I am a black alumnus who graduated from William and Mary in 1990. I was very disappointed after reading the article "All of Us: The African-American Experience on Campus" in the William & Mary Alumni Magazine Winter 2003/2004 issue.

The article is not balanced and does not explore a variety of black perspectives. For example, the writer fails to discuss the problem that some black students have faced rejection by other black students and that there was social pressure by many blacks to only socialize with other blacks. Unfortunately for some of us, these situations are part of black experiences at William and Mary.

The article states that the Black Student Organization was not formed to separate black students from other students, but that is exactly what it does. When I attended William and Mary, many of the office holders and members of the Black Student Organization did not support or accept blacks who socialized with both whites and blacks. I would like to see a student organization that truly brings white students and black students together instead of encouraging separate cliques, sororities and fraternities, parties and programs that have an effect of keeping students apart.

As a student, I didn't find Dr. Carroll Hardy to be helpful or supportive of me or of some other black students. I thought that she contributed to the problem of separation between blacks and whites. I am pleased to learn about the elimination of the STEP program that claimed to help black students transition from high school to William and Mary, because one of the effects of the program, whether intended or unintended, was to begin socially separating black students from others. Black students should never be made to feel like they have to choose between socializing with either whites or blacks.

Another problem with the article is that it stereotypes black students as victims and white students as Confederates. No experiences of whites exhibiting unprejudiced behavior or having friends across the color line were described.

Instead of writing an article that is one-sided and incomplete, we can all benefit from intellectually honest articles about campus and alumni racial issues. We blacks can also benefit by taking some of the responsibility for racial problems on campus. By viewing problems as a shared responsibility, we are in a better position to solve them.

ANONYMOUS '90
Editor's Note: Due to work-related conflicts, the author requests to remain anonymous.

Clenise Platt's '94 interviews presented in "All of Us: The African-American Experience on Campus" in the 1970s and '80s do not remotely describe the William and Mary I attended from 1962 to 1966. How could it have regressed so much? Although its doors had not been widely opened in my day to African-Americans, the mixture of students was very cosmopolitan and an open-mindedness to new ideas pervaded the campus. Thoughts about our black brothers and sisters were positive. The faculty especially made every conceivable effort to root out every vestige of provincialism. One of my professors vehemently denounced segregation; another commented that miscegenation was inevitable and that it was precisely what the South deserved for its treatment of the Negro. Yet, when the doors were opened wider to admit blacks after we graduated, we are now told they were confronted with "coldness and indifference" and "great adversity."

The comment by the Honorable Viola Osborne Baskerville '73 that "she would not have attended the College again if given the choice" was a real eye-opener. Ms. Basker?ville earned a Fulbright Scholarship, was admitted to Mortar Board and, by her own admission, was given an education which prepared her for "dealing with barriers and challenges in life." She was given an opportunity denied thousands of other deserving and intelligent young people of every color and creed who applied to the College. If she did indeed suffer some indignities because of her race, what other school in the country could have offered her as much? Some of my memories of my college days are not all that pleasant, either, but the diploma I earned made any negative encounters well worth the effort. As one who is now being touted as a possible Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, she should reconsider her assess?ment of the tremendous oppor?tunities she was given because William and Mary chose her.

GARY M. WILLIAMS '66
Waverly, Virginia

Recollections of Lake Matoaka
Your photo-feature on Lake Matoaka in the Winter 2003/2004 issue (see Circa: Seasons of Lake Matoaka) brought back memories. I was born and raised in Williamsburg and attended the College, graduating in 1956. One winter, it must have been in the late 1930s or early 1940s, Lake Matoaka froze over. A neighbor took me down there where students and townspeople were skating or just walking on the ice. If I recall, someone had built a bonfire on the lake ...

Another Matoaka memory is of the area in front of what was the entry to the amphitheater and is now a parking lot. In that space was the College stable and a paddock. I had my first, last and only horse ride there. The stable was later converted to office space and used by The Jamestown Corporation, which produced The Common Glory. I found summer employment in that production from 1950 through 1956.

EDWARD A. WATKINS '56
Lilburn, Georgia