College President Gene Nichol would be wise to release all e-mail correspondence he has had with former College President Timothy Sullivan.

p. Groups such as ShouldNicholBeRenewed.org are mounting a circumstantial case against Nichol, attempting to show that he ignored evidence of a withdrawn $12 million pledge when he announced the completion of the Campaign for William and Mary.

p. The withdrawn pledge put the campaign below its $500 million goal. The disgruntled donor claims he told Sullivan that he would not donate the $12 million in December 2006, two months before Nichol announced the end of the campaign. Sullivan has said that all information regarding the donation was conveyed to the College.

p. The Flat Hat is currently waiting to receive any e-mails between Nichol and Sullivan through a Freedom of Information request. However, the response of the embattled president should require no wait at all.

p. If, as Nichol claims, he was not aware of McGlothlin’s intentions in December, the correspondence between Nichol and Sullivan will reveal this. Voluntarily releasing these e-mails would clear his name and end some of the attacks from critics ­who have undergone extensive efforts to discredit Nichol and have frequently called for his resignation.

p. Many subscribe to the view that Nichol is being disingenuous — that he was notified by Sullivan in 2006 and chose to ignore the warning. If this is the case, the College would benefit from taking an honest stance by making the information public, as any efforts to hide important information will likely hurt Nichol and others in the future.

p. The students and the campus community are growing tired of this ongoing story. The BOV is engaged in a critical decision for the future of not only Nichol but of the College itself. In releasing these e-mails, the College has nothing to lose and the truth to gain.

The Student Assembly has stumbled again.

p. Members have wrongly abandoned their search for a third-party voting system that would replace the outdated Student Information Network, a student-produced computer program that has handled student government campus-wide elections over the past several years. After haphazardly searching for replacement software, SA President Zach Pilchen ’09 called it quits, saying “SIN is fine.”

p. The only problem is that SIN is not “fine,” and with the serious problems that it has caused student elections over the past year, SIN is no longer suitable for the College.

p. Last year, election results were wiped out due to human error. SIN will continue to be prone to human error as long as it is run by SA members who are not equipped to handle the system. Senate representatives cite the relatively successful freshmen elections as reason enough to stick with SIN. They were considering using votenet.com, but abandoned the option because it would have cost the College $2,500 per year. The SA has access to vast resources through various reserve accounts, so labeling cost as an issue in replacing the outdated voting system calls into question just where the SA is spending its money if not to benefit students. The assurance of having accurate elections would be worth the cost to students.

p. Unfortunately, the SA abandoned its search prematurely. Arguing that one successful election can redeem a program that cannot sustain the College’s basic election needs is absurd. SIN as it stands inspires no confidence in its ability to provide accurate elections. Student representatives are happy, for now, but in neglecting this responsibility, they have put future elections at risk.

The College is old. Beautiful, yes. Prestigious, certainly. But, according to a report card recently released by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the College received an overall score of “D-” in sustainability.

p. Suddenly, my midterm grades are starting to look a lot better.
The sustainability report card is based on several categories, ranging from “green” buildings to investment policies. Our dear College is not doing all it can to be eco-friendly and more open to alternative resources.

p. We received a failing grade in almost all categories except for dining services, green building and investment priorities. The report card mentions that there have been several proposals initiated by the College to conserve and use renewable energy, but no formal commitments or public statements have been made to put these plans into action.

p. Why?

p. Because the College is so old and the buildings were built such a long time ago — this is the way it has always been. We are an institution steeped in history. Blah, blah, blah. These are the various excuses I always hear whenever there is a complaint or suggestion about the College. There are only three buildings on campus that are Leadership in Environment and Energy Design approved — the Recreation Center and Jamestown dormitories. We are so firmly grounded in our majestic history that I fear we may be bordering on stubbornness.

