8 20 256 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/ae6ba1af09021d5a084c39d3982029bb.jpg 51b3f8212a750eea8f8bd84db36995fd https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/ef48d388923b8dc588c2e2d0f475a680.jpg f615e917128b8f9f94cf5d1bf3d1b4e7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document The pages of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star have recently contained a controversy involving John G. Castles, a member of MWC's Board of Visitors, the highest operational decision-making body of the College. Castles is also a member of the four-man Caroline County Board of Supervisors. The controversy arose out of comments he made about the low income residents of Caroline County. The Free Lance-Star quoted Castles as saying, "Even if there were more jobs, I question whether (unemployed) blacks would work . . . Blacks have two preoccupations—recreation and education. They think keeping kids off the streets and giving them a shiny new building will turn them into Phi Beta Kappas. They don't have to foot the bills—it's easy to demand things." Castles, in a letter to the Fredericksburg newspaper, replied that his "comments about unemployed applied equally to blacks and whites" and accused the newspaper of distorting the entire matter. The issue appears within the context of a three-part series of articles on Caroline County written by Free Lance-Star staff writer Spencie Love. Love, a graduate of Harvard University, wrote in the final segment of her story that the three white members of the Board of Supervisors, "hold similar views on county problems, such as poverty and unemployment, and see the county's blacks—the major victims of both—as largely responsible for their situation." Castles went on to say that Caroline County's industries were, "compatible with the labor force—no one wants to work . . . I think the county would be attractive to (outside) industry, but there's not a reliable work force. Even if there were more jobs, I question whether (unemployed) blacks would work." Love also wrote that, "Castles sees the county's blacks as a unified political force—he said that Luther Morris represented the county's blacks, and would 'do anything they tell him to do.' . . . Suggesting that blacks complained more than the 'people paying the most taxes,' Castles concluded that black leadership showed a lack of intelligence and candor." Castles, who "prides himself on his candor," was quick to respond to Love's articles. In the March 22nd issue of The Free Lance-Star, Castles wrote that Love "left no stone unturned in an effort to paint the white board members as insensitive, bigoted, plantation owners, lording it over the less fortunate citizens of the community . . . My comments about those who pay little and demand much applies to all races and not just blacks as Ms. Love would have you believe. She knows that my remarks about the emphasis on new school buildings with its lack of results on the learning capacity of its occupants applies across the board. But doesn't it serve her purpose so much better to apply it only to blacks? My comments about unemployed applied equally to blacks and whites, but if put properly in that light wouldn't create animosity, would it? Working blacks and whites have little respect for either race who won't work." Castles' letter included a personal attack upon the author of the article series. Castles charges Love with "a communistic distaste for anyone who has the audacity to own property" and suggests that this "communistic distaste" is the result of "a Patty Hearst guilt complex . . . Or maybe her earlier journalistic experience as a reporter for the Afro-American Newspaper" was the cause of her "biased, inaccurate, misquoted, quoted-out-of-context and sensationalistic reporting." Castles further writes that Love, "has done her best to create dissension on the one hand and racial disharmony on the other. (She) obviously thrives on disharmony." Castle Concludes, "as for Ms. Love, the honeymoon in Caroline is over. She has been unmasked for what she really is. A holdover from the civil disturbance marchers of the '60's. Frustrated with no place to march she's turned to the next best thing, the press, and become a journalistic trouble-maker instead of the charging crusader she thinks she is. As The Free Lance-Star has become increasingly more liberal, its coverage of news events has become increasingly less reliable. In a nine-point rejoinder to Castle's letter, The Free Lance-Star asserted among other things that 1) Castle's "comments on unemployment may have applied, as he contends, to both whites and blacks. However his quote ended: 'Even if there were more jobs, I question whether (unemployed) blacks would work.' " 2) The "series did not depict the white supervisors as 'insensitive, bigoted plantation owners.' The series simply quoted them. Any such inference is Mr. Castles', not ours." 3) Castles' "baseless allegations concerning what he calls our reporters 'communistic distaste' and 'Patty Hearst guilt complex' are not only without foundation but also irrelevant." Castles, in a telephone interview, stated that he felt it "incredible that this land-use issue has been presented in such a way as to give it racial over-tones. My comments had nothing to do with race; they applied to whites as well as blacks. There are just a lot of unemployed people who won't take a job even when it's offered." On the school issue, Castles reiterated his point that the problem is more than financial: "you need more than money. You need motivated students, quality teachers, and responsible parents. With those things, you could learn in a barn. Without them, you couldn't learn in the Taj Mahal." Castles acknowledged that his attack on Love was partly "personal," but he felt "it was justified. I went to the paper first, but they made no effort to ameliorate the situation. A free press must be a responsible press. Responsibility must go with anything. Castles plans to clarify his position with a second letter to The Free Lance-Star. Since John Castles is a member of the 12-member MWC Board of Visitors, this issue has sparked much interest among students and faculty of the College. One student remarked that she was "appalled" at his comments. "If this man is a racist, he should not be on our B.O.V. How will this look when we apply for federal funds, having a man on the most important and powerful official body on campus making disparaging public statements about the unwillingness of Blacks to work?" Castles was appointed to the Board of Visitors in 1976, by Virginia Governor Mills Godwin. The Board perceives its duties as including "the carrying into effect the statement of Institutional Purpose." This statement states that the College is obligated to pursue its polices "without regard to race, sex, creed, or national origin." The Board is the "governing body of Mary Washington College." The Virginia law which created the Board in 1972 listed its duties as follows: "Control and expend the funds of the College . . . make all needful rules and regulations . . . appoint the President . . . and all teachers and fix their salaries and provide for the employment of other personnel as required, and generally direct the affairs of the College." Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Vol. 51, Issue 9 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Holwick, John Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource BOV Member Involved in Local Controversy Subject The topic of the resource United States -- Race relations Description An account of the resource A newspaper article written by Michael A. Mello regarding a controversy involving University of Mary Washington's Board of Visitors member, John G. Castles Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "BOV Member Involved in Local Controversy." The Bullet (VA), March 28, 1978. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-03-28 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Board of Visitors Fredericksburg John G. Castles Local Controversy Mary Washington Bullet Michael A. Mello Michael Mello Race Relations The Bullet https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/95dc130decb3c853ceeeb6c21a940b9b.pdf 36889a67d8fb2a1e56539fe3b5b615ee https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/2da7e69ed3b9eb15ac43deec46d43da4.pdf e139f318a01b6fccaf6ceaa4dcd1b03a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document There is a gulf between the Board of Visitors and the students. THE BULLET, by closely examining the Board form in as many different aspects as possible over the period of several weeks, seeks to bridge the gap-the division between the group that holds the most power on campus and the group that holds the least. This inquiry should begin with an examination of the past in the hope of better understanding the present and dealing with the future. There are two historical lines to trace in the etiology of the current concept of the Board of Visitors her at M.W.C. One begins in 1819 with the founding of the University of Virginia and the other, in 1908 with the creation of the State Normal and Industrial School for women, the first incarnation of the present day Mary Washington College. The two strands come together in 1944 when the passage of the McCue-Randolph Bill brought M.W.C. under the auspices of UVA and separate again in 1972 when Mary Washington College again becomes an autonomous institution. The Act of the Virginia State Assembly that established the University of Virginia laid down in minute detail the powers, duties and responsibilities of its Board of Visitors: 1) the “erection, preservation and repair of the building, the care of the grounds and appurtenances and of the interests of the University generally” 2) the appointment of a “Bursar. Proctor and all other agents” 3) the “appointment and removal of all professor” 4) the establishment “of rules for the government and discipline of the student, not contrary to the laws of the land” 5) the “regulation of tuition fees and the rent of dormitories” 6) and in general, the direction of “all matters and things which, not being inconsistent with the laws of the land, to them shall seem most expedient for promoting the purposes of the said institution.” The seven members of the Board would be appointed by the Governor, subject to approval by the General Assembly, and they would elect a Rector from among their ranks. The driving force behind the University was, of course. Thomas Jefferson; and the intellectual foundation of the institution was to a great extent attributed to him. In fact, the portions of the 1819 Act dealing with the B.O.V. were taken verbatim from a report written by Jefferson at Rockfish Gap in 1818. Thus, his views on higher education in general and the Board in particular provide a revealing insight insight into the theoretical framework behind the use of the whole concept of a governing Board of externally chosen nonacademic citizens as the ultimate authority in a university. In a speech on discipline at U.V.A, Jefferson said “the insubordination of our youth is now the greatest obstacle to their education. We may lessen the difficulty by avoiding too much government, by regulating no useless observances, none which shall merely multiply occasions for dissatisfaction, disobedience and revolt by referring to the more discreet of themselves the minor discipline, the greater to civil magistrate.” Specifically of the B.O.V., Jefferson writes in Rockfish Gap Report that “the best mode of government for youth, in large collections, is certainly a desideratum not yet attained with us. It may well be questioned whether fear, after a certain age, is the motive to which we should have ordinary recourse. The human character is susceptible to other incitement to correct conduct, more worthy of employ, and of better effect. Pride of character, laudable ambition and moral dispositions are innate correctives of the indiscretions of that lively age; and when strengthened by habitual appeal and exercise, have a happier effect on future character, than the degrading motive of fear. Harding them to disgrace, the corporal punishment and servile humiliations cannot be the best process for-producing erect character. It will be then for the wisdom of the Visitors to devise and perfect a proper system of government which, if founded in reason and comity will be more likely to nourish, in the minds of our youth, the combined spirit of order and self-respect, so congenial with our political institutions, and so important to be woven into the American character” The institution which was in time to be known as Mary Washington College was founded 89 year after the University of Virginia. The General Assembly created the Virginia Normal and Industrial School for Women in Fredericksburg on March 4, 1908 and put it “under the supervision, management and government” of a Board of Trustees, to be appointed by the governor; by and with consent of the Senate.” The Act gave the Trustees the “right …to plead and be impleaded in courts, to receive all gifts, subscriptions, donations…the same to be held, invested distributed or expended for the best use and benefit of the school… and to exercise such other powers and do such other acts which are necessary and proper to accomplish the end for which said school…(was) created. Said trustees shall form time to time make all needful rules and compensation of teachers and employees… and prescribe the preliminary examinations and conditions upon which students shall be received therein.” The Board of Trustees first met on April 27, 1908 and elected Rev.Sidney Peters as its first President. Three weeks later, the Board met again and elected Edward Hutson Russell as the first president of the school. Throughout 1909, the Board convened regularly to map out the course that the new school would follow. In December, it approved the contract for the dormitory and a few days later, two of its members appeared before the Senate Finance Committee in Richmond to request appropriations. At the February 21, 1911 meeting the Board elected the first faculty members. Events thus continued under the close supervision of the Board until the new normal school opened in September of 1911. The Board of Trustees was superseded in 1914 when, by order of the General Assembly, control of school was placed under a central Board of Visitors for the State Normal Schools for white women in Virginia. The new Board, which composed of twelve members, on form each congressional district and two form the state and large, had jurisdiction over all four normal schools in Virginia and was given the authority to “manage the affairs of the four institutions (at Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Radford and Farmville), appointing officers, teachers and employees.” In 1924, the General Assembly changed the school’s status from a normal school to a teacher’s college. It also changed the name of the governing authority: the Virginia Normal School Board became the Board of Virginia Teacher’s Colleges. Edward Alvey, in The History of Mary Washington College, wrote that “the duties and rights of the new board, as enumerated in the new legislation, were almost identical to those of the former board.” Control of the college shifted again in 1930 when the General Assembly abolished the Board of Virginia Teachers Colleges and transferred management of the four schools to the State Board of Education. This Board would continue to be the governing authority of the newly created Mary Washington College until it merged with the University of Virginia in 1911. As M.W.C grows so did sentiment to go the last mile and expand into a full-fledged liberal acts college for women. Early efforts to achieve this end had ended in failure in 1932 with Governor Pollard’s veto of the plan, but in 1943 a new governor, Colgate Darden, came out strongly in favor of consolidation. A bill incorporating Darden’s proposals was introduced into the General Assembly and it passed 88-2. It provide that “the supervision, management and control pass from the State Board of Education to the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia… that the president of the University of Virginia by the chancellor of Mary Washington College… and its chief administrative officer, and that the title of the chief local administrative office will be that of president.” M.W.C. would remain under the supervision, management and control of the UVA BOV for almost three decades. MWC existed as female auxiliary of The University of Virginia. On Monday April 10, 1972, Governor Linwood Holton signed into law legislation that provided for the establishment of M.W.C. as a “complete autonomous institution with its own corporate governing board bearing the name the Rector and Board of Visitors of Mary Washington College. For the first time since 1914, the college was a self governing institute. In this respect the history of our own particulate board of B.O.V begins only six years ago. