University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

'Stars And Bars' Claimed 'Regional Pride', Not Symbol Of Racism

In another one of your more
childish attempts to appear liberal,
the C.D. has once again made a
grating and obnoxious statement.
As fashionable as it now is to be a
detractor of the South, labeling the
South as "an oppressive and
decadent culture" (See editorial
C.D. Sept. 28) is pushing this
pretension just a bit too far.

To refer to the song "Dixie" or
the Confederate flag as "racist" is a
sweeping and very naive
generalization. "Dixie" and the
"Stars and Bars" are simply
examples of regional pride, and to
condemn them as anything more
than that is simple blind prejudice.
Granted, prejudice and racism do
exist below the Mason-Dixon line,
and we are NOT defending any
examples of this, but to condemn
the entire region for this failing is as
offensive as any form of bigotry.

A Dichotomy

The other day we were all
enjoined to appear on the Lawn
before the eyes of our esteemed
University President to protest
racial discrimination on campus. We
have had cases of the flouting of
banned flags, of quasi-open Frat
parties, of blatant racial activity on
the part of the university's security
police, et al., ad nauseam. Now,
what we seem to have is a
dichotomy: the altruists on the one
hand, the bigot and racists on the
other. What has happened as a
result of the interaction of these
two blocs in all fairness can not be
heaped upon President Shannon's
shoulders—it is a weight that can
only be borne by the same group
referred to above as "we". This is a
collective body of "we" and must
no longer be rent by blocism.
Certainly, and here we may speak
of-President Shannon on particular,
the "we" is a nascent body-just
beginning to burgeon. And at the
rate this university is bloating, we
cannot afford to waste valuable
time on divisiveness-only when
union is achieved can we work for
achievable goals Unity as a Means,
not an end.

True Intent?

I find that I am no longer able
to sit back while The Cavalier Daily
continues its unfounded attack on
fraternities. The Kappa Sigma
incident as reported by you is to
the definite discredit to that house
and I hope those responsible will be
punished. Is it, however, in the
name of fair reporting and a
responsible press that The Cavalier
Daily uses this incident to prove
that fraternities in general are racist?

In your editorial of September
28 entitled "Beyond Stars and
Bars", you state "Reports from the
first round of fraternity rush parties
indicate an abundance of racism
here already." I have already
indicated my abhorrence of the
Kappa Sigma incident. Does one
incident constitute an "abundance
of racism?" I agree that those
fraternities which discriminate
because of race should be publicly
exposed, however, if, until you
compile this list, you continue to
lump all fraternities together, you
are guilty of the same stereotyping
for which you chastise fraternities.

Just as there are too few Black
editors of The Cavalier Daily, there
are too few Black fraternity
members. If, however, The Cavalier
Daily is truly interested in
eliminating racism in fraternities,
your methods are very poor.

There are no Black members of
my house, but does this mean we
are racist? This is my fourth rush
and in that time there has been but
one Black rushee at our house. The
decision that he not pledge was
made by him, not us. The Cavalier
Daily has, through its
anti-fraternity campaign, succeeded
in dissuading Black students from
rushing. How can fraternities ever
become integrated if Black students
do not even rush? If The Cavalier
Daily is really committed to the
elimination of racism in fraternities
it seems to be going about it in the
wrong way. If your true purpose is
not the elimination of racism but
rather the elimination of
fraternities, let me suggest you so
state this editorially and get your
true intention out in the open.

Misconception

In your editorial, "Beyond Stars
And Bars," you state that the Pep
Band was instructed to play
"Dixie" no more. This is a
commonly held misconception, but
it is not true. The Student Council
"requested" that "Dixie" not be
played, but it left the actual
decision up to the Pep Band.

The Administration and the
Athletic Department both declined
to take an official stand, feeling
that the decision should be made
by the band. Thus, the Pep Band
discontinued playing "Dixie" by a
vote of its own membership in
November of 1969. This decision
was reinforced by a new vote in
November of 1970, and has been in
effect ever since.

Hogwash

I can't help forgiving Michael
Russell for his whimpering article
on how evil the draft is, and how
anyone who feels it's necessary
must be one who has "never really
been concerned about what really
happens to the poor people and the
other coloreds" as he puts it. After
all, doesn't everyone know that the
maintenance of a viable defense and
the degree of poverty in our
country are directly proportional
Hogwash. I'd be willing to guess
that Michael Russell has done
precious little (besides bitch) to
change either.

Mr. Russell and many people
like him (unfortunately) have
allowed the Vietnam War to blind
them as to the real potential danger
of an all-volunteer force to poor
and rich alike. At the sake of
possible maximum efficiency our
Armed Forces are made up of short
term enlisted and draftees, and
career types. The latter makes up
the continuity and the former
infuse new ideas and talent into a
large slow-moving monolith. The
inefficient factor arises because as
soon as a man is trained and highly
skilled in his work, he has
terminated his obligation and left
the service.

The truly unfortunate factor is
that in war men who are conscripted
stand at least an equal chance of
being killed or wounded as those
who make soldiering their lives.
How is this resolved? Politically. A
country doesn't enter battle unless
it is positive in its convictions and
plans to fight to win. Short of
either and you have cheated every
soldier and civilian. This leaves us
perhaps at our present dilemma, but
where from here?

The point is we need a strong
Armed Forces even while
negotiating with our present
adversaries. We also need, if we can
ever hope for a more democratic
society, an army made up of
individuals who have very close ties
to civilian life and upon leaving the
service bring with them the
realization of how potentially
dangerous any army can be to
freedom if the civilian population
doesn't through its representation
and franchise can keep it under
control.

One final point. Mr. Russell
implied that the draftee is a fool to
carry out his obligation. As a junior
officer in Vietnam one year ago I
found the average draftee very
intelligent, often inconvenienced in
many ways by his separation from
civilian life, but highly motivated to
keeping the army running as best
it could. It is only a matter of time
before America recognizes that men
like them offer the real hopes for
every citizen.

The Pressure

There is one misapprehension
regarding the expansion of the
University which continues to
exist: the belief that the General
Assembly is forcing this expansion.
This is not so. At the
Student—Legislator Open Forum in
Richmond last spring, discussions
which state legislators indicated that
they are NOT the source of the
pressure to expand and, if anything,
tend to be opposed to the
expansion of this University.

The pressure to expand comes
from our own University
administrators — President Edgar F.
Shannon, Jr., and those he has
appointed — which for ten years
have fostered the very expansion
which they pretend to accept as
inevitable. Our administration is
creating this problem.