The College of William & Mary, the second oldest institution of higher education in the country whose alumni include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe, has again been embarrassed by its current President, Gene Nichol.
Yesterday, thanks to President Nichol, William and Mary hosted the Sex Workers Art Show on campus.
Despite outcries that the College was highlighting and promoting illegal activity, Nichol defended the show.
You may remember Nichol’s decision to remove the Cross from the college’s Wren Building – the oldest academic building in continuous use in America. Apparently, the cross offended too many people.
That was the last straw for Delegate Tim Hugo (R-Fairfax), who is, by the way, a William & Mary alum. Delegate Hugo said that for the “good of the College, President Nichol should not seek another term as President when his current contract ends this Spring.
Yesterday, thanks to President Nichol, William and Mary hosted the Sex Workers Art Show on campus.
Despite outcries that the College was highlighting and promoting illegal activity, Nichol defended the show.
You may remember Nichol’s decision to remove the Cross from the college’s Wren Building – the oldest academic building in continuous use in America. Apparently, the cross offended too many people.
That was the last straw for Delegate Tim Hugo (R-Fairfax), who is, by the way, a William & Mary alum. Delegate Hugo said that for the “good of the College, President Nichol should not seek another term as President when his current contract ends this Spring.
8 comments:
Right on, Tim Hugo! I agree with your comments about President Nichol. I am considering starting a petition demanding the immediate resignation of President Nichol. Although, I am not an alumni of William and Mary, I personally can not stand when liberals destroy college campuses.
How about Tim Hugo stepping aside? His failure to recognize the triviality of this topic robs the GA of time better spent addressing issues with real merit.
Which college campuses in Virginia have been destroyed by liberals? Name one.
You know, if you were the small government conservatives you claim to be, you would not want the state government interfering and micromanaging the affairs of a single state school. You appoint the BOV, that should be enough.
As a Government Major here at the College, I am simply appalled. Who are any of you to determine what we, as the student body, can do with our funds? Your antiquated beliefs only stifle the development of rich and diverse educational experience. Yes, the Sex Show was controversial - but, as a certain democrat in the House remarked, was the Civil Rights movement not also controversial? How about the editor-in-chief of the Flat Hat, my beloved College's biweekly newspaper, being fired from her post in 1945 for suggesting the African-Americans by integrated into our school? Was that not also controversial? Times change. I went to this school for a liberal arts degree, not a conservative arts degree. The Virginia House of Delegates has no right to delve in such issues, and I can promise you all that Del. Tim Hugo will certainly have an interesting time come reelection. Our presence will be felt for long to come. HARK UPON THE GAIL, TRIBE
For the good of the college, you legislators should have butted the hell out and let the college manage its own affairs. Instead, you chose to bully the Board of Visitors and defy the wishes of the majority of the college's student body.
Gotcha politics? How about the Va GOP starting a blog regarding how victorious conservatives were due to the resignation of W&M's President Gene Nichols, only to pull the blog when you don't like what you read?! Behind-the-door politics have no place in PUBLIC colleges, and if nothing else comes out of Nichols' resignation, due to pressure from the Priviledges Committee on various W&M Board of Visitors, hopefully one result will be the absolute airing of closed-door politics, hush money (yes, Gene Nichols was offered money by W&M's BOV President to keep his mouth shut!), and the clear and constant understanding that conservatives try to manipulate public funds through our public universities.
Hurray to the W&M students and faculty who now understand "gotcha politics"...the Va. GOP wins the award...and it's nothing to be proud of folks.
You know what? One of the most beloved campus legends of Thomas Jefferson is the story told on tours and by RAs about him helping to take the Wren Building hostage while he was a student there. I think if dearly beloved TJ was around today, he'd sure as heck be fighting on the side of freedom of expression and self-determination, *not* rallying behind you right-wing moral police. TJ knew that ideas are meant to be challenged, that societal norms are meant to shift. This is the man who once said, "God forbid we should ever be twenty years without a rebellion", who championed the "building a wall of separation between church and state", and who fought so that the views of a moral majority couldn't be used to oppress the minority dissenters. So don't you *dare* try to use TJ's name to add gravitas to your arguments. TJ would be standing with us.
You are not a current student/faculty/staff of the college, you do not know what is best for the college. Don't presume you do.
-WM 2011
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