2 20 256 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b3cb2200cf83c52203005a4a3558cd82.jpg 8301aef9f8b8a86a6f0715c4c0ef5863 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document In the October 31 issue of PROMETHEUS, my good friend Lisa Langebach argued that our governmental philosophy should be governed by the “simple principle” advanced by John Stewart Mill in his essay On Liberty: “that the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.” Thus the famous “harm principle”, which Ms. Langenbach feels “provides a solid foundation for all action” and should be the basis of the American legal code. I happen to agree with her, but for the sake of discussion I would like now to present the opposing viewpoint, and in so doing I should thank Dr. Fullinwider of the Philospohy Department for showing me that there was a strong, rational conter-argument of Mill. Mill’s “simple” principle is really not so simple at all. He writes that “if anyone does an act hurtful to others, there is a prima facia case for punishing him by law. Yet Mill never specifically defines “harm.” Does only physical harm count, or are embarrassment, frustration, and mental anguish also included within the harm principle; certainly they all constitute harm. Further, Mill never spedifies how much harm is necessary before legal punishment may ensure, what is the harm threshold, in other words? Mill’s failure to deal fully with these matters raises serious ambiguities about his tesis, especially since he offers many qualifications to his ‘simple” harm principle. First, he justifies state coercion aon matters of joint society interest; “there are many be compelled to perform, such as to give evidence in a court of justice and to bear his fair share in the common defense.” Mill does not stop there; “a person may cause evil to other not only by his actions but by his inaction and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.” Thus, a citizen may be punished for inaction as well as action, and both punishments are surely infringemints on freedom. We are “harmed,” but Mill justifies it. This point about omissions is crucial for it means that harm is not necessary a prerequisite for punishment. I now don’t have to actively harm someone in order to be punished. Further, hamr alone is note ven a suffiecent condition for punishment: if I invent a machine that makes it possible for me to put you out of business, I have certainly hurt you. Yet Mill holds that the State may not punish me for this harm. Now the harm must be of a certain nature before punishment may be justifiend: hamr alone is no longer the yardstick. These qualifications cut the heart out of the harm principle and render it useless as a standard for gouging the validity of laws or other social policy. Mill assumes that there exists isolated vacuums of private conduct over which the “individual in soverign” and the state may not interfere. But, as Joel Fienbeg wrote in Social Philosophy, “there are a thousand subtle and indirect ways in which every individual act, no matter how private and solitary, is the cause: if he did not smoke marijuana his mother would not have been harmed. Similary my mere knowledge of the fact that homosexual activity is taking place in the dorm room next to me may cause me tremendous mental and emotional harm – yet the gays next door may not be pusish for this harm: the fatal heart attack that affects others.” A mother may be so upset over her son’s private marijuana yse that she has a nervous breakdown. The mother has been harmed, and it seems that her son results from my consternation is only an “inconvenience which society must bear for the greater good of human freedom, unless the individual violats a specific duty to the public.” Thus, the “self-regarding/ other-regarding” distincition. But how can Mill just blithfull exempt this kind of harm from punishment without specifying precisely what the indivudals “duties” to his society are? Harm alone is not an adequate measure. Mill attempted to deal with this problem by specifying two different types of social response to “problem” citizens. While only direct harm may be punished by the criminal law, indirecdt harm (such as my gay neighbor) may be punished by a sort of “social law” we may avoid the offender, withhold gratuitus benefits from his and so forth. In dealing with such an offender, “we may express our distaste and we may stand aloof from a person as well as a thing which displeases us, but we shall not therefore feel called on to make his life merable.” But is this really sufficient? Mill assumes that “the greater good of human freedom” will always outweigh the “inconvenience” yet this may not be the case. Take, for example, a private billboard palced on private property, adjoining a public highway. Suppose the billboard contained a twelve foot caricature of former President Nixon performing sodomy with a Palimeno pony under the caption “Nixon Sucks.” I wonder if this is an “inconvenience” that the public would afford for the “greather good of human freedom.” Mill is a utilitarian, which means that he does not appeal to abstract principle to support his thesis. But Martin Golding has argued that “the utilitarian argument cuts both ways: why shouldn’t the individual’s greedom be limited if it promotes the general happiness and perhaps his own happiness in the end?” Mill also assumes that freedom is necessary for self-fulfillment, a presupposition which he never develops. If freedom is so valuable, then why do so many people surrender theirs to dictators so easily? For these reasons, the harm principle alone cannot be the basis of social policy. It is too nebulous and it is this very quality which makes it so seductive. But, as Socrates once said, “The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Gallagher, Caleb S. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Obeying The Law: Another Opinon Subject The topic of the resource Law Student newspapers and periodicals Description An account of the resource An article by Micheal Mello questioning the law and how the law should be followed. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Micheal A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Obeying The Law: Another Opinion." Prometheus. Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957-2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI harm Law practice of law https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/9041380fbbcb59f8f41dfa01c802c039.jpg 711c4bb953411f88a1add412d139cad1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document It has come to my attention that certain students and others were offended by the timing of November 11, 1977 Prometheus article “Dean Rusk: Guilty of War Crimes?” The article appeared the day Mr. Rush arrived on campus for his four day visit here, and some members of our academic community felt that my piece should not have appeared until after DVIR had departed Fredericksburg. Some clarification is in order: First, the intent of my article was not to insult anyone, either Mr. Rusk himself or the people who brought him here; were this the case, we would have omitted the question mark in the headline. The sole purpose of the article was to present one student’s view of the way America, through its high governmental officials such as Mr. Rusk, chose to wage war in Southeast Asia. This view, incidentally, is shared by a number of individuals whose credentials in the academic and legal community are somewhat better than mine-for example Noam Chomsky, Richard Hammer, and Telford Taylor, the U.S. Chief Council at Nuremberg in 1945-1946. Second, I chose for the article to appear when it did out of fairness to Mr. Rusk: so that interested students could go to Mr. Rusk and discuss the questions I raised in my article with him. This gave Mr. Rusk an opportunity to present his side of the story, to disprove my argument and to enlighten us about his version of American war crimes in Vietnam and who is responsible for them. I felt that to suggest that Mr. Rusk might be guilty of war crimes after he had already departed for Georgia would be a disservice for both our DVIR and the students of MWC. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Gallagher, Caleb S. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Response To Rusk Critics Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Rusk, Dean Description An account of the resource A reaction from Micheal Mello about an article he published regarding a visitor to the Mary Washington. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Micheal A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Response to Rusk Critics", Prometheus. Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957-2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c293dbf9a7b789cac2f276291642bf95.jpg 4bf27387003e2819d6e7d65e1ff699f0 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c5030cb2896b37aeaf4ca384717e1486.jpg 0167ddbcd02f7d85f53d8e1ea301f9fe Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [Photo Caption] LOBBYING AGAINST MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION, conducting local polls and obtaining guest speakers are some of the objectives of Mary Washington College's new chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws. Legally marijuana is any part of the marijuana plant, except for sterile seeds and the stalks of the major plant. Hashish is marijuana. Hash oil in marijuana only if it contains less than 15 per cent tetra hydro-cannobinol. In Virginia, the penalty for possession of marijuana of a fan up to $1000 and a jail sentence up to 12 months. Possession of hash oil and other drugs such as heroin and LSD warrants up to ten years in the penitentiary. The penalty for manufacturing marijuana, hashish or hash oil is from five to 40 years in the penitentiary and a fine up to $25,000. The penalty for sale or distribution of marijuana or hash oil is from five to 40 years in the penitentiary and a fine of up to $25,000 -- unless a person proves that he was given away the drug or selling it for no profit, for which case the penalty is the same as that of possession. If a person 18 or over gives any drug, including marijuana to someone under 18 and at least 3 years younger than the donor, the penalty is a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 50 years and a fine of up to $50,000. If a person is found guilty of possession of any drug and he has never been convicted of a drug-related offense before, the judge may put him on probation. After the probationary period the judge may dismiss the case. The National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) would like to see these laws concerning the criminalization of marijuana changes. The recent establishment of NORML at Mary Washington College is the first attempt by any college in Virginia to have this organization on campus/. Supervised by six faculty advisers and presently headed by Acting President Michael Mello, NORML held its first meeting Thursday, September 23 in Lounge A. There was standing room only. Roy Sherrer, a registered lobbyist for the Virginians for the Study of Marijuana Laws (VSML), spoke at the meeting. Lobbyists have made possible the exclusion of drug possession as grounds for legal wiretapping, the change of sharing marijuana from a felony to misdemeanor. They have stopped attempts of search without a warrant of suspicion and they have killed attempts to raise the maximum penalty for selling most drugs to life imprisonment. MWC's NORML plans to contribute funds to the hiring of a professional lobbyist to go before the General Assembly. The original hopes to conduct surveys concerning opinions on marijuana laws, show movies to the public such as "Reefer Madness," "Marijuana: Assasin of Youth" and "Marijuana: The New Prohibition," and hopes to get several speakers including John Zwerling, head of Virginia NORML. "The biggest obstacle to pot law reform isn’t the congress in Washington, the state Legislator in Richmond or Judge Gouldman in Fredericksburg. The biggest obstacle is apathy," remarked Mello at the meeting. "So long as we continue to tolerate this prohibition, we will have it around our necks forever. But, when we let our opinions be known by our elected officials these laws will change." The next NORML meeting will be on Thursday, October 7 in ACL. Mello commented that he has heard a lot of students did not attend the first normal meeting by fear of harassment by the police or campus administrators. "There is absolutely no evidence of harassment of any member of NORML by any member of the administration," said Mello. He mentioned the progress he had made towards the decriminalization for marijuana by lobbying before the General Assembly since 1972. For further information concerning membership in NORML. contact Mike Mello at extension 422. Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Clark, Jessica N. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. Above the article title, there is a photo of a lit marijuana joint in an ashtray. Displayed next to the ashtray is a grinder, ZIG-ZAG wrapping papers, struck matches, and unlit marijuana joint. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource MWC Establishes Campus NORML Subject The topic of the resource Marijuana--Law and legislation Description An account of the resource The establishment of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) at Mary Washington College was the first attempt by any college in Virginia to have this organization on campus. With acting president Michael Mello, MWC NORML will contribute funds to the hiring of a personal lobbyist to go before the General Assembly and hold various meetings with the intention of overcoming apathy regarding marijuana laws. