University of Virginia Library

'Making Fools Of Themselves'

Council Denies Williams' Censure

Councilman Walker Chandler
presented a motion at Tuesday
night's meeting of the Student
Council meeting that the Council
"censure Dean Williams for his
letter dated Summer, 1968"
concerning the use of drugs.

Mr. Chandler called the letter "a
rather puerile and blatant attempt
to intimidate the students." He said
the letter was full of ambiguities and
generalities. "I think we ought to
do something to keep the
administration from making a fool
of itself every summer," he said.

Joe Fioravanti argued against
the motion, saying, "Dean Williams
is directly or indirectly an
employee of the state, which is one
of the 50 states in the Union which
have laws against the possession and
use of certain drugs. He is perfectly
within his right to warn students
about drugs."

Jackson Lears said that "it is
perfectly within our right to
register our disapproval of the letter
with this motion."

Schenkkan Opposed

Pieter Schenkkan spoke against
the motion, although he agreed that
there were certain ambiguities in it.
He said "we have to watch out not
to make fools of ourselves in the
same way Mr. Chandler suggests the
administration does every
summer."

The motion was defeated, with
only two votes cast for its passage.
Charles Murdock, who voted for
the motion, attempted to
reintroduce a resolution similar to
the one defeated and was ruled out
of order by Rick Evans.

Reads Letter

Mr. Chandler then read the
letter, which was addressed to "The
Students of the University of
Virginia." It reads as follows, "To
prevent any misunderstanding
concerning the use of
hallucinogenic drugs by students of
the University of Virginia, I am
writing you the following
information."

"The use of hallucinogenic
drugs, including marijuana is often
followed by serious mental
reactions that in some cases may be
severe, prolonged, and in the case
of the synthetic agents, even
permanent."

"Impairment of judgment,
achievement, and the ability to
compete in an academic setting are
common and predictable effects.
Moreover, possession and use of
narcotics are illegal, penalties under
Federal and State law are severe,
and the resulting loss of civil rights
and potential damage to a
professional career are great."

Condone Drugs

"The University cannot and
does not condone the illegal use,
manufacture, or sale of drugs by
students, and expects University
students to have the intelligence
and sense of responsibility to
refrain from actions which may be
damaging to themselves, to others,
or to the University, or which are
contrary to the law regardless of
whether or not the student agrees
with the law."

"Students at the University of
Virginia using or otherwise involved
with drugs, may be subject to
suspension or may be given the
opportunity to withdraw." The
letter was signed by D. Alan
Williams, Dean of Student Affairs.

It was decided, however, to
invite Dean Williams to the next
Student Council meeting to answer
questions on the University's policy
on drugs.

Bail Fund

Gordon Calvert then proposed
that the Council look into the
establishment of a bail fund
"similar to Yale University's." He
said it used to be that University
students would be released from jail
on their word of honor but that
now, because of civil disturbances
in Charlottesville, some of its
citizens are demanding that all
persons arrested be treated equally
and students are now required to
furnish bail. He said that a fund of
about $1,000 would be needed. He
said he would investigate it and
report back next week. Mr.
Chandler then presented another
motion asking that the 24 hour
advanced notice required before
student demonstrations be
decreased to only one hour
advanced notice.

He said that he thought 24
hours was too long and also that he
wanted to let the students,
especially the first-year men, know
by his motion that "it is not
President Shannon who sets the
rule on demonstrations but the
Student Council." He was referring
to President Shannon's letter on
demonstrations that was printed in
The Cavalier Daily last spring.

Demonstration Protection

Gordon Calvert said he that the
students could be informed as to
who sets the rules through letters
and he didn't think a motion was
required to do it. He also said that
24 hours notice was needed to "get
the proper protection for the
demonstrators."

The motion failed to get a
majority.

A motion by Ron Hickman that
"no recognized group may sponsor
a meeting of a student group that is
not recognized. An unrecognized
group may hold a meeting by
contacting the Vice-President of the
Student Council who will arrange a
place of meeting," passed
unanimously.