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Media day for CAA hoops
Fall in Williamsburg
Tribe basketball takes part in event, discusses upcoming season.
Vol. 104, Iss. 15 | Friday, October 24, 2014
What to do, what to see and what to eat.
The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
College
student life
expands
Consent Policies, procedures for dealing with sexual misconduct undergoing revisions SARAH CASPARI // FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
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Gilbert said the policy revisions were not written as a response to the investigation; rather, plans for the summit preceded the OCR’s announcement. “We had planned the summit prior to finding out about the OCR investigation, and it has been in the works for some time,” Gilbert said in an email. “We felt the time was right for us to take a comprehensive look at our behavioral expectations of students, o u r policies, our procedures, our training, our outreach and education work with students in helping them understand healthy sexual relationships, etc.” Gilbert and Chief Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator Kiersten Boyce both said that the current Code of Conduct contains inconsistencies in regard to the level of intoxication under which a person can no longer provide consent. They said that the proposed revisions aim to make
Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 announced last week that the College of William and Mary’s policies and procedures for dealing with sexual misconduct are undergoing revisions to clarify expectations and comply with the Office for Civil Rights’ recommendations. Student Affairs, the Office of Compliance, William and Mary Police, the University Council and the greater university administration convened this summer in a two-day summit to analyze the ways the current code could be improved. The final draft, which was released to students for commentary and suggestions last week, includes expanded definitions of concepts such as consent and sexual misconduct, and adds faculty members to the process of reporting and trying a case of sexual misconduct. Last spring, the College was listed among universities being investigated for compliance with Title IX. However, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Conduct Dave
It feels like relational violence is kind of the hot topic of today, and part of me worries that it’s not coming out of a genuine concern for this topic as opposed to ‘this is what people are focusing on now — we’d better act on it.’
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—Jordan Taffet ’16
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student life
College’s club policy changes Advisor, consititution required SARAH CASPARI FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER
With about 465 official clubs currently on campus, the College of William and Mary is redefining what it means to be a recognized student organization. Starting at the beginning of this semester, the Office of Student Leadership Development has implemented new procedures for student groups seeking recognition and has developed a system for classifying existing organizations. Until this year, all that was required to start a club was a written constitution and a meeting with Student Leadership Development director Anne Arseneau a process that was theoretically possible to complete within 24 hours. The problem with such a succinct process, Arseneau said, was that many organizations were failing. She said the majority of clubs that go defunct do so within 18 months of gaining recognition. To counteract this tendency, more checkpoints have been introduced on the road to recognition. “I think the M.O. before was that because we made it so easy to become a recognized student organization, we had a lot of people just come in and out of the process because it wasn’t a big deal to do that,” Arseneau said. In accordance with the new procedures, interested students must first attend an information session. Then, they are required to draft a constitution and are recommended to meet with a staff advisor to review it. Next, they must submit the constitution and an application to the Student Organization Recognition Committee. The committee will hear the case and make a recommendation back to Student Leadership Development, where final approval rests. “We want people to get it right the first time so that the document that is governing their organization is a helpful document to them,” Arseneau said. “Most of the time when people See CLUBS page 3
See CONSENT page 3
Greek life
Student Life
Little by little: the cost of being a big
NAACP hosts debate
College Republicans, Young Democrats spar QUENTIN PALEO THE FLAT HAT
Students discuss price tag of clue week DEVIN LOGAN THE FLAT HAT
Just under 30 percent of female undergraduates belong to one of the College of William and Mary’s 12 social sororities. In addition to agreeing to uphold the tenets of Greek life upon induction, new members take on another responsibility: paying dues. Sorority fees pay for sisterhood and scholarship events, facility maintenance, social and philanthropic programming and national dues. Jessica Evans ’15, the vice president of finance for the William and Mary Panhellenic Council, said the average fee for returning active members is $375; new members pay an average of $576 their first semester. If a sister studies abroad for a semester, local chapters usually reduce their fees. However, she must still
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pay national dues to maintain membership in the national organization. Freshmen and sophomores can apply for the Women of Excellence scholarship, sponsored by the Panhellenic Council. Awarded to four women each year, this $200 scholarship can be used to pay for sorority expenses, but women must be unaffiliated at the time of application. Other scholarship programs and payment plans depend on the specific sorority. In addition to the standard sorority fees, there are the costs of being a big sister or “big,” which can end up being almost as much as a semester’s fees. Costs vary based on the specific sorority and their practices. In some groups, sisters go on “dates” with potential See LITTLES page 4
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COURTESY PHOTO / ALEXIS FOXWORTH
The NAACP hosted amock debate in Commonwealth Auditorium.
See DEBATE page 4
Inside SPORTS
Inside Opinions
Promoting demiltarization
We must question the types of weapons police use. page 4 Sunny High 73, Low 50
The NAACP hosted a mock senatorial debate Monday at Commonwealth Auditorium between the Young Democrats, represented by Elise Orlick ’15, and the College Republicans, represented by Trevor Parkes ’15. The two debaters represented their respective parties’ senatorial candidates, incumbent Sen. Mark Warner (D) and former advisor to the president, Ed Gillespie (R). The hour-long debate, moderated by speech professor David Gosser, was divided into two parts, with the first half covering a range of topics especially pertinent to the College of William and Mary community, including education, the political experience of the two candidates, and health care. Orlick and Parkes argued in favor of their respective candidates’ solutions to major issues affecting college students such as the rising cost of college. “While in office as senator, Mr. Warner has led numerous efforts to
reduce the cost of a college education and make it more accessible to students of all means,” Orlick said. “He also has other initiatives in terms of affordability. He thinks that it’s very important that loan repayments be tied to student incomes after they graduate, so they are never required to pay more than they can afford and a degree must start working for them before they start paying it off.” Parkes countered that argument, saying that, despite Warner’s efforts, tuition costs have risen several thousands of dollars for Virginia students and collective student debt has passed a trillion dollars. He then laid out Gillespie’s plans to aid struggling students. “Something that really hurts right now is financial aid, especially [that] some of the forms are obsolete, terrible to fill out, hard. And [that acts] almost like a regressive system,” Parkes said. “It’s harder and harder to fill them out and [it’s] getting less and less likely that you’ll get the financial aid you need.
Bittersweet senior day
The men’s soccer team honored its seniors in its final home game of the year. The College lost 1-0 to Old Dominion. page 8