Students give input to City
The College of William and Mary Student Assembly presented a series of proposals for the Williamsburg Planning Commission’s 2012 Comprehensive Plan Wednesday in an effort to provide the commission with student input.
The SA’s proposals, presented by Vice President Molly Bulman ’12, Senate Chair Noah Kim ’13 and Undersecretary to Williamsburg Danielle Waltrip ’14, identified increased off-campus housing, construction of student-friendly businesses near campus and improved ease of transportation as the top priorities for the 2012 update to the Comprehensive Plan.
According to the 2010 Census, 14,068 people resided in the City of Williamsburg, and students made up more than half of the population. 8,198 students are currently enrolled at the College, with 6,071 undergraduates and 2,127 graduate students. Of those 8,198 students, 4,620 reside on campus.
“As you know, students can’t exactly fit all the way on campus,” Bulman told the commission. “We just want to make sure that when you continue to zone and make decisions over the next couple years, you’re keeping in mind that students, as well as residents, have other options.”
The SA recommended the construction of mixed use developments, such as the apartments above Aromas or Tribe Square, as well as further developing the Scotland Street neighborhood, which is close to campus and downtown Williamsburg, with residences and student-friendly businesses.
Additionally, as a means of alleviating a backlog of automobiles in Williamsburg, the presentation included a proposal to improve the city’s sidewalks and bike lanes to encourage alternate modes of transportation.
“Forums like this let both sides know that we are aligned in our interests, which we wouldn’t know if we didn’t have these meetings or if they wouldn’t have us make a presentation,” Waltrip said.
The commission has solicited student input since the city began the comprehensive planning process in 1953. The primary mechanism for student input was the Sharpe Community Scholars Program, established in 2001, which helped analyze off-campus housing by creating a website for off-campus housing openings and a student survey for the commission’s use.
While there was widespread agreement on developing businesses close to campus that are affordable with late hours — the success of the Richmond Road Wawa was touted as an example –— increasing off-campus housing was met with less enthusiasm.
“While many college towns have given up on closed-in residential neighborhoods adjacent to campus, Williamsburg should not and must not surrender the character and livability of these valuable and historic neighborhoods,” the 2006 Comprehensive Plan states.
During the commission’s discussion of the SA’s presentation, Second Vice Chair Jim Joseph said that although he has a “good relationship” with students, the Williamsburg government must not have too much student representation.
“We have this phantom going around on campus talking students into running for city council,” Joseph said. “I think the Comprehensive Plan should address the issue of [Williamsburg City Council], not so much that students can’t run, but that it’s not healthy to have a dominating number of one segment of the city.”
Other council members did not see student representation in the council in the same light.
“I haven’t seen a phantom running around campus, but I have seen a Griffin running around campus,” Elaine McBeth, Planning Commission chair and associate director of the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy, joked in response.
After the presentation, Kim said that the current makeup of the city council — with one member, Scott Foster ’10, widely seen as representing the student population — did not amount to “overrepresentation.”
“Something that Mr. Joseph said was that no group should be overrepresented on the council. The fact of the matter is, students make up half the population of Williamsburg. One out of five is not overrepresentation,” Kim said. “That’s not to say that’s the only way to get our interests across. This is a great way, it’s just — we do make up half the population of Williamsburg. And me, personally, I’d like to see that reflected in the makeup of the government.”
Students comment on military designation
G.I. Jobs Magazine recently identified the College of William and Mary as a military-friendly school. The publication, which focuses on helping veterans find employment and make the transition into civilian life, reviewed more than 7,000 universities and gave the designation to what it considered the top 15 to 20 percent.
The magazine used several criteria to determine which schools would earn their seal of approval.
“[Military-friendly schools are] those that have done the most to provide a sense of community on campus and have done the most to recruit and retain students with military experience,” Senior Brand Manager for G.I. Jobs Magazine Sean Collins said.
