University of Virginia Library

'Western Tradition' Urged

proposals contained in the Interim
Report. The statement on page 1
impresses me as being somewhat
defensive, as if its authors were
fearful of a student reaction to
changes which the latter would feel
did not go far enough. "The
proposal is quite frankly a compromise
between an education dictated
by the faculty and one chosen
entirely by the students, but (my
italics) we have provided many new
options and opportunities for student
choice." Why was there ever
need for a compromise? Was either
one of the extreme positions ever
so ascendant that there was difficulty
in taking a firm stand between
them? Then again why do we need
to be apologetic when asking
students to take a program of study
"in accordance with the traditional
values of liberal education?" Yet
this sentence is also qualified by the
clause "but (my italics) within
those broad areas the choice of
courses is open..." The program in
the liberal arts is eminently defensible
and there is really no need to
sugar-coat what is of at all a
disagreeable pill to swallow. The
last sentences in the second paragraph
on page 1 are "Our faith
finally is with our students. Given
the opportunity to choose, we
believe they will choose wisely."
But this is an illogical inference.
Our faith assuredly is with our
students, otherwise the university
would cease to exist as a teaching
institution. It does not follow,
however, that "given the choice
they will choose wisely." To do this
they need guidance, especially in
the first two years (which is a
reason against allowing an early
choice of the major program).
Guidance in their efforts to settle
into academic life at the university
level and guidance in regard to the
courses they should take. I suspect
that a reason for the feeling of
frustration on the part of many
students today is due to the
impression they have that they are
simply items on the academic
conveyor belt who after four years
of routine assembly and inspection
will be deposited as marketable
products labelled B.A., B.S. or
whatever. To achieve an effective
level of guidance small classes are
needed, as well as extra-curricular
contacts. In line with the suggestion
made in the Interim Report in
paragraph 2 on page 2, this may be
the time for the faculty to raise its
voice in protest against increased
enrollments with the attendant
difficulties of larger classes and
reduced contact between teacher
and pupil. Beginning students, except
in rare instances, cannot be
expected to choose wisely and it
does them no discredit to say so.
We, the faculty, cannot make our
job easier by believing that they
will. Whether we have faith in them
or not has nothing to do with it.
Students have not yet had enough
experience and often the tendency
is to choose on the basis of what is
"interesting" or "relevant." But
these terms, like "chastity," reflect
a state of mind, not the substance
of a course. The university is not a
democratic organization in which
each member has one vote. Nor is it
a microcosm of society at large;
has functions and purposes which
set it apart from the ordinary
democratic process. This is particularly
true in regard to decisions
made on admissions. As the Oxford
University report, published under
the chairmanship of Professor
H.L.A. Hart, recently declared,
final authority in such matters must
rest with those who are best
qualified by virtue of their training,
knowledge and experience. Students
come to the university to
learn what the professors have to
teach and although in optimum
circumstances students teach as
well as learn and professors learn as
they teach, the faculty would
abdicate its position if it accepted
the idea that is was on the same
level of wisdom as its students.
Both groups are travelling the same
road, but they have started at
different places.

To summarize, I would suggest a
further revision of the college
curriculum so that:

1) the student is thoroughly
grounded in the western tradition,
with strong emphasis on man's
historical development;

2) the student takes an ancient
or modern foreign language AND
studies a foreign literature;

3) he takes at least two years of
study in English;

4) he chooses further work from
subjects in the natural sciences and
the arts;

5) the proposal for a pass-fail
option be dropped;

6) no courses in ROTC,
NROIC, or AROTC be counted for
credit;

7) the faculty maintain control
of the curriculum for the benefit of
its students.

Mr. Crosby is an Associate Professor
in the History Department.