University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Second Semester Rush Sabotaged

I would like to call the University's
attention to an unfortunate
act which occurred during this past
weekend. In response to the interest
shown by a large number of
first-year men and fraternities, a
second semester rush was organized.
To facilitate the first-year
men in contacting the fraternities
they wanted to rush, the I.F.C.
placed information forms and
Student Council ballot boxes in the
dormitory post offices. This system
had been used in the past and was
agreeable to the Housing Office.

On Saturday evening a preliminary
check of the boxes was
made, and although there was a
large response in Emmet House, the
blank forms In Tuttle had disappeared.
It was impossible at such
a late time to correct the situation.
On Sunday, however, when the
boxes were to be collected, it
was discovered that all the completed
forms in Emmet had been
removed from the ballot box and
the box itself had been taken from
the Tuttle post office.

Whatever the intent, action of
this nature, I am sure, is supported
by only a tiny segment of our
University. It is only regrettable
that the persons hurt most by this
are not the fraternities, but the
first-year men, most of whom were
seriously taking another look at the
fraternity system. For the I.F.C. I
apologize to those inconvenienced
by the narrow-mindedness of a few.

No Election

On February 18 The Cavalier
Daily carried an article notifying
the full time graduate students in
the School of Education that
nominations would be accepted for
the position of School for Education
Representative to the Graduate
Council. The article mentioned
requirements, procedures for election
and due dates for each
required procedure. The election
was supposed to have occurred
Thursday, February 26. Due to lack
of interest it has been cancelled.
Out of a possible voting population
of 520 full time graduate students
in the School of Education no
nomination was received.

It is rather ironic that the
Democratic Process should be such
a failure in one aspect of "Mr.
Jefferson's University." Dictatorships
may be murdered; Democracies
die of starvation.

Less And Dull

It came to pass one cold and
ominous winter in an academic
village at the University that a great
controversy arose concerning degree
accreditation for ROTC
courses. Great men came to make
proposals. Some were from the
Department of Government and
Foreign Affairs and they had their
Ph.D.s. Another was from the
Department of Music and he also
had his Ph.D. Two Moore Breit men
came from the Department of
Economics and they too had their
Ph.D.s. They were Messrs. Less and
Dull. These men knew, as most all
men who have attained their Ph.D.s
know, that they knew all there was
to know about everything and that
therefore they could make great
decisions without debate or investigation
or evaluation. The proposals
offered by the men from the
Department of Government and
Foreign Affairs and of Music were
not accepted by a great forum of
intellectuals that had come to vote
on a solution. But the proposal
made by Messrs. Less and Dull from
the Department of Economics was
accepted and some people rejoiced
in that academic village for that day
was thought to be a victory for
truth, reason, and democracy.
Moral: When great men make great
decisions without debate or investigation
or evaluation, little men loss
faith and trust in their teachers and
some come to know that great
minds are sometimes really very
little minds.