AS ROTUNDA Administrator Leslie Comstock works to increase students' visitation of the Rotunda, the University Guides are exerting themselves actively to reinforce this drive. On March 29, Tyler DeBoard published an article titled "Behind the keyhole" in The Cavalier Daily that articulated how a number of students feel psychologically distant from the Rotunda despite its physical proximity to the heart of life on the Grounds. Sensing this sentiment, U-Guides recently have broadened their tour offerings and pitched a series of programs to make the Rotunda feel more welcoming to the entire community.
First, U-Guides offer tours which convene in the Lower East Oval Room seven days a week at 10 and 11 a.m., and 2, 3 and 4 p.m. These tours are entirely free of charge and require no RSVP. Larger groups that cannot gather at these times due to scheduling conflicts also may submit special tour requests through the U-Guides' website.
In addition, U-Guides offer a number of special programs throughout the year. For the past two years, it has pitched a program entitled "Tours 'n S'mores" to offer first-year students a private opportunity to witness the splendor of Jefferson's Rotunda early in their student careers. The program coordinates private tours for small groups of residents from first-year housing areas. After the tour, groups share s'mores on the Lawn with their tour guide in a Lawn resident's room. This extends their opportunity to enjoy relaxing moments with new friends in the Academical Village.
Also, in October U-Guides conduct an annual history week that centers around the date on which the original Rotunda burned to the ground in 1895. This multifaceted program offers a wide variety of events, including special candlelight tours and ghost tours of the Lawn at night. These tours share slightly different sides of the University's history while affording fun and free ways to learn a host of old University tales in a short period of time.
Finally, this April U-Guides will offer a new program in unison with the University Programs Council to coincide with the celebration of Founder's Day. Sunday, April 10 - the weekend immediately preceding Thomas Jefferson's birthday - U-Guides will offer tours beginning every 20 minutes from 2 to 4 p.m. As if the opportunity to take a quick educational stroll around the Academical Village is not enough, these tours will culminate with refreshments, Lawn games and a short trivia session in which tourists can win prizes such as gift cards to the University's bookstore, Trinity Irish Pub and more.
During the coming year, U-Guides will continue to exert themselves to ensure that all community members and visitors have the opportunity to experience this beloved building. Certainly, tours are not a mandatory realization of this goal - students also may stroll in at their leisure for quiet study or contemplation. After the Rotunda's restoration in 1976, the American Institute of Architects declared the Academical Village the most significant achievement of American architecture in the last 200 years. Knowing that, U-Guides strive for the opportunity to share the stories leading into that accomplishment with all students before they proceed southward from the Rotunda at Final Exercises each year.
For more information about how to explore the Rotunda on a free tour, please go to http://www.student.virginia.edu/~uguides/tours/historical/.
Jim Holman is the 2010-11 vice chair of the University Guides.
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