Vol. 115, Iss. 9 | Wednesday, September 24, 2025
The Flat Hat The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
flathatnews.com | @theflathat
RYAN GOODMAN / THE FLAT HAT
City of Williamsburgʼs proposed Rent Ready program met with continued pushback CLARE GIFFORD // FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC.
Thursday, Sept. 18, the City of Williamsburg held its second of three public input sessions for its proposed Rent Ready program at the College of William and Mary’s Sadler Center in Tidewater B. Students, landlords and property owners came to hear a revised version of the proposal and participate in a monitored Q-and-A session for the remainder of the 90 minutes allocated. The three sessions (Aug. 28, Sept. 18 and Sept. 30) are identical in format, with the proposal updated after each round of input. Tevya Williams Griffin, the City’s planning and codes compliance director, led the meeting. Griffin has overseen the development of Rent Ready Williamsburg since joining the City’s Planning Department in 2022. “This is a proposed voluntary rental certification program developed to improve the quality, safety and community integration of off-campus housing near the College of William and Mary,” Griffin said. In essence, landlords and property owners would permit the City to conduct a free home inspection, after which the property would be rated on roughly a 100-point scale based on its physical condition and available amenities. A score of at least 80 is required for a Rent Ready certification, while a score of 95 or higher is necessary to qualify for four-person occupancy. She encouraged active participation throughout the meeting and opened the session with a QR code survey to be filled out by attendees both before and after. “This program has been a long time in the making,” Griffin said. “And so now we’re at the point where we would like input from all of you about the program.” The Rent Ready proposal began as one of 27 concepts identified by the City of Williamsburg’s Neighborhood Balance Committee, a group of students from the College, landlords and property owners, in 2019.
It is the tenth Neighborhood Balance concept actualized since 2020 and has been included in the City’s 2021, 2023 and 2025 Goals, Initiatives, and Outcomes planning document. The current program guidelines draw from the results of two focus groups — one of students and one of landlords — conducted in April 2023, as well as the results of a separate survey of around 300 people. Rent Ready Williamsburg is also modeled after the successful Rent Ready Norfolk program, which requires local Navy sailors to live in Rent Ready-certified housing. Williamsburg’s version centers on four stated priorities: safety, behavior, quality and preserving the character of neighborhoods. According to Griffin, improving off-campus student housing conditions, fostering better relationships between students and neighboring residents, and keeping the neighborhoods clean are all Rent Ready initiatives. “We believe it strengthens neighborhoods by aligning the interests of students, landlords and long-time residents through safe, high-quality rental housing and shared educational opportunities,” Griffin said. While it is entirely voluntary, the College would only endorse certified properties on its housing platforms if the program is implemented. The program is not open to all of Williamsburg, just the four designated districts near the College. Despite these goals, Rent Ready Williamsburg has received mixed reactions, often skewing negative. “In its current form, I’m definitely against Rent Ready,” Shane Bennett ’26 said. “I think with many changes, it could be beneficial for the community.” The crux of the issue lies in its strict criteria for four-person occupancy. Today, 37 four-person occupancy properties have been certified by the City within the four proposed Rent Ready districts. Landlords and property owners believe the criteria
create unreasonably high barriers to gain four-person occupancy certification, leaving not enough incentive to join the program. Fewer people allowed on the property would spike rent prices, which would lead more students to look toward questionable housing options. “Yes, I do think it's a common student opinion because it really seems to me like it serves to punish students for living off campus more than helping them,” Bennett said. “The big issue for me is affordability.” Student Assembly President Zoe Wang B.A. ’25, M.P.P. ’26 acknowledged the ongoing issue of ghost tenants — individuals living on a property without having signed a lease — that could be escalated too. “I think when you look at the details of the program, the core problem is that there are ghost tenants in Williamsburg,” Wang said. “And when students are ghost tenanting, they might encounter issues with their landlord that they are afraid to bring up.” Landlords and property owners also raised objections to Section 5-312 of the draft proposal, which states that property owners, not tenants, will be held accountable for violations such as noise complaints. Each reported incident will drop their Rent Ready score by ten points.. Students, landlords and other Williamsburg residents care deeply about this program and its consequences for the off-campus housing market. Walter Garrett ’29 came to the meeting to support his fraternity working with this program and to prepare for his own future housing decisions. “I came tonight to support my brothers,” Garrett said. “I wanted to be there for them. And also, it’s definitely nice to get some of this information if I end up living off campus as an upperclassman.” READ MORE AT FLATHATNEWS.COM
ELECTION
Law school hosts 38th annual Supreme Court preview featuring judges
Ins t i t u t e o f B i l l o f R i ghts Law holds moot court session, prepares journalists for law ROBIN PERDUE FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC.
