p. The College is ranked third in the nation on Kiplinger’s 2007 Best Value rankings for public universities, up one slot from the previous year’s list.

p. Falling behind the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and the University of Florida, the College is right above the University
of Virginia — a reversal from last year.

p. The entire list was compiled by collecting data concerning academics and finances from over 500 of the nation’s public schools.

p. “One of the comparisons families must make between a student’s available options for college is their expense. We know that [the College] provides an extraordinary value, and to the extent that the Kiplinger’s methodology bears that out, we obviously concur,” Dean of Admissions Henry Broaddus said.

p. The rankings, which seek to reward universities that are “academically strong as well as affordable,” are based on a two-part analysis. First, standards of academic quality, such as SAT/ACT scores, admission rates, freshman retention rates, student-faculty ratios and graduation rates are used to eliminate the majority of the schools. The remaining schools are analyzed based on their cost and financial aid offerings. Academic measures are given more weight than cost measures.

p. Broaddus cautioned that the list was not a comprehensive indicator of quality or value.

p. “Any effort to provide a formulaic measure for the relative cost and quality of an undergraduate education is flawed by definition. Quite simply, education is not merely a consumer commodity. More profoundly, academic standing can’t be measured as easily as cost,” Broaddus said.

p. Some of the College’s strongest assets included academic measures like SAT scores, acceptance rate, student to faculty ratio and graduation rate, despite the fact that the College’s costs, at $16,406 for in-state students and $32,964 for out-of-state students, were higher than those of other schools. After four years, the average graduate has incurred approximately $14, 524 in debt, the magazine reported.

p. “Anytime a third party offers an endorsement of [the College’s] excellence, that endorsement lends additional credibility to our communication with prospective students and their families about the opportunities William and Mary provides,” Broaddus said.

p. Other Virginia schools on the list include Virginia Tech, which ranked 18, University of Mary Washington, which ranked 20, and James Madison University, which ranked 21. George Mason University ranked 78th on the list of 100.

p. Graduating seniors of the Class of 2007 may not have finalized their post-commencement plans, but regional and national employers are eager to hire. According to The Wall Street Journal’s CollegeJournal.com, the Class of 2007 may enter the best job market since those of 2000 and 2001.

p. “Nationally, some reports are as high as a 17 percent increase in job offers for seniors. It’s a pretty good market overall,” Career Center Director Mary Schilling said.

p. The immediate region has an especially strong demand in the fields of investment banking and finance, accounting, and certain sectors of teaching, such as mathematics, sciences, foreign languages and special education, Schilling said.

p. According to Heather Angerer, a representative for the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., consulting is another industry with a high demand for graduating seniors. “Consulting is a very high-profile job right now, especially in [Washington, D.C.]. It’s very much in high demand.”

p. “Consulting is basically problem-solving,” Angerer said. “A client comes to us because they have a problem, and we advise them on how to fix it and assist with implementation. For students who are good with coding, they can come and develop those skills and still get out in front of a client — it’s pretty much the best of both worlds,” she added.

p. The financial sector was also well represented at the fair, especially accounting and investment services. “We’re looking for talent,” Legg-Mason representative Izabela Holmes said. “Legg-Mason is looking to put the right person in the right job — what they are best at — and design a job around them.”

p. Beyond Williamsburg, government and financial services hiring appears strong. According to Department of State Representative Robyn Hinson-Jones, the Department alone hires about four hundred new employees per year.

p. Employers at Wednesday’s Career Fair at the University Center stressed the availability of jobs in their sectors for both traditional and non-traditional majors.

p. “We’re not looking for any one major,” Hinson-Jones said. “We’re looking for well-rounded people with good judgment who can think on their feet, who are creative.”

p. According to a Department of State pamphlet available at the fair, the department has openings for people with degrees ranging from international relations and history to mathematics and journalism.

p. Some employers at the fair noted the changing needs in their fields, while others pointed to the long-term stability of their employees’ career tracks.

p. “If an applicant comes in [able to speak] Farsi, Chinese, or Arabic, critical needs languages that are difficult to learn but crucial to our foreign policy, we are really, really in need of people who speak those languages,” Hinson-Jones said. “Of course, that changes; 10 years ago, maybe Russian.”