In addition to waiving the application fee for veterans, offering tuition discounts and in-state tuition without residency requirements for veterans, and participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program, the College is also home to a long-established Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, a full-time Veterans’ Administration and benefits specialist in the office of the University Registrar, and an on-campus veterans group, the Veterans Society of William and Mary.
“[It] is great that we were noticed as a military-friendly school,” Office Manager of the military science department Brian Randall said. “I have seen over the years that I’ve been here … more and more support for the military from the William and Mary community, starting at the top with the president.”
The School of Education also offers free, confidential counseling to students with military experience as part of the New Horizons Family Counseling Center. The Marshall-Wythe School of Law’s Lewis B. Puller, Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic assists veterans and their families in applying for VA benefits and offers referrals to external resources.
“We value diversity of all kinds,” Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission Henry Broaddus said. “One of the most important facets of diversity comes from life experience. Enrolling veterans as undergraduates … brings a kind of experience and a kind of perspective that we believe is valuable to the social fabric of the campus community … [and] classroom dynamics.”
Yet Broaddus said the College does not offer the same military accommodations that other peer institutions do.
“We’re not as veteran-friendly and accessible as ODU [Old Dominion University] or a place that’s going to be able to offer things like night classes and part-time enrollment … That’s not the kind of institution William and Mary is, but there are still plenty of veterans for whom William and Mary is a great match,” he said.
Despite the new designation, some students affiliated with the military on and off-campus expressed dissatisfaction with accommodations made for military personnel at the College.
One current student and member of the armed forces, who asked that his name be withheld out of concern that he would face repercussions, disagreed with G.I. Magazine’s ranking.
“I wouldn’t say that William and Mary is a military-unfriendly school,” he said. “I think some of the professors are quite liberal in the sense that they [think]… ‘we don’t really need a military’ or that kind of thing.”
He did not find the law school benefits clinic helpful.
“I went there and asked for their help and they said ‘we don’t help with that, we help with other things … [like] compensation and pensions mostly,’” he said. “I thought it was a little strange to have a law clinic that was kind of conditional.”
Alex Muth ’11, currently a cadet in the Virginia Army National Guard and member of the Army ROTC program, disagreed.
“All of my experiences with William and Mary from a military perspective have been pretty top notch,” he said. “[The VA benefits specialist] has been great about contacting me for any programs that have been offered or if they’re having a speaker, or contacting me about any benefits I could be eligible for. In addition, for any commitment that I’ve had with the National Guard, because I drill once a month, I’ve never had an issue with professors. I’ve been able to work out my schedule with them.”
Students celebrate end of ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’
Student volunteers from President Barack Obama’s Organizing for America, along with Lambda Alliance and Young Democrats members, wrung out T-shirts spotted with tie-dye colors in the Crim Dell Meadow Tuesday to celebrate the end of the controversial military policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Homosexual members of the United States military no longer have to choose between serving in the armed forces and being open about their sexual orientation. The repeal of the policy, which Obama signed in December, officially went into effect Tuesday.
Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs nationwide are no longer permitted to consider sexual orientation as a factor in admissions decisions.
“Since this is a celebration of the achievement of a major policy goal, we chose to do something light-hearted,” OFA Fall Fellow Isabelle Cohen ’11 said. “We hoped that by providing T-shirts, dye and information to students, we’d be able to reach a wider base than just those already interested in politics and help them be more aware of the repeal of DADT.”
Dozens of students stopped by the table each hour. One football player was briefed on the purpose of the celebration as his T-shirt was being tied with rubber bands. Volunteers discussed the significance of the repeal and passed out information cards so participants could be contacted about future Williamsburg area OFA events.
Cohen believed the event proved successful as an opportunity to educate other students about current political issues.
“The end of DADT represents an incredible achievement for President Obama and the U.S.,” Cohen said. “Fundamentally, the repeal of DADT is about fairness; it says that gay and lesbian servicemen can serve their country openly, without being forced to hide a huge part of their identities and lives. It says that those who stand up and fight for this country on the front lines no longer have to hide who they love.”
