I love how they decided to add in this as an important part of higher learning. One of the greatest things we can do in college is to build relationships with others and learn about all the personality and diversity the world has to offer. And not just learn but to "observe with intelligence & faithfulness" is something we as a society need to remember as we observe the world and the people in it. There is so much knowledge about others to be sought, and even though the white men of this time had closed minds about people different from them, they knew the importance of seeking knowledge through relationships with people different from us.

I think UVA's establishment of a self-governing student body is the University's most influential act of instructing students in their rights and duties as citizens and knowledge of our government. By implementing not only education in government but also the practice of self-governance, students are encouraged to be proud of the democracy in which Thomas Jefferson and others founded.