The Lawn is a historical and central location on the grounds of the University of Virginia (UVA). [1] Each school year, there are a number of events held on the Lawn to build a sense of community among the students, faculty, and the community in Charlottesville as a whole. Listed are events that have become traditions carried out by the university itself and the students.
Convocation is the only time other than Final Exercises that the entire first year class is together in one place. [2] It is also the first major event on Grounds for the students after they are officially moved into their first year dorms. The students are welcomed to the University of Virginia by the President, the Student Council President, and the chair of the Honor Committee. The speakers stand on the Rotunda steps and the students face the Rotunda to symbolize their "entrance into the University community". [3] At convocation, the students are taught what it means to be a student at a school with an Honor System, and it is enforced just how prominent the tradition is in the university's community. The students exit the convocation by signing the honor pledge for their first time as a student at UVA.
At the beginning of each school year, the University of Virginia hosts a Rotunda Sing for all of the students. Rotunda Sing is considered to be the big kickoff event for the fall semester. The event includes over a dozen a cappella groups performing any genre of their choosing. [4] The oldest a cappella group at the university, [5] The Virginia Gentlemen, perform, as well as the oldest all-female group, The Virginia Belles, [6] and the Hullabahoos, who performed in the film Pitch Perfect . During the event, the groups also take the time to advertise when and where their auditions will be held for the upcoming academic year.
The students living on the Lawn open up their doors to children of the community for trick or treating on Halloween each year. Students started the tradition in the 1980s. [7] Families and children align the 54 rooms surrounding the Lawn while the Lawn residents and other students stand outside each room and give candy to the children. The event usually has a turn out of hundreds of children trick-or-treating and many organizations donate candy to help out the Lawn residents for the event.
Lighting of the Lawn concludes the fall semester and is hosted by the University of Virginia and the Fourth-Year Trustees to get the students, faculty, and community ready for the Holiday Season. [8] The tradition began in 2001 after the terrorist attack on September 11. The Fourth-Year Council wanted to bring together the community and students to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and to reflect on the horrors of that day. [9] Today, the goal of the event is "to reflect on friendships amongst us at present, a time to inspire hope through one another and a time to celebrate the wonderful community which we call home," which was stated on the Lighting of the Lawn website for the 2013 celebration. [10] The trustees still raises money at the event and all of the proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior Project. Lighting of the Lawn includes performances from about 20 a cappella groups, the reading of the Fourth-Year poem from a guest speaker, and concludes with the lighting of the Rotunda and the Academic Village as a whole. [11] The poem is written by Trustees of the events throughout the semester and is usually humorous for the crowd's enjoyment. After the much anticipated light show on the Rotunda, the lights are lit around the Academic Village and are lit every night until early January.
Final Exercises are held each May for both undergraduates and graduates graduating from the university. The graduating students now face the opposite way than for First Year Convocation and they face Old Cabell Hall to symbolize their leaving of the University of Virginia and their entering into the world and their future careers. [12] The Final Exercises take up the entirety of the Lawn so the students get one final walk down the Lawn. The students start their walk down the stairs of the Rotunda and carry balloons as they take their final walk as a student at the university. The students usually hold their balloons until after the president congratulates the class and then the balloons are released in celebration. [13] After the walk down the Lawn and some guest speakers, the students split off to different sections of Grounds to receive their diplomas from their designated department.
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original governing Board of Visitors included three U.S. presidents: Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, the latter as sitting president of the United States at the time of its foundation. As its first two rectors, Presidents Jefferson and Madison played key roles in the university's foundation, with Jefferson designing both the original courses of study and the university's architecture. Located within its historic 1,135 acre central campus, the university is composed of eight undergraduate and three professional schools: the School of Law, the Darden School of Business, and the School of Medicine.
The Virginia Pep Band was a student-run musical ensemble at the University of Virginia (UVA). In the tradition of scatter or scramble bands, like those at Stanford, Rice and the Ivy League, the Pep Band preferred irreverent humor and individuality to marching in uniform formations. Founded in 1974, this group of students served as UVa's band supporting athletics in an official capacity until 2003. After being banned from official athletic events in 2003, the group continued to perform at sporting events such as swimming, field hockey, and ice hockey. The ensemble has also performed at Charlottesville community events including the Charlottesville 10-miler, the Alzheimer's Walk, and the United Way Day of Caring.
The Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn on the original grounds of the University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson designed it to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and modeled it after the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed shortly after Jefferson's death in 1826. The campus of the new university was unique in that its buildings surrounded a library rather than a church, as was common at other universities in the English-speaking world. To many, the Rotunda symbolizes Jefferson's belief in the separation of church and education, and represents his lifelong dedication to education and architecture. The Rotunda was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, and is part of the University of Virginia Historic District, designated in 1971.
Scott Stadium, in full The Carl Smith Center, home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium, is a stadium located in Charlottesville, Virginia. It is the home of the Virginia Cavaliers football team. It sits on the University of Virginia's Grounds, east of Hereford College and first-year dorms on Alderman Road but west of Brown College and the Lawn. Constructed in 1931, it is the oldest active FBS football stadium in Virginia.
The Seven Society is the most secretive of the University of Virginia's secret societies. Members are only revealed after their death, when a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a "7" is placed at the gravesite, the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the seventh dissonant chord when it is seven past the hour, and a notice is published in the university's Alumni News, and often in the Cavalier Daily. The most visible tradition of the society is the painting of the logo of the society, the number 7 surrounded by the signs for alpha (A), omega (Ω), and infinity (∞), and sometimes several stars, upon many buildings around the grounds of the university.
