University of Virginia Library

Register Now

Tomorrow is your last chance to register
for the November 3 general election in which
a United States Senator and ten Congressmen
will be elected by the voters of Virginia. We
have seen in the past months how Congress
can stand up in the defense of reason and
individual rights in the face of attacks from
the Nixon Administration. President Nixon
hopes to "balance" Congress as the result of
this election, just as he has hoped to balance
the Court by mediocre nominations like G.
Harrold Carswell and company.

During last May's anti-war activities, we
heard a lot of rhetoric tossed around on the
subject of the political process and how we, as
individual students, could work through the
"system." Certainly the hallmark of this free
government is the franchise, the process by
which each man casts his vote for the
Congressman who will best represent his views
and protect his interests in the chambers of
government.

One can quite reasonably counter that
none of the men who are running for public
office in this state share the ideals and
opinions of the current student generation at
the University. This may be true to a degree,
but there are men who do have something to
offer Virginia in the way of positive
leadership. Moreover there are others who are
seeking to return to Washington to continue
to pursue the wrong interests and who
unquestionably do not possess the qualities
that this nation needs in its top governmental
officials during these confusing and
frustrating times. These men must be defeated
and you can be sure that the Richmond
businessman and the Southside agrarian will
not be the ones to do it.

The students in this University and similar
ones all over the country must cast their votes
for the men of their choice else we all confirm
what Agnewites firmly believe - students are
just a bunch of "bums" who raise hell out in
the streets.

Some students may feel that they just do
not have the time to go register in their home
district or to go to vote, yet we must remind
them that it wasn't too much trouble to
boycott classes last spring during the strike.
To do one and not the other, seems to us the
height of hypocrisy. More than that it paints a
rather unwholesome picture of all students
who have taken active part in expressing
their dissent against the war in Indochina.

We urge all qualified voters at the
University who have not been properly
registered to do so today. Don't remain in the
silent majority.