When I read this section about the responsibilities of the Board of Visitors and earlier about their role in the preservation of the buildings, my mind jumped to an incident a few months ago, regarding the Rotunda. Following the hateful white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, some students came forward to express their concerns about the presence of plaques in the Rotunda that recognized Confederate soldiers that had fought in the Civil War. The Board of Visitors voted on it, and decided that it was in the best interest of the University to not repel future applicants, and that since there were no equivalent Union soldier plaques, that they would remove the signs. I wonder what the writers of the Rockfish Gap report would think of the powers exerted by the Board of Visitors today, if it's what they intended or expected. -Julia Stewart

I'm confused by the implications of this statement; did Washington College really intend to transfer the entirety of its funds to UVA to assist in it's establishment? It seems unlikely that the college would willingly surrender its funds for the benefit of another. Or am I misinterpreting this, and the true meaning behind this is that Washington College's funds were mainly a sort of insurance net, so that if the previously mentioned sources of funding (land sales) fell through, UVA would still have been able to be set up, and not fall through. -Julia Stewart

I understand that society was somewhat more racist and close minded in Jefferson's time, but I find this comment to be unforgivably supremacist. It is true that education elevates the minds of people, but with education must come empathy and open mindedness. Julia Stewart

I'm surprised that the commissioners would think that 15 year old boys would have the maturity to pursue education away from home. It's fascinating to consider how the demographic of the university has changed in the past two hundred years, from a population of 15-year old white boys to the diverse culture it is today, composed of 17-24 year olds of many races and genders.