Right Wing Succeeds In Campaign To Bring Down Progressive College President
Right Wing Succeeds In Campaign To Bring Down Progressive College President
Gene Nichol, the President of the College and William and Mary, resigned today in protest of a politically-motivated decision by the College’s Board of Visitors not to renew his contract. Michelle Malkin and other conservative commentators have seized on his resignation as “victory” and inaccurately characterized his departure as “disgraced.” The reality is quite different.
Nichol’s tenure aroused significant outcry among conservative lawmakers in Richmond, VA and conservative political operatives in Washington, DC. These external voices objected to Nichol’s presidency for two superficial and unfounded reasons:
1) Nichol’s decision to remove a Christian Cross from permanent display from in the College’s non-denominational Wren Chapel.
Nichol explained the decision was made “in order to help Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and other religious minorities feel more meaningfully included as members of our broad community.” The cross continued to be available for display upon student request. Further, my conversations with several leaders of student-run Christian groups on campus revealed that that the cross’s removal was indeed not an issue.
But while the cross was eventually returned at the decision of an independent committee, a lawsuit calling for a reversal of Nichol’s decision was dismissed by a federal court. Indicative of the entirely political nature of the attacks on Nichol’s Wren Cross decision is the fact that this “Save the Wren Cross” campaign was led by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s policy director.
2) Nichol refused to bar a student-funded and run organization from hosting the “Sex Workers Art Show.”
While Nichol expressed personal disapproval of the event, he argued the students must be allowed, on First Amendment grounds, to proceed with their student-funded event. The Rector of the College, former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, did not object to Nichol’s justification. Malkin suggests that critics of the event were silenced, but a number of vocal protestors from the campus and community were allowed to assemble outside the two sold-out performances.
Further, all three local nightly news broadcasts covered the event, and a number of op-eds objecting to the event were published both the campus and community press. Malkin’s conspiracy theories aside, the bar on video and still photography during the event is a common condition placed on many performances on William and Mary’s campus.
It’s unclear what truly motivated the attacks on Nichol. His efforts to diversify the College economically and ethnically — and his past as a Democratic candidate for Senate in 1996 — have roiled some conservatives outside of campus. Yet Nichol has enjoyed strong support among students, many of whom can be seen across campus sporting “I [Heart] Nichol” pins attached to their bags and “Renew Nichol” stickers on their notebooks. Others are wearing t-shirts declaring, “If President Nichol’s Not Welcome Here Than Neither Am I.”
Despite this support, the Board of Visitors headed by former FCC Chairman Michael Powell voted — in secret — against renewing Nichol’s contract. Further, the board offered — and Nichol refused to accept — “substantial economic incentives if [he] would agree ‘not to characterize [the non-renewal decision] as based on ideological grounds’ or make any other statement about [his] departure without their approval.” In unsuccessfully attempting to buy Nichol’s silence, the Board ensured that Nichol’s departure would indeed be remembered ever more vividly as a disgrace. The real disgrace, however, belongs to the Board, not Nichol.
Read Nichol’s resignation letter in its entirety HERE.
– Ryan Powers is a former intern of the Center for American Progress and a senior at the College of William and Mary.
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February 12th, 2008 at 2:37 pmThe christian mullahs want to shove their jeebus up our asses. The attack, lie, defame anybody who won’t bend over.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:38 pmYou have to question the competence of a college president when his / her priority is to purge Christian symbols from a chapel.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:39 pmImagine Jesus coming back and seeing the Crosses on all and in Churches. Holy Crap! He says, “I’m going back, this culture worships the symbol of what I was tortured on, and not the words I preached”
Now, I wonder if Jesus was shot or electrocuted, would people be wearing Little 9MMs or Electric Chairs around their necks?
February 12th, 2008 at 2:42 pmDummies, your supposed to go after government corruption.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:42 pmThese GOPigs would be in favor of waterboarding Jesus if he were alive today.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:44 pmThese GOPigs would be in favor of waterboarding Jesus if he were alive today.
Comment by jb — February 12, 2008 @ 2:44 pm
Well, why not. He was a rabble-rouser and troublemaker, and talked of things that were not in the State’s Interest.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:47 pmMichael Powell, the unqualified, partisan, son of a crony. Secret vote….how many secret abuses of power are hidden in the grimy depths of the GOP.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:48 pmTypical reichwing christofascist extremist behavior. Anything this group of demented maniacs does is nothing but pure sh$t.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:50 pmWell, why not. He was a rabble-rouser and troublemaker, and talked of things that were not in the State’s Interest.
