University of Virginia Library

One To The Road

The University community acutely senses
the loss of one of its members when he loses
his life in the perpetuation of supposedly
harmless fun. Yet we cannot overlook the
gravity of the additional senseless death of an
uninvolved individual who just happened to
be in the path of an aloof and lightheaded
Wahoo taken to the open road.

The University's latest highway casualty
grieves the entire community; the slaughter of
an innocent Marylander traveling in the
opposite lane alarms us and affronts us as
well. The perils of modern transit loom
sufficiently ominous without further
compounding the dangers with alcohol and
late-night driving. Whether one is simply tired
or has quaffed just a little too much spiritus
frumenti, keeping a rapidly moving vehicle
under control on an unlit and bending road is
no simple task.

As long as women's colleges persist within
a reasonable radius of Charlottesville, of
course, the roll tradition will endure, with
six-packs and 4 a.m. returns, and 9 o'clock
class bells to look forward to the morning
after. Nevertheless, the spirit of conviviality
that characterizes the road trip and the
activities at its destination often pervades the
trip home and encourage daring feats and
stunts to prove the dominance of intellect
over machine. Unfortunately, a fatigued mind
often proves no match for the brawn of the
metal monster, a deficiency all too frequently
incarnated within a heap of twisted metal.
The consequent loss devolves upon the
reputation of the University as well as the
parents of its casualties.

Long before the advent of the roll, William
Butler Yeats advised the similarly timorous if
callous Irish revolutionary to "Cast a cold eye
upon life, upon death." With the roll as well
as the rhyme, one might do well to speak
solely for oneself. Reconciling oneself to
death is hard, but to do so in the interest of
shallow amusement is beyond reason.