Wednesday, April 29, The Flat Hat requested and received a statement from University Communications sent on behalf of College of William and Mary President Katherine Rowe. The statement, addressed to Student Assembly President Nico Giro-Martin ’27, discussed referendums recently passed by students at the College.
Read Rowe’s full statement here.
Students approved the first referendum on Tuesday, March 26. These results called on the College to terminate its relationship with Flock Safety and to establish a “Firewall for Freedom” to protect students’ right to protest and free speech against the Trump administration.
Students passed the second referendum on Monday, April 6. This election called on the College to cancel its partnership with ZeroEyes, an artificial intelligence powered firearms detection company. This referendum was placed by the SA Senate on a separate ballot from the spring 2026 election, following an hours-long debate.
Rowe said that the College values the privacy of its community members in her statement. She explained that the College complies with state law regulating automatic license plate recognition data and that campus Flock information would only be shared with out-of-state and federal law enforcement agencies in response to court orders.
Rowe also said that the College does not utilize facial recognition for any of its campus security.
She noted that as a public institution, the College upholds the right to freedom of speech. Rowe stated that the College would continue to honor its commitment to defending freedoms of expression and academics.
She attributed recent public safety transparency efforts to continuous student engagement, thanking SA for raising concerns.
The College has responded to privacy concerns on Flock and ZeroEyes surveillance around campus by compiling a list of FAQs and opening the Flock Transparency Portal.
