Letter to Alumni Association by concerned alum

The following letter has been posted with the author's permission. I support her in this as the Board of Visitors have declined to take action in this issue. Not exactly the type of behavior one would expect from such a respectable group of individuals who know the heritage and history of The College of William and Mary.

On 12/8/06 12:24 PM, "Karla" wrote:

All:

In light of the Board of Visitor's decision not to take action after hearing Nichol's arguments for removing the cross, I have sent the following letter to the Alumni Association. As a conscientious objector to Nichol's socialist agenda, I cannot give my hard-earned money to the College while Nichol is President.

I urge individuals to withdraw their financial support and to write similar letters explaining why support has been withdrawn. Our Save the Cross organization should then ask the AA next year how much of a decrease, if any, in contributions occurred between say Dec 2006 and Dec 2007. No one need post the amount of withdrawn support, but the AA will know and will also know why. The Board of Visitors will know why, too.

December 8, 2006

Karen R. Cottrell '66,
Executive Vice President
The William & Mary Alumni Association
P.O. Box 2100
Williamsburg, VA 23187-2100

Dear Ms. Cottrell:

Given the removal of the cross from the Wren Chapel and the Board of Visitors’ decision not to take action to reinstate it, next year I will not be donating ten percent of the royalties from my newly released book about Jamestown as I had intended. While the total may not be stunning, it was my goal to support the College with whatever success may come my way. I will now direct my contributions elsewhere.

I am sorely disappointed in the President’s and Board’s lack of concern for the rich history and tradition of the College’s first building. If, as stated on the College’s website, the Wren is the soul of the College, then the Chapel is surely the soul of the building itself. To remove the cross as a permanent feature of the Chapel is to erase the very essence of the space and to ignore its long and worthy heritage.

Respectfully yours,

Karla K. Bruno
Class of ’81 and ‘92
Williamsburg, VA

End of Ms. Bruno's letter.


In addition to that, the argument of Mr. Nichol is moot because the Great Hall is in the Wren Building for just such activities as he suggests needed a home.