University of Virginia Library

Female Cracks Male Abodes of Yesteryear

By CYNTHIA GOODRICH

The morning of a home
football game brought old
Lawn residents back to gaze at
their humble abodes of
yesteryear. On this morning a
former Wahoo, in blue blazer,
blue and orange striped tie and
orange pants knocked on my
door, no. 28. When I answered
the door, he said "What are
you doing here?" When I told
him that I lived in his old room
he returned with an equally
surprised sounding statement
"You live here?"

Living on the Lawn this
year as the first woman has
been, as they say, "a
completely unique
experience." Obviously people
ask "what is it like?" The
answer is equally obvious. It
has been great, but not without
drawbacks.

I was awakened this
morning by a rapping of metal
on my door. I donned by
bathrobe and let Charles, the
East Lawn custodian, in to
empty the trash. We briefly
lamented U.N.C.'s loss to N.C.
State of the preceding evening
as I went off to the shower.

My shower is elaborate for
one person. The facilities are
new and ample for ten women.
At one time when my heat
wasn't working, I would turn
on the extra showers to warm
up the room. It was effective
enough until the real heat
appeared Jan. 5.

Back up to No. 28 to dress
for class. It is always strange to
be walking on the Lawn
between classes in your
bathrobe, especially for a
female. It is almost as if you
want to say to passers by "I do
live here, legally!"

Resort

The Lawn is a resort in
many ways. The resident is a
degree candidate, generally not
in danger of failing to graduate.
The result is an exaggerated
senior slump, with croquet,
afternoon beer-drinking and
all-night parties. Usually
enjoyable events, the latter can
be annoying if you have an
eight o'clock class the next
morning.

I found living on the Lawn
quiet at first until I realized
that I had to be more outgoing
with my new neighbors. One
Thursday night in November,
at 2 a.m., when I was finishing
a paper, I heard a noise outside
that resembled a sledge
hammer hitting concrete. I
took a beer and went over to
see what was going on. It
turned out to be a marathon
party that folded at nine the next
morning. Life became
considerably more enjoyable
after people realized that
"Liberation Central" wasn't
running out of my room.

Saturday and Sunday
morning on the Lawn always
make you feel as if you are a
national landmark. You have
to temper your lifestyle to
some extent while living on the
Lawn. Ten in the morning is
prime tourist time on the
Lawn, which unfortunately
coincides with the hour in
which everyone is rolling out
of bed for a trip to the john.
Many eyebrows are lifted if
one isn't careful about his
attire in front of the tourists.
Of course, there are those that
think this is very cute. You
may find some family looking
in your room when you return
from "out back."

The Pavilion residents have
been very cordial to their
neighbors this year. Every so
often, they will invite a group
of residents in for dinner or a
drink. The students have made
an attempt to return their
cordiality by inviting them to
their parties at the Rotunda.
Unfortunately, the guests
arrive promptly at 7:30 and
the residents appear between 9
and 10 p.m. This allows for
quite a scene of catch-up
drinking.

Flyer

One incident that is
particularly funny involved all
of the residents in September.
We all received a flyer from a
student advertising a "country
cottage, perfect for shacking
up, parties and quiet in your
fourth year." He was willing to
let us rent this cottage from
him in exchange for a Lawn
room and a modest sum of
money in compensation for
implied loss of prestige.
Fortunately, he had no takers.
I still can't figure out why, if
this cottage was so wonderful,
he would want to let us have it
for a mere room on the Lawn.
A very philanthropic move.

One shortcoming of the
Lawn for me this year is the
fact that I am the only woman
living there. Another woman
was accepted to live there, but
she decided to turn it down. At
times, I find the need to seek
refuge from the sea of
"Virginia Gentlemen." What

seems like a dream come true
to any male student has its
drawbacks. We are all friends
on the Lawn, but people still
like their privacy occasionally.
This is often unattainable.

Lawn living is full of
surprises, from the Saturday
morning tourists to the Friday
night revelers. But after all, it
was "an offer I couldn't
refuse."