University of Virginia Library

Poll Favors Student
On College Boards

By Jeff Ruggles

A recent poll by the Virginia Education
Association shows that 78% of
Virginia college student leaders would
like to have student representation on
their boards of trustees.

The poll, which was conducted last
fall, also showed that 60% of the leaders
believed that the students on the Board
of Trustees should have voting powers.
"Students, not their parents or the administrators,
live under the college regulations, so they
should have a say in the policies which affect
them," said Cheryl Nicely of Madison College.

When the questions were put in more
general terms, the student leaders came out
even more strongly in favor of student power.
Eighty-four per cent said most students "want
more" participation in making campus policies,
and 95% said it is "very important" to have
student representation in policy making on
their campus.

The survey covered college student newspaper
editors and student body presidents from
about thirty schools, and included sections on
campus issues, contemporary national and
international issues, and reactions to drugs, se
and heroes.

War Hassle

The poll showed that the Vietnam War
bothers students more than any other issue.
Twenty-three per cent classified themselves as
hawkish to some extent, and 69% as dovish,
including 41% who said they were "strongly
dovish." Lawrence E. Grunwald, Jr., of VPI,
commented "The loss of nearly 40,000 men in
Vietnam for a questionable cause makes any
campus issue seem unimportant."

In another area, 86% of the respondents feel
that college is important in preparing them for
a full and useful life, but only 36% described
their courses as very important in preparing
them for a full and useful life.

Sixty-seven percent of the student leaders
rated their college instructors as "good;" 20%
rated them as "excellent;" and not one person
rated them as "poor."

One surprising result was that no man was
called "very admirable" by more than half of
the respondents, pointing to the lack of heroes
on campuses today. Martin Luther King was
rated highest, as 47% of the leaders called him
"very admirable." Thirty six per cent called
John Kennedy "very admirable."

"Not Very Admirable"

In the "not very admirable" category,
forty-eight percent selected Eldridge Cleaver,
and 28% of the leaders called President Nixon
"not very admirable." Forty-seven per cent said
that by and large, their parents would not rate
these people in the same way they did.

A student from Roanoke College said his
parents "do not consider most of the men who
have tried to change the establishment as good
men. They prefer those who fight to maintain
the status quo.

Seventy-eight per cent of the student leaders
said laws concerning marijuana should be made
less strict. Fifty-nine per cent said use of drugs
is increasing. 81% said there should be more
drug education on their campus, and 83% said
they personally knew someone who had used
drugs.

Although they noted an increase in the use
of drugs, student leaders rated alcohol as more
of a problem than drugs: 36% called alcohol
"often" a problem while only 13% called drugs
"often" a problem.