I think it is a very interesting point that the founders view "primary schools" as a place to instruct citizens "in their rights," but that higher education was something to be reserved "to form the statesmen, legislators & judges." From these clauses one can see that the founders did not intend for the University to be attended by just any person, they were looking for elite students from elite backgrounds who had the capability of becoming something more than just a citizen. I believe that this criteria is still in place today, and in fact, one could argue that the University essentially uses the application process and high price of tuition to weed out candidates from backgrounds that do not fit those of "statesmen" and what not. In this way, is the University biased towards the privileged and wealthy? From my experience, I believe that the University is certainly biased towards the privileged and wealthy; however, I am unsure whether this bias is intentional or not. Bryce Griffin

This clause says a great deal about the motivations of the founders of the university and, considering that Thomas Jefferson and a few others whom wrote this document also founded this nation, the founders of America. They did not see education as a blunt tool to be used strictly for the basic principles of filling students with knowledge; they saw education as a means for creating intellectual citizens who would question the world around them. Based upon their goals "to develop the reasoning faculties of our youth" and "enlarge their minds", it is clear that they sought to create students who would go on to protect the ideals of democracy, and who would prevent our democracy from degenerating into a demagoguery. Essentially, the founders sought to create an environment that taught students how to think, not what to think. In order to continue "to develop the reasoning faculties" of the UVA community, we must take a hard look at the university today and question whether or not we achieve this ideal. Personally, I believe that the university still embodies many of its founding goals, but this is certainly an issue that must be debated further. Bryce Griffin

This clause is representative of the deep seated belief in and importance of education in a democratic society. Nearly all the Founding Fathers believed that education was the only way that a democracy would not become a demagoguery. With this clause, Jefferson creates an intimate connection between education and active citizenship, a relationship that is still emphasized at the University today. Without this clause, the spirit of our University and of our Nation would be drastically different.

As noted by many of my classmates, it is a very cruel irony that basing the location of the University on the grounds of its "centrality to the white population" was not only considered "impartial," but also "mature." What is especially disturbing is the fact that it was considered mature. The notion that Jefferson and the other members of the board considered this racist criteria to be mature reveals that they have no legitimate or profound disagreement with racism and white supremacy. They genuinely believed that this was only a rational thing to consider when locating a University. What is even more disturbing about this notion is that it forces us to question the truthfulness of our Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson. If the same man that argued that every man has certain inalienable rights can blatantly contradict his own beliefs when founding his University, then what can be said about the values and people that founded this nation?