- Nov 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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Pride of character, laudable ambition, & moral dispositions are innate correctives of the indiscretions of that lively age; and when strengthened by habitual appeal & exercise, have a happier effect on future character, than the degrading motive of fear; hardening them to disgrace, to corporal punishments, and servile humiliations, cannot be the best process for producing erect character.
This section is surprising because this is basically the foundation of the Honor Code here, at UVA. It is nice to see that the founders of the university knew how destructive fear could be as a tactic to enforcing good behavior. The fact that they were able to see this speaks to their knowledge and awareness to the young mind. It also shows the importance they weigh on the future of their students. They are aiming for long-term education, not just short-term.
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The considerations which have governed the specification of languages to be taught by the professor of Modern Languages were that the French is the language of general intercourse among nations, and as a depository of human Science is unsurpassed by any other language living or dead: that the Spanish is highly interesting to us, as the language spoken by so great a portion of the inhabitants of our Continents, with whom we shall possibly have great intercourse ere long; and is that also in which is written the greater part of the early history of America.
This section is very interesting because of its similarities and differences to the languages we experience today. French is no longer "the language of general intercourse among nations". Today, English is one of the most communicated languages amongst nations. It is also interesting to see that the founders were interested in teaching Spanish because of the great Spanish population, but they purposely chose a location for the university central to the white population.
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- Oct 2017
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engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu engagements2017-18.as.virginia.edu
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it should consist of distinct houses or pavilions, arranged at proper distances on each side of a lawn of a proper breadth, & of indefinite extent in one direction at least, in each of which should be a lecturing room with from two to four apartments for the accommodation of a professor and his family: that these pavilions should be united by a range of Dormitories, sufficient each for the accommodation of two students only, this provision being deemed advantageous to morals, to order, & to uninterrupted study; and that a passage of some kind under cover from the weather should give a communication along the whole range.
Unlike their plan to keep the university all white, the board's suggestions for the structure and planning of the buildings stood the test of time. The reason that these plans were and still remain successful is because the arrangement of the buildings and the lawn foster a sense of academic growth as well as a tight-knit community. It is crazy to see how the layout of the lawn today has not changed very much from the original layout that the founders had planned for. This adds to the historic importance of the university and the strong tradition it holds.
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It was the degree of centrality to the white population
This part of the report highlights how evident racism was during these times. Although it seems wrong for the location of the school to be chosen on a basis such as the "centrality to the white population", it is understandable considering that all the students attending the university at the time were whites. Despite the motives of the university's founding fathers, the university as well as Albemarle County has become much more diverse.
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