Celebrating a Night at the Rotunda

Rachel Lemley, staff writer

On Thursday evening of Feb. 7, college students and professors alike gathered in the dome room of the Rotunda for a night of conversation and dining, but instead received an important lesson on the power of media.

The Rotunda at UVA has annual meetings that are part of their Second Year Dinner Series, which allow second-year students to mingle with each other, celebrate their accomplishments, and feel fancy while hearing others speak about their passions.

The dinner held with the theme of “Living a Better Story” to introduce Wyatt Andrews, an Emmy award-winning CBS News National Correspondent and professor in the Department of Media Studies at UVA.

At 6:30 p.m., we climbed the steps of the gorgeous Rotunda and arrived in its warmly-lit halls. We traveled up the red and brightly-patterned staircases, and large doors opened to reveal the main room, a spacious area with ionic columns lining the giant dome to make the top of the building.

The bright lights and golden decorations reflected lightly off the shine of the wood floors. The waiters took our coats and seated us at one of the many tables arranged at the center of the room.

We ate an exquisite meal of lasagna, garlic breadsticks, steamed vegetables, salad, and biscuits covered in chocolate, while meeting the other people at our table and discussing our majors.

Andrews came to the podium and instantly began telling us of his background in journalism, and the strong effects that they have had on his life. He then went on to show us how to evaluate news sources and how they can cause ignorance in the world if we do not have a good basis of the knowledge.

He ended with a clip from Saturday Night Live that parodied politics and his opinion that media controls much of how we react to the world. His speech, despite causing some controversy, was informative and helped the students in questioning how well they know not only the media, but themselves.

The Rotunda has many events and dinners that are free to go to and are educational. The dinner series is a program done annually and people  of all ages can attend, helping them make connections within the world.

    To get more information about the upcoming events and learning more about the different  programs can be
accessed through the UVA website.