Cohen also addressed the boon the repeal would provide to the military numbers and skills.
“Those service members discharged under DADT will now be allowed to go back to proudly serving their country, meaning our military can recapture some of the talent lost by this policy,” she said.
Robin Crigler ’14 said she believed the U.S. must further change its policies before people should celebrate.
“It’s a positive step for this country, though not particularly important by itself,” he said. “Hopefully this will help make our society more honest.”
Some students who consider themselves politically conservative viewed the repeal as a positive development.
“I believe that DADT was unfair to LGBT military members and the wrong policy for our national security, so I am pleased that it has been repealed,” Spencer Chretien ’14 stated.
However, Chretien was wary of the strong political party alignment attached to the repeal.
“It is important to note that repeal was made possible by Republican votes in Congress,” he said. “The activist left should stop playing politics with this issue and instead focus on the well-being of our brave soldiers, regardless of their sexual orientation.”
The College Republicans reacted similarly.
“Republicans now acknowledge, especially those within college demographics, that being gay is only a small part of a person and is not the entirety of the definition of that individual … and as Americans, we all have a dedication to our country and should be able to serve and protect it if we choose,” the College Republicans said in a statement.
Student Assembly discusses Homecoming, voter registration
The Student Assembly held its third meeting of the year Tuesday.
Senator Matt Paganussi ’14 and Undersecretary of Greek Life John Bracaglia ’14 began the meeting by introducing the Homecoming Greek Act to the Senate.
“[The bill] is designed to incorporate the whole College of William and Mary campus community [in Homecoming festivities],” Paganussi said.
The bill, which remains in review,would allocate four $1,000 grants to four sororities or fraternities selected by the Executive Department of Student Life based on proposed Homecoming events that will be open to the entire College community.
Vice President Molly Bulman ’12 announced a plan to push back the Deep Roots planting dates in order to coincide with Homecoming in late October and take advantage of the large alumni presence on campus. The SA unanimously voted to send the Deep Roots Act discussed at last week’s meeting to the Financial and Outreach Committee for approval.
Bulman stressed the importance of voter registration and the need for SA volunteers to man voter registration tables where students can register to vote in the upcoming November elections.
The meeting also included the approval of committee and executive nominees.
“I will finish the online syllabi project and promises to be open to student concerns,” Jon Blusiewicz ’11, who was unanimously approved for the position of Secretary of College policy, said.
Stacey LaRiviere’s ’14 first position with the SA will be the Undersecretary of Public Affairs to Richmond. She was unanimously elected by the Senate.
“I am hoping to get van certified so that we could take buses… [and] bring students to the General Assembly,” LaRiviere said.
Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee Noah Kim ’12 reminded the SA of the Planning Commission Work Session Sept. 22 at 4 p.m.
“We’d really like to see a student turnout,” Kim said.
BOV: Building renovations for Tucker Hall and Lodges become top priority for funding
The Board of Visitors’ Committee on Buildings and Grounds met Thursday morning to discuss renovation plans around the College of William and Mary’s campus, some of which were impacted by the recent raising of the state’s debt limit.
“We have spent this past decade building a tremendous amount of buildings,” Vice President for Administration and Buildings and Grounds committee member Anna Martin said. “We’re really in a period that we’re not building any new buildings, but we do need funding for replacement of buildings.”
First on the list of renovations: the environmentally friendly makeover of the Lodges.
“Sustainability is a huge issue on this campus,” Martin said. “This came together as a happy collaboration as a way you can get these smaller homes renovated and … be a resource to the community.”
According to Martin, the Lodges, originally built in 1947, are in need of renovations.
The Lodges will be converted — one by one — into the new “Eco-Village,” with each house utilizing a different energy-saving building technique.
Martin also outlined the College’s plan to install a series of solar arrays in the area between the current Lodges and the Sadler Center. These arrays, she said, will provide the Eco-Village with additional power and serve as a visual reminder of the College’s environmental efforts.
