The Cavalier daily :: Wednesday, February 18, 1970 :: University of Virginia Library

"In the four years that a student is
here, he must be made aware of the
social problems and conditions that
exist in the world surrounding him,"
Student Council President James Roebuck
said yesterday. "If we miss him
now, we've probably missed him for
his whole life."

In an interview with The Cavalier
Daily, the newly-installed president
outlined the University situation. "I
feel we're making some real progress,"
he continued, "but my real concern is
that the student body should not be
splintered, so that we lose the student
in the middle."

"There's been a change in the
student body, though it's still somewhat
conservative in relation to social
action, but support for such actions as
the Moratorium show that there is
definitely a change. It's not as it has
been in the past."

Student Council has recently complained
of failures in communication
with the Administration, particularly
with the Board of Visitors. Mr.
Roebuck said he felt the Board's
responsiveness varied with the issue.
"Perhaps on first-year car regulations
they are receptive," he said. "But
when structural changes are posed,
their receptivity declines. I'm not sure
that in the back of their minds, they
don't keep listening to the old-fashioned
traditionalists who are now
in the minority."

"Change has been rapid," he
continued, "and I don't think they
realize there's been a change."

Is the administration moving satisfactorily
toward a more coeducational
and racially-balanced university? "It's
hard to judge until the admissions
figures are in. I don't think they'll ever
allow unrestricted admissions of blacks
and coeds."

"Right now," he added, "we are
working toward a goal, not a quota.
It's been tokenism to this point, but
we've reached a point where tokenism
is no longer acceptable."

The University is not putting in a
full effort for the task, he maintained.
"They may not be doing it reluctantly,"
he said, "but they certainly
aren't doing as much as possible."
Pointing out that the administrative
plan for coeducation has been negligent
in areas of housing and integration
into the University community,
Mr. Roebuck set full implementation
as a goal for the Council to press. He
also listed student control of funds,
student representation on the Board,
and the role of athletic programs in
the academic community as areas of
concentration.

Is militancy a relevant topic at Mr.
Jefferson's University? "I think when
you have a totally unresponsive
university, such actions as building
occupation work well in stimulating
responsiveness," he admitted. "On the
other hand, they often stimulate
repression and reaction as well."

Mr. Roebuck was very concerned
with his own role as president of a
student body that encompasses both
militancy and reaction. "I'm afraid
that militant action here would splinter
the student body," he confided.
"The moderate middle in Charlottesville
is closer to the conservative
viewpoint than to the radicals. I think
we've shown we can work through the
present arrangement of committees
and representatives, and I'm hopeful
we can work out something better."

Seeing on-campus ROTC as a
"legitimate option" to the present
draft system, Mr. Roebuck nevertheless
considers the program to be
undeserving of academic credit. "However,
ROTC could maintain easily
accessible facilities," he proposed,
"much as religious organizations do
now." He maintained that ROTC
would be acceptable if it met academic
requirements, but he doubts that "it
would be desirable to give and receive
degrees relying on the ROTC credits."

As to whether fraternities should
follow the path of the coat-and-tie
Cavalier. Mr. Roebuck neither objected
to nor supported the tradition.
"I was in a fraternity at Virginia
Union, "he remarked. "For individual
students, I think they serve a purpose
by providing a social atmosphere."

When do they lose their purpose in
the college community? "Fraternities
are, by nature, somewhat discriminatory.
But if they undertake selection
on purely a class distinction, they
become undesirable."