The Cavalier daily. :: Wednesday, March 5, 1969 :: University of Virginia Library

President Edgar F. Shannon yesterday rejected the Student
Coalition's invitation to debate and discuss the issues embodied in
the group's 11 proposals to the University administration.

In a letter to Robert Rosen, a founder of the Coalition of
student leaders, Mr. Shannon said he did not feel it would be
"appropriate" to meet in open confrontation with the group at
this time.

A spokesman for the Coalition reported that the group's first
action following Mr. Shannon's reply will be to re-introduce the
invitation to debate and discussion to the Student Council, with
the hope that it will be renewed.

"If President Shannon or one of his representatives still refuses
to show up," the spokesman continued, "We would take it as an
indication of bad faith on the part of the administration regarding
such issues of concern to the entire University."

The letter received yesterday by Mr. Rosen reads as follows:

"I wish to acknowledge your invitation of yesterday (March 3)
inviting me and/or members of the administration to discuss with
the Student Coalition the proposals, forwarded to me by Student
Council, at Cabell Hall on Thursday
evening.

"Since the Student Council is, I
understand, considering my letter
of February 25 to President
Hickman and I am awaiting further
information and advice from
Student Council, I do not think
that public debate with the Student
Coalition is appropriate at this
time."

"Cut Off"

Mr. Rosen commented that he
felt the administration has, through
Mr. Shannon's reply, "cut itself off
from the students."

"We are very disappointed that
Mr. Shannon does not feel it
necessary to deal with the Coalition
on a face-to-face basis," Mr. Rosen
continued. "He has shown that he
is unwilling to deal with
unhappiness."

The Coalition's invitation to
Shannon to a debate and discussion
round was prompted by the
president's lengthy reply of last
week to the student group's original
11 proposals, a response which the
Coalition generally considered
unsatisfactory.

"Persistent Pressure"

The debate and discussion,
together with yesterday's rally at
the Rotunda, are part of the
Coalition's attempt to maintain a
"persistent pressure" on the
University administration, an
approach which the group has
threatened to follow throughout
the Sesquicentennial Year, if
necessary, to achieve its ends.

Pieter Schenkkan described Mr.
Shannon's latest reply as
"disappointing, but not surprising."

Ron Cass, a member of both the
Student Council and the Coalition
called the letter to Mr. Rosen "a
failure in the will to understand."

Always Appropriate

"I feel that, on issues such as
these which are of concern to the
University community as a whole,
debate and discussion are
appropriate at any time," Mr. Cass
continued. "And I think it
especially important that the
president do everything within his
powers to make known his precise
stand on all issues of concern to the
students and the details of his
reasoning."

"Mr. Shannon's letter stated a
basic agreement with the goals of
the Coalition, while in fact
disagreeing in substance with the
demands," he concluded.

Other members of the Student
Coalition were not available for
comment on the latest development
in the controversy, which has now
dominated University affairs for
more than two weeks.