University of Virginia Library

Main Searches Lawn
To Stop Cohabitation

By WAYNE MOXLEY

The Housing Office, under the
direction of Ralph E. Main, has been
inspecting the rooms on the Lawn for
evidences of cohabitation including
waterbeds, double beds, and sleeping bags
according to Harry Frye, Housekeeping
Supervisor for the Lawn.

Mr. Frye and Ed Anderson, his assistant,
check each room on the Lawn at least
once a week although they make rounds
in the area every day. Mr. Frye stated
that checks are usually conducted from
9:30 a.m. to 12 noon.

Several students claim the checks are
scheduled during class hours in order to
avoid confrontations with the occupants.
Mr. Frye states that the early times are
necessary if he is to submit the reports to
Mr. Main by that afternoon.

The supervisors must also check out
reports by the janitors of infractions,
reported Mr. Main. In addition to sleeping
apparatus the supervisors inspect the
Lawn rooms for electric appliances such
as coffee pots, blenders, frying pans,
hot plates, and illegal refrigerators.

Additional mattresses installed for
comfort by Lawn students, are also
suspect as evidence of cohabitation. The
present mattresses on Lawn beds are less
than three inches thick reportedly
causing sleeping problems and back
problems for some students.

Infraction Notices

When infractions are discovered,
Assistant Director of Housing Travis
Brown sends the guilty student a notice
to remove the disputed article. Lawn
residents indicate that most of them
disregard the notice, and no subsequent
follow-up notice is sent.

In regard to this, Mr. Main has stated
that it is the duty of the counselor to
enforce housing policy once the
infraction has been discovered. In cases
where the student sends in a reply to the
removal notice, though, another removal
notice usually follows.

When checking the rooms the
supervisors cannot open drawers, closets,
or generally conduct a search according
to Mr. Main. All evidence must be visible
to the eyes. Even so some Lawn residents
have received notices to remove sleeping
bags hidden in closets, and coffee pots
buried under piles of dirty clothes.

Widely circulated rumors contend that
the Housing Office exhaustively inspects
dorm rooms and Lawn rooms for drugs in
addition to the aforementioned illegal
articles over the holidays.

Mr. Main professes that no search was
conducted, but that the holidays are the
only times that Housekeeping can
thoroughly wax and clean the rooms.

Double beds and sleeping bags are not
allowed simply because of cohabitation
reasons. Mr. Main declares that guests
must fill out a form to be approved by
the counselor-in-charge and the Housing
Office. Cots are then furnished to the
guests free of charge.

No specific regulation exists
prohibiting waterbeds. Mr. Main has
declared these illegal citing possible water
damage, abnormal weight stress, and lack
of storage space for the removed beds.

Waterbed Stress

Several residents of the Lawn,
including Dick Wagner, fifth-year
architecture student, and Bob Williamson,
a fourth-year engineer have instigated a
study of the architecture of the Lawn
rooms and the weight stress of waterbeds.
According to these students their findings
show that waterbeds cause different stress
for different rooms because in 1819 it was
impossible to build every room the same.

The beams under the rooms vary in
width from two inches to three inches.
These are spaced anywhere from 12
inches to 21 inches apart. Even taking
this variance into account the weight of a
waterbed could not possibly cause
structural damage to the Lawn rooms
according to the study.

John Ring, Engineering 5, who also
contributed to the study, indicates that,
"a waterbed contains approximately 160
gallons and exerts a force of about 30 lbs.
per square foot which is less than
one-fifth of what a standing person
exerts. Therefore waterbeds exert less
weight stress than regular beds.'

The study now rests with Gene
Lockhart, chairman of counselors, who is
adding the finishing touches before
submitting it in final form to Mr. Main at
the beginning of next semester.

Residents of the lawn must pay a $10
fee to keep a refrigerator which must be
of specified size. Mr. Main claims that this
fee goes toward sanitizing the rooms and
bug control, although no effort at
extermination has been noticed by the
Lawn residents.