Free Republic

It was the last remark she was able to make before protesters drowned her out with cries of, "ACLU, you protect Hitler, too." They also chanted, "the oppressed are not impressed," "shame, shame, shame, shame," (an ode to the Faith Militant's treatment of Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, though why anyone would want to be associated with the religious fanatics in that particular conflict is beyond me), "blood on your hands," "the revolution will not uphold the Constitution," and, uh, "liberalism is white supremacy." This went on for nearly 20 minutes. Eventually, according to the campus's Flat Hat News,...

WILLIAMSBURG History was made without fanfare on Saturday. Jessee Vasold, William and Mary's first transgender homecoming queen, took the field at halftime of the Tribe's game against James Madison wearing a red shirt, black pants and a small silver lip ring to applause and not much other notice. Vasold, a junior, and the other members of the homecoming court were introduced to the crowd, posed for pictures, and walked off the field. "I knew I was nominated, but I was just surprised, because there were a lot of other really good candidates on the ballot," Vasold said. "I know all...

The College of William & Mary in Virginia is looking for a few good mascot ideas. One suggestion? An asparagus stalk. More than 400 nominations have been submitted to the 15-member William & Mary Mascot Search Committee since April 1. On Monday a headline in The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot boldly asked, "Wanted: William & Mary mascot. Got an idea?" "It's been fun," Susan T. Evans, a committee member who created the online communities to open up the process, told the Virginian-Pilot. "We have a lot of great options to consider." More than half of the suggestion have come from William &...

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The College of William & Mary in Virginia is looking for a mascot and ideas have ranged from a feathered horse to an asparagus stalk. The school said Monday more than 400 nominations have been submitted. William & Mary for decades was known as the Indians, but the school changed its nickname to Tribe in the 1980s. The NCAA ruled in 2006 that the college could keep the Tribe nickname but its feathered logo was demeaning to Native Americans and had to go. The school's athletic teams will still be called the Tribe, but the college wants...

<p>WASHINGTON — The College of William & Mary, the nation's second oldest, lost its president last week after a culture-war clash that began when he ordered the removal of an 18-inch brass cross from the altar of the historic Wren Chapel.</p>

There are still quite a few people in Russia that miss Joe Stalin. And in this precinct of reality there are many who miss Gene Nichol, recently departed President of William and Mary. Joe Stalin departed on God’s initiative; Gene’s departure was occasioned by the W&M’s Board of Visitors decision not to renew his contract. Gene departed in a snit, not a coffin but like Uncle Joe, he is well gone. But he is mourned, and nowhere more heartily than on the editorial pages of the Virginian Pilot, which today mourns once again that the Forces of Darkness, those cursed...

The president of the College of William & Mary, Gene R. Nichol, announced his resignation yesterday. His announcement came after he was told that his contract would not be renewed for the coming 2008-2009 academic year. Nichol has a history of clashing with the Board of Visitors and William & Mary alumni since his start as president in 2005. More conservative members opposed Nichol's decision to take down a cross that adorned a chapel used for both secular and religious events. Dissent also arose when he allowed a sex-workers art show to take place at the university; some members of...

Dear Alumni and Friends of the College of William and Mary: As you know, in early February the William and Mary Committee on Religion in a Public University was asked to present recommendations on the display of the Wren Chapel cross by mid April. The charge, while daunting, was accepted in the spirit you'd expect from the best among our College's alumni, faculty, students, and staff. Last evening we received a unanimous recommendation from the Committee on a new compromise practice on the cross's display. We have accepted and will begin to implement it immediately. A joint statement from the...

Out with the cross, in with the strippers. The formerly Christian college that sparked a national furor by removing a cross from its chapel in the interest of diversity this week packed out its auditorium with an explicit porn show.

WILLIAMSBURG -- The removal of a cross from the College of William & Mary's chapel has inspired petitions, letters to the editor, opinion columns and Web journal entries. Yesterday, a half-dozen critics and supporters of President Gene R. Nichol's decision to put the cross in storage had the chance to express their opinions to the public school's Board of Visitors. The board, which previously deferred to Mr. Nichol's judgment, did not take any action. But Rector Michael K. Powell said board members had received numerous communications about the cross and thought it was important to invite people on both sides...

The trials of Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi war prisoners rests, at least in small part, on the shoulders of Ian M. Ralby, a 22-year-old William and Mary law school student. He and 20 other students are providing legal research for the criminal case against Saddam and his accused henchmen, including cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as “Chemical Ali.” Working in groups of two or three, each is preparing answers to one of 10 legal questions posed by the U.S. Department of Justice to present at trial to the Iraqi Special Tribunal in Baghdad. Each must file a 50-...

Whoopee! "Repressive speech policies" of American colleges, John Leo assures us, "are under heavy pressure and starting to break down." Authorities at Utah State University actually permitted a debate on race based admission to take place on campus. And golly gee, at Thomas Jefferson's alma mater, William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia, after first cavalierly refusing a permit and thus provoking shrieks of protest, one Timothy J. Sullivan, the president of that institution, did allow a group styling itself "Sons of Liberty," to hold an affirmative action bake sale. For pure smarm, his press release takes the cake. What I...