University of Virginia Library

Madison Hall
Offers Variety

Challenging may not be
quite the right word to describe
life at the University,
but it is certainly close. As
entering first year men and
women will soon learn and as
most upperclassmen know, the
opportunities offered here are
almost unlimited in all fields,
and the programs of Madison
Hall constitute a major part of
them.

Since its founding 114 years
ago as the nation's oldest collegiate
Christian association,
the University's YMCA has
continually shifted its programs
and aims in order to
meet the needs of the University
community.

At one time Madison Hall
formed the center for such
typical YMCA activities as
tennis and swimming. Those
days are forgotten now, however,
as the University has
taken over these functions and
Madison Hall has directed its
efforts towards what is hoped
to be more meaningful endeavors.

Community Service

Last year Madison Hall was designated
as the University's Office of
Volunteer Community Service the
direction of Junius C. McElveen,
president, and George R. Grange. It
is within this program that most of
the work at Madison Hall is done.

The primary purpose of the
Community Service program is to
coordinate the activities of students
interested in giving some of their
time in service to the community.
At present there are four major
projects within the Community Service
program. The largest project in
terms of regular volunteer workers
is the tutoring and teacher assistant
program.

During the last year some 150
students were involved in tutoring
local high and junior high school in
the Charlottesville area.

Big Brother, Sister

One will also find within the
Madison Hall conglomerate the
University chapter of the Big
Brother and Big Sister Programs.
While this program is affiliated with
a local Charlottesville chapter it has
been separately established. Primarily
work has been done with
children aged seven to seventeen
who were recommended by the
welfare department or school board
because they either have only one
parent or they possibly come from
too large a family. This year work
will also be done in coordination
with the local Trinity House program
and the parole office.

During the summer careful
studies were made of each of the
programs in order to assess their
value and effectiveness. The results
are being used to improve and
enlarge the service program generally.
One of the biggest problems
has been to match students with
some particular talent or interest
with a community need. This
problem should be alleviated, however,
as a result of the work done
this summer and the initiation of a
Supporting Congregations Program.

Along with the Office of
Volunteer Community Service,
Madison Hall also offers a Student
Legal Aid and Lawyer Referral Service.
Since this service is performed
by law students they can not
actually practice law but may assist
in such things as explaining leases
and traffic flotations and in referring
students to regular
attorneys. No fee is charged for
these services.

Also as a service for the students,
Madison Hall includes an Administrative
Assistance Program. This is
an outgrowth of the Legal Aid
Service, and its purpose is to offer
students advice and counselling in
matters involving administrative
and student groups within the University
such as the Honor
Committee, Dean of Student
Affairs, or Security.

No Book Exchange

Contrary to popular belief, the
student book exchange has not
been continued this year. This service
has been replaced by "The
Fish," a Christian card shop
offering students some choice other
than the contemporary cards found
in most stores.