University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Alumni Discrimination

Thursday's editorial on the
Alumni Association unfortunately
casually dismissed the discriminatory
practices of many of the local
chapters in recruiting students and
in the distribution of scholarship
funds. Students who have had
contact with many official Alumni
chapters engaged in recruitment
have returned universally discouraged
at the recalcitrance and
feigned ignorance at recent changes
in the University. One alumni
recruiter told a student that he was
not aware that the University
wanted black students. In many
areas of the country where alumni
recruiting efforts are important,
visits are still made to segregated
high school and all-white, all-male
dinners to acquaint high school
students with Virginia are still in
practice.

While local Alumni chapters do
for the most part finance themselves,
they are assisted by the
Alumni Association, and at any rate
are official representatives of the
University and its Admissions Office.
To excuse the continued
adherence to deplorable practices in
recruiting and scholarship distribution
is itself inexcusable.

When students become members
of the Alumni Association, they
have an opportunity to change the
recruiting practices in only a
minimal way. The Alumni Association,
like most other large institutions,
including the University, is
essentially operated by a few
individuals who occupy positions of
importance. In addition, the Alumni
Association is composed predominantly
of older graduates,
many of whom are familiar with
the University when it did not
profess to be an equal opportunity
institution.

The best way to effect changes
in the recruiting practices, then, is to
write Mr. Gilbert Sullivan, the
Director of the Alumni Association,
Alumni Hall, informing him that
you desire to join the Association
and thusly benefit from the continued
contact with the University,
but you cannot do so until and
unless a commitment is made to
institute non-discriminatory practices
and to insure compliance by
the local chapters. Only then will
we not have to be concerned over
the failure of the University to
make good on its oft repeated
promises of prompt action to
remove the vestiges of discrimination
against blacks and women
which all too often are the most
well known characteristics of our
University.

Law School

"The plans for a new Law
School on Copeley Hill are too far
advanced to consider relocation."
That is absurd. The building of the
new Law School on Copeley Hill
would be catastrophic. We all know
that. Yet we're to accept this
disastrous mistake on the basis that
it is impossible to change at this
late date? Ridiculous.

True, plans are far advanced.
And $150,000 has been spent. The
University community should have
spoken out against the location
when it was first announced. That
was our mistake. To change the site
location at this late date immense
problems would have to be faced:

Money $150,000 has been
wasted. We can start by facing up
to that. More money is going to
have to be found. If not the
legislature then what about the
alumni? Don't tell me there isn't
some wealthy alumnus who
wouldn't want a new law school
named after him. And I refuse to
believe that alumni of the Law
School are so cold-hearted that
when informed of the situation the
money couldn't be found.

Time - Conditions are already
overcrowded in the present building.
The Law School has to increase
its enrollment and a delay in doing
so is out of the question. What is
needed is space but it need not be
permanent. Temporary space can
be made available by the construction
of cheap, make-shift structures
which can be thrown up overnight
by a local contractor. And that can
start today.

A new site - There are plenty of
sites located within the University
area. The University is going to
have to begin building in the
University proper within the near
future anyway (Projected enrollment,
1980: 18,000) so why not
start with the Law School.

Sure there are problems. And
they're not easily solved. The easy
way out of a difficult situation is to
acquiesce, to give up. What this
University desperately needs now is
determination. Location of the
school is not secondary. Location is
the issue. There won't be any
problem of Law School — University
interaction if the proposed
move is allowed; because there
won't be any interaction. Period!
We're only fooling ourselves if we
think things will "work themselves
out."

This is one battle that is just
beginning.