Every February, a group of 54 students entering their final year of undergraduate studies are accepted to live on the Lawn. Living in one of these rooms is supposed to be a privilege due to the Lawn’s history and prominence in University life. Due to this prestige, the experience is offered to students who have demonstrated service to the University or Charlottesville, as well as academic achievement. However, the incompatibility between getting a Lawn room and undergoing the University housing process creates harm for students trying to determine their fourth-year accommodations — especially when considering the off-Grounds housing market.
The current timeline of the Lawn room application process is at the center of the inconvenience for prospective applicants. Lawn residents are not selected until mid-February of a student’s third year, months past the University and off-Grounds housing processes. This timeline risks disincentivizing future potential interested applicants that would otherwise apply if the timeline aligned with off-Grounds housing cycles. The results are a tradeoff between a practical choice to sign an off-Grounds lease and the iconic experience of living in a Lawn room.
There are two reasons that the University claims that this application timeline must be maintained. First, they argue that the student-run Lawn Selection Process Organizing Committee needs time built in to consider changes to the application each year, such as different application questions. Amending the timeline would temporarily truncate the time for this review process. Second, pushing the process earlier would supposedly disturb the ability of potential applicants to optimize their community involvement and academic performance. These reasons are not convincing barriers to keep the application process specific to the current timeline…