University of Virginia Library

Collier Revamps
Council Structure

By HOLLY SMITH

Like the rest of the University,
Student Council is attempting to grow
larger by growing smaller. Tom Collier,
newly elected Council president, says that
perhaps last year's Council tried to
accomplish too much, and as a result,
actually made itself less effective than it
might have been.

"Quality over quantity will be the
guideline this year", according to Mr.
Collier, and to that end he has proposed a
revamping of the Council structure to trim the
bureaucratic sails.

Last year, under the direction of former
president Kevin Mannix, the Council tackled
such problems as student housing, racial
discrimination, busing, and especially the
question of the expansion of the University.

Under the proposed revised Council
structure, these same problems and related
issues will again be dealt with, but the new
organization will attempt to group similar
considerations into the same committee,
resulting in a total of four committees under
the headings of Growth, Equality, Athletic and
Academic Affairs, and Communication.

Whereas in the past Council members have
served on several committees simultaneously,
they will be concerned with one committee
alone this year if Mr. Collier's recommendations
are accepted. One Council member will chair
the committee; several Council members will
join with interested students to form the
membership of that committee. This way Mr.
Collier sees two purposes being fulfilled: "1) to
accomplish the special tasks assigned to it (the
committee) by Council and 2) not allow us to
lose sight of one of our priorities while we
become worried about something else."

Four Committees

These four proposed committees would
function semi-independently, almost making
four student councils within the larger body.
The change constitutes a shift from ten
committees to four distinct areas, hopefully,
according to Mr. Collier, cutting down on some
of the less active groups.

Another reason for attempting to reorganize
the Council is to incorporate the activities of

other organizations, such as the Union of
University Students and the University Union,
and consolidate their projects to cut down on
duplications. For example, the Housing
Committee, a body separate from the four main
committees, would be composed of a member
each from Student Council, First-Year Council,
Upperclass Council, First Year counselors,
Upperclass counselors, Graduate Dormitories,
and Married Student Housing. In this way, Mr.
Collier states, "communication and hopefully
cooperation& these areas between these
equally interested groups would be greatly
enhanced."

Mr. Collier feels that the most significant
accomplishment of last year's Council was to
examine and voice opposition to the proposed
enrollment increase from 10,000 to 18,000
students. The Council members conducted
extensive research on the growth question,
asking top administrators to a special Council
meeting so that the administrators could
explain their actions and opinions to the
students.

The outcome of the Council's actions was
the formation of the "Future of the
University" committee, a group made up of
students, administrators and faculty members
under the leadership of Provost David Shannon.

'Inevitable Growth'

In reference to that body Mr. Collier states:
"I want to work closely with the committee
this year. The Council will continue to fight the
proposed increase to 18,000, but at the same
time we realize that the question of growth
must be dealt with realistically; that some
growth will be inevitable. We would like to
work toward making the transitions as smooth
as possible."

The new 24-member Student Council,
including one black and three women members,
came to power through an election season filled
with surprises and upsets at every turn. Mr.
Collier himself ran as an independent, after
failing to be endorsed by the Virginia
Progressive Party.

The VPP voted to dissolve itself after last
spring's elections, stating that the organization
had accomplished what it set out to do, and its
members would merely be working to sustain
an institution if the party continued to
function. The Jefferson Party, badly wracked
by internal dissension, may not be able to
regroup its membership to the extent that it
will again be a powerful party.