The Lawn is the center of the University, but the role of the space has drifted further and further away from Thomas Jefferson’s original vision. He intended it to be an educational center but expansion of the University over the years has turned the Lawn solely into a historical site rather than an educational area. The area is steeped in tradition and history, but it has also become steeped in elitism because the Lawn is associated with the prestige that comes with living in a Lawn room or a pavilion. Only the “best” students are selected to live on the Lawn, which is what has made the space more elite in recent years than it was at its conception, when all students lived on the Lawn. The prestige associated with the space can be intimidating to students because only the best of the best are accepted to inhabit the hallowed area. This sense of history does not have to be entirely associated with elitism, though, because the University has the potential to harness the historic nature of the space in a positive way to create a more accessible Lawn environment.
With the Rotunda reopening in the fall, the University is already planning to use historic precedents to increase the inclusiveness and accessibility of the Lawn. A key goal of the Rotunda construction is to make it more welcoming to students. The University plans to use space in the southeast wing and the Lower West Oval Room as classrooms for students. The University should use this opportunity to begin offering classes of a variety of subjects on the Lawn. Up until now, classes on the Lawn have primarily been held in Pavilion VIII and are generally in humanities subjects. Though many of these subjects are most directly related to the historical site that the Lawn has become, they exclude the students at the University who don’t study in these departments. If the trend continues, the presence of the same departments will be expanded on the Lawn with the opening of new classrooms in the Rotunda. Originally, all subjects were taught on the Lawn, and if the University uses the new Rotunda classrooms to offer courses in a larger variety of subject matters, it can take an initial step to make the Lawn more inclusive.
Additionally, portions of the bottom floors of the pavilions should be converted back into classroom space. This way, more students would have the opportunity to take classes on the Lawn and more students could be included in the Lawn environment. Originally, all students took classes in the pavilions. Today, however, each pavilion is inhabited solely by an esteemed professor or administrator excluding Pavilion VII, which houses the Colonnade Club, a hotel and meeting center. Professors should still be able to live in pavilions, but they should only occupy the top floor as professors did in Jefferson’s day. Living in a pavilion is an honor regardless of whether the professor is allowed freedom over the whole space. In fact, the professor who lives in Pavilion VIII, the only pavilion with classrooms on the ground floor, lives in an upstairs apartment to accommodate classroom space. This change is important because a student could go through their entire four years at the University and never enter a pavilion, which cuts students off from the sense of history that the Lawn environment is supposed to maintain.
The increased accessibility that is a goal of the Rotunda restoration cannot be achieved without communication between the University and students, though. This dialogue should begin from day one of a student’s experience at the University. Although the University is making an effort to increase first-year involvement in the renovated Rotunda with Dome Room Dinners and increased space for classes dedicated solely to them, students will have to voluntarily engage the spaces, which they wouldn't do if they do felt like they didn't belong in the area. An effort should be made to hold programs from the beginning of Welcome Week to introduce new students to the Lawn area and demonstrate the areas which are accessible to them. Resident Advisors should also bring their residents to the Lawn to show that the community is not just for the esteemed students and professors that hold permanent residence in the space.
Though one could argue any part of a school as large as the University has the potential to become exclusive, the importance of inclusiveness and accessibility on the Lawn stems from its central role in the history of the University. One of the key points that makes the University so unique is its long and rich history, and the Lawn has been the center of the University since its birth. The area plays an important part in traditions at the University, from Lighting of the Lawn to Rotunda Sing, and students should feel comfortable on the Lawn at all times. Lawn space that is available to all students needs to be a priority. History has played a part in creating some of the elitism that is displayed on the Lawn today, but it is up to students and administration to use positive facets of the area’s history to promote it as a space for the many rather than the few.
Carly Mulvihill is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at c.mulvihill@cavalierdaily.com
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