Comment by Brain From Planet Arous — February 12, 2008 @ 2:47 pm
Next thing these GOPigs will want to bring back crucifixion.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:50 pmjb: GEOPigs hits the nail on the head.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:51 pmYou have to question the competence of a college president when his / her priority is to purge Christian symbols from a chapel.
Comment by Jason M. Hendler
During the first two centuries of Christianity, the cross may have been rare in Christian iconography, as it depicts a purposely painful and gruesome method of public execution. The Ichthys, or fish symbol, was used by early Christians.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:52 pmLOL@BFPA
Yeah….imagine him walking alongside a cliff, tripping over his shoe-laces and falling to his death on stone spikes below. What would people wear? Shoelaces with little stalagmites tied to them? :-D
February 12th, 2008 at 2:53 pmYou know, the cross has been up for as long as the school has been around.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:59 pmJon Stewart’s alma mater… Oh how his 2004 commencement address would have been different if this had happened a few years earlier.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:00 pmyou can “resign in protest” all you want, due to attacks of
“superficial and unfounded reasons”,
but that just leaves the position open to regressives…
in a sense – a victory…
just a first reaction opinion here…
February 12th, 2008 at 3:00 pmThey won’t like it so well if equal time is sued for for the Star of David, or a Wiccan pentagram, or horned god.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:01 pmwow- those righties sure are impressive – they can, in sufficient numbers, beat up a woman scholar and WIN!!
maybe if there were a billion or two of them, they could come up with one public policy item that actually works.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:04 pmSo William and Mary will put the cross up and still accept students of other religions and one person will get a new job.
I fail to see any victory here.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:07 pmThis is the next ideological battleground. If it’s true that faculty in higher education is mostly of liberal bent (debateable, but I’ll concede that point), it is most certainly true that the Trustees and Administration are of conservative mindset.
So, who really runs a college? The people who interact with students, or the people who hold the purse strings.
Stay tuned……
February 12th, 2008 at 3:08 pmbad enough that is was the freedom hater, powell, but this -
voted — in secret — against renewing Nichol’s contract -
is completely unacceptable.
can there be a reversal of this decision?
.
major kudos to nichol for refusing those “substantial economic incentives”
to try to silence him…
In unsuccessfully attempting to buy Nichol’s silence, the Board ensured that Nichol’s departure would indeed be remembered ever more vividly as a disgrace. The real disgrace, however, belongs to the Board, not Nichol.
hear! hear!
February 12th, 2008 at 3:11 pmYou miss the part about it being a NON-DENOMINTATIONAL chapel? If that’s the case, it shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Or every symbol from every relgion should have been there.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:16 pmYou know, the cross has been up for as long as the school has been around.
Comment by VA Voter — February 12, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
So that’s a “because we’ve always done it that way” argument? I believe that argument has also been used over the years to defend slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, etc. It didn’t make it right.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:18 pmThey should put dollar bills on crosses if they wanted to be real Christians.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:18 pmNow, I wonder if Jesus was shot or electrocuted, would people be wearing Little 9MMs or Electric Chairs around their necks?
Comment by Brain From Planet Arous @ 2:42 pm
l o l …
good visual…
February 12th, 2008 at 3:19 pmhow many secret abuses of power are hidden in the grimy depths
of the GOP.
Comment by jb — February 12, 2008 @ 2:48 pm
and how did it get so inbedded into our schools?
we were warned…
February 12th, 2008 at 3:21 pmYou have to question the competence of a college president when his / her priority is to purge Christian symbols from a chapel.
Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 12, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
If it was a Christian chapel, I would agree with you. However, this was a non-denominational chapel — supposedly available to any religious group.
And the cross wasn’t “purged” — it was removed from display. It was still available for display if any group using the chapel wished it to be for their event.
My only guess is that the cross defenders wanted other non-Christian groups to hold their religious events with a cross staring them in the face. That’s religious bullying.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:22 pmThe board must have additional motives in ousting him. Colleges these days, as you may know, are not able to depend very much on government support. Therefore, private support is needed. Nichol’s progressive handling of the college on a social level apparently didn’t please the donors.
