University of Virginia Library

It should have surprised absolutely
no one to fine the Department
of Government and Foreign Affairs
sucking the academic hind tit in its
non-response to the current
national and local crises. With the
notable exception of individual
faculty members who have made
great efforts over the past week, the
very department that by definition
should be the most actively concerned
with the direction of this
nation's domestic and foreign policies
has sat dumbly silent. If,
indeed, silent implies consent, then
the department must be found
guilty of complicity in current
governmental and state police policies.

At a time when the nation and
the university cry out for effective
and responsive leadership, the abdication
of responsible action on
the part of the Department of
Government and Foreign Affairs is
all the more starkly obvious and
deplorable. To be in the "van"
these days may mean a ride to the
police station; hopefully, it should
also mean that a department that
aspires to national prominence will
begin assert enlightened leadership
on the local level.