Prospective students invariably hear about the high level of extracurricular involvement on campus, and recently the founders and participants of Hello WM have given our tour guides good reason to boast.

Through its free, student-taught classes in languages not offered by the College of William and Mary, this organization has more than made the most of a bad situation, enriching the campus in the process. We commend Hello WM’s efforts and call on others, when faced with a similar dilemma, to follow their lead.

So far, Hello WM offers classes in four languages — Korean, Farsi, Portuguese and American Sign Language — with plans to add more by the end of the semester. Obviously it would be preferable to learn a language from a trained and studied professor who teaches classes for credit that also fit into a full curriculum. But when no such choice is available, Hello WM’s student-run alternative is far better than nothing.

We give Mark Johnson ’09 and Daniela Schiano Di Cola ’09 our highest praises for their efforts with this project. It is not easy to see opportunity in the course catalog’s gaps, but through their positive and forward thinking, they have taken steps to demonstrate demand that previously had not been addressed.

While at times an institution like the College can be snail-like in changing its course, if enthusiasm for these classes remains at a high level, more classes might be officially offered. Even if demand is not so large as to require formal classes, any organization like this is certainly an asset among the College’s other extracurricular offerings.