Nichol was a victim of a catch-22.
I don’t think much of fundraising responsibilities being tacked onto these kinds of jobs. Makes the college more like a corporation. The college shouldn’t be for sale, and the government should grant more support to insulate the college from donor fall-out caused by the whoring of the national media when the fundies scream.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:24 pmAnd may I add, the outrage was pushed mostly by old-time alumni, the college’s private funding target, while he enjoyed support from current students.
Apparently the board cared more for the $$ by the old-time alumni. Oh, and those corporate U.S. News rankings too.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:29 pmComment by Brain From Planet Arous — February 12, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
Little electric chairs? That’s an old Lenny Bruce line.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:30 pmTypical of the Reichwing Christofascist, Hiltler would have been proud of these aholes.
Buck Fush
February 12th, 2008 at 3:31 pmI suspect Hendler deliberately used the word “purge” for its nastier associations, missmolly. Good chance he knows he’s distorting the story, but, hey, he’s never let “the facts” get in the way before.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:33 pmHendler, who says it was his priority? You make it sound like he did it to the exclusion of other responsibilities. Are you suggesting Nichols spent weeks on this one decision? Please show us one iota of evidence that Nichols in any way failed to execute his duties as president.
Or shut up.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:42 pmColin Powell’s Son, Michael has also been part of the effort to gut PBS
Nice Son, Colin…does he lie, too?
February 12th, 2008 at 3:43 pmYou know, the cross has been up for as long as the school has been around.
Comment by VA Voter — February 12, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
That is actually untrue. The College was founded in 1693. The Wren Cross was loaned to the College by Bruton Parish, a local church, in the 1940s. Until that time, no cross was displayed in the Chapel.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:55 pmLittle electric chairs? That’s an old Lenny Bruce line.
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — February 12, 2008 @ 3:30 pm
Really? Well, then I’m in good intellectual company, though I don’t share his taste in drugs.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:57 pmthat the number 318 (in Greek numerals, ΤΙΗ) in Genesis 14:14 was interpreted using numerology as a foreshadowing (a “type”) of the cross (T, an upright with crossbar, standing for 300) and of Jesus (ΙΗ, the first two letter of his name ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, standing for 18),[5] and his contemporary Tertullian could designate the body of Christian believers as crucis religiosi, i.e. “devotees of the Cross”.[6] In his book De Corona, written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads the sign of the cross. [The mark was called the TAW or TAU[7] -Wikipedia
February 12th, 2008 at 4:15 pm~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dang V V that WMstudent straightened your false argument.
You know, the cross has been up for as long as the school has been around.
Comment by VA Voter — February 12, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
That is actually untrue. The College was founded in 1693. The Wren Cross was loaned to the College by Bruton Parish, a local church, in the 1940s. Until that time, no cross was displayed in the Chapel.
Comment by WMStudent — February 12, 2008 @ 3:55 pm
leave it to a rightard to lie outright.
February 12th, 2008 at 4:15 pmOk, this is easy.
Don;t go to W&M. Don’t send your kids to W&M. If they want to be the next Bob Jones University, so be it.
February 12th, 2008 at 4:24 pmIf Jesus came back to Earth, in the USA, and declare that he was against war they would call him a pacifist, the anti-christ and a heretic then likely crucify him.
February 12th, 2008 at 4:31 pmReally? Well, then I’m in good intellectual company, though I don’t share his taste in drugs.
Comment by Brain From Planet Arous — February 12, 2008 @ 3:57 pm
Yaaaas indeed, it was a Lenny Bruce line.
Yeah, Lenny was a brilliant satirist, years of ahead of his time, who unfortunately had problems he couldn’t solve.
February 12th, 2008 at 4:47 pmDon;t go to W&M. Don’t send your kids to W&M. If they want to be the next Bob Jones University, so be it.
Comment by McE — February 12, 2008 @ 4:24 pm
Sorry, that’s limiting my freedom. Take the cross down except when it’s requested. perfectly rational, fair policy.
February 12th, 2008 at 4:58 pmIn the end, President Nichol wins by taking the high road and showing how narrow-minded and bigoted the reichwingers and their media nut enablers are. More bothersome to me and my fellow Virginians is the involvement of the reichwingers in our Virginia Assembly in this witch hunt.
