Evan Tucker

FROM JEFFERSONS FIELDS TO JEFFERSONS LAWN:

THE ABSENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LAWN RESIDENCES
A Cavalier Daily article1 regarding the recent Lawn room decisions addressed the lack of
diversity, namely African American students, amongst those selected for Lawn residency for the
upcoming school year. The dearth of Black students as Lawn residents can trace its source to an
intrinsic and systematic disadvantaging of African American students vis--vis the selection
process. The selection process involves employing forty-eight fourth-year students to determine
blindly the forty-seven most deserving students. Out of the forty-eight students, half are chosen
randomly and the other half is composed of several student groups in order to include a wide
range of students. It is clear minorities, Blacks in particular, are disadvantaged from the outset.
The randomly chosen twenty-four comes from a student body that is largely white, thus the
likelihood of those students being other than white are minute. Among the seats reserved for
various student organizations, the Lawn Sr. Resident, the president of StudCo, the chair of the
Honor Committee, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, and the president of the Fourth Year
Trustees also have reserved seats on the committee; historically, white students hold all of these
positions.
According to the article, out of the forty-seven students, half belonged to either the Honor
Committee or the University Guide Service. It could be assumed these students were chosen in
no small part because of their prestigious memberships to either Honor or UGuides. It is widely
known that membership into both organizations is competitive and very selective. Unfortunately,
Blacks are underrepresented on both Honor and in UGuides. I would argue the derivation of
underrepresentation of Blacks in both organizations lies in the general perception of Blacks at the
Universityas inferior and only here to contribute to diversity. On the part of Blacks, I would
suppose there is some interest in being a part of the membership; however, the rigor at which
candidates for these organizations are vetted discourages many from applying. That is to say,
most students who are members of these organizations participate in other university-wide
organizations (e.g. StudCo). Furthermore, students lead the interviewing and selection processes,
which enable them to select whom they want and often their selections reflect their preferences.
1 Student-run committee releases Lawn room decisions.
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2015/02/student-run-committee-releases-lawnroom-decisions

Evan Tucker

Thus, there are not many Blacks, or other minorities, represented in the membership. Current Sr.
Resident Sky Miller pushes back at the notion that specific groups are overly represented as
Lawn Residences by saying people dont look at their other activities. These other activities,
however, are often insignificant in the eyes of the committee members. A more telling number
would be how many of those with Honor or UGuides on their application the committee turned
downed as opposed to those with other activities.
Ultimately, this begs the question as to how important diversity is for one of the
Universitys most prestigious honor, Lawn Residency. The article quotes Elyse Eilerman as one
who believes that the blind application process allows for fair selection, and further, she believes
that the suggestion of a need for more diversity insinuates that those selected are less deserving.
It is this narrow view of diversity that places the University in its current state. That is to say,
students ignore those students disadvantaged by the system at large. Because other students
determine student membership, there must be a student push to ensure that all students are able
to build proper resumes, participate in all faucets of University life. As long as the student body
considers diversity a secondary issue in the selection process for its most prestigious
memberships, the shadow of the Twentieth century UVathe systematic seclusion of Black
studentswill continue to follow its supposed more diverse successor.