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

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Without The ( .r, 111(11. ithcr ( ' .hiiisc. ' - l Wiis Under The Innuciice In 1984, most of the stu- dents at the college would have said that the only thing to be done in Williamsburg at night and on weekends was to drink And drink thev did. The dell ' s were packed every night, sometimes even turn- ing the students away The fraternities were also busy, the drinking age had been raised to 21 . but a grandfather clause allowed most of the students to legally drink beer Those few freshmen without a fake ID had plenty of friends who could purchase for them In the summer of 1987. the grandfather clause ended, the academic year of 1987-88 was the first in which only student ' s of age 21 could le- gally drink alcohol. The change affected many school policies, local businesses, and of course, the students them- selves. The first signs ap- peared in 1986, as ABC agents made several raids on the de- li ' s, and busted up a fake I.D. manufacturing plant on campus Fraternities became more selective about who was let in and who would drink. Eventually the college even placed limits on the number of kegs allowed at parties where alcohol was available. When 1 filled out the alcohol form, I specified our party would have 3 kegs and 60 drinkers, said Don Savage, a senior resident of Lodge 10. Then I read the form. Since 45 people were required for every keg, we suddenly had 90 people com- Left: Stamping hands help hshmentsd nanus [ifips fslab- .inguish legal drinkers rom those underage. Renee Snyder nd John Holloway were given the jsk of approving students for a hap- ' V hour Below: An advantage of senior status means one can drink alcohol at cam- pus functions. Since most seniors like Donna Romankow, Kathy Gram- bling and Maria Santucci were legal, the senior class could sponsor happy ot StriclfM ' a ' s ing and only 2 kegs. At cam- pus wide events, as well as formal Greek functions, it be- came common to set aside a separate area for legal drink- ers, where they could con- sume alcohol. There had been big changes at the deli ' s. Atten- dance was noticeably down, up to 50 f in some cases. Don Fit gerald, night manager at the Green Leafe, said that col- lege students accounted for 90 of their business, which had been cut in half He also noted that consumption of li- quor was about half the stu- dent sales, where before it had been a small percentage. At Paul ' s, where liquor was not sold, soda sales shot up, as beer sales fell. Business how- ever was just as good as usual. I ' m at Mama ' s every Thurs- day night, says Erinn Finger, a freshman. Drinking is not the important aspect - it ' s tra- dition now. How has the raised drink- ing age affected the student body? I just don ' t go out any- more, is a typical response. The result was more small parties in rooms, and larger parties in off-campus apart- ments. Many students felt that the amount of alcohol they consumed had in- creased, despite regulations. It seemed everyone still knew someone who was le- gal or could pass for it. And since liquor was just as easy to obtain as beer, many stu- dents were turning to hard alcohol more and more often. Drinking was still the most popular activity in Williams- burg. The only thing that changed was the location. Perhaps the reasons too. Drinking had been a com- mon social activity, but it be- came a gesture of defiance, and possibly even a private, destructive activity. — Paul Bonelli

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Above: Being carded is a given for a. students who decide to spend their evenings at the delis. Although many students u-ere underage they could still get into the delis to enjoy the atmosphere alcohol free. Right: The golden beverage is al- ways consumed by those in search of alcohol, but sometimes it becomes a little boring. Seniors like Sarah Handley, Cory Hansen and Laura Draegert enjoyed the more e, pen- sive wine coolers that had become popular among students around campus.

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The Master Plan Construction Or Destruction? On October 30, Paul Verkuil and the BO V accepted a Master Plan designed to guide the next 20 years of development at William and Mary. That evening, the uproar began. Condemned by the order of Paul Verkuil and the BOV Pro- test signs appeared in front of every lodge. Rumours abound- ed on campus. I heard they ' re going to gut James Blair and make it the New Campus Cen- ter, explained junior Susan Strobach. The ecological con- cerns raised by students and faculty over the new Intramu- ral Facility and its effects on Lake Matoka carried over to Crim Dell and the ravine sys- tem. It was feared that heavy equipment and more construc- tion would damage the deli- cate ecological erosion balance thoughout campus. Many stu- dents also believed the Master Plan was Paul Verkuil ' s first formal step in expanding the size and scope of William and Mary. ' T came here because I liked the small, colonial atmo- sphere. I don ' t want William and Mary to become another UVA, explained Caryn McBride. The actual plan was made up of three distinct program areas. The short term goals, sched- uled for the first five years, in- cluded enhancement of cam- pus, establishment of a com- prehensive parking plan, and construction of a new Campus Center Enchancement includ- ed cleaning up Lake Matoka trails, the amphitheatre, and other nature areas. The recom- mendation for parking areas was utilization of the periph- ery. Parking along Landrum Drive and in front of Dupont would be abolished. William and Mary Hall and other lots on the outskirts of campus would become the major park ing areas. The ideal location for the new campus center, accord- ing to the plan, was on top of the lodges. The Master Plan slated the old Campus Center for administrative offices. The mid-term (six to 13 years) opportunities were highlighted by plans to move all students onto the main cam- pus, construct a new academic building on Old Campus, and build a connector road. Accom- modations for 211 students on campus called for construction of new residence halls around Dupont, Yates, and the fraterni- ties. The recommended sixth ilities and plans for campus woods development required investigarion. Finally, the plan would need review, refine- ment, and updating for further direction. The majority of student op- position stemmed from the planned demolition of the lodges. 1 can ' t believe they ' re razing the lodges. Why, they ' re the Versaille of campus hous- ing! exclaimed Kathleen Dur- kin. Tommy Carnell stated, As long as they ' re here next year, I ' m happy I panicked when I thought my well-laid housing plans were falling apart. building on Old Campus would complete the original blueprints, which called for three pairs of symmetrical aca- demic buildings surrounding the Sunken Gardens. In order to alleviate heavy traffic flow at Confusion Corner, the plan suggested building a road to connect Richmond and James- town Roads. During the final phase of the Master Plan ( 1 3 to 20 years), the connector road would be com- pleted. Additionally, ideas for new campus academic fac- Nonetheless, the realistic prob- ability of building a new cam- pus center was slim. Funding, as always, remained a major stumbling block. Dean Saddler also assured students that the new student Campus Center would be only for the school ' s benefit. If emphatic student opposition arose, the construc- tion would not take place. The educated student objec- tions emerged over sediment and erosion control. With what ' s happening now (runoff into Matoka and Crim Dell from construction), why should we believe the Master Plans ' assurance that quality control will take place? ques- tioned senior Eric Plaag. Even if the existing ledge could sup- port new buildings around campus, and construction cha- os could be repaired, the prob- lems of drainage and erosion would remain. Britton Robins, a senior with a car on campus, remarked, I worry about the parking plans. It would be unsafe for women to have to walk to their dorms at night from periphery park- ing. Since 1977, however, there had been at least one stu- dent-car accident on campus every year The plan highlight- ed the need to reduce vehicle- pedestrian conflict areas throughout campus. The administration empha- sized the flexibility that existed within and about the plan. Charles Lombardo, director of operations, stated, It sets guidelines, limitations, and goals. It is not written in stone. MFC and Associates, hired to coordinate the implementation process, held many forums and meetings to get student input. Additionally, the SA and other administrative organizations formed committees to deal with implementation of and reaction to the plan. Dean Sad- dler eased many student wor- ries when he confided, ex- pected growth for the next nine years calls for only a 200 person increase in enrollment. They will be mainly graduate students. It became evident through the plan ' s flexibility that a great deal of thought went into this idea in order to please both stu- dents and faculty as well as to maintain the atmosphere of the college. — Michelle Fay