A Final Civics Lesson

By Meghan McCarthy

Last Tuesday, I found myself wishing I was back at the College.

Many of my former classmates felt a similar pull — as members of the Class of 2007, we are in the unique position of straddling the divide between our first months as alumni and our past years as students. Despite varying degrees of devotion to our alma mater, many of us shared a longing to go to our College, to show our support for former College President Gene Nichol, to stand in solidarity with our former classmates and professors and to protest the unilateral decision of the Board of Visitors not to renew Nichol’s contract. This kind of student activism highlights exactly why Nichol’s actions have been advantageous to the College community.

Many have criticized the manner in which Nichol resigned, questioning whether his dramatic exit was beneficial to the College. I dare to say that it was. His resignation has ignited a passion among students and faculty I have never witnessed on the College’s campus. Had Nichol quietly accepted the BOV’s decision and exited his position at the end of this academic year, the urgent need to have student and faculty’s voices legitimately represented on the BOV would not be so obvious. In the end, what better gift can a university president impart to students of a liberal arts education — a meager increase in U.S. News and World Report’s rankings or a real life lesson in the value of civic engagement and the importance of representation?

The BOV claims this decision was not based on politics or ideology; rather, they imply that it was Nichol’s shortcomings as a top executive that led to their decision. If Nichol’s biggest fault was not anticipating alumni disapproval of the removal of the Wren cross, then the events of the past week should give members of the BOV reason to review their own job performance. While they may not have anticipated Nichol’s immediate resignation, their actions have shown them to be willfully ignorant of sentiment among the students and faculty at the College. Perhaps we would all do well to recall that a college exists fundamentally to educate students, and not to necessarily produce warm memories among alumni — as important as this may be to fundraising.

The Class of 2007 left a record-breaking gift to the College, a testament to how much hope we had for our institution with Nichol at the helm. Perhaps that hope can restored with a renewed student and faculty participation in the decisions that affect the College. It looks like students and faculty are off to a good start at raising their voices, and it is my fervent hope that the BOV will hear them.