University of Virginia Library

Kevin Mannix

Ice Skating On Sea Of Apathy

The plan outlined by Mr.
Joseph McConnell, Rector of
the Board of Visitors, for
student "participation" in the
selection of a new University
President is a disaster.

The process he suggested
called for Student Council to
run an election in each of the
ten schools of the University to
elect ten students to a Student
Committee.

The Student Committee, in
turn, would pass on any
recommendations it has to a
Faculty Committee, which
would include those
recommendations in its report
to a Board of Visitors
Committee, which in turn
would report its
recommendations to the Board
of Visitors.

How's that for indirect
representation?

The sad part of all this is
that our student leaders.
Student Council President Jim
Rinaca and Vice-President
Larry Sabato, originally were
inclined to accept such an
absurd set-up. Now, with
student concern mounting,
they're having second
thoughts.

The basis to all this is the
historical division between the
Student Council and the Board
of Visitors regarding direct
student input into Board
decisions. The Student
Council's officers have recently
taken a happy-go-lucky attitude
towards student input, and
they may find that the progress
made over the years has
dissolved in the sea of their
unconcern.

The Student Council would
be well-advised to notify that
they are the elected
representatives of students, and
that no special election is
necessary. It should then
appoint a broad-based "blue
ribbon" committee of students
to study the question of
Shannon's successor and
request that the Board
committee meet with those
students.

In addition, Council should
assert that consultation should
occur at all stages of the
selection process, not just
during the establishment of
preliminary concepts regarding
the man – or woman – who
should be appointed.

In order to achieve full
consultation rights, the student
members would have to agree
to a certain amount of secrecy
which is necessary to avoid
embarrassments regarding
personnel appointments.

Thus, a
once-in-fifteen-years
opportunity now faces the
Student Council: the
opportunity to affect the
quality and type of leadership
for the University in years to
come.

If Council waits for the
Board to initiate ideas for
student participation which is
at all effective, it might as well
wrap up and wait until hell
freezes over. Mr. Rinaca's
confidence in the Board's
eagerness to hear student
opinion is not borne out by
history. It took demonstrations
just to get Board members to
meet with the President and
Vice-President of Student
Council.

Finally, the Council should
press the Board of Visitors to
hold public hearings on the
matter of Shannon's successor.
The Board is, after all, a public
agency carrying out the
public's business. It should be
asked to act like one.