University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Weekly Defended From Childish, Dictatorial Censors

The censure, criminal charges,
and attempts by certain persons in
positions of authority to quell the
freedom of speech of the Virginia
Weekly constitutes gross injustice.
The perpetrators of their actions
undoubtedly feel that their
personal views have been violated
and feel further that they must
coerce others into not expressing
contrary opinion. It would seem
rather that these individuals ought
to be censured. However, no
criminal charges should be brought
against the authorities and the law
student involved. Instead they
should be taught to listen to others,
seek information, and they express
an opinion; not to pull strings.

Some CD readers, who have not
spent their lives in Virginia, have
realized that no two geographic
areas, no two countries, towns or
even individuals hold the same
views. The fact is, the diversity of
human behavior is overwhelming,
yet must be tolerated in order for
societies to succeed. It is in this
aspect that America has been
failing.

Those who object to what the
Weekly says have the privilege of
not reading it. Those who object to
birth control have the privilege of
not using it. However, to outlaw
either of these is childish and
dictatorial.

We're Fat

Donn Kessler's column "Filling
Space" the other day was entirely
too infatuated an appraisal of Mr.
Ern's confidential letter. Imagine
the choice posited: quantitative
expansion in waist or in
number—which category does
Tweedle Dee fit into?

When things get tight, everyone
must reduce waist, surely, but Mr.
Kessler states that Dean Ern would
encourage waist except for those
"rich alumni sons with savings
accounts over $200,000."
Apparently 200 pounds, then, is
worth $200,000, which is
shockingly valuable waist, the
British economy notwithstanding.
Women applicants especially will be
hard pressed to breast the waist
issue unless they are rich alumni
sons. The mere thought of
tightening the belt is hideous.

Turning to the qualitative, Mr.
Kessler forgot the Governor. In a
September speech to the governing
boards of the State's higher
educational institutions, Mr. Holton
equated quality with efficiency and
came up with the slogan "Lean and
Strong" for the State's schools.
After paring away the strength of
that statement, one can see that the
Governor, however broad minded,
was not referring to the tower in
Pisa but to Mr. Ern, whose "double
seat for SAT" plan threatened to
outweigh in significance the State
Council of Higher Education's
provisions in space. You can be sure
that in the face of such political
reality, President Shannon will trim
the fat off this earnest proposal.

Abortion

Regarding the recent series of
letters concerning the question of
abortion, it needs to be pointed out
that the CRTL has yet to come to
grips with the question as to
whether a fetus is actually a human
being, the same as you or I. I think
that there is a strong case for
arguing that since it cannot exist
independent of the mother, its
removal is no more than surgery, no
more murder than the removal of a
diseased limb. The CRTL
automatically assumes that a fetus
is a human being the same as a born
child.

Regarding the need for
population control, I think that
there are few scientists who do not
question the need. On a more
personal level, I am repelled that
the entire nation may someday be
filled up with public housing and
billboards. I have yet to see a
statement by religious leaders that
considers what will happen to other
forms of life if human population is
allowed to continue to grow.
Perhaps that is not surprising given
the prevailing Christian view that
Man is to dominate the earth.

I am not will to lose one species
of wildlife or to see all our
wilderness areas turned into
metropolitan areas in order that the
sensibilities of the Roman Catholic
Church, one of the most oppressive
institutions the earth has ever seen,
not be offended. All their talk
about such mystical concepts as
"natural law" (whatever that is)
cannot change biology and ecology.
I am not sure how the problem will
be solved as the easiest route is no
longer left to us, which would have
been for the mothers of the CRTL
to have gotten abortions whose they
were carrying them.

Kent Affair

KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
URGENTLY NEEDS YOUR
HELP. Over 10,380 members of
our campus signed a petition asking
President Nixon to convene a
federal grand jury on the Kent
State affair. (To date, only a local
grand jury; whose report was so
biased that a Federal District Court
Judge, upheld on October 22, by
the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of
Appeals, ordered it expunged from
the record and physically
destroyed; has weighed the
evidence.) Last Wednesday, Kent's
President, Dr. Glenn Olds, flew to
Washington and presented petitions
at the White House. He was assured
an answer by the end of November.

Our mammoth task now is to
get OTHER COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES to support our
petition. Would you please help us
by printing this letter and the
following petition in your paper?

Dear President Nixon:

We, the undersigned, support
the over 10,380 members of
Kent State University in
requesting you to convene a
federal grand jury to
investigate the Kent State
affair.

NAME ADDRESS

1.

2.

etc. Please return, by
November 22, to:

President of the Student
Body

Kent State University

Kent, Ohio 44242

We cannot adequately express
how important it is that members
of your campus circulate this
petition (we found that moving
about with it rather than merely
posting it got us over 10,000
signatures in ten days) and return it
to us by November 22. If we flood
Washington with petitions, the
President will be unable to ignore
the tremendous sentiment in the
country for a high level
investigation of the Kent affair.

Thank you in advance for your
cooperation in this urgent matter.