University of Virginia Library

Save The Weekly

One hears a great deal of conversation
these days about the rise of political
repression in America. Such talk, as a general
rule, tends to be posed in terms so abstract as
to render it meaningless. If patterns exist,
they become instructive only as a means of
relating and analyzing the small instances, the
day-to-day and seemingly undramatic stuff of
which society's fabric is made.

Repression in America - thus far - is not
the work of monolithic mechanisms. If,
indeed, we are fully able to identify signs of
institutional racism or systematic trampling of
basic rights, we must at the same time
recognize that what is called political
repression often emerges from the best of
intentions twisted into misthought acts of
"correction." Such was the case last week
when Student Council's Committee on
Organizations and Publications voted to
recommend that the Student Activities
Committee deny funds to The Virginia
Weekly.

After four years of financing the Weekly's
press costs, a sudden reversal by the SAC
would constitute a clear threat to freedom of
expression in the community. That the
Weekly's content has been markedly political
is undeniable. The same holds true for this
newspaper, The Virginia Law Weekly, the
Law Review, and several other sporadic
publications which have appeared recently at
some small expense to students.

In making their decision, members of O&P
doubtless had in mind a resolution by the
Board of Visitors last year to the effect that
"propagandizing" groups may not be
considered eligible for funding under the
SAC's fiscal structure. But propaganda, like
original sin, is a poor standard by which to
judge, not easily objectionable. One man's
propaganda is another man's creed, thus
making such a proviso highly ambiguous. It
invites exactly the kind of selective retaliation
to which the Weekly has fallen victim.

There are other arguments. It has been
noted that the Weekly staff has failed to heed
Student Council's entreaties that they seek to
subsidize a larger part of their expenses with
advertising revenue. Too, the paper's
publishing schedule has dropped behind
previous standards with only about one issue
having appeared every three weeks this
academic year.

But the central concern is with the nature
of the Weekly's journalistic methods: like the
Village Voice and the Los Angeles Free Press,
the Weekly has made itself known as a paper
which adheres to a personalized perspective in
news reporting. For this reason, mainly, it is
in danger of being shut down. Reporters from
the Weekly have ventured into
Charlottesville's courts; they have explored
the state of labor relations in central Virginia
They have shown a tenacious willingness to
push for facts which might otherwise escape
the notice of a community that is very often
inclined to deny such phenomena as police
brutality, inhuman working conditions, and
the abrogation of rights.

The Virginia Weekly, in short, has stepped
on some sensitive toes. It now appears that
many, including O&P, view this as sufficient
reason for denying the Weekly its right to
publish. We think the contrary; it is the chief
attribute of a newspaper deserving of support.
The threat is clear. Make your views known to
Council tonight when it meets to consider
appears on O&P's unfortunate ruling. Keep
the presses free.