Not true about gifts and bequests to colleges and universities.  Look at any 
such institution's income ledger and you will see categories of restricted 
and unrestricted gifts.  There is a I think current law suit against 
Princeton University, where members of a wealthy family want a substantial 
gift returned to them.  They argue that the restrictions and requirements on 
the gift have not been honored by Princeton.

I have no idea what "a silly PC argument" means.  It seems more a 
characterization than an argument.  Arguments have facts lined up so as to 
strongly suggest a conclusion;  the conclusion itself is explicitly stated.

"Next thing people will demand..." is a version of the slippery slope 
argument, a kind of deception of reason.  If you like A, you are going to 
hate B, which is an inevitable outcome of A.  Outside of the realm of close 
scientific observation and experiment, inevitability is a faith not a fact.

Harold S. Forsythe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Brothers" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 10:52 PM
Subject: Re: Wren cross at W&M


> Although I can't say this for sure, it is very likely that there are 
> organizations dedicated to other religions or ethnic groups at Wm &  Mary 
> that are supported by both tax dollars and student activity  fees. It 
> certainly is the case at all of the other colleges and  universities I've 
> ben associated with. Last I checked there was no  way to stipulate that 
> money you give to a university, be it public or  private, in the form of 
> fees or tax subsidies can be in any way  restricted so that they do not 
> support organizations or activities  with which an individual does not 
> agree. The chapel was built as a  Christian Chapel, it seems reasonable 
> that it remain so. Why should  it be secularized just because it is a 
> public university? The same  argument would say that any organization at a 
> public university can  not restrict its membership or it must restrict its 
> funding. This is  a really silly PC argument. Next people will be 
> demanding that  because churches are subsidized by the government (through 
> tax  exemption) that it is unlawful for a Roman Catholic church to require 
> that its priest be Roman Catholic. After all a religious leader is a 
> religious leader, why not have communion administered by a Tibetan  Lama? 
> I'm equally sure that many attendees at a mosque would be a bit  upset to 
> find a female Episcopal Priest leading the Friday prayer.
>
> James Brothers, RPA
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> On Feb 20, 2007, at 8:01, Debra Jackson/Harold Forsythe wrote:
>
>> I earned my B.A. and M.A. at a Protestant college (now university)  in 
>> California and taught at a Jesuit university in CT.  Both these 
>> institutions were private.  I didn't think much about the religious 
>> orientation of my Alma Mater but did think hard about the Catholic  and 
>> Jesuit identity of Fairfield University.  (I even served on a  committee 
>> to study and reinforce that identity.)  I thought then  and think now 
>> that if the Catholic faith community uses its own  resources to found 
>> university, the principle of religious freedom  upon which the USA is 
>> based makes it manifestly obvious that such a  university should be 
>> committed to the religious vision of the  community that founded it.
>>
>> I should say that I found the Catholic Jesuit environment very  welcoming 
>> to non-Catholics.
>>
>> Where I part company with perhaps others on this list and certainly  many 
>> W & M alumnii is over particular religious symbolism at PUBLIC 
>> universities and colleges.
>> I put to you all two questions.  1)  Should Jews, Muslims,  Buddhists, 
>> Hindus, and the non-religious be taxed to support  institutions that 
>> proclaim their adherence to Christianity?  2)  Should, say, a Star of 
>> David be added to the chapel at William & Mary?
>>
>> I understand that the College of William & Mary's founding was as a 
>> Church of England institution but that was in colonial times when 
>> propertyholders were taxed to support the established church of the 
>> colony of Virginia.  A lot has changed since the 17th century.
>>
>> Harold S. Forsythe
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sunshine49" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 10:44 PM
>> Subject: Re: Wren cross at W&M
>
>
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