University of Virginia Library

Not The Real Problem

There is a lot of truth in Dean Allan
Williams' comments about the problems of
racism and bigotry among students of the
University. No one would deny that a good
deal of the reluctance of black students to
apply to the University springs from their
foreknowledge of the social atmosphere in
Charlottesville, and that many who do enroll
end up transferring because of that
atmosphere. At the same time, however, the
problem has several faces which Mr. Williams
overlooked.

At the Mountain Lake conference and at
the symposium at St. Paul's Church the
consensus which developed was that the major
difficulties arose simply from the fact that
there were not more black students, not from
the attitude of white students towards blacks.
Specifically, one black student at the
Mountain Lake conference was especially
frustrated by the inability to get a date above
high-school age in Charlottesville. This student
felt no particular resentment toward white
students or toward fraternities - all he
wanted was more black colleagues.

Similar feelings were expressed by blacks
at the church symposium; most of the
resentment they voiced was aimed at what
they felt was administrative hypocrisy
regarding professed efforts to enroll more
black students and regarding published figures
on current enrollment which, they felt were
deliberately misleading. Again, most of their
bitterness was directed at the administration
rather than at the students.

Mr. Williams cited two developments
"showing increased interest in black recruiting
at the University: the hiring of a black
admissions officer and the publication of a
pamphlet aimed to show prospective black
students the advantages of attending the
University. In regard to the admissions officer,
however, the important consideration which
cannot be overlooked is that he was hired
only after extremely vocal and lengthy
insistence by students, both as individuals and
through the Student Council, the Council on
Human Relations, the Inter-Fraternity
Council, The Cavalier Daily, and other
organizations. It is interesting to note that one
member of the administration had remarked,
amazingly close to Mr. Stokes' hiring - before
pressure from students grew intense - that
there were no plans for hiring a black
admissions officer.

The pamphlet cited was published not by
the University, but by the Council on Human
Relations. Members of the administration
supported and aided the effort, which was
carried out largely by black students, but the
University refused to finance it. The reason
given was that state funds could not be used
to finance a venture of such discriminatory
nature to "advertise for students" and that no
other University funds were available. We
wonder what difference there is between
using state funds to publish a pamphlet for
circulation to prospective black students and
using state funds to recruit students at
all-white (and in many cases admittedly
discriminatory) high schools, especially at a
time when there is widespread feeling that
universities which fail to integrate
meaningfully are not fulfilling their ethical,
moral, and educational obligations to those
whom they admit, to those whom they refuse,
and to society in general. As for "other
University funds," surely some of that money
used specifically to recruit athletes could have
been spared, if for no other reason to
encourage fine black athletes to attend the
University. As it happened, the pamphlet was
financed by the Inter-Fraternity Council and
other "private interests." Black students were
particularly disgusted with the treatment of
this matter.

Let us reiterate, however, that some of the
difficulties in recruiting black students
successfully do lie in the social environment
of the University. Many of the students are
unquestionably racist, which can only
discourage black applicants. Let us reiterate
also, though, that the main complaints about
the social environment have centered not on
white student attitudes, but on the lack of
more Negroes, whether for mere
companionship or for dates, in a context of
insincerity of administrative efforts to recruit
and enroll more. Further, those white student
attitudes which are discouraging cannot be
hoped to be changed until significantly more
personal and daily contact with Negroes is
available for those whites who harbor them.

Thus it is imperative that the University
dismiss its policy of accommodating demands
for more black students as they arise and
assume instead an active and vital exemplary
attitude toward recruiting them such as that
displayed by so many other - and better -
universities in the country. The hiring of Mr.
Stokes is a first step, but it is only a
beginning. Not until what his hiring began is a
fait accompli will this university cease to be a
disgrace to higher education and an
embarrassment to right-thinking people.