Evening star., 1954-05-28

.Darden Backed
lnDiscipIiniing
OF Il Students
y. Of Virginia Boord
Ends Hearings 'on
Sex Cose Appeals
BY ihe Associated Press


CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va, May
%. Discipline meted out by Uni
versity Of Virginia President Col.
gate w. Darden. jr.. to IL stu
dents involved in a campus sex
scandal has been firmly indorsed
by the university's Board Of
Visitors.
s. The board, which yesterday
ended q two-day hearing on APP
peals by flve Of the students in-
volved. permitted Mr.. Darden to
modify the punishments Of three
students linked with reserve off,
Ger training programs. Z
In q lengthy three-page state
nient. the board had this to say
about the discipline imposed by
Mr.. Darden:
'The board has today adopted
resolutions confirming the deci-
sions and punishments by the
administration in all cases."
The IL students are charged
with being involved in an affair
with q l9-year-old girl on the
week end Of April ga.
Three Expelled.
These penalties were handed
the students by Mr.. Darden and
backed by the board in its state
ment released late last night: \
Three were expelled outright.
eight received suspensions and
the degree Of an ex-student held
up. The ex-student completed
his academic work in February
and was due to graduate in June.
Three others received stern
letters of censure from the ad-
ministration for not reporting or
attempting to halt the affair,
which they knew was in progress.
None Of the names-except
the three military affairs stu
dentists known. The university
by custom withholds the names
Of students disciplined.
Mr.. Darden himself released Q
statement in which he said:
II cannot escape the conclu-
sion that the university itself
must bear some of the blame for
what has occurred. We have
failed, for what reasons I don't
know, to build a society here that
furnishes safeguards that parents
have q right to expect for chill
dren who are students here or
who visit here.
Nothing that has happened
during my seven years at the
university has caused me the
distress which the happenings of
the week end Of April 3-4 have
caused me.
"The penalties which I felt
compelled to impose have borne
on me as heavily as on the un-
fortunate men and women who
became enmeshed either directly
or indirectly in this affair.""
Mass Meeting Held.
While the boards statement
was being prepared, about 1000
students packed Cabell Hall to
hear student leaders criticize the
university's administration.
They ended their 1h-hour
meeting by naming a six-man
StSdent committee to appear be-
fore the June II Board of Visi-
tors meeting to air grievances
about the conduct of student
affairs.
Two Of the three who were ex.
PEELED lost appeals of their pen-
alties in appearances before the
board yesterday.
Wednesday, the three students
whose discipline still remains in
the hands Of MIR. Darden an
peared before the committee.
The three-E. Armistead Tai
man, Frederic 8. Bocock and
Robert p. Martin. jr.. all of Rich
mond-were tied to the case in
a letter they signed which ap-
peared May 81 in the student
newspaper. the Cavalier Daily.
In the letter, they charged
that none Of them was accused
Of actually doing anything
wrong; we are charged only with
a failure to put a halt to the
actions of Others"
Mr.. Darden yesterday put in
a personal plea to the board for
the three youths. who faced sus-
pension. If they had been sus-
pended. they would have lost
chances Of possible officer COM
missions.
Talman and Martin are COM
pleting their training in the
university's ROTC program and
Bocock Is q naval officer candi-
date.
~Hn - ~