The Virginia Informer
Encyclopedia
The Virginia Informer is a weekly student-run publication at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
. The newspaper contains five sections: News, Features, Sports, Arts & Culture, and Opinion. The organization also maintains The Virginia Informer Online, a website that is updated daily, as well as The Virginia Informer Newswire. It is the largest member of the non-profit group Collegiate Network
and a member of the Associated Collegiate Press
.
Unlike the two other primary campus publications, The DoG Street Journal
and The Flat Hat
, The Informer receives no funding from the college administration or student activity fee
for any of its operations but rather from grants, subscriptions, advertising and other donations. The Informer is non-partisan but is known to publish conservative and libertarian
editorials.
In March 2010, The Virginia Informer celebrated its 5th Anniversary in Miller Hall at the Mason School of Business
with guests including Congressman Rob Wittman
, William and Mary President W. Taylor Reveley III
, Miss Virginia USA 2010 Samantha Casey
, Members of Williamsburg City Council, senior business executives, College alumni and faculty, and student leaders. The Virginia Informer began printing on a weekly cycle in the spring of 2010 and added a Sports section in the fall of 2010, the first new section since the paper's founding in 2005.
. Even though then-President Gene Nichol expressed his disagreement with the decision, he did not challenge the decision, fearing that the court costs would take too much from the college fund. He refused donations from alumni wishing to fund the legal expenses of such a fight. Since then, the Informer has distributed 30,000 feathers at Homecoming
football games in protest.
. Nichol was offered an opportunity to participate in the debate but declined.
(FIRE) to have the college administration turn the school into a FIRE "Green Light" university. Such a designation would bring William & Mary's speech code in line with FIRE's interpretation of the US Constitution and, according to Katz, make the college one of the most free speech friendly universities in the United States. In Fall 2009, the College administration fully amended university speech codes and William and Mary was designated a FIRE "Green Light" institution.
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
. The newspaper contains five sections: News, Features, Sports, Arts & Culture, and Opinion. The organization also maintains The Virginia Informer Online, a website that is updated daily, as well as The Virginia Informer Newswire. It is the largest member of the non-profit group Collegiate Network
Collegiate Network
The Collegiate Network is a non-profit, non-partisan tax-exempt 501 organization that provides financial and technical assistance to student editors and writers of almost 100 independent, conservative and libertarian publications at leading colleges and universities around the country. The project...
and a member of the Associated Collegiate Press
Associated Collegiate Press
The Associated Collegiate Press is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association...
.
Unlike the two other primary campus publications, The DoG Street Journal
The DoG Street Journal
The DoG Street Journal was a student online newspaper and monthly news magazine of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA...
and The Flat Hat
The Flat Hat
The Flat Hat is the official student newspaper at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. It prints Tuesdays and Fridays during the College's academic year. It began printing twice-weekly in 2007; since its inception in 1911, The Flat Hat had printed weekly.The newspaper is printed as...
, The Informer receives no funding from the college administration or student activity fee
Student Activity Fee
A student fee is a fee charged to students at a school, above and beyond the normal tuition and matriculation fees. These may be charged for general student activities, for supporting student media and other student organizations, for intercollegiate or intramural sports or academics, or as a...
for any of its operations but rather from grants, subscriptions, advertising and other donations. The Informer is non-partisan but is known to publish conservative and libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
editorials.
In March 2010, The Virginia Informer celebrated its 5th Anniversary in Miller Hall at the Mason School of Business
Mason School of Business
The Mason School of Business is the business school at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. The school, named after alumni and founder of Legg Mason, Raymond A. "Chip" Mason, in 2005, was ranked in the top 20 MBA programs in 2007 and the top 10 undergraduate programs among public universities...
with guests including Congressman Rob Wittman
Rob Wittman
Robert J. Wittman is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches from the fringes of the Washington suburbs to the Hampton Roads area...
, William and Mary President W. Taylor Reveley III
W. Taylor Reveley III
Walter Taylor Reveley, III is the twenty-seventh president of The College of William & Mary. Formerly Dean of the William and Mary Law School, Reveley was appointed interim president of the College on February 12, 2008 following Gene Nichol's resignation earlier that day and was officially...
, Miss Virginia USA 2010 Samantha Casey
Samantha Casey
Samantha Casey is a beauty queen from Jeffersonton, Virginia, who represented her state and competed in both Miss Teen USA 2006 and Miss USA 2010, becoming one of very few women to place in the top 5 of Miss Teen USA and Miss USA....
, Members of Williamsburg City Council, senior business executives, College alumni and faculty, and student leaders. The Virginia Informer began printing on a weekly cycle in the spring of 2010 and added a Sports section in the fall of 2010, the first new section since the paper's founding in 2005.
Awards
- 2006 Collegiate Network Best New Paper
- 2007 Samuel Adams Alliance National Sunshine Award Nominee
- 2008 Fund for American Studies - Robert Novak Collegiate Journalism Award Finalist
- 2008 Collegiate Network Paper of the Year
- 2009 Collegiate Network Paper of the Year
- 2010 William F. Buckley Jr. Award for Outstanding Campus Reporting
Board of Visitors party
In early 2006, The Informer printed the name of a female student who accused a fellow student of rape at a sorority party held at the house of a member of the Board of Visitors. The Informer also called on that member, John Gerdelman, to resign. This was also in response to an e-mail sent to students by Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Sadler about the incident that included the name of the accused. The Informer did not print the name of the female student, a matter of public record, until the case had been settled out of court.NCAA and the feathers
In 2006, the NCAA informed the College that it would need to remove the feathers from its athletic logo saying that they were hostile and abusive towards Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Even though then-President Gene Nichol expressed his disagreement with the decision, he did not challenge the decision, fearing that the court costs would take too much from the college fund. He refused donations from alumni wishing to fund the legal expenses of such a fight. Since then, the Informer has distributed 30,000 feathers at Homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...
football games in protest.
Wren Cross
The Virginia Informer had been outspoken against former President Nichol's decision to implement a policy in which a historic cross was removed from the nondenominational Wren Chapel unless requested by a student group as well as his management of College finances. The Informer sponsored a debate on the subject between religion professor David Holmes and author Dinesh D'SouzaDinesh D'Souza
Dinesh D'Souza is an author and public speaker and a former Robert and Karen Rishwain Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is currently the President of The King's College in New York City. D'Souza is a noted Christian apologist and conservative writer and speaker....
. Nichol was offered an opportunity to participate in the debate but declined.
Campus Free Speech
The Virginia Informer advocates for expanding free speech rights at William & Mary. In early 2008, the publication worked with free speech advocate and W&M student Braum Katz as well as the Foundation for Individual Rights in EducationFoundation for Individual Rights in Education
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is a non-profit group founded in 1999 and focused on civil liberties in academia in the United States...
(FIRE) to have the college administration turn the school into a FIRE "Green Light" university. Such a designation would bring William & Mary's speech code in line with FIRE's interpretation of the US Constitution and, according to Katz, make the college one of the most free speech friendly universities in the United States. In Fall 2009, the College administration fully amended university speech codes and William and Mary was designated a FIRE "Green Light" institution.