University of Virginia Library

At Student Council Meeting

Shannon Answers Questions

By Tom Adams

University President Edgar F.
Shannon was present at last night's
meeting of the Student Council to
answer questions on five topics that
he had been told were of concern
to the councilmen.

The topics were: the image of
the University in the Black
Community and its effect on
recruiting; release of the
co-education report; dismissal of
students on drug charges before
legal conviction; the University's
right to control off-grounds housing
and to regulate non-academic
student affairs; and an open
meeting of the Board of Visitors.

Lauding The Council

He began by praising the
Council for "systematic and
concerned work on the issues you
come into contact with."

President Shannon then spoke
at some length on the coeducation
report, which is being completed by
a faculty committee chaired by
Dean Woody. He said that by the
Board of Visitor's resolution a
year ago, he was directed to study
the need for coeducation and, if the
need is determined, to study the
feasibility of it.

He noted that students have
been disturbed that the Board of
Visitors would take some sot of
immediate action on the need for
coeducation before "people have a
chance to study it." He said that
this would not be done, and he
added that he thought the Board of
Visitors would eventually release
the report to the public.

President Shannon also noted
that he has just established a
committee of students and faculty
to seek opinion on the matter of
coeducation. The committee, he
said, will be chaired by Robert J.
Harris, former Dean of the Faculty.

Student Opinion

Two weeks ago, the Student
Council decided to find out student
opinion on the matter of
coeducation by putting it on the
December Student Council election
ballot.

Jimmy Miller, chairman of the
coeducation committee of the
Martin Luther King Chapter of the
Virginia Council on Human
Relations, who is not a member of
the Student Council, then, from the
audience, asked whether or not the
long-range plans for the University,
of which a preliminary six-year
report must be completed by
February, would take into account
the possibility of coeducation.

Good Question

President Shannon replied that
he thought that Mr. Miller's
question was "excellent," but, he
said, "I didn't come for an open
forum meeting with the students."
He said that he had been under the
impression that he was to discuss
issues with the Student Council
only, last night.

Rick Evans, President of the
Student Council, replied that
"there are a number of people who
regularly attend our meetings and
we allow them to ask questions so
as much information as possible
may be passed on to the students."

No More Questions

President Shannon then replied
to the question, saying that the
long-range plans were not final in
any way, and the Board of Visitors
would probably make some
provision in it for coeducation, if
they saw fit to do so. There were
no more questions from the
audience.

Pietr Schenkkan then asked
President Shannon what his
objection to the use of University
facilities by religious groups was.
President Shannon said that the
policy of the Board of Visitors and
the committee they established to
deal with this matter was that
religious organizations could use
University facilities for recreational
and educational purposes only, and
not for religious purposes, because
of the state statutes which declared
that church and state remain
separate.

Drug Dismissal

On the subject of dismissal of
students for the use of drugs,
Jackson Lears said that he thought
that students dismissed on drug
charges before conviction should be
"automatically readmitted" to the
University upon acquittal by civil
authorities. President Shannon
replied that this would certainly be
taken under consideration but, he
pointed out, "there might be other
evidence available to the Dean or
Judiciary Committee concerning
a person's willingness to participate
in the academic community that
might not show up as a matter of
technical guild or innocence in a
civil court."

On the subject of recruiting
more Black students, Mr. Shannon
praised the Student Council and the
Martin Luther King Chapter for
their assistance to the University in
its attempt to recruit more Black
students.

"We are pleased that there was
an increase of [Black] applicants in
graduate and undergraduate schools
this year," he said.

He said that once admitted to
the University, many qualified
Black students often go to other
schools. The University has to
convey "an understanding of the
real opportunities here on the
Grounds" to these students, he
said.