I am shocked at the difference between William & Mary's Royal Charter and the Rockfish Gap report, both of which provide very goals for the university they plan for. The Royal Charter resembles a dry, straightforward legal document to me, as it focuses on the lines of leadership, finances, and powers of the president to the point of repetition. It seemed more like record keeping, naming specific people who lent money, who exactly would receive how much money, and a specific line of inheritance. I was surprised by how much the Royal Charter stuck to logistics. In comparison, the Rockfish Gap Report focuses on the experiences Thomas Jefferson and UVA's other founders wished for its students to have. When rereading this report, I could not believe how many times Jefferson mentioned happiness and other feeling words, and this quality seemed particularly unusual after reading the very unfeeling Royal Charter. I am proud to be part of a university that has prioritized individuals' personal growth and the humanitarian experience of education since its founding.

Thomas Jefferson's lack of a physical education requirement seems to contradict his belief that "health is the first requisite after morality." This exemption supports Jefferson's priority of encouraging free thought and liberty in actions, just as buildings for religious practices are available but not the center of UVA education. These policies illustrate restraint. Even though TJ believes in the importance of maintaining health and has negative views toward Christianity, he allows both to be practiced as his students like.

It goes without saying that Thomas Jefferson values education immensely, but I am shocked at his implication that those who are not college educated are parallels to "the wild and uncultivated tree" which "can never be made to yield better." This is an extremely bleak attitude toward those without higher education and suggests that they will never personally amount to successes college educated people will, and their children will also be doomed to "uncultivated" and "sour" life. Knowledge is power, but there is also honor in technical trades that require practice rather than a college degree to be successful. I appreciate that as a push in obtaining college education has risen, figures like Mike Rowe (from Dirty Jobs) has led a counter movement advocating for the importance and value of trade jobs, equal to those jobs obtained through obtaining degrees.