University of Virginia Library

The Campaign Trail

A good deal of the air that buoyed the
strike balloon last May seems to have dissipated
over the summer. All of the outrage
that provoked a few to illegal acts and many
to cast votes of their approval for the
principles behind the boycott of classes and
attendance at numerous rallies and demonstrations
has quieted to intellectual concern,
and at times, a state of apathy induced by the
hope that some energetic soul will whisk away
all of the difficult problems which can radically
alter our daily lives.

In short many University students appear
to be worn out with the overused phrases of
"repression," "Free Bobby," and "University
complicity in the war." We believe that this is
to an extent justifiable, since all men are not
politically oriented, nor do they wish to
sacrifice all of their private lives to a public
sphere. Of course, the radicals condemn the
signs of indifference and lack of total commitment
to the "movement" because of their
belief that we are living in an age of repression
under a system dominated by fascist-authoritarians.
We are inclined to disagree.

There are real dangers to our individual
freedom in today's society, but we must look
at them objectively. The real danger is not the
present itself, but what the present can bring
in the future if men like Spiro Agnew become
the norm rather than the exception. Unfortunately
the trend is in that direction.

We, who are not apt to become wild-eyed
with every cause that comes along, must
realize that our private lives are inevitably
bound up with the swirling public world. We
become affected when the gross mistakes,
such as the war in Indochina, are thrust into
our individual careers altering even to the
point of permanently ending them.

How can we keep a bit of precious
freedom to-do what we want when we want
to do it without becoming a full time political
activist? Perhaps the best way is to work and
vote for the best men to fill the positions of
leadership and decision making in government.
We believe the man we can rely upon in
the Congressional District is Murat Williams,
former University student and Rhodes Scholar.

Mr. Williams has served his government in
a variety of positions under both Democratic
and Republican leadership. He is eminently
qualified to attack the pressing problems of
this country with vigor and reason. We urge
University students to rally behind Murat
Williams and his campaign to serve the people
of this District and our nation in Congress.