University of Virginia Library

Letters To Editor

Rhodesian Hits Visa Policy

As a former student at the University
who is now working in
Rhodesia, I follow with interest
the press reports of efforts by Mr.
Page and Legal Forum to bring
Mr Ian Smith to the University
next year.

The position of the State Department
appears quite clear: They
disagree completely with what Mr.
Smith is likely to say and they
will defend to the death their
"right" to prevent his saying it.
The U.S. is certainly no longer
in a position to criticize Rhodesia
for practicing censorship.

According to Mr. John Wrathall,
the Rhodesian Minister of
Finance, six Africans left Rhodesia
on September 10 to accept scholarships
at colleges in the U.S. They
departed with proper U.S. visas
stamped in their post-UDI Rhodesian
passports. The Prime
Minister, however, appears unlikely
to be granted a visa upon
the same type of passport. It
seems that the State Department
either wishes to prevent Mr. Smith
from expressing his views or, perhaps,
(as Mr. Wrathall suggests)
is practicing racial discrimination.

I cannot say that I favor all
of the past and present acts of
Mr. Smith's government. I can,
however, say that Americans need
more information of Rhodesia than
they currently receive through
the final filter in the Editorial
Offices of "The New York Times."
The opportunity to gain this knowledge
from Prime Minister
himself is priceless, and I commend
and encourage all efforts to defeat
the State Department's transparent
and absurd designs.

Dress Distress

I was distressed to learn that
Dean Woody is distressed about
the attire of University students.
I was once under the impression
that Cavalier Daily editorials were
written by little old ladies; now,
however, it is clear that little-old-ladyism
is by no means restricted
to the CD editorial staff. Comments
like those made by Dean
Woody sometimes make me
wonder whether the University of
Virginia conceives of itself as an
educational institution or a country
club.

Rush Treatment

I am not especially conservative
in my thinking but I believe that
there is a lot to be said for Virginia's
traditions. One of these,
which is often taken for granted,
is the tradition of Virginia fraternities
to open their parties to
each other and to the rest of the
student body on the big weekends.
Not only does this make the party
weekends much more enjoyable for
non-fraternity students, but also
it speaks very highly of the friendly
and hospitable atmosphere which
characterizes Virginia's fraternity
system.

I am a counselor in the first-year
dorms and this past week one
of the guys on the hall told me
that he had not received party
invitations from two of the houses
which had sent him smoker invitations.
He wanted to know if he
and his date could go to the parties
without invitations. I told him that
he should certainly go to the house
from which he did receive an
invitation, but since all parties were
open, there would be nothing
wrong in going to any of the
other houses if he wanted to.

Apparently, though, I was mistaken,
for at some of the houses
this tradition of open parties and
hospitality seems to have been
thrown out the window in the
"interests of rush." During the
course of the evening this boy did
go by the two houses which did
not send him invitations and
at both houses (in front of his
date) he was told by an alert
and conscientious brother that he
had been balled, and was asked
to leave the house. Needless to
say this was rather an upsetting
experience for both the boy and
is date.

I realize the pressure on fraternities
to put on a good rush
and I also realized that this boy
would not be given the "red-carpet"
treatment at these two
houses, but on the other hand I
certainly did not expect him to be
thrown out. I find it hard to believe
that such action is really
necessary in serving a fraternity's
best interests.

Help For Children

I would like to recommend a
modest domestic program that will
appeal to conservatives and liberals
alike. Conservatives are not against
helping the handicapped, the helpless,
but they oppose measures
which encourage irresponsibility
and discourage initiative. Liberals
are not for encouraging irresponsibility
or stifling initiative, but they
are for helping the handicapped,
the disadvantaged. The problem,
then, is to find a program which
will lift the poverty-stricken man
off his back onto his own two
feet while encouraging and allowing
him to walk away under his
own power.

The goal of the Westminster
Study-Tutorial Center is to give
underprivileged children the extra
help they need in the early grades
to break away from this path.
Voluntary tutors from the University
and the community work
with children from Venable
Elementary School who need this
extra help. But, by a mild one
per cent standard, 110 children
could use it, and there are presently
only enough volunteers to
take care of 35 of them.

You can give these children the
boost they need by offering to
tutor them from 2:30 to 4 p.m.
on Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday or any two of the above
afternoons. The experience is exciting,
challenging, and highly enlightening—the
kids are worthy of
your concern. Call Mrs. Janet
Cowgill, 293-3823, or Mrs. Jo
Ann Withrow, 293-8845, by October
20th, in order to participate
in the orientation on October 21 st.