University of Virginia Library

Blacklisted?

Your March 17 editorial on
committee appointments gives rise
to reversal questions that the
Administration needs to answer. It
is a well known fact to many that
last year's nominations for
committees that Student Council
proposed were "slightly altered"
during the summer by the
President's office. Although the
explanation given was that the
Administration wanted a more
diversified student representation
on their committees, many persons
who had been prominently involved
with the Strike were noticeably
eliminated from the Student
Council list. It had been the
practice in previous years to merely
rubber-stamp these nominations.

You said that, "Student input
on these committees is essential for
student interests to be best
represented when the
Administration makes any
decision." If the University is truly
interested in student input that is
made through established, orderly
channels, why has this year seen the
demise of the Administrative
committees? I have been a member
of the Calendar and Scheduling
Committee for two years, one that
you note as, "...renowned for [its]
power and importance." It has met
twice this year. One of the major
controversies of last year was
ROTC. The Committee on ROTC.
Affairs of which I am a member,
has yet to meet. The list goes on
but the trend is apparent.

If the Administration is
concerned about student
participation in University affairs,
and if it wants students to work
through "established lines of
communication," then it should
upgrade its committees to the point
that students will be making a
significant contribution to the
decision-making process of this
University. If it fails to do so, then
more students will see their only
hope in unestablished lines of
communication.