University of Virginia Library

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.