University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Members Praise Student-Legislator Forum

As delegates to the first Virginia
Student-Legislator Open Forum
held in Richmond last weekend, we
want the entire University
Community to know of the success
of the forum in meeting its goals.
We were impressed with the ease
with which the students and
legislators present were able to
communicate with each other. We
found many Delegates and Senators
extremely open to suggestions and
comments. The foundation for
future communication which was
established should be considered
encouraging. The program reflected
an enormous amount of work and
leadership on the part of the
Steering Committee, of which our
own Alan Botsford was
Vice-Chairman, the executive
offices of the State, and the guest
speakers who represented many
different areas of interest. Indeed,
much credit for the high quality of
organization and leadership of the
Forum goes to Mr. Botsford and
every member of the University
community should be proud of his
contributions.

Although we were somewhat
disappointed that all of our
legislators did not attend, we feel
that a possible reason was the lack
of advance student appeals for
participation. In fact, while the
Forum should be repeated next
year, one of the things the
legislators emphasized is that
students should take a stronger
initiative in writing letters and in
visiting with them with researched
proposals especially between
sessions. This point cannot be
stressed too much. We found that,
contrary to mutual apprehensions,
students have quite a few accessible
friends in the General Assembly.
Those Assemblymen who did take
part deserve a great deal of credit
for subjecting themselves to the
sometimes intimidating presence of
a sizable cross section of the student
population of the Commonwealth.
To them we owe our thanks.

No Turkey

At this desperate juncture we
implore you to acquaint your
readership with THE APRIL
THESES Regarding Communal
Regeneration At The U.

1. 60% of the body politic does
not vote.

2. We are dying. The voting 40%
is killing .

3. The once-compact
"like-minded" organism has grown
bloated and disorganized. We teeter
above a spiritual grave of
self-contained, non-communicative,
sub-cultural pluralism. There are
reasons:

4. We were unique, dwelling
within Jefferson's tomb, the final
eroded fortress of the Age of
Reason. This is over, Long-suffering
circumstance finally contrives to
expose us to this mad century,
where alas, we belong.

5. We are not prepared. We have
become a crowd. Each of us has
access to only a few others. This is
painful.

6. We were designed, as a body
politic, by "the celebrated
Montesqieu."

Seeking truth, we doubt
ourselves profoundly. This is
important BECAUSE

7...as election day arrives,
"progress" "Tradition"
"sincerity" are words without
evidence, without meaning. We can
know only that we are being lied
to, which affords little solace.

8. The receding twilight of our
Enlightenment Ethos is hastened by
partisan smog. "Personality
Politics" gives rise to a gloomy
nihilism among those who are not
"personalities". One hears promises
but sees only cigar smoke.

9. The common issues of our
POLIS no longer interest us. We
don't know if there ARE any. Only
the political 40% pretends nothing
is wrong.

10. There is a solution, but it
requires great vision and audacity.

11. We must collectively believe
the UNREAL...a polis without
politics...and make it real in a single
action by the power of our 60%
and the force of our belief.

12. We do this by not
supporting factions, parties,
constitutions, or even nihilism.
These things kill. We, the majority,
must support only OURSELVES.

13. We must not deal in
ELECTION, but CREATION.

14. Together we must WRITE
IN a single word, symbolising a
pledge to turn the job of Student
Council President over to
EVERYONE who wants it, as a
'Committee of the Whole.'

15. The word is SPEEDY. That
is the name of a very righteous
hamster who has never violated his
honor.