But fear not — we’re changing Virginia from red to blue more and more each year; we took back the state Senate last November, and will soon take back the House of Delegates as well. That should prevent solid educators and other public servants like Nichol who don’t drink the Rovian koolaid from being purged in the future…
February 12th, 2008 at 5:15 pm@WMStudent:
Thanks for setting VAvoter straight. I wanted to point that out.
By the way, I’m an alum. And while I haven’t been following the Nichol’s presidency, I’m disappointed in his ouster after waking up to his email to the W&M community.
February 12th, 2008 at 5:29 pmYou have to question the competence of a college president when his / her priority is to purge Christian symbols from a chapel.
Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 12, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
You have to wonder the competence of a poster when he or she refuses to read the original article. He or she would have READ plainly in print that the cross was being removed because the “chapel” is non-denominational. For those folks too ignorant to know, too lazy to bother looking it up, or too intellectually dishonest to acknowledge the actual reason behind the decision, the phrase NON-DENOMINATIONAL means the building in question wasn’t just a chapel set aside for use by Christians. Rather, it is a chapel for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Shintoists, Scientologists, Pastafarians, or ANY OTHER RELIGION (or the non-religious wishing a peaceful place to get in touch with their spirituality) to use as a place or worship.
For a cross to be left up, while keeping down any other religion’s symbols, is the violation of the rights of the students to equal treatment and equal rights. Not taking down the symbol of a lone religion in a building intended to be used by all religions (or even a lack thereof).
Thanks, Jason, for once again proving your extreme intellectual dishonesty. At least you are consistent about it.
February 12th, 2008 at 5:57 pmAs a W&M alum (and, ironically a classmate of Michael Powell) this is truly heartbreaking. I still remember having to throw a sheet over the cross 23 years ago so the wedding of my tax and tuition paying Jewish roommate could could proceed in that state-owned “nondenominational” chapel. The fact that it took a constitutional law scholar as president of the College to rectify this violation of the establishment clause speaks volumes about the history of my home state since Thomas Jefferson’s day. The fact that a common sense solution to such an obvious violation raised such an uproar simply reinforces the wisdom of my decision to leave my home state shortly after graduation. In defense of the rector and board of regents, I do not perceive this decision as one driven directly by ideology. Instead, it is a reflexive reaction to pressure from right wing members of the General Assembly and a concentrated group of wealthy alums who threatened to withold financial support if their demands for Dr. Nichol’s head were not met. Those alumni are well within their rights to support whatever institutions they choose as am I. I sincerely hope that those who demanded the termination of an excellent president who was (and is) extremely popular with much of the school’s out of state alumni base are willing to step forward now. As long as the College remains in the thrall of the right wing bigots controlling the Virginia General Assembly however, this is one Third Century Club member who has no intention of renewing his pledge.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:11 pmAs a W&M alumnus, I am appalled at the actions of the Board. It is not hard to believe that they would cave in to the vocal, hate-filled right wing rhetoric. Most of those folks are from the right wing.
I truly think that President Nichol’s final statement was one of the most poignant and moving addresses that I have read in a long time. His words have significance far beyond Williamsburg. He hits on many of the problems that are tearing this country apart.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:46 pmThe University of Colorado is currently facing the nomination of a right-wing ideologue, Bruce Benson, as their new president. Benson is a multimillionaire sponsor of Republican candidates and initiatives, founder of the 527 Trailhead Group, and former (losing) candidate for governor. If any of you know any influential folks in Colorado, call them and ask them to speak up against this guy. With a bachelor’s degree and millions in the bank, he thinks he can buy himself a prestigious university presidency.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:46 pm#36 WMStudent
Thank you so much for that tidbit of information. I knew it and I was always upset that the right wing never seemed to mention that fact. The original chapel would have never had a cross.
All these supposed “Christian” folks need to know a bit more of their religious history. But, then again, I guess that they always like to revise their histories to fit whatever it might be that they are screaming about on any given day.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:51 pmGreat to hear from William and Mary students and alum on this issue.
Thanks!
February 12th, 2008 at 10:29 pmYou have to question the SANITY of a POSTER that doesn’t understand the term NON-DEMOMINATION! Seems like Aspergers isn’t the ONLY brain damage you suffer from – TARD!
