University of Virginia Library

Experimental University Seeks Catalyst

By ERIC SCHLESS

Tuesday, October 17 at
8:30 p.m., the orgy at 120
Chancellor Street will stop.
Behind the unassuming walls at
that address lies the
Experimental. University, and
at that time there will be an
organizational meeting to
decide the future of the
organization.

As Bob Walker, seasoned
veteran of the Experimental
University and one of the
house's resident skeptics, said,
"For this year, either it
happens, or it never happens
again." Translated, that means
that the Experimental
University is in very serious
danger of dying out
completely.

Apolitical

The Experimental
University was started in the
fall of 1969, and was fashioned
after the one at Chapel Hill.
From the outset, those who
organized it sought to be as
apolitical as possible, though
its very name did tend to
attract the more radical type.
As John Keogh, a fourth year
psychology major who was
among the founders, said,
"Prior to the Experimental
University, the University
curriculum was somewhat
limited, and then all sorts of
political things started
happening."

According to Mr. Keogh,
there was then a definite need
for something like the
Experimental University since
the College did not offer any
courses on such writers as
Hesse and Mann. Now,
however, the College has
somewhat updated its course
offering. The restlessness of
1969 and 1970 has given way
to a tremendous amount of
apathy, so the experimental
university must try to revitalize
itself.

Manual Activity

Peggy Herring and Julia
Ervin have taken on this rather
awesome task, and hope to
make the Experimental

University a supplement to the
University. "Both of us are
new to the Experimental
University this year," said
Peggy, but many of their
friends have been involved in it
previously.

More and more, the
emphasis has been on manual
activity because the
University's broadening of the
curriculum has alleviated the
need for such things as liberal
arts courses. This year, the
Experimental University plans
to offer a wide variety of
courses such as sewing,
back-packing, and French.

The amount of structure in
each class will depend greatly
on the teacher and the class,
though the Experimental
University does try as much as
possible to break down the
traditional structure of a class
where the teacher is
unquestionably the authority
figure. Instead, Peggy and Julia
are trying to create an
atmosphere where there is no
teacher and where the learning
experience will be a sharing
process.

The "faculty" of the
Experimental University is
comprised of anyone who
wants go give a course. In the
past, there have been students
and professors from U.Va., as
well as members of the
Charlottesville community.

Initiative

Because the Experimental
University has been so
diversified, the curriculum has
never been extremely stable.
The creation of new courses is
undoubtedly one of the most
important aspects of this
unique organization, but it is
because of its reliance on
membership initiative that the
experimental university is in
danger of fading away.
Recently, there has been very
little motivation on the part of
University students to get
involved in such things as the
Experimental University, even
though it is potentially one of
the most creative
organizations.

Its aims were perhaps best
summed up in its February,
1972, catalogue:

The E.U. is a group of
students interested in
helping people with
common interests to get
together. We provide
publicity, meeting rooms,
and general information. We
need you to provide the
rest–creativity and
enthusiasm. We require no
set structure. Your course
can meet for a single day or
for several months. You can
teach a class, organize a
project, or plan a trip.

Along with student-run
classes, we'd like to hear,
too, from other residents of
the Charlottesville
community. We're sure that
everyone has something to
offer and something to
learn.

Should Be Revitslized

If this statement leaves any
doubt in the minds of some,
then these trepidations should
certainly be dispelled by the
catalogue's course offering,
although the people at the
Experimental University
consider to be rather weak.
There is everything from
"Carpentry for Women" to
"The Nature of Ritual" to "A
Volkswagen Course!!!"

In short, the Experimental
University is an important,
creative part of the University
which should be revitalized if
only to compensate for certain
gaps in the scholastic
curriculum, and to stop the
120 Chancellor Street orgy,
because they're getting mighty
exhausted.