University of Virginia Library

Stuart Pape

Did UT Change Anything?

It is not an easy task at all to
begin to attempt to evaluate the
effects, good and bad, of
"University Tuesday." Since the
stated and obvious goal of the day's
activities was to emphasize to
various groups the depth of student
opposition to unplanned and
precipitous expansion, it seems
most appropriate to analyze the
activities in terms of their
anticipated effect on the
administration, the state and the
student body.

It would be most unfortunate if
the students concluded that their
participation in "University
Tuesday" in any way constituted a
substantial and really meaningful
commitment to halting expansion.
Student Council should not be
faulted for organizing the
demonstrations, as other efforts to
merely obtain a forum for the
airing of student opinion and
grievances on growth proved futile,
but high praise is undeserved also.

Notwithstanding Vice-President
David Shannon's statement that the
demonstrations signaled an end to
the communication and rational
discussions that had been present
beforehand, a statement ranking
with some of President Nixon's in
terms of the extent to which it
ignores reality, the Council rightly
concluded that at this juncture
something with dramatic impact
was needed to emphasize a deeply
felt concern that was being
systematically ignored.

Carnival Atmosphere

Unfortunately Council decided
to turn Monday's march and
gathering on the Lawn into a
carnival type affair, with a premium
placed on getting stoned, getting
laid or otherwise having a good
time. There is obviously nothing
wrong with any of these activities,
but if the chief complaint was that
the administration was offering the
students no opportunity for a
hearing on expansion, then why
wasn't any time spent Monday
night with discussions about
possible future action?

The conclusion seems inevitable
that the gathering would have been
a more impressive response to the
problem if some time, were it
merely one hour, was devoted to
concrete considerations of the
myriad problems of growth,
possible solutions and various
of effecting those goals. There
would still have been plenty of time
for the "Woodstock" type
activities.

Given the character of recent
administration pronouncements,
including President Shannon's
ill-advised attempt to nip
"University Tuesday" in the bud,
and the outrageous statement by an
unnamed administration official
that the crowd on Monday
numbered no more than 500, one
should not expect great things to
come from Pavilion VIII in
response to the student protest.

In fact, one can build a strong
case for the proposition that T.
Marshall Hahn, esteemed President
of VPI and Mills Godwin former
governor of Virginia, are now
employed as consultants to
President Shannon. As most
students know, neither has been
generally recognized as all too
receptive to student suggestions,
irrespective of their mildness and
propriety. It has been reported also
that administration officials who
expressed sympathy with the
student position on this issue were
effectively shut out of discussions
on the matter.

All of this is most unfortunate,
especially when President Shannon
is fond of publicly expressing his
strong support for the right of
dissent. Given his predilections as
gleaned from his efforts to have the
planned activities called off at the
last minute, it would be extremely
surprising to learn that any change
has occurred in administration
policy as a result of the march. In
fact, given the character of
administration activity with regard
to expansion in the past year or so
it is difficult to think of anything
that might result in a different
attitude. The commitment to
expansion appears to be immutable.

If the likelihood of favorable
administration response is so slight
what then are the alternatives
available to the students and others
concerned with the welfare of the
University and the apparent
unwillingness of those in control to
realize that reasonable men and
women can differ on the
desirability of rapid expansion?

Potential Converts

The first group of potential
converts are the faculty. Anyone
familiar with the activities of the
College faculty in the past three
years will immediately recognize
the difficulties inherent in this
suggestion. It has been most
difficult to convince the faculty to
discuss important issues, much less
get them to take affirmative action.
But because expansion has such an
adverse effect on the faculty, they
cannot be ignored.

Inconveniences

There are few faculty members
who are pleased at seeing their
classes increase in size
immeasurably every year or who
enjoy teaching a class with students
literally packed into the classroom
like sardines. Faculty members are
subject to many of the
inconveniences and pressures
brought on by expansion that
bother students and are particularly
concerned with the quality of the
student body as the size of the
school increases. Students should
make every effort to talk with their
professors in order to convince
them that they must become active
in the fight against unplanned
expansion.

Prior to "University Tuesday",
President Shannon expressed
concern over the reaction to
that he expected from across the
Commonwealth. With the
possibility of violence or disruption
so slight this was difficult to
understand. At this stage in the
game, it is unreasonable to contend
that a student demonstration
automatically carries with it so
many unfavorable connotations as
to render the demonstration
inadvisable.

There have already been public
disagreements between the
University administration and the
Governor over the future growth of
the school and its place in the
system of higher education in
Virginia and it might be suggested
that President Shannon's concern
over the demonstration was because
it would indicate a lack of a united
front. Concerted student and
faculty pressure on the State
Legislature, the Governor and on
the people of the state could easily
point out the almost insane,
certainly non-understandable
preoccupation with growth present
in the President's office. No
President likes to have his position
undermined regardless of its
validity.

Discussion

University Tuesday cannot be
said to have had a tremendous
impact on any important group.
The level of student awareness has
not been substantially increased,
the administration is clearly not
impressed or persuaded, and the
faculty still uninvolved. The
demonstrations were not worthless
by any means though. For many
students, perhaps most of the
participants, this was their first
college demonstration. On that
count, their initiation into the club
of demonstrators has shown them
that being in a community of
scholars by no means guarantees
consideration of all viewpoints.
University administrators can be as
intransigent as Presidents, judges
and other politicians.

There is much to be done. We
must not let frustration and the
failure to make real progress
dissuade us from continuing the
fight. We have but one University
to lose.