Graceland University is a private university with campuses in Lamoni, Iowa, and Independence, Missouri. The university offers degree completion and master's degree programs. It also offers undergraduate and graduate programs online. The university was founded in 1895. Graceland was established by, and is affiliated with, the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The McIntire School of Commerce is the University of Virginia's undergraduate business school and graduate business school for Commerce, Global Commerce, Accounting, Management of Information Technology, and Business Analytics. It was founded in 1921 through a gift by Paul Goodloe McIntire.
The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society is the oldest continuously existing collegiate debating society in North America. The society was founded on July 14, 1825, in Room Seven, West Lawn at the University of Virginia. Named for founder of the University, Thomas Jefferson, the society regularly meets on Friday evenings at "The Hall" in the Lawn.
The Lawn, a part of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village, is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The Lawn and its surrounding buildings, designed by Jefferson, demonstrate Jefferson's mastery of Palladian and Neoclassical architecture, and the site has been recognized as an architectural masterpiece in itself. The Lawn has been designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark District, and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the original buildings of the University of Virginia and Monticello, Jefferson's nearby residence; this designation is due to the site's architectural and cultural significance.
The University of Virginia's College at Wise is a public liberal arts college in Wise, Virginia. It is part of the University of Virginia, though separately accredited, and was established in 1954 as Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia.
Secret societies have been a part of University of Virginia student life since the first class of students in 1825. While the number of societies peaked during the 75 years between 1875 and 1950, there are several newer societies and six societies that have been active for more than 100 years, including Seven Society, Z Society, IMP Society, Eli Banana, T.I.L.K.A. Society, and The 13 Society. The earliest societies, Eli Banana and T.I.L.K.A. Society, function as social clubs, while the Z Society, IMP Society, and Seven Society have a record of philanthropy and contribution to the university. Some of the more recent societies focus on the recognition or disapprobation of positive and negative contributions to the university.
The Virginia Glee Club is a men's chorus based at the University of Virginia. It performs both traditional and contemporary vocal works typically in TTBB arrangements. Founded in 1871, the Glee Club is the university's oldest musical organization and one of the oldest all-male collegiate vocal ensembles in the United States. It is currently conducted by Frank Albinder.
The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is the public policy school of the University of Virginia.
Rugby Road is a street in Charlottesville, Virginia that serves as the center of the University of Virginia's fraternity and sorority system and its attendant social activity. It is located across the street from central Grounds, beginning at University Avenue across the street from the Rotunda branching off at Preston Avenue and finally curving down to the 250 Bypass, and marks one end of The Corner, a strip of restaurants and stores that cater mainly to students. Rugby Road is lined with a variety of architecturally significant houses from several different decades. Many of these are currently used by fraternities and sororities, although the majority of them were originally intended for single-family use; William Faulkner was one famous resident while he was a writer in residence at the University.
The Virginia Belles is the University of Virginia's oldest all-female a cappella group based in Charlottesville, Virginia. The group was established in 1977 by Katherine Mitchell as the female counterpart to the Virginia Gentlemen, the university's oldest a cappella group. Completely student-run, the Belles continue to perform an eclectic range of vocal music from oldies and classic rock to indie and R&B. They sing in and around Charlottesville, and up and down the East Coast and all across the U.S., and have received awards and honors from internationally acclaimed organizations such as the Contemporary A Cappella Society, Varsity Vocals, and the Recorded A Cappella Review Board.
The Academical Village People (AVP) is an a cappella group at the University of Virginia founded in 1993 by a group of people who vowed to "never take themselves too seriously." They set themselves apart from other groups by being able to keep professional while maintaining their lax attitude, wild antics while performing, and their less traditional uniform of a garage mechanic style shirt. The name "Academical Village People" comes from Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village at the university in Charlottesville, Virginia. As of 2017, AVP, as it is often called for short, has released thirteen studio albums, including a greatest hits album, DECADEmical: Best of 1993-2003, of its first ten years in existence. The group has recorded many notable performances such as opening for Dana Carvey and Girl Talk, performing for Reba McEntire at the White House, concerts at the Kennedy Center, and performances in such countries as England, Spain, and Scotland.
The Virginia Sil'hooettes are a student-run, all-female identifying a cappella group at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. Once just the vision of four UVA students in the winter of 1988, the Sil'hooettes are now the most award-winning a cappella group at UVA. They have performed for thousands of people at venues including the Kennedy Center, The White House, John Paul Jones Arena, Baltimore Orioles home baseball games, and Boston Red Sox home baseball games.
The history of the University of Virginia opens with its conception by Thomas Jefferson at the beginning of the early 19th century. The university was chartered in 1819, and classes commenced in 1825.
Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) is a subdivision of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). JROTC is a junior military science elective class that is offered in many high schools across the United States. The class is the high school version of the college ROTC. The Air Force division of JROTC is composed of physical training, aerospace science academic classes, and leadership skill creation. Outside of the formal class, there are extra-curricular teams that cadets may participate in to create qualities of leadership and followership. Unlike the collegiate version of ROTC, upon completion of JROTC there is no military service required. This allows the youth of the United States to experience the military without having long-term commitments.
Fraternities and sororities at the University of Virginia include the collegiate organizations on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. First founded in the 1850s with the establishment of several fraternities, the system has since expanded to include sororities, professional organizations, service fraternities, honor fraternities, and cultural organizations. Fraternities and sororities have been significant to the history of the University of Virginia, including the founding of two national fraternities Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ) and Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ).