University of Virginia Library

Permit me to provide some facts
to correct two of the many misunderstandings
or misrepresentations
that continue to obfuscate the
University's progress on the issue
of non-discrimination.

The Cavalier Daily reported last
Friday that a member of the Martin
Luther King Chapter of the
Human Relations Council said,
"Regardless of what the Admissions
Office says, there are only
31 full-time Negro students attending
the University and not
71."

The fact is that last fall, as a
result of the fact that 68 registered
students identified themselves as
"Negro," two as "colored," and
one as "black," a total figure of
71 was reported to the Federal
Government as "Negro students."
Of the approximate total of 8,500
University students, about 1,000
are part-time, but until now the
question of a breakdown of part-time
students by race or color
had not been brought up and no
official breakdown has been made.

(This matter of "Negro" and
"black" brings up the fact that,
as President Shannon has informed
the officers of the Martin Luther
King Chapter, since the University
has 1,100 employees who
are reported as "Negro" and the
71 students reported above, he is
inclined to believe that usage of
the three-word term "Negro and
black" in commenting on nondiscrimination
is advisable because
it is "responsive, sympathetic, precise,
and properly inclusive.")

Secondly, with regard to one of
the letters from Mr. Yuhnke,
(President of the Chapter) released
to The Cavalier Daily last week,
in a context on "black students"
Mr. Yuhnke opened the paragraph
in which he requested use of University
funds for the proposed
Martin Luther King Scholarship
Fund by stating, "For the same
reason that special consideration
must be given to black students
in admissions policies, it is not
alone enough to simply admit students
from a culturally-deprived
background. The University must
also offer such students academic
and financial aid."

The use first of the term "black
students" and then "such students,"
in the context of the
letter, have given an impression
that the purpose of the request
was to procure financial aid specifically
for black students. The sponsors
of the Fund have not indicated
an interest in such discrimination,
but a desire to assist culturally-deprived
students without regard to
race or color. Subsequent information
indicates that the interest
of the King Chapter in this Fund
may not be specifically related to
an interest in black students, but
in disadvantaged or culturally-deprived
students generally, and the
point should be cleared up soon.