The committee also discussed the scheduled construction of new fraternity housing.
The 11 new buildings will be located in the area currently used for fraternity parking to the west of the units and in nearby Yates field. The houses will vary between three separate but comparable floor plans, Martin said.
The move-in date for the new fraternity housing is the fall of 2013.
Resolutions to the state of Virginia’s debt limit have pulled the plans for Tucker Hall out of a financial limbo. On Monday, the state approved the use of $1.5 million for demolition of the former English building and for the working plans for its replacement.
The state also approved an additional $4.8 million to be used for the construction of the third phase of the Integrated Science Center.
Football: Put up your Dukes
The FCS nation’s eyes will be focused on Williamsburg Saturday night, when No. 6 William and Mary squares off with No. 12 James Madison in a sold out Zable Stadium.
The game’s storylines are endless: the Tribe’s uncertain quarterback situation, the long history between these two CAA behemoths, the game being the conference schedule opener.
But one thing is clear. For a Tribe squad that’s stumbled to a 2-1 record early in the season, this game could not be more important.
“We know we’ve got a big one in front of us this weekend,” head coach Jimmye Laycock said Tuesday. “We’ve got our work cut out for us for sure.”
For one, Saturday night’s game will serve as a barometer of where the Tribe — a team whose direction through three games remains unclear as can be — stands among the CAA’s, and nation’s, best, as JMU is the first FCS contender the Tribe will face in 2011.
Secondly, the matchup could provide some clarity on the Tribe’s quarterback dilemma. At the beginning of the season, the starting job was senior quarterback Mike Paulus’s to lose, and he just may have done so. After an anemic offensive showing in the first half of last week’s 13-10 win over New Haven — in which Paulus went 2 of 6 for seven yards and an interception — Laycock turned to the bench. After sophomore Brent Caprio fell from second to third on the depth chart on the heels of subpar showings at Virginia and VMI, sophomore Michael Graham — formerly a walk-on from Charlottesville — got the nod for the second half, going 6 of 11 for 112 yards and a go-ahead touchdown pass.
As for who will get the start Saturday, Laycock wouldn’t say, but all indications point to Graham.
“The quarterback situation is still a little bit up in the air obviously,” Laycock said. “I thought [Graham] played relatively well. He did what we asked him to do, his reads were good, his decision-making was good. So as we go into this week it’s going to be an evaluation process. We’ll give him more reps and we’ll see how he does.”
Whoever is under center for the Tribe will be facing a JMU defense that’s been inconsistent thus far. The Dukes’ opponents are averaging 238.3 passing yards per game and 134.7 rushing yards. But Laycock and senior full back Kyle O’Brien raved about their speed on defense.
“They run to the ball extremely aggressively,” Laycock said.
As usual, the College will try to establish a running game early to open up passing lanes. Senior running back Jonathan Grimes has rushed for 241 yards on 59 carries, averaging four per carry, and freshman tailback Keith McBride has ran for 122, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
But JMU’s offense is what burned the Tribe in the team’s last meeting, when the then-No. 1 College fell in Harrisonburg, 30-24. The Dukes ran the wildcat all over the Tribe, attempting just one pass all game. Sophomore running back Dae’Quan Scott rushed 125 yards and three touchdowns. This year, though, Laycock says their offense is much different.
“We know how good [Scott] can be,” Laycock said. “We didn’t come close to tackling him last year. It’s a very different offense this year from them.”
With the Tribe’s offensive productivity a big question mark thus far, the team will be reliant on its effective defensive unit to slow down Scott.
The defense answered the call last week, grabbing three interceptions against New Haven and allowing just 10 points.
