University of Virginia Library

Segregated Facilities

Last spring the Student Council
effectively promised all students of
the University that it would use
its power to help prevent the perpetuation
of racial discrimination.
This promise took the form of a
rule stating that no "recognized"
student organization could patronize
racially segregated establishments.

The Council broke its promise
last week; it suspended the rule.
Supposedly, suspension is necessary
to allow a special committee
time to study problems in the rule
of application, enforcement, and
punishment. Obviously, the reason
is to allow the student nurses
to have their dance at the segregated
facilities at Fry's Springs
this Friday without punishment
or censure.

Tuesday night the Council was
given another opportunity to
choose which of the two conflicting
promises is most important.
The Council defeated a motion
to reinstate the rule immediately.
It thereby gave priority again to
the convenience of one student
organization rather than to the
individual rights of each student
of the University.

The fact that a special committee
has spent much time during
the past week working out the
problems (of application, enforcement,
and punishment), but that it
will not have any definite proposals
for another week, shows that the
committee has not spent enough
time to make equal opportunity
any more immediate at this crucial
time. The application in this case
where a "recognized" student organization
is involved is quite
clear-no use of segregated facilities.
"Application" is no reason
to suspend the rule to avoid a
question of its violation. Furthermore,
since enforcement and punitive
measures for violators would
be a Student Council matter, initial
violators could be handled and
then the committee's proposals in
this area could be spelled out more
clearly.

The fact that the Council intends
to reinstate this principle
conveniently after this Friday night
clearly demonstrates its unwillingness
to use the power given it
by the students to protect each
student's rights. The Council protests
that it is not "racist," that
it is opposed to racial discrimination.
The words are fine semantic
exercises. The action is plainly
hypocritical and dishonest.

The fact there are no Negro
student nurses involved and,
"therefore," probably no problems
of racial discrimination at
this one particular function has
nothing to do with the application
of the rule. The force of the rule,
in the first place, derives from
its power to help prevent the
perpetuation of racial discrimination
by keeping all recognized student
organizations from financially
supporting segregated establishments.

No student nurse can so much
as contemplate having a Negro
date at this dance, nor can a
Negro student consider himself
as a possible date at this dance.
A very real stigma exists: people
are being excluded before students
can choose to include them. Try
to put yourself in those shoes
and to confront this situation
and the decades of slammed doors
in your face. Either we have the
courage to make it a fact that
where one of us goes, we all go,
or we don't have the courage.

To think that avoiding the present
violation of our principles
will gain us more than we shall
lose is to be stupid. The whole
matter is an issue of individual
rights, rights which our Student
Council blatantly chooses not to
protect at this critical time. The
time is critical and crucial because,
after the inaction last month by
the Council on the rule's violation
and now before the violation
this Friday evening, the Negro
students here, prospective students,
and others are watching to
see whether the principles about
which we whites talk have any
depth.

Either University students stand
for racial equality, or they don't.
Today the Council is sitting. Tomorrow?
I urge all students, nursing
students especially, to think
hard about whether this dance is
worth its weight in hypocrisy and/
or convenience. No segregated
facility deserves our support, especially
our financial support.