Friday, Sept. 19, the College of William and Mary Law School opened the 38th annual Supreme Court Preview. Hosted by the Law School’s Institute of Bill of Rights Law, the event is a two-day annual conference that convenes judges, scholars, advocates and journalists to discuss the Supreme Court’s upcoming term. The preview began Friday afternoon with the annual Moot Court trial and continued through Saturday evening with a series of panels. Before the event, the Institute of Bill of Rights Law highlighted its mission statement on its website. “One of the principal missions of the Institute is to facilitate interaction between the professions of law and journalism,” its website said. “Through a discussion of key cases on the Supreme Court’s docket at the start of each term, the annual Supreme Court Preview provides in-depth education for journalists on the underlying issues
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to enhance press coverage of the decisions.” The preview opened at 4:00 p.m. in the Law School’s McGlothlin Courtroom with a welcoming statement from Alfred Wilson and Mary I.W. Lee Professor and Director of the Institute of the Bill of Rights Law Allison Orr Larsen. “Each fall, W&M is delighted to host the Supreme Court Preview,” Larsen said. “We have with us this weekend the nation’s top Supreme Court advocates and Supreme Court journalists, along with esteemed scholars who write about the court and some of our nation’s finest jurists from the US Court of Appeals.” The keynote event of the preview is the annual moot court trial, a mock session of an upcoming Supreme Court case. This year’s annual trial was Chiles v. Salazar, which was outlined in a preview briefing. “In 2019, Colorado enacted a law banning licensed mental health professionals from engaging in ‘conversion therapy’ with minors, defined as efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity,” Larsen said.
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“Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor and practicing Christian, challenged the law, arguing that it prevents her from providing counseling consistent with her religious beliefs.” Practicing attorneys Jaime Santos and Ben Snyder advocated for the upholding of the law. Larsen delivered opening introductions for each mock defense attorney. “Ben Snyder is a partner and appellate practice co-chair at Paul Hastings,” Larsen said. “He joined that firm after a five-year stint in the Office of the Solicitor General. Ben clerked for Chief Justice Roberts and has argued before the court many times. Among his greatest hits, at least in my heart, he argued the Corner Post case for you ad law nerds.” Larsen continued with an introduction of the second mock defense attorney. “Jamie Santos is the co-chair of Goodwin’s Appellate and Supreme Court litigation practice, where she’s also a member of the firm's ERISA litigation, life sciences disputes groups, and the Dobbs Task Force,” Larsen said. Inside Variety
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“She clerked for Raymond Fisher on the Ninth Circuit, and her work as an appellate litigator led her to be recognized as a DC Rising Star by the National Law Journal and Law 360.” Ten special guest justices, professors and judicial experts acted as moot court justices. The Chief Justice was CNN’s Joan Biskupic. She served alongside Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Pamela Harris, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Robin Rosenbaum and Supreme Court Director at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection Kelsi Corkran. Several other practicing judges also participated, in addition to Wall Street Journal Supreme Court correspondent Jess Bravin, Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law at Stanford University Pam Karlan and Davison Douglas Professor of Law Margaret Hu. See POLITICS page 3
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