College of William and Mary President Gene Nichol has stirred up a good deal of controversy at Virginia’s oldest university. The Wrenn Cross episode was only the most visible of his antics. (See “Nichol Bound for Duke?” for a satirical take on his brief but tempestuous tenure there, with links to documentation of less widely publicized flaps.)
Now comes another brouhaha that has already gained national attention on conservative talk radio. Reserve Officer Training Corps students are asking W&M to give them full credit for the military science courses they take, rather than limiting to six the number of credits that can be counted towards graduation. The student senate unanimously voted to give ROTC courses full credit, that all credits earned count to the 120 needed to graduate, and that the changes be made retroactive. But President Gene Nichol, reports Matt Pinsker, a sophomore who is leading the effort, “has not responded to any requests for a meeting to discuss the issue.”
The United States is at war; some 4,000 American soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, one of America’s leading universities extends credit for “Art 327: Hand-building Ceramics” and “Kinesiology 130: Adventure Games” but curtails the credits ROTC students earn for studying military science four hours a week in the classroom and engaging in physical education for three hours a week.
When I was going through the University of Virginia at the tail end of the Vietnam War, students protested in front of the Navy ROTC building. Today, students at W&M are protesting in favor of ROTC. How the wheel turns…
I don’t know what role, if any, Nichol played in putting W&M’s rules into place. But he can certainly play a role in changing them –and making the College more hospitable to the patriotic young men and women who want to serve their country and, in all likelihood, risk spilling their blood in a distant land when they graduate.
For details of this brewing controversy, see this report in the Daily Press, and this story in the Flat Hat, the college newspaper.
Update: I hear from Mr. Pinsker that President Nichol has agreed to an appointment “later this month.”