University of Virginia Library

3000 Signatures Expected
On Co-Education Petition

By Thom Faulders

With more than 2,350 signatures
on their petitions as of yesterday
and a total expected of 3,000, the
Martin Luther King Chapter of the
Virginia Council on Human
Relations is continuing its drive for
coeducation at the University.

A referendum will appear on the
ballot for the Student Council
elections asking students to signify
whether or not they favor
coeducation by appropriately
marking the ballot. Also appearing
on the ballot will be a proposed
constitutional amendment
concerning the lowering of the
residency requirement allowing
first-year men to run for the
Student Council. A 60 per cent
turnout on the part of all
University students is needed to
pass the proposed amendment.

The group this week has posted
tables with representatives about
the Grounds with petitions
displayed for student signatures in
order to obtain student opinion on
the issue. Also found on many
upright surfaces, earlier in the
week, were posters backing the
effort. But, according to Ralph
Goldberg, "Even a poster that was
put on the ceiling of first floor
Cabell Hall was gone within a day.

Jim Miller, who is heading the
Human Relation Council's effort
for coeducation at the University,
also noted the loss of the posters
and indicated that they would be
available to all students for a 50 per
cent donation to the Martin Luther
King Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Widespread Support

Although there has been
widespread support for
coeducation, several student in the
medical school have expressed their
opposing opinions by taking the
table and the petitions down,
according to Mr. Goldberg, who
described himself as an "interested
member."

Mr. Goldberg also noted the
large amount of false names
appearing on the petitions. Names
such as Malcolm X, Betsy Ross,
Thomas Jefferson, and Cassius Clay
have been scrawled on the sheets.

Legal Issue

The Human Relations Council
feels that coeducation is a legal
issue as well as the obvious
advantages of the female point of
view in the classrooms. "The
Council," said Mr. Goldberg, "feels
that women have the legal right to
attend 'their' university." Mr.
Goldberg pointed to a recent report,
from the psychology department of
Princeton University noting that
the best students go to universities
and colleges with coeducation.

Mr. Goldberg added that the
Council agreed with other reasons
often heard such as the strain on
students and the distances that have
to be traveled to get a date.

He explained that many of the
Student Council candidates are
supporting coeducation and several
renowned educational institutions
are in the process of
coeducationalizing, most notable
are Yale, Vassar, and Sarah
Lawrence.