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Bullet Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976-09-27 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Marijuana Law https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/ef0db917538fdaa5d78551c2e8b03352.jpg 9ab7093e0002cc9311080385dbd312f3 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/07323cd7faca59bd82f802b23c534cb1.jpg f823165bc5fb046018b3d5d7319cce13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Like any disciplinary proceeding, the “Westmoreland Four” case has many different aspects to it. Often it is important to keep these aspects mentally separate. In particular, one must make a distinction between the ultimate verdict of punishment, and the manner in which that decision was reached-the process. The judgment and punishment in the case was justifiable: it is difficult to find fault with president Woodard’s actions here. The procedure for an Administrative Hearing deliniated on pages 28-30 of the Handbook were scrupulously followed. More importantly, the severity of the punishments may be justifiable because the Administration apparently approved its case against the four men-in both charges of the indictment. The noise count was never really in doubt; the defendants admitted that they often played their stereos too loud. The vandalism charge was more complex, since no evidence was presented at the Hearing which directly linked any of the four men to any acts of malicious vandalism; but, none was needed. A fifth student, who lives in another dorm was a frequent guest of the four Westmoreland men, had admitted committing some of the damage for which The Four were charged. And the Handbook provides that “Anyone in a residence hall to which he or she is not assigned a room by the college is considered a guest… All guests must abide by the rules and regulations of the college and the student is responsible for the conduct of his guest at all times. Any damages to property will be paid by the students and/or guest.” Thus were the Westmoreland Four indirectly tied to and liable for the vandalism for which they were charged. There was no glaring and obvious injustice in Woodard’s verdict in the case. But what truly bothers me about the whole affair is not the ultimate decision, but rather the process by which that decision was made. Specifically, the Westmoreland Four should have tried instead by President Woodard alone in an Administrative Hearing, the men were denied the due process of the law guaranteed to them by the Handbook as well as the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is wrong to blame the decision to convene an Administrative Hearing on Woodard, for the decision to turn this case over to the College President was not made by Woodard alone; it was a joint decision made by Cindy Reeves, Judicial Chairman, Barbara Stammerjohn, and Scott Sharer, Westmoreland Judicial Representative. Ms. Reeves was most emphatic on this point. In a taped interview, I asked her “if it was the students, not the Administration, who decided to send this case to Administrative Hearing.” Her reply was a forceful “yes.” Of these three students, Ms. Reeves bears the brunt of the responsibility for the decision. This was a judicial matter and her job is to be aware of and proficient in judicial matters; such matters are her specialty within the SA. The Handbook states that she is “the official representative of the Student Association in all matters of judicial concern.” Sharer was her subordinate; she is “responsible for all Residence Hall Judicial Chairman.” Stammerjohn as SA Vice President has no official concern with judicial matters, and hence was present primarily in an advisory capacity. Thus, the person most concerned with judicial matters, the person whom we hope is as close to an expert on judicial practices and procedures that we have, the person most responsible for the decision to convene an Administrative Hearing to dispose of this case, was Cindy Reeves. Reeves based this decision on essentially four grounds. First, she said that Judicial Court or Joint Council could not handle the case because non-students were “involved”- Dean Clement, a campus police officer, and Resident Hall Advisor testified at the Administrative Hearing. But non-students, particularly campus police and dorm mothers, frequently testify at both Judicial and Joint trials, a fact which Ms. Reeves herself acknowledged. This is particularly true in visitation cases, for obvious reasons: the Handbook provides that the “Dean of Student Services, accompanied by the Residence Hall Director” should be present when a student’s room is searched for a suspected violation of a college rule or regulation. Further, “the College Police may assist in such a search.” Ms. Reeves’ principle of handling all cases, in which non-students are “involved” over to the Administration, if applied in all such cases, would mean that Woodard would be trying almost all of the cases which now are handled by Judicial Court and Joint Council. No doubt President Woodard would deal fairly with all of these cases, but his time is too valuable to waste trying Judicial and Joint Council cases; Ms. Reeves point might leave some credence if these non-students were plaintiffs in this Westmoreland Four case, but she herself stated that the charges were brought by a student: Scott Sharer. Dean Juanita Clement, Mrs. Janet Barnes, and the officer were only witnesses: as Mrs. Keel and Officer Prescott were witnesses at a Joint Council trial last year and Lonnie Stuterwant was a witness at the Madison Judicial trial last year. Secondly, Ms. Reeves claims that there was a “loophole” in the section of the Handbook covering Noise Violations. Scott Sharer, who brought this “loophole” to her attention, explained: “let’s say that you’re in a room and I come and tell you its too noisy, would you please turn it down. I have to give you a warning, and if you turn it down, then that’s the end of the incident. Well, if you’re noisy the next night, I have to give you another warning; it’s treated as a separate incident. So even if I must come to your room every night and ask you to turn it down, and you do, then I can’t give you any hall offenses. That was particularly a problem here. When I asked them to turn it down, they did. But it was happening every night.” I will not argue the pros and cons of this warning requirement here, but in any case, this “loophole” does not mean that Judicial or Joint could not take this case. Ms. Reeves has stated that no hall offenses are necessary before these bodies may try a case involving a noise complaint. Noise problems are specifically in Judicial jurisdiction; further, one of the Joint Council’s jobs is to “hear cases of extreme complexity.” This noise matter seems to be such a case; this “loophole” thus is not a valid reason for taking the extreme and, to my knowledge, unprecedented step of handing a Joint Council case over to Administrative Hearing. Thirdly, Ms. Reeves asserts that a “time element” problem necessitated the convention of an Administrative Hearing; “an immediate solution was needed. A lot of people were upset.” So Ms. Reeves, Ms. Stammerjohn, and Mr. Sharer concluded that because of the immediacy of the problem, the four men should be removed from the dorm until Administrative Hearing could be convened. But the moment they did this, the “time element problem” was to the three students’ decision to convene an Administrative Hearing, how heavily it weighed on their minds. They decided that the Administration should ultimately try the case. Fourthly, Ms. Reeves claims that neither Judicial nor Joint could hear this case because vandalism was involved, an offense not specifically within the jurisdictions of those bodies. She may have a point here, but one could argue just as forcefully that vandalism is not specifically out of the realm of Judicial or Joint either particularly in light of the fact that the need must be extremely compelling before the convention of an Administrative Hearing may be justified. Further, Judicial Courts in the past have heard and passed judgment on cases involving vandalism, although the vandalism in these instances was not committed against College property. When MWC property is involved, a problem arises because only the College may assess for damages. But this problem may be solved in the following manner: Judicial or Joint Council could decide innocence or guilt and then the Administration could assess the accused student for recompance in the event of a guilty verdict. I can sympathize with Ms. Reeves’ position as she met with her two fellow students, President Woodard and Dean Clement on that Wednesday morning. With exams staring her in the face and a complicated case before her, maybe she cannot really be blamed for an error in judgment. Perhaps the thing that bothers me the most about Ms. Reeves’ decision is that she is still defending it to the hilt and worse still, she is ready to repeat it again and again. Ms. Reeves made a mistake. She should admit it. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. DeVito, Michael Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Westmoreland "4": Our Judicial System on Trial Subject The topic of the resource School discipline Description An account of the resource Four college students on trial for vandalism and noise. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael. "The Westmoreland '4': Our Judicial System On Trial." HIST298, accessed February 11, 2014. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/admin/items/add Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-01-20 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 Dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4c76e4f5e84f0e97e197640aec94f8d0.jpg bd8d5e079554cc98218a99916fa3a894 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/21611a656a17cfb11006869473479f22.jpg 78d1f5370fd8dd43a713e63d43f6f3c6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Dear Editor: Ms. Hayes, in her editorial “MWC Honor- A Call for a Closer Look” (Bullet Nov 15) made several accurate observations. She noted that PROMETHEUS was perfectly within its Constitutional rights when it published Elliot Wentz’s article on the MWC honor code. She was further correct in her assessment of “the absurdity of the Pam Burrows honor trial.” Yet two of Ms. Hayes’ thoughts bothered me. Firstly, she felt that Mr. Wentz “has served a severe injustice to the accuser in the trial, our SA president.” Ms. Hayes seemed troubled by “the fact that no provisions fro the rights of the accuser is made in the MWC Honor Constitution.” But Ms.Hayes fails to state precisely what these “rights of the accuser” are or should be. Do they include the right to bring false and petty charges against a fellow student? The right to make an accusation in a secret, Star-Chamber-like proceeding in which her identity is known only to the defendant, her council and the court? Is this truly an “open trial,” as demanded by the Constitution of the United States? Precisely which of Kathy Mayer’s “rights” was violated in Mr. Wentz’s article? This whole idea of accuser’s rights is a new one on me; not only is the MWC Constitution silent about the presence or absence of such “rights,” but the US Constitution is as well. Personall, I don’t feel that a citizen acquires any additional rights solely by becoming an accuser. Of course, that same person doesn’t lose any rights either; the fact of the matter is that Kathy Mayer has the same right as Mr. Wentz: the right to present her side of the issue in the campus media. If Ms. Mayer chooses to waive this right and remain silent, then that is not the fault of wither Mr. Wentz or PROMETHEUS. Secondly, Ms. Hayes is apparently critical of Mr. Wentz’s decision to disclose the identity of Pam Burow’s accuser; she suggests that this “served to deface the names of the characters concerned” and further asserts that “from all appearances it seems that the intent of the article was to put under scrutiny the names of our SA and Honor Council Presidents.” This was not the intent of the article at all, but beyond that is the question of whether Mr.Wentz should have identified the accuser in the case. I believe that he was justified: it is significant that the accuser in this “absurdity” of an honor trial, Ms. Hayes called it, is the highest student government official at MWC. The person who brought this trial about was not a first-semester freshman who may have been unfamiliar with the purpose of the honor code or unaware of its ramifications; the accuser is a Senior who has been deeply involved with student government and who, to put it bluntly, should have known better. This fact was relevant to the trial, and Mr.Wentz was hence justified in noting it in his article. Michael Mello Editor’s Note In the editorial “MWC Honor- A Call for a Closer Look,” I in no way intended to defend Kathy Mayer, the accuser of Pam Burrows’ honor trial (“Recent Honor Trial Shows Need for Changes”- PROMETHEUS, Nov. 11, 1977). I did feel, however, that the presentation of Elliot Wentz’s article put a clear slant on the issue, which was not made public until the forth issue of PROMETHEUS was distributed. As Mello suggested, perhaps Ms. Mayer does not deserve any rights as the accuser. Based on her testimony of shaky evidence, as reported in PROMETHEUS, I would be inclined to agree with him. The basic discrepancy in the MWC Honor Constitution, that no rights are granted the accuser in campus honor trials, concerns me. In a democratic society we should all be treated as equals. Right? Apparently not, says Mello. That the Honor Constitution does not specify any rights of the accused, particularly, as well as the accused, have any say as to how the contents of trials are distributed? I definitely feel this should be corrected before further honor trials are held. As pertains to the reference that Wentz’s article served to deface the names of the accuser in Pam Burrows’ honor trial, I would like to defend this statement. Again I recall my original assertion that “the intent of the article was to put under public scrutiny the names of our SA and Honor Council Presidents.” Upon my first reading of Wentz’s article, I detect an obvious biased report of the honor trial. Surely readers should be allowed the liberty to make up their own minds as to how they feel about controversial issues; having Wentz’s present a one-sided account of the issue definitely could sway people to his side of thinking, which is not necessarily right and just. Concerning Christie’s letter (above), and me “laundered” opinion, I hope his questions are answered in the preceding statements. The concern with the legalities of the trials was introduced to me by Janet de La Concepcion, Honor Council President, who informed me that she was consulting a lawyer about the publication of Wentz’s article. I do not support her quest for a legal battle- perhaps Mr.Christie misread this part of the editorial. I merely stated that Wentz was just in pointing out discrepancies in the MWC Honor Constitution and the leaders who are supposed to enforce it. Clearly I said that I agree with Wentz’s assertions; if, as you say, “Poor Mr. Wentz can’t win for losing,” that’s a new one on me. A.F.H. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Bowen, Nina Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to the Editor Subject The topic of the resource Honor system (Higher education) Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor in response to an article about a student on trial for an honor violation at Mary Washington College. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Letters." The Bullet, November 22, 1977. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977-11-22 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4eaf8041f3f58c810e1610558184ece9.jpg 18cceca6e25681e4dcb7f426cc6f2fe4 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/130335c6829fe0342a21a7ff9d102741.jpg 419c61b7da9e7635fa524ebb66727522 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document The 981 students who responded to the recent SA poll on 23-hour visitation indicated overwhelming support for “the creation of an experimental dormitory which would operate under a system of 23-hour visitation.” 80.1% of those returning the surveys favored the establishment of such a policy at Mary Washington College, and 58.7% indicated that they personally would live in a dormitory with 23-hour visitation. According to poll organizer Eric Wootten, the survey was distributed to the 1669 residential students at MWC. The purpose of the poll, according to its introduction, was to “determine whether students are satisfied with the present visitation policy and, if not, whether the option of twenty-three hour visitation is a desirable alternative.” These results are consistant with the findings of a similar survey conducted by the SA three years ago. 80.1% of those polled in 1975 favored extended visitation hours; this figure is exactly the same as the findings of the recent survey. The percentage of students willing to tolerate the possibility of an “increased security risk” rose 15% since 1975, from 79% to 94%. The percentage of students willing to “occasionally make other sleeping arrangements” under a policy of extended visitation also increased: from 77% in 1975 to 89% today. Other findings in the poll include: <ul> <li>65% favored and 21.2% oppressed the granting of the 23-hour option to students between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one who are financially independent. 13.3% had no option.</li> <li>70.8% favored and 21.9% opposed the granting of the option to students between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one who could secure parental consent. 7.3% expressed no opinion.</li> <li>96.6% were aware and 2.0% were not aware that “a system of 23-hour visitation could necessitate the use of…proper dress outside of your room.”</li> <li>84.1% realized and 13.3% did not realize that extended visitation might entail “sharing bathrooms with the opposite sex.”</li> <li>89.2 were aware and 8.2 were not aware that such a policy might necessitate “occasionally making other sleeping arrangements.”</li> <li>94% realized and 4% did not realize that 23-hour visitation could entail “increased security precautions.” Students had a wide range of comments on the question of 23-hour visitation. “23 hour would give us the freedom to live like the adults that the College says we are.” “It would put this school into the Twentieth Century.” “It’s totally against the whole purpose of MWC.” “We already have our morals established by the time we get to College. If students are going to have sex, they’ll have it regardless of the visitation policies.” “The visitation system is the most glaring anachronism at this school—an outdated leftover from a bygone time.” “23 hour visitation is ridiculous. We are here for an education, not a total social life.” “If a poor, neurotic girl has to have her boyfriend around 23 hours a day, let them either go to a motel, get married, or make use of Ball Circle. If offers no advantages except for whores and their clients.” “It would allow adults to make an obviously personal decision.” “My husband could visit me at any time.” “The demonstrated maturity of students on this campus does not seem to warrant mush optimism for the success of 23 hour visitation, but I think that I should be given a chance to stand or fall on its own merits.” “Dorm life is as much a part of our learning experience as are classes. We should have the option of as many lifestyles as possible.” “I have friends at schools that have 23 hour visitation, and they have little good to say about that system. Roommate friction is a big problem.” “It is absurd to say that a student is old enough to drink, vote and go to war, but not old enough to chose who should be in one’s room at any time.” “It’s worth a try.!” This recent poll was organized under the auspices of SA Whip Eric Wootten. Wootten commissioned Student Lobby Research Committee Co-Chairman Betsy Bowen in mid-September to conduct the survey. Bowen, who is also Chairman of the Special Projects Committee of the SA Senate, plans to conduct thorough research into the ramifications that 23-hour visitation would have on WMC. This research will include a study of other Virginia institutions of higher learning as well as an evaluation of the state of the Virginia law as it relates to 23-hour visitation. The results of the survey will be submitted to the Executive Cabinet later this semester for consideration. Wootten said that he plans to poll the parents of residential students, as well as alumni about the question of 23-hour visitation in the near future.</li> </ul> Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Walsh, Eily P. Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. The surveys were conducted by the SA three years prior to the article. There are also quotes from students speaking about 23-hour visitation rights. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 569 Would Live In 23-Hour Dorm Subject The topic of the resource Dormitory Life Description An account of the resource Students of Mary Washington College give their opinions on 23-hour visitation rights. Information is based off of polls taken to see how the students feel. It tells the reader of what is soon to come based off of the negative opinions. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "569 Would Live In 23-Hour Dorm." The Bullet, Tuesday, October 17, 1978, News Clippings, Box 1, April 19, 1976-October, 1979, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957-2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-10-17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA College Life Dorm Life Student Polls Visitation Rights https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f216de267760121bc7955c50d01e2dc6.jpg f9ed99c6de1aa8fde71324c27a770df2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Apathy to Action: A Concrete Goal By Helen Marie McFalls Change is in the air. Many recognize the need to move forward. Numerous people cry out for it. But few actually act to alter their dissatisfaction with status-quo. Fortunately for MWC some students have risen above the prominent case of apathy and backed their discontent with action. The result is a promising, new forum for debate--THE PROMETHEUS. Last year several members of the student body became dissatisfied with the limited means of communication offered by campus publications. During the summer plans solidified and the creation of an alternative paper began. THE PROMETHEUS is not a newspaper recording daily events. Its purpose is to present controversial issues to the public and in turn to elicit discussion and debate. The publication will reflect the views of the staff and contributors. PROMETHEUS welcomes the readers' responses to the issues presented. When questioned about any threatening motives behind the origin of THE PROMETHEUS, editor, Georgetta Sharman emphatically refuted any rumors that may be circulating. She clearly stated, "We are not in any kind of competition with THE BULLET." Mike Mello, a staff member, added that they are not a radical organization out to sensationalize. Although the PROMETHEUS staff refuted this issue, they do plan to maintain a state of independence in regard to any administration censorship pressure. For this reason they have chosen to remain financially independent of college funds. THE PROMETHEUS is financed by advertisers and monetary contributions. Because PROMETHEUS does not have a "club" status yet, it cannot be distributed in the dorms on campus. The staff will file for club admittance (with Sue Hanna as adviser) as soon as the revision of the I.C.A. constitution is completed. Presently, the 500 copies are distributed in front of the Post Office every other Monday. Plans to increase the circulation and to expand the format of the paper will depend on increased financial support. Letters to the editor and articles are welcomed. The staff is open to new ideas but they do request that all articles be factual and valid. Validity, they feel is the major criterion for printing material. There are still openings on the board for ad help and lay out experience. Anyone wishing to contribute should call Georgetta. Classified ads, a new addition to the paper, are also open to public contribution. THE PROMETHEUS could be the refreshing change we've all been awaiting: activity versus apathy in a concrete form. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Loughery, Nate Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Apathy to Action: A Concrete Goal Subject The topic of the resource Censorship Description An account of the resource Creation of THE PROMETHEUS, a publication meant to promote discussion and debate on Mary Washington College campus. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McFalls, Helen Marie Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived McFalls, Helen Marie, "Apathy to Action: A Concrete Goal", The Bullet, October 18, 1977, News Clippings, Box 1, April 19, 1976-October, 1979, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957-2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977-10-18 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA apathy cencorship change debate PROMETHEUS publication https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0773693afe182357745689c07bdfda94.jpg 5d21060d8cc9491394a6b6895616558e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Men at MWC: Second Class? Male students at Mary Washington College are faced with the problem of trying to overcome their status as second-class citizens. There are several areas in which female favoritism is obvious; in other areas the problem may be one more of attitude than provable discrimination. Nonetheless, the “place” of the male student at Mary Washington College remains a problem today, seven years after the College opened its’ doors to men. Some female students will cling to the finishing-school image of Mary Washington. They seem to long for the days when MWC was an exclusive, upper-crust, women’s school. Fortunately, the number of these backward-thinking students is small, and ever-decreasing. Concrete examples of female favoritism do exist, however. The French and Spanish houses are closed to qualified males who might wish to live there, as is males are thus being denied an equal opportunity for intense study in the subject of their choice. Does the College wish to say that women have more of a right than men to study French and Spanish? Dormitories provide another situation in which females are favored over males. Upperclassmen have no choice but to live in coed dorms if they live on campus. Women, however may live in either coed or single-sex dorms. Most men do not seem to mind coed dorms; however, in the interest of fairness, they should have a choice. The question of what would happen to Anne Fairfax annex in the unlikely event that a male were elected to a high SA office arouses ones curiosity. Would he be allowed to live there amongst-gasp!-women? Not Likely! Athletics presents another problem. Males are excluded from tennis, swimming and volleyball teams, among others. The College should stand by its’ claim that it “does not discriminate on the basis of…sex.” All qualified athletes should be given an equal chance to earn a position on an athletic team (including soccer, currently an all-male sport a MWC), complete and total fairness must be practiced. Males at Mary Washington are still a numerical minority. This is no excuse, however, for tradition or policy to stand in the way of a qualified male wishing to participate in the school-sponsored activity of his choice. Mary Washington College is supported by the taxpayers of Virginia, both male and female. The students of MWC, both male and female, deserve equal opportunity and fair competition for each position. If Mary Washington is to succeed in its’ mission to serve all student, fairness is a must. “Our republic and its press will rise or fail together.” Joseph Pulitzer. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Vol. 1, Issue 2 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Loughery, Nate Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Men at MWC: Second Class? Subject The topic of the resource Discrimination Description An account of the resource Students argue the state of gender equality among the students at MWC seven years after it was made coed. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rodriguez, Chico Webb, Gary Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rodriguez, Chico and Gary Webb, "Men at MWC: Second Class?" Prometheus, Volume 1, Issue 2, pages 2 and 11, October 17, 1977, News Clippings, Box 1, April 19, 1976-October, 1979, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957-2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977-10-17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA discrimination education favoritism male students second-class https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b2f800c69e8190c773ff0a2f435203ab.jpg 8ce8baec3aa17a5ddf17bb9c45d40bf6 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/2b1e064d60fedcb1db8262a16b184bb3.jpg 01873cf051cd931d2ee27ce56e661d38 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0565c9e4f73597433f0881311e121385.jpg df715e51265093d635df2343fd8ebeaa Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Fesak, Mary Text Any textual data included in the document “One American is raped every seventeen minutes.” –sociologist Amitai Etzioni “I was walking down Campus Drive one evening and a guy in a car pulled over to the side to ask me if there were any good parties in the neighborhood. We started talking, and to facilitate the conversation I got into the front seat of the car. We had been talking for about an hour when a security officer told us to move on, so we went to 7-11 to get some cigarettes. Afterwards I expected him to just drive me back to campus, but instead he pulled out onto the highway. I was not really scared at this point, but as we got further and further away from civilization I suggested we head back towards MWC. In answer, he turned into a side road, parked and cut off the lights. Then he attacked me… for the first time in my life I was a believer in the death penalty.” This particular kind of rape is called “casual acquaintance” assault by the police, happened to a MWC Freshman last November. The girl eventually recovered, but not before undergoing a personal hell as indescribable as the event itself. Cases such as the one presented above and how to prevent them was a subject of a presentation put on by the Fredericksburg Combined Rape Task Force last Monday in A.C.L. The Task Force showed the film Rape: A Preventative Inquiry and held a panel discussion. Panelists included Commonwealth Attorney Chichester of Stafford County, Sgt. La Salle and officer Arrington of the Fredericksburg Police Department, and Jim Tally of the Fredericksburg Crisis Center. Perhaps the most important question covered was how at least some of the estimated 160 rapes that occurred in the Fredericksburg planning district last year could be prevented. All of the panelists were in general agreement, but on several points their emphasis varied. Ms. Arrington stressed awareness as being the key element in prevention: “Be aware that it can happen to YOU… when you’re on the street, note what’s going on around you –be aware that you can be raped… there should be the fear, the awareness that this could happen to you.” More specifically, girls should avoid hitch-hiking: “When a girl gets into a car, she surrenders control –there is not a great deal she can do.” Mr. Chichester believed that the laws regarding rape should be tightened up although the penalty for rape in Virginia is from five years to life; how much time the rapist really spends in jail depends on judges, juries and parole boards: “In the last two years, I would say that 90% of rapists in Virginia were back on the street after serving only 25% of their time –because the jails are so overcrowded… parole boards are like a swinging door.” Should a girl resist rape? One police officer in the film summed up the entire question when he said “its better for the sex-crime division to have to handle a rape victim than a homicide squad to get her.” One rape victim said that “the best defense is to use your wits, keep cool; often you can talk your way out of it.” Mr. Chichester and Sgt. La Salle, however advised resistance on the part of the victim, stating that such resistance will often prevent an attempted rape from turning into a successful one. There was complete unanimity on one point: the victim should report the crime as soon as possible. Only one rape in ten ever comes to the attention of the police, and this is one reason that so many women fall victim to this atrocity every year. Further, the rape must be reported as soon after it occurred as possible: Mr. Chichester noted that “the longer you wait, the less the chances of conviction, a two week delay could reduce the chances of obtaining a conviction as much as 75%... a victim should report to the first person she sees, even if a complete stranger.” A girl who has been raped should go to the nearest hospital emergency room as soon as possible. This is necessary for two reasons: first, she may be physically injured, at the very least, she will be in shock. Emergency room personnel are specifically trained to deal with such victims and they may also notify the police about the crime if the victim has not already done so. Secondly, the hospital will be equipped to preserve any perishable evidence that is essential to the preparation of a legal case. Mr. Chichester remarked that “the only crime harder to prosecute than rape is child beating” –and for this reason the corroborative evidence obtained from the hospital examination is critical. Also, the victim is interviewed by the police at the hospital. All crimes in Virginia, including rape, are processed through a three-stage procedure. The first stage, the preliminary hearing, takes place before a General District Court Judge. If the judge finds enough evidence to support a charge, the case is referred to a grand jury. This grand jury, the second stage of the process, is composed of six citizens who decide if enough evidence exists to hand down an indictment; no lawyers are present at the hearing and everything is very informal. If the grand jury indicts, a trial, the final process, takes place. The trial may either be jury or judge, depending on the wishes of those involved. Anyone wishing to become directly involved in rape counseling should contact the Crisis Center at 1008 Prince Edward St. or phone 373-8554. The Combined Rape Task Force should also be contacted. The Task Force was created last year, and has as its goals, public education, and crisis counseling. The chairperson of the Task Force is Karen Johnson, and she may be reached at 371-2719. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Students Discuss Rape Prevention Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Students Discuss Rape Prevention." The Bullet, March 28, 1977. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Rape--Prevention Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977-03-28 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 JPG 300 dpi Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, Virginia Description An account of the resource A newspaper article by Michael Mello on the discussion of rape prevention at Mary Washington College acquaintance rape Fredericksburg Combined Rape Task Force Fredericksburg Crisis Center rape Rape -- Virginia rape awareness rape prevention rape victim sexual assault sexual violence https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/06812269afa3a52124a972e4889e2fc6.jpg fe4586cde82cfa5d7f6547f690333782 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document On Friday, March 3, 200 college journalists from across the nation met in Washington, D.C. to participate in a White House Press Briefing for college media personnel. BULLET Features Editor Michael Mello represented the MWC student newspaper staff at the conference. The informative day consisted of talks and question/answer sessions with members of the White House staff, and was highlighted by a thirty-minute collegiate press conference with President Jimmy Carter. Carter devoted most of the half-hour session to addressing the student editors’ questions. Inquiries covered a vast area of national and international topics. Carter answered the first question on SALT saying that a summit meeting with the Soviet leader, Brezhnev, would be necessary to finalize a nuclear arms agreement. Regarding economic issues Carter claimed “complete confidence” in G. Wm. Miller, the new Federal Reserve Board chairman. Although Carter recognizes the crucial effects of inflation, he stated that alleviating the unemployment situation holds top priority. He also added that attempts to stabilize the value of the dollar overseas are underway. During the session, Mello obtained the floor and addressed his question to Carter’s pardon policy for the Viet Nam War evaders. Mello’s inquiry focused on whether the President feels that the policy is a success. Carter admitted that a “much more extensive program is needed.” He cited Congressional constraints as hindering a more extensive program. At the conclusion of the press conference Carter remarked: “You have a lot of responsibility on you as do I. Your position in society is one of great privilege. The fact that you are here today shows that you have been fortunate, not just endowed with talent and intelligence, but also you come probably from a good, solid family background or have had benefits from government in getting scholarships that others couldn’t get. And you have an advantage and a certain flexibility of thought and analysis and perspective and a lack of heavy responsibility on your shoulders that constrains your independence of thought and also mobility. “That won’t always be the case. In a few years you will be employed by a major corporation or have your own business assignment or be teaching school or be working in a bank. And when that time comes, perhaps surprisingly to you, your freedom of expression and freedom of action and freedom of analysis will be severely restricted because there will be an inclination on your part to conform to what the local school board, or the principal of the school wants or what the president of the bank thinks or what your customers at a filling station might want you to believe. “And I really hope, as the President of the greatest country on earth, that you won’t relinquish your right and even responsibility for independent analysis and deep inquisitiveness and expressions of concern and open expressions of criticism when public officials like myself don’t reach the standards that you set for our country.” The collegiate reporters also met with Presidential Assistant for Public Liaison Midge Costanza. Costanza emphasized that the present administration boasts an open channel to protest groups stating, “We don’t just allow groups into the White House that agree with us.” Another speaker, Mary Berry, addressed the students on educational issues. Berry, the assistant secretary of education for HEW, complimented Carter’s higher education aid plan. Domestic policy adviser, Dave Rubenstein, spoke on Carter’s first year in office and mentioned some of the administration’s first year in office and mentioned some of the administration’s future priorities. These included energy conservation, Senate ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties, economic reforms including tax cuts, and civil service reform. Mello found the entire day a valuable experience. He commented that the conference was “an aspect of journalism that I didn’t expect to be exposed to for years to come. In some respects the grandeur and officiality of the whole atmosphere overwhelmed me; I didn’t feel intimidated so much as I felt awed. The interest of the President and his advisers in the college media underscored the significance of any form of a free and responsible press.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Page, Zoe Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource White House Press Briefing Subject The topic of the resource Presidents--United States Description An account of the resource A newspaper article by Helen Marie McFalls of Mary Washington College about White House Press Briefing attended by Michael Mello. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McFalls, Helen Marie Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived McFalls, Helen Marie. "White House Press Briefing: MWC Reported Questions Carter." The Bullet, March 21, 1978. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-03-21 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg jimmy carter Mary Washington College Michael Mello MWC newspaper The Bullet University of Mary Washington white house press briefing https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/178a16854fc5920cec062e6e3f2af928.jpg 15bf15424fba7686f5ee16468e3a0e42 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document The Constitutional Revision Committee has produced a generally excellent document. To briefly cite a few of its improvements over the present SA constitution: the Presidents of Residential Council and Day Students Association would be guaranteed access to Executive Cabinet meetings “on a regular basis”; the murky area of Senatorial districts, the subject of much confusion this year, would be clarified; the SA would have the formal power and responsibility to “study any matter affecting the welfare of the student body and the College”; the allotment of student fees would officially fall within the jurisdiction of a “special committee or committees” of the SA; a clearer demarcation between the Legislative and Executive sectors of SA would be accomplished by stipulating that Cabinet members would no longer be ex officio members of the Senate; numerous definitional ambiguities would be clarified. But all of these matters, positive and necessary as they are, come as a little surprise; most of them were expected. The truly stunning accomplishment of the committee is their recommendation that the S.A. Constitution should contain a Student Bill of Rights. In doing so, the members of the committee exhibited a degree of courage and foresight not often seen on this campus. This Bill of Rights is an enormous gift to future generations of MWC students. It shall be a searchlight whose brilliance will continue to shine long after the Westmoreland Four and full-time student status controversies have faded from memory. The idea of an MWC student Bill of Rights is not new; the essential principles embodied within the Constitutional Revisions Committee’s recommendations were first presented to the student body of this campus on April 28, 1970. That Bill, a ponderous document containing no less than 51 separate sections, was ratified by the students by a vote of 1,447 to 43, only to be vetoed by then-College Chancellor Grellet Simpson. It has taken eight years for an MWC President to agree that the rights of his students should be made explicit, but Dr. Woodard has done just that. Now it is up to the students to decide how they feel, and they will do just that in the March 28 election. For once, the choice is ours. Why do we need a written Bill of Rights? Why must we put in writing the rights we already seem to possess? These questions were well answered by Sue Cottingham, Campus Judicial Chairman in 1970, in a letter to THE BULLET: “. . . assurances from the present administration that our rights will not be abridged do not insure that this will be the case in the future. We must establish specific, written procedures to avoid misrepresentation and misunderstanding.” The Bill of Rights can do this. The Bill has certain inherent limitations, but on the whole it is a sound document, and certainly the best we can expect at the present time. It is a foundation upon which to build. Unfortunately, the phrases “student freedom” and “student rights” evoke an image in the minds of many administrators of a long-haired window smasher, while giving the student a come-and-go-as-I-please attitude that also has its extremes and excesses. Neither of these poles reflect the essence of the students’ rights issue, which is simply the attainment of the full constitutional rights due students as citizens and the matching responsibilities that must be met. The Bill of Rights will come before the campus for a vote in less than two weeks. I hope it will be ratified. Eight years ago, the students ratified the Bill and the Administration vetoed it. Would it not be a slashing irony if this year it was the Administration who embraced the Bill of Rights and the students who repudiated it? MAM Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Page, Zoe Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Vol. 51, Issue 8 Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vote "Yes" on the Bill of Rights Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Student government Description An account of the resource Michael Mello writes on Mary Washington College's Bill of Rights and the upcoming vote to ratify it. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Vote 'Yes' to the Bill of Rights." The Bullet, March 21, 1978. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-03-21 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, Virginia Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. bill of rights Mary Washington Bullet Mary Washington College Michael Mello MWC newspaper The Bullet umw University of Mary Washington https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3a5287cf20717c54587836b10ad74eda.jpg 12c5941c423adc1931d98c5eb36d620d https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/18519869f743c4f0877868c3f56969bd.jpg ecfb72bbe9a3b86346f82ad2500e688d https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/28da140502431a1b0a0d9f43ec43d4cd.jpg 1f718541d36d51c7a27fee7160d475b4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Former Secretary of State Dean Rusk was on campus at Mary Washington College yesterday, fielding questions about United States foreign policy from students and professors, especially about the era of Vietnam when he played a key role. The visit opened a three-day stay for Rusk as Distinguished Visitor in Residence at MWC for 1977, climaxing Sunday evening with a major address by the former top statesman. In both a press session and an afternoon class meeting, Rusk faced dozens of student interrogators, most of them well-back-grounded, polite but persistent and frequently armed with written questions. While it wasn't a campus scene from the 60s, charged with the air of confrontation-a few students did appear timid in the face if the imperturbable Rusk-many of them took advantage of the chance to probe the mind of a man who had worked the levers of great powers. What they discovered was a sure-footed professor whose knowledge of foreign affairs was gained in eight rough years in the Washington pressure cooker and deepened by both distance and time since then. Defending without defensiveness, Rusk did not noticeably back away from crucial U.S. actions in Southeast Asia during is years as a key advisor, but he did tell one questioner that with the hindsight of 1977, some things might well have been done differently. A professor of international law these days at the University of Georgia, Rusk displayed ease, candor and authority in his remarks. "It's hard to do in cold blood what you may need hot blood for," he said of U.S. restraint in the conduct of the Vietnam conflict. On a personal note he told one student journalist that his greatest satisfaction form government service was his role in "adding eight more years to the time since a nuclear weapon has been used to kill someone," a point which he picked up later int he day with the comment: "War is the principal obscenity on the face of the human race; how we prevent it is the question." Conservatively attired in vested dark blue pin stripes, the statesman-turned-teacher appeared to be more at ease than his questioners in a meeting with journalists, most of whom were students. "You learn to say nothing at considerable length at a press conference," he cracked. In a more serious vein, Rusk said it will take another 15 to 20 years and a younger generation to place the Southeast Asian conflict in historical perspective. Facing a philosophy class following lunch, Rusk dealt with an hour's worth of queries concerning the role of morality in foreign policy. "If your decisions are going to be about people," he declared take them into account, you are not going to be dealing with the real world." Morality, he said, contrary to popular cynicism, figures in foreign policy decisions, but often by way of a foundation or background to events and actions. A history major dug into the morality of U.S. policy in the Vietnamese war, following through repeatedly when the Johnson administration advisor failed to concede weakness in that aspect of the national stance. In an hour of civilized but steady interrogation in the first of his classroom meetings with MWC students, Dean Rusk may have been ready oft the bell when it rang, but it didn't show. He rose from a plain wooden desk, got a solid round of applause and left-for more of the same at a class in comparative government. The former statesman is the seventh notable to visit the campus under the Distinguished Visitor in Residence program, which is sponsored by the college alumni association. Since its inception it has brought to the campus anthropologist Margaret Mead, social activist Saul Alinsky, historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., novelist Chaim Potok, choreographer Agnes deMille and columnist Frank Mankiewicz. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource For Rusk, more queries on Vietnam Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Rusk, Dean Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sullivan, Paul Description An account of the resource The visit of former Secretary of State Dean Rusk's visit to Mary Washington specifically talking at the Vietnam War. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Free Lance-Star Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977-11-12 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 JPG Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Mary Washington College Vietnam War https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/d01b365750fcab23e3a668280c499654.jpg fd817be1f4c3e8177b721845ba9a95d1 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/a09f6c513179d736c674ee24ba10a96a.jpg 6ff86516c606883ffa41e529f74c2220 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/225f262223a497a56b927a029bd2edf4.jpg 34ed519b882c4ac9b7fb18459466cb1b https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/6ca735b207aa5c9ee08c0572314dde66.jpg dcc4ea3bfa9febc4af217ae7292a35e4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document <div style="text-align:center;">“Certainly, I have no sympathy for any individual who made a mistake. We have all made mistakes. But it also is a rule of life we all have to pay for our mistakes.”</div> - Richard Nixon in 1973 One could rightly ask why anyone would bother to write now in favor of amnesty for those who refused to take part in the Vietnam war. The answer is simply that the question has not yet been adequately settled, and this is as good a time as any to put it behind us. Former President Nixon assured the country in 1972 that any discussion on amnesty would be inappropriate until 1) The war was over 2) The POW’s were home 3) an accounting of the MIA’s was underway and 4) the conscription of Americans into the military against their will had ended. All of these conditions have been met for almost five years: all of Vietnam has gone Communist and the Ford Administration is considering recognizing the Hanoi government. He repatriation of the exiles remains the last great problem of the war. The academic community, indeed the world community as a whole, remembers with pride those few “good Germans” who refused to participate in Hitler’s plans for extermination. The only Germans who are today considered respectable are those who defied the government when it went mad, those who deserted their SS units rather than take part in the destruction of Liddice or the leveling of the Warsaw ghetto: it is as difficult to find a Nazi in Germany today as it is to find a hawk in America. But, while those “good Germans” are seen as patriots in the highest meaning of the word, the small army of Americans who chose exile over what history may regard as our country’s Waterloo, are vilified and hounded as cowards and still forced to stay away. We welcome South Vietnamese Army General Trang si Tan, a master torturer; we welcome Saigon Police Chief Dang Van Quang, who gained international noteriority when he summarily executed a bound Viet Cong prisoner during the 1968 Tet offensive; we welcome Ngo Cao Ky, who initiated and supervised the infamous Phoenix Program which carried out the murder of 20,000 South Vietnamese political dissidents. Yet, America’s borders are closed to Terry Samuels and Lindy Blake, whose only crime was to have a conscience when a national conscience was nonexistent. They ask not for mercy – for they have committed no wrong – but rather they ask for justice. Total, absolute, unconditional amnesty should be granted to all of those who refused to fight in America’s biggest mistake. It would not be the first time: George Washington pardoned those who took part in the Whiskey Rebellion. Perhaps more relevant to the issue before is now is Andrew Johnson’s blanket amnesty of all Southern rebels who participated in America’s most costly wart: 600,000 men died in the Civil War. Johnson issued his Universal Amnesty Declaration on Christmas Eve 1868: “I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States…do hereby proclaim and declare unconditionally, and without reservation to all and to every person who directly or indirectly participated in the later insurrection or rebellion, a full pardon and amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States; or for adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of all right, privileges and immunities under the Constitution.” Why, if amnesty can be granted for the serious crime of armed rebellion, should it be denied to men who are motivated by opposition to a war that they felt was unjust? There are those who would call the draft dodgers and deserters cowards, but it is never cowardly to stand on moral grounds against the general view. To leave the country of one’s birth, to place oneself in voluntary exile in a strange land with customs and language foreign to him is a difficult and painful situation. They were not cowards, even though the Pentagon tried to make us think that this was the case: “inquiries made by field commanders and research teams reveal that relatively few soldiers claim the Vietnam war as a motivating factor for desertion. The major causes of desertion, true today as they were in previous wars, are personal problems and the inability to adjust to regimented life.” This statement ignores the fact that in each successive year of the Vietnam conflict since 1967, the year of deserters leapt by tens of thousands: in in 1967, roughly 44,000; in 1968, 54,000; in 1969, 70,000; in 1970, 84,000; in 1971, 100,000. Official Pentagon figures place the total number of deserters from August 1964 to December 31, 1972, at 495,689. This figure is almost 300 per cent greater than the desertion figures of WWII and Korea combined. It is not reasonable to assume that the soldiers in Vietnam had so many more “personal problems” than did their counterparts in America’s other recent wars. Vietnam’s deserters are not cowards; the real cowards in this war are those who were involved in atrocities, who knew the grim truths, but remained silent. They are the cowards to their responsibility to humanity. There are those who do feel that to grant amnesty would somehow dishonor those who fought and died in Vietnam. This wrong party: since when is it the responsibility of the exile to offer any explanation to the wounded or the families of the dead? It is the government’s job to do that. The men in the Kennedy, Johnson and the Nixon Administrations who signed the troop increase orders and formulated the war strategy that left our fighting men so exposed to their enemy, must justify their deeds to those who paid the price for them in blood: McNamara, Lodge, Ball, Rusk, Helms. To deny amnesty would not confer any more meaning on the 55,000 American dead: amnesty would, perhaps show that there is still a shred of honor left in our system. It would commit this country to define the lessons of the war: for, until we understand these lessons, there is nothing to prevent the same thing from happening over and over again. Universal amnesty subsumes repatriation with the acceptance of responsibility for the war. Conditional amnesty offers repatriation without guilt, a return to acceptance of business as usual. Further, conditional amnesty assumes that Congress or the President or the V.A. has the moral standing to judge the conscientious decision of Vietnam’s resistors. No public official who served in the executive or legislature during the twelve years of war, has any such moral understanding. Further, to assume that those who fought are against those who didn’t is simply not borne out by the facts: for example, the most vital element in the antiwar movement during the last two years of the war were returning veterans. There was a powerful message in their protest: the special bitterness of the antiwar veteran comes from his realization that he was sent off to risk his like and kill for an illegitimate cause. Also, opponents of amnesty assume that the families of the dead, wounded and captured will be opposed to amnesty. This may or may not be true: we just don’t know. They have not been polled. But it is inappropriate to assume that they would be against amnesty; 1962 Kennedy amnesty hearings revealed some fascinating testimony: Mrs. Valerie Kushner, the wife of a prisoner held in captivity since 1968, pointed out that “POW’s and war exiles (are) both unwilling exiles. We cannot expect to make whole the body of America if we amputate from her flesh so many of her sons.” And Robert Ransom, whose son Mike was killed in Vietnam in 1968, testified “… the untenable position into which we have forced these men is responsible for their predicament today. These are our sons, and we need them back. They did not deserve what we have done to them. It would be most gratifying to me if I felt that I could have contributed in some great measure toward the granting of the broadest kind of amnesty – one without penalties and conditions. I would consider it to be my personal Mike Ransom Memorial General Amnesty Bill. That would have pleased him. It is said that amnesty would undermine the military as an institution by encouraging draft evasion and desertion in the future. But in 1971, one out of every four Americans who enlisted in the armed forces deserted, and it would be difficult to prove that the deserters were motivated by expectation of amnesty. Thus, the concept of patriotic sacrifice was destroyed by Vietnam policies long before there was any talk of amnesty. The cause might be right before men willing risk their lives for it. The U.S. Constitution provides the procedure whereby the country can be taken into a war by its leaders: by this method, the America people – via their representatives – can pass judgment on the validity of the cause and whether or not it is worth sending young men to die fighting for. The viability of the military has always been maintained – and always will continue to be maintained – so long as this Constitutional procedure is followed. The exile phenomenon arose because we were dragged secretly into war; med died under the constitutional joke of the Tonkin Gulf Revolution; men were told to die for a game theory called the domino theory. The real question concerning the draft in the future is: Draft of what? If young men are to be drafted for further Vietnams, then such a draft would be unviable. So long as the war-making procedure is followed, the military will remain sound, whether or not amnesty is granted for the Vietnam exiles. The dodgers and deserters were not evil; they were not cowards; they were ordinary citizens whose consciences could not permit them to take part in a war such as Vietnam. They broke the law, but who has been the supreme law breaker in the era? America did not declare war in Vietnam, but it was responsible for the Nuremburg Tribunal, at which it ratified a host of crimes entitled crimes against humanity – extermination, enslavement, deportation and other atrocities committed against a civilian population. After twelve ears of American involvement in Vietnam, there are over 1,000,000 civilian casualties and 6,000,000 refugees in South Vietnam. One fourth of the entire population of Cambodia was dislocated after three months of our invasion there. Laos has the honor of being the most heavily bombed country in recorded history. And to the American guilt for Hiroshima, Magasaki [Nagasaki] and Dresden, Nixon added the saturation bombing of Hanoi and Harphong on, ironically, the birthday of Jesus Christ [December 25, 1972], the Prince of Peace. Three months later, we withdrew with “peace and honor.” The tactics we employed in Southeast Asia – free-fire zones, massive bombing of highly-populated cities, system extermination of dissidents, the “Strategic body count – are crimes and violations of international law whether the U.S. does them or Nazi Germany does them, and we cannot lay down a rule of criminal conduct against others which we ourselves will no abide by. So let us not hear any longer this selective application for the respect of the law invoked for the exile, but not for his government. If the exiles were right and Vietnam, was wrong, then our leaders should recognize it, admit it and, of course grant amnesty. But if the dodgers were wrong and the war was right, they have suffered enough: exile in itself is a self-imposed alternative to service. For the government to add still more penalty is a cruel act of cowardice on the part of that government, an act contemptuous of the past, and proof enough that we have progressed very little since the Senate passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution by a vote of 98 to 2. In that event, our 55,000 dead have surely died in vain. I ask everyone to open your hearts to the words of Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season and time to every purpose under the heaven…a time for killing, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.” We have had our time of killing, now. The leaders of the United States found it necessary to destroy much of Vietnam in an effort to break the spirit of Ho Chi Minh and other Communists in Southeast Asia. ThJ5 spirit remained unbroken despite B-52 saturation bombing, napolm-raids, free-fire zones and body counts, remained unbroken and prebailad, but the American spirit was left in shambles. In our narrow-minded attempt to interfere in a civil war, we inadvertently caused a civil war of our own. This civil war will never be over until the people of the United States decide to heal the wounds allowing everyone to come home. Only when all of the victims of the war are allowed to make the trip home will we have any semblance of a peace with honor. “The Southerners are our brethren. They are part of ourselves. They are bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. We have come together and now, after having understood what the feud was, the great apple of discord removed, having lived under the Constitution of United States, they (the Southern rebels) have asked to live under it in the future.” – Andrew Johnson in 1866 “I had to obey the rules of war and my flag.” – Adolf Eichmann “My conscience is clear. I was simply doing my duty.” – Franz Stangel, Commandant of Treblinka Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Buyze, Gwendolynn Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Vol. 48, Issue 22 Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Crossfire Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Description An account of the resource In this article Michael Mello writes about giving amnesty to the people who refused to participate in the Vietnam War. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Crossfire." Mary Washington College Bullet, April 19, 1976, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957 - 2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976-04-19 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 4 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Amnesty draft dodgers Mary Washington College Michael A. Mello Vietnam War https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/868e6e7921bfbe21e64a30d83b7ea4a7.png 81bad64235b0f2dd65a903d3bb0cbd61 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Dear Editor: The administration of this school does not keep records of extracurricular activities (political or otherwise) of its students, contrary to your October 4 editorial in which you wrote, "our student records contain...our extracurricular activities whether we belong to Young Americans for Freedom or NORML. Many students who intend to work with the government upon graduation or would like to attend professional or graduate school are afraid to join organizations ...Indeed their fears are justified" I defy you to present one shred of evidence, one scrap of substantiation to this charge which has done so much to fan the flames of paranoia on this campus and which has caused such grievous damage to MWC NORML. After reading your piece, I went down to GW and checked my own records there. After all, I informed Dean Clement of my intention to establish a chapter of NORML here on campus well over a month ago; I gave her a copy of our proposed club constitution and discussed the whole project with her at some length; I invited her to our first meeting- in short, of all the NORML members here at MWC, she knew all about me. So if NORML affiliation does in fact go into our records, my file would be bulging. But, my records contained nothing more than Photostats of my grades and an emergency information form which I myself completed upon application to MWC. There was not one word about my activities in NORML- not even a copy of the Constitution I gave to Dean Clement at the beginning of the semester. Four other members of the group also viewed their files and found exactly the same thing I did. I did not check to see if the Administration is any more interested in YAF than they are in NORML, but both Dean Clement and President Woodward have assured me that they are not. Clement summed it up when she said, "We have enough here to keep us busy without following students to their club meetings. We don't have the resources to do it even if we wanted to- which we don't." I do not know what possessed you to write such a damaging editorial, but in light of subsequent investigation, I respectfully suggest that you retract it. The students of this school should be encouraged to take an active part in the political system by joining such groups as Young Republicans, Young Democrats, YAF, or NORML depending on where their leanings lie. We have a Constitutional right to join whatever organizations we please. MWC does not keep the records of our extracurricular activities- and anyone who doubts this can easily find out for themselves by checking their own files. Mike Mello Editor's Notes: Indeed, I should have made my editorial more explicit. Student records contain information on extracurricular activities which the student submits to the Dean of Students. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Clay, Austin Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Paranoid Flames Description An account of the resource Mike Mello wrote to the Editor on November 1, 1976. He said that although the school claims to keep records of students' extracurricular activities, he has substantial evidence that shows otherwise. He believes that students should be able to join any college organizations. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Paranoid Flames." Mary Washington College Bullet, November 1, 1976, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957 - 2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976-11-01 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Subject The topic of the resource Campus Life https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/08093d8c3f3f2e1be82b2e80f3dfdadb.png 75c9c59d36f73a26a5a7f0f60f410c8c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Editor: Martha Moore's letter on the campus Judicial system requires more clarification. In the case to which she referred, I served as a defense council. Although the case involved six students, I will concentrate on one: Andy Hulcher. On the evening that the incident occurred, Andy was studying in his room with a roommate and a friend. His roommate received a phone call at 9 p.m. and returned to the room with three girls. About a half an hour later, Madison's Resident Director knocked on the door. When Andy opened the door, the Resident Director saw the girls and asked them to leave, which they did. Andy, his roommate, and his friend went to trial and were given the same penalty: three weeks strict campus, four weeks loss of key privileges, and one semester social probation. On appeal, Andy's penalty was only slightly reduced and his friends penalty reversed. Andy's defense on appeal was in three stages 1). serious procedural errors occurred in the handling of his case, 2). these errors constitute an error of the "due process of law" clauses of both the Handbook and the 14th amendment, and 3). such violations are grounds for reversal. There were four violations of "due process" in the case of Andy Hulcher. First, Andy was not told that when defendants are tried together, they receive the same penalty, until after the trial. His offense was in no way as serious as that of his roommate: the girls were not his guests, and he had no prior knowledge that they were coming up to the room. Andy was no more than a spectator, yet he received the same penalty. The Joint Council ruled that this was not a violation of due process of the law. Second, the Judicial Court was particularly severe in this case relative to past cases. For example, Conrad Weiser and his roommate were caught with two female guests of Conrad's in their room after closing hours. Conrad's roommate was acquitted. Yet compare this sentence to the one the same Judicial Court gave to Andy Hulcher. The Joint Council ruled that this radical difference in penalty for the same offense does not constitute a violation of due process of the law. Third, Andy did not have time to prepare a proper defense against the charges. He had 24 hours to study the Handbook research precedents, secure council, and interview witnesses. The Joint Council ruled that failure to allow a defendant adequate time to prepare his case did not violate due process of law. Fourth, Madison's Judicial Representative failed to follow any of the investigative procedures outlined in pp. 65-66 of the Handbook. The Joint Council ruled that failure to conduct an investigation before accusation, failure to interview witnesses, and failure to advise the accused of his rights does not constitute a violation of due process of the law. Thus, there were serious errors, oversights, and irregularities in handling of Andy's case by the MWC judicial system. These errors do constitute a violation of the due process clause of the Handbook. I consulted three eminent lawyers about the case. John Zwerling, a member of the ACLU advisory board termed the actions of the Judicial court "incredible. . . a travesty." David Rosenfield, a well-known Northern Virginia attorney wrote me that "the procedural errors. . . are absolutely startling. The failure of relevant persons to follow existing written regulations regarding the administration of 'justice' on the campus. . . constitutes a clear violation of the student's Constitutional rights." The third lawyer we consulted was U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Stevens. Justice Stevens noted that "proper and set regulations must be observed by college judicial systems. A lack of procedure. . . adds to the lack of respect for the system." He further stated that had these errors occurred in a federal or state court, on appeal the verdict would be reversed. The Joint council had all this information before them and they ignored it. I asked them at the time of the trial (and received no answer) that if the above four points do not constitute an abridgement of due process, what does? I ask again: What does due process mean at MWC? Michael Mello Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource What does it mean? Description An account of the resource Michael Mello writes to the Editor defending Andy Hulcher. He believes that the Joint Council did not fairly penalize Andy for being a spectator while females were in his room because he did not invite them up there or have prior knowledge that they were coming over. He believes that Andy was unfairly punished. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977-02-14 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Subject The topic of the resource College Discipline Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "What does it mean?" Mary Washington College Bullet, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957 - 2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/388c694bbfed67a0fc63ec84d1e802b6.jpg 8064ef7e7d042dfc5ea2cd85621a30ec https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c52876238ec320b277237025834b48f0.jpg 7613c7ea8e1bcc31f8fc311c298950fb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Dear Editor: Since the beginning of this semester, there has been much discussion of NORML in this newspaper. For the first two or three issues of The Bullet, I found the topic interesting, although a bit antiquated. Now, I am completely bored with the subject and wish to know if it would be possible to move on? I am very aware of NORML’s goals. I admire what the organization is trying to accomplish, but the recent devotion of this editorial column to NORML is puzzling. It is true that this column is supposed to be a sounding board, but when it is dominated by one particular person’s opinion, one begins to ask his or herself if perhaps there is a brainwashing attempt going on. My advise is to let a dead horse die. There are certainly more relevant topics that can be considered within this paper. Apathy in itself is a crime, but fanaticism has no place in a newspaper. Respectfully yours, Frances W. Gravatt Drug Reality Dear Editor: Obviously there is much interest in the drug use at Mary Washington College as indicated by the published responses to my comments about NORML (The National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws). Many responses contained statements deserve comment. Tom Chasen argues that my “statements are those of an anarchist.” But nowhere in my letter did I advocate the elimination of government. What I and other Libertarians do advocate is the elimination of all laws which deal with victimless crimes-such as laws involving drug production, sale and use, prostitution, gambling etc. Actually I am a strong proponent of a government, but a government that is limited to performing functions which are appropriate to it, such as dealing with real crimes like murder, theft, rape etc., which do have victims. Maureen Riley asserts that “there are many pragmatic arguments against decriminalization. These would be multiplied in strength, application and support against legalization.” I wish that I knew of just one pragmatic or positive argument that could stand up under the test of reality. The main argument for outlawing drugs, according to those who support such laws, is that these laws will prevent harmful drugs from getting into the hands of people and thus protect them from injury. But in reality just the opposite occurs. Drugs, although they are now outlawed, are readily available today to anyone who really wants to obtain them. Young children get them and become addicts. Students at Mary Washington College get drugs, apparently easily, and use them (if I can believe what other students tell me). Even prisoners in jail get drugs, and yet it is the government who runs these jails. If the government cannot prevent locked up citizens from obtaining drugs, how could it possibly prevent free citizens from getting them? It can’t, and it doesn’t! But that is not the purpose of outlawing drugs. The purpose is to establish control of some people over the lives of other people (we are not dealing with drug control, but people control). And in the process there is a set up an extensive black market (mainly run by the mafia). In which enormous profits can be made and kickbacks can be obtained by those who choose to look the other way. Bribery and corruption of law enforcement officers inevitably results when drugs, as well as gambling and prostitution, are outlawed. Also, since these laws are often broken and not uniformly applied (enforced), or are recognized to be irrational and thus ignored, there results an increase in general disrespect for law. With widespread corruption respect is lost in law enforcement officers and even in government itself. Doug James thinks that my idealism has blinded me to the realities of today’s drug situation. But exactly the opposite is the case. It has been estimated that approximately 50 per cent of all crimes are drug related. This does not mean that individuals crammed full of drugs are dashing around committing crimes simply because of the presence of drugs in their systems. What it does mean is that people who are hooked on drugs must spend fantastic sums of money to obtain these very high priced drugs (which are only high priced because they are outlawed). In order to get the money for these purchases many drug users find it necessary to rob, assault, mug or murder others. Therefore the reality of the drug situation is that the government is setting you up! There is a far greater chance that you will be a victim of a real and serious crime precisely because certain drugs are outlawed. The reality is that there are hundreds of drug pushers out there getting young and innocent people to try drugs and wrecking their lives in the process, a point Michael Mello seems oblivious of when expressing his fear of children buying drugs at a local store should they become legal. Children are already buying which are being vigorously hustled by pushers, and they are probably often bought precisely because they are outlawed-they are forbidden and thus more desirable. Drug pushers only exist because the government outlaws the sale of marijuana and other drugs, thus causing prices and profits to be very high. If drugs were sold openly on the free market they would be so cheap, and the profit so low, that the incentive to push drugs would be eliminated. One doesn’t find pushers of alcohol or cigarettes in school yards, but one does find pushers of drugs. Michael Mello makes his and NORML’s position on marijuana quite clear in his letter. They are simply seeking decriminalization and not legalization. He points out that “under such policy (decriminalization) marijuana would still be technically illegal.” Precisely! And this is a major problem. Just suppose the people in the 1920’s and 30’s who saw what alcohol prohibition was doing to the country took a position similar to NORML’s. Instead of seeking a repeal of the 18th Amendment which outlawed the production, sale and transportation of alcohol they would have simply said: “By all means keep this prohibition, but just modify it a bit (decriminalize it) to allow us to have a drink in our home, make a little home brew or wine etc. and perhaps even exchange a bit of alcohol for an insignificant consideration. But certainly no one should be allowed to produce, sell or advertise this drug.” Just think of the even greater mess this country would now be in had they taken such a position. Fortunately for us all they did not, but instead called for an end to prohibition! And this is precisely what NORML should do concerning marijuana (even if it is not interested in other drugs or the concept of prohibition per se). I appreciate the invitation extended by Michael Mello to speak at a future meeting of NORML. But might I suggest an alternative. Perhaps NORML would like to sponsor an Open Forum, possibly to be held in Ann Carter Lee Ballroom, and allow me to briefly present the Libertarian views concerning drugs and Michael Mello or another spokesperson to present NORML’s. We could then answer questions from the audience. I believe such an event would be both mentally stimulating and most educational. Sincerely, Thomas Johnson Professor of Biology Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Dickerson, Courtney Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Enough of NORML Subject The topic of the resource Legalization and decriminalization of marijuana Description An account of the resource Thomas Johnson and Frances Gravatt wrote to the editor of The Bullet about NORML. