In the news
WORLD
WILLIAMSBURG – A longtime donor to the College of William and Mary will withhold a $12 million pledge to the public university because of the removal of a cross from a campus chapel.
The donation was pledged to the campaign fund before Gene Nichol became the university’s president and was revoked because the donor disagreed with Nichol’s decision to remove the brass cross from permanent display on the chapel’s altar, spokesman Mike Connolly said.
WORLD
WILLIAMSBURG – A longtime donor to the College of William and Mary will withhold a $12 million pledge to the public university because of the removal of a cross from a campus chapel.
The donation was pledged to the campaign fund before Gene Nichol became the university’s president and was revoked because the donor disagreed with Nichol’s decision to remove the brass cross from permanent display on the chapel’s altar, spokesman Mike Connolly said.
The donor was not identified.
The loss of the funds “represents a serious setback to the college,” Nichol wrote in an e-mail Tuesday afternoon. “While I know it is intended to make a policy statement, ultimately it only hurts our students.”
The gift had been earmarked for the school’s $500 million Campaign for William and Mary.
In October, Nichol decided a cross displayed in the school’s Wren Chapel should be stored in a sacristy to make the chapel welcoming to students of all faiths.
Advocates of keeping the cross pointed to the school’s founding 300 years ago as an institution of the Anglican Church. The cross, they argued, should be displayed not only as a symbol of faith but as an acknowledgment of history and tradition.
NATION
NEW YORK – Stocks moved higher Wednesday after the previous session’s 416-point plunge in the Dow industrials, as investors digested a barrage of economic data including a satisfactory gross domestic product report. A recovery in some markets following a worldwide sell-off Tuesday lent some support to U.S stocks.
After a shaky start, the major indexes showed some resolve as the market sought to regain its footing after plummeting amid growing concerns about slowing economies in the U.S. and China.
Stocks appeared to pick up some momentum as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified on Capitol Hill. He said in response to questions that there was single trigger for Tuesday’s precipitous decline on Wall Street. He said he still expects “moderate growth” in the economy.
Bernanke’s remarks follow comments from former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who stirred concern about the health of the U.S. economy with a warning over the weekend that a recession could take hold later this year.
STATE & LOCAL
ADDO ELEPHANT PARK, South Africa – The environment minister proposed a package of measures Wednesday to slow rampant elephant population growth – including limited killing and contraception – but stressed there would be no mass slaughter.
The elephant population of 20,000 is growing at a rate of more than 6 percent per year, disrupting the delicate biodiversity in the flagship Kruger National Park and other wildlife parks, Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said.
He said the government proposed introducing new management measures, including removal of elephants to other areas, creation of special enclosures to protect other species, expansion of parks, contraception and culling.
“I would have preferred not to consider the options of both culling and contraception,” he said, but added that the reality left him with no choice.
But slaughter would only be considered as a last resort, he said.
“The government will never give a blank check to culling,” van Schalkwyk told journalists at the park.
