T HE F LAT H AT
Vol. 112, Iss. 15 | Wednesday, February 8, 2023
The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
flathatnews.com | @theflathat
Local development proposal threatens College Woods, faculty members push back Cale Development LLC's housing development proposal met with negative reactions from faculty, development poses threats to ecosystem
EMMA HENRY FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR
COURTESY PHOTOS / DEED OF EXCHANGE AND DEED OF EASEMENT VIA VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERALʼS OFFICE
COURTESY PHOTOS / CALE DEVELOPMENT LLC
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. The most updated version can be found at flathatnews.com. An October 2022 housing development project proposal is coming under scrutiny from faculty and Williamsburg City residents as mounting evidence suggests it threatens the College Woods. The original development proposal, drawn out by Cale Development LLC, calls for the rezoning of a 13.91 acre plot (RS-2 Zoning District) at 180 Strawberry Plains Road from a Single-Family Dwelling District (RS-2), to a Multifamily Dwelling District (RM-2). In November 2022, 85 College of William and Mary and Virginia Institute of Marine Science faculty members signed an open letter to the Williamsburg Planning Commission and Williamsburg City Council conveying their concerns regarding development on this parcel of land. Concerns included fear of run-off from impervious surfaces and encroachment on the College Woods. According to this letter, biodiversity and water quality in the area would be irreparably impacted by the development proposal. “We appreciate the need to build housing for a growing population, but rather than paving over ever more undeveloped land, we encourage you to focus on revitalizing developed locations (as was done with nearby Midtown Row),” the authors of the letter wrote. “The environmental consequences of developing this parcel could be severe and we are distressed to be unable to locate any impact study regarding this area.” This plot and the woods boast an extensive history, with the original 1200 acres of the College Woods formally designated as “Matoaka Park” in the 1930s. Over time, its acreage decreased as various construction projects on the property began in the 1950s and 1960s. In November, a 1994 William and Mary News and Media article titled “College Affirms Its Commitment to Lake Matoaka And College Woods” stated that a draft report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission suggested that Lake Matoaka and the College Woods should be declared a natural heritage preserve or surplus property. At the time, College President Timothy J. Sullivan claimed that the Board of Visitors recognized the College Woods as a “living laboratory.” Following the development of Route 199 and Monticello Avenue in the 1990s, the College attempted to save the woods from development by purchasing adjacent land and designating 300 acres as a nature preserve. In 1998, the City of Williamsburg and the College confirmed a land swap agreement. Within this agreement, each party retained
roughly 37 acres of land, with the currently contested 13.91 acre parcel being retained by the City, but still contiguous to the College Woods. “The story of that piece of land is that back in 1988, it was owned privately,” Helen Murphy, associate professor of biology, said. “It's about 50 acres and the school tried to buy it and it didn't go through, so then the City bought it. And then in 1998, there was a land swap between the City and the College, and we got about 37 acres. We gave the City about 37 acres elsewhere. Then we owned most of it, except for this little remaining 13, 14 acre parcel that's right behind Berkeley Middle School.” The Cale Realty Company presented the original development plan to the Williamsburg Planning Commission in fall of 2022. In a 5-0 vote,
“We were caught off guard with all of this. I
guess I donʼt want to say protest, but people
opposed to it. Affordable housing is a nationwide issue and itʼs a major issue in the city of Williamsburg.”
