<p>William and Mary, the country’s oldest University, was around long before Nichol, and will be around long after he’s gone… On Wednesday, while my afternoon class was canceled, I took some time to compose my thoughts. Please keep in mind that more information has since come out (like, explaining all the unilateral decisions that he made). </p>
<p>“The best way out is always through.”
- Robert Frost</p>
<p>I have heard complaints from students about the BOV making decisions that don’t affect them. Like the students should be the ones making the decisions on how the College is run? Should it always be up for a vote? Please. Board of Visitors are appointed by the Governor [and approved by the General Assembly?]. Don’t like the Board of Visitors? Demand change from the people who YOU elected. To say the BOV makes decisions that do not concern them is completely false. They are directly accountable to elected officials, who are accountable to the general public (that means YOU).</p>
<p>Three years ago, the students were very involved in the hiring process as much as anyone could ask. The five finalists, what was a less than stellar group, IMO, were all brought to campus to have discussions with students. These discussions were open to everyone, and comment cards were filled out, and additional comments were encouraged from those who attended four or five of the sessions. So now we are in a situation. You either agree that the BOV listened to students then, and suddenly changed their mind about whether they should listen to students, which seems very unlikely. Or, you think they didn’t listen to the students before, in which case they hired Nichol against the wishes of the student body, which I’m sure you are unlikely to agree with. The third option is that the BOV cares what students think, but ultimately, has to do what they think is best for the College. What is right is not always popular, and what is popular is not always right.</p>
<p>Do you really think the BOV tries to make decisions to hurt the College? Is that what you REALLY think? Ask yourself. Do you think the political party in Washington DC that you don’t agree with makes decisions to hurt the country? Or do you simply disagree?</p>
<p>Nichol finished the fundraising campaign that was gaining huge success under the leadership of Timmy J, in spite of losing a $12 million pledge. Let me say that again. He lost $12 million that W&M had in the bank. Maybe at Harvard ($35 billion endowment), or even UVA ($4 billion), $12 million dollars would be less of an issue. But at poor little William and Mary (less than $600 million), that is some serious money. There is no other way to put it. That’s way more money than the senior gifts pledge, most of which are likely not followed through on. Think withdrawing a pledge for $100 (that statistically, you won’t follow through on) is going to carry more weight than someone who pulls $12 million that was already given? You want someone to listen to you, but not the person with the money? Sorry, that’s not how it works. You know it, and I know it. And it’s not logically something that should be done. Where is the new fundraising campaign? Would anyone really agree that we are not in need of one with professors that are significantly underpaid? Nichol was quick to demand more money from the General Assembly, which is all well and good, as soon as the politicians vote to increase taxes (which we know the general public would just love). Despite the fact that only 20% of William and Mary’s money comes from the state, that is where Nichol turned his attention to increase funding.</p>
<p>Honestly, I have no stake in the Cross controversy. I couldn’t care less about the thing, and I definitely believe that it has been overblown. I just don’t think it was ok for him to make unilateral decisions. Whether or not you agree with his decision holds no value to the argument I am making. FACT: there was no controversy prior to his arrival regarding the cross. FACT: he did something that got William and Mary negative national attention. He showed up to William and Mary, and started making changes. Gene Nichol is a failed politician (FACT) who came to the school with an agenda. Politicians fail when their ideas are not acceptable to enough people. His politics were discussed during the student interview sessions, and I’m sure extensively behind closed doors with the BOV as well. Becoming President, Nichol agreed to check his politics at the door, a promise he has not followed through on. [As anti Nichol as this will get] He found a place he could use as his political laboratory, and thought he was the final arbiter. As it turns out, he was not.</p>
<p>Nichol was met with open arms by the student body 2.5 years ago. The enthusiasm for Timmy J carried right over, and he benefited from this approval. Most students at the College have never known another President, and are emotionally attached to the one we have (side note: students at the College also know nothing besides a Bush or Clinton working at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, but I digress). Well, let me just say that Timmy J was as loved as you can be. He was popular among the students. Charismatic, yet laid back, Santa Claus at Yule Log, and plastered at King and Queens, Timmy J could play politics with the best of them. Timmy J was as left on the political spectrum as they come, but he found a way to keep his personal views out of running the College. Nichol does not have a good relationship with Timmy J, and this has always been a concern for me. Timmy J was loved by students, faculty, and alumni, yet was odds with Nichol. Why?</p>
<p>Maybe students at WM have a special connection with the President because he lives on ancient campus, seemingly available to us all. We sing to him during freshmen orientation, and he acknowledges. This is not a new phenomenon since Nichol came to the Brafferton. We sang to Timmy J, and laughed and cheered when he dressed as Santa for Yule Long, though not filling out the costume quite as much as his successor. This is all great. But the number one priority of the President of a university is not to be accessible to the students. The top priorities are university relations and fundraising. Regardless of what you think, controversy has been created, where before there was none. This is a fact. There are Deans to deal with daily life on campus and student concerns.</p>
