4 Matching Annotations
  1. Nov 2017
    1. education like private & individual concerns, should be left to private & individual effort; not reflecting that an establishment, embracing all the sciences which may be useful & even necessary in the various vocations of life, with the buildings & apparatus belonging to each, are far beyond the reach of individual means, & must either derive existence from public patronage or not exist at all

      This statement points out the view towards certain studies which is considered not as useful or beneficial to the public. Even till nowadays, some studies are still regarded with this kind of perspective. Many people consider subjects such as, arts, music, and philosophy, as un-applicable for future career and doubt the necessity of their existence. The founders of UVA also put these into consideration and tried to figure out what's the best curriculum for the university.

    2. To expound the principles & structure of government, the laws which regulate the intercourse of nations, those formed municipally for our own government, and a sound spirit of legislation, which banishing all arbitrary & unnecessary restraint on individual action shall leave us free to do whatever does not violate the equal rights of another.

      Through this quote, we can see that even before UVA was established physically, its emphasis has always been on equality. Though somehow contradictory to the previous statement( mainly focusing on white population), this proves the school's prospective is in line with liberty and equality. On the other hand, it also points out that the founders of the schools aimed to model the school to educate people to understand the aspect of freedom and respect each other in order to develop the state Virginia as one that is well-constructed.

  2. Oct 2017
    1. Some good men, and even of respectable information, consider the learned sciences as useless acquirements; some think that they do not better the condition of men;

      Even till now, some people still hold the same belief as those mentioned in this statement. Nowadays, many people still consider arts and music as subjects that don't benefit the development of society and disregard the value of those. However, as time passed by, more and more people come to realization that even though these subjects may not help physically improving the society, they have their influence and value to the world and should be respected. It's both a pleasure and surprise to see the founders of the university actually tried to build a school which would provide various subjects for students to explore, regardless of people's views on them.

    2. that of proposing a plan for its buildings; and they are of opinion that 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

      It's interesting to see that they had a really detailed plan for the building at such an early stage of the project.After selecting the site, they so quickly developed a plan that not only doesn't the plan includes one of the most important site of the university, the lawn, but also mentions how the classrooms should be arranged. The committee's proposal actually took place in the university and set plan for the accommodation of students and faculty members. This proposal laid out the central part for the university and set the traditions.