I have noted with some concern
during my seven semesters at the
University that the rather traditional
conservative atmosphere here
seems to have permeated the
academic community to the extent
that progressive change has been
either precluded or at least hindered
to some degree. The general
pattern of action has followed a
"wait until next year" format
which is reflected by both faculty
and administration with respect to
student suggestions concerning academic
and administrative reform.
To be sure, there have been
changes made during the last four
years: the car rule has been
liberalized, girls are now permitted
in the dorms, and there are no
longer Saturday classes. These
changes have come, but they have
come slowly, after what often
seems to have been excessive
deliberation on the part of those
who possess the authority to make
them and put them into effect. In
other areas where academic reform
might be advisable, such as the
implementation of a program allowing
students to take certain courses
on a "pass-fall" basis, eliminating
the burden of so many required
courses, or in reassessing the merit
of comprehensive examinations,
little if anything has been done.
Most notably, there has been only
token progress concerning the admission
of Negro students to the
University.
If the University continues to
languish in the splendor of the status
quo, it is conceivable that the
turmoil engulfing academic institutions
across the nation may somehow
reach Virginia, despite the fact
that it remains a "bastion of
traditional conservatism." While I
do not suggest that this or any
other university is a democratic
institution where students should
have the right to make policy, it is
becoming increasingly evident that
where students are not being given
an effective voice with regard to
university policy or where they are
ignored or put off that the
likelihood of disruption seems to be
much greater.
The faculty and the administration
can ill-afford to procrastinate
where change is needed or take a
"wait until next year attitude. It is
unfortunate that students have also
been somewhat apathetic in this
area and that they have been
unwilling or unable to effectively
articulate opinions on issues effecting
them. Where students have
voiced a collective opinion (recently
the government and foreign
affairs petitioned the faculty of
that department of eliminate comprehensive
examinations or at least
re-evaluate them), the faculty and
administration would do well to
respond to what they have to say.
At institutions like Berkeley, Wisconsin,
and Columbia the administration
and faculty have been
unable to communicate effectively
with students, and the result has
not been very impressive, and while
Virginia seems unlike any of these
institutions, so did Duke.
J. Robert Persons
College 4
