University of Virginia Library

Students Protest Racism,
Confer With Shannon

By NEILL ALFORD III

Photo by Fred Grohgan

President Shannon Meets With Leaders Of The Rally

250 Students Listened Peacefully As Ivey Called For An End To Racism

Representatives of black University
students conferred privately with
President Edgar F. Shannon yesterday
afternoon after holding a protest meeting
on the Lawn at which the students
presented a list of grievances.

Approximately 250 persons attended
the rally, which was organized by the
Student Council and the Black Students
Association.

The attending black students selected
representatives to meet with Mr. Shannon and
other University officials. Tom Collier,
president of Student Council, recommended
that the students select only a small group for
the meeting. The students ultimately chose
approximately five representatives.

Mr. Collier said that Council had discussed
racism at its first meeting, held Tuesday night.
He asserted that "we live with racism every day
at this University."

He read a "statement to students" prepared
by Council. In the statement Council said that
it felt "disgust" at the "racist behavior" of
some students during Homecoming Weekend
and with the "fundamental racist nature" of
the University. Council asserted that its
members would work to ensure that all
University students feel welcome.

Willie Ivey, a member of the Black Students
Association, began what he described as "our
final measure of negotiation" by reading a list
of grievances and demanding that action be
taken on them immediately.

The list included a charge that the
admissions office neglects "thoroughly effective
recruiting procedures" for black students, and a
charge of "racist tendencies" on the part of the
Office of Financial Aid, as evidenced by the
"all-too-frequent lack of monetary assistance"
for black upperclassmen.

Other Grievances

Other grievances included a protest against
the absence of black administrators and the
scarcity of black professors.

The list also denounced the "blatant racism
of merchants at the Corner," the "uni-cultural
University atmosphere as reflected by social
functions, culture programs, concerts, and the
absence of African language courses."

Other protested conditions included "the
racism of graduate programs as typified by their
halfhearted, total neglect of black
recruitment," and "the gross underpayment
and exploitation of University
non professionals."

Disregard And Disrespect

When Mr. Ivey had presented the grievances,
Mr. Shannon stated "these problems are very
much on the minds of all of us." He denounced
"disregard and disrespect for each other," and
expressed gratitude for Council's efforts to
solve these problems.

Mr. Shannon asserted that he has supported
"working these things out together."

After these remarks, Mr. Shannon conferred
with the student representatives D. Alan
Williams, Vice President for Student Affairs and
William A. Elwood, Assistant for Special
Programs, in a closed meeting in Pavilion, VIII.

The meeting continued for about an hour,
while the crowd diminished to approximately
150 persons.

When the meeting ended, the black students
who had participated expressed strong
dissatisfaction with the results of the meeting.
They said they did not feel that Mr. Shannon
had put forward concrete proposals to combat
racial injustice. Several expressed a lack of
confidence in the administration.

Discussing the conference with fellow black
students. Mr. Ivey said that "never again"
would he take part in a meeting with
representatives of the administration to discuss
grievances.

Further Action

Mr. Ivey recommended that the group,
composed of about 50 black students, meet
immediately in the South Meeting Room of
Newcomb Hall to discuss possibilities for
further action.

At the meeting, two white students who
also came were ordered to leave when several
students announced to them that the meeting
was closed.

Two students stationed outside the meeting
room later told a photographer for The
Cavalier Daily that it would be "unhealthy" for
him to remain in the vicinity.

Extreme Measures

After the meeting, Mr. Ivey refused to
discuss the events inside with outsiders. There
were indications, however, that during the
conference, students favored the use of more
extreme measures than discussions with the
University administration.