Power Plays

Dear Declaration,

People at U.Va. complain all the time about their lack of options after school. I suppose it's that way everywhere. Few people really want to become consultants, lawyers, or even doctors. A sense of helplessness pervades us. Alternative choices just don't seem plausible. Who among us knows what they want to do? I challenge the idea that most don't know. I think that people are afraid. I am. Then why can't we break these constraints? If we really know what we want, why don't we pursue it? Too many of us intellectualize about how we don't need money or the professional world, and most of us lie in doing so. We lie because we're scared of taking a risk and failing. We blame our parents or society -- this coming from a group of kids who come from well-off backgrounds, kids who usually get what they want, kids like myself. It's time we stop shifting blame and whispering our problems without confronting them. It's time we realize that our tenure at this university does as much damage as any experience we've had in molding us into lifeless conformists. Most of us leave here as robots and drones, and I'm sick of it. I don't claim to have any solutions. But I know that I should start letting my thoughts circulate. Then maybe some more of us will cease believing that they have to accept anything. I'll begin with an experience of my own. I'm in a fraternity. Last year at a mixer, we broke the rules. An underage student drank too much and got alcohol poisoning. I fully acknowledge wrongdoing; we deserved punishment. However, the manner in which our punishment was administered serves as a ready example of the many problems which this school perpetuates.

The IFC scheduled our trial for early May. The prosecuting attorney failed to appear at the trial, grounds for an automatic dismissal of the case. Fortune had smiled upon us, I thought. Then, in September, I received a call informing me that a new hearing had been arranged. It turns out that a dean had deemed it an injustice that the sorority involved had been reprimanded while we had emerged from the matter without any retribution. So, disregarding the rules, said dean demanded another trial, and the IFC acquiesced, which they probably would not have done had we had a member on their executive committee. We filed the proper motion asking for a dismissal of the trial and were summarily denied. The judges avoided the issue and gave sound basis for their decision. Make your own judgment as to why. And, at the trial's conclusion, we simply got fucked.

I'm sure that, if confronted, everyone else involved in this case could conjure something slick to say to bury the issue, to silence me and make me look like a liar. Now are you beginning to understand the breeding ground we inhabit? A dean of students blatantly abused his position to coerce students into ignoring the rules, and we burned for it. Not just my house, but all of us at this school. And not only were we burned, we were expected to lie comatose and accept our whipping. These are the messages we receive every day about living in the real world. Play along. Cater to those in charge. Don't discuss with them. Don't attempt to hold discourse. Listen. We're just stupid kids. They have experience and know better. They've lived in the harsh world long enough to know that those in command call the shots, and they can't have us holding any delusions which would lead us to believe otherwise. And don't listen to their words. Actions mean much more. Our spirits must be broken here before someone less friendly does it in the future.

I realize that you could read this and consider it the rantings of a lunatic who has difficulty handling authority. You could say that I'm just whining and that I should accept my just punishment and move on. And you might be right. But I don't agree; futhermore, I know that I'm not the only person who holds this type of feeling about the garbage that occurs at this institution. Think about it yourself. How many times have you confronted the bureaucracy enveloping you and felt helpless, whether that bureaucracy took the form of the bursar's office, your R.A., or your landlord? I believe that we're not helpless. I understand the notion that we have no one to turn to. After all, who can I seek out to rectify my case? Nobody sits above Peabody Hall, at least nobody who would hear me. That's why I decided to talk to you, in the hopes that problems can be brought into the light. I encourage anyone with similar grievances to do the same; and I know that such complaints exist because I've heard them. The Cavalier Daily misquotes someone. A student juror seeks a conviction in an honor trial -- AN HONOR TRIAL -- because this student wanted to stop deliberating and attend a party. These types of things happen all the time. And we sit silently because we've become so ingrained in the atmosphere of nonchalance that strangles this school. No one has the right to bemoan the fact that there's nothing worth fighting for at this school. There's plenty to fight for; we choose to lie down. It's time for people to do something about this, whatever little bit that something might take the form of. If you don't do anything, then don't complain about your nine-to-five job when you're gone. After all, you should be quite good at your work after spending four years here preparing for it.

Sincerely,
Eric Drury

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