p. “I think what we’re doing right now is very strong,” Angerer said of consulting. “Anything dealing with the greatest and the latest — it always has been a robust field to get into.”

p. Meanwhile, Legg-Mason’s Holmes pointed to the high demand in her industry. “If I were a student,” she said, “I’d shoot for accounting and internal audit because these guys are always in demand and they’ll always have a job.”

p. In addition to changing needs at various companies, many of the presenters noted that the interview process is changing with new technologies. “Everyone who expresses interest in Booz-Allen has to go through our website first,” said Angerer, noting that this was a recent development.

p. While many companies have been transitioning to “paperless,” or all-online, applications, other industries use the Internet to actively seek potential employees.

p. “We use high-tech to identify people who may be interested,” Hinson-Jones said. “Things like Jobster, Facebook, we use that.” Financial services firm Ernst and Young maintains a group on Facebook advertising itself and its corporate environment to potential employees.

p. While the internet has gained importance in the job-search process, Hinson-Jones described the recruitment process as a combination of technology and personal contact.

p. “Employers are realizing that to get the best in the business, the more face time, the more they can interact with a student on the campus, the more likely they’ll make a good decision,” Schilling said.

p. Another change in the recruitment process is the growing importance of internships for undergraduates. “We’re looking for mostly accountants and internal audit professionals, maybe someone who has done an internship in the accounting or financial sector,” Holmes said.

p. “We want the candidate to have a taste of what the job will be so there’s no disappointment,” she added. “We want management to know this candidate and where they will be [best-suited].”

p. For students still undecided on post-graduation plans, the Career Center offers a range of services, including resume reviews, consultations, help in finding internships, and a variety of career fairs.

p. According to Schilling, the Center is co-sponsoring the Georgetown Non-Profit and Government Career EXPO Feb. 22 and will be running a bus from campus. “We’re also doing an Education Recruiting Day with representatives from schools across the region,” she added.

p. The U.S. House of Representatives voted 356 to 71 to pass the College Student Relief Act Jan. 17. This act incrementally reduces student-loan interest rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over the next five years.

p. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the bill’s sponsors said that in 2011, after the cut is fully phased in, “it would save the average borrower with $13,800 in debt roughly $4,400 in interest over the life of his or her loan.”

p. Proponents of the bill claim that the cost, estimated to be between $6 and $7 billion, would not come from taxes, but instead from a reduction in government perks to lending institutions, cuts to other lending programs and minimized lender insurance.

p. Democrats cite increasing college costs as a main reason for the bill. According to a press release from the House of Representatives, “The typical student now graduates with $17,500 in total federal student loan debt. According to past estimates from the Department of Education, as many as 200,000 would-be students are forced to delay or forgo college altogether due to cost.”

p. The White House opposes the bill with the view that spending money to increase grants instead of cutting interest rates would more directly serve those in need. The White House also stated that this decrease would help college graduates but not affect current students and families.

p. College economics Professor Robert Archibald agreed.

p. “Decreased interest rates could encourage families to save less and borrow more, thus increasing family debt, but the neediest families may not be able to save under either circumstance,” he said. “Pell Grants are better targeted because the funding would only go to the neediest students rather than affect middle and upper income students who might benefit from decreased interest rates.”

p. Republicans also claim that the sunset clause, which makes Jan. 1, 2012 the expiration date for the bill, curtails the possible effectiveness and turns the bill into a political ploy. They say that democrats are just trying to meet their goal of passing a bill pertaining to student loans during the new Congress’s first 100 legislative hours.

p. Democrats maintain that cutting interest rates directly benefits the most needy people.

p. The House of Representatives press release stated that, “Half of the student-loan borrowers who would benefit under this legislation have family incomes between $26,000 and $68,000, according to the Congressional Research Service.”

p. When asked about the implications of this bill on the economy, Archibald said, “I don’t think this bill will be made into law … it is the first volley in an exchange to change the federal student aid program.”