<p>I expect the BOV will be setting up a timetable to find a replacement, which probably means a couple years, unless they appoint Dean Reveley as the permanent replacement, which would be acceptable for many, I believe. He was the runner-up candidate 3 years ago, and has been around William and Mary for a long time. Promoting from within will let everyone know that someone will be in charge who loves William and Mary and understand what it means to be here, which could go a long way towards easing the tensions.</p>
<p>That said, Nichol has brought a lot of positives to WM. He was a huge supporter of student athletes (WM is one of the few schools that encourages athletes to be students as well). Many schools would jump at the chance for someone who could throw a football 50 yards in the air, or run a 4.4 40, regardless of their 2.3 high school GPA and sub 900 standardized test scores, but Nichol was a big supporter of the student athletes here at the College, who deserve all the respect of you and I. He increased diversity, among the students and staff at the College, which I have heard no one complain about, and in fact was praised by Powell.</p>
<p>I sat through the beginning of my class this morning, where the professor offered to discuss the happenings, and then felt the need to share her opinions, which was fine, until she said that Nichol was fired because “some people are afraid of the school becoming more diverse.” What. The. ****. She even came out and said it too. She accused “old, white gentlemen with lots of money” of being “racist”. I’m sorry, but there is no basis for this. None at all. The diversity policy is explicitly praised in the letter from Michael Powell. Sorry, I just think declaring the Board of Visitors “racist old white people with money and fear of change” is not a very fair assessment (to say the least), and I’m sure others would agree.</p>
<p>There have been complaints about Powell’s letter. He said that the decision was not made on Nichol’s ideology, or one single issue. This is key. Read closely. The decision wasn’t about his ideology; it was about his actions. It wasn’t about a single issue; it was about multiple issues (side note: I think I used semi colons correctly here… I never use semi colons, so that’s exciting). Indeed, Powell speaks to the legacy that Nichol will leave, and it’s a fairly good one, for such a short period of time. And it appears he got his wish, which was the final say on the Cross, and Powell says it will be off limits to future Presidents.</p>
<p>Contrary to popular belief and the seemingly doomsday feeling, daily life at the College will not change after Nichol’s departure. Students will still go to class, challenge each other, and learn for tomorrow. Brilliant professors will lead engaging discussions that are found on few other campuses across America. Students will continue to put hundreds of thousands of hours of volunteer work into the community, locally and globally. William and Mary has a unique campus culture that is unmatched anywhere. You were proud to go here. Do you suddenly become not proud to go here because a new President is chosen? Does that really make sense? One President does not the College make. The College is bigger than any one person, or group of people. Together, we all make up the College. We are the oldest University in the country. We are home to the oldest student run honor code. We are arguably one of the best undergraduate schools in the country. We are the beneficiaries of those who came before us. We owe it to those who will come after us. We owe it to those who came before us. We owe it to the College. The College was here before us. And the College will be here long after we are forgotten.</p>
<p>Today’s students are tomorrow’s alumni. To say that you won’t give to the College because of this decision reeks of ignorance and disgrace. You do not care that the next generation has the same opportunity that you had? You are taking your anger out on the next group of 18 year olds to sit in the Wren courtyard, and watch, as their banner is unveiled, as they are preparing to begin some of the best years of their lives. If you don’t want to give to a general WM fund, that’s fine, however it has been suggested that you give in honor of Nichol, to let people know that you supported him. If that is not acceptable, give to something you participated in on campus that helped make your time at WM. Give to your department. Give to an EC. Everyone at WM has invested countless hours into something while they have been here, and the students who call William and Mary their home in ten years just as much deserve a chance to participate in those activities as you did when you walked through the Wren Building when you first arrived. However, I have heard people yesterday say they will never give money, and that is a very ignorant decision to make.</p>
<p>“It is every man’s obligation to put back in the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.”
- Albert Einstein</p>
<p>The thing that sits in my mind as I come to the conclusion of my thoughts, is that Nichol resigned in the middle of the semester. Perhaps it is better he is not at graduation, as a polarizing figure, he would still be. But this strikes me as throwing in the towel, from someone who I would have least expected it. Three years ago, he signed a contract, and on February 12, he made the decision not to fulfill it. How many Presidents of the United States have resigned in November after losing a campaign for re-election? I believe the answer to this question is zero.</p>
<p>I am slightly concerned with the offer of money to Nichol as an offer to keep quiet, but until something else comes out, it is just a severance package, common in American society, and nothing more. Unlike many in the last 2 years, I will not go searching for controversy where there isn’t one.</p>
<p>In closing… things can’t always go the way you want. Sometimes, you just have to deal with it and move on. William and Mary has been here long before us, and we will be here long after we have passed on. It is up to us to build on the legacy that has been left for us, and leave a legacy for others to enjoy. Refuse to be defined by a single person or event. Refuse to stand by idly when things don’t go your way, but wearing blinders into a situation can make you think it’s significantly worse than it is.</p>
<p>“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
- Lyndon B. Johnson</p>
<p>Let Her never die,
- soccerguy315</p>