University of Virginia Library

Letters: Heretic Questioned On SDS Stance

I would like to make two points
concerning the Heretic's article on
SDS in Tuesday's Cavalier Daily.
First, the Heretic states that
"Dow is not even allowed to defend
itself-its spokesmen are prevented
from speaking, or at least being
heard." In the demonstration here
last semester against Dow, the demonstrators
repeatedly asked the
Dow officials to come out and
speak to them and explain their
company's point of view. The officials
refused to participate in an
open, reasonable, discussion and | inside the building.

Second, the Heretic, towards the
end of his diatribe, implies that
Dow should be allowed on the
Grounds in the interest of "free
speech." The business of Dow
Chemical Company is not "free
speech," it's making money, and it
continues to make money by recruiting
personnel on college campuses.
The University is under no
obligation to help Dow Chemical
Company make money. Furthermore,
even though Dow has a
point of view, and even though
students have a right to hear all
opinions concerning anything, the
University does not and should
not subscribe to all periodicals.
The only criterion for an organization is
its contribution to the educational
atmosphere of the University.

Since Dow's interests are
financial, not educational, it
should find someplace else to recruit
students. The use of University
facilities by other noneducational
corporations is a privilege,
not a right, and if these
corporations engage in morally
questionable enterprises the University
has a perfect right to ask
them to leave.

Faculty Get High

I feel you are exaggerating when
you claim the marijuana laws in
this country are outmoded. I agree
with the fact that marijuana is
not a physically addictive drug.
The question any form of psychological
addiction has not yet
been resolved.

Your concern for the attitude
of the faculty of the University
concerning marijuana is commendable.
You do not realize, or do
you, that the present penalties for
conviction of possession, intention
to sell, and use are extremely
severe-perhaps too severe. That
does not change the fact that you
are asking your faculty to assist
you in getting high.

I agree with your statement that
pot smoking does not appreciably
affect a given student's performance.
But why does any person
smoke pot? There are the usual
reasons given by parents and guidance
counselors alike. You are as
sick of them as I. Did you ever
think the over-30 generation may
be right? The only earthly thing
pot does is lift you from your
earthly problems: and only temporarily
at that. Why do college
students raise such a storm about
the draft, civil rights, and the War
when you can escape it all? Pot
has no medical use. I guess the
Food and Drug Administration
doesn't have to worry about the
solution to cancer, heart disease,
or any of the more important
problems confronting the world's
peoples.

I will hasten to add that if you
think marijuana selling is not
illegal, and organized, you are
mistaken. It does not matter what
the drug is-if it deprives the human
being of his sense of judgement,
it should be outlawed. The
claim that alcohol is as dangerous
as a drug like marijuana is not
entirely true. Alcohol, in any quantity
greater than half a shot of
whisky, is a depressant, not a
stimulant. Marijuana is an undefined
phenomenon and to ask your
faculty to act rashly would be a
mistake.

Ash Wednesday

"Dust thou art; to dust
returnest." Ash Wednesday symbolizes
for the many Christians
who observe Lent, the brevity of
life and the need to repent and to
better understand the meaning of
existence. The soul, unlike the
body, is spiritual, and Ash Wednesday
is one opportunity to do
penance for the sins of the body.

I hope the Christians who celebrate
this event, especially here in
the South, will notice that the
"dust" is one color, no separate
color for blacks and for whites;
and that the "spiritual soul" has
little likelihood of taking on the
tones and hues of racial bias. Perhaps
the penance this year can be
something more in keeping with the
purpose of penance. For those
Christians who have been silent in
their feelings for their black
brothers, let them come forward
and speak out; and for those who
have hated or ignored their black
brothers, let them reach out and
learn!

It would seem to me that the
spiritual and practical value of this
day for Christians shall be
measured by the real contrition
within the penitent soul. Not being
a Christian I can only make this
appeal as a fellow human being,
and hope that The Church, and
others celebrating Lent, will consider
this a reasonable request.

Name Withheld by Request

Clean Grounds

May I offer my congratulations
to the Inter-Fraternity Council and
to the individual fraternities who
cooperated in cleaning up after
Mid-winters? I drove along Rugby
Road at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb.
24, and the area around Gordon
and Grady Avenues was particularly
neat. I saw a student removing
trash and the day was cold! I am
so grateful to see that kind of
responsibility exhibited. Thank
you.

Let's all cooperate every day to
keep litter off our Grounds; the
fraternities have set us a splendid
example.

Pot Approach

Am much in accord with your
Cavalier approach to pot. Alter
reading "Smoking More" in your
February 20 issue: (especially the
last paragraph where you "...hope,
then that the University will react
calmly and rationally, rather than
with the panic so often typical of
the older generation"), I feel that
you should have titled the piece
Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlottesville.

If you don't want folks to think
there's some relation between a
student's academic performance
and smoking marijuana, you
shouldn't have written "consensus
of enlightened opinion." The "of
opinion" is redundant. "Redundant"
means........

Dallas Monday

Williamsburg, Va.

According to a number of contemporary
dictionaries, "consensus of opinion"
is accepted as good usage.-Ed.

Heart Volunteers

Early in the month of February
Mr. Bill Wright (co-chairman
of the County of Albemarle for
the Charlottesville and Albemarle
Division of the Virginia Heart
Association) volunteered the services
of the Inter-Fraternity
Council the Alpha Phi Omega
and, the Young Republicans to
work for Heart on Sunday February
11th and February 18th.

More than 180 students were
present on these dates to carry
out their assignments. Approximately
142 of them left from
University Hall on February 11th
and the rest of them completed
their work on February 18th.

We, in the Heart Association
want to publicly thank these men
for the excellent job that they
did for us and the people of
Albemarle County.

The cooperation and sincerity of
these men is something that you
at University and we in Heart,
Charlottesville and Albemarle
County can justly be proud of.

Once again, my thanks to all
of you.

Thanks Fraternities

The following letter was forwarded
by Dean Runk. - Ed.

Dear Mr. Runk:

As President of the Charlottesville-Albemarle
Heart Division and
on behalf of the Board of Directors,
I should like to express our
appreciation to you for the time
and efforts given our cause by
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Beta Theta
Pi, Phi Kappa Sigma and Zeta
Psi fraternities. In a very sincere
and gentlemanly manner these
young men again worked and made
Heart Day possible. It is through
dedication, such as this, that we
are able to continue our battle
against the nation's number one
killer.