abdul Razak Ali Artan was named responsible for the attack. Authorities are still trying to determine whether or not the attack was an act of terrorism. One of Artan’s Facebook posts grieved the killing and torture of Muslims. Authorities said that Artan had a Muslim background and was a native of Somalia. The attack consisted of Artan hitting people with his car and then approaching others with a knife. Upon refusing to halt his attack, Artan was shot by OSU police officer Alan Horujko. The attack lasted no longer than two minutes thanks to the work of the officer. OSU President Dr. Michael V. Drake said, “What we want to do is really unify together and support each other; do our best to support those who were injured in their recovery, and then allow the investigation to take place.”
to use marijuana medically, recreationally or both. Additionally, schools will have to decide where people will be allowed to smoke it. Smoking inside poses a fire hazard, but smoking outside could affect bystanders. Because of its classification as a mind-altering substance, second-hand smoke inhalation poses more of a problem with marijuana than cigarettes or vapes do. “One of the first things the college would do is look for guidance from within the commonwealth itself, and the state organizations that we belong to,” Vice President of Student Affairs Keith Moore said. “We would also look at what our peer institutions within the commonwealth in particular are doing, but I would also extend the benchmarking to states that have already managed this,” Moore said. Looking to other campus communities would be one of the most important initiatives the college would take in response to the legalization of marijuana.
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