p. A bill that could grant Virginia students the right to register to vote in their college’s locality was scheduled to be discussed today in the General Assembly, due largely to the work of the College’s Student Assembly Department of Public Affairs. The issue caused controversy last year when the Williamsburg General Voter Registrar denied many student voter registration applications on the grounds that the students were not domiciled at their college addresses.

p. House Bill 3200, sponsored by Delegate Melanie Rapp (R-96th district), seeks to standardize the way local registrars evaluate applications. It proposes two additions to the state voter registration code.

p. The first addition says that “Registrars shall process registration applications from full-time students who are residents of Virginia and attending an institution of higher education in the Commonwealth.”

p. The second says that the address a student gives the registrar will be presumed to be the address where the student is domiciled, regardless of whether the student lives there permanently or intends to stay after graduating.

p. The bill was to be discussed today at 7 a.m. in a subcommittee within the Privileges and Elections Committee and may have been passed on to the full committee for a vote, but that information was not available as of press time. SA Sen. Brett Phillips, a junior, and sophomore Ross Grogg traveled to Richmond to represent students and show support for the bill.

p. Junior Seth Levey — who was confirmed unanimously at Tuesday night’s SA meeting as the Secretary of Public Affairs and who is also the first student to hold a position on the board of the Neighborhood Council of Williamsburg as its secretary — said that the Department of Public Affairs decided last year that because student voting rights affect students across the state, the department should look beyond Williamsburg and seek statewide change.

p. “We decided to go through the state legislature because it’s a statewide issue,” Levey said, noting that the department worked with Rapp to write the bill. “We figured it would be best to go to different schools around the state … and pretty much everyone was in agreement that there should be a standard code.”

p. So far, they have talked with students at nine other schools about the proposed changes, and Levey said the feedback from everyone was positive.

p. He added that the bill could be changed in subcommittee.

p. Last year, Rapp sponsored another bill, along with state Sen. Thomas Norment, Jr., to standardize the voting code. House Bill 1604 clarified the definition of “domicile,” but it did not directly address the issue of student voting rights. The bill stayed in committee and was never voted on by the General Assembly.

p. At Tuesday night’s SA meeting, senators praised the efforts as an example of the College’s senate and executive working together. Sens. Joe Luppino-Esposito, a junior, and Zach Pilchen, a sophomore, cosponsored legislation that encourages another unlikely pair to work together: the College Republican Federation of Virginia and the Virginia Young Democrats. The Coalition of Youth Political Organizations Act, which passed 18-0-1, asks both organizations to support and work for the passage of House Bill 3200.

p. Pilchen said both organizations already support the bill.

p. Luppino-Esposito said that because the organizations do so much to get politicians elected, they can pressure state representatives to pass the bill, and Pilchen added that the two groups asking together sends a strong message to state representatives.

p. “There’s always been a lot of animosity between these groups, and everyone likes to play off that animosity whether they’re in Richmond or the campus groups themselves,” Pilchen said. “But never, never have … [the CRFV or VAYD] ever gotten together on something and said, ‘You know what? Screw partisan politics. This is something that all the young people in Virginia can get behind.’”

p. Colonial Williamsburg saw a marked increase in tourism and donations in 2006.

p. For the second consecutive year, ticket sales increased. 2006 saw 767,000 total admissions, a 5 percent increase over 2005 and the largest percent increase since the late 1980s.

p. The Campaign for Colonial Williamsburg surpassed its goal of $500 million, with donations totaling more than $510 million. This is Colonial Williamsburg’s first fund-raising campaign, and it goes toward preservation of the Historic Area, educational programs and endowment for key positions.

p. The number of individual donors to the Colonial Williamsburg Fund exceeded the 100,000 mark for the fifth consecutive year. The record 115,000 donors in 2006 contributed $14 million, another 5 percent increase over 2005.

p. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation President and Chairman Colin Campbell attributes the increase in attendance and donor support to the new initiatives that have been launched by the Foundation over the past six years. These initiatives include the creation of a Regional Welcome Center for America’s 400th Anniversary in May 2007 and the Revolutionary City program, which began last March.

p. Campbell believes that this trend of increase will continue in 2007, especially due to the 400th anniversary of Jamestown and the World Forum on the Future of Democracy, both of which will receive national and international attention.

