University of Virginia Library

Student Council Alters Passive Role
As Times Demand New Leadership

By Barry Levine
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Student government at the University,
like the University itself, is in a state of
transition.

Traditionally, the Student Council has
been the governing body of the students,
but practically it has often been little
more than an elected liaison between the
students and the administration. In the
past few years, the Council has begun to
assert itself as a directing influence for
the students, but in some cases, as in past
spring's strike, it found itself lamely
following the students.

"Action is the new theme," says Kevin
Mannix, who was elected Council
President last semester. "We have to do
something, and if we can be effective it may
show that the administration is not doing the
job it should."

Election Change

Last year the Council began to assert itself.
Just a few years ago only fourth-year men
were allowed to run for the coveted position of
being a representative, and only last year was
the opportunity opened to all students. Coming
from such elite representation and the shadows
of an overly-protective administration, the
Council began to take independent action and
became something of a gadfly to more sedate
groups.

Several in the current administration say
that the real change began when Arthur "Bud"
Ogle became president at the beginning of last
year. He was elected by other members of the
Council, as was his successor, James Roebuck,
the first black student to be elected to the
presidency in a school that has had to fight its
"white gentlemen's" image. Mr. Mannix was
the first to be elected under the new
constitution, which provides for a student-wide
election of the president and vice-president of
the Council.

Main Difference

Mr. Ogle's administration certainly did not
restrict itself to areas that previous
administrations had reserved for themselves,
and this was probably the main feature that
marked its departure from the traditional role
of the Council. Black enrollment and studies,
facilitation of coeducation, and the status of
the Council itself became areas that were given
primary consideration.

At one point, the Council rejected a
long-awaited invitation to address the Board of
Visitors meeting when administration officials
appeared reluctant to give some information to
Mr. Ogle concerning the format and agenda of
the meeting. The issue of the invitation was
resolved when a councilman made a telephone
call to settle the dispute.

However, the issue of the administration and
the Board is not resolved, and may well be a
focal point of tension this year. The Council
refused to apologize for the mix-up, a move
that some observers saw as a manifestation of

Student Body President Kevin Mannix