University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

'Elitist', 'Tuned-In' And Outspoken

In Monday's Cavalier Daily
a colloquium appeared which
criticized the position taken by
Mssrs. White and Hurd
concerning the allocation of
Student Union Funds to the
GSU. Not only did this
editorial unjustifiably attack
the motives and character of
the above named individuals,
but it also distorted the issues
which are presently before the
students of this University.

Certain members of the
Student Council have evidently
deemed themselves sufficiently
"tuned-in" to student opinion
so that they feel competent to
make allocations of funds to a
group which is unquestionably
controversial, and which is also
considered by many students
as being morally degenerate
and repugnant.

Now that Mssrs. Hurd and
White have sought to make the
Student Council members who
approved the allocation to the
GSU account to their
electorate, the editorial staff
has seen fit to brand them as
"fairy godmothers" of student
"morals and justice."

In this age of responsive
democracy, it is difficult for
me to conceive of how one can
be classified as a guardian of
"morals and justice" when he
is merely seeking to make
those in elected office
accountable to their
constituency. On closer
scrutiny, the actual guardians
of student morals are those
Student Council members who
consider themselves capable of
making moral determinations
on behalf of the University as a
whole.

Nonetheless, certain
Cavalier Daily editorialists and
columnists have resorted to a
smear campaign in order to
discredit Mr. White's and Mr.
Hurd's efforts to bring this
matter before the students of
this University. In actuality, I
believe that an elitist group of
Cavalier Daily staff members
who believe themselves to be
spokesmen for a movement of
enlightened and progressive
liberalism are incensed by the
fact that any individual could
have the temerity to oppose
their views on homosexuality.

Opponents of Mr. White and
Mr. Hurd should abrogate their
name calling and harsh
invective, and let the students
of this University determine
how their money is to be
spent.

Overlook

Your editorial of Thursday,
Nov. 30, "Who Determines
Decency," regarding the
funding of the Gay Student
Union, while praiseworthy for
its libertarian emphasis on the
importance of individual
freedom, nevertheless
ultimately overlooks the
crucial point of the entire
issue, mandatory student fees.

You are quite proper in
implying that no one should
presume to legislate another's
moral values. (This is, indeed,
not to say that all values are
equal) And it is truly
unfortunate that the Gay
Student Union has to bear the
brunt of what properly
articulated is the general
student outrage over the
inequity of the mandatory fees
systems.

You castigate Bill Hurd for
his "anti-libertarian position"
but do not even attempt to