THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602040054
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Ice and snow may have canceled classes and scared a few alumni away, but the party was still on Saturday at the College of William and Mary.
The second-oldest university in America, behind only Harvard, celebrated its 303rd anniversary with a tradition-laden Charter Day ceremony commemorating a decision in 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II to allow a college in Colonial Virginia.
That college was to be, as the two British monarchs wrote in their royal charter, ``. . . upon the south side of York River, or elsewhere, where the General Assembly itself shall think more convenient, within our Colony of Virginia, to be supported and maintained in all time coming.''
That support came to an abrupt halt, of course, when rebellious colonists - many of whose leaders were educated at William and Mary, including Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe - overthrew the crown.
But all is forgotten. To wit: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, now the college's chancellor, wore the school colors of green and gold and sang the ``Alma Mater'' in welcoming about 400 students, alumni and faculty members who skidded to Saturday's ceremony.
Thatcher, ever proper, used the occasion to politely point out three problems she sees in modern America: violent crime, single-parent families and the upshot of ``new rights devoid of responsibilities,'' a kind phrase meaning that too many Americans expect something for nothing from their government.
A group of students and members of a leftist campus group called United Socialist International stood outside in the snow gathering petitions for Thatcher's removal as chancellor. They didn't get many signatures.
``I don't think that's very nice,'' scolded one elderly man after being approached with a petition.
Thatcher helped present honorary degrees to two longtime friends of the college, both of whom have served on its board of visitors - Pamela Churchill Harriman, U.S. ambassador to France, and Frank Batten, chairman of Landmark Communications Inc., which owns The Weather Channel and The Virginian-Pilot among other media outlets.
College officials feared that Harriman would not make the ceremony because of the winter storm that froze much of the mid-Atlantic. But she arrived late Thursday after a flight from Paris and served as the keynote speaker.
Harriman - whose late husband, Averell, was a former governor of New York and ambassador to the Soviet Union and Britain - chastised current American leaders who believe the nation should become more isolationist now that the Cold War is over.
``Not every issue demands our involvement, and each involvement must be measured and proportionate,'' said Harriman, appointed by President Clinton as ambassador to France. ``But the guiding principle cannot be: act where it is easy and retreat when it is difficult.''
Her speech was not all serious. She drew applause and laughter when she called the University of Virginia ``a school that could be described, I think, as the William and Mary of Charlottesville.''
In introducing Harriman, Thatcher recalled a letter she received from her just after being invited to serve as the college's chancellor in 1993.
``She wrote, `Do accept. You'll love it,' '' Thatcher said with a grin. ``And, of course, I have.'' ILLUSTRATION: BETH BERGMAN color photos/The Virginian-Pilot
William and Mary President Timothy J. Sullivan, center, confers with
Frank Batten, Landmark Communications chairman, as Margaret
Thatcher, chancellor of the college, waits to present Batten an
honorary degree at Saturday's ceremony.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, left, talks with
Pamela Churchill Harriman, U.S. ambassador to France. Thatcher gave
Harriman an honorary degree during the college's Charter Day.
by CNB