This section made me especially mad because it states the proliferation of property, and included in this list is a statement about acquiring slaves. Human beings. Being acquired and bought. By other humans. The proceeding sentence then states the proliferation of land from the wealthy estate owners in Lexington, who will be paid back in full for the University's acquisition of land. The fact that there's an additional sentence included to reparate the landowners for their loss of land, but not a sentence commemorating the slaves for their loss of life is absolutely sickening. Here, land is valued more than the lives of human beings.

I thought this was interesting especially in terms of the popular phrase "freshman 15", referring to the 15 pounds students often gain when transitioning from high school to college. Dietary changes and displacement into a new environment especially can cause weight fluctuations for new college students, and dealing with new stresses can also contribute to increased stress eating and such. I liked how this quote included "of their own choice, and at their own expense," helping to introduce students to a menial aspect of adult life in which they dictate their diets, but an aspect of adult life nonetheless.

I saw this sentence and I laughed at how accurate "liberal tuition fees" was. Jefferson held himself and his university to a high standard, so much so that "liberal tuition fees" were made necessary to accommodate students' needs and pay for professors' salaries, room and board, etc. (same as it is today) However, the "liberal tuition fees" neither compensated the slaves who built the university, nor the enslaved workers who served the students and their every need. Today, UVA's tuition is considered one of the best deals for a public education according to US News & World Report, but this "affordability" is only affordable in the eyes of the typical student demographic, whose parents contribute to their family's average annual income of $150,000+.

This deliberation has since been resolved, as UVA has honorary degrees and merit scholarships within each department, school, and in the University as a whole. Although such honors programs weren't established immediately, UVA currently has several programs such as Echols, Rodman, and Miller Arts Scholars through which students can apply for scholarships and certain privileges to apply to their time at the university.

I admired this segment because it represents a transgression from undermining youths as subordinates to an appropriate transition into adulthood. While fear represents a disciplinary action undertaken by many parents through corporal punishment and establishment as end-all-be-all authorities, this proposition states that youth would better learn and be governed by a system that holds them responsible to their actions. With such a system, students become more aware of direct consequences to their actions and learn through trial-and-error the embarrassments of wrongdoing. Although this section is written in eloquent 19th century language, its discourse is still relevant today and appears in UVA's unique integration of student-self governance and the honor code. The honor code at UVA only appeared after a major student debacle when a professor was killed by students who wanted to see less oversight of their party life. The students in that case received punishment from the first installment of the honor code: being expelled and lowered to humiliation from their peers for being so unruly. Today, the honor code and student council have evolved to complete peer oversight, whereby students do not live in fear of adult authorities, but rather experience a sense of constituency and responsibility to hold their peers to the standard of justice.

The word "reflection" stood out to me in this sentence. It made me think of introspection and how far UVA has come in terms of taking responsibility for its past and harnessing transparency for the future. I imagine that this sentence was included in reference to UVA's academic diversity, whereby this statement focused on "reflection, and correct action" in the humanities and civil duties, however, I believe that this statement has different meaning for UVA today. Like the constitution, the Rockfish Gap Report is a living document, and this statement has evolved, especially this year, ascribing university leaders to speak out against UVA's history of racism and sexism. As for students, this sentence encourages all university beneficiaries to be skeptical and never take information at face value. A couple weeks ago, Theresa Sullivan sent emails with contradictory rhetoric to students and alumni regarding the covering of the Thomas Jefferson statue and consequent police involvement. Her email to both parties included false information about the groups involved, who was arrested, who uncovered the statue, and the email to alumni had an accusatory tone condemning the student protest groups involved. In a few short hours, the BSA and other minority interest clubs responded with facts about the issue, calling out Theresa Sullivan for her false information and representation, but also representing how UVA students today form habits of reflection on administration and respond with "correct action."