University of Virginia Library

ATTACHMENT A
UNIVERSITY POLICY ON USE OF THE LAWN

[This policy was originally adopted by President Robert M. O'Neil upon his receipt of the Final Report of the President's Ad Hoc Committee on the Use of the Lawn, dated September 24, 1986. That Policy was accepted by the Board of Visitors at its October, 1986 meeting. Subsequently, on May 15, 1987, President O'Neil amended paragraph B of the Policy.]

This report addresses the uses of that part of the University of Virginia Historic District which includes the entire area between McCormick Road and Hospital Drive (on the West and East, respectively) and University Avenue and the Boundary formed by Pavilions IX and X, Rouss Hall, Old Cabell, and Cocke Hall (on the North and South, respectively). Excluded, for example, is the Amphitheater.

The Lawn is the geographical and spiritual heart of the University. The entire University Community -- students, faculty, administrators -- are its trustees, as well as the beneficiaries of this beauty and usefulness. To us who are here now have been given both all the benefits that we currently enjoy from the Lawn and also the obligation to preserve those benefits for future generations.

• We emphasize that the Lawn has extremely diverse uses and characteristics, among which are the following:
• 1. It is a national and international historic treasure.
• 2. It is a center of highly varied day-to-day academic activities.
• 3. It is used occasionally as a setting for University activities, such as official convocations.
• 4. It is a residential precinct for students and faculty.
• 5. It is an area for limited active and passive outdoor recreational activities.
• 6. It is a site for a steady stream of visitors and tourists from all over the world.

The University Community has developed a proud tradition of mutual accommodations of all these diverse uses. The Lawn must perforce be open and accessible under reasonable rules and regulations (many of which are and have long been in

place, administered, a.o., by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, the Rotunda Administration, et al.).

The Lawn is replete with fragile, delicate structures and landscape content. Preservation is a constant concern and a burgeoning curatorial responsibility. That responsibility has been entrusted to the University as part of its fiduciary obligations to future generations. The danger that misuse of the Lawn presents to the historic edifices, and to their dependencies and surroundings, are real, not theoretical. Differing rules and regulations may apply to different parts of the Lawn -- e.g., the lower terrace may be governed by different safety precautions and regulations from those that apply to the upper three terraces. Moreover, space limitations and the plethora of requests for facilities perforce dictate orderly administrative rules, always provided that these rules will be content neutral.

• Pursuant to the foregoing reflections and considerations, your committee therefore resolves:
• A. That the gardens of the Pavilions are public areas. Those garden areas adjacent to the Pavilions are not required to be open to the public at all times. They are to be open when not in personal use, and they must be open on certain occasions, e.g., Garden Week. To temporarily close these adjacent gardens for personal use by the Pavilion residents, an appropriate sign may be placed upon the gates notifying the public. Where the garden is divided into two portions by an intervening wall, the remote section shall be open to the public at all times. The use of the gardens for social gatherings of University organizations is to be permitted where consistent with the occupancy of the Pavilion as home by the resident.
• B. That for the upper terraces of the Lawn (those between the Rotunda and the crosswalk at the northern limit of the "Homer Terrace" at the South) no structure shall be permitted on the Lawn except for those needed in connection with official University functions. (The term "structure" includes props and displays, such as coffins, crates, crosses, theaters, cages, and statues; furniture, and furnishings, such as desks, tables, (except those temporarily used by participants in the ceremonies or by University officials for the conduct of the ceremonies), bookcases, and cabinets; shelters, such as tents, boxes, shanties and other enclosures; and other similar physical structures. The term "structure" does not include chairs, signs held by hand, bicycles, baby carriages, and baby strollers temporarily placed in, or being moved across the Lawn; and wheelchairs and other devices for the handicapped when used by handicapped persons.) The same rule shall be in effect for the lower ("Homer") terrace, except that for that area of the Lawn officially recognized student groups, academic or administrative departments, or University-related organizations or foundations may be granted use by the Office of the Dean of Students. That office will

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  consider use in accordance with dictates affecting time, place, and manner. Among them are the following:
• 1. The use of the designated space ("Homer Terrace") by any one group at any time shall not exceed three consecutive days.
• 2. Disruption or obstruction of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedure, or other University activities, or of other authorized activities on University property is forbidden. (See Chapter 6, "Regulations," A: "Standards of Conduct," Item 4, p. 78 of The 1986-87 Colonnades, the "Student Handbook.")