University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

The Student Council White Elephant

Since time immemorial. Student
Council has served as a sort of
popularity forum and giver of
cocktail parties. As such, it has
been essentially harmless — indeed,
it has provided, in addition to the
obvious ego-gratification of the
participants, considerable
amusement to the community at
large — witness the elections just
past. But now, sir it is feared that
Student Council has stepped
beyond the hallowed ground of
tradition...

I refer, of course, to the
infamous 'Student Council Shuttle
Service.' The 'Student Council
Shuttle Service' consists — though all
must know by now — of two buses,
one yellow, one white: rejects from
Yellow Transit.

The Student Council sponsors
this service for the avowed purpose
of 'saving soles'; it works like this —
you leave your place of habitation
and, instead of wasting 10 minutes
walking to Cabell Hall, wait 15
minutes for the 'Student Council
Shuttle Service' special; when it
arrives, you board it, pay your
dime, and proceed on a circuitous
tour of Charlottesville and the
grounds (maps of this reputedly
scenic route are printed by the
Student Council Propaganda
Committee and available on any
given wall); on arriving at your
stop, you leave the bus and walk
the half-dozen blocks or so to your
class.

We understand that negotiations
are under way for concession
privileges with a sandwich selling
firm; it is hoped that the University
Guide Service will be able to make
available tour leaders.

All this, you may say is,
granted, ridiculous, but hardly the
grave threat I have made it out to
be. Ah, but Gentlemen, the plot
thickens! Why does the Student
Council perpetrate this travesty
upon us? Why. "The growth of the
University has made a busing
service necessary," quoth the raven.
Again you will say, obviously
ridiculous — but hardly threatening.
But let us analyse the statement
further; Given the assumption that
none but an idiot will wait 15
minutes for a 25 minute ride on an
antique bus rather than spending 10
minutes walking to class — but just
here the devious implication lies!

Student Council is working
under the assumption that the
University has already absorbed all
the available intellect and that
further growth — which Mr.
Shannon assures us is as inevitable
as death and taxes — must draw its
numbers from the ranks of the
cretins. Seen in this light, the
so-called 'Student Council Shuttle
Service' can be taken for what it is
— a dastardly plot to con the
expected inrush of cretins out of
their dimes in order to finance
further Student Council cocktail
parties!

I ask you, is this gentlemanly
behavior?

The 'Student Council Shuttle
Service' special — that monstrous
white elephant — was reported
lumbering along up Rugby Road in
Friday's rainstorm — with two
passengers. Such demand could be
met more cheaply by buying Kevin
Mannix a rickshaw.

C. K. Sullivan
College 3

— Ed.

Will Pay

In response to your reply to Mr.
Schmidt's letter in the March 23rd
edition refunding The Cavalier
Daily by student activity fees, I feel
that the $3.60 a year for The
Cavalier Daily could be eliminated
without affecting the other
subsidies listed. I also fail to see
your reasoning that the expenses
would "rise fantastically".

You feel that subscriptions
would drop off drastically, however
I believe that The Cavalier Daily
would retain it's present circulation
because all students and alumni,
realizing the Cavalier Daily's worth,
will gladly pay the $3.60 and
subscribe.

I feel that there would be no
need to hire a circulation staff
because The Cavalier Daily could
still use the wooden racks located
around the University, as the Honor
System will insure that no students
that did not happen to pay for a
subscription will not pick up a
copy. Perhaps a similar application
to The Virginia Weekly might be in
order.

Lady Love

Once — I almost say "Once
upon a time.." — because at one
time, not long ago, there existed a
place in America where a person
could be taken at his word and
trust the people around him. In this
place no one feared for their
property. Courtesy, respect and
integrity were the rule of this
community — the nearest thing to
"love" in the hippie sense that ever
existed. This place was the
University of Virginia.

In a new era "degrees of honor"
have been introduced! Stealing just
a little is not really stealing — it is
only...Lying a little is not taking
unfair advantage of another, is it?
Of course not. And to cheat means
to really hurt someone badly, not
just a little. People believe this and
students now feel that the system is
old and outmoded. Why? When
does personal integrity become
undesirable?

Some will say that this letter is
pure emotion. Unashamedly, I say
it is. The honor system lived
because of the strong belief, love
and faith of those who lived it; not
because of those who feel
oppressed by it. This system
worked! I realize this is hard for
some to believe, but it did. Now,
cynicism has taken over. People are
afraid to let themselves trust in
something that beautiful; afraid to
be called innocent. Would that
hurt? Lady Love cannot live
alongside cynicism. I call for the
end of this beautiful life. Enter the
crass world that we all detest.
Honor cannot be imposed any more
than morality can be legislated. If it
is not fully and completely
supported then it becomes like the
farcical systems of other state
universities.

Virginia's greatness was found,
above all, in its honor system.
Rather than make fun of the best
of life by attempting to force
students to live honorably, let us
quietly lay honor to rest. My only
desire is to be able one day to tell
my children without hesitation,
"Once, true honor lived at The
University. Although it was not
utopia, it was a place in which love,
respect and courtesy guided all
men."

IFC Thanks

We would like to take this
opportunity to express our
appreciation and thanks towards all
the persons who assisted us in
making the Steppenwolf concert a
success. All during Saturday
afternoon and evening as more
problems arose because of the
record crowd, many students came
forward to help with the details. We
would have like to extend
individual thanks, but because of
the numbers involved, someone
would be overlooked.

We feel that this past concert is
representative of the evolution
taking place in the IFC and the
fraternities in general, and we hope
to be able to offer similar events to
the student community. We are
confident that the fraternities will
continue to rid themselves of the
stagnation surrounding their
activity and move forward with the
rest of the University.