University of Virginia Library

Et Tu...

—A.N. Whitehead

One of the inevitable criticisms of this
newspaper heard at gatherings like last
weekend's Mountain Lake conference is the
charge of parochialism. The Cavalier Daily, it
is argued, speaks only to the College and
tends to neglect events in the University's
other schools. Which is true.

Why this is the case owes not so much to
the mistaken idea that the editors are ivory
tower troglodytes, or even to the numerical
preponderance of College students within the
larger University; rather we would cite the
remark of a former editor who noted the
simple fact that the paper expresses the
interests and aspirations of those who write
and edit it.

All power, then, is not with the people.
Instead, all power (or most of it) rests with
the few who get down to the mundane, often
grubby and boring, and sometimes actually
inspiring business of getting out four or six
pages of news every day. These few—and
never are there enough of us—bring with them
an array of nuances, pet projects, special
interests, undergraduate follies and amateur
techniques. Taken together these add up to
the product you receive every morning.

As readers your alternatives of response
are few. You may read and accept. You may
even ignore, as some do. This editorial seeks
to reach neither those who accept nor reject
the paper entirely. Instead, we are hoping
there are a number of you out there who like
some of what you see on our pages but who
differ with us sufficiently to attempt to take
part and, perhaps, even dare to change it. If
you are a engineering student and wonder
why E-School events are undercovered in The
Cavalier Daily we can only suggest that you
try out as a writer. Likewise, if you belong to
an organization which you feel we neglect,
DO SOMETHING about it: we are
perpetually in need of Colloquia pieces, and
faculty members, too, are encouraged to take
advantage of a forum which reaches 13,000
readers in the community daily.

If you are a woman you might be surprised
to learn that several of our city editors and a
number of our staff writers are women. If you
are black—and justifiably upset about our
cultural perspective—we need your time and
ideas. And support.

Leave it that we are attempting to meet the
changing needs of a community which grows
more diverse, even fragmented, with time.
Starting last spring a concerted effort was
begun to make Page One a more sensitive
index of daily life. Such a step meant cutting
back in other areas, most notably that of
meeting and event notices which at times
threatened to choke other copy off the page.
A new policy this fall will involve the use of a
Page Four feature in the first issue of each
week which will list upcoming events for the
week. Inclusion in this section will be assured
by a notice to this office no later than the
preceding Friday afternoon.