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gravatt, Frances W. Johnson, Thomas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Gravatt, Frances W. and Thomas Johnson. "Enough of NORML." The Bullet, November 8, 1976 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976-11-08 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Decriminalization Legalization Marijuana Mary Washington Bullet Mary Washington College Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/814f0d8e02cb55f57ccdebc8a2b84ac4.jpg f23c77535c4a51e941eee9ede939878d https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/30e01863363776e4c2d3c8abf4c97c54.jpg bd2fe399ae9e66f4159098b0b7c2cbe5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Dear Editor: Sue Peters made several astute observations in her editorial "The Hopeless Quest for Student Power" (October 18, 1977). She proved that "economic force will not be effective in our quest for authority"; her rejection of violence is equally valid. However, I must disagree with the basic these of her piece: that having a student on the Board of Visitors would not enhance our position vis-a-vis the administration. Miss Peter's statement that "power is not totally in the hands of the administration" is incorrect. The deans of the college are the administrators that most directly affect our lives, but they are elected by the President: a B.O.V resolution of February 8, 1975 states that "the President shall be the chief executive, administrative, and academic officer of the College, and as such he hereby is authorized, directed and empowered to appoint and employ, upon such terms as he shall think best, such administrative and staff personnel as he shall deem proper- to fix their duties and functions, and to discharge and such appointee or employee." So it would seem, at first glance, that the President is the real source of power here; this is not the case, however. He exercises his powers on "behalf of the Rector and Visitors of Mary Washington College." The President himself is thus only a conduit of power: it is the Board which, according to Section 23-91.40 of the Code of Virginia, has the power to "control and expend the funds of the College... make all needful rules and regulations... appoint the President... and all teachers, and fix their salaries." And yet even the Board is not the final reservoir of campus power. Section 23-91.34 of the Code of Virginia states that the B.O.V. is "under the control of the General Assembly." The General Assembly created the Board in 1972; it defined its role and powers; it can modify that role anytime it sees fit to do so. THAT is where the final source of power is, not in Fredericksburg at all, but rather, in Richmond. There presently exists a student organization which has as its purpose the presentation of M.W.C. student views to the General Assembly: the Student Lobby. The Lobby has been extremely active since it was founded; moreover, it has met with much success in its efforts. Recall the HB547 was defeated last year. The specific concept of student representation of the B.O.V. has had its advocates some delegates in the Assembly Representative Ira Lechner introduced a Bill (HB2044) on January 24 of this year, which would have put a student on the Board of all state-supported colleges and universities. The bill provided that "the student member shall have the same powers and duties and shall be subject to the same liabilities as any other member of the Board." The bill was defeated, but perhaps if the entire network of state student lobbies concerted their efforts (as they successfully did with HB547), a similar proposal might fare better in the future. Certainly it seems incorrect to say that "there is no reason to bring up the possibilities of student representation," as Miss Peters did. She further states that "power is never given, it must be taken." This is certainly true; none will voluntarily surrender power. But it is for this very reason that we must petition the General Assembly. The administration is not likely to give us power parity with themselves; nor is the Board. So we must raise our sights higher and take our case to the delegates in Richmond. They are the only ones who might change the power relationship here by putting a student on the B.O.V. So the possibility of getting a student on the Board, is not as Miss Peters suggests, impossible. But the question still remains: is it desirable to have a student on that body? She thinks not: "the final goal is power, specifically the power to make necessary changes in our academic environment without capricious veto by the administration. One student on a large Board of Visitors would hardly obtain this power...it would bring us no closer to the final goal of self-determination." I disagree. Having a student on the highest operational governing body of the school would greatly increase our position. It would do so in two ways. Firstly, it would guarantee that at least one student view would be heard; at present, it is too easy for the Board to simply shun student opinions (particularly during deliberation). The infrequent, limited output we now have with that body which so affects our everyday lives can be no substitute for the guaranteed continuous student input that a student member of the B.O.V. would provide. This would give us power; not the naked, coercive power of the mob, but rather the power of democracy, the power to actively take part in the decisions which affect us. When one group that has been previously totally subservient to another is allowed into the councils of its masters as co-equal, it has gained power. Secondly, a program like that proposed by Delegate Lechner would give the student member full voting privileges. There are presently 12 members on the Board; a student on the body could be the tie-breaking vote. True, we would only compose 1/3 of the total vote; but our power would still be increased from what it is now. To take an analogous example blacks compose only 11% of the population in the U.S., yet their acquisition of the vote certainly gave them increased power. Of course this principle followed by its extreme would give the students about 85% of the vote on the Board, faculty about 10% and administration about 5%. But that is a different issue altogether. Having one student on the B.O.V. would not instantly give us all that we want; it would not give us "self-determination." But it certainly would be a step in that direction. At the very least, it would give us a real voice on the largest conduit of campus power. The thing about Miss Peter's editorial that bothered me the most was that she offered no alternatives of her own. Until something better is suggested, I shall continue to support the principles embodied in HB2044. Respectfully, Michael Mello Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Perrigan, Christina Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letters Subject The topic of the resource Student admittance on the Board of Visitors Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor in response to a previously written article regarding Mary Washington College students' struggles for more power. Specifically addressing the significance of students being members of the Board of Visitors. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Letters". Mary Washington College Bullet, Tuesday, November 1, 1977, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957 - 2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977-11-01 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Mary Washington Bullet Mary Washington College Michael Mello student activism Student Government https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/d1ade5530d7d23b076f06cf44bedb414.jpg 78724736fd66ee4a328cfa24fc072e34 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f245068acaef7ec3325e554eca7c8320.jpg 29660a40c9335b998d38df5948553d7b https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/5bc3180fe96899061c544da32a60f7b1.jpg 56889b10c935d904de6ad44590cc3ecd https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/fa2d1eb7e6e59d8edb0ce58e9bc88626.jpg 3f4c213947e17e2430b70bc7fd02dee5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Dear Editor: Recently, both THE BULLET and PROMETHEUS have printed articles and letters concerning injustices in the Honor System and violations of the S.A. Constitution. Serious questions were raised by the two publications-questions which should cause all MWC students to become concerned about the effectiveness of their elected representatives. Mary Washington students have been denied the benefit of an honest and open discussion of the issues; however, for neither S.A. President Kathy Mayer nor Honor Council President Janet de la Concepcion has responded publicly to the changes leveled against them. Does silence imply affirmation? If Ms. Mayer does not feel she is violating the S.A. Constitution by holding office while taking only 10 hours of classes (instead of the 12 required under Article IV, Section 4 of the S.A. Constitution, which states that a member of Executive Cabinet must be a full-time student) she should respond in either THE BULLET or PROMETHEUS. If Ms. de la Concepcion does not believe that under her leadership the Honor Council has been prone to incompetence she should respond publicly. The students have a right to know. Gary Webb Editor: In Ms. Hayes’ recent editorial “MWC Honor-A Call for a Closer Look” (THE BULLET, November 15)she began by discussing the ethics of journalism. Not trying to be picky, but if Ms. Hayes were exercising ethical journalism, she should have submitted the editorial about my article to the publication in which it was printed, Beyond ethics, a further reason why she should not have stated her ideas in The BULLET is that probably many people who read THE BULLET did not see my article at all. PROMETHEUS puts out about 500 copies per issue, allowing for “passing around” of any particular copy. Far less than one half the students of MWC actually saw my article in print. To this end, I have received many requests for a reprint of my article as a result of Ms. Hayes’ editorial. I feel that I have suffered an injustice at the hands of THE BULLET through their decision not to print my article, and at the same time to comment upon it. To help clear up any misinterpretations of my expose, I respectfully request that THE BULLET reprint my article “Recent Honor Trial Shows Need for Changes” in full so that everyone may judge my ideas for himself. In Ms. Hayes’ editorial she was able to pick out of context anything she thought significant. Speaking in Ms. Hayes terms, she has put a “slant” on the issue. Ms. Hayes’ assumption “…the intent of the article was to put under public scrutiny the names of our S.A. and Honor Council President ,” misses the mark. The article was, as stated, to inform students, and since the Honor Council President is so wrapped up in anything the Honor Council does, it is only natural that her name and actions by mentioned due to the fact that she is an Please see page three Letters (Con.) S.A. official with much power and influence. And, as Michael Mello pointed out in his Letter to the Editor of two weeks ago, the accuser “… should have known better.” These reasons do not even mention the fact that any representative of citizens has already put himself on a pedestal to be examined. I merely informed the student body about the trial of Pam Burrows in the way in which I saw it. As to defacing the names of the Characters involved should my speculations be withheld in a free community? Ms. Hayes stated in her editorial that my editorial style article was inappropriate, because a news-type article on the trials had not first been published. My article states that there should be provisions made for publishing details of all trials: “An open, public approach to the Honor and Judicial processes would serve as a check on the system and it’s implementers.” Outside the college community in courts of law, reporters are allowed to be present at most trials, and to report the details from them. The public has a right to know these details, and the same situation applies to our trial system. Ms. Hayes questioned this application to trials at MWC: “Doesn’t the accuser, as well as the accused have any say as to how the contents of the trials are distributed?” My answer to this question is that neither person has a right to decide what neither person has a right to decide what will be published. The details of the trials by right belong to the public-this is a practice entrenched in the Judicial System of the United States of America. If a person has put himself in a conspicuous enough position to warrant a trial or indeed if the person has committed an offense, the public must know who he is so that proper treatment may be affected. As for the accuser, he or she is standing up for the cherished (and legal) Judicial System: thus what possible justifiable reason could an accuser have for remaining incognito? Due to the fact that many offenses on this campus are not set down as illegal in the outside world, (an example of this is the curfew law on campus), I propose that we not rely on the unfair system under which we now live, which was devised by legally unsophisticated students of the past. We should model our trial system after a functional and long-lived set of procedure such as the United States Judicial System. Elliot Wentz Please see page four Editor: Ms. Hayes seems to have misunderstood my letter (November 22, THE BULLET). She writes that “In a democratic society, we should all be treated as equals (referring to both the accuser and defendant before the bar of justice-MM) Right? Apparently not, says Mello ….. Doesn’t the accuser, as well as the accused , have any say as to how the contents of trials are distributed?” Yet in my letter, which appeared on the page next to that statement by Ms. Hayes, I wrote: “Personally, I don’t feel that a citizen acquires any additional rights by becoming an accuser. Of course, that same person doesn’t lose any rights either. The fact of the matter is that Kathy Mayer has the same right as Wentz: the right to present her side of the issue in the campus media, if Ms. Mayer chooses to waive this right and remain silent, then that is not the fault of either Mr. Wentz or PROMETHEUS.” Ms. Hayes is still troubled by the basic discrepancy in the MWC Honor Constitution, that no rights are granted to the accuser in Honor Trials.” In fact, Ms. Hayes feels that this situation is so serious that if should be “Corrected before further Honor Trials are held.” Yet, once again, Ms. Hayes fails to say what these “rights” should be. Merely to criticize without offering possible alternatives or solutions seems to me to be idle and unproductive. As Patricia Ringle, News Editor of THE BULLET wrote editorially earlier this year: “If you desire change, it is necessary to do something more than merely expect it to occur. It is only