Confusion Corner: Guidelines for infiltrated gameday campus
Dear James Madison University and weekend visitors,
We, the second-oldest college in the United States, would like to welcome you to our colonial campus. First of all, we’d like to advise you against running around our campus; if you trip on the bricks and twist your ankle, we wouldn’t have as many of you in attendance to humiliate Saturday. Also, please remember that purple doesn’t actually match anything, so don’t wear it. As for JMU alumni—you’ve already graduated, so tailgate as much as you’d like, but unless you learn a Tribe cheer, you’re not very welcome here. Last but not least, the delis tend to have a guest list, so stay away (unless you’d like to buy us congratulatory post game drinks).
To the JMU fans, please remember your place — we clearly have more fun than you, and we’d like to keep it that way. For example, we can tell you stories of Last Day of Classes celebrations, Campus Golf traditions, philanthropic events and K’naan concerts, but we’re sort of exclusive here, so you’d never actually be invited. Also, we live an hour away from the Atlantic Ocean while you’re surrounded by mountains — some people clearly did not research the actual location of JMU that well before applying.
In terms of the actual JMU football team, prepare to get your ass kicked. Also, when you start to lose, make a point to remember that our football players could probably kick your ass while proving Einstein’s quantum theories or reciting Thomas Jefferson’s essays. And has anyone mentioned to you that a bulldog is a terrible mascot? Our griffin, pantless or not, will send you back to the doghouse any day. Lastly, your dignity is important to us, so when you do lose it, make sure it comes with a gift basket of frozen yogurt — we’re into that here.
For our own returning alumni, welcome back, dearest and ever-successful friends. Due to a recent slew of natural disasters, we have lost an entire tree by the Sir Christopher Wren Building, so we apologize if the campus looks slightly different than it did in 1850. With that in mind, help yourself to as much 2 a.m. Wawa as you’d like — we’d advise Einstein’s Bagels as well, but that business has yet to realize that most college students only start eating after 10 p.m. For the returning fraternity members, just follow the Natty Light beer can trails to your respective houses. For recently sorority graduates, first go to your sorority house for desserts, and then follow aforementioned beer-can trail for reunion with others. (Oh, and drop by the Alumni House on the way there, I’ve seen some high quality water bottles given out before).
As for the wonderful parents in attendance for Parent’s Weekend? Well, we’d like to caution you. For example, take care not to call your son or daughter after 10 p.m. unless they’re already with you — you may find out about a lifestyle of which you’d like to remain ignorant of. Also, unless you want to see a fair number of your daughter’s friends shamelessly walking back in the previous night’s clothes, get breakfast at your hotel Saturday morning. In fact, just avoid leaving the premises from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. each day. In addition, I hear that the Peanut Shop, the Blue Talon Bistro, the Cheese Shop and Barnes and Noble Booksellers rely on your return, so visit each store in Colonial Williamsburg and simply watch how much they bawn over you. Parent’s Weekend for them can be best described as pure gold. Oh, and take care not to park anywhere within a 10 mile radius of campus; Parking Services thinks of you as pure gold as well.
However, in the end, no matter where you come from, just remember that if you’re trying to fit in, throw on a t-shirt from the Campus Shop, put on some oversized glasses, possibly invest in a scooter, carry around a dictionary to each location, and cheer your heart out this Saturday while eating some delicious tailgate food — it’s gonna be a good weekend y’all.
Sincerely,
Me.
__Dasha Godunova is a Confusion Corner columnist. She recently discovered that she does own a purple item of clothing, and it will find its way to the dumpster by tomorrow.__
Creating more smiles
Stitches mark the upper lips of the moldable stuffed animal bears. The bears are defined by their scars — symbols of former cleft palates and lips. But for the children who grasp their own “Claire’s Bear” as they enter the surgical room, the bear reminds them of the bright future that the procedure promises.
Undergoing nine surgeries is no small feat, especially for a small child. Claire Crawford ’13 was born with a cleft lip and palate that made eating and speaking a challenge every day. After nine surgeries, Crawford’s lip and palate were fixed, but she never forgot the struggle she had gone through.
She became active in the Cleft Palate Foundation, an organization designed to raise awareness about cleft lip and palate.
