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The Flat Hat reveals some undiscovered fashion hubs.
Tribe football looks for its first win of the season this Saturday.
Best boutiques in the ’Burg
Vol. 104, Iss. 4 | Friday, September 5, 2014
College prepares for Hampton
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
Campus
Seeking counsel
DINING DOLLARS INCREASE, NOT TO ROLL OVER Meal plans changed with the switch from Aramark to the College of William and Mary’s new dining provider, Sodexo, in an effort to increase the amount of Dining Dollars students received with each plan. For two years, the College worked with consultants to evaluate and assess on-campus dining as well as the meal plan structure. The consultants concluded that students preferred the flexibility of purchasing items at market value rather than the traditional all-you-caneat meal swipe. Another change to Dining Dollars this year is that unused Dining Dollars will not roll over from one semester to the next. Previously, students with remaining Dining Dollars at the end of the fall semester could use them in the spring, although rollover did not occur between academic years. “This change was made to encourage students to use their meal plan to its fullest extent each semester instead of carrying Dining Dollars over and potentially letting them expire at the end of the school year,” assistant director of marketing and communications in Auxiliary Services Eden Harris said. “Again, our goal is to encourage students to explore the retail options across campus in the hopes that this provides more flexibility and value as part of their everyday routine.” Check back with The Flat Hat for more on Dining Services Changes. — Flat Hat Editor-in-Chief Meredith Ramey
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Rohan Desai Flat Hat News EDITOR
See RESTAURANTS page 4
virginia
Warner talks student debt assistance
Virginia senator advocates more information for prospective students Madeline Bielski Flat Hat Assoc. News EDITOR
Students, community members and a few local politicians gathered in the Sir Christopher Wren Building’s Great Hall Tuesday afternoon on the College of William and Mary campus to hear U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) discuss student loan debt. Student debt is a topic with which Warner is familiar. The first of his family to graduate from college, he emerged with $15,000 in student loan debt — a number that he believes would be much higher were he to graduate today. At $1.2 trillion, student debt currently exceeds credit card debt. College student Jakob Deel ’16 took
the podium before Warner to share his own experience with student debt. Deel is also the first in his family to attend college, and he explained that student debt could prevent students like him from investing in things like a house or a car after graduation, Warner because they must focus on first paying back their student loans. Deel, a former intern for Sen. Warner, stressed the importance of students making legislators aware of how debt affects them. Warner shared several of his ideas
to address the problem of student loan debt, including legislation he has introduced. The three bills Warner focused on are bipartisan efforts, with co-sponsors from across the aisle. The Student Know Before You Go Act, sponsored by Sen. Warner and Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), works to effectively inform students about different colleges’ and universities’ performances. The bill aims to provide students with useful information like average student debt and job availability after graduation for different institutions. He explained that for some students, knowing that there is a chance of a job at the end See WARNER page 4
Inside VARIETY
Inside opinions
Marketplace swipes are back
The students complained and the school responded. page 5 Chance of storms High 89, Low 73
Jewish Mother closes
See COUNSELING page 3
In the wake of a tragedy, campus grapples with mental health questions The recent suicide of Peter Godshall ’15 left the College of William and Mary community with far more questions than answers. Many students, whether they knew him well or not at all, are being forced to confront issues of depression and mental health that they or their friends may be facing. Meanwhile, mental health resources on campus grapple with a fact that has once again made itself clear: While mental health services are available, students do not always benefit from them. Whether due to a lack of awareness or will to
More locales open in town
The counseling center is advertised as one of the College’s go-to resources for those struggling with mental health. The experiences students emerge with, however, are mixed. One student, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed to go to the counseling center after being hospitalized for an alcohol-related incident. The student had met with administrators from the Dean of Students Office before, but never had an appointment with a counselor. “Upon entering the center for the first time I was instructed to fill out a lengthy survey regarding my life, experiences, the [situations] I had been involved
CAROL PENG / THE FLAT HAT
seek help on the part of the students, or to a lack of accessibility or ability to provide quality care on the part of the organizations offering services, the implications of this disconnect speak for themselves in the empty space that a student once filled. “In the aftermath of tragedies, such as the loss of a student, we reach out to faculty, staff, students and others in a series of concentric circles beginning with those closest to him and growing our outreach from there,” Director of the Counseling Center Warrenetta Mann said in an email. “We have held a number [of ] group and individual sessions as we have become aware of people that have been impacted by Peter’s death, and other losses that have occurred this year.”
Williamsburg
The Jewish Mother, upon returning to Williamsburg after an extended interim, has closed its doors once again. According to the Virginia Gazette, infighting among the Jewish Mother, specifically over ownership of the trademarked Hess name, logos and recipes, has led to the closing of the restaurant in Williamsburg. Despite the closing of Williamsburg’s The Jewish Mother, new dining options are opening and expanding in town. Berrybody Frozen Yogurt, located on Prince George St., has broadened its operations into a vacated yoga business next door and has begun offering its own yoga classes. “We are doing a $25 for 21 day package introductory offer,” Berrybody owner Julie Hess said. “The classes we offer are a Vinyasa yoga, which is a beginner yoga. … We’re also going to be offering Baptiste yoga. That will be a discounted class, even more so than student discount because that’s teacher Patel training. We are also offering free community [classes] on Wednesday nights.” Additionally, Berrybody has introduced yogurt deals for College of William and Mary students. The store offers the William and Mary cup, a discounted yogurt deal at $3.99 a cup. Hess mentioned that Berrybody has added both dairy-free yogurt and nonsugar alternatives as per requests. Bijal Patel, a veteran of the hospitality industry, opened Which Wich — a sandwich shop — earlier this summer, the first in all of Hampton Roads. Patel hopes to incorporate Which Wich into
Students question whether or not the counseling center has the resources to support students dealing with mental health problems. Others worry about a campus stigma towards the center.
SARAH CASPARI Flat Hat CHIEF STAFF WRITER
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Bridging the gap
This summer the Virtual Conversation Partner Program brought together more than 120 students from all over the world. page 6