Name: Dean J
Website: Notes from Peabody II: The UVA Application Process
Your School: University of Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, VA
School Colors: Blue and Orange (decided by students in 1888)
School Mascot: Cavaliers (official) Wahoos (unofficial)
Do outsiders “get” your mascot? The Cavalier, in the form of Cav Man at events, is pretty self-explanatory. The story of how we got the unofficial name is here: link
Fight Song: We have a fight song and “The Good Old Song”. The Good Old Song is set to the tune of Auld Lang Syne and it is sung everytime the football team scores a point. Most hook arms and sway.
Traditions: There are tons! First off, we have some interesting lingo at UVA. Campus is called Grounds, the founder is “Mr. Jefferson”, the core is “area requirements”, we use numbers for the classes (“4th Year” instead of “Senior”). Secret societies. All clubs at UVA are also 100% student run (no faculty advisors). We call it “Student Self Governance”.
Geographical Features: Charlottesville is an eclectic little city surrounded by mountains. The views are absolutely beautiful! The heart of the campus is The Lawn, which was the entire University in the early days. There are also 12 gardens, surrounded by serpentine brick walls just off The Lawn, each in a different style. See for yourself
Architectural Features: Jefferson’s architecture is world famous for a reason. He wanted people to always be learning, so he incorporated different styles and placed them next to each other for contrast. Corinthian, doric, etc.
Any famous alumni? Various politicians (John Warner, Sen. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy), media types (Katie Couric, Tyler Mathison, Tina Fey, the kid from The OC), athletes (Tiki & Ronde Barber, Rick Carlisle, Ralph Sampson), writers (David Baldacci, Ron Suskind). Woodrow Wilson and Edgar Allen Poe never graduated. The full list
Anything else we should know? One of the biggest traditions at UVA is the Honor Code, which is taken very seriously. Read about the code
(Editor’s note: The Dean J Blog is getting more attention at UVA. You can also read more about UVA’s appeal at Sports Gone South)
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