- John Cale, Managing Broker of Cale Reality Company
the Commission decided against recommending the proposal to the council due to traffic issues, affordability and environmental concerns, prompting the developer to revise the plan before its presentation to the council this spring. As of this month, Cale Realty Company is in the process of revising the development plan. “We were caught off guard with all of this, I guess I don’t want to say protest, but people opposed to it. Affordable housing is a nationwide issue and it’s a major issue in the City of Williamsburg.” According to Managing Broker of Cale Realty Company, John Cale, the development plan aims to provide affordable workforce housing. The original plan included 116 units of housing to income brackets ranging from $40,000-100,000 a year. Fifteen of these units would be subject to workforce housing deed restrictions, with these
units intended to be sold for $100,000 less than current fair market values to “purchasers whose annual household income does not exceed $60,000.” “We were caught off guard with all of this, I guess I don’t want to say protest, but people opposed to it,” Cale said. “Affordable housing is a nationwide issue and it’s a major issue in the City of Williamsburg.” According to the 2021 City of Williamsburg Housing Affordability Analysis, Cale is aiming his proposal at income categories labeled as “low” ($40-60k) and “M2” ($75-100k). Based on recommendations from the analysis, these housing units would range from $260,000 to $430,000. Even with these parameters, however, some are skeptical that this housing will be affordable for the targeted income categories. The current estimate for the market rate of these homes is around $325,000, according to the analysis, meaning the workforce housing units would be around $225,000. “There’s zero chance that a family making $40-60,000 a year can get a down payment and afford a mortgage given these interest rates,” Murphy said. “You might ask yourself, what happens to those units? The developer buys them back and pays the City $100,000 for each of them. And the City gets $1.5 million because it was 15 units, and they would get $100,000 per unit.” According to a 2023 tax assessment, the value of the plot increased from $633,700 in 2021 to over $2 million this year (a $1.5 million increase). “I totally understand people saying this might not be as affordable for everyone who is trying to obtain affordable options,” councilman Caleb Rogers said. “A 20% down payment on a $225,000 home is still going to be quite pricey for someone who’s working hourly or newer in their careers.” Faculty continue to express concern over the proposal as a council vote on the development plan this spring becomes more likely. Multiple professors, including Murphy and Dr. Martha Case, associate professor of biology and college conservator of Botanical Collections, have approached the College administration and council with these concerns. “We learned very early on that these areas harbor a lot of plant diversity, much more so than you would expect in your average woodlot around here, and it actually carries some very, very rare habitats,” Case said. See DEVELOPMENT page 8
CAMPUS
STLI hosts conference, debates future of artificial intelligence in higher education Conference panel shares opinions on ChatGPT, generative AI in classroom settings; AI characterized as potential positive tool in academia IAN HARMAN THE FLAT HAT
Saturday, Feb. 4, The Studio for Teaching and Learning Innovation (STLI) hosted a conference to discuss the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. The conference brought together professors and staff from the College of William and Mary to share their experiences, research and insights on the impact and potential of AI in shaping the future of education. The panelists included William and Mary School of Education associate professor Dr. Stephanie J. Blackmon, Associate Dean of Students Dave Gilbert, Chair of the Philosophy Department Matthew Haug and Professor Elizabeth Losh of English and American studies. Between the four of them, the bulk of the discussion centered around how ChatGPT and generative AI writing can be used in the College's education system. "If one of your students didn't want to write a three-page paper that you had assigned, and so
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they give the prompt to one of their friends and said 'Hey, do me a favor, write this paper for me' and then your student turns this paper in that the friend had written,” Gilbert said. “That's clearly a violation of the honor code that's undermining the pedagogical goals of that assignment." Gilbert compared this hypothetical example to giving ChatGPT the prompt to the student's paper. He and the panelists agreed that this usage of generative AI defeats the purpose of writing to learn. According to the honor code, this is considered a form of plagiarism, as the student would be turning in work that was not the product of their individual thought process. "Our illustrious acting Dean sent out some initial guidelines that some members of the working group produced about using ChatGPT in the classroom. You know, one of those suggestions, which I think is a very good one, is considered using scaffolding in your writing assignments." According to the panelists, generative AI use in learning is not entirely negative. On the contrary,
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the panelists agreed that using it correctly can facilitate some students' learning processes. "Our illustrious acting Dean sent out some initial guidelines that some members of the working group produced about using ChatGPT in the classroom,” Gilbert said. “You know, one of those suggestions, which I think is a very good one, is considered using scaffolding in your writing assignments." Generating initial and broad writing ideas about the subject and then building off of the generated text to create writing of their own was considered by the panel to be one of the most positive uses of AI. This way, students can use the program to help with the creative process while still fostering the "writing for learning" value that many professors at the College strongly believe in. Another central point of the conversation was AI's role in academia. For example, how do professors give credit if AI was used to help in the production of research analysis? "Basically, an AI tool is not an agent, so it can't
accept the responsibility that goes along with being the author of a scientific work," Haug said. Although the discussion did not result in a clear answer, it contributed to an important question for the future of academia and the scientific process. Overall, the consensus from the discussion was that generative AI has great potential to be an overwhelmingly influential tool in academia if used correctly. The panel made it clear that there are still flaws with the system, specifically regarding the program's logic, analysis and humor. When asked to tell a joke about the College, ChatGPT said this: Why did the College of William and Mary student choose to study history? Because they wanted to major in the "past-tense"! When analyzing evidence or creating logical lines of reasoning, it produces similar responses that lack any form of syllogism. READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM.
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