As you know, the faculty and
student members of the Committee
on the Arboretum sent to you on
October 14th, when I was absent
from the University, a letter
acknowledging the right of students
to protest, but urging that the
planned demonstration for Monday
night and Tuesday be transferred
from the Lawn to Lambeth Field.
Mad Bowl, the Dell, or some other
convenient and accessible place.
I write to confirm what I have
already told you, that I concur in
and strongly support the request of
the Arboretum Committee. The
tranquility and beauty of the
Lawn, and the intellectual spirit
and method that it has symbolized
for a century and a half, are
cherished not only by all elements
of the University family here at
Charlottesville, but by the Alumni
and by the public on whom the
University depends for support.
The activities that you have
planned will appear to many to be a
desecration, and could in fact cause
"irreparable damage" physically, as
prophesied by the Arboretum
Committee. This will not only
injure the University, but the cause
of higher education in Virginia.
I again urge you to hold these
activities elsewhere than on the
Lawn.
Edgar F. Shannon, Jr.
President
