University administrators and students are currently working to create a new initiative to promote common courtesy and manners among today’s youth.
The Papers of George Washington, a University grant-funded project, is leading the initiative, called “The Civility Project: Where George Washington Meets the Twenty-First Century.”
Theodore Crackel, editor-in-chief of the Papers of George Washington, said the initiative will be based on 110 rules of civility, hand-copied and adhered to by Washington as a young man. He said University students and administrators will head efforts promoting these manners for the 21st century.
“It’s an effort to try and develop some ideas about civility for today,” Crackel said. “We decided it would be a great idea to let people not a whole lot older than [Washington] was at that time to write a new set of rules that would apply to today.”
Crackel said he felt the need to create the project after observing a general lack of courtesy on Grounds.
“It galled me,” Crackel said. “People seem to be, ‘It’s all about me.’ We need to get back to civility.”
Crackel noted that creating a modern set of etiquette rules offers the potential to define what is and is not appropriate for newer communication mediums like Facebook, Twitter and text messaging.
“Everyone has at some point been offended by someone’s language on a bus, or in a public place, or been forced off a sidewalk, or whatever,” said University faculty member Thomas Dulan, who serves as a research assistant for the Papers of George Washington. “These are things that everybody has dealt with and everyone stands to gain by a little more attention to how we comport ourselves.”
Crackel said the initiative will kickoff on Grounds March 20 at 10:30 a.m. during a public event in the Rotunda. Dean of Students Allen Groves will preside and other speakers will include Crackel, the project’s Student Chair Erica Mitchell, and “Miss Manners” etiquette columnist Judith Martin. Martin will not only attend the project kickoff but will help advise the student committee, Crackel said.
The kickoff will give students and the public the opportunity to contribute their ideas and various etiquette rules to the new set of civility manners, Crackel said. The projects’ leaders will continue to solicit suggestions throughout the spring semester and the summer, primarily through a Web forum. In the fall, the committee will take the ideas and work them into a final set of rules, he said.
“We hope this could develop into a book,” Crackel said. “It would probably contain an introductory essay by Judith, possibly an essay I would do about Washington and his rules, and some other pieces.”
Mitchell has created a core leadership group of six students, who will each form subcommittees of three to five students, according to a press release. Each subcommittee will be assigned a specific category of civility rules.
Carol Ebel, assistant editor of the Presidential Series of the Papers of George Washington, also is a faculty adviser involved with the project. She said once completed, the civility rules will positively influence University students.
“This goes beyond just good manners,” Ebel said. “Washington took these rules very, very seriously. It helped him develop relationships with individuals, to become a leader.”
Crackel said he thinks the new rules also will remain advantageous to students after they graduate.
“We think this will be helpful to students who are getting ready to go out and do job interviews,” Crackel said. “There is utility in this in lots and lots of ways.”
Groves was equally enthusiastic about the proposed project’s benefits, noting that he eagerly joined the initiative after Crackel presented the idea.
“I thought it was a terrific idea,” Groves said. “Civility is the thing most often lacking in present day discourse, especially on heated issues. I believe that a meaningful discussion about the importance of civility could make our students’ daily exchanges more gratifying and productive.”
Crackel also expressed the project’s commitment to national outreach, adding that he hopes the effort will have a national impact.
“We don’t want this to be just ‘Rules for Virginians,’” Crackel said. He said he has shared his vision with deans and presidents from other colleges and universities, and that they also have expressed interest in modern day civility rules.
Some students, however, had mixed feelings about the project when informed about it.
“It might be a nice reminder, but I don’t see it being a huge deal,” third-year College student Sanya Taylor said.
Third-year College student Nana Agyemang also said she was skeptical.
“I’m just wondering how many resources are being used and why this was thought of as a huge issue to tackle,” Agyemang said.
Second-year College student Tori Benton, meanwhile, said she thinks the initiative has definite potential.
“I think it will make people more aware of how they treat others,” she said, noting that having a general code of conduct could be especially valuable in a diverse community like the University’s.
The project plans to reach students by using Facebook as an outreach tool, Dulan said, noting that, “I think this [Facebook] is an ideal way to carry the word beyond U.Va.”
The Papers of George Washington was founded at the University in 1969 to compile and publish an edition of Washington’s correspondences.
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