University of Virginia Library

Facilitating Communications

Believing as we do that one of the primary
functions of The Cavalier Daily is facilitation
of discussion on the issues that confront the
University, we are initiating several departures
from our past policies with regard to outside
opinions expressed on these pages.

We still welcome letters from anyone i
the community. But due to space limitations,
we must ask that they be limited to 200
words, typed and double spaced. We reserve
the right to edit letters, and to accept or reject
those which are too long, unsigned, libelous,
in poor taste, attack personalities, or are based
on obvious factual errors. To facilitate
consultation with letter writers on questions of
editing, we ask that they include their name,
address, phone number, and school.

For those who feel these conditions too
restricting, we are instituting a regular guest
column to which any member of the
community may contribute, called Colloquium.
Any pertinent topic and opinion is fair
game for Colloquium, but again we ask that
contributions be typed and the usual information
observed.

A further and, perhaps, more far-reaching
change has been instituted in the area of
election coverage. The upcoming Honor
Committee elections are very important, and
The Cavalier Daily has responded to this fact
by beginning substantive election coverage of
the major candidates' campaigns.

No longer do the voters know the
candidates personally, and many do not have
the chance to meet them during the campaign
and familiarize themselves with their positions.
In such a situation this newspaper can
fulfill its obligation by providing the communication
between candidates and voters
that our elections now demand. The Cavalier
Daily can now offer to each candidate the
opportunity of speaking out to an audience of
the entire student body, and in turn the
students can keep themselves informed of the
issues as each aspirant defines them. In any
event, we feel the new policy will help to
vitalize the Honor Committee elections by
furthering an exchange of ideas which can
only lead to a more intelligent and informed
election at a time which demands no less.