Insurrection and murder When the University opened its doors in 1825?, the student body consisted of the sons of wealthy white landowners who were typically around the age of 16. During those early days, violence arising from these youths against their European professors was prevalent.
A 1974 edition of The Cavalier Daily describes the youth's growing resentment against the faculty, both because of the European ancestry of the professors and the fact that they had called for the disbandment of a student-run military club that had neglected to apply for official approval. The event ignited a rebellion November 12, 1836, that was to be reenacted in mockery in the years following.
In 1840, one of these reenactments led to the murder of Law Prof. John A. G. Davis by student Joseph Semmes on the Lawn outside Pavilion X. The act is believed to have directly contributed to the creation of the honor system at the University in 1842.
The Calathumpians
The Calathumpians, formed in 1844, was the school's first marching band and would do no more than serenade the professors who lived in the pavilions, according to "The Corner," a reference about the history of student life at the University. Despite its innocent appearance, professors frowned upon the group, as they expected members to incite a rebellion similar to the deadly one held a few years earlier.
They were right.
In 1845, the Calathumpians grew more riotous. The boys "would ride masked and on horseback and would fire guns at the Rotunda clock base," said second-year College student JJ Litchford, ? a University Guide.
Walking on the Lawn
Though today students can walk to and from class or read in the shade of one of the ash trees on the Lawn, in the past, such acts were considered unthinkable.
"It used to be that only the Lawnies can walk on the Lawn or people that they invited could walk on it, but if [many] underclassmen were seen there, the next day, the Seven Society would put up a sign that would say, 'Please stay off the grass. The Sevens,'" Litchford said.
Furthermore, according to the Dec. 13, 1963 issue of The Cavalier Daily, women were not allowed to walk on the Lawn until the 1920s. If one was spotted nearby, a student would cry out, "Quail on the Lawn!"
Eventually, for practicality purposes as the student body expanded and needed walking room, the restrictions were lifted, according to Litchford..
But in the 1980s, the controversy of walking on the Lawn returned. According to the November 24, 1984 edition of The Daily Progress, the Committee to Pave the Lawn requested funds to purchase a cement mixer to pave the Lawn and then replace the grass with Astroturf so it would always be green and also be easier to maintain.
Needless to say, the Committee was denied financial allocation.
Notable Visitors?
There have been other notable events in the Lawn's history, including visits from every president of the United States(except George W. Bush), Martin Luther King, Jr. and Queen Elizabeth II.
Another notable visitor, Alan Berkeley, former president of Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., once led a cow upon the roof of the Rotunda, according to University Guide Kim Wray, a fourth-year Education student. The cow had been shot with so many tranquilizers while being led down the steps that it died soon after. In 1989, Berkeley paid the police department $615, the cost of the investigation.
Lastly, traditions continue to thrive with events such as the Lighting of the Lawn in early December and annual Halloween trick-or-treating that brings Charlottesville children to the Lawn. According to Wray, each Lawn resident spends up to $300 on candy, even after receiving sponsorship from different organizations. Wray said in the recent past, the Seven Society has donated one metric ton of candy for the event.
Over the past two centuries, the Lawn has played many roles in Univeristy life: from providing students a place to blow off steam or go for a midnight streak to hosting many notable visitors that have impacted life on Grounds. As the Lawn remains a focal point of student life, its role continues to expand, as does its significance in University history.
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