University of Virginia Library

Bowl Caper Proves Maddening

By Rob Buford

Although students at Virginia
are not known for their political
activism, with the sap of Spring on
the rise, life around the Grounds
does not pass without its wilder
moments. One of those events
which enliven the annals of student
history at the University occurred
at around two a.m. last Friday
morning. Here is the story as
related to this reporter by an
eyewitness.

An abandoned automobile, a
white 1959 Buick, was discovered
in Alexandria by several enterprising
students who learned from
an attached note that the owner
had no further use for the car. They
decided to drive it back to Charlottesville,
which they did, all the
way from Alexandria at ten miles
per hour. For several days the car
was seen parked in the vicinity of
the Phi Kap house on Madison
Lane.

The plot was hatched at approximately
1:30 a.m. Friday,
when the car was driven into the
bowl. The steering wheel was tied
with a length of rope in such a way
that the wheels were fixed to the
extreme left; the bright lights were
turned on. A log was placed against
the accelerator pedal and the engine
was started. The rest was left to the
principle of the internal combustion
engine, racing at full
throttle.

Meanwhile, in an amazing burst
of speed and in unusually fine
form, the Unicops appeared on the
scene. One of the officers approached
the circling car, appraised
the situation and made his decision.
In an act of daring not often
witnessed, the officer raced alongside
the moving car and managed to
throw himself through one of the
open doors. Safely inside the hero

removed the key from the ignition
and all came to a halt. The officer
then left the scene, assuming that
all was secure.

No sooner had the authorities
departed than a group of students
surrounded the vehicle and made
their own appraisal. One member of
the group pointed out quite
accurately that in the case of a
1959 Buick no key was necessary
to restart the engine. In a matter of
seconds the car was running again,
this time more chaotically than
before, with doors closed and not
in circles.

Just as the policeman reappeared,
backed up by a tow truck
from a local garage, the old
machine jumped forward one last
time as in its dying gasp and
(KABOOM!) its engine exploded.
The episode ended in the same
early morning silence in which it
began.