after you offer precise suggestions and more importantly action, that you will experience the benefits of knowing what you have contributed to the improvement. Michael Mello Editor’s Note: Perhaps Michael Mello would like to have a synopsis of my last Editor’s Note BULLET-Nov. 22) which was written in response to this Letter to the Editor concerning the editorial “M.W.C. Honor –A Call for a Closer Look.” In regard to Mello’s request for the rights of an accuser in an MWC honor Trial, hopefully the following statements will clear up any confusion. It was stated last week that “perhaps Ms. Mayer does not deserve any rights as the accuser.” Maybe she doesn’t. If Mello took the time to read to the end of this paragraph he would have realized that an observation was indeed made concerning the rights of the accuser. What bothered me was that the accuser has no say as to how the contents of an Honor Trials are distributed. Isn’t this right? Perhaps the word “rights” was ambiguous –“right” would have been a better choice. It certainly seems unfair that Elliot Wentz’s article “Recent Honor Trial Shows Need for Changes” appeared in PROMETHEUS before 90% of the campus had formed an opinion or even heard about the case. The definitive slant this article put on the case, as was stated in “MWC- A Call for a Closer Look,” seems unjust. The concern with the discrepancies pf the M.W.C. Honor Code and the leaders who are supposed to enforce it was the major thesis of my editorial. If the whole editorial was not taken as a criticism of the present Honor Code and the method in which Pam Burrow’s Honor Trial was brought to public attention, then the purpose was defeated. There is definitely a need of change in the present M.W.C. Honor Code. Thanks to Wentz’s article, these discrepancies are now being studied by the Honor Council. It is enlightening to know that the Code is presently being revised. A.F.H. Dear Editor: I was particularly struck by your recent comment (THE BULLET, Nov 15) that “a free and responsible press is a vital aspect of the environment. The point is inarguable” I would certainly agree. But THE BULLET is anything but an example of a free press. A free press does not operate at the forced expense of its readers, does not use public facilities free of charge as its office of operation and does not have a Board of Publication overseeing its operation. Each student at Mary Washington is required to pay a mandatory student fee, part of which is used to cover the costs of the publication of THE BULLET. The only revenue obtained voluntarily is that gained from advertisers. To force the citizens of any community (in this case the academic community) to pay the costs involved in the publication of any newspaper is to obliterate that newspaper’s position as an example of free press. THE BULLET also uses a room in a public building-Lee Hall-fir which no rent is paid. But taxpayers have been required to provide this facility and thus subsidize the operation of THE BULLET. Forcing any citizen to subsidize in any way a newspaper is to void its position as a free press publication. And to be overseen by a Board of Publications which has the potential of stopping publication (since it is the publisher) or censoring the newspaper is to also negate the possibility of having a free press. A comparable example would be the City Council of Fredericksburg to pass a law requiring all people who come to the Fredericksburg community to pay a mandatory citizen fee, part of which would be used to pay some of the cost of the publication of THE FREE LANCE-STAR. Also City Council would provide free facilities to the town newspaper in a city-owned building and set up a Board of Publications made up of members of the City Council and prominent citizens in order to oversee the operation of THE FREE LANCE-STAR. If such conditions existed one could readily see that Fredericksburg would be lacking a free press. Unlike THE BULLET, PROMETHEUS is an example of a free press since it gains the money for its operations from voluntary contributions or from advertisers, uses its own facilities in which to work (if these are the dorm rooms they have paid rent on and does not have a Board to oversee its operations. If you recognize the need for a free press in any environment then it is high time that drastic alterations be made in the operation of THE BULLET so that it may someday become a free press publication. Thomas L. Johnson Professor of Biology Editor’s Note: We recognize that Thomas Johnson is a firm supporter of the abolition of the student activities fees. We surmise that the above letter was precipitated by Johnson’s opinions on the subject. We also realize that we are subsidized by mandatory fees and state aid and that we occupy office space in ACL provided “free of charge.” However, to assert that THE BULLET is anything but an example of a free press” is not a clear statement. During the time of our work on THE BULLET, we have maintained an open channel for publication despite controversial positions that may have been involved. We have been functioning as a free press with no overt censorship. What reasons exactly, does Johnson hold for questioning our freedom of publication? Some might feel that THE BULLET is censored covertly or subtly. Though attempts at this type of censorship might occur, THE BULLET is not required to stop the presses or retract any issues we feel are appropriately covered. We welcome Johnson’s suggestions concerning the “drastic alterations” that he advises. We are interested in his criticism and intend to pursue the matter in order to clarify the issue for ourselves and our readers. The Editorial Board Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Copperthite, Ike Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letters Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Description An account of the resource Letters from Mike Mellow concerning the Bullet newspaper and the PROMETHEUS newspaper and articles previously written in the Bullet. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Letters". Mary Washington College Bullet, Thursday, December 8, 1977, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957 - 2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977-12-08 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 4 JPG 300 dp Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Michael A. Mello PROMETHEUS The Bullet https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4e50c47cd450cfe9b6c8a717a31f5f75.jpg fb76ade2f12ab3436e15f80806a0aaf7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Text Any textual data included in the document Dear Editor: Bullet we got to hand it to you... Thanks for the royal screw. Where do students voice their opinions anymore? We want to commend you for your sensationalism and your success in twisting the facts to fit your fancy. We're glad you've won your awards for journalism- Now, how about working on the reporting that gives you such inappropriate headlines and unfactual articles. We hope you feel a little bit of guilt somewhere in your paper heart concerning the way you've misrepresented the facts, the students, and the administration lately. We thought you'd learn your lesson the first week you misrepresented a story with an outlandish headline that ruined a perfectly good story, but you evidently enjoy "misrepresentation of the truth." (Student Handbook). Let us correct some of your statements since you insist on relying on your own ideas when writing your articles, rather than involving adequate student input ( the people your writing for remember). Do we have a representative sample of students on our Bullet staff? We at Madison are growing "weary of our lonely struggle and are beginning to show signs of buckling in the face" of the distorted coverage you've been granting us. Schlimgen and Thompson did not try and "persuade other dormatories to follow the Madison Plan." First of all, there is no "Madison" plan- only one for all the students of MWC. There is no mention of Madison in the entire proposal that you printed up in your last edition. Secondly, we suppose your concept of "persuading" other dorms to follow our example is equal to several of our dorm members visiting several other dorms on campus to explain the proposal and make students aware of its implications. We were willing to sacrifice our visitation in order to get our point across and we didn't want to see any other dorm suffer for the same reasons. We made it clear to the administration for the beginning that we wanted to open the problem up to consideration and not hide it away in the corner somewhere. The residents of Madison did not "falter in their support of the new proposal"- they simply feel that passive resistance and the proper channels are the correct, mature and responsible method of dealing with problems of this nature involving a combination of administrative and student legislatures. Kathy Mayer neither took away or gave back our visitation, Cindy Reeves did both. Miss Mayer was consulted on the matter as any leader is consulted before one of his or her cabinets takes any action. Your "most valuable staffer" also made a blunder in his editorial where he states that Woodard "decides upon the proposal" because Woodard's vote is only one of eight from the administrative board. Agreed, your article is one of opinion and not of facts since it is classified as an editorial, but opinions also need facts to back them up. We also don't think we're talking about "power" in our protests, Mr. Vandever, only cooperation (in our minds) will solve anything in an educative atmosphere. Keep it up Bullet, you're helping to perpetuate the idea that college students are in fact inferior, incompetent, power-hungry immature little kids. Steven P. Schlimgen, Randal V. Kirby, Paul Hawke & and the Madison 34+1 Editor's Note: If Madison's attempt was not to seize power, and thus influence an administrative decision, the entire episode must be classified as a pointless prank. If Madison residents feel that "proper channels" are appropriate, why weren't these channels explored and exhausted before the existing procedures were so dramatically scorned? Anyone who claims that President Woodard is bound by a vote of the administrative board certainly is not aware of the "facts," and would do well to read the description of the President's powers in Mike Mello's article, "The function of the BOV" (Bullet, April 1, 1978). Further, Madison did indeed "grow weary of its lonely struggle." The dorm residents originally voted 36-1 to sign in "guest #1, guest #2, etc.," but as their visitation rights became threatened, the vote to continue the struggle dropped to only a 14-11 margin. Twenty-two supporters "buckled" under pressure. Also Kathy Mayer took full responsibility for both revoking and restoring Madison's visitation. It would seem that the only "misrepresentation" of which The Bullet is guilty, is one of not presenting the protesters in the favorable light they desire. T.J.V. AND G.P.W. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dear Editor Subject The topic of the resource Student protesters Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor of the Bullet from several leaders of a student protest, criticizing Mike Mello's reporting of their student protest. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Schlimgen, Steven P. Kirby, Randal V. Hawke, Paul Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-04-18 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Bullet Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Letter to the Editor Michael A. Mello student activism student discipline The Bullet https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/fcdc858be11c8a35a7fc0aa717c11aa8.jpg 5b1efa9bd8f5be341db14583b8849e7f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document It is impossible to understand Mary Washington College's recruitment of Black students apart from the entire admissions policy. The affirmative action program exists within and is an integral part of the total recruitment sector of the College; it is not a separate entity. The recruitment program of MWC begins with "college search." Every year Mary Washington College sends out self-descriptive brochures to 10,000 Virginia and 15,000 out-of-state high school students who meet the basic admissions standards of the College. The College Search Program is a part of the Admissions Testing Program, and MWC receives a list of qualified high school students who indicate interest in pursuing a liberal arts education. Dean of Admissions H. Conrad Warlick observes that this first step in the recruitment process does not take race into consideration: "We are not excluding anyone. We are including everyone in this search." All Virginians who qualify are sent a brochure. Mary Washington College also participates in state-wide college day and college night activities. MWC was a leader in this program all-inclusive, boycotting high schools that excluded one race or the other. Warlick relates that "Mary Washington said we will not participate in programs that are not open to all students ... we helped turn the screws on school districts that didn't want to include all students." Further, representatives of the College visit many individual Virginia high schools. Some of these secondary schools do not have college day functions; Other specially request MWC to make an individual visit. Several of these schools are predominantly Black; for example, this year representatives of Mary Washington visited all Richmond high schools, most of which are predominantly Black. The College also participates in a program sponsored by the National Scholarship Fund for Negro Students and the Richmond public schools. Similar programs for minority are organized in Washington DC. Outside of Virginia, MWC is represented at many college fairs: large, arena-style programs at which 300 to 400 colleges make a showing. These fairs are often held in urban centers such as Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, and New York. All these efforts, however, can only go so far. Dean Warlick notes that "the student must decide to apply to Mary Washington College." The College cannot decide for them. Mary Washington College does have control over the second stage of the process: the decision to admit or reject an applicant on the basis of that applicant's qualifications. The College's dedication to non-discriminatory admissions is most obvious at this stage, the stage at which the institution exercises the most control. The final decision. like the initial decision to apply, is up to the student: only the applicant can ultimately decide to attend MWC rather than other institutions that might have accepted him. Dean Warlick emphasizes that of these three stages of the admissions process, the "College has control over only one. It's not like busing secondary school or elementary school students from one area of a town to another, where they basically have no choice about where they will go. In the collegant sector, the choice of where a student elects to go or not is the student's. The institution doesn't really have much control." Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Affirmative Action at MWC Subject The topic of the resource Affirmative Action Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Micheal A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Bullet Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-04-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource Michael A. Mello wrote this article on affirmative action in the MWC admissions process. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPEG 300 dpi Affirmative Action Programs Affirmative Action programs in education Article Michael A. Mello The Bullet