Mary Ashburn and Stephanie Batten

Waltzing in time

Those students looking to dance the night away Saturday at the Restoration Ball may not realize they are prep-stepping in the footsteps of a centuries-old tradition. This Restoration Ball, co-sponsored by the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society and the University Guide Service, carries on a long tradition of year-end dances that stretches back to the earliest years of University history. "The Ball is a really unique event in that it is open to the entire University community," said Rebecca Crawford, the 2000 Restoration Ball Chairwoman and third-year College student. According to a 1964 edition of The Cavalier Daily, the Restoration Ball began in 1964 as a means of raising funds for the restoration of the Rotunda and as a way of carrying on the 19th-century custom of a Finals Ball. After a fire destroyed the Rotunda in 1895, architect Stanford White restored the former library in 1898, dramatically changing its original interior design, University Historian Raymond Bice said. White removed the entire second floor to create one large room for the library, often called the "cavern of books" in later years.