University of Virginia Library

Student Questions Lewis'
View Of Honor System

After reading the article by Mr.
Lewis on the Honor System, I
reached the conclusion that either
he or I had reached the wrong
understanding of the system. I got
the impression that, as far as Mr.
Lewis' proposals are concerned, lying
would be all right if one did not
swear that he was telling the truth.
Cheating would be all right, as long
as it was not concerned with the
University credit work. And as for
stealing, well, that would be all right
too, as long as it was not in
Albemarle County. As I understand
it, Honor is supposed to be Honor
wherever one is. Lying is lying,
whether in Walla Walla, Wash., or
Charlottesville, Va. Cheating is
cheating whether in Tasmania or in
Virginia, and stealing is stealing
whether here, there, or anywhere.
As I understand it, the Honor system
is not here in Virginia only to
protect the University community.
Its main aim is to instill in the
student a sense of Honor that pervades
his whole environment. Maybe
I'm wrong, and have missed the
point. Mr. Lewis seems to see
Honor as a code of laws to follow. I
see it as a spirit of honesty that one
feels and lives. If I have missed the
point of Honor at Virginia, I invite
Mr. Lewis to explain to me, and
others who have also been mislead,
just where we missed the boat.

'Dixie' Defunct

The Student Council will be
pleased to hear that WUVA, Inc.
anticipated its "request" last
Thursday. Then, at an impromptu
meeting of the Board of Directors, it
was agreed that "Dixie" was an
anachronistic holdover from the
University's predominantly
Southern past, appreciated by
neither the station's audience nor
its staff.

Since last Tuesday WUVA has
signed off to the Fleetwood Mac's
"Albatross," a progressive-rock
instrumental. The sign-on music,
though as yet unselected, will be
equally devoid of racial or regional
prejudice.

Misleading Article

The story in the February 25,
1969, issue of The Cavalier Daily,
reporting that a student-faculty
committee, representing a
cross-section of the faculty, had
passed two resolutions supporting
the goals of the student coalition, is
misleading in two respects.

First, it is clear that the faculty
present did not, in fact, represent a
cross-section of the University. For
example, there was no
representative of the School of
Nursing, one of the two major areas
in which women have been
admitted to the University. Nor was
there any representative of the
faculty of the Graduate School of
Business, as well as others.
Furthermore, these individuals
cannot be said to represent their
respective schools or departments,
since they had no specific
authorization to do so.

Second, it seems clear that all of
the faculty members who attended
the meeting did so out of a sincere
and deep concern about the
problems facing the University.
However, they did so with an
implicit understanding that
attendance in no way suggested
blanket endorsement of the eleven
Student Coalition proposals.
Indeed, a number of the faculty
had to leave before the resolutions
were brought to a vote. Therefore,
it is inaccurate to assume either
that the faculty members present
represented anyone other than
themselves or that all of the faculty
members present represented
anyone other than themselves or
that all of the faculty listed as
attending the meeting supported
the resolutions in part or in toto.

Pallid Defense

We were heartened by the events
of early last week which demonstrated
in an orderly and reasonable
manner the feeling of the majority
of students that racial justice
should finally come to the University
of Virginia. The formation of
the Student Coalition, the editorials
in The Cavalier Daily, and the
turnout of more than 1,000 students
in a non-violent demonstration
supporting fair and reasonable
demands for racial justice in
University affairs all seemed to
indicate that for once something
would be done to rectify an
intolerable situation.

Saturday morning, with a crowd
of concerned students (carefully
monitored by local FBI agents)
waiting impatiently at the doors of
its meeting room, the Board of
Visitors lost little time in announcing
plans for coeducation at
the University. Thursday, President
Shannon granted approval of female
visitation in First Year dormitories.
In their meeting Wednesday
afternoon, the Faculty Senate
failed even to consider any of the
demands presented by the Student
Coalition. Against this backdrop of
events, a bill is to be proposed to
the state legislature which would
put in the hands of the legislators
the power to expel any student or
faculty member participating in a
university demonstration.

Faced with the efforts of the
University administration to placate
student demands for racial justice
with coeducation and freshman
parietals in an apparent attitude of
"give the boys a little sex and
they'll forget about the real issues;"
faced with faculty indifference; and
faced with the possibility of the
legislature's proscription of free
speech at the University, The
Cavalier Daily nonetheless directed
its less than eloquent Friday editorial
to a pallid defense of a pallid
Student Council President. If Ron
Hickman disagreed with the content
or objectives of the Coalition
demands, he should honestly admit
it. But if he failed to exercise the
mandate of his office and the
students he purports to represent to
join an orderly demonstration
merely because of "his responsibility
to his office," he had a
similar responsibility not to sign the
apology to C. Stuart Wheatley.

We submit that in doing nothing
for the sake of his office, Student
Council President Hickman has
ignored that office's responsibilities.
We further submit that in
failing to recognize the full impact
of the reaction of the administration
and faculty to a responsible
presentation of reasonable student
demands, The Cavalier Daily has
compromised the ideals of racial
justice and tolerance it has
espoused in support of these
demands. Perhaps both Mr.
Hickman and the editors of The
Cavalier Daily are destined for the
fate which this paper described as
that special place in Hell reserved
for those who, when faced with
great moral crisis, maintain their
neutrality.

Rapier Poster

The Rapier poster for Midwinter's
is certainly a judicious
exercise in good taste. Surely the
flag depicted could by no manner
of indirection be associated with
any tradition of racial injustice.
And isn't it stimulating to have
"the meaning of the black-and-white
representation...left up to the
student." Beyond the tittering, isn't
it an incisive insight into the callow
consciousness of this University?

Boorish Behavior

As a student-wife at the University
for the past two years, I have
often had occasion to doubt the
validity of the "Virginia Gentleman"
myth. However, I have never
in my entire life observed such
rude, boorish behavior as that of
some twenty second-year French
students who attended Antigone at
Lane High School Monday night. It
was fairly obvious that they were
unable to understand the French.
Unfortunately those of us who
were not so linguistically crippled,
nevertheless were subjected to their
loud jeering conversation. It is
difficult to plunge oneself into
Anouilk's philosophy, but it is
Herculean task when others are
discussing their skiing techniques or
their low grades in French.

If the play was required for a
course, and if these "gentlemen"
found the assignment so distasteful,
they certainly gained nothing by
staying in the theatre. The Lane
students who are supposedly much
more culturally deprived than our
Cavalier, behaved a great deal more
creditably.

I hardly think such ill-mannered
behavior should masquerade under
the guise of sophistication. Furthermore,
in a cultural wasteland such
as Charlottesville, the opportunities
to see a first-rate production are
scant indeed, and should not be
destroyed by a group of ignorant
underclassmen.

Restez chez vous, Chevaliers! Ne
nous embettez plus!