Let's Stay Together

As my final semester at the university approaches, there's been a lot of talk about the "university community" and where it's headed. Since the days of Jefferson, U.Va., with its columns and serpentine walls, has prided itself on its unity, on faculty-student interaction and class identity. Perhaps these goals were easier to accomplish when the school was small, rich, white, and male, because we seem to be having some trouble with the concept lately. Most people gave up on the academical village idea a long time ago.

Most, but not all. A select idealistic few have been pushing the idea of community here all over again. The idea starts with faculty-student interaction. The new head of the faculty senate, John Ramazani, has publicly expressed his commitment to communication between professors and their students, and not just during office hours or over email. So it's conceivable that, like the A-School and E-School, the college can finally get some sort of dialogue going.

Another way of pulling us together as one is through class councils for upperclassmen. The general theory is that the first year holds the most unified conception of "class" that U.Va. students experience, and part of the reason for that is the activities of the First Year Councils. If the upperclasses had councils working on their behalf -- especially since they scatter off Grounds after the bonding of the dorms -- they could maintain the sense of class unity into the alumni association and beyond.

Both ideas are well-intentioned, and maybe even a step in the right direction. A better sense of community would probably be welcomed by the hordes (myself included) who spend their days in off-Grounds apartments with former hall- or suitemates. And I would definitely like to get to know my professors better. But I'm a little skeptical for a couple reasons.

One, I'm not at all sure that First Year Councils ever did much for the first year class. Any class spirit I may have had certainly didn't originate with the songs of Plutonium playing during Lilepalooza. It came out of simply living with my class -- an experience that, no matter what, won't be repeated in this era of simultaneous tuition freezes and state-mandated growth. The growth makes it hard, too, for the good relations amongst students and professors. We aren't as small as the A- or E-School, which means more TAs and 500-seat lectures, and pretty infrequent faculty-student mixers, unless they're inter-department.

But you can't stop a girl from hoping, can you? If those in favor of the upper class councils succeed, it will be well worth the effort. The academical village needs a shot in the arm, and despite my cynicism, I would be grateful if these initiatives were just the thing.

Viewpoint consists of the majority opinion of the managing board of The Declaration and is written by the executive editor on a weekly basis.