Dragas right to fear an honor code

I am in total agreement with the issues presented in [the August 23 essay: "President Sullivan: Still getting bullied by Dragas"]. It is a fitting part of the investigative journalism the Hook's management has brought to the Albemarle area.

I joined the UVA faculty in 1964 when it was "a good old boy's club" and saw first-hand the animosity accorded women when they forced admission. The progress that led to the appointment of Terry Sullivan was too long in development, but it happened.

It is long overdue for the legislature to revisit the process of selecting college boards with an apparent current requirement of contribution to the governor and his party rather than having any experience or expertise in how to manage a university.

The pressure to admit ever more Virginian students who are charged less while steadily reducing state contributions to the university could be amusing if it happened in some other state.

The battle between the Wicked Witch of the East vs Mother Teresa is far from over. As a former UVA student, Dragas has to know that a student court would have expelled her. If only the Board adhered to an honor system, Dragas would be dismissed for lying. Remember that to leave people with false impressions is really no different than lying to them directly.

John F. Mesinger, PhD
Albemarle

The author is an emeritus professor and child psychologist.–editor