University of Virginia Library

Colloquium

A-School 'Sick Of Watching'

By James Boniface

—ed.

In the spring of 1968 the School
of Architecture experienced a point
in time when the students of that
school refused to accept certain
inadequacies in the program of that
school - in their education. Problems
were different in the various
years and divisions of that school,
but all were expressed at several
school-wide meetings during one
week, and demands were made by
the students concerning curriculum,
faculty, and the expression of
student opinion in the policy-making
process of that school.

After this period of crisis had
passed, it was clear to everyone that
problems arose simply because
inadequate channels of communication
existed. The students at that
time rewrote the constitution of
the school to merge the Student
AIA and Architectural Council into
what they deemed a Design Council
- one that would contain representatives
from all architectural,
landscape architecture, planning
and architectural history classes.
This was done to strengthen the
student organization so that it
could localize energies to take care
of the students' increased role in
the administration of the school.

At the time of the threatened
boycott of classes and turmoil, the
students and faculty worked with
the dean to set up certain School
committees on which students and
faculty could work together. These
were and are:

• 1. Curriculum Committee -
  membership of the six department
  heads and three
  students. Voting is not an
  issue, since none are really
  taken.

• 2. Student-Faculty Relations
  Committee - membership of
  three students and three
  faculty who meet to discuss
  current school problems.

• 3. Library Committee - membership
  of two student, two
  faculty, and the librarian
  who meet to decide on
  library policies.

• 4. Lecturers Committee - membership
  of four faculty and
  two students who organize
  the year's lecture series.

• 5. Equipment Committee -
  membership of three faculty
  and two students who meet
  to decide policy for use of all
  equipment and of the photo
  lab.

• 6. Admissions - 3 students
  working with admissions
  staff.

There are only two committees
in the school that the students are
not on - for the simple reason that
there is no need for them. These are
the promotions Committee, and the
Catalogue Committee.

Students, participating in such a
great manner already, have not seen
any need for attending faculty
meetings. When the faculty met to
vote on the six-year curriculum
report of the committee, they
invited students to their meeting.

To get back to the Design
Council, it is made up of the
Presidents of all five years of
architecture, a planning representative
and a graduate planning representative.
Landscape Architects and
Historians will be placed on the
Council as soon as they chose their
representatives. The President of
the School presides over its meetings,
and the Vice-President, Secretary,
Treasurer, Student Council
Rep., and Judiciary Rep, as well as
any and all of the students of the
School are in attendance. This body
approves the president's faculty and
student recommendations to the
aforementioned committees. In my
experience this list of recommendations
was accepted fully by the
dean, not only for students, but
also as far as faculty appointments
went.

As president, I set up four
committees of the Design Council,
whose heads give bi-weekly reports
to the Council. These Committees
are:

• 1. The Academic Committee -
  made up of all students on
  the Curriculum, and Library
  Committees of the School.
  This Committee also conducts
  curriculum evaluation
  for the school.

• 2. The Professional Committee
  - made up of students on
  the lecturers Committee, its
  head is also responsible for
  the first-year orientation
  pamphlet and program as
  well as presiding over the
  publication of the Design
  Council's bi-monthly newspaper
  - Dialogue.

• 3. The Services Committee -
  The head of the S&S Shop
  heads this committee and
  looks after the progress of
  the shop as well as of the
  Equipment Committee.

• 4. The Environmental Action
  Committee - This committee
  is made up of the
  Vice-Presidents of all classes
  as well as of any one
  interested in working on
  community or University Involvement.
  This Committee
  is currently working on drafting
  of a Black Recruitment
  letter to explain the School
  of Architecture to the Black
  recruiter, as well as attempting
  to set up exchange
  programs with Hampton Institute
  and Howard Schools
  of Architecture. It is also
  setting up a display of
  University Architecture of
  the future to be shown at
  Miller & Rhoades, An Alumni
  Day, and used for general
  education of the University
  Community.

• 5. The Vice-President of the
  School coordinates all activities
  of the School concerning
  the AIA.

The object of this letter is to
show to this committee what has
occurred
across the street. The
students of the school of Architecture
are sick of watching the
Student Council act as a Council
for the College. It is intended to
show that the "Mainstream of this
community" is behind, student
governments capable of solving
school problems and that are ready
to move on to problems of priority
that face the University of Virginia
as a whole - as a body of students
and faculty working together to
make an improvement in the world.