Locked up on the Lawn

The University of Virginia prides itself on trust. But a bike lock is still cheaper than a rocking chair.

Even in the Academical Village, the spiritual core of a school with no tolerance for liars, cheats or thieves, nearly every grill and rocking chair left outside are held down with a cable and a lock.

“You have to take these precautions,” said fourth-year student and Lawn resident Matt Jungclaus of Moorestown, N.J.

That honor code — the oldest student-run honor system in the country and a cornerstone of university life — specifies that anyone caught lying, cheating or stealing is to be summarily expelled.

The deep commitment some students have to both the Central Grounds and the school’s storied history came through recently in a pair of issues: Renovation plans for the Rotunda appeared to spell the end for magnolias flanking that building, and an inspection of chimneys led to students on the Lawn and Range being banned from using their in-room fireplaces.

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