University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Editorial Shows Understanding

May I congratulate whomever
was responsible for the editorial in
the November 25 issue entitled
"Whose Atrocities." It showed
great understanding and wisdom
and I was more than impressed by
it. I am sending it to the Boston
Herald a splendid example of
your thinking, which is something
we oldsters need more of!!

We so enjoy The Cavalier Daily.
You are doing a good job.

I would like to commend and
personally thank you for the
editorial of the College's guidance
system. The editorial is highly
relevant at this time and I hope The
Cavalier Daily will actively pursue
the ideas therein. Guidance in the
College (in the first years particularly)
is almost nonexistent and is
in definite need of being reformed.
If The Cavalier Daily will take up
this cause and can effect some
constructive changes it will be
doing the University a great service.

Personally, I have seen my dean
a number of times. Once he has
taken the time beforehand to find
out who I was, but he has never
given me any worthwhile guidance.
He has in fact done the opposite.
Due to his lack of interest and/or
not informing himself of the
particulars of my case, he recommended
that I should follow a
certain direction. This, as it turned
out later, was not in my best
interests (which I found out accidentally)
and which he should have
seen immediately if he had looked
at my record. Presumably, since he
is the Dean of the College, he
should be a highly competent
advisor, who should be best able to
show the uninformed student what
his best interests are. Instead of
that, the student has no choice but
to attempt to determine (without
help) how his education is to
proceed. Some students are able to
do this, but the majority just aren't
aware.

The time has come to initiate a
good, working guidance system. If
the deans don't have the time to
give each case the personal attention
it deserves, then the University
should hire people to take over
those duties.

Tom Gardner's column of December
4, 1969, presents a distorted
view of the present situation in
Suffolk, Virginia. The article contains
several statements which are
erroneous or which require clarification:

1) The Louise Obi Memorial
Hospital is not "refusing to hire"
the striking workers. The workers
are refusing to return to their jobs
until their union is recognized, a
condition which the hospital has so
far refused to meet. The hospital
has, however, offered to discuss
grievances with any worker or
group of workers.

2) The statement that a person
"owns a town" is usually a
subjective one. I do not believe that
William Birdsong can be pictured
accurately as "one of the group
who owns" the City of Suffolk.
The Birdsong family is prominent
in the Suffolk business community.
To my knowledge, however, their
holdings and influence are not as
great as Mr. Gardner suggests. The
Birdsong family's peanut operations
are certainly overshadowed by
Planters Peanuts, which is by far
the largest employer in the city.

3) The Suffolk school system is
not "almost totally segregated."
The city schools are totally integrated
on a geographically zoned
basis.

4) Mr. Birdsong and the other
members of the hospital's Board of
Directors do not "make their profit
from the sickness of others." The
hospital is a non-profit organization;
the only tangible rewards
received by the board members is a
free meal on the hospital when the
board meets there.

A large segment of University
students are in desperate need of a
lesson which can be extracted from
the recent Janis Joplin concert or
confrontation.

The concert had a truly brilliant
performer unjustly upstaged by
another performance which starred
several piggy-back prostitutions of
the peace sign, along with a cast of
thousands. Apparently, some members
of the audience "have neither
the time nor the patience to care
about anyone but themselves," as
Miss Joplin so aptly stated before
leaving the stage in anger and
frustration.

It must certainly be a demanding
task to perform for the
gentlemen of the University.