Comment by republicans hate facts — February 13, 2008 @ 12:37 am
Doesn’t Hendler claim to be a TRAIL lawyer? He goes to court with an inability or severely hampered ability to read the body language of those he is prosecuting OR defending?!? I know many people can function with Asperger Syndrome. My own lady is one of them. But to be a successful trial lawyer really does require a strong ability to read a person’s body language, facial expressions and other visual cues that indicate a propensity to lie, or an emotional state.
Not that I actually believe he is a trial lawyer, since he spends an awful lot of time posting here and elsewhere. I’ve never met a lawyer of ANY ilk with so much free time, and I’ve known and know an awful lot of lawyers. :/
February 13th, 2008 at 12:50 amErr, first sentence above should say “TRIAL lawyer”, not “TRAIL lawyer”.
Heh
February 13th, 2008 at 12:51 amSome important things to note.
William & Mary is a STATE school and it is a non-denominational chapel, so yes, the cross was inappropriate. I pass the Wren Chapel 5 or 6 times a week and I have yet to see anyone in there. This is such a shame for the school. These ideaologues have hijacked the administration and kicked out a good leader who was bringing good changes to the school.
The cross was available for anyone wanting to use the chapel.
This was done by a small number of people in the VA house of delegates and the BOV. Secret votes and dismissals for no GIVEN REASON other than distaste for someone who dared to work for the ACLU before coming to Virginia.
One of the people involved, a member of the house of delegates, is considering running for Warner’s Senate seat. I forget his name, but he is a total wingnut.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:05 amThe good guys win again!!!!
February 13th, 2008 at 8:32 amWhy did he want to restrict critics who wanted to tape the sex show???
sex shows ok
cross is evillllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!
February 13th, 2008 at 8:37 amNichol showed his lack of class and his lack of love for W&M in his final letter. He truly loves to stir up controversy and he was more interested in being seen as a “victim” (oh so typical of liberals) than in the long term interests of W&M. He could have left with some quiet dignity, but not this man. And, by the, way, for you liberal fascists out there, check out the real neat speech code he was in the midst of implementing at W&M…along with the infratructure to support and enforce this “bias” system. For you lovers of the 1st amendment out there, if this does not send shivers down your spine, I don’t know what will. This man was PC run amok; lowering standards on the alter of “diversity; using skin tone as the ultimate measure of a man or a woman…..When can we move past all that crap and get back to MERIT and ACHIEVEMEMENT as the basis for evaluating our students. This man was a poor administrator who alienated many of the various interest groups tied to the college, not the least of which was/is the large base of Christian alumni such as myself who vowed to never give another nickel to W&M so long as Nichol was at the helm. Well, my check book is open again and I will be sending a check within the next few weeks.
Robert S. Meybohm
February 13th, 2008 at 2:05 pmClass of 1982
Why did he want to restrict critics who wanted to tape the sex show???
sex shows ok
cross is evillllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!
Comment by Ricl077 — February 13, 2008 @ 8:37 am
The Sex Workers Art Show does not allow outside cameras into their shows for fear that there would be widespread dispersal of the film. Viewers buy tickets to see the show; the organizers don’t want audience members taping the show and making money off it. It’s similar to any theater production that prohibits flash and video photography during their shows.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:56 pmI still remember having to throw a sheet over the cross 23 years ago so the wedding of my tax and tuition paying Jewish roommate could could proceed in that state-owned “nondenominational” chapel. The fact that it took a constitutional law scholar as president of the College to rectify this violation of the establishment clause speaks volumes about the history of my home state since Thomas Jefferson’s day. The fact that a common sense solution to such an obvious violation raised such an uproar simply reinforces the wisdom of my decision to leave my home state shortly after graduation. In defense of the rector and board of regents, I do not perceive this decision as one driven directly by ideology. Instead, it is a reflexive reaction to pressure from right wing members of the General Assembly and a concentrated group of wealthy alums who threatened to withold financial support if their demands for Dr. Nichol’s head were not met. Those alumni are well within their rights to support whatever institutions they choose as am I. I sincerely hope that those who demanded the termination of an excellent asus l3500 battery,asus l3800 battery president who was (and is) extremely popular with much of the school’s out of state alumni base are willing to step forward now. As long as the College remains in the thrall of the right wing bigots controlling the Virginia General Assembly however, this is one Third Century Club member who has no intention of renewing his pledge.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:43 am