University of Virginia Library

Divine Right

The government department's
position is not unique, and is
important for most of the
University as a case study. Like
myself, many of those interested in
the problem are not GFA majors.
But too often faculty members
assume they have some sort of
"divine right" to select what their
students must take, who can teach
it, and what criteria are necessary
for graduation. The government
students may seem obnoxious to
the government professors, some of
whom (but most surely not all) feel
these are not questions that involve
students. The failure in
communication only hurts the
entire department, both students
and professors; but the student
protests may open the way for
some very necessary structural
changes in a department about
which those students care deeply.
Perhaps the concern will spread to
other departments as well.