University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

A Raise For Herring?

It was not without some sympathy
that I read the Cavalier Daily
article on Newcomb Hall Director
John Herring's ousting of Messrs.
Tom Gardner and Alvin Long from
University Hall for passing out
issues of the Virginia Weekly
containing schedules of the events
of Black Culture Week.

Mr. Herring's bureaucratic fastidiousness
in forcing compliance
with the pettiest of rules and
regulations can only be matched by
his extremely logical mind: first he
tells Messrs. Gardner and Long to
leave, because the lease of the
building doesn't allow them to
distribute the Weekly; then, after
starting the thing in the first place,
he calls the Security Police "because
it was felt that he [Mr.
Gardner] was disrupting the performance
and that he and Mr. Long
should be ejected. Fantastic.

I guess you might call me one of
John Herring's admirers. In an
incident in Newcomb Hall last
month, I asked to see a copy of the
rule he said I was violating. Politely.
He responded that, because of my
attitude (I didn't trust him to give
me the straight poodah, apparently),
he was going to make an
appointment for him and me to see
"the Dean." Just for asking to see
the rules.

I think we ought to give Mr.
Herring a raise in pay.

I have no great love for pseudo conservatives
like Wallace and
Maddox, but here are a few
thoughts after reading your Feb. 10
editorial "Southern Tragedy":

You note the supposed hypocrisy
of those calling for defiance of
certain federal integration actions.
The truth is that the government
has blatantly violated the law.
Section 409 of the current HEW
appropriations act states plainly:

"No part of the funds contained
in this Act may be used to force
busing of students, abolishment of
any school, or to force any student
attending any elementary or
secondary school to attend any
particular school against the choice
of his or her parents or parent in
order to overcome racial imbalance."

And yet, black schools are
ordered closed (often with protests
by the students and their parents).
Busing and school district "gerrymanderings"
are ordered. Incredible
cases such as that of Ray York
occur - this Oklahoma City 8th
grader was ordered to switch junior
highs (to a school farther away) to
please a federal court; when he
refused in accordance with the
wishes of his parents, he was barred
from his old school and taken into
custody of federal marshals.

Hypocrisy? What about such
"civil rights" lovers as George
McGovern, who lives in D.C. and
sends his kids to a private school in
Maryland? Where are the little
darlings of Kennedy, Bayh, McCarthy,
Percy, and Goodell? In
integrated public schools? Of
course not.

What about the fact that while
zealous federal action is taken
against Southern, no such action is
taken against frequently more blatant
examples in the North? What
about other federal racial policies
(like Nixon's "Philadelphia plan")
which constitute reverse racism?

Many Americans in and outside
the South are fed up with this sort
of thing and are no longer willing to
just sit back and take it. The recent
statements by governors McKeithen,
Williams, Brewer and Maddox
largely reflect this growing and
quite justifiable protest.

Thank you for your editorial
recognition of the new School of
Architecture. The points made
concerning the quality of University
architecture in recent years are
well taken. However, I suspect that
Pietro Behuschi and his associates
might cringe at the description of
their design as a "nice"-looking
building. The School is probably
much too important an architectural
contribution to the University
to be burdened with that all-encompassing
non-word.

Finally I would submit that
those "awful potted plants" in the
lobby are in fact just the sort of
softening touch that can transform
a good building into a very lively
human environment. The same
effect is being achieved in the
drafting areas with a profusion of
brightly colored partitions, posters,
furniture, and - inevitably -
potted plants.