College President Gene Nichol discussed his decision to remove the cross in Wren Chapel from permanent display during his first State of the College address Thursday evening and announced the formation of a committee that would examine the place for religion in public universities.

p. Nichol said his decision to remove the cross had raised questions about the reach of separation of church and state.

p. “Though the decision [to remove the cross] has received much support—particularly within the campus community—many, many have seen it otherwise,” Nichol said. “So tonight, having had discussions with many, on campus and beyond, including members of the Board of Visitors, I announce the creation of a presidential committee to aid in the exploration of these questions.”

p. Nichol announced that the committee would be co-chaired by James Livingston, emeritus chair of the College’s religious studies department and Law School Professor Alan Meese

p. Nichol also announced that the College raised a record $26 million in the final quarter of 2006.

p. The College previously had raised $476.9 million of its $500 million goal.

p. __For a video of Nichol’s remarks, courtesy of the Office of University Relations and Google Video, click here__

p. __For the full text of Nichol’s State of the College address, provided by the Office of University Relations, click here__

Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Wren Chapel, David L. Holmes, the Walter G. Mason professor of religious studies at the College, and Dinesh D’Souza, a New York Times best-selling conservative author and fellow at the Hoover Institute, debated whether or not the Wren Cross — removed from the Wren Chapel in October by President Gene Nichol — should be reinstated.

p. The debate, co-sponsored by campus newspaper The Virginia Informer and the conservative non-profit organization The Collegiate Network, was titled “Religion and the Campus: Should the Wren Cross be Reinstated in Wren Chapel?”

p. Holmes, a professor at the College since 1965, argued against the cross’s reinstatement, while D’Souza supported it.

p. Holmes began the debate insisting that his arguments were his own, and not those of the College administration.

p. “I speak for myself tonight,” Holmes said, “and not as a surrogate for President Nichol.”

p. In a fifteen minute opening statement, Holmes noted the Anglican history of the Church, a history that rarely, if ever, placed crosses in its sacred spaces. He noted that the College went more than two hundred years without a cross on display in the chapel. Holmes also said that, throughout College history, the Chapel has been used for many secular purposes, including “theatrical performances, lectures, classes, and kangaroo courts during freshman hazing.” He added that, along with fellow colleagues, he was “baffled” with the subsequent uproar over the removal, as a chapel without a cross was consistent with Protestant tradition.

p. In his opening statement, D’Souza insisted that, even with the cross, the Wren Chapel remained “in the spirit of Christian Universalism … a tolerant place.” He argued, however, that the cross had been pigeonholed by some, including President Nichol, as a “symbol of intolerance.”

p. D’Souza also mentioned Nichol’s alleged indiscretion in removing the cross without considering the views of the College community, as well as the President’s continued avoidance of invitations to debate the issue.

p. According to D’Sousa, Nichol’s decision was made “recklessly, without deliberation, [and] without consultation.” In one of many statements that drew laughter from the audience, D’Souza likened Nichol to a mechanical toy soldier that runs into a wall and, despite the fact, continues walking.

p. After the opening statements, both Holmes and D’Souza offered rebuttals. Holmes acknowledged that Nichol’s decision was made with insufficient consultation, but also praised Nichol’s establishment of a committee to examine the cross issue and the role of religion in public institutions. The committee will be co-chaired by James Livingston, emeritus chair of the College’s religious studies department and Law School Professor Alan Meese.

p. “[The committee] could not be better, it could not be in better hands,” Holmes said.

p. Holmes also noted that the cross was not owned by the College, but belonged to the Canterbury Club, the College’s Episcopalian student group, which borrowed it from the Bruton Parish church in 1931.

p. “[The cross] doesn’t belong to William and Mary,” Holmes said. “The cross remains the property of Bruton Parish, and conceivably they could ask for it back, because no ministry … wants its cross to be a source of such controversy, it should be a source of peace.”

p. Holmes’ statements were greeted with lengthy applause as D’Souza took the podium to begin his rebuttal.

p. “Somewhat like the mosquito in the nudist colony,” he said, “I am not sure where to begin.”

p. D’Souza claimed that Holmes was mistaken in emphasizing the historical accuracies of the church, claiming that such facts did not guide Nichol’s decision.

