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bare tells a haunting love of between two boys torn between freedom and salvation WEEKENDER PAGE 10
THE MARLIN CHRONICLE THURSDAY 2.26.15 || MARLINCHRONICLE.VWC.EDU ||
Tuition costs up
However, the rates of tuition over the past five years have steadly decreased BY COURTNEY HERRICK clherrick@vwc.edu
The cost of college tuition is constantly on the rise. According to bloomberg.com, the price of colleges in the U.S. has increased faster than the rate of inflation. College Board states that the average increase in tuition from 2014-2015 was 3.7 percent at private colleges, while the U.S. inflation calculator estimates the inflation rate to be 0.8 percent. That’s more than four times the amount of inflation. Virginia Wesleyan College’s board of trustees recently approved tuition and room and board costs for the 2015-2016 school year. Tuition will see a 3.5 percent increase, while room and board rates will increase by 1 percent. A letter dated Jan. 22, 2015, signed by President William Greer, was sent to students notifying them of the tuition increase. The letter let students know of the recent changes to faculty, renovations, and financial aid that have taken place in recent years. The letter also stated that the tuition increase is due largely to the new things that we will have here on campus. The college will have a new turf field and a new academic facility for the fine arts. Additionally, with the tuition increase, students will have better opportunities to study abroad,
SEE TUITION Pg. 3
Bullets on campus BY BRIAN LE btle@vwc.edu
Earlier this month, Virginia Wesleyan College sent out a pair of safety advisory emails to the campus community regarding a bullet that was found in Village III. Those e-mails are timely notices to students, faculty and staff. “The purpose of the emails are to inform the campus, ask for any members of the community with information to come forward and to share ways of remaining safe,” said Dean of Students Dr. Keith Moore. The first email, sent on Feb. 5, stated that a student reported finding a bullet lodged between the two panes of a double-paned window in their room in the Brock Apartment Building. VWC has been investigating this incident in collaboration with the Virginia Beach Police to discover more about the origin of the bullet, and how long it may have been lodged in the window. Members of the campus community didn’t have to wait long for additional answers as the college released an announcement with an update on the incident the very next day. The follow-up email stated that, based on forensic evidence found at the scene, the Virginia Beach Police have determined that the origin of
SEE SECURITY Pg. 3
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
Kappa Alpha shutdown
Thomas Mills | Marlin Chronicle
The Kappa Alpha house on Greek Row ln Village III will have its letters taken off of its townhouse in accordance with national regulations.
*The names of the Kappa Alpha brothers quoted in the story have been changed to protect their anonymity BY AOIFE BRANCO acbranco@vwc.edu
Ever since VWC’s director of student activities and Greek life, Kate Griffin, sent out an email last week about the closure of Kappa Alpha order, rumors have been spreading about the nature of the hazing incident. “Late in January, the College learned of an alleged hazing incident that took place in November 2014 prior to and after Kappa Alpha’s initiation ceremony,” Griffin said. “A member of the Kappa Alpha executive board self-reported the incident after he heard about it from new members of the fraternity.” According to the VWC student handbook, hazing is defined as “any mental or physical requirement, request, or obligation placed upon any person which could cause discomfort, pain, fright, disgrace, injury, or which is personally degrading, or which violates
any federal, state, local statute or collegiate policy, the willingness of an individual to participate in such activity notwithstanding.” The school launched an investigation immediately following the report, in accordance with the VWC student handbook policy that states that “hazing is a criminal offense in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Hazing is a violation of VWC’s policy and is prohibited in all forms.” In order to assess the gravity of the situation and allow for a fair, objective assessment of the potential hazing incident, school officials asked the brothers of KA to wait until the school had finished their investigation before contacting their national office to report the incident. Although the act of hazing is illegal, “The allegations did not involve criminal activity,” said Griffin. “But they did involve vio-
lations of the Student Code of Conduct and Wesleyan Creed. The College immediately began interviewing witnesses...The brothers cooperated fully with the investigation.” “Most of us agreed with what the school decided,” said Mark, a brother of the chapter. “However, not everyone agreed. One of our brothers, really the main one the investigation was focused on who had earlier been placed on involuntary alumni status, called nationals and reported the investigation. All while denying that he, specifically, was being investigated.” In reaction to the failure of both the school and the brothers to report to them first, the KA national office immediately made the decision to suspend the chapter at VWC prior to doing their own investigation.
SEE KA SHUTDOWN Pg. 7
‘We want men of honor’
Kayla Skeete | Marlin Chronicle
Dr. Barry A. Olson spoke to a crowded Boyd Dining Hall audience about sexual violence and the impact it has on everyone, especially men.
In the wake of the Jane Doe case and the continued dialogue on sexual assaults, VWC welcomed Dr. Barry A. Olson to discuss the topic firsthand with students. BY JAMIE CRAWLEY jjcrawley@vwc.edu
“We want men of honor; we want gentlemen!” Dr. Barry A. Olson’s words rang out across the Boyd Dining Hall Feb. 19. Olson is a well-renowned student affairs profes-
sional who currently serves as the associate vice provost for business administration at North Carolina State University. He came to Virginia Wesleyan to hold a community dialogue concerning the facts of sexual assault and how the members of the VWC community can be proactive in preventing such egregious acts. With the campus still reeling from the controversial Jane Doe case, this community dialogue was extremely vital, and needed to be heard by our VWC community. Surrounded by a predominantly male audience, Dr. Olson
spoke on a variety of topics concerning sexual assault. Dr. Olson brought forth alarming statistics such as, 1 in 4 women (as supported by the National Domestic Violence Hotline’s website) in comparison to 1 in 6 of men (according to the organization 1in 6). The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network states on its website that men and boys are often the victims of the crimes of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and rape. In fact, in the U.S., about 10% of all victims are male.
SEE COMMUNITY Pg. 5
SEE LOANS Pg. 2