University of Virginia Library

The Hampton Exchange

In spite of stepped-up efforts by the
Admissions staff, it will undoubtedly be many
years yet before the percentage of black
students in attendance at the University
equals the percentage graduating from high
schools in the nation, much less the state.
While at this school, students have relatively
little exposure to black students. In the real
world, of course, things are somewhat
different.

For the student who would like to have
some black input into his mind, Hampton
Institute, a predominantly black college in
Norfolk, has been awarded a sizeable grant by
the Federal Government to exchange students
with a predominantly white school. The
University has been named as the partner to
this exchange. Approximately 25 students
from the University can study in Norfolk next
semester, with the federal government picking
up the tab for the extra cost of attendance.

The exchange program presents University
students with a tremendous opportunity, one
which could be the high point of an otherwise
rather boring four years in Mr. Jefferson's
"Academical Village." In addition to the
rather obvious cultural possibilities offered by
Hampton Institute, it has other attractions.
For those who are bothered by the
burgeoning size of the University, Hampton is
a relatively small coeducational school,
approximately one-fifth the size of the
University. Even so, it offers many courses
not available here, chiefly in the liberal arts,
but also in architecture, engineering and
biology.

A few years ago Hampton had a similar
exchange program with Cornell, but because
of the distance between the two schools, and
because most of the students who came from
Cornell were black, the program was not as
successful as administrators at Hampton
Institute would have liked. Hopefully the
exchange between the University and
Hampton will be more of a cultural exchange.

Another part of this same program will be
an exchange of lecturers between the two
schools. So the students who remain at the
University will derive some benefit from the
program.

But the students who will benefit most
from this program will, we feel, be the
students who choose to spend a semester in
Norfolk. It takes quite a bit of maturity and
even some courage for one to change his
environment. We certainly encourage students
to accept that challenge.