p. “[Nichol’s] decision was driven by something very different. It was basically driven by the idea that Christianity and its symbols are in someways offensive if not inclusive and that [non-Christians] become lesser or second class members of the community.”

p. After a second round of rebuttals, both Holmes and D’Souza made closing statements reinforcing their opening positions. A round of questions from the audience followed.
After the debate Holmes and D’Souza spoke to the Flat Hat about the debate.

p. “I came in here a little tired, I prayed that I would be able to think. I’m content but I’m not exhilarated,” he said.

p. Holmes also said that he was surprised at the personal comments that D’Souza made throughout the debate.

p. D’Souza stated that he was satisfied to be a part of the cross discussion.

p. “I was really very honored to be part of it. If our debate introduced some moral clarity I am very pleased to be part of that,” he said. “[Professor Holmes] taught me something about history,” he added. “I think he is very knowledgeable about the chapel. In some ways we were making very different kinds of arguments. This is not an argument over Anglican orthodoxy, this is fundamentally an argument over whether it’s right to go into a chapel and strip a cross.”

p. The debate comes three months after Nichol’s Oct. 26 decision to remove the cross from permanent display.

p. The two-foot tall, gold altar cross was offered to the Canterbury Club by Bruton Parish Church in 1931. According to Nichol, the cross’s removal was meant to make the Chapel “more welcoming to students, faculty, staff and visitors of all faiths.”

p. Nichol’s decision was met with disagreement among some students and alumni, who felt that the cross should remain as a symbol of the College’s Christian roots. Those who protested the decision also cited Nichol’s failure to discuss the matter with students prior to the removal of the cross.

p. Soon after the decision, Vince Haley, ’88, created the website www.savethewrencross.org, establishing a petition that called for Nichol to reverse his decision. Since then, over 10,500 people have signed to support the cross’s reinstatement.

p. Despite the petition, Nichol defended himself at a Nov. 16 meeting of the College Board of Visitors.

p. “Some have thought that my steps disrespect the traditions of the College or, even more unacceptable, the religious beliefs of its members,” he said. “Though we haven’t meant to do so, the display of a Christian cross — the most potent symbol of my own religion — in the heart of our most important building sends an unmistakable message that the chapel belongs more fully to some of us than others.”

p. At the same meeting, the BOV — headed by Rector Michael Powell — praised Nichol for his accomplishments during his term.

p. “It is clear from your report that there are a lot of great things going on here, even the occasional controversy,” Powell said. “In all that you do, you continue to make this board proud, and we’re grateful for your leadership.”

p. While the BOV offered tacit approval over the cross removal, the issue remained contentious for those opposed to the decision. In response to the outcry, Nichol announced two changes to the policy in a Dec. 20 school-wide e-mail. Beginning immediately, Nichol said, the cross would be displayed all day on Sundays, and a plaque would be installed to “commemorate the Chapel’s origins as an Anglican place of worship and symbol of the Christian beginnings of the College.”

p. Nichol also acknowledged that his decision was made in haste without properly consulting the College community.

p. “I have also perhaps added to the turmoil by my own missteps. I likely acted too quickly and should have consulted more broadly. Patience is a vital virtue — especially for a university president. I’m still learning it. The decision was also announced to the university community in an inelegant way.”

p. Despite the addendums to the policy, disparity on the issue has remained. Since October, the issue has been featured in the national media, including Fox News and the Washington Post. Wednesday, Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the United States House of Representatives, wrote in the National Review Online that Nichol’s decision represented the use of “arbitrary” judgment.

p. “Tearing down long-established religious symbols is … as unacceptable as needlessly erecting new ones,” Gingrich said.

p. Gingrich also said in the article that the cross removal “bears the unmistakable influence” of College Chancellor Sandra Day O’Connor, who has supported non-endorsement of religion in public institutions.

p. Brian Whitson, the Director of University Relations, denied O’Connor’s involvement in the removal.

p. According to Wednesday’s edition of the Virginia-Pilot, Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine also had reservations about the removal.

