University of Virginia Library

Not Snowed

In an earlier Pressure
Cooker Article, I depict
President Shannon as a keen
political observer with a State
point of view, yet I concluded
that he was blind to student
academic and social needs.
Since that writing, I have come
to see him as a shrewd
politician in his own right and
it is of the worst kind. Many
will applaud him for cutting
back next year's entering class.
Indeed, if it was accomplished
by setting higher standards, I
too would have praise for The
Man. But the entire reduction
will be made in the number of
out-of-state students to be
admitted.

This heinous decision is
not a moot point even though
the 1972-73 quotas are
presently being filled. The issue
is very much alive because how
Mr. Shannon got the
endorsement of the Enrollment
Projections Subcommittee of
the Committee on the Future
of the University is indicative
of his ruthless, undemocratic
style. We cannot afford to
tolerate his tyranny any longer.

Mr. Shannon, at a surprise
appearance before the
Subcommittee, sought its
blessing on the admission's
policy for next year. The
"proposal" required immediate
consideration (i e. approval).
After all, it was time for
Admissions to get rolling. I
asked one student member
why the Subcommittee
endorsed the fiat without
objection. He replied that he,
like the others, had been
"snowed" by Mr. Shannon. If I
am exaggerating that the
Subcommittee is composed of
invertebrates, I stand to be
corrected.

The Subcommittee met on
numerous occasions and came
to the foregone conclusion of
the need to temporarily
stabilize or slightly decrease
the enrollment—to stop
expansion—until the facilities
are available. Such curtailment
is proper if we assume a
homogeneous pool of
applicants. But in-state
students are accorded
preferential treatment, both
financially and in terms of
selection. I don't have a
Sources and Uses Statement to
tell whether the double tuition
fee for out-of-state students
offsets the state's subsidy—but
this equalizing argument is
insignificant to the
Administration.

What is important to Mr.
Shannon is that his University
is a State U and, therefore, he
has to let all qualified high
school graduates into his village
(without ever defining the term
qualified). This is justified, in
his view, because the state
benefits most by educating
those most likely to remain in
the state after taking their
degrees.

Should there be a quota on
the number of out-of-state
students? Or should
Admissions base its selection
solely on academic merit?
Without rehashing the subject
of elitism, I take academic
excellence to the goal ascribed
to this university. It is hindered
by the former and fostered by
the latter.

I have great disdain for the
Subcommittee's non-judicious
deliberation caused by Mr.
Shannon's steam-rolling tactics.
He talks out of the side of his
mouth about academic
excellence and chooses
specious statistics to prove that
his policy of State U-ism (for
graduate and professorial
recruitment) is achieving its
goal.

The true measure of
academic excellence is not a
computer analysis of the
entering class but a barometer
reading of the student spirit of
those already attending the
University. A number of
students have told me that the
University is a dead place:
"There is so little going on." It
is as if the U is an Old Folks
Home or a bench in Central
Park where minds and bodies
rot passing the time away.
Student's don't respond to
irrelevancies.

We need a President who
demonstrates leadership in
promoting liberal education.
This term is often
misunderstood because we are
apt to accept the parochial
definition of the
Administration: study, study
and study some more. Properly
speaking, it includes both the
academic and social aspects of
a student's life, that is, life en
toto. Mr. Shannon, when asked
about the University's
contribution towards
developing the complete
student, said that the
University is building a fine
arts center and theory is a lot
students can do without much
money.

Thus, the consumer and
private enterprise have the
primary burden of meeting the
student's needs. This man is
more than callous—he is a
disparaging word to be erased
of the rank of University of
Virginia President.