Whether viewed as a symbol of the value placed on University traditions or the source of long-standing controversy, endowed Lawn rooms remain an integral part of the Lawn selection process.
Seven rooms in Jefferson's Academical Village are home to students who have been selected not by the standard Lawn selection procedure, but by alternate processes laid out by the organizations or causes that have endowed these rooms.
While some students argue that the endowed "Lawnies" do not deserve the rooms bestowed on them through unique circumstances, Rick Carroll, fourth-year College student and Lawn room seven resident, disagreed.
"There was an agreement made with the University that the Jefferson Society would always make sure there was someone qualified to live here, and that they have to meet the basic requirements of the Lawn," he said.
Room seven, occupied each year by a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, was officially designated to the society in 1964, according to Eston Melton, graduate Education student and former room seven resident.
As the oldest student organization at the University and the second oldest Greek society behind the academic society Phi Beta Kappa, the Jefferson Society has a special connection to room seven, because the society was founded there in 1825.
Melton noted that the Lawn room seven resident must fulfill several responsibilities for the Jefferson Society.
"Living in room seven is expensive," he said.
Melton explained that room seven residents are expected to foot the bill for receptions that host members of the Jefferson Society's speaker series each Friday. Members of the society are invited to room seven to meet the guest before his or her evening speech. Carroll also constantly plays host to society members at all times of the day.
"There is an expectation by all members that there is always something to do here, that they can always stop by here," he said.
A close neighbor to Carroll, fourth-year College student Rebeen Pasha resides in room one, reserved for exemplary pre-med students. Now in its 35th year of endowment, the room was named for John K. Crispell, the son of a former dean of the Medical School who died in a car crash at a very young age, Pasha said.
Pasha explained that he earned the residency of room one after having been accepted through the standard Lawn selection process. He said that while this is not the case for all other endowed rooms, he would defend the legitimacy of his fellow endowed residents, as both processes -- standard and endowed -- involve student self-governance.
"It's my experience and my understanding that the selection committee [of each endowed Lawn room] is your peers selecting you," he said. "They select those that they think deserve to be on the Lawn. Endowed residents are just as qualified."
Besides the view that they can match the qualifications of standard Lawn room residents, some residents of endowed rooms point out that their unique responsibilities to their organizations are what justify endowment.
"Especially coming from the head resident perspective -- that's not a job you can give to everyone," fourth-year Engineering student and resident of endowed Lawn room 26 Shan Wu said.
As head resident of the Lawn, Wu said she is responsible for "enforcing policy and building community between students and faculty." She was a Resident Advisor last year (the only prerequisite for her position), and had to complete a paper application and interview process in order to be considered for room 26.
According to Wu, the selection process is more about "what kind of experience and ideas you have that would make you a good candidate."
Concerning the efforts she makes towards community building, Wu added, "there's a lot that goes into it, depending on the feel of the residents."
A very different selection process is carried out to determine the resident of the Gus Blagden room, popularly known as "Good Guy" room 15. Tamika Lockhart, fourth-year Engineering student and current "Good Girl," was originally nominated by her peers. From there, the process is "totally done behind the scenes," Lockhart said.
"I can only say for the Gus Blagden room that it's very, very hard," she said. "It's very hard to select one person out of the nominees that we have. It's a set of different criteria -- you're not necessarily looking for someone with a lot of accolades behind their name but someone that has impacted lives at the University and is humble about it."
Lockhart explained that the ratio of Lawn applicants to the standard rooms available is less competitive than the Gus Blagden process.
"I can't believe I was chosen, having seen the process," she said. "You feel that much more honored and awestruck, and thankful."
Whether a resident leader or debating scholar, CIO founder or congenial role model, many Lawn residents agree that the typical Lawnie is indefinable.
The Lawn "is made of a very diverse group of students ranging from all aspects of academic and extracurricular achievement," Pasha said.
But Wu was quick to identify a couple of universal Lawn resident characteristics.
Lawn residents are "very passionate about what they believe in, whether Student Council or saving trees on the Lawn," she said. "They have a lot of opinionated ideas but they also do something about it."
Some students argue that rumors of a Lawn applicant checklist, including activities such as the University Guide Service and Residence Staff, have discouraged University students from applying for the Central Grounds community. But others dispute that times have changed.
"There was a period when there was a track to take... but recent changes in the Lawn selection committee have gotten [applicants] off that track," Carroll said.
Carroll added that "high leadership in at least one organization and a lot of time spent volunteering" are keys to Lawn selection.
The endowed Lawn room residents point out that all Lawnies, endowed or not, have very unique experiences living there.
"There's nothing quite like having beating on your front door and coming out to see 20 people streaking all at once," Carroll said.
Melton, resident of Lawn room seven during the 2001-02 academic year, said he misses his neighbors.
"They're the types of folks that you think, 'Why didn't I meet you first year?' Phenomenal people," he said.
Lockhart said she is thankful for the beauty of the Lawn, and enjoys sharing the experience with others.
"I didn't realize how much I'd be impacted by the landscape around this area -- it really does change the mood," she said. "I come back and sometimes people are taking naps in my bed... It's just nice to share it with friends and certain people in the community that have shared their lives with me."
Though there may forever be a schism of those sympathetic to endowed Lawn room residents and others who are steadfastly critical of the varied processes, Carroll asked students to respect the duties of those who inhabit the endowed rooms.
"You need to treat endowed rooms not as individuals, but as the organizations that live there," Carroll said.
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