University of Virginia Library

What About The Students?

Last May students went on "strike" here
and elsewhere in the nation when President
Nixon sent American troops into Cambodia.
There were other issues to these "strikes" —
the very real problems of the minorities,
doubts about whether or not certain
Americans with unpopular views could get a
fair trial in this country, the draft, to name
just a few — but the real issue was the war.
Yesterday millions of Americans went to the
polls for the first time since the Cambodian
invasion. But the war, for some strange
reason, was not an issue. Permissiveness,
drugs, crime, campus unrest, the recession
were the issues, and the level of debate which
accompanied them was simplistic at best,
touching on the symptoms, rather than the
more complicated reasons behind these
national problems.

With the exception of a few congressional
races the war was ignored as an issue. It
seemed at times as if it was too complicated
an issue to be discussed in this campaign.
President Nixon, and a sizeable portion of his
opposition, insists there is no issue in the war,
since it is being ended as rapidly as is possible.
Never mind that each week one hears of a
friend or of a friend of a friend perhaps who
has died or been seriously injured in the
Vietnam war. One can only sigh because the
major disruptions of last May had no effect
on the conduct of the war. They merely
provided material for the more than abundant
rhetoric which was the major result of this,
the first campaign, of the seventies. So, a few
lamentations now can't be expected to hasten
the end of a war which has been going on for
nearly ten years. It takes time to end a war.

The draft, which students fear and hate,
wasn't much of an issue either. After all, there
is a draft lottery system now which
individuals with high numbers seem pleased
with. And serious study is being given to the
possibility of a volunteer army. One must
understand that studies of this sort take time.

There was a lot of talk last spring about
students taking a week or two off from classes
to campaign for their candidates. But the
"Princeton Plan" was not implemented by
many schools. And rather than risk flunking
out by staying away from classes too long
(and getting thrown into the draft pool as a
result) students showed that self-preservation
is a basic instinct and only did some marginal
campaigning. Also, it turned out that a lot of
politicians didn't want too many students
working for them. Students aren't all that
popular these days and they don't have much
money either. A corporation is a much better
friend to have than a student if you are
running for office. It works both ways,
incidentally. A lot of students who were
thinking of campaigning took a look around
and couldn't find a man they wanted to help.

Few students are old enough to vote.
Surprisingly, many of those who have reached
their majority refused to exercise their
privilege. We think this is because there are
few men worth voting for these days. In a
choice between the lesser of two evils many
students simply chose to abstain. Men like the
Kennedy brothers and Eugene McCarthy were
once able to talk about the future and inspire
young people. But during this campaign
politicians are referring to the past, not the
future, to the riots, students disorders, and
the events of the sixties. Students have
become cynical. One result of this is apathy.
Another is a frustration which drives some to
violence. But most students realize that the
events of last May and the subsequent
violence had no positive effect on the national
scene, except for the issuance of a report
which was vilified by the Administration that
commissioned it, ignored by Congress, and
swiftly consigned to oblivion.

We think students are not the only people
concerned about the direction of this
country. The nation needs some leadership
but the offerings of this campaign have been
little more than some rather bizarre rhetoric.

There were winners yesterday but no real
victories. The paucity of our national dialogue
has never been so apparent and the election
rhetoric made obvious the deep divisions in
the country.

We worry that there is no relief in sight. It
is apparent that on the national scene
politicians have not the courage to try and
unify the country or make concessions to
those with which they disagree. At this point
the damage does not seem irreparable. But we
wonder how much more divisiveness the
students and the nation can endure before the
whole country explodes.