“William and Maryopoly”: What’s the Same and What’s Different?
The College of William and Mary was founded in 1693 (a fact the College will not let you forget). In the just over 300 years that the College has been around, things are bound to have changed. Andrew Johnston ’25 and Rebecca Altman ’25 discovered a copy of “William and Maryopoly” from 1992 and pointed out what’s different.
For my 22nd birthday, I received a copy of “William and Maryopoly” from 1992. That got me thinking, seeing as this game is over 30 years old, I wonder how much of campus has changed over the years. With so many buildings being on the verge of closing, myself and fellow writer Rebecca Altman ’25 thought it would be fun to examine some of the locations on the board that are no longer a part of our campus— along with a few other standouts.
The Flat Hat
Hey, that’s us! The Flat Hat has been the newspaper of the College of William and Mary since 1911, although the magazine you are currently reading wasn’t founded until 2019. A fun fact about the paper is that we are named after the Flat Hat Club, which is thought to be the precursor to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. We also have no faculty advisor, so the publication is run entirely by dedicated undergraduates.
Increased tuition
Yeah, researching this was a little disheartening. According to data released by the College, the in-state tuition for the 1991-1992 school year was $2,240, while the out-of-state tuition was $8,960. Compare this to today's tuition of $9,354 and $21,721, respectively.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with today’s purchasing power, the 1991-1992 school year would have cost $5,152 for in-state and $20,610.66 for out-of-state. These are surprisingly similar costs relative to what we would expect solely due to inflation. The same can unfortunately not be said for my fellow in-staters, sorry guys. We’ll have to see how what’s brewing in Washington currently will affect tuition. I’d be really interested to compare these numbers again a few years down the road.
Morton Hall
Known today as Boswell Hall, everyone's favorite dank, sinking building once had a different, far more controversial namesake. While John E. Boswell was a well-recognized and respected advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, Richard Lee Morton, former head of the history department at the College, authored many books supporting the confederacy and containing racist content. The building was renamed in 2021 as part of the College’s efforts to reexamine some of its problematic history.
The Alumni House
The Alumni House is still here, but it has changed a lot since 1992 and since it was built. It was formerly known as the Bright House, as it was built on Bright Farms. This building had some interesting history before being converted to the Alumni House. For starters, it was the home of the aforementioned Richard Lee Morton of Morton Hall (oof), but it was also the Kappa Alpha fraternity house for almost 20 years. It was purchased by the school in 1946 and used as a residential space until it became the official building of the Alumni Association in 1973. The Alumni House was given an approximately 33,000 square foot expansion when it reopened in 2019 after about a year of construction. It offers plenty of reservable spaces for events like conferences and weddings.
The Lodges
Constructed in 1947-48, the Lodges were 11 residences located behind Zable Stadium. They were originally rented to fraternities, but their popularity expanded to catch the attention of upperclassmen. 20 years later, the fraternities moved into the most luxurious, glamourous, pest-less units, which we lovingly know today as GGV. Only the finest of establishments were fit for these kings.
But returning to the lodges, they became highly sought-after dormitories due to their excellent location and small size — each unit in the Lodges housed seven people and two bathrooms, one of which was private. In the early 1990s, the College tore down the odd-numbered Lodges to make way for the Sadler Center. In 2000, another lodge was overtaken by former campus favorite, The Daily Grind. Finally, in the early 2010s, plans were announced to turn the Lodges into an eco-friendly housing village, which ultimately ended in the remaining Lodges (except for the Daily Grind ) being torn down to construct the McLeod Tyler Wellness Center.
The Trellis Bar & Grill
The Trellis was a popular restaurant in downtown Colonial Williamsburg for students and community members alike. Chefs Marcel Desaulniers, John Curtis, and Tom Power opened the restaurant in 1980. Power, the original owner of the Cheese Shop, departed in 1994 and opened Fat Canary soon after. In 2009, Dave Everett, who is something of a restaurant monopoly magnate in Williamsburg, bought The Trellis, continuing its standard of American fare and their classic “Death by Chocolate” dessert. However, in 2020, Everett decided to close The Trellis in favor of a place with Italian cuisine at the fore: La Piazza (which has also closed as of April 2024).
Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall
Oh ... PBK. No, not that PBK — the old one! The original Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall dates back to 1926, suffered a fire in 1953, and then reopened as Ewell Hall, notably everyone’s favorite building to rehearse and perform in. A new building opened in 1957, marking the beginning of New Campus. It was widely regarded in the Williamsburg community as a premier performance space, hosting plays, concerts, and even presidential debates. As part of the College’s 2014 Master Plan, they sought to revitalize the arts buildings on campus through the construction of a new Arts Quarter. The 1957 construction met its end in 2019, and the new PBK took its place.
W&M vs UVA
When seeing this on the monopoly board, I scratched my brain quite a bit as to why. The College — a proud member of the Coastal Athletic Association — and the University of Virginia, which resides in a Power 5 conference, have no business sharing a basketball rivalry. They were both in the Southern Conference, but the teams only overlapped for one year back in the 1930s. From the late 1950s to the early 1980s, the Tribe and the Cavaliers would square off twice a year, but the internet has not yielded any reason other than, “hey, they’re both in Virginia, right?”
In case anyone is wondering if the Tribe manages to overcome their neighbor to the northwest every once in a while, the answer is no, at least for now. They are on a 12-game losing streak against UVA dating back to 1986.
Recite the fight song
Our fight song has some of the worst lyrics I have ever seen. No wonder the Pep Band has taken over fight song duties from its lousy lyrical counterpart:
"Oh, we will fight, fight, fight for the Tribe,
Each time the Big Green team appears.
And we will yell, yell, yell for the Tribe,
And they will heed our mighty cheers.
Come on and cheer our team on to victory,
Let's give a shout for our colors bold-
We'll get a
Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown!
And raise the Green and Gold!"