p. One surprising category we failed was transportation. I figured that developing fuel substitutes would make it easier to facilitate programs that would encourage the use of alternative fuels.
More surprising is the big, fat “F” we received for administration. On several occasions, students have made proposals encouraging the administration to install recycling programs or pledge to support the President’s climate commitment, but few of these policies have been implemented.

p. The quality of education and the availability of resources can make a good college great. While pursuing quality education, the College should not ignore its impact on the environment. Other prestigious and aged institutions have scored much higher marks because of their adoption of eco-friendly alternatives. Simple changes, such as preferred parking for carpoolers, composting postconsumer food waste or starting programs for renewable energy, can make a huge difference. Harvard University, for instance, has a committee of professionals and students that promotes sustainability by steering campus organizations to seek reusable resources.

p. It would be wrong to say that the College has done nothing to improve conditions. Still, its efforts are negligible. Recently, a few students came to my door with plastic reusable mugs from Dining Services. Since that day, I have seen no more than a few students using those mugs in place of paper ones at the cafeterias. I’m sad to admit that I am not one of them. On the bright side, though, all the oil used by the cafeterias is recycled into diesel fuel, and the William and Mary Foundation does aim to invest in more reusable energy sources.

p. The only way to become a “green College” is through conscious cooperation among the administration, campus organizations and the student body. Receiving a “D-” in sustainability is not acceptable, especially during an age when environmental conservation has become a top priority. The next time you are at the Marketplace, remember to take your plastic mug with you. From now on, chances are you’ll see me doing the same.

p. Kalyani Phansalkar is a freshman at the College.

This past Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court delayed a lethal injection execution scheduled to take place in Mississippi.

p. No, there was no new evidence that surfaced. No, the criminal was not found innocent in his supposed final hours of life. The story is not that dramatic; it is simply a case of pulling out all the stops in an attempt to avoid the inevitable.

p. As some may be aware, the Supreme Court decided to challenge Kentucky’s use of lethal injection last month in the case Baze v. Rees. This has set off a chain of events giving death row inmates in other states an excuse for another appeal.

p. Earl Wesley Berry, the convicted murderer who was spared Tuesday, requested a delay in his execution on the grounds that the mixture of fatal chemicals Mississippi uses in its injection would cause him unnecessary torture. This would constitute cruel and unusual punishment and stand in violation of the Eighth Amendment. His delay will last until a decision is reached in the Kentucky case or, in layman’s terms, indefinitely.

p. Aside from the absurdity of the extreme convenience of this appeal, there are other facts about Berry’s case that, to be frank, blow my mind. In 1987, he was convicted of kidnapping and beating a woman to death and then dumping her body in nearby woods. He has been on death row for 19 years, which means that he has been living on the state’s dollar for just under 20 years. Taxpayers have paid to keep him off the street and keep themselves safe.

p. But, at the same time, they have provided for his food, his plumbing, his heat and whatever other amenities are provided to inmates on death row. If Berry was being kept in a Virginia prison, my parents would have been paying to support his life for a longer period of time than they have been supporting me. What lengthens the period of time spent on death row is the appeals cooked up by convicted felons and their lawyers.

p. The main problem with this situation is that frivolous appeals exacerbate so many issues. They not only waste taxpayer money, but they also tie up the courts. These incessant appeals are an insult to the victims’ families who want the sentences of inmates carried out. They are looking to gain justice and closure for their loved ones.

p. Many appeals that get submitted are attempts to bring out random issues with the hope that they will stick and foolishly be accepted by some court. Some lawyers and inmates try anything and everything to prolong their time. Meanwhile, victims’ families seek justice. They live with the aftermath of the murderer’s actions every moment of every day. The fact that so many of these appeals are without merit raises the question why they are tolerated in the first place.

p. For the time being, taxpayers in Mississippi will continue to provide Berry with three meals a day, heat, plumbing and electricity as the courts have to deal with another round of his appeals. The loved ones of the woman he brutally murdered will endure more time waiting for him to be punished for his crime. Where is the justice in that?

p. __Jessica Gallinaro is a freshman at the College.__