University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Housing Assignments 'Critical'

As one of the handful o
people who spent the entire
1972-73 school year in a
"temporary" triple, I somehow
find the questions of funding
and politics irrelevant to the
issue of first year admissions
and housing.

I realize that without
funding and the support of the
legislature there would be no
University. But I also realize
that the purpose for which one
attends the University,
education, is ill-served by
over-crowding in the first year
dorms.

The situation was partially
excusable last year. There was
no way that the
over-acceptance by women
could have been foreseen. There
is no excuse for consciously
offering admission to more
students when adequate
housing is unavailable. A triple
is not adequate housing.

The problems of first year
can be many. The added
"discomforts", to put it very
mildly, are unnecessary. Living
in a double room with two
other people is difficult
enough. To attempt to study
under these circumstances is
futile.

When I was offered a triple
assignment in the upperclass
dorms for next year, I was
amazed and disgusted. It
should be clear with this new
announcement of triples in the
first year dorms again, that the
housing situation is critical.

Answers can be found. I
have no doubt that if Senator
Stone, President Shannon, and
Mr. Ern had to spend nine
months together in a triple the
answers would be found
promptly.

I would like to think that
Mr. Bill Elwood was misquoted
in your article concerning the
Transition Program. If the
statements were correct, I, for
one, was insulted, being a
Transition student last
summer, and also being the
fourth college educated in my
family.

As for my "non-bookish"
culture, I read "Playboy" and
The Adventures of Don
Quixote just like everyone else.
I do regret, however, that I had
never before reached such a
preferred reading list as The
Magic Christian, Understanding
Physics, and Malcolm X, as set
forth by the program.

Looking over some of the
wrong statistics in the article,
I'd like to say that I sincerely
appreciated Mr. Elwood and
his "adventurous program."
It's a pretty good program–I
would even recommend it to
the "obvious winners."