This part of the passage stood out to me because it suggests that the collection of knowledge is always a work in progress. In a way, this is a very moral argument in the Rockfish Gap Report because the writers understand that ideas not only may but should change over time. Perhaps they were not thinking about their own views regarding race and who the University should benefit, but they accepted the fact that as people gained more knowledge and passed it on to future generations society would change. The interpretations of many famous documents have changed, such as the Declaration of Independence for example. This document is now interpreted to mean literal equality for all, whereas at the time of its creation this was not necessarily the case.

This aspect of the University of Virginia still holds true today and I really like how there are so many buildings devoted specifically to the arts. When I was starting to look at colleges, it was clear at information sessions that some schools stressed academic classes over areas such as music. I appreciate how UVA places different areas as equally important and provides a variety of resources to help students pursue a variety of passions during their time in college. For me, I have loved being able to go to the practice modules in Old Cabell and play the piano and recently discovered the Music Library that is there as well. I also like how there are so many opportunities at UVA to get involved with music and theater and I am hoping to take advantage of these opportunities more over time.

This part of the passage suggests that at the time, the University was still determining a way to govern the students and had not officially accepted the concept of self-governance. However, the underlying argument for this decision is discussed here. While many other schools at the time tried to force students to behave through strict rules and punishment, the University wanted to take a different approach to help students prosper. Although the passage does not refer to self-governance, it does call for more freedom and encourages students to take the responsibility to improve themselves through experiencing an intelligent, supportive, and moral community.

While the University decides to form a secular institution, it upholds religious values through shifting the power to teach moral lessons from the hands of God to those of the professors. This is significant because it demonstrates that the school does not want to be seen as a bad influence on students because it does not have an affiliated religion. Rather, this freedom of belief allows professors of potentially different religions to instill the shared importance of morality to the students. This argument is persuasive but I am not sure if it would have been strong enough to convince many religious parents to send their children to school at the University.