University of Virginia Library

Unanswered Questions
For Birdwood Tract

Some one must decide first
how many people are to live
there. For the residential
system to be successful the
committee felt there should be
no more than 3,000 persons.
Yet in terms of University
expansion a means of
accommodating some 6,000
students must be found. This
conflict of interest leads to the
danger of residential colleges as
the solution. If the University
were to see at some future time
more merit in increasing the
population at Birdwood than
maintaining the valuable
experience that is hopefully
gained through residential
colleges, then it is perhaps
futile to build on this tract in
the first place.

Who?

Assuming that a number has
been decided on, it is necessary
to ask who shall constitute this
figure. Shall faculty members
reside there? Shall certain
students be excluded because
they do not have access to all
of the facilities they require?
Need the first year student be
confronted with the question
of whether he will attend the
University of Virginia or the
University of Virginia at
Birdwood? What factors will
lead to stagnancy or
transiency in the plan? These
are just a few of the questions
which should be asked about
who's "in" at Birdwood.

Unity Preferred

The questions of
transportation and facilities
naturally arise, and once again
the committee viewed them
with the perspective that a
unified atmosphere is to be
preferred. The conclusions in
these and other areas are
intended to invite thoughtful
consideration of both
psychological and practical
aspects of Birdwood's
development.

Weighing all of the factors
and coming up with some
complete alternatives is a
formidable task, but one which
must be done by the members
of the Future of the University
Committee.