University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

'Harsh Invective And Absurd'

I am writing in commentary
on two letters contained in the
Cavalier Daily, the first (Dec.
4) by Christian White and the
second (Dec. 6). by B. J.
Trichilo, White's fears of
limited out-of-state enrollment
because of Student Council's
funding of the GSU reveal a
flight of imagination befitting a
fairy godmother, and it is
delectable that his letter should
be contained on the same page
as the Towe godmother spoof,
Though one may condemn
White's broadcasting of a
personal encounter with Towe
(Umbrella poining, et al.) as
overdone and poorly done, his
letter certainly proves one
thing; Towe is certainly the
literate of the two.

And, please, Mr. White, it
seems that the barrier between
you and Mr. Towe is an
ideological one, not a
phantasm caused by an
editorial in a school newspaper.

Mr. Trfchilo's letter is
absurd. If he thinks that
Towe's column was "harsh
invective" he has no sense of
humor. What does the man
mean when he insists that the
opponents of Messrs. White
and Hurd should "abrogate
name calling" and let the
"students of this University
determine how their money is
to be spent?" It seems to me
that a majority of elected
officials voted for the 45
allocation. Have not the
students determined through
their chosen delegates? Mr.
Trichilo, you wander.

Race Track

When automobile traffic on
Duke of Gloucester Street in
Williamsburg became too heavy
they closed the street to motor
vehicles making it safe and
enjoyable for pedestrians. Now
automobiles must by-pass the
area and go to a parking lot
from which it passengers can
walk to the exhibit buildings or
take a shuttle bus. In
Charlottesville automobile
traffic has become too heavy
and too slow on Main Street.
Let's follow Williamsburg's
good example–instead of
tearing down part of "the
Corner" and the University to
make a four lane race track out of
this delightful area.

Slave Sale

It's really amazing to me
that at a time when we are
being made increasingly aware
of the social, political, and
economic inequities between
men and women that the
School of Nursing could do
something as asinine as
sponsor a "Slave Sale" to raise
funds for their annual spring
party.

Undoubtedly the whole gala
affair will be handled with just
the right amount of light
humor and good taste, but the
very idea of auctioning off
services for cleaning, cooking,
baby-sitting and "other
legitimate services" can only
serve to perpetuate the sexist
stereotypes that are finally
beginning to break down.

Refreshing

In an age when the use of
disposables is becoming
increasingly common, it is
refreshing to find people who
care enough to take the
opposite, more sensible
direction. The case in point is
the recent change by contract
from paper cups to glasses.
Many thanks and sincere
appreciation to Mr. Fontana
and the Food Services Division.
Let us hope that their concern
finds its way into the other
outlets, such as the Grille and
the Glass Hat.

B-Ball Blues

While recognizing the strain
placed on facilities due to
overcrowding, we still feel that
the irresponsible treatment
exhibited by the intramural
office towards our intramural
team was inexcusable. It is a
sad commentary on the
problems caused by expansion
when students wishing to
participate in intramurals
cannot because, "there are too
many teams."

After applying under the
extended deadline for
independent B basketball, we
made the assumption that we
were legitimately registered
having received no information
to the contrary. When we went
down to play what we believed
to be our first game, we
discovered that our team was
not on the schedule or the
master list. A call to the
intramural office answered our
questions. The teams entered
under the extended deadline
were dropped because, "there
were too many teams." These
teams were dropped without a
single word of explanation. We
feel that having extended the
deadline, the intramural office
assumed the responsibility of
accommodating those students
whom they deprived of
playing.

We are upset not only at not
being able to compete but also
about over-expansion of which
this is but a small example. The
lack of consideration and
responsibility on the part of
the intramural office is
inexcusable especially when
one takes note of the purpose
of intramurals as stated in the
intramural Handbook, "to
offer every student an
opportunity to engage in sports
or some sort of recreation."