The University will conduct more research on the condition of the magnolias on the Lawn before deciding whether to cut them down in preparation for the Rotunda roof restoration.
President Teresa A. Sullivan sent an email to third- and fourth-year students Nov. 20 addressing the Rotunda renovation plans in which she indicated that there has been no concrete decision about the fate of the magnolias. Rather, the Board of Visitors will defer its decision after more information is gathered, a process which will extend into the beginning of 2012.
"Arborists ... believe that the repair work on the Rotunda will only exacerbate the trees' already fragile state," Sullivan wrote. "These are matters that we must consider further."
Sullivan pledged in the email to provide students with future updates about the Rotunda renovation.
University Architect David Neuman said at the Board's Nov. 10 meeting that the magnolias were in poor condition and risked damaging the Rotunda in bad weather. He proposed cutting down the trees within several months of that meeting.
"The magnolias are not in the best of shape [and] the original Jefferson design did not have any of this," Neuman said at the November meeting.
The announcement that the magnolias would be torn down was met with mostly negative reactions from students. Third-year Engineering student Yatzek Krzepicki began a petition two weeks ago to protest the removal of the trees. More than 3,300 people have signed the petition.
Krzepicki said his main objective is to promote open communication between Sullivan's office and the student body. He has filed a request with the dean of students for a University-wide discussion about the magnolias.
"We're essentially just waiting to see if the dean of students will approve our request for an open forum," Krzepicki said. "I would really like to see a public forum for [the University] to put what [it has] information-wise out in the open."
University spokesperson Carol Wood said the Board will take more time to consider these matters and conduct more research about the state of the trees.
"[The email was] just trying to clarify what people came away with from the Board meeting, and say 'no, those decisions have not yet been made,'" Wood said. "Anything having to do with the Rotunda and anything having to do with Jefferson's architecture, in my history at the University has always gotten the attention of all of our boards."
Wood said a decision will likely not be made until January or February.
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