From Rebel Yell to Revolution: My Four Years at UVA 1966-1970

I enjoyed reading Joel Gardner's account of his four years at U.Va. (I was there from 64-66 and 69-71). I had a different perspective on many of the events he describes, and was often on the opposite side of some hotly contested issues. But it is good to consider those events from another, even opposing, point of view. And he is right in asserting that the four years he covers were emblematic of the changes throughout the South and the country at a time when history seemed to take some accelerated leaps. And he is still a good writer. Worth a read.

In 1971 there were women, no Saturday classes, few coats and ties and much of the revolutionary atmosphere remained. We protested planned class size growth and spent the night on the Lawn. The class of 1975 was the first to lose the college deferment in the draft. My draft number was low and I joined ROTC. We marched on Saturdays to catch up and anti war protesters marched along beside us. The Military Ball in the Rotunda in the spring of 1972 brought out the war protesters in force. After the first break by the band ROTC cadets and protesters alike mix in conversation outside the Rotunda. The dialogue was earnest and there were no physical confrontations. By the end of my second year the war was winding down. There was no need for a new batch of green officers so I moved back to full civilian life.Fraternities remained healthy and our social life revolved around Big Weekends. Much of my connection to this book comes from stories told by older brothers at the House. By the early 1970s the revolution was more like evolution although parts of the Old U remained. I enjoyed this book. It brought back memories of the University and a wonderful four years in my life. I will recommend it to others, especially my UVA buddies with friendships that have survived the 40 or so years since graduation.

An important book for multiple reasons - not the least of which is the spotlight it focuses on just how dangerous those insistant on severe change can be when placed in the midst of somewha clueless college-aged students. Like the author, I thought of the Russian revolution and associated tactics when the last few moments of 1970 were recorded. On a personal level, Mr Gardner's recollection of his first two years vividly brought back my own memories. I had arrived at the University a few years earlier, but our experiences from many points of view were identical. The dorm move-in, the dress code, the "esthetic" of the interior of my dorm, the "Road Trips," and the wonderful impact the community of Honor had on my psyche. We overlapped in many other ways - rings, ribbons, shennanigans and being in teh midst of what I might call a soft racism. I was rush chairman in my fraternity the year Mr Gardner arrived, and I can remember how hard it was for me to help break through the religious barrier that kept the fraternity Houses divided from a religious point of view. But what we did not both experience was the Drug Culture nor the overt rebellion stoked by the War effort and a general shift toward a "me" society that perhaps was partially the result of all of us being born after the end of WWII. That began just as I was leaving the University. The author does a terrific job of charting the years of unrest that I missed. Not to overlook is the next to last chapter at President Shannon's home on Carr's Hill and the ring of locked arms. I couldn't put the book down. A great read!

A wonderful history! However, Mr. Gardner deletes the sexual / cultural revolution in Charlottesville. He well covers the kinky straight memories of gross “hair fairs” and twisted frat initiations. But he fails to mention, in 1969, the Stonewall Riots and Stonewall's impact on the terribly painful gay "closet" in Charlottesville. Gardner may never have known a single gay person on the Grounds or even thought about them in retrospect? LGBT UVA is erased. Would have behooved him and improved the book to have mentioned the reality of closeted gay faculty and students prior to the founding of the Gay Student Union in 1971/1972. He does not, to the book’s detriment. Despite this omission, an great memory "roll".

Joel entered UVA as a hard core native of NYC. He made friends with people from multiple cultural and socio economic backgrounds much different than his in a time when that was rare. That was what made UVA a unique university 5 decades ago, perhaps not so much today.This book is not just a trip down memory lane. It is a tour-de-force describing what makes “Mr. Jefferson’s University” unique among the elite US institutions of higher learning.Bravo, Joel!

Joel Garner is an exceptionally-talented writer who does a wonderful job of recounting many fond memories of the Old U and chronicling the transformation to the ethos of the New U. As a UVa student, 1965 - 1970, I smiled at many of the colorful stories of the "old" and reflected on the causes/forces that created the "new." I highly recommend the book to all Wahoos of that era and to anyone else who wants to learn about the history/traditions of the University during that period and that remain today.

The author is one of my classmates. I am as conservative as he was libertarian. I did not know him personally, but can relate to the times and many of the characters. Those of us who were at UVA from '66 thru '70 (I graduated in '71) experienced some of the best and some of the worst times at at Mr. Jefferson's university. Well, maybe I'm kidding myself. I'm not sure that things are all that good, intellectually, these days at UVA, or at any university for that matter. But the book brought back a flood of memories about the times, the people and the university. Well worth the read.