The Flat Hat April 7, 2015

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Bird Club lands at the College of William and Mary.

The Flat Hat

Vol. 104, Iss. 39 | Tuesday, April 7, 2014 | The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper of The College of William and Mary

Rainbow flags, a giant bouncy castle and drag performances greeted students, tour groups and visiting families as the Lambda Alliance hosted a pride festival on the Sunken Garden. page 7 Residence Life

Warner wins early election TUCKER HIGGINS / THE FLAT HAT

STUDENT ASSEMBLY

VIRGINIA

WMSURE plans to send letter to U.Va.

A presidency in review

Stands in solidarity with Martese

Colin Danly and Kendall Lorenzen discuss time in office

AMANDA WILLIAMS Flat Hat COPY CHIEF

MADELINE BIELSKI FLAT HAT NEWS EDITOR

William and Mary Scholars Undergraduate Research Experience plans to send a letter to the University of Virginia April 9 in a show of solidarity for third-year student Martese Johnson, who suffered head wounds while being arrested in Charlottesville March 18. Johnson was charged with obstruction of justice, using profanity in public and public intoxication after being turned away by bouncers at a Charlottesville bar. State ABC agents intervened and a video of the arrest has been viewed more than a million times online. There is a silent march at U.Va. planned April 11 at 4 p.m. Co-director of WMSURE Anne Charity Hudley said that the group decided to write the letter of support because they are unable to attend the march. She said the students wanted a way to show their support and to know they were doing something. “We come from diverse backgrounds and have various interests,” the letter states. “Yet, we share a dedication to the Commonwealth of Virginia and a commitment to providing greater numbers of underrepresented students access to excellent public postsecondary educations. We are together in this struggle. You are not alone.” WMSURE is the program offered to recipients of the William and Mary Scholars Award, which is presented to academically successful students who come from an underrepresented group on campus or who have overcome unusual adversity and would add to campus diversity. WMSURE created a Facebook page to collect signatures and has more than 170 so far. Hudley said she was surprised by how many students outside of the program decided to participate in the campaign. “One of the great things about the [Facebook page] … was to watch how many students were signing up that were not in the program, people from across the student body, and started inviting their friends ... so that people

Almost exactly one year ago, Colin Danly ’15 and Kendall Lorenzen ’15 were sworn in as Student Assembly president and vice president. A year later, the two reflect on their past term as they prepare to leave office. Both described their experiences as positive. Danly said the presidency allowed him to commit to something larger than himself, which he said can be difficult in the introspective environment of college.

See WMSURE page 3

“[I’m] glad we were able to take this year and be able to commit to something that’s not ourselves,” Danly said. Lorenzen said that although the vice-presidency provided a satisfying experience, the position could also be frustrating. “I feel like the more involved you get within anything the more you realize needs to be done. So you never really feel that your job is complete but at the same time you feel incredibly lucky to be doing everything that you’re doing,” Lorenzen said.

Chief of Staff Drew Wilke ’15 described his experience within SA this past year as humbling in regard to the people with whom he was able to collaborate. “Overall, it was very humbling just knowing all the talented people around you, be it in cabinet or senate, and even obviously Undergrad has been dissolved at this point. But those in Undergrad and all of their efforts this year has been really amazing to see,” Wilke said. Lorenzen cited the efforts to get a full-time psychiatrist and the continuation of Tribe Rides,

a program she worked on her sophomore year at the College of William and Mary, as the accomplishments she is most proud of. Danly mentioned their efforts toward improving how SA runs. “We talked a lot about how we run the SA as an internal organization, figuring out how we make this the most efficient organization, how do we make this the most effective organization,” Danly said. Lorenzen also discussed some things she wished they had been able accomplish while in office. She See PRESIDENCY page 3

CAROLINE NUTTER / THE FLAT HAT

Leaving next week, Danly and Lorenzen had advice for their SA President and Vice-President successors, Whitaker ’16 and PInkerton ’16 — stay positive.

STUDENT LIFE

CAMPUS EVENTS

New media center opens in Swem Library

Panel discusses free speech impact at the College of William and Mary

Media center adds two classrooms, continues rental services QUENTIN PALEO FLAT HAT ASSOC. NEWS EDITOR

Two-and-a-half semesters of construction and $1.8 million later, the newly renovated Swem Media Center has opened for students and faculty. The center was funded by a combination of alumni donations and grants from higher education technology funds. The Media Center provides similar services to those offered before construction, such as consultation on integrating media in projects as well as an equipment loan and instruction service. Troy Davis, head of media services at Earl Gregg Swem Library, discussed new services and technology

Index News Insight News Opinions Sports Sports Variety Variety

the renovated Media Center offers students. “The media center renovation has finally created a real ‘destination’ for students and faculty interested in how media can contribute to their creativity,” Davis said. “The media center, from its very beginning, has always been a destination for creative and curious individuals; now, with the renovation, Swem has just said it is time to welcome them a bit more formally.” Davis continued to discuss the newly created Cox and Ford Classrooms and what these two rooms can offer students. “These spaces are equipped with flexible and comfortable furniture, as

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well as unique display technologies,” Davis said. “These classrooms will allow Swem to ramp up its already robust instructional services as well as give us new ways to connect with faculty and students.” The new Media Center has yet to attract a large number of students since its recent opening, but students have been receptive of the improvements made, such as Ub Qiu ’16 who used the Center to create posters for this year’s Earth week. “I was really excited about [the Media Center] after a whole semester of construction, and then today I finally got to get down [there],” Qiu See SWEM page 3

EMILY CHAUMONT FLAT HAT VARIETY EDITOR

The Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary hosted a panel discussion Monday on threats to free speech. The panel, entitled “Free Speech Under Fire,” featured short, TED-talk style speeches followed by a discussion. The event was moderated by Dave Douglas, dean of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, whose introductory remarks praised the merits of the First Amendment. “We are a nation with a particularly robust commitment to free speech

and its corollary, freedom of the press,” Douglas said. “If speech is robust and open and the press functions well, then we will have a better society.” The first speaker at the event was Richard Schumann, dressed in colonial garb and taking on the persona of Patrick Henry. “I have a basic, fundamental, inherent, natural right: the right to have an opinion and to express it,” Schumann said. Following Schumann, Max Fisher ’08, content manager for Vox.com and former Flat Hat Variety Editor, spoke See FREE SPEECH page 2

Inside Sports

Inside Opinions

Journalism is a two-way street

Rainy High 75, Low 50

Business school hosts “Free Speech Under Fire”

In light of Rolling Stone’s article “A Rape on Campus,” it’s important to acknowledge the responsibility of readers to view media critically. page 4

Lacrosse tied for second

After beginning conference play this weekend, the Tribe holds a 1-1 record in the CAA after defeating Drexel and falling to Hofstra. page 5


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The Flat Hat April 7, 2015 by The Flat Hat - Issuu