University of Virginia Library

Negro Recruitment In University
Heads Relations Council Talks

By Mike Russell
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Discussion and action
concerning the recruitment of
Negroes at the University, the social
isolation of black students, not
only from their fellow students but
from black women, discrimination
in housing in the Charlottesville
area, and the need for volunteers to
aid the racial situation in the city
are the focal topics which confront
the Charlottesville Human
Relations Council.

The council will meet for the
first time this semester tomorrow
evening at 8 p.m. in the Ball Room
in Newcomb Hall, and has extended
a welcome to all students and
faculty interested in helping its
program this year.

Foremost on the agenda of the
council is the problem of increasing
the enrollment of negro students at
the University. This year's entering
class has a total of eleven black
students registered, while the
athletic department has not yet
recruited any black athletes.

Admissions Blamed

Robert Williams, a third year
law student and President of the
Council has laid the blame for the
scarcity of Negro students on the
University's admissions board. Mr.
Williams says that the entrance
standards at the University favor
the white middle class student and
that the time has now come for
these standards to be reviewed and
renewed.

Backing his assertions Mr.
Williams cited the work of
Professor DeVito of Emory
University. The experiment
consisted of taking black students
with below average College Board
scores and allowing them to
participate in the summer session.
Their achievement as demonstrated
by their grades was inconsistent
with their Board scores. Mr.
DeVito's conclusion was that the
College Entrance Examinations are
culturally biased.

Drawing from Mr. DeVito's
work, the Human Relations Council
advocates abandoning the use of
board scores as criteria for
admission to universities and
substituting in their place the
individual's class standing, teacher's
recommendations and his
participation in school activities.

Relative to the problem of
recruiting black students, Mr.
Williams pointed out, is the
shortage of negro faculty members
and the lack of a black recruiter in
the Admissions office.

Black Recruiters

Last year after much discussion
between the Council and the
Admissions office, funds were
allocated and the search for a black
recruiter began. As of yet, no
recruiter has been found to fill the
void in the office. Pressure has also
been leveled by the council to
increase the number of black
faculty members. So far, only one
faculty member has been recruited.

Athletic recruitment is another
area of concern since there are still
no black athletes at the University.
To combat this evident lack of
action, the Council plans,
"discussion as to whether
comprehensive fees should be
withheld to persuade the athletic
department to recruit black athletes
more vigorously," according to Mr.
Williams.

Good Faith

On the general subject of
recruitment and its lack of results,
Mr. Williams said he, "hoped that
the University is in good faith when
trying to get more black students at
the University."

Another area of the Council's
concern has been the housing
problem for black students. These
students have found it difficult, if
not impossible to obtain housing
comparable to that of the fellow
white students, said Mr. Williams.
The problem of discrimination,
however, goes beyond mere
discrimination against black
students. Some landlords have gone
so far as to limit their tenants in the
number of black visitors that they
may entertain, or to admonish
them against having black visitors at
all.

Supreme Court

Mr. Williams said that the
recent, "Supreme Court decisions
outlawing discrimination in
housing," would be useful and that
he, "anticipates the use of this
decision to insure open housing to
all members of the University
community."

Communications Channels

Social isolation is perhaps the
most discouraging problem that the
black University student faces, and
the one problem that, if solved,
could in the opinion of Mr.
Williams, make the University more
appealing to black students.
"Previously and to the present,"
said Mr. Williams, "the black
student has had to live in an
isolated world, socially. This has
kept him from cultivating mature
relationships between the sexes.
The black student has had to seek
relaxation in other ways to make
up for this void."

To help case these tensions, Mr.
Williams felt, the University could
open channels of communication
with other black schools in addition
to keeping the lines of
communication available to the
student at all times.

The Human Relations Council
which was first formed in 1961 and
then revitalized after the death of
Martin Luther King, Jr. plans to
take action consistent with these
apparent need. It further intends to
aid the Charlottesville community
by organizing tutorial projects and
voter registration drives.

Mr. Williams concluded by
saying, "Demonstrations at the
University could adversely affect
the 80 million dollar bond issue
coming before the legislature in
November. Hopefully through a
dialogue with the University we can
avert such demonstrations."