Opinion: Hamilton Hall is still standing, but that’s not what the university told us last year
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Last year, the University of Oregon announced that Hamilton Hall was going to be torn down to complete the Hamilton Walton Transformation Project. However, upon returning to campus this year, it was clear that Hamilton Hall had in fact not been torn down. This was due to the need for repairs to Kalapuya Ilihi Hall, a dormitory that opened just seven years ago in 2017.
I was a freshman last year and lived in the Spiller wing of “Hammy.” I would tell others throughout the summer before moving into Hamilton, where I was living, and they would give me the normal “Oh…” or “It’s not as bad as it seems”. I get it; it’s the oldest-looking building ever. It has communal bathrooms. It has gendered floors. It is, by a landslide, the most outdated dorm hall compared to the newer ones with elevators and private bathrooms. But, after only one or two months of living there, I learned to appreciate Hammy for what it was and see the positives of the situation.
One unexpected positive was the beds. Mine was low to the ground, which made it feel much more like my room at home than a typical dorm bunk or lofted bed. It was much easier to get out of in the morning—a plus for my laziness. You also got to know the people on your floor better than others since you saw them in the shared spaces more often.
Don’t get me wrong, the room certainly had its negatives. I was sick constantly, no doubt from the carcinogenic material of asbestos living inside the building. Janitorial and cleanliness issues occurred frequently; it was very often that the soap dispensers would run out and not be filled, leaving no soap in the bathrooms, forcing you to either not wash your hands properly or buy your own hand soap. Twenty-four girls shared three showers with only one drain, which caused it to clog frequently. The hair was not removed routinely, and this caused the showers to pool. Water would be up to your ankles as you attempted to get clean.
Sophomore Jovie Chen lived in the Collier wing of Hamilton last year. When she originally learned of having to live there, she was “super disappointed and discouraged,” Chen said. “I knew it was one of the oldest [and] worst dorms and it just felt like I was starting the year off badly.”
After living there for nine months, Chen changed her mind about the building. “Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Me and my roommate made it work and still managed to have a good freshman year experience” Chen said.
At the final “Dinner for Breakfast” night at Carson dining last academic year, a time capsule was being curated for Hamilton. It included a poster that anyone could write on to say their farewells and would be in the capsule. I wrote “Spiller Hall 4ever<3” and included my name. Now, I can only wonder where this went. Will it be included for the assumed time capsule that will be created at the end of this year? Did it get recycled or shredded? Where is my precious and emotional farewell?
The answer is, I’ll never know. