If living on the Lawn is the ultimate honor at Mr. Jefferson's University, then living on the Range should be its logical counterpart, some graduate students say. But, it's not.
In an attempt to rectify what current Range residents see as a problem, Student Council unanimously passed "A Resolution Recommending the Creation of a Range Community" at its general body meeting on Tuesday.
"I think the Academical Village should be representative of all aspects of the University community: the faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students," said Rob Johnson, Council Graduate Arts & Sciences representative.
Council President Micah Schwartz co-sponsored the resolution with Johnson, who could not attend the meeting because of illness.
The resolution "urges the University to endorse, promote, and assist in the execution of a plan to create a Range Community."
Council recommended on Tuesday that the Housing Division implement a Range selection process and a Range Council, the head of which will serve as an official liaison between Range residents and the University community.
The resolution further asserts that the Range community has "withered for decades due to a lack of purpose," and cites the drastic change in the Lawn community -- following the implementation of a formal application process and Lawn Council in the 1960s -- as evidence that positive change can occur.
"What we have seen with the Lawn selection process at the University is, when you make a process selective, it therefore becomes prestigious," Schwartz said.
The current movement to live on the Range has been spearheaded by second-year Law student and Range resident Christopher Colby, who brought the issue to Schwartz's attention.
"Currently, there is no connection between the University and the Range community," Colby said during the Council meeting.
"The rooms are occupied on paper by graduate students, but many of them are de facto unoccupied," Colby said.
Many Range residents choose to use their rooms as offices or merely for football game tailgates, Colby said.
Through a selection process similar to the ones used for Brown College and Hereford Residential College, Colby hopes to create "a graduate nexus."
Currently, "you apply and if there's space, you're assigned" to a Range room, Chief Housing Officer Mark Doherty said.
Doherty said he welcomes suggestions and looks forward to working on a proposal.
"The Housing Division is not resistant -- in fact it's supportive," Doherty said. "I'm always delighted to receive opinions, whether in a resolution or in person, from student government," Doherty said.
"We are hoping to begin the application process after Winter Break so that next year's Range residents will be chosen by this process," Schwartz said.
Colby continues to meet with University officials to finalize Range selection procedures.
"By the very latest, we should have the applications sent out, received, processed, and have decisions announced by March 1," Colby said.
Other officials also say they look forward to facilitating change in the future.
"All of us have been very interested in attempting to ensure there is a greater sense of community on the Range," said Angela Davis, associate dean of students for residence life.
Colby says he eagerly anticipates the changes.
"Next year, I am looking forward to having neighbors I can go and talk to," he said.
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