p. “My basic feeling about it, though, is, look, [the Wren Chapel] was built at William and Mary as a chapel. And I think to respect what it has been, the role it has played in the College, and have the cross there certainly did not offend me,” Kaine said.

p. “[The cross] recognizes the history of what [Wren Chapel] has been, which you can’t change.”

p. Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Wren Chapel, David L. Holmes, the Walter G. Mason professor of religious studies at the College, and Dinesh D’Souza, a New York Times best-selling author and fellow at the Hoover Institute, will debate whether or not the Wren Cross — removed from the Wren Chapel in October by President Gene Nichol — should be reinstated.

p. The debate, co-sponsored by campus newspaper The Virginia Informer and the conservative non-profit organization The Collegiate Network, is titled “Religion and the Campus: Should the Wren Cross be Reinstated in Wren Chapel?”

p. Holmes, a professor at the College since 1965, is set to oppose the cross’s reinstatement, while D’Souza will argue for it.

p. The debate comes three months after Nichol’s Oct. 26 decision to remove the cross from permanent display.

p. The two-foot tall, gold altar cross was donated to the College by Bruton Parish Church in 1931. According to Nichol, the cross’s removal was meant to make the Chapel “more welcoming to students, faculty, staff and visitors of all faiths.”

p. Nichol’s decision was met with disagreement among some students and alumni, who felt that the cross should remain as a symbol of the College’s Christian roots. Those who protested the decision also cited Nichol’s failure to discuss the matter with students prior to the removal of the cross.

p. Soon after the decision, Vince Haley, who graduated from the College in 1988, created the website www.savethewrencross.org, establishing a petition that called for Nichol to reverse his decision. Since then, over 10,500 people have signed to support the cross’s reinstatement.

p. Despite the petition, Nichol defended himself at a Nov. 16 meeting of the College Board of Visitors.

p. “Some have thought that my steps disrespect the traditions of the College or, even more unacceptable, the religious beliefs of its members,” he said. “Though we haven’t meant to do so, the display of a Christian cross — the most potent symbol of my own religion — in the heart of our most important building sends an unmistakable message that the chapel belongs more fully to some of us than others.”

p. At the same meeting, the BOV — headed by Rector Michael Powell — praised Nichol for his accomplishments during his term.

p. “It is clear from your report that there are a lot of great things going on here, even the occasional controversy,” Powell said. “In all that you do, you continue to make this board proud, and we’re grateful for your leadership.”

p. While the BOV offered tacit approval over the cross removal, the issue remained contentious for those opposed to the decision. In response to the outcry, Nichol announced two changes to the policy in a Dec. 20 school-wide e-mail. Beginning immediately, Nichol said, the cross would be displayed all day on Sundays, and a plaque would be installed to “commemorate the Chapel’s origins as an Anglican place of worship and symbol of the Christian beginnings of the College.”

p. Nichol also acknowledged that his decision was made in haste without properly consulting the College community.

p. “I have also perhaps added to the turmoil by my own missteps. I likely acted too quickly and should have consulted more broadly. Patience is a vital virtue — especially for a university president. I’m still learning it. The decision was also announced to the university community in an inelegant way.”

p. Despite the addendums to the policy, disparity on the issue has remained. Since October, the issue has been featured in the national media, including Fox News and the Washington Post. Wednesday, Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the United States House of Representatives, wrote in the National Review Online that Nichol’s decision represented the use of “arbitrary” judgment.

p. “Tearing down long-established religious symbols is … as unacceptable as needlessly erecting new ones,” Gingrich said.

p. Gingrich also said in the article that the cross removal “bears the unmistakable influence” of College Chancellor Sandra Day O’Connor, who has supported non-endorsement of religion in public institutions.

p. Brian Whitson, the Director of University Relations, denied O’Connor’s involvement in the removal.

p. According to Wednesday’s edition of the Virginia-Pilot, Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine also had reservations about the removal.

p. “My basic feeling about it, though, is, look, [the Wren Chapel] was built at William and Mary as a chapel. And I think to respect what it has been, the role it has played in the College, and have the cross there certainly did not offend me,” Kaine said.

p. “[The cross] recognizes the history of what [Wren Chapel] has been, which you can’t change.”

….