University of Virginia Library

Gestapo Come Home

The Housing Office under the direction of
Ralph Main has never had a reputation for
permissiveness of liberalism, but it seems that
they have outdone themselves of late. The
current controversy involves "numerous complaints
about pets" in married student housing
at Copley Hill and University Gardens.

It seems that the problem has reached epic
proportions as a recent directive states that
the illicit animals have been "scratching,
biting, and scaring of children, the lettering of
sandboxes and the climbing of screens." Why
the streets are just not safe at night anymore.

Two of the paragraphs are such gems that
we must reprint them for you: "The keeping
of a pet of any kind is in direct violation of
the lease which every resident signed before
moving into married housing. The keeping of
a pet is grounds for immediate eviction. The
excuse that 'everyone' has one is unacceptable
This may seem to be the case but steps are
being taken to correct the situation.

If you have a pet please find it a new
home. If you are aware of other residents who
have pets, please inform Mr. Main, Station 1,
Page House, University of Virginia by letter.
Mr. Main will contact the violator and handle
the situation. Your letter must be signed, but
your name will remain confidential.

We aren't exactly sure what "steps" are
being taken, but it certainly sounds rather
ominous. In all fairness to the Housing Office
the directive was created and distributed by
the Family Housing Council which is composed
of one elected representative from each
housing unit in the married area. The President,
law student Tom Whiteman, evidently
is applying a little bit of knowledge acquired
over in Clark Hall to remedy "the situation."

What is objectionable about the pet notice
is not necessarily its content, rather its typical
tone. Students living in University Housing
have always received these notes implying
grave consequences for anyone who does not
foot the line immediately.

In short they are being threatened by a
shadowy figure that looms above them. That
doesn't engender much love or respect for the
people over in the basements of Page and
Emmet Houses.

First-year students living in the Observatory
Hill Houses have no doubt learned that
the infamous set of fiats known as "Terms
and Conditions" prohibit everything from
refrigerators to televisions to trunks in rooms.
Countless rationalizations for these orders
have been heard-fire hazards, health hazards
(you see a trunk that lays around a room for a
long period of time will no doubt gather all
sorts of trash and become a health hazard,
etc.), not conducive to studying, and so forth.
The one thing the Housing Office sometimes
forgets is that University Housing is also a
home for each student having the misfortune
to reside there.

One thing the Housing Office can do right
now is to take a little lesson in diplomacy and
in human relations. In the meantime you
people up in Copley Hill and University
Gardens better keep your eyes on your
neighbor. After all, he just may have more
connections with the Housing Office than just
an innocent student renting a place for his
family.