University of Virginia Library

Question Over Backdrop

At about 5:40 p.m. last Friday
evening, I happened to pass by the
Memorial Gymnasium where the
Slithy Toves and others were
practicing for the big blast dance.
The music emanating from within
was enticing enough to draw me to
the open doors. What greeted my
sight, however, was altogether repulsive.
The backdrop for the
musicians was a large sign, perhaps
13′ by 14′, depicting a naked
brawd, yes brawd, with mammary
glands that would have put a
Ubangi to shame; and the message
in curvaceous, white lettering: "It's
Openings, Baby."

What in the name of aestheticism,
or is that dead too, was the
point? Perhaps the point was too
obvious and hence, crude. Nudity
in the pursuit of Beauty is no vice,
but pornography in the pursuit
of...is no virtue.

Unfortunately, the sponsors
were the ones responsible for setting
the tone of the dance. Their
total lack of good taste may have
offset for many an otherwise
pleasant evening. What was revolting
to the visual, aesthetic, not
to mention moral, sensibility, it is
my hope, was more than compensated
for by the audial, aesthetic
vibrations of the musicians.

Despite three semesters spent in
the repressive University of Virginia
environment, my mind and actions
remain my own. I recognize student
organizations (including Student
Council) as the basically powerless,
co-opted, safety-valve institutions
that they are, and am anxious to
strive for radical changes working
from that base of perspective.

In your November 13, 1968
issue there is a discussion of the
Draft System by Mike Russell.
Quite frankly, the errors of omission
are flagrant, but one statement
stands out for which I would like a
clarification. Your writer says "Yes,
the sole purpose of the Selective
Service System during World War
Two was to keep men from volunteering
and channel them back into
the civilian economy."

On the surface this sentence is
untrue, but the effect may have
been as stated. My recollection is
that it was always possible to volunteer
in WW II, but this was a short
cut to the front lines; the Draft,
being bureaucratic and cumbersome,
was a much slower route and
thus the first part of the sentence is
true in that sense, since we all
appreciated the extra delay. The
second part of the sentence is true
but my very vivid recollection is
that there were several months of
combat between induction and our
return to the civilian economy with
a probability of survival factor involved;
this has been left out of Mr.
Russell's statement.

Now that a new era of football
has become evident here at the
University, I think it is time for a
long-standing tradition to fall by
the wayside. What I am referring to
is the manner in which "The Good
Old Song" is sung after a Cavalier
score. Such an event is a joyous
occasion, yet Scott Stadium rings
the sounds of a requiem. I think
either "The Good Old Song"
should be sung with spirit as the
Falls Church High School Band
played it after one of Virginia's
scores or else it should be replaced
with a fight song, if one exists. I am
convinced that such a change would
be a boost to the morale of the
football team.

Perhaps a fight song can be
instituted next year, but we can at
least add spirit to our number one
alma mater for the Maryland game
this Saturday. I hope the cheerleaders
will give this suggestion a
try by directing "The Good Old
Song" at about twice the present
tempo.