College of William and Mary - Colonial Echo Yearbook (Williamsburg, VA)

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THREE STARS AND A YAWN Recently the New York Times education editor, Edward B. Fiske, joined the ranks of the collegiate experts who consider W M to now be among the nation ' s best. Unfor- tunately, Mr. Fiske and his peers continue to grant W M the three-star rating for quality of life and social life. Since many of these guides include academic as well as quality of life considerations in their over- ail rating of the college, W M still has some room for improvement. I must object to the three-star rating for quality of life at W M. I asked Dean Finn, Dean Jarmon, Dean Smith, Dean Ripple, Dr. Chambers, the Registrar, Chief Cum- bee, and many others. Among these top administrators, the quality of life problem is not one of opportunities but of motiva tion. I agreed and set out to prove their collective point. As self-proclaimed spokesman for the Student Apathy Party since April last year, I decided that the problem would surface in an attempt to measure apathy here in Wil- liamsburg. Included as potential indicators were such statistics as the changes in grade distribution, the number of letters to the editor of the Flat Hat, the number of overdue notices sent out from Swem, the number of students voting in SA elections the number of riots, demonstrations, sui- cides, the attendance at SA events, the number of unpaid parking tickets, the attri- tion rate, the amount of blood donated, the W M theatre attendence, all since 1980. The first place I looked was the Flat Hat. Since each letter sent to the editor is pub- lished, I proceeded to count the number of letters per issue for the period of 1980-81 to the most recent issue. Then I sat down to graph out the letters to the editor. The resulting indicated that in 1980-81, the Flat Hat averaged 8 letters per issue. This rate declined stadily until 1983-84 where it bot- tomed out at a mere 3 letters per issue. Since 1983-84, the average number of let- ters per issue has recovered to nearly 7, demonstrating what I took to be an in- crease in apathy between 1980-81 and 1983-84, and a. decrease in apathy since 1983-84. However, as Prof. Joel Schwartz of the Government Department aptly pointed out. such a trend is of little signifi- cance. Since letters to the editor are often written by the same individuals, Schwarts asserted, such a trend more likely reflects the number of Kevin Gentrys than the level of apathy at the college. My next visit was with the Registrar. It was there that I first learned of the super secret, under cover and generally unheard Lifestyles of Office of Institutional Research. The Registrar provided me with some numbers including the attrition rate (drop-out and transfer rate), the enrollment f igures, and the grade distribution charts all since 1980- 81. Suprisingly, there was no significant increase during this period. With the help of Ms. Betty Kelly, in the Office of Student Activities, 1 discovered the number of official campus organiza- tions since 1980. There appeared no large- scale changes in the number of organiza- tions on campus, however changes in membership among these groups, which might have lent insight into the level of involvement, are not maintained by the College. Just as 1 was beginning to get discour- aged, I went down to the SA office. I want- ed to know how many people voted in the various SA elections since 1980-81. I also figured they ' d have attendance figures for the Film Series, Band Night, Change of Pace, and Speaker Series events for the period. The voting records were non-exis- tent except for the year 1979, and the year 1985. Luckily, it was possible to recon- struct historical voting rates from back is- sues of the Flat Hat. After this traumatic experience, I went over to Psych services and spoke with Dr. Chambers. I asked the Doctor if the suicide rate at W M correlated with my apathy curve as shown by the letters to the editor. His reply came as a shock. W M has not had a suicide since the 1960 ' s! (I later found out that Chambers was excluding several suicides which have taken place during breaks and off campus.) As it turns, out the number of suicide attempts de- creased last year with the implementation of a new policy under which those who attempt are dismissed in order to prevent what Dr. Chambers and Dean Jarmon re- ferred to as the spread factor. Other than last year ' s decrease. Chamber ' s explained that W M had been experiencing a slight but steady increase which reflects a nation- al trend among college aged individuals. On expert advice, 1 take it that suicides have little to do with apathy but are rather caused by severe depression. Eventually, I spoke with the Chief of the W M Police, Richard Cumbee. I asked him about the number of unpaid parking tickets per year since 1980. He indicated would not indicate apathy at all. According to Cumbee, apathy at W M had remained unchanged with the Vietnam War. He felt that few if any W M students coud name an issue that they would be wiling to risk their Fortune 500 job opportunities for. I wondered if he was right . . . Dean Finn seemed to think the problem was one of perceptions rather than motiva- tions. That is, he felt the students who are bored or dissatisfied with the opportunities for social and political interaction were likely unaware of the true varieties avail- able. Similarly, Dean Smith felt that the numerous social fraternities, and sororities were just the tip of the iceberg as far as opportunities for social interaction. Over the course of this massive investi- gation, several theories were offered which might explain W M ' s poor quality of life ratings. Poor self image seems to play a vital role. Since the results come from es- says written by the students, they reflect the students ' views concerning the extra- curricular activities available and the auxil- iary services (dorms, food, phones, etc.). However, Dean Jarmon noted that often the same individual will offer two radically different views of the same college, de- pending on the audience. It became clear that the only way to reveal the true answer to the question of the quality of life would be by means of a survey. Each of the people I spoke with suggested questions which would guage how the students felt about the overall quality of life at W M. There are many types of students at W M. There are those whose only concern is the highest possible GPA, those whose only concerns are a balance between the high GPA and a satisfying social life, those who have no major concerns whatsoever, those who genuinely care about the wel- fare of the community, various local and national political issues, or even specific school policies. Yet it is the interaction of these students that enables improvements in the quality of life. Students who truly believe that W M is a boring place are students who have empty spaces in their lives. There is no such thing as a person who is busy and bored. No one will deny that there is room for improvement here at W M, but the issue here is one of current conditions. Is the quality of life at W M deserving of a three-star rating or not? Mr. Fiske seems to think it is. If W M is ever to achieve the greatness it so strongly desires, it must first overcome the self-deception on the part of the students. W M lacks only spirit: our self-image is low. W M is a college to be proud of. The only obstacle to greatness is quality of life. I ' m proud to go to W M,and with little luck, I ' ll be here for a few more years. Darryl Gugig Reprinted with permission of jump!

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Both Highs and Baskin Robbin ' s hire students to work for them. What a job! Can you imagine all that ice cream in one place?!

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W M got As in academic, but only mediocre ratings for quality of life and social life. As Rich Ohnmacht hits the books, one wonders if the reason for this rating is the amount of work at the College of Knowledge. Letters to Flat Hat Leitef 10 the editor of Rat Hat Apathy (as close as we can tell) Percentage change m ' apathy ' since 1980-81 using all available indicators The attendance at blood drives has dropped remarkably since 1980. This is just one of the indicators pointing towards an increase in apathy. Peggy Stephenson is not one of the many apathetic souls on campus. Lifestyles