As her passion to raise awareness for cleft lip and palate grew, she found a way to encourage and support kids who suffered from clefts. She created “Claire’s Bears,” teddy bears with stitches in their lips and tags in their ears that provide information about cleft lip and palate.
“It was amazing to show other kids that, this is what happened to me and is what you’ll go through,” Crawford said. “Many kids even named their bears.”
Crawford then began to help out with Operation Smile, an organization that raises money for people who cannot afford cleft lip and palate surgeries.
She started the first Operation Smile club in Mississippi at her high school and went on to found another Operation Smile club at Millsaps College. As a transfer to the College of William and Mary, Crawford joined Logan Disch ’14 to create the College’s first Operation Smile club.
“We had both been members of Operation Smile’s Executive Leadership Council before coming to William and Mary,” Disch, Vice President of Communications for the College’s Operation Smile club, said. “Since we were working together and had support from people who had been involved in Operation Smile before, it was simple to get the club started and to encourage people to come.”
In its second year at the school, the club has grown in membership and has added events to support Operation Smile. The members hope to raise awareness about cleft lip and palate and to fundraise for Operation Smile.
“Operation Smile is a really good opportunity for underprivileged kids to get a new life,” Michelle Chen ’14 said. “With cleft lips and palates, they can’t eat, they can’t sleep and 10 percent of them die before their first birthday. Many of them can’t afford the surgeries. It’s only $240 for the surgery, and it changes their lives. It’s so practical for us in America, but unaffordable for them.”
Their first fundraiser of the year, Spooks for Smiles, is a 5K race on Oct. 29. Students are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to the race, and all proceeds will go to Operation Smile.
Kelsey Glass ’14 became involved in Operation Smile during her freshman year after realizing the effects of the surgeries on her own family. Her brother and sister, Kevin and Leah, were both born with cleft lips. Kevin received the surgery in the United Sates while Leah underwent the surgery in China. As a sixth grader, Kelsy remembered Kevin’s surgery.
“What to Americans is such a simple surgery isn’t simple and readily available in other countries,” Glass said. “It’s hard for me to put words to the feeling because I saw it through my brother’s surgery. It’s truly life-changing and without it, he wouldn’t be able to thrive.”
Glass and eight other students from the College joined more than 800 college students at the International Student Culture Exchange in Beijing, China over the summer as the first representatives from the College to attend the conference. There they were able to meet other leaders of Operation Smile clubs from around the world while generating new ideas for their own club.
“The conference was life-changing. I just wanted to get back and get started on all of our ideas right away,” Glass said.
Students are encouraged to join the club, even if they have no prior experience with Operation Smile.
“We want to share our passion with other people through this club,” Disch said. “This is an organization that can make a difference in the world.”
During a mission trip to Hue, Vietnam, Disch felt the effects of the organization first-hand. As he was playing with the kids before their surgical examinations, he noticed a 14-year-old boy who sat by himself in the corner. Marked with a cleft lip and a cleft palate, the boy, Han, had felt excluded due to his facial abnormalities.
“His whole life, he’s been shunned by society because of his cleft lip and cleft palate,” Disch said. “He had gone to school but had been harassed by his peers so much that he didn’t return. His situation just made me really sad. I just thought to myself, ‘How can I make a difference in his life? How can I make things better?’”
Disch approached him with a ball that served as a globe. They bonded as they pointed out places on the globe, showing each other where they lived. Han began to smile.
“For Han, the smile changed it all,” Disch said. “From the first day I saw him, I smiled at him, and when we began talking, a smile just opened him up.”
Han received his surgery at the end of their week-long mission trip. The marks of his cleft lip and palate that had hindered his ability to make friends and attend school were gone.
As the children recover from their surgeries, they grasp onto their own “Claire’s Bear,” wearing the scar that unified them in the beginning, but sporting a new smile that will last.
“A smile represents hope that something unexpected can happen,” Crawford said. “For these children, it’s symbolic of a life that they couldn’t have dreamed of before.”