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Ammirati, Patrick Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource History of the BOV: Why They Are Subject The topic of the resource United States -- History Description An account of the resource Micheal Mello article on the History of the Board of Visitors. Tell who they are, how they were formed, and what they do. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "History of the BOV: Why They Are" The Bullet (VA), April 4, 1978 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-04-04 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Board of Trustees Board of Visitors BOV Colgate Darden Edward Alvey Marijuana Michael A. Mello Richmond Senate Finance Committee State Board of Education The Bullet Thomas Jefferson University of Mary Washington University of Virginia Virginia State Assembly https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/913c8f0992e6de39fed7c4a24a54495a.jpg 1e782501f60762018a2779eaca35d080 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Editorial: Closed Subjects, Closed Minds I do not think that a liberal arts institution can do the best possible job of providing a liberal education for the students, unless the institution itself is willing to keep its scope of offerings, its procedures and its policies under continual review…as it relates to Mary Washington, this is a commitment that I…have made. Prince B. Woodward 1975 I am opposed and will remain opposed to 23 hour visitation…that's all I have to say about it and that's all I have to say about it in the future…It's a closed subject. Prince B. Woodward 1978 The attitude of MWC President Prince B. Woodward on extended visitation, as expressed in last week's BULLET, seems to deny the guarantees of an "Open Administration" he made when he became president. Dr. Woodward seems to treat sincere student concern about a major College policy with a disposition bordering on contempt. It is not the purpose of this editorial to argue for or against extended visitation. It would not be wise to take a position on the subject until all the data, including the current S.A. poll is in. But one must keep an open mind on the subject until the students, parents, and alumni have expressed their choice. Dr. Woodward seemed to acknowledge this when three years ago he said "…we shall try to always be continually alert to what might be needing changes in both the elements that we offer in the program and way we offer them." Why the regression from open-mindedness to dogmatism? Dr. Woodward serves neither his own interests nor those of the College by refusing further comment on such an important issue. Dr. Woodward should give all members of the College community the benefit of his honest opinions on this crucial issue. One of the greatest purposes of any institution of higher learning is the free exchange of ideas. It is time for Dr. Woodward to rejoin the debate over 23 hour visitation. GPW MAM Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Latane, Sharon C. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Editorial: Closed Subjects, Closed Minds Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Description An account of the resource An article critiquing President Prince B. Woodward on his refusal to listen to student opinions regarding an extended visitation policy. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Webb, Gary P. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A., and Gary P. Webb. "Editorial: Closed Subjects, Closed Minds". Mary Washington College Bullet, Tuesday, September 26, 1978, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957-2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-09-26 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA 23 hour visitation Anita Lynn Churney Gary Price Webb John Matthew Coski Mary Washington Bullet Mary Washington College Michael A. Mello Prince B. Woodward student activism visitation policy https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e51e3754b2a3c09a74a8b4cd9aa48018.pdf a1d73303322a0752730d58d30215e162 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c18be8fda08a6d95c027d9e7f45c3a0e.pdf 4e3298685531229cc7e6c20bceb932b1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Part two in a three part series on the Mary Washington College Board of Visitors The present day Board of Visitors of Mary Washington College was created on April 10, 1972, when Virginia Governor Linwood Holton signed into law Senate Bill 433. This legislation provided for the separation of the College from the University of Virginia and the establishment of MWC as an independent institution with its own governing body: “The Rector and Visitors of Mary Washington College.” The legislation further provided that the Board “shall be subject at all time to the control of the (Virginia) General Assembly.” The twelve members of the Board would be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. At least nine of the Board's members must be residents of Virginia, and they may serve a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms. The General Assembly gave the Board broad powers: the 1972 law specified that “the Board shall control and expend the funds of the college and any appropriate hereafter provided, and shall make all needful rules and regulations concerning the College; appoint the president, who shall be its chief executive officer, and all teachers, and fix their salaries, and provide for the employment of other personnel as required and generally direct the affairs of the College... fix... the rates charged the students of the college for tuition, fees, and other necessary charges.... have the right to confere degrees.” There, then, are the broad parameters within which the Board of Visitors must operate. But the Visitors found them too general to serve as a guide for the direction of a College; so the Board, at its organizational meeting in September 1972, approved a proposal that a BOV Manual be prepared which would serve “as the official expression of Board policy... the purpose of The Manual is to give interested persons particularly new members of the Board an insight and understanding of the Board functions and its relationships to the administrative officers.” This Manual is probably the best available insight into operations of the Board of Visitors of Mary Washington College. The Manual begins with a statement of Institutional Purpose. This declaration of College goals, which was ratified by the faculty in 1970 and re-affirmed by the Board of Visitors in 1973, states that “As a liberal arts institution, Mary washington College is convinced that a broad education in the arts, the sciences, and humanities, complemented by intensive study in a particular field of interest, constitutes an excellent preparation for life and citizenship. The College upholds the values of freedom of inquiry, personal responsibility, and intellectual integrity.” The Board of Visitors, as “the governing body of Mary Washington College,” is responsible for the effecting of these goals. To this end, the Board holds a regular annual meeting on the second Saturday of September at the College. At that meeting, the Board elects from its number an Executive Committee, which consists of the Rector, the Secretary of the Board, and two elected Board members. The Manual states that “The Executive Committee shall meet upon the call of the Rector. It shall consider all matters referred to it by the Rector or the President, and shall, in the interim between meetings of the Board, be vested with the powers and authority of the full Board and shall take such action as in its judgment is required.” The Executive Committee, as well as the Board of Visitors as a whole, is presided over by a Rector. The Rector, who serves two-year terms, is “especially charged” with the duty of “wise planning for the future, intelligent and considerate observance of the rights of the faculty and student body, including the preservation of the Honor System, and the maintenance of the independence of the Board.” The Rector presides over all Board meetings; he fixes the agenda and appoints committees (other than the Executive Committee). The Board of Visitors has within its numbers a host of consultative committees. The Rector appoints the standing committees (Finance, Building and Grounds, Alumni and Student Affairs, and Academic Affairs), and their chairmen every year at the annual meeting. The Manual states that the Rector is also “an ex officio member of all standing and special committees; the Rector and President may attend, and one or the other is expected to attend, all meetings. No committee is vested with any authority except the Executive Committee... All other committee recommendations are to be presented to the Board or, if appropriate, the Executive Committee.” The Visitors duties include the selection and appointment of the President of the College, and on February 8, 1974, the Board elected Prince B. Woodard to succeed the retiring President Grellet Simpsori. In a RESOLUTION, the Board stated that Woodard is to “serve at the pleasure of the Board of Visitors... he shall enjoy full faculty status and the rank of Professor of Education. The President shall be the chief executive, administrative and academic officer of the College, and as such, he is hereby directed, authorized and empowered to appoint and employ, upon such terms as he shall think best, such administrative and staff personnel as he shall deem proper for the administration and operation of the College, to fix their duties and functions, and to discharge any such appointee or employee; to receive, handle, and disburse the funds of the College from whatever source derived, and to authorize the execution of, on behalf of the College or of The Rector and Visitors of Mary Washington College, such documents as shall be necessary and proper for the operation of the College, the conduct of its business and the carrying into effect of its programs; to provide for the admission of students, for student discipline, including suspension and dismissal, and for the regulation of the various aspects of student life at the College; to make interim faculty appointments pending formal appointment by the Board; to fix, and from time ti time, to change the curriculum and academic requirements of the College, including those for the granting of degrees, and to authorize and grant degrees in the name of The Rector and Visitors of Mary Washington College; and to exercise such general authority and control over the assets, affairs and programs of the College as shall be desirable for its proper operation.” Three more aspects of the Boards operation, as outlined in The Manual, are of interest. First, “all communications directed to the Board shall be channeled through the office of the President. All communications from the Board shall be similarly channeled.” Second, “the Board at its discretion or upon recommendation of the President, shall consider appeals which may arise from the administration or operation of the College.” Third, “the minutes of the Board shall be open to inspection of any citizen in accordance with the law.” These minutes may be found in Dr. Woodard's office, and may be inspected by students during regular business hours. This discussion of the Board of Visitors of Mary Washington College is, of course, incomplete. Board meetings are not open to the general public (to say nothing of students) , so it is difficult to glean a penetrating understanding of what they are, what they do, and why they do it. But we are granted fleeting glimpses; in their Manual, in their Minutes of their meetings. These glimpses are better than nothing; but they are not sufficient to either give us a real understanding of the Board. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. O'Donald, Brexton Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. For the Mello 47-2 file, the first two scans are the same as the third, just not as legible. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Function of the BOV Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Description An account of the resource A Bullet article in which Michael Mello discusses the operations of the MWC Board of Visitors. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957-2008. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-04-11 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Board of Visitors Mary Washington College Michael Mello Rector University of Mary Washington https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/40e5973a2fbf1a7b3e14e33524cb029c.jpg d27cfd5a513fd64515dab2b7c7074094 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document David Grave’s “Viewpoint” (Bullet, September 26, 1978) regarding Mark Madigan’s “Viewpoint” of the previous week deserves comment. I don’t know if the entire thrust of Grave’s piece was a response to Madigan, but that was the impression I got. In this Viewpoint, I will be operating under that assumption. Graves begins by chiding Madigan for “name calling and taunting,” but then he turns right around and terms Marks perspectiveonthe issue grass “irresponsible” and “immature.” This would not detract from Graves critique of Madigan if the latter was in fact guilty of name calling (two fallacies don’t make a right, as the old saying goes). But the fact is that Madigan did not call anyone in his “Viewpoint” any names; he did not write that the Administrative position on the grass issue “seems to many to students to be rather hypocritical,” but within the context of Madigan’s argument, this statement is perfectly correct and justified. The bulk of Grave’s “Viewpoint” seems to be an analyses of “power.” This discussion confused me, probably because I have taken too few classes in the Poli-Sci department. If I am totally missing the point I trust that David will bring it to my attention. Graves seems to be saying that only the individual can exercise power over himself: “Only authority can employ any real control over the lives of men. True authority rests only within oneself… When you get out of jail you can break that same rule again. Only our implicit self authority can ever ‘prevent’ us from doing anything.” There are two problems with this assertion. First it is inconsistent with other points in Grave’s “Viewpoint.” He writes that “One reason why men have repeatedly witnessed large power factions through history is the continued abdication of this personal authority. When individuals forfeit authority and self-discipline, a void in social harmony is created which power factions seek to eradicate by imposing external controls.” Here Graves seems to acknowledge that personal “authority” and “power” (terms that Graves appears to be using synonymously, but never defines) are not the only forces guiding our actions. He recognizes that individuals can abdicate their personal power in return for a corporate identity, and that it is possible to “forfeit authority and self discipline.” Secondly, while final “authority” might rest with the individual (assuming that one is not a believer in determinism), it certainly appears that individual behavior is influenced by external sanctions and the threat of sanctions. This is the assumption upon which all penalty systems must rest. Nothing that David Graves wrote in his Viewpoint in any way refuted Mark Madigan’s opinions as expressed in the September 19th issue of the BULLET. Madigan did not argue that the Administration lacked the power to enforce its edicts; he explicitly stated that the rules about walking on the grass “can and still be enforced.” What Mark seems to be challenging is the correctness of these increased penalties, which he sees as being inconsistent with other College policies. It is unfortunate that Graves chose not to address himself to this, the central point of Madigan’s “Viewpoint.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Allen, B.H. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource How Far Will This Path Go? Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-10-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource Mello criticizes a previous "Viewpoint" attacking a "Viewpoint" before that. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Bullet Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4c34cdc6286e2eb399fc4030ff4097bc.jpg 41ae264001d0605ca43c9572660669b7 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e8d1f5bb037557950e22a64ecc2ecaee.jpg 9a92e03c4ee52d358787e76dcfce16fe Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document The Constitutional Revision Committee has recommended that the new SA Constitution should contain a Student Bill of Rights, which would be the "standard by which the Student Association shall formulate and conduct its policies." The committee's proposal, which has been approved by President Prince b. Woodard, will be on the March 28 ballot in the campus-wide elections. The Bill of Rights, as prepared by the committee, contains five sections: 1) The SA shall take no action which "abridges the rights of students to freedom or inquiry, of religion, of speech, of press, of peaceful assemblage, or petition…the rights of students shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, color, religion, physical disability, national origin, political affiliation, marital status or age." 2) Students are to be "secure in their persons, houses or living quarters, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures." 3) Students accused of judicial infractions are entitled to "due process," which is defined as "notice to the accused of the nature and cause of the charges and a fair hearing which shall include confrontation of witnesses against him…the right to a speedy and public trial, to have ample time to obtain witnesses in his behalf, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense…no student, in any judicial case, shall be compelled to be a witness against himself." 4) Student "clubs may be established for any legal purpose consistent with the policy of the College." 5) The "student media is to be free of censorship. The editors and managers shall not be arbitrarily suspended by the Student Association because of disapproval of editorial policy or content registered by members of the student body, faculty, administration, alumni or community. This freedom entails a corollary obligation under the canons of responsible journalism and applicable regulations of the FCC." The concepts embodied in the Bill of Rights were first presented to the committee by Eric Wootten at a March 13 meeting. Wootten's proposals, with minor changes, were unanimously ratified by the committee on March 15. The Bill was presented to President Woodard for approval the next day. Woodard replied that at least three changes would have to be made on the Bill before he would grant it his sanction. First, an ambiguous clause dealing with the search of dormitory rooms would have to be omitted. Second, the phrase "no student in any judicial case…shall be deprived of due process" must be cahnged to "no student in any student judicial case…shall be deprived of due process." This modification was necessary, asserted Kathy Mayer (chairwoman of the committee), because the Constitution applied only yo the S.A. It could not deal with Administrative judicial practices. Thirdly, the clause pertaining to student clubs and organizations was radically altered. Originally the statement provided that "Organizations may be established for any legal purpose. Affiliation with an extramural organization shall not, in itself, disqualify the institution branch or chapter from institutional privileges." After changes the amendment states: "Clubs may be established for any legal purpose consistent with the policy of the college. Any such organization shall not be denied membership into ICA, should it desire it, without justifiable reason." The revisions committee met for one final time on March 16 and worked out a compromise which was acceptable to all concerned, including President Woodard. Woodard gave his final approval on the modified Bill of Rights on March 17 in a morning meeting with S.A. President Kathy Mayer. The student Bill of Rights is only one of many Constitutional changes which the committee is recommending. Other major changes in the existing Constitution include: 1) The Judicial Chairman would appoint upperclass as well as freshmen Judicial representatives. These officials are presently elected by the residents of the dormitory. 2) Executive Cabinet members would no longer be exofficio members of the Senate. 3) The Presidents of both Residential Council and the Day Students Association would attend Executive Cabinet meetings "on a regular basis." 4) The matter of Senate districts was clarified. 5) Chairmen for the standing committees of the Senate, who are presently elected, would be appointed by the President of the Senate subject to the approval of the Senate as a whole. 6) A system of S.A. bylaws would be established. 7) The quorum needed in the Senate to transact business would be replaces with a procedure whereby any number of senators present could conduct business. But a majority vote of the total membership would be needed to approve any legislation. The Constitutional Revision Committee, which was composed of Mark McCoy, Bernard Skibinski, Barbara Stammerjohn, Susan Maloney, Kathy Mayer, Cindy Reeves and Laura Buchanan, first began its work almost a year ago. Mayer noted that she felt the completed document "was a definite improvement over the present Constitution." "We tried," said Mayer, "to deal with all of the major issues that came up this year: Alternative Theater Company, the West-moreland Four, the Bill of Rights. It was a long haul but the finished product was worth the effort." Tuesday, March 21, 1978. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Vol. 51, Issue 8 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Battles, Jamie Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Woodard Approves Student Bill of Rights: Ratification Vote Slated for March 28. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-03-21 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Description An account of the resource A newspaper article describing the Student Bill of Rights that President Woodard agreed upon with the Constitutional Revision Committee by Michael Mello. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Woodard Approves Student Bill of Rights: Ratification Vote Slated for March 28." The Bullet, March, 21,1978. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Subject The topic of the resource College students -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- United States Universities and colleges -- Law and legislation -- United States. Constitution Mary Washington College Michael Mello SA Constitution Student Association Student Bill of Rights The Bullet https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4708df1256550dd83df579d30e6854ba.jpg e5dc7c196273fbefc15c680a79a73d56 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f0718ff11fb7e08bb7d51d628bc12578.jpg ab08755285630ad5d91364b7fc175929 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document As I write these words, the fate of PROMETHEUS is still undetermined. The bi- weekly publication plans to print one more issue before the end of this academic year, but for my purposes their success or failure in this endeavor is irrelevant; even if PROMETHEUS is unable to print one last time, even if it does not publish in future years, PROMETHEUS has left its mark on MWC. My aim here is two- fold: 1) to briefly discuss what PROMETHEUS was to me and 2) to gauge the publications' accomplishments and judge its impact on the campus. PROMETHEUS never detailed its goals or objectives in print; the closest it came to making explicit its editorial policy was a brief note in the first issue. PROMETHEUS said its "purpose is to provide a forum for discussion of various topics of interest." But PROMETHEUS to some extent patterned itself after the national magazine SKEPTIC; the latter described itself as, a "a forum for contemporary history . . . Our intention is not to persuade you to believe in any one point of view. What we strive for is a complete spectrum of opinion. From the right. From the left. From the center. From Presidential candidates. And Marxist economists. From those in power. And those still seeking it. We truly believe that only this kind of open debate in- print can illuminate the issues that will be crucial to the destiny of our country over decades to come." This, to me, was the ultimate goal of PROMETHEUS: to serve as a vehicle for debate; a framework for the expression of diverse student views on the issues that affect their lives. The staff of PROMETHEUS put a tremendous amount of effort into each issue of their publication; schoolwork was neglected, friendships often became strained, and other relationships suffered. Was it worth it? In the final analysis, what PROMETHEUS accomplished? First, PROMETHEUS provided an outlet for student views an outlet for student which THE BULLET had in recent years ignored: day student complaints, homosexuality, student- professor affairs,student power (or the absence of it), the competency of dorm mothers, and civil disobedience. PROMETHEUS was also the first to publish an eyewitness account (and criticism) of an Honor trial. This year's BULLET staff probably would have dealt with these issues anyway, but the fact remains the PROMETHEUS did it first. Secondly, PROMETHEUS served as a watch- dog for the BULLET, forcing the latter to be ever alert and poised lest the ragtag "underground" press scoop the official MWC newspaper. Although the two papers ostensibly operated within seperate contexts (one being a full- fledged newspaper, the other a forum for the expression of opinions), a subtle sense of competition always existed between them. And this sense of competition kept each publication on it toes; one tends to be more careful when he knows that someone else is double- checking his work and looking over his shoulder for flaws in his facts or logic. The end result of this was two- fold: a better PROMETHEUS and a better BULLET. Thirdly, the creation-- (literally) from scratch-- of a new publication was an invaluable experience for the founders and later staff of PROMETHEUS. None of the founders had had any extensive previous exposure to all the myriad aspects of journalism at the beginning , but circumstances forced them to learn writing, editing, layout, advertising, and distribution quickly. It was a hell of an experience. And for a while it was even fun. PROMETHEUS failed, of course, in its primary stated object: it never became a forum for debate. For a debate must must have at least two opposing views and PROMETHEUS never did. In its seven months existence, PROMETHEUS only received one letter and one article in response to anything it ever printed: the letter was in reply to a cartoon ostensibly published "in fun" and the article was written by a member of the PROMETHEUS editorial board. Those who took interest in the issues raised in the "underground" paper chose to reply in the BULLET rather than PROMETHEUS, and for a good reason: if you have something to say, why say it in a publication which was not able to legally distribute on campus, and prints only 500 copies per issue when you say it in the "legitimate" paper which prints 2,800 copies per issue? Thus, ironically, PROMETHEUS itself never became one. But the "other paper" served a far more important function: it was a stimulus for debate. PROMETHEUS raised questions , which made people think, and in an academic community, that is a considerable contribution. MAM Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Wilson, Christany Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Prometheus Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-04-18 Description An account of the resource A review of the small Mary Washington College newspaper, Prometheus, by Michael Mello. