Huff speaks for South Lawn

Third-year student Elizabeth Huff spends a lot of her time envisioning the perfect classroom. That’s because Huff co-chairs the new student task force for U.Va.’s South Lawn Project, which will give the College a state-of-the-art complex for liberal arts education. Huff doesn’t mind the fact that she won’t see the project come to fruition while she’s still a student, however. She simply feels honored to do something for future U.Va. students by involving herself in the project.

“It’s just one of those things that you have to buy into for reasons other than what you personally will get out of it,” said Huff, who also is president of the Arts & Sciences Council, which states its goal as fostering a sense of unity among the College’s 9,000-plus students. “I appreciate what past students have done to improve the University for me. And I think getting involved in a project like the South Lawn is my duty as a member of student government and simply because I am a student.”

According to Huff, the task force’s main objective is to express to the administration what students really need and appreciate in the classroom, as well as what is not working at Cabell Hall today. “Only the students really know how hard it can be to learn in those classrooms, which are cramped and often too warm,” said Huff. The task force is also working to raise awareness of the project among students and build their support. “We want to make students realize that the South Lawn Project is a really good thing.”

The task force should have no problem meeting its initial objectives with Huff at the helm. With a double major in English and government and involvement in other University activities, she is a skilled multi-tasker. “At this point, it’s hard to tell what the task force’s milestones will be over the next several years,” she said. “But I think that in the very, very big picture, by making the student perspective abundantly clear, we will succeed in helping to make the learning environment at U.Va. that much better.”