The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-01-22
Letters To Editor
Teachers Are
Individuals
Editor of Farnlville Herald:

Editor of Farmville Herald:
There seems to be some doubt on
the part Of number Of people
present at Monday nights meeting
in the Court House as to the
legitimate right of local college
faculty members to exercise their
privilege as individual citizens of
the county to ask questions and
express their opinions.
1t seems unfortunate that college
personnel should sometimes be re-
garded as tranSierts instead Of per-
manent citizens. How much longer,
may I ask, must a professor wait
to make his views known than other
citizens Of the county who were born
here? Must they be rootless. be-
longing to no community for ten,
fifteen, or twenty years? The two
professors who were most articu-
late Monday night have been resi-
dents of this county since 1914 and
1871.
1t is also unfortunate that any
expression of an individual teacher
should be considered as the opinion
Of corporate group rather than of
a single citizen. Those who may
have observed who was absent and
who was present from local college
campuses must certainly realize
that there was no united action of
professors nor were they repre-
senting'' anyone but themselves as
individual citizens Nothing would
be more deplorable than complete
unanimity Of faculty opinion on any
college or university campus. unless
it be an enthusiasm for education.
Only totalitarian concept of life
would dictate such conformity in
institutions of learning. And Ameri-
can profess ors. like American
farmers. are a highly individualistic
group.
Any newcomer to the community
might well have been puzzled by
this singing out and labelling Of one
group or profession. No one sug-
gested that Mr.. x represented all
the manufacturing and construction
companies in the town, or that Mr..
Y spoke for the farmers or Mr..
2 for the merchants. Isn't it just
as ridiculous to label teachers?
The local college faculties have
readily responded to requests for
their services as Sunday school
teachers and officers in the church
es, as lecturers in the civic clubs.
Their organization dues, their city
and county taxes and their retail
trade are gratefully received. Why
shouldn't their varied and individual
expressions on public affairs be
equally welcomed?
This community has been m S t
fortunate through the years in the
pleasant relationship Of town and
gown. The town has stood by the
two colleges most loyalty. DR.. JAR
man, DR.. Lancaster. DR.. Landlord,
DR.. EggleStOn, Or. Cannon, DR..
Robert have all shouldered civic
responsibilities as well as led busy
lives as college presidents. Only
few of their faculty members have
Withdrawn into an ivory tower of
isolation and Indifference to local
problems.
AS a college professor 49, one who
is lifetime citizen of Prince Ed
ward County and whose forebears
accepted the responsibilities of
leadership in the community I
wish to take this opportunity to
say to the newly arrived faculty
folk Of Hampden-Sydney and Long
wood that the demonstration on the
part of a few speakers Monday
night is not true sample of Prince
Edward hospitality. that a Phi. D.
degree does not really disqualify
one for citizenship, and that il they'll
stick around while they will find
themselves among some of the
finest people of the Southland -
Prince Edward citizens.
Mildred Dickinson Davis
Han1pden. sydney Va