University of Virginia Library

I am writing to protest what
I consider to be an injudicious
and unjustifiable administrative
policy of this University: I refer
to the requirements concerning
mandatory class attendance.

This matter was brought to my
attention when one of the students
in my suite received a letter from
his Association Dean, informing
him that "Our absence records
indicate that you have been missing
classes without apparent excuse,
(my friend concedes this, with
reservations.) We believe that a
student who does not attend classes
regularly will find that his academic
work has been seriously affected.
(sheer balderdash—it does not follow:
one is very likely to cut a
class in a course in which one is
maintaining a good grade. My
friend, for example, finds that he is
receiving his highest grade in the
course which he most often cuts!)
Therefore, should you continue to
absent yourself from classes, you
will shortly be placed on Attendance
Probation, with the same
penalties as if you were on Academic
Probation." This is sheer
idiocy. If the administration wants
to differentiate between those who
attend class regularly and those
who don't (which it shouldn't),
the answer is not a ludicrous and
artificial penalty for those who
don't, but rather "I Am A Good
Citizen" buttons for those who do!

The very heart of the matter,
though—the reason why the present
policy is unconscionable—is that
it manifestly denies that the gentlemen
of the University of Virginia
are competent to administer their
own affairs, independent of official
Big Brotherism. Class attendance
is the duty and responsibility of each of us...it is not the responsibility
of the Deans, who must have
more crucial things to do than
sign these inane letters which reflect
a kindergartenish attitude toward
college education.

I would suggest then, that class
attendance, like the Honor System
and the student government, be
proclaimed the responsibility of the
students themselves, and that,
henceforth, attendance be on a
voluntary basis—deriving from
each individual's evaluation of his
needs—as is the case at virtually
all of the leading universities in
the U.S. and abroad. Attendance
would remain mandatory for all
tests and quizzes.

Such a decision would, I believe,
be welcomed by the vast
majority of teachers, who must
surely resent the necessity, under
the present system, of calling roll
to accommodate an incredibly
juvenile outlook. And I am sure
that students would wholeheartedly
support the decision, reflecting,
as it would, a reaffirmation of
the University's trust in our integrity
and responsibility in the
pursuit of our education.