A historical connection
Sometimes, a cow may get loose. Or even a peacock. A visitor may arrive on the day of a December wedding ceremony, or during the annual Summer Festival. Behind the house, there is a 100-year-old Boxwood Garden. In the middle stands an oak tree, 20 feet around, that has survived since the 18th century.
Ash Lawn-Highland is the historic home of James Monroe, class of 1776, and, upon the death of its former owner, was bequeathed to the College of William and Mary in September 1974. Through the work of director Carolyn Holmes, the site has remained both a museum and working 535-acre farm and hosts numerous performing arts events throughout the year.
Though Monroe’s home is already teeming with history, one contemporary figure of historical significance who is oftentimes overlooked is Holmes herself. According to David Holmes, retired professor of religious studies, Carolyn Holmes’s appointment in 1975 was one of the highest ranking positions held by a woman in historic preservation.
For Carolyn Holmes, though, that fact played only a little role in her life at the time.
“In the years I was growing up, I never dealt with anyone who thought I was second rate for being a female,” Holmes said. “Sometimes if my husband were home, people would go to him asking his opinion and he would have to tell them I was in charge. But I never felt set aside in any way. I don’t think I was particularly conscious of it.”
Instead, the greatest part of her appointment to the position was becoming such an integral part of the historic home’s preservation. In fact, Ash Lawn-Highland’s picturesque situation is, according to KK Pearson, director of education at Ash Lawn-Highland, its greatest virtue.
“The drive is beautiful — there is not a season out here that is not gorgeous.” she said. “Once you turn down our driveway, whatever troubles you may have are gone. Everything is beautiful, and it’s a joy just to be a part of it.”
One of the ways in which Ash Lawn keeps up a relationship with the College is by offering yearly internships to students. It is, according to Holmes, an experience few forget.
“The students really do enjoy working here,” Holmes said. “They’re at the home of an alum of their college, so they become familiar with a very special kind of history. We stay in contact with a lot of the students who come here, and many come back as well.”
Many students are drawn to the historic aspects of Ash Lawn-Highland by the internship programs, but their experiences on the site have more than just historical value.
“We have as many non-history majors as we do history majors apply,” Pearson said. “Some of them are interested in marketing, some in just the function of museum work. We get archaeology majors — a whole variety. And it’s because we’re a small business, just as much as a museum.”
The diversity of events found at Ash Lawn-Highland every day is an important part of the internship experience.
“When these [students] leave, they know how to deal with any type of situation that arises,” Pearson said. “That’s how we work.”
The homey, friendly atmosphere that most feel when they visit the historic site is built into the student internships, as well.
“I don’t think you can find one single intern that hasn’t had a wonderful experience,” Pearson said. “They just sort of become part of the family.”
Students who have interned at Monroe’s home have gone on to work in a variety of fields, including the museum business itself.
Ash Lawn-Highland’s location is one of its most impressive features, as well. Located within six miles of Monticello, historic home of Thomas Jefferson, class of 1762, and 30 miles from Montpelier, Madison’s home, Ash Lawn is situated in a place that, according to Holmes, “gives a wonderful narrative picture of American history.”
While the site’s proximity to Monticello may seem daunting, as it carries the name of such a well known historical figure as Jefferson, this is not the case, according to tour guide Dotty Brown.
“[Monroe] is less known than most of the other presidents, but that’s always been one of the most rewarding things about working there,” she said. “We impart this knowledge on visitors and they realize that he was a wonderful person who did a lot for this country. We get a lot of compliments from people who say they learn a lot about this president.”
The domestic atmosphere surrounding Ash Lawn also speaks to its differences from Monticello.
“It is true that people sometimes come through the front door muttering about how it’s not as grand as Monticello,” Holmes said. “But they they take the tour and they come away and say, ‘you know, it feels so friendly, a home I can live in, a home a family can live in.’ And I think they generally come away feeling very good about it.”