University of Virginia Library

Pass Two Resolutions

Faculty, Students Join
To Support Coalition

By Stefan Lopatkiewicz
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

A joint group of faculty members and students yesterday adopted two resolutions supporting the
goals of the student coalition, which last week issued 11 proposals to end "the racist atmosphere" at the
University, and calling on the University administration to insure the realization of the proposed transition
program for underprivileged students at the University.

William A. Elwood, professor of English at the University, called together the faculty-student group,
which met at noon in Parlor A of Newcomb Hall.

"A number of colleagues of mine and I decided to call the meeting after the faculty of Arts &
Sciences' meeting last Wednesday produced nothing and did not even discuss the Student Coalition," Mr.
Elwood explained. Rather than have another Arts & Sciences faculty meeting, "which left a lot of faculty
members hanging," he continued, it was decided preferable to call together a representative cross-section of
the faculty. Most departments in
the College, as well as several other
schools of the University, were
represented at yesterday's meeting.

Nine students, five of them
members of the Student Coalition,
attended the meeting.

Both resolutions adopted at the
meeting are being circulated this
week as petitions to indicate the
support of their ideas by the
student body.

Unanimous Adoption

The first of these, adopted
unanimously, is a general endorsement
of the coalition's proposals,
and reads:

"We the following members of
the faculty of the University of
Virginia support in principle the
goals of the Student Coalition and
the Student Council to achieve
desegregation at the University. We
urge students, faculty and administration
to establish and continue
constructive communication in order
to explore the goals and
implement their means."

The second resolution adopted
with only 2 dissenting votes, is a
more specific proposal directed at
the University administration and
calling upon it to "act as a
guarantor for the transition program
which was proposed by the ad
hoc faculty committee on educational
opportunity, approved by
the appropriate committee of the
faculty of the College of Arts and
Sciences and by the administration,
and which was submitted to foundations.
We also urge the administration
to encourage and coordinate
student groups and faculty efforts
to raise funds for the program."

Faculty Vehicle

Mr. Elwood said that the two
resolutions name only the faculty
as sponsors because "the students
already have other means by which
they are expressing their views.
These resolutions are serving as the
faculty vehicle."

He said that the petitions based
on the resolutions will be circulated
this week and will be collected in
Cabell Hall 530 at noon on Friday.
It is then expected that a spokesman
for the group will present the
petitions to President Shannon.

One of the dissenting votes on
the second proposal was cast by
Stephen Squire, a member of SDS
and one of the nine students who
attended the meeting.

Mr. Squire explained that he
supports the resolution but he feels
it would have been better to "push
for the whole package." The
resolution which deals with the
transition program alone is "narrowing
down things that should be
taken as a totality to one issue," he
said.

Compromised Coalition

"The coalition has been compromising
itself all the way down
the line," he added. "Everything
since the 11 proposals has been a
stepping backward."

Mr. Squire went on to say that
he felt it only right of the faculty
to adopt the resolution, however, if
it is in support of bringing more
underprivileged students into the
University. "You can't expect students
to be brought in from
completely different atmospheres
and have them succeed. This would
be two-faced," he commented.

Related Developments

[In related developments at the
University, a small poster bearing a
photograph of the Board of Visitors,
in which the face of C. Stuart
Wheatley is circled, appeared this
morning around the grounds.

[The poster asserts that "Mr.
Wheatley weakens the credibility of
the Board of Visitors in acting on
all matters regarding integration,"
and calls for his resignation "for the
sake of the University."

[The statement is signed "Students
for Responsible Leadership,"
a name which Donald Fleck identified
as an alias for an "ad hoc
group" called the Committee to
Oust Wheatley. Mr. Fleck said the
committee is now planning to
circulate a petition which reads:

Repudiated Leadership

["We, the undersigned students
and faculty of the University of
Virginia, repudiate the leadership of
Chase Stuart Wheatley and request
his resignation from the Board of
Visitors. We affirm our support of
the University demands set forth by
the coalition and passed by the
Student Council, but we feel the
resignation of Mr. Wheatley is
essential to the achievement of
these demands and to the elimination
of racism at the University."]

[At 5:30 yesterday afternoon,
however, Don Bellamy, a member
of the Students for Responsible
Leadership, was, in his words,
"arbitrarily denied" permission by