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Prometheus" Mary Washington College Bullet, April 18, 1978, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957 - 2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA College Newspaper Mary Washington Bullet Mary Washington College Michael A. Mello Michael Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/01f28e12ba0f46cdeeb31474a38a7031.jpg ee6b42c3d84d19dd4791a70c6ccb805b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document No student should graduate Mary Washington College, particularly with a non-math or science major, before taking a course in logic. Further, the class should be taken as early in one’s career at MWC as possible; outside of Writing Workshop (which is in part of logic class), I can think of no other course more helpful in general academic life. In this editorial, I shall address two questions. First, what is logic? Second, why is it valuable? Logic is the understanding of reasoning or, in the definition of Webster’s New International, “the science that deals with the canons and criteria of the validity of thought and demonstration.” Logic, in short in the study of correct thinking. Correct thinking is a powerful tool to have in any endeavor. The person with the ability to recognize and avoid errors in reasoning will be able to think more clearly and correctly, whatever the subject under analysis might be. Thus, logic has tremendous practical value; as Henry Ruf wrote in the “Chronicle of Higher Education” in 1976, “A person who can analyze problems down to their significant components; who can cut through rhetorical irrelevancies and identify the true structure of an argument and evaluate its worth; who can recognize conceptual confusion in himself and in others and who can supply conceptual clarity; who is trained to think things through; who can uncover presuppositions and hidden assumptions—of such a person any education institution many be justly proud. Even in the outside world with all of its social, economic, and political lunacy, such a person is eminently marketable.” Logic is particularly helpful within the the context of Mary Washington College. It is certainly crucial in the study of history, the field with which I am most familiar. There is, of course, nothing intrinsically logical about any particular event or series of events in history; it is meaningless to say that the Civil War or Progressivism is or is not “logical.” What must conform to the rules of valid reasoning is the historians’ analyses and conceptualization of those events; too often, the student of history is willing to draw improper inferences from the available evidence and to commit logical fallacies in the presentation of his argument. This is equally true in psychology, sociology, political science, English and any other field that involves the formulation and development of arguments and theses. The study of logic is at the heart of a liberal arts education, a course of study that attempts to inculcate a general set of orientations rather than the transmission of a given amount of technical knowledge. Harold MacMillan, in a speech he gave at Oxford, put it well: “Gentlemen, you are now about to embark upon a course of studies which will occupy you for two years. Together, they form a noble adventure. But nothing that you will learn in your studies will be of the slightest use to you in afterlife—save only this: that if you work hard and intelligently, you should be able to detect when a man is talking rot, and that, in my view, is the main, if not the sole, purpose of education.” Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Allen, B.H. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource In Praise of Logic Description An account of the resource Mello identifies and conveys the value of logic. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Bullet Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/411627c9858df9a241d2d9ed7ddec345.jpg 375c37d69edb75fc19d255335c8dc6b4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document The verdict in the Anne Kight judicial case brings to the Mary Washington College judicial system a principle that has long been at the core of the federal court system: the principle that violations of the rights of students accused of judicial offenses, the violation of "due process," is in itself grounds for the invalidation of an entire case. Anne Kight was guilty; she did violate the visitation regulations. But because she was not read her right prior to the questioning, as is required by the Student Handbook, she received no penalty for her offense. In the words of the court, "we find you unanimously guilty of a visitation violation; however, we are dismissing the charges on the ground that you were not advised of your rights." The impact of this case on Mary Washington College is impossible to determine. Since the College judicial system does not employ the concept of precedents in its handling of individual court trials, the Kight decision can hardly be seen as setting a legal precedent. However, this decision certainly does establish a de facto precedent and may pave the way to making the "rights of the accused" a reality at Mary Washington College. This case brings the MWC judicial system more in line with the federal system. Both systems demand trial by peers; both have extensive appeals procedures. But most importantly, both have the power to impose serious penalties. When errors in procedure (such as occurred in this case) occur in federal court, the case against the defendant is invalidated. When a prisoner is not read his rights, the case is thrown out of court; when evidence is obtained illegally, the case is thrown out of court. The reason for this is simple: it is the only way to guarantee that the rights of the accused are protected throughout the critical initial stages of the judicial process. Anne Kight summed it up: "there is only one remedy to deter future violations of The Handbook directions by dormitory officials. Only by throwing these cases out of court can this court impress upon careless of overzealous dormitory officials that violation of The Handbook will do them no good. If the officials are made aware that failure to observe Handbook requirements will result in the voiding of the entire case, they will take those requirements much more seriously than they did in this investigation." This perhaps will be the over-riding significance of the Kight decision: no the rights of the accused must be observed. This decision must not be interpreted as any kind of license to commit visitation violations. On the contrary, it must be remembered that Kight was found guilty, though the sentence was suspended. The decision is directed more towards judicial officials than towards individual offenders. The message to offenders is as clear as ever: you will be caught, tried and punished. But now the message to dormitory officials is equally clear: you have an important responsibility, and you must fulfill it. The Kight decision had defined "due process." Defendants in judicial trials are guaranteed "due process" by the SA Constitution, by the Student Bill of Rights, and by the Statement of Rights and Responsibility of Members of the College Community. A precise definition of "due process" is difficult; the Supreme Court Justice Moody once wrote that the phrase is "elusive of exact comprehension." But the Court apparently agreed with the defense that "certainly it requires, as an absolute minimum, that the established investigative and judicial safeguards than guarantee our fundamental liberties must not be abridged by over-zealous law enforcement officers." Due process is precisely that: a guarantee that the duley established judicial procedures must be followed. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Velapoldi, Zachary Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Impact on Due Process Description An account of the resource BULLET New Analysis of the Anne Kight controversy in the Spring Semester of 1978. The article is primarily concerned with the idea of campus "due process", and the enumeration of rights, as well as the problem of "overzealous" dormitory officials that violate the THE HANDBOOK. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Webb, Gary Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Bullet Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-04-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Subject The topic of the resource Student newspaper and periodical editors Anne Kight due process HIST 298 Judicial proceedings Mello news analysis student discipline The Bullet https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/a1cb67e42236ac733275ae35f8ba80bb.jpg 627acdcdfe6472f704c0edd9325eb93e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document For the first time in Mary Washington College History, the student body here has a basic Bill of Rights: The Bill, a five-section Article within the Student Association Constitution, was overwhelmingly ratified in the campus-wide election last Tuesday. At last, we have a reasonably clear, lucid, and explicit statement of exactly what our rights are. The Constitutional Revision Committee, President Woodard, and the student body are to be commended. But the work must not stop here, for the Bill of Rights ratified last week is not perfect. While certainly a tremendous improvement in the SA Constitution, the Bill does have serious limitations which will hinder its effectiveness. The most glaring problem is simply that the Bill is an Article in the SA Constitution. The SA Constitution applies only to the Student Association; it in no way constrains the Administration from ignoring the provisions of the Bill of Rights. The Bill represents progress: now at least the elements of the student government cannot constitutionally violate our fundamental rights. But often it is the Administration, rather than the SA, that encroaches on the rights of students, and here the Bill offers no protection. Some of the provisions in the Bill seem hardly to concern SA activities at all. How, for example, may Executive Cabinet, Senate, or Judicial Court “abridge the rights of students to freedom of religion … or peaceful assembly?” How often does the SA search dormitory rooms? These matters fall within the jurisdiction of the Administration, not the Student Association. Further, the clause in the Bill guaranteeing “due process” to students accused of judicial infractions only applies to student judicial trials; Dr. Woodard insisted that the crucial word “student” be inserted in the provision. Thus, the “due process’ clause does not apply where we perhaps need it the most—in Administrative Hearings. The Section of the Bill pertaining to student clubs is worse than useless; it may even be detrimental. The Constitutional Revision Committee originally suggested that the provision should state that “organizations may be established for any legal purpose. Affiliation with an extramural organization shall not, in itself, disqualify the institution branch or chapter from institutional privileges.” But this was unacceptable to Dr. Woodard, and after discussion the Committee and the President agreed on the following: “Clubs may be established for any legal purpose consistent with the policy of the college. Any such organization shall not be denied membership into ICA, should it desire it, without justifiable reason.” These two statements are radically different. One provides that students may form any legal organizations they want on campus; the other qualifies this by saying that now the club must be “consistent with the policy of the College.” In other words, clubs which the Board of Visitors, through Dr. Woodard, feels are “inconsistent with College policy” may not organize on campus even though their purpose may be perfectly legal and student interest in them great. There are, of course, other limitations on the Bill of Rights. The right of “due process,” now guaranteed to students accused of judicial infractions, does not yet apply to Honor trials. (In fact, defendants in Honor trials do not even have the right to remain silent: the Handbook states that “the accused must answer all questions directed to him.”) Finally, there is no provision in the Bill guaranteeing that the rights of students shall not be denied on account of sexual preference. Having said all of that, one point must be re-emphasized: even with its limitations and ambiguities, the Student Bill of Rights represents progress. It represents progress because it is better than that which is replaces—a nebulous, undefined, generally-agreed-upon notion of what our rights were. Now we know. MAM Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Baumgartner, Dana Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. There is no indication of what newspaper this article came from Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Much Accomplished, More to Do Subject The topic of the resource College students -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- United States Universities and colleges -- Law and legislation -- United States Description An account of the resource An article regarding a Student Bill of Rights that was created. It describes the problems with the Bill and the process by which it was created. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-04-04 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG Language A language of the resource English Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Bullet https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/dc7dd67efcec70994b33d3d23d878aab.jpg fa58797873794ab4613e2dcf3f1f05be https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3fbd25c7abde4c408f39526642b0d22d.jpg 6d2e5098d4c41537c6040f2fe0f22043 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document BOV Adopts Dalton Plan TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1978 By MICHAEL MELLO In a recent resolution, the Board of Visitors of Mary Washington College reaffirmed the College's "commitment to the principle of affirmative action and equal educational and employment opportunity banning discrimination against individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, physical disability, national origin, political of filiation, marital status, sex age" The resolution, passed by the Board in closed session on Saturday, April 15, also stated that Mary Washington would make "every good faith and reasonable effort to achieve the objectives," outlined in Virginia Governor John Dalton's desegregation plan. MWC is the third school in Virginia to ratify the plan. There are presently 41 Black students enrolled at Mary Washington College, an institution with a total student body of 2,369. The College has no fulltime Black faculty members, though one part-time instructor and one visiting lecturer are Black. The new desegregation plan calculates that MWC should enroll 19 incoming Black freshmen in the fall of 1979 (compared to the eight enrolled last fall; ) this figure would be increased to 39 new Black admissions in the Fall of 1982. College officials cite several possible reasons for these low figures in spite of MWC's long-standing policy of non-discriminatory admissions and hiring. A. Ray Merchent, College Vice President and Affirmative Action Officer, suggests two factors that might mitigate against Blacks choosing to matriculate at MWC. First Mary Washington is a single purpose institution, a liberal arts college. Merchent notes that "realistically, I don't think liberal arts colleges today are as popular as they once were… some of the institutions with multi-purposes and multi-programs with a wider range of offerings may tend to be more appealing to a higher number of students." Secondly, Merchent feels that MWC's extremely high percentage of female students is a factor. He suggests that we "look at it from the point of view of a Black student. A Black female student here has very few social opportunities with members of the opposite sex of her own race… Imagine yourself going to an institution that is 98.3 percent Black." Mary Washington is presently 98.3 percent White. H. Conrad Warlick, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, also felt that Mary Washington's institutional arrangement might mitigate against Blacks applying for admission: "We are not a technical school. We do not offer programs that are of short duration that lead to immediate jobs that therefore lead to immediate income. We are not a professional school… Black students as a group have been more interested in professional and technically-oriented programs than they have been in the 'classic' liberal arts approach that we have here." Warlick cited the lack of a "thriving Black community" in Fredericksburg as a second possible factor. He also suggested that Blacks may choose not to attend MWC because the college is situated in a rural setting, noting that the colleges and universities in Virginia with significant Black populations "are apt to be in major metropolitan areas." Warlick suggested that a fourth factor might be the lack of Black faculty members. A fifth, and paradoxial factor, has to do with the aggressiveness of MWC's minority recruitment policies. Warlick noted that Mary Washington has long been at the forefront of affirmative action, leading other Virginia schools. When "we were actively recruiting Blacks and they (other schools) weren't, our job was easier. When they became more aggressive and initiated well financed recruiting efforts that complicated our lives. It has simply become more competitive." There are no simple answers to the problem of the low Black enrollment at MWC, says Warlick. He emphasizes the complexity of the entire process, comparing it to the intricate patterns of a Persian rug. The matter of recruiting Black faculty members is equally complex. Vice President Merchent sees the problem as being basically economic: "we have had many very qualified Black applicants. We have offered positions to them, but we are not competitive enough salary wise. Several of them really want to come, but if you can get $3,000 or $4,000 somewhere else, you'll go there." James H. Croushore, Dean of the College and a key man in the selection of faculty, agrees that salaries are a "major factor," but he suggests a possible second reason as well: "the kind of institution. Certain candidates might not be interested in a small liberal arts environment." These are the problems, the impediments to increasing the number of Black students and faculty members at Mary Washington College. The Dalton desegregation plan is hoped to be a solution. The new Virginia desegregation plan, officially known as "The Virginia Plan for Equal Opportunity in State-Supported Institutions of Higher Education," has to date been approved by three schools: George Mason University, the University of Virginia and Mary Washington. In a statement last month Governor John Dalton said, "the plan is simply an ex-tension for the next five years of what we have been doing for the past four years to make equal opportunity in higher education a practical reality." The plan itself has basically seven parts. First Virginia's two predominantly Black Colleges—Norfolk State and Virginia State—will be given priority in the creation of new programs. Dalton also agreed to ask the 1979 General Assembly for financing to make the Eminent Scholars program available to these schools; the Governor hopes that this will "attract more white faculty members" to these institutions. Second, in order to increase the number of Blacks in presently predominantly White colleges and universities and the number of Whites in predominantly Black institutions, Dalton agreed to ask the General Assembly for "aid grants of $1,000 each for gifted Black and White high school students who attend institutions which have heretofore been attended predominantly by the other race." These funds are non-need based. They are essentially incentive grants. Third, the State Council of Higher Education has increased by 33 percent the funding of summer programs for deserving Black students. Fourth, a study will be made of why minority students at community colleges do not choose to study at four year institutions. Fifth, Virginia's Equal Employment Office Coordinator will conduct on-site reviews of the present hiring practices of state-supported institutions of higher learning. The governor has said that "the state will work to-ward the objective that the proportions of people hired to fill faculty and administrative vacancies will not be less than the proportion of minority members with proper credentials in Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Serpas, Maria Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. The article cuts off mid-sentence during the explanation of the fifth step of the Dalton Plan Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource BOV Adopts Dalton Plan Subject The topic of the resource Dalton Plan African American students Description An account of the resource An account of Mary Washington's racial integration policies, issues with integration, and also Governor Dalton's plans for desegregation of Virginia Colleges Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "BOV Adopts Dalton Plan." ), April 25 , 1978. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-04-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Michael Mello: 78 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Language A language of the resource English https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/adfb0652e8b6b125f3815d7431f3a1a5.jpg 0f52d6383b9008ebe27b6dd59a1b14a3 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/43d0f9f316667dee304e9ebde40d1c86.jpg 7f82521b86fd4984c96dc4c08c3039df Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Tinter, Imani Text Any textual data included in the document There is, under the present system of adjudication at MWC, a problem with the scope of the Honor Code as it relates to the strictures of the judicial code. This problem arises when a certain type of case enters into the system: namely, when a student accused of committing a judicial offense is brought before Honor Council on charges of "lying" about that offense. The thesis of this article is that this variety of "lying" does not fall within the strictures of the Honor Code, and hence ought not to be taken to Honor Trial. To try an individual for "lying" about whether or not they committed an infraction of the College rules is a denial of a fundamental judicial right: namely, the right to proclaim one's innocence in the face of an accusation. This right entails more than "pleading the fifth" and remaining silent in the face of charges. Surely all students, even though subsequently found guilty by the judicial system, are entitled to state their innocence. To believe otherwise is not only to deny a basic liberty; such as position also casts the entire concept of pleading "not guilty" in judicial court into a new light. For it implies that anyone who so pleads, and is subsequently found guilty by the court, is liable to charges of "lying" by originally pleading innocent. If it is a "lie" to tell another student that you are innocent of a judicial infraction when you are in fact guilty, does it not follow that you are equally guilty of "lying" when you do the same thing before the Judicial Court in the form of an "innocent" plea? If this sounds absurd, that is my point: it is as ridiculous to accuse someone of "lying" because they profess their innocence to another student as it is to do so when they do the same thing in the form of a "not guilty" plea in Judicial court. The dilemma does not end here; there is also a structural problem. Take a hypothetical case: assume that a student was accused of a visitation violation, consistently maintained his innocence and then was charged with an Honor Code violation for professing his innocence. The problem is this: which adjudicating body would hear the case fist? Honor Council would be in a paradoxical position if it tried the case first, because the Council would be deciding on a judicial offense before Judicial Court had ruled on the matter. For it is impossible to separate the Honor and the Judicial accusations: The alleged lie was about the alleged visitation violation. It may be argued that the Honor Council is able to separate the two offenses and decide on the lie alone, but I do not see how this is possible. The accused claims that a certain judicial situation existed. The accuser claims that a different judicial situation existed, and that the accused is lying about that situation. Before deciding on the "lie," the Honor Council must first decide which judicial situation did in fact exist. And since judicial offenses do not fall within the scope of the Honor Code, the Honor Council would be put in the position of deciding on a matter outside of its jurisdiction prior to dealing with the alleged Honor Code infraction. It could be argued that this problem should be solved in the following manner: let the case go to Judicial Court first and, if the accused is found guilty of the visitation violation, then let the question of the "lie" be heard by the Honor Council. This is not, however, a viable solution, because the proceedings and results of judicial trials are secret. It could be arranged for a transcript of the Judicial Trial to be given to Honor Court, this solution might work. But, no transcripts are made of judicial proceedings. And, further, assuming that some formal means could be devised of telling the Honor Council what the Judicial Court's verdict on the visitation matter was, what would the Council then do? Would it just be assumed by the Council that the Judicial verdict is correct? One would hope, not given the element of caprice and doubt present in any judicial proceeding. More realistically, the Honor Council would, in effect, have to re-try the visitation case. This resurrects the jurisdictional problems mention earlier, along with a few more. First, there is the presence of double-jeopardy, a concept which is odius as well as illegal under the U.S. Constitution. In the hypothetical case mention earlier, the accused has already been tried and found guilty of a visitation violation. Now he is again being tried, only this time in Honor Court, for exactly the same offense. Second, what if the Honor Council, after hearing all the evidence relating to the visitation question, disagrees with the ruling of the Judicial Court and finds that the accused was in fact not guilty of the visitation offense? The accused would then have been found guilty by one court and innocent by another for the same offense. This possibility, in particular, brings the question of double jeopardy sharply into focus. All of these problems could, of course, be solved if students accusing other students of judicial offenses would exercise a bit of discretion, by not putting the accused into a position in which it would be tempted to lie. This was exemplified in a case that recently came before the Honor Council. A student, seeing another student committing a visitation violation, asked her "did I just see you sneak a young man out of the locked doors?" The accused impulsively said "no," and the result was the Honor Trial. How much trouble would have been spared if only the accuser had said instead "I saw you sneaking a man out of the back door and hereby charge you with a judicial offense." But, even in such cases as the one just mentioned, no Honor charges should ever have been brought. Anyone has the right to proclaim their innocence when accused of a rule violation; further, the present adjudication structure at MWC precludes the fair and legal disposition of cases such as the hypothetical visitation and Honor matter discussed earlier. For these reasons, students who "lie" about their innocence in judicial infractions ought not to be taken before the Honor Council. They are judicial matters to be decided to Judicial Court alone. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Honor and Judicial: Where to Draw the Line Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-10-17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael. “Honor and Judicial: Where to Draw the Line.” The Bullet, October 17, 1978. Description An account of the resource A newspaper article about the problems with students brought before both the Honor Council and Judicial Court. Fredericksburg honor code judicial court judicial offense Judicial proceedings lying Michael A. Mello Michael Mello perjury University of Mary Washington violation Visitation Rights https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/205e0c7a6beaae7a1e360fe32cd4255a.jpg ef88e7f7b3b4b979e801fe225c18a4fa Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document In addition to facing criminal charges in Fredericksburg City Court for possession of marijuana, the five Mary Washington College students arrested in connection with last Saturday's raid of Madison Hall will be subject to an Administrative Hearing before MWC President Prince B. Woodard. Four of the five men have also been suspended from the College; the suspension will remain in effect until the Administrative Hearing, according to Woodard. The drug raid, unprecedented in Mary Washington College's history, occurred on March 24 at approximately 8:00 p.m. The desk aide on duty at the time said that "the side door to the dorm opened; the door had been locked, so the police must have had keys. Then about eight cops came running in. Two went into a room on the first floor, and the others went upstairs." One of the students who was arrested said that he "heard a knock on the door. I answered it and there were four cops; they showed me a search warrant and came into the room. Then they sat me down and read me my rights. At that point, a State Policeman from Hanover County searched my room. They didn't find any pot, only twelve seeds and a bong. Then they took me to the station and charged me with possession of marijuana and paraphenalia. I never made any statements implying that I even knew those things were in my room." The next day, this student was informed that he had been suspended from the College pending an Administrative Hearing. Four students were arrested in the March 24 raid. One was charged with possession of marijuana and paraphanalia. Two were charged only with possession of marijuana. One was charged in Juvenile Court because he was under 18 years old and hence was considered a juvenile under Virginia law. A fifth student was arrested on March 26 and charged with possession of marijuana and paraphanalia. All five have been released from police custody, without bond, on their own recognicence. No precise cataloguing of the material evidence seized in the raid is possible at this time. Some is still being analyzed by the police laboratory in Richmond. The four students arrested in the March 24 raid have been suspended from the College by MWC President Prince B. Woodard, pending an Administrative Hearing. All five were arraigned in General District Court on March 27. Two of the students were arrested by state policemen. The others were arrested by campus security officers or city policemen. The Student Handbook provides that the possession and use of marijuana is a violation of the College regulations as well as an infraction of federal and state laws: "Violations of these rules may result in suspension or expulsion from the College, as well as prosecution by the civil authorities" (p.31) The Handbook further provides that "if the College authorities have reasonable cause to believe that a College rule is being violated in a a manner which prejudices the proper and efficient operation of the College or the welfare of the student body generally, the College authorities may inspect the student's room for the purpose of investigating the violation and enforcing the College's rules. If there is reasonable ground for belief that the violation is taking place, the search is necessary for the investigation of the violation and the enforcement of the rule, and action against the offender is limited to administrative procedures as distinguished from criminal proceedings. No search warrant would be required. "The Dean of Student Services accompanied by the Residence Hall Director and a student hall official should participate in such a search. The College police may assist in such a search. "If the search is to be made for the purpose of investigating a violation of the criminal law as opposed to a College rule, a search warrant must be obtained even though actual prosecution may not be contemplated." (p.54) The cases of the five who were charged in General District Court should come to trial in Fredericksburg sometime in early June. In the meantime, four of the five involved have been suspended from MWC by President Woodard. When asked for his reasons, Woodard said that "it would not be appropriate for them to remain on campus until the Administrative Hearing." The Hearing has been scheduled for April 3. According to the Student Handbook, "the purpose of the Administrative Hearing is to provide the President with a full account of the circumstances and facts involved. The hearing is not a judicial proceeding . . . When all parties have presented their facts, the President shall adjourn the hearing, and as soon thereafter as possible, arrive at his decision. "The Board of Visitors has charged the President of the College with the responsiblity for student discipline and the regulation of the various aspects of student life at the College. The President has delegated to the Student Association authority for supervising many phases of student life, including the formulation and enforcement of mutually-agreed-upon regulations. There are other regulations, however, for which the administration of the College must maintain primary responsiblity for enforcing. In addition, violations of local, State, and Federal laws are subject to criminal prosecution by these bodies." (pp.26-7) President Woodard told a meeting of Madison residents on March 26 that he had known the Saturday search was going to occur before it actually happened. When asked why these particular rooms were singled out, the President said, "I don't know. It was their (the police's) investigation. I hope they have more facts than I do." Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Manning, Jack Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Arrests Total Five Subject The topic of the resource Drug abuse and crime Description An account of the resource A newspaper article by Michael Mello detailing the events of a police search warrant conducted on dorm rooms in Madison Hall on Mary Washington College's campus. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael. "Arrests Total Five." The Bullet (VA). Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Drug Enforcement Drug Use Fredericksburg Marijuana Mary Washington Bullet Mary Washington College Michael A. Mello Michael Mello The Bullet https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/dee1a624dc7b5b6b4bca8fdfe5cc048a.jpg 9864e132b225565bbc5436042c48b9f4 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/7e95d5b3ee8df81a7569c233998f5788.jpg a64601f72698324ba35c6f4f20577ebc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document The phenomenon which is the subject of this editorial has variously been called "senior slump," "senior-itis" and "senior fever." But, it seems to me that the best term for this particular malady is "senior limbo:" an intermediate state, characterized by uncertainty, between two mediums. The malaise is not peculiar to seniors alone, though there appears to be a consensus among medical authorities that its most virulent strains usually strike down students with less than half-a-semester to go at Mary Washington College. Senior limbo has two distinctive aspects. On the one hand, there is an alienation and a sense of detachment from the larger College community. The academics and extra-curricular activities that recently consumed so much of our attention, now somehow seem... well, small, distant and irrelevant. At least irrelevant and small in comparison to the uncertainty of the immediate future. This sense of uncertainty, which is the second dominant aspect of senior limbo, accentuates and feeds the students' alienation from the College. Gradually, as the semester grinds inexorably forward, many seniors become increasingly aware that they do not really know what direction their lives are going to take for the nest few years. For some, the commanding questions revolve around the state of the job market. Where will I be working this time next year? What will I be doing? Will i be working in the fields I studied at Mary Washington? Did MWC really prepare me for the "real world?" For others, the questions and uncertainties cluster around graduate school. Will I get into the one I want? Will I get into any? Can I make it if I do get in? These students are members of what might be called the Cult of the Post Office; they visit the small, squat, red brick building across the road from Seacobeck with a frequency exceeded only by first-semester freshmen. The more hard-core of these seniors have checked and know that all first-class mail is usually in the boxes by 10:30; consequently, they often check their own box six or seven before that magic deadline. And they know the results of their grad school applications at a glance: a fat letter means an aceptance, a thin envelope means either a rejection or a waiting list. A "waiting list" means that the applicant might be admitted to the University if some of those who were accepted turn down the school; in other words, you're only offered a spot if someone else doesn't want it. Waiting lists are special limbos unto themselves. Gary Trudeau, creator of Doonesbury(ITALICS), captured the essence of this feeling in a dialogue that took place between Joanie Caucus(who was applying to law school) and Zonker Harris: ZONKER: Joanie, you can't just spend all day in bed, moping over your law school waiting lists. You've got to get up and around. JOANIE: No! I've got nothing to get up for. ZONKER: Well, could I bring you something to eat? Soup, maybe? JOANIE: No, I don't want anything to eat. All I want to do is WAIT. They put me on their waiting lists, so I'm going to start waiting up a storm. Wait! Wait! Wait! ZONKER: OK. JOANIE: Check back in a week. The specifics of senior limbo vary from person to person, but the elements of alienation and uncertainty appear fairly constant. The relative security and predictability of College is about to rudely end, to be replaced by... Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Houston, Tyler Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Editorial: Senior Limbo Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Student newspaper and periodical editors Description An account of the resource An account of why seniors are stressed out and not themselves during their final semester. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Editorial: Senior Limbo." The Bullet (VA), April 3, 1979. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1979-04-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPEG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Michael Mello Student Life University of Mary Washington https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3e515c0ecd34c993fa3645de52bf4fa0.jpg 049e75c202ae484e109f26edd6fb45da Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Let juries decide on capital punishment Subject The topic of the resource Death penalty. Capital punishment--Florida. Juries. Florida. Capital punishment. Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor of the Miami Herald by Michael A. Mello about Florida's conflicted capital punishment statute. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael A. Mello Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984-11-13 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpg. Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida 1984 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document To The Editor: Your recent editorial urging legislative repeal of Florida’s jury override in capital cases was right on target. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Florida may, consistent with the Constitution, permit judges to impose death even if the jury votes for life imprisonment. But the question for Legislature remains: Should we retain the override? History, logic, and common sense counsel that we should not. Capital punishment is an expression of society’s outrage at especially offensive conduct. In deciding whether a person deserves to live or die, the capital sentencer’s principal task is to decide where the individual defendant and his crime fall on the yardstick of community outrage. Because the death decision is a communal one, and because the jury is, by definition, the voice of the community, a greater degree of reliability is achieved if the representatives of the community are heard from and followed. A jury, selected in a fashion designed to assure representation is better able to convey the community’s will than a single judge. For this reason, virtually every other state with the death penalty entrusts the sentencing decision to the jury and, until recently, Florida was no exception. In 1872, Florida entrusted its juries with the decision on death. There it remained until 1972, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that every capital statute in the nation (including Florida’s) was un-Constitutional. The problem was that the Supreme Court in 1972 did not tell the states how to correct the Constitutional flaw that had invalidated the statutes. It was in the midst of this Constitutional confusion that the Florida Legislature set about drafting our present statute. The override was thus a product of understandable confusion over what the Constitution required of a capital-punishment statute. The legislative history and subsequent judicial construction of the override show that Florida’s decision to employ this curious device was the death penalty in a form consistent with the Constitution, rather than a legislative judgment that judges make better capital sentencers. But the years since 1972 have taught that the override is not required by the Constitution. In fact, of the 38 states with the death penalty, 30 require a jury’s consent for death. In five of the other state, the judge alone decides penalty. In the only three states, including Florida, does the jury make a non-binding recommendation. Almost every other jurisdiction with the death penalty has rejected the jury override, and for good reason. Florida should join them. Michael A. Mello Assistant Public Defender Editor’s Note: Mr. Mello was the counsel in Spaziano vs. Florida, the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Constitutionality of Florida’s jury override. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper letter to the editor Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Muchnick, Andrew Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Let juries decide on capital punishment Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment (Canon law) Capital punishment--United States Jury ethics Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor by Michael A. Mello about Florida's somewhat confusing capital punishment statute and the influence of legislators and the Supreme Court. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984-11-13 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Miami, Fl https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/13378c637a5908ce8dcd404fbfca6e36.jpg 972ee2493831a2630b1dba4aec373735 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document The current debate over execution of those Florida Death Row inmates who are, or who may be, insane raises difficult issues of law and public policy. But the issue, at least in Florida, is not whether the insane should be executed. That matter has long been resolved in the negative as a matter of state law. However, that brings us to the genuinely difficult inquiry: How can the legal system determine who is really crazy, and can Florida's administrative procedure be trusted to reliably make this life-or-death death determination? In 1927 the Florida Supreme Court held that there was a right to judicial determination of competency when a Death Row inmate claimed to be incompetent. In the 1930s the Florida Legislature enacted the present-day statute on execution competency. That law sets out a procedure for deciding who is crazy and who is not. The statute provides that when the governor is informed that a person who is under sentence of death may be insane, he or she shall appoint a commission of three psychiatrists to examine the convicted person. Counsel for the convicted person and counsel for the state may be present at the examination. After receiving the report from the commission, the governor makes and independent determination of whether the convicted person, in the language of the statute, "understands the nature and effect of the death penalty and why it is to be imposed upon him." But this procedure is insufficient to vindicate Florida's interest in not executing people who really are insane. The system invites error and, as Robert Sherrill's article in The Herald (Viewpoint, Dec. 16) demonstrated, has already resulted in error. The basic problem is that the statute provides for no hearing before the decision maker. There is no right of cross-examination and no right to present defense witnesses. The statute permits counsel to be present at the psychiatric examination, but the decision maker is not the psychiatric commission. The decision maker is the governor, and there is no hearing before him. In fact, the Florida Supreme Court has noted that the present governor has a "publicly announced policy of excluding all advocacy on the part of the condemned in the process of deciding whether a person under sentence of death is insane." A hearing before the governor would serve a variety of social values. It would provide the adversarial debate our legal system recognizes as essential to the truth-seeking process. This is especially true here, where the questions are legal, not medical, and where proper resolution of those questions is difficult under even the best of circumstances. The present procedure encourages the governor to become a slave to the psychiatric commission and to simply follow the recommendation of the doctors. This is precisely what has happened in every case so far. In Arthur Goode's case, the psychiatric commission decided that Goode was sane and the governor ordered his execution. In Gary Alvord's case, the psychiatrists found insanity and the governor stayed Alvord's execution. An open hearing also ensures that the governor recognizes that his decision profoundly affects the lives of human beings. Otherwise, it is all too easy to retreat behind a shield of paper and anonymity. Further, a hearing effectively fosters a belief that one has received his "day in court," even though he may disagree with the governor's decision. The risks of error at the initial competency determination are enhanced by the fact that Florida provides no procedure for review. The Florida Supreme Court has decided that the governor's statutory procedure is "now the exclusive procedure for determining competency to be executed." But if the judiciary is to be excluded from the initial competency determination, then some mechanism for reconsideration of the determination is needed. Reform of Florida's statutory procedure for determining execution competency can come from any of three sources: • The legislature could amend the statute. • The governor could voluntarily open the process up to advocacy. • The federal courts could mandate, as a matter of federal constitutional law, that Florida's procedure are inadequate. That precise issue is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. Ideally, change should come from the Legislature or the governor. It is our statute. We should see to it that it produces reliable results. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Dyke, Corey Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Deciding who is crazy: Reform Florida's procedure Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment--Florida. Capital punishment--Florida--Public opinion. Insanity Defense--United States--Legal Cases. Description An account of the resource Opinion editorial by Michael Mello about changing the process for declaring someone legally insane or incompetent. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-01-20 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpg 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Miami, Fl capital punishment Legally insane Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/9cf79f3b3161575bba93acb8e62f6669.jpg 3918ce107d3dc1d5fd5a7aaf2b257360 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Death? Let the jury decide Description An account of the resource An article by Michael Mello talking about the different Legislative regulations on the Death Penalty. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael Mello Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Miami Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available UMW Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-04-27 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpeg, 300dpi Language A language of the resource English Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document IN RESPONSE to Calvin Fox’s recent explanation of three reasons why judges, not juries, should impose capital punishment: The question is important, since the Legislature is currently considering repeal of that portion of Florida’s capital-punishment stature that permits a judge to override a jury’s verdict for life imprisonment and then to impose the death penalty. <ul> <li>First, with an apocalyptic tone Mr. Fox argues that legislative repeal of the jury override will mean that “the 100 or so individuals now on Death Row may be entitled to have their death penalties set aside.” This figure is grossly exaggerated. Prof. Michael Radelet of the University of Florida, who keeps track of the statistics of Florida’s Death Row, Reports that although 87 death sentences have been imposed by trial judges, a full two-thirds of those sentences passed upon by the Florida Supreme Court have been reduced to life imprisonment. That court has affirmed death sentences in only 24 cases involving jury overrides, and several of these 24 are no longer capital cases for reasons unrelated to the override. At most repeal of the override would affect these 20 or so cases. And it need not affect even them. The Legislature could simply choose to make its new procedural rule applicable only to cases tried subsequent to the effective date of the repeal. I think such a provision would be unfair and unwise, but not unconstitutional. </li> <li>Second, Mr. Fox erroneously argues that Florida’s system of sentencing by the trial judge has been “consistently shown through intense Federal review to be the most reliable and proper system of imposing the death penalty.” This is most misleading. Almost a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court mad quite clear that a capital jury-sentencing stature would pass Constitutional muster provided that the jury gave its reasons for imposing death and that the state supreme court conducted a review to determine that the penalty was not applied in a disproportionate manner. Most states with the death penalty recognize that because the penalty is an expression of community outrage, an appropriate cross-section of the community whose outrage is being expressed should be given the responsibility for that decision. Of the 37 American states with capital punishment, 30 give the life-or-death decision to the jury. Mr. Fox cannot seriously mean that the statutes in these 30 states violate the Constitution, or that the 22 people put to death pursuant to these statues within the past decade were executed under unconstitutional statutes. Still, Mr. Fox argues, the death decision should be made by a “trained legal mind,” since judicial sentencing should lead to greater consistency among cases. Yet the ordinary predicates that provide consistency in non-capital sentencing, such as frequency of trying such an offense, observation of the recidivism rate for the offense, experience with the local parole and probation officers, and the like, do not pertain in the same degree, if at all, to capital cases. But more fundamentally, experience and expertise in legal rules cannot substitute for the ability of the jury to reflect community sentiment in its decision whether an individual defendant deserves to live or die. Because death-override cases are not automatically appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, there is no central data source through which such cases can be identified. Professor Radelet notes, however, that “numerous inquiries to several criminal attorneys and state officials makes us confident that there have been less than a dozen such cases since the current statutes was enacted.” Moreover, the Legislature could amend the statues to provide that a jury’s verdict for life is binding, but that the jury’s decision for death be subject for override by the court. Such a system would obviously create an asymmetry, but it is an asymmetry weighted on the side of mercy. That is offensive only if one believes that the grant of mercy to some somehow abridges the rights of others whose individual circumstances do not inspire mercy. At the guilt/innocence phase of a criminal trial, for example, a judge may enter a judgment of acquittal despite the jury’s rendition of a guilty verdict. Why not extend this principle to the penalty phase of the trial? Mr. Fox has made the best case that can be made for retention of Florida’s practice of permitting a single judge to sentence a person to die even when a jury of his peers has decided that he deserves to live. But his reasons themselves expose the bankruptcy of his position. The fact remains that the override results in a debasement of the jury’s role as the proper reflector of community sentiment. The override wastes finite judicial resources. Legislative repeal of the jury override is within the province, duty, and ethical obligation of the Florida Legislature.</li> </ul> Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Death? let the jury decide. Description An account of the resource An article by Michael A. Mello on the Legislation regulation and its importance of jury control. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Miami Harold Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-04-27 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpeg 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Jury--United States--Decision making. Capital punishment--Florida. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Miami, FL death penalty jurry Legislation Miami Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/394a95359c0c99d3718f5c5a801aa9f8.jpg ef167b2c40f3ba031f766aa784b204d8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Webb, Daniel Text Any textual data included in the document Florida's capital sentencing statute provides for a three-step trial procedure in the administration of the death penalty. After a defendant is found guilty of a capital felony, a sentencing hearing is conducted before a jury which renders an advisory verdict; the judge, however, determines the actual sentence. The statute thus permits a trial court to impose a sentence of death despite the jury’s conclusion that the defendant deserves to live. That has happened 87 times in Florida. Legislation is presently pending before the House and Senate of the Florida Legislature providing that a jury recommendation of Life imprisonment in capital cases be binding on the court. The reasons for supporting this legislation are, I think, straightforward. First, the jury override degrades the jury on the very issue that has at its core an ethical and moral judgment of the community. The sentencer’s principal task in a capital case is to determine where that defendant and his crime are located on the scale of community outrage. Given that the purpose of a death sentence is to reflect community standards it follows that the representatives of the community should decide who dies. Second, the jury override wastes judicial and fiscal resources. The Florida Supreme Court reverses three-quarters of override cases. That alone is strong evidence that the system is not working. Third, the jury override increases the possibility of executing an innocent person. Jurors are instructed to determine the guilt of an accused beyond a reasonable doubt. There is, however, another type of doubt, often called “whimsical doubt,” i.e., doubt not rising to the level of reasonable doubt. If a juror entertains such a “whimsical doubt,” he or she would still be duty-bound to convict the defendant. But such a doubt is an important consideration in deciding whether to impose an irrevocable penalty. The judge, who does not take part in the jury’s deliberations, will not know if such whimsical doubt was a factor in the jury’s recommendation of a life sentence. Equally important is what this bill is not about. First, it is not about abolishing the death penalty. I recognize the right of the state to exact its ultimate penalty against the ultimate wrongdoers. But the issue here is not whether some will dies; the question is who is going to decide which of those wrongdoers are in fact the most heinous. Second, this legislation is not about commuting the death sentences of anyone presently on Death Row. The bill expressly provides that it would apply “only to offenses committed on or after Jan. 1, 1986” and that “persons who committed a capital felony prior to such date shall be sentenced in accordance with law in effect at the time” the offense was committed. The amendment would be prospective only. Third, it is sometimes argued that we should just leave the statute alone: We have something that works; let’s let it be and not risk creating any new issues for appeal. The problem with this position is that it insulates the statute from any progress or reform. The statute can be changed and in fact has been changed several times in the past. In 1979, for example, the Legislature added an aggravating circumstance and changed the language concerning mitigating circumstances. Finally, it has been argued that if a jury recommendation of life should be binding upon the trial court, then a jury recommendation of death should also be binding. This argument possesses a symmetry which is superficially attractive. The difficulty is that is would create more problems than it would solve. In essence, a “both ways binding” statute means a statute providing for jury sentencing. Thirty of the 37 American states with the the death penalty do have jury sentencing, but for Florida to adopt such a system would require several other changes to our statute: the jury’s verdict should be unanimous, and the jury should be required to give reasons for imposing the death sentence. Such changes could raise questions about the continued constitutional validity of the statute as a whole. And it would simply not be worth the effort, since judge overrides in favor of life seem to be relatively rare. During the 13-year tenure of Florida’s modern death statute, judges have imposed death, following jury verdicts of life, in 87 cases. The sort of asymmetry embodied in the present legislation is already fundamental to our system of criminal justice. At the guilt-innocence phase of a criminal trial, for example, a judge may enter a judgment of acquittal despite the jury’s rendition of a guilty verdict. But a jury’s rendition of a not guilty verdict is inviolate and not subject to judicial scrutiny, no matter how contrary to the weight of the evidence. The bill would do no more than extend this principle to the penalty phase of the trial. In sum, the system is not working. The system degrades the role of the jury, and this, in effect, that of the community in our criminal justice system. Three-quarters of the jury overrides are overturned on appeal anyway. The override places Florida in the company of only two other American states with the death penalty. The Legislature should change this situation. <ul> <li>Michael A. Mello is an assistant public defender for Palm Beach County. This article is adapted from his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this spring.</li> </ul> Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource No One Should Die When the Jury Votes for Life Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Post Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-06-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Description An account of the resource Newspaper article written by Michael A. Mello, discussing Florida's capital sentencing statute in 1985. Subject The topic of the resource Florida Capital punishment Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Mello_91 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida 1985 death penalty Florida Florida capital sentencing statute Florida juries Michael A. Mello Michael Mello The Post https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3fce3c76a5dfb2098b66c6e5b8a2794f.jpg aa0518c29c76125c9972a13034b73454 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/9916906e34b7cab40d985a13238734db.jpg 1d8946cd7f980ad33cb55d342bf81680 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. King, Paul Text Any textual data included in the document Let me begin by saying that the Bullet will be playing a role of increasing importance to Mary Washington College in the coming years. MWC will soon face, I believe, a series of crises which will in large measure define the direction that the College will take in the future. The crises will occur because of conflicts between dissatisfied male students and an Administration that refuses to change school policy in certain important ways. The number of male MWC students has greatly increased over the last four years, and it appears that this trend will continue. In the long run, the increase will benefit the College; it will lead to more realistic learning and living environment. But there will be problems in the immediate future: because I don't think that an increasing male population will tolerate the anachronistic rules of this institution. Further, there are signs that the sexual revolution that swept the nation in the late sixties might finally be reaching MWC; if so, then the women on campus will oppose certain policies of this school as vocally as will the men. the classical example of MWC's refusal to accept the Twentieth Century is the College's visitation rules, but there are other, more subtle points as well. And, as discontent festers, the administration will probably respond with still more rules and still more trenchant enforcement of those rules. A more hard-line administrative policy might delay change for a little while, but eventually, the Powers That Be in GW will have to relent. As this situation progresses, the Bullet must keep the College informed of events as they occur. It must aggressively investigate the issues, and coherently define and editorialize on those issues. As The Free Lance-Star wrote a few years ago, "the Bullet must be free to express controversial subjects, to challenge the Establishment or the Administration or whatever." But the newspaper must always remember that if a publication is to be effective, it must be considered legitimate and credible by the community within which it exists---and the Bullet's community consists of faculty and administrators as well as students. If a newspaper readership is distrustful of the publication's motives and intentions, the paper will be impotent as a force for change. The Bullet must keep three things in mind if it expects to be considered a legitimate voice of the College community. First and foremost, its reporters and editors must do their journalistic homework. News stories must be coldly dispassionate and objective. And editorials must also be grounded in solid research; personal cheap shots at the Administration, for example, can serve no purpose except to demean the quality of the paper in the eyes of everyone. The recent experience of the Prometheus should stand as compelling evidence of what happens when a publication is taken over by a few hotheads who react to situations with passion and emotion rather than with calm reflection; nothing will destroy the credibility of a newspaper faster. Now Prometheus is trying to change its stripes and become a Phoenix, but it probably will not be able to rise from the ashes of its history. And MWC has a long memory; once lost, legitimacy is difficult for a publication to regain. Next year's Bullet editorial board had better learn this lesson quickly. Secondly, the Bullet must be acutely aware of the consequences that the material it publishes can have on others. It took me a long time, but I am finally beginning to internalize the reality of this fact. Arnold Rosenfeld, editor of the Dayton Daily News, put it well: "we see ourselves as driven professionals, informed by good intentions and purposes. Readers see us as moral vigilantes, driven only by the desire to sell newspapers. We protest our meritorious intentions. But the public does not understand. We protest that we bear no responsibility for the consequences of our journalism. It is a world, many of us feel, we never made. We only report. "Baloney. As human beings, editors and reporters ought to be terribly burdened, haunted, by the very real consequences of our decisions to publish. We ought to live uncomfortably with the fact that our journalism does damage. It can only be redeemed by the knowledge that, on balance, it helped more than it hurt." Thirdly, the Bullet must remain an integral part of the Mary Washington College community; members of that community must see the newspaper as their institution and their voice. Rosenfeld argues convincingly that any newspaper must remain an "organic part of the community, rather than a brooding presence towering above it in judgment. Newspapers need to be alert to community needs and failures, yet also be seen as institutions of fundamental goodwill, sharing pride as well as problems." The Bullet can be a powerful voice in the future; given the problems MWC must confront and solve in the near future, it must be a strong voice. But whether anyone listens to that voice and takes it seriously will depend on how much credibility the College community gives to its newspaper. And that will depend on how the Bullet handles itself in the months to come. MAM Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Bullet: Sink or Swim Description An account of the resource An article about the proper responsibilities and attitudes of a newspaper in order to remain relevant to the students and faculty of the school campus. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1979-4-17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, University of Mary Washington, Subject The topic of the resource general works--newspapers-- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael Allen Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Michael Mello. "The Bullet: Sink or Swim". The Bullet (VA), April 17, 1979. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 jpegs 300dpi Language A language of the resource English editorial letter integrity journalism Michael Allen Mello paper responsibility views https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/80dd35f80e5c1d50a8a7dd704869ff0d.jpg 6d37b389440312912b545cb6773395e5 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/44811a075d236338decdcecf1c0760b8.jpg e00b0fdd75f149bee01d28ffb7fccdc1 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b87f0fa2a0ee3e30139a805a0669183b.jpg 58ad9b0d21f658c209a07022665dd7e1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Ferrell, Claudine Text Any textual data included in the document The careful reader will have noticed an odd aspect of the recent debate on homosexuality contained within the letters and “Viewpoint” sections of the BULLET with the exception of the original “Viewpoint” on the issue, no gay student students have participated in that debate. This is not because members of the MWC gay community have nothing to say, nor is it because they do not wish to express those opinions in print; in fact, the BULLET received two letters from MWC homosexuals. But, because the authors of those letters were not yet ready to “come out of the closet” and hence felt that they could not allow their names to appear at the bottom of letters giving first hand accounts of what it is like to be a gay student at Mary Washington College, the BULLET refused to print the letters with “names withheld.” The BULLET has a long-standing-policy of requiring all letters to be signed. The advantages of this policy are obvious and it certainly is not the purpose of this editorial to suggest that it ought to be abandoned or that it should not apply in the great majority of instances. Departures from this policy should not be made lightly, but these two present letters do justify such a departure. Besides offering the gay viewpoint on the question of homosexuality (an important perspective on the issue to say the least), both letters were excellently written and one was so good that it could rightly be called a social document; they both offered insights into this important issue that BULLET readers would have found valuable. Yet it is unrealistic to expect these students to sign their letters, to make that a requirement, to say to them that they must “come out” before they can express their views as homosexuals in the newspaper. This requirement is unrealistic for obvious reasons: in addition to the possibility of conflict with family members at home if they were to know the truth, MWC students who have “come out” in the past have been subjected to harrassment, ridicule and ostracism on campus. Ivy Martin, who declared her homosexuality in 1976 and was branded the “campus queer” from that time until she graduated last May, is the best argument I know against requiring gay students to “come out” in the BULLET before their views as gays may be printed in the school newspaper. It is important to note that we are not dealing with unsigned letters here: both students were willing to sign their work. The BULLET Editorial Board would thus have known the identities of the authors; this is crucial for legal purposes and so that the Board could be assured that the writers were indeed MWC students and hence (because of the Honor Code) that they were in fact gay. What the authors of the letters could not allow was for their names to appear in print; the two letters would have appeared with “names withheld.” Many newspapers, including the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star employ a policy of withholding the names of certain letter writers in rare cases, so long as the newspaper can validate their identity and authenticity. These publications realize that it is unfair and unreasonable to demand that certain individuals sign their work in print. The author of the original “Viewpoint” explained that she refused to subject herself to “the pointing fingers, the jeers, the incrimination of those who check out what you wear and how you act and wonder ‘HOW COULD SHE?’ No, I‘ll not be MWC’s token gay.” Can we really blame her? It may seem that making an exception here is unfair to those who are required to sign their letters. But those two cases are not quite comparable: the great majority of people who write letters to the BULLET can sign them free from the fear that their lives at MWC will be ruined by doing so. This is not the case with these gay students writing as gay students. Once again Ivy Martin is an example of what MWC does to those who do “come out.” Is it really fair to equate a student writing and signing a letter about brick paths with a student writing and signing a letter which begins “as a gay student, I would like to address the present debate on homosexuality”? One advantage of pursuing a hard line on the present policy is simplicity: an absolute policy of not withholding the names of any letter writers solves the problem of deciding which letters to except from the general policy and which to reject. Whenever exceptions to a policy are made, the potential exists that the exceptions might become the rule. But there is no reason for this to happen. Withholding the names of these two gay students would not mean that the BULLET would thereafter be obligated to print every unsigned letter it received; on the contrary, the Editorial Board would still have the discretion to deny a letter writer the privilege of having his name withheld in print. As stated at the outset, exceptions to the general policy of requiring letters to be signed in print would only be made in rare cases. The question then becomes one of criteria, where to draw the line in deciding when to allow exceptions. It is impossible to state precisely what conditions would be excusing, but two standards do suggest themselves. First, the BULLET does not accept letters that violate the laws of libel, and this would be extended to include these “name withheld” letters. Secondly, the writer would have to convince the Board that there is a valid and compelling reason for his inability to sign the letter in print. The present case of the two gay letter writers, in which the destructive ramifications of compelling the author to sign his work in print is obvious, would be a good yardstick to use here. Most importantly, the Board would exercise simple common sense in deciding which letter to print “name withheld.” Common sense is, of course, a subjective concept that defies definition. It is conceivable that members of the Editorial Board could disagree on when it should apply in particular instances, but that is one advantage of having a five-member Board: no single person’s perceptions rule supreme. I do not believe that a policy of rare exceptions would create the massive problems that some assert; rather, it would give us the flexibility to deal reasonably with those letter writers who have a legitimate reason for not affixing their names to their work in print. MAM The Bullet Established 1922 Printed by and for the MWC Community in the offices of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Helen Marie McFalls, Editor-in-chief Michael Allen Mello, Managing Editor Gary Price Webb, News Editor John Matthew Coski, Features Editor Anita Lynn Churney, Business Manager The Bullet Mary Washington College is an affirmative action equal employment opportunity institution. It does not discriminate against any person for reasons of age, sex, marital status, race, nationality, religion, or political affiliation. The Staff of the Bullet Chief Assistant Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ruth Spivey Assistant Editors . . . . . . Jane Opitz and Laurie Shelor Photography Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Hawke Assistant Photography Editor . . . . . . . . . .Pam Marks Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anne Hayes Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Candy Sams Assistant Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julie Harrell Circulation Managers . .Evelyn Watts, Juanita Grimm Staff Photographers . . . . . . . . Patty Shillington, Karen Noss, Felicia Mazur Staff--Tracy Hudson, Jean Smith, Betsy Rohaly, Laura Hall, Ann Lambert, Carrie Rebora, Dean Ball, Patrick Thompson, Mary Lee, Cynthia Nash, Mark Madigan, Cindy Goforth, Darla Fjeld. Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) vol. 52, issue no. 10 Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Case for Anonymity Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpg 300dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, Virginia Subject The topic of the resource Gay students. College student newspapers and periodicals. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael Allen Description An account of the resource Editorial dealing with the Bullet's decision not to publish two letters by gay students because the students did not want their names printed. The editorial discusses the impact on gay students if their homosexuality is revealed, citing the case of Ivy Martin. It concludes by arguing for a policy of exceptions based on "common sense" and consideration of "valid and compelling reason[s]" to withhold names. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-11-30 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael Allen [MAM]. "A Case for Anonymity." Editorial, The Bullet (Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA), November 20, 1978, p. 2. Bullet Editorial Board editorial gay students gays homosexuality Ivy Martin letters to editor libel Viewpoint