Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-05-18
TInsLEY & MORTON, Proprietors.
FRIDAY MORNING. MAY Is. 1894

: FRIDAY MORNING. MAY Is. 1894
WOMEN AND THE ACADEMIC DE
PARTMENT OF THE UNIVER-
SITY.
The committee Of the Faculty appointed
to prepare and present to the full Faculty
OF the University of Virginia, regula
tions under which it deems it desirable fol
Young women to be admitted to the AGA
demic Schools Of that institution, has
made it's report. The report il
signed by Messrs. A. Fl. futile
chairman, C. w. Kent, J. W. Mallet, W
f. Peters and f. Fl. Smith. One Of The
committee, Dr.. Kent, did not concur with
the report, believing it ''unwise to provide
identical instruction for young men and
Young women under any conditions. y but
he did not wish to make a minority report
ssagreeing with the rest OF the committee
that if women are to be admitted to the
University, it is far better that the terms
of their admission should be prescribed by
the Faculty and Visitors than by others.
With the last clause Of the above we can
not say that we agree. The proposition to
entrust the carrying out OF reform to
men, large part of whom are not III sym
patty with it, does not commend itself to
any real friend Of the movement. The
very language used by the committee, naive
ly conveys the idea to The reader that II the
reform must be adopted it is as we'll to keep
it in the hands Of those who will have as
little of it as possible. We cannot help
/ thinking that the two great reforms now
being agitated in Virginia in which wome2
are commemorative opening OF the Univer-
sity to them, and the placing of the women
insane under the care of women physicians
should be made by laws and regulations
passed by the legislature ITSELF That law
making body has the advantage OF being
able to have before it not only the wisdom
and experience of the Faculty and the
Boards. but also the wisdom and experience
of the outside world.
The report of the committee recommends:
l. Revoking existing provisions for the
regulation and examination Of women; 2.
Admitting women Is years old or more to
such Academic School as may be thrown
open to Them by the Professor of that school;
8. On such conditions as the said Profess
sor may impose; 4. Women to board with
relatives OF in houses approved by the
Chairman of the Faculty and a committee
OF three ladies connected with Faculty, no
male student to reside there, OF, the com
mittee suggests as an alternative, build
ing furnished by the University over which
shall preside salaried lady principal, APP
pointed by the Board of Visitors; 8. That
the first three dormitores upon West Lawn
be set apart for women students to he used
as retiring rooms between lectures.
These recommendations are to be SUBJ
mitted to the University Faculty at it's next
meeting. We do not think it likely that
the regulations proposed will, if adopted.
really open the University to women.
Woman will not attempt to ge5 higher
education where one OF a half dozen probes
sors may exclude her from their schools OF
adopt such regulations as may render ii
useless to attend lectures. Nor would any
young man attempt it under the same en-
barrassment. The University is public
institution largely supported by the money
of the general tax payers. No professor at
the head of u school which is prohted by
the States appropriation, should lie per
mitted to exercise any such rlg.lt rs the
committee S, recommendations give him .
But it is waste Of time to discuss this mat
ter now. The University Of Virginia viii
not befairly opened on equal terms to young
women and men, until the State legislature
passes bill opening it, and under such reg
ulations as the State itself Shall prescribe
If the recommendations Of the committee
are the best they can, after careful deliber-
alton, make, then they cannot begin too
soon to prepare for the arrival Of those
"others'' of whose capacity, compared with
their own, they do not think well, but
who will he forced to take up the work
p. S.-Since the above was written we
have received the Charlottesville Progress
of Monday afternoon with this
The recommendations of the committee of
the faculty fayoring the admission of women
to the University of Virginia on the same
terms as men with certain restrictions) was
overwhelmingly defeated at a meeting of the
faculty Saturday evening.
This action is not a surprise. 1t only
confirms our position that the University
will never be opened to women students
until the State itself opens it. And tile
day is not so faI off as possibly the mem
bers Of the Faculty think. The subject is
State, and there can be but one end to such
a discussion. Such words as we give be-
low have sunk deep into the hearts of the
people. They are the closing words Of ali
able series Of letters addressed by "a Viz
ginia Woman" to Prof. Thornton, Dean of
the Faculty, through the columns Of the
Religious Herald:
Il am convinced, however. that, had the
State Of Virginia offered me in my youth the
training which it offered my brothers and for
which they did not care-if twenty years ago
1 could have begun life as graduate OF tile
University OF Virginia, the good which have
tried to do under almost insuperable difficult
ties would have been multiplied hundred
fold. For me and other women of my age the
help, if offered even now, would come too
late Strive as we may to remedy the defec-
tive training OF our youth, accept as we may
and Shall the generous offers Of other States.
we yet know that the work we might have
done can now never be accomplished. For
ourselves, therefore, we have little to ask;
but for the younger women of Virginia be-
fore whom life still stretches fresh and fair
in whom are still found the possibilities
which in us withered because unaeveloped-
for these women we woald plead
We cannot make this brief extract from
the closing letter Of the series without ex-
pressing our admiration for the work of
: the writer. We have not seen in our State