Frank Golding: Saboteur turned Cat Burglar
Frank Golding didn’t want to go to U. Va. In an extreme act of self-sabotage Frank botched his essay for the Jefferson scholarship. Yet, the match was clearly meant to be, as Frank was offered an Echols Scholarship anyway. Ultimately, Frank Golding realized that UVA was a great fit. What Frank loved about the University was that learning happened both in and outside of the classroom. Being a part of the University Guide Service was a big part of the extracurricular learning that Frank valued.
The University Guide Service offered Frank a community and a home at the University. The University Guide Service (UGS) was founded in the 1950s and has since been an organization devoted to sharing the stories of the University. Frank loved the environment and culture that UGS represented. No matter what, “there was always a guide to go to and a guide looking out” and Frank noted that as a group they honored their responsibility to the University without taking themselves too seriously. Frank served in two executive roles during his time as a UGS member. As scheduler, he created the first computer program to monitor academic and rotunda tours. Moreover, Frank served as probationary chair, selecting and training the newest class of tour guides. Part of the responsibility of probationary chair is to uphold Guides traditions and integrate the newest members into the culture. An iconic tradition for UGS members is to sign the Rotunda clocktower during initiation. It was this tradition that would land Frank Golding in a world of trouble.
In the spring of 1986, the plan for the clocktower signing went awry. A communication error led to a failure to secure permission to get into the Rotunda after hours and thus had to sneak their way into the Rotunda. Normally, this wouldn’t have been very challenging, but the University had recently hired a guard to patrol the Lawn after a student broke in and set fire to the football field. To get into the Rotunda without being detected, the group of 23 students set up an intricate plan. With two watchers signaling when it was safe on the front steps, Frank slowly led the group into the Rotunda. When they got inside, they all crept their way to the top of the dome room to enter the clocktower. But they encountered another problem, they couldn’t get the door to the clocktower unlocked. Refusing to let all of their efforts be for naught, they signed the area on the walls just outside of the clocktower door and prepared to leave.
It was now around three o’clock in the morning. All 23 people were exhausted, one member was ill and getting sicker by the second. As they crept down from the dome room Frank realized that his signalers had gone home—they no longer had any way of knowing where the guard was. Tired and fed up, they decided to make a break for the door…just as the guard walked in.
Subsequently all 23 members of that group were arrested. The police originally weren’t sure what to charge them with since they hadn’t technically broken in. Ultimately charged with trespassing, the members were all subject to judiciary hearings. Controversy ensued and after much debate and discussion the 23 guides had their records expunged and evaded trial. What they were left with however, was a memory that will last a life time, and a new tradition, one that always involves Rotunda staff.