In my four years at Mr.
Jefferson's academical village, I
have been through a lot. I have
heard Mr. Jefferson's virtues
extolled year after year; heard the
honor system debated year after
year; watched the Lawn planted
year after year - only to watch it
die (Is the Lawn our death wish?). I
have perused through pages and
pages of The Cavalier Daily (What
else is there to do in class?), reading
about the English and Economic
dept. scandals (U. Va.'s answer to
academic freedom), reading
President Shannon's letter on
student demonstrations and
disorders (Did Mr. Wallace really
consider him for V.P.?), reading
letters from Mr. Schenkkan (the
Ralph Nader of the "U."), and
admiring the artistic photography
in the paper. And always I took the
papers home, placed them next to
the john, and forgot about them.
Then it happened! The Cavalier
Daily headlines read: RAPIER
CLAIMS TO HAVE POSSESSION
OF OLYMPIC FLAME. Oh no!
Dean Williams grabs his head in
dismay; Dean Woody collapses; Mr.
Jefferson stands up (All these years
he's been on his what?); The
Mickey Mouse hands on the
Rotunda clock stand still; President
Shannon is unavailable for
comment (Mountain Lake was such
a nice place!). They said it couldn't
happen here! Foreign students are
outraged: Rapier must apologize
for this irrational and irresponsible
act. Why don't they do something
rational like getting drunk every
weekend, or traveling sixty miles
down the road just to have a date,
or running for student council, or
something - swallowing goldfish,
for God's sake!
Yes, it certainly is great, even
though our world sees troubled
times, that we can still laugh at
others - and ourselves. We may be
traditionalistic, apathetic, stagnant,
whatever, but at least we here at
the University never lose our sense
of humor. If we could just rid
ourselves of those bearded preverts,
pinkos, anarchists, and general
obstructionists from Rapier
magazine - the one that purports,
"For here we are not afraid to
follow the torch, wherever it may
lead us..." (Munich, beware!).
Why won't they let us return to the
exciting life we used to have here in
Charlottesburg?
