University of Virginia Library

Reader Protests Lowenstein As Messiah

I protest your implicit suggestion in the
April 24 editorial that Allard Lowenstein is
a new Messiah, That editorial stated: "His
philosophy is considered radical by many,
but those who listened came away most
impressed by his rejection of senseless
violence at universities." What this is
supposed to mean is unknown.

Is Lowenstein against just "senseless"
violence, like that which occurred at recent
fraternity parties, and, therefore, in favor of
violence which is goal-oriented, such as that
being employed against university administrations?
Or, does it mean that Mr.
Lowenstein is not a radical because he
disavows all types of violence? If the latter
interpretation is correct, i exhibits a strange
twisting of political reality on your part.
Those who espouse violence are hardly the
only radicals, and, moreover, they are not
even the only dangerous radicals.

Apparently, The Cavalier Daily wants to
play down Mr. Lowenstein's extremism by
extolling him as "a man who refuses to be
cowed by extremists of either fringe..."
While it is true that he is not "cowed" by
extremists, the reason for this is that he is
leading a large portion of them. Implying
that a radical is not a radical amounts to
double-think. Even worse, you might even
be creating a non-establishment credibility
gap.

As for Gov. Godwin and the legislature
being unable to understand Lowenstein's
concern for student opinion, this opinion on
your part seems incorrect. Gov. Godwin and
the legislature may understand, but they
also reject this "concern for what it is: the
political evangelizing of a radical demagogue.

Why anyone would want to include the
opinions of juveniles in policy decisions is
beyond my comprehension. Certainly the
only possible reason one might do so is if
they held a participatory theory of democracy,
which like Mr. Lowenstein's, is pure
nonsense. The proposition that "the people
govern in a democracy; that students are
people; and, therefore, that students should
also govern" is in error. All people do not
govern, nor ought all people to govern.
Infants, cretins, and others who cannot
exercise consistently mature judgments are
rightfully excluded. Merely reciting the
naked assertion that, because students exist
(e.g. in society, in the university, etc.), they
ought to be allowed some degree of control
appeals to the power hungry desires of these
juveniles, but not to reason.

Saturday's Conduct

I would like to comment upon the
conduct of some of those persons who
participated in the demonstration at the
review on Saturday. By their immature
display, they defeated soundly their own
purpose, ostensibly being to rid the
University of the spectre of the military-industrial
complex. Aside from rendering
their efforts vastly ineffective, their behavior
evinced a total lack of respect for the
National Colors and consideration for those
involved in the military activities being
carried out on the field. Cries of "Play ball"
were heard after the playing of the National
Anthem and personal insults were directed
at those receiving decorations. Such behavior
fails to behoove even five-year-olds!

However, there was another group
present who dissented quietly and effectively
through a well organized campaign to
distribute leaflets. Unfortunately their efforts
went unnoticed because the more
vocal, and incidentally quite repulsive,
group received all the attention. Hopefully
in the future more socially acceptable means
will be devised to express their dissent.

English Club Existence

The Undergraduate English Club is
pleased to announce its existence.

According to its constitution, the purpose
of this organization is "the promotion
of interest in works of American and British
literature and the encouragement and
facilitation of communication between
faculty and students in the English Department."
We hope to achieve these goals by
sponsoring occasional student-faculty beer
parties or informal talk sessions at which the
students and the faculty will hopefully get
to know one another better.

We are also interested in the possibility
of altering or abolishing the English 4th-year
comps. In order to begin programs which
will result in the attainment of the
aforementioned-goals, a meeting of the Club
will be held tonight at 7 in room 4A,
Newcomb Hall. All English majors, and all
first-year men who are thinking about
majoring in English are encouraged to
attend.

Sad State Of Affairs

The sad state of affairs of the Financial Aid
Department has recently come to my
attention.

The primary fault of this department is
that it does not allocate a sufficient amount of
money to each student who applies. Whereas
financial aid is given to a large number of
students, this aid is, if not minuscule, at least
small, as compared to the educational
expenses that the student must meet. The
people who I am mainly concerned with are
those requiring complete or substantial
financial aid. If they are unable to win a
scholarship and still desire an education, the
maximum amount they can receive in loans is
$1,300 (a combination of ND Student Loans
and the University Long-Term loans.) More
can be obtained through the work-study
program, which is too time consuming, and in
my opinion, underpaid.

The Educational Opportunity Grant which
matched dollar-for-dollar with the NDSL loan
was recently cancelled for those entering
students whose parents earn over $6,000 per
year. My primary contention is that with the
cancellation of this source of money, the
financial loans at any institution of higher
learning should be easier to obtain and more
encompassing.

Not only is the amount insufficient to
allow a needy person to obtain a higher
education, but the financial aid office itself is
very unaccommodating and inefficient. Budgets
carefully prepared by students showing
exactly what is needed are not always utilized
as they should be. Complaints about working
conditions have been ignored. The height of
inefficiency was exhibited when the department
misinformed a student about the
availability of the Educational Grant which
has been abolished.

Financial Aid department - catch up to
the times. More students require a higher
education which is progressively more expensive.
Give students who are not bestowed with
a large amount of money their right to attend
this university. And be more accommodating to
the students who are applying for loans. Do
not force them to work long hours during the
week for a slight monthly sum while they are
simultaneously attending school on a full-time
basis, which is a full time occupation in itself.