University of Virginia Library

Council Seeks Black Involvement

Black students
encountering difficulties at the
University will find a
sympathetic ear in the Equal
Opportunity Counseling
Program according to Student
Council President Larry
Sabato.

The Equal Opportunity
program was started last
summer jointly by Equal
Opportunity Administrator
Paul Saunier and Student
Council to deal with problems
involving discrimination due to
sex, race, religion or national
origin.

Four students and four
faculty serve as EO counselors.
The students in the council are
fourth-year amn and Council
President Larry Sabato,
fourth-year ma Rod
Singleton, fourth-year man
Barbara Savage and fourth-year
man Patti Kyle. All inquiries to
the counselors are confidential.

The council was brought
about by the feeling that even
with the administration's hard
stand against any
discrimination, there needed to
be a structure whereby any
complaints could be
investigated and corrected.

"We want black students to
become an integral part in
student activities, Mr. Sabato
said, I was appalled to find
some student funded
organizations with no black
members."

Mr. Sabato said that the
lack of black students in some
organizations may be due to a
lack of advertising or recruiting
of members by the
organizations.

The Council hopes to
eliminate this problem by the
listing of all 135 student
organizations in an orientation
booklet, to be distributed in
late September.

Another disturbing trend to
Mr. Sabato is the decrease in
the percentage of entering
black students. This year there
was a percentage decrease in
black students in the first year
class enrollment... We've got
to push for increased black
admissions," said Mr. Sabato.

Commenting on the only
organization to have no white
students, but all black
students, the Black Student
Alliance, Mr. Sabato said, "I've
been upset that no white
students have joined BSA.
None have tried, and their
policy is to accept interested
students. I personally an
interested in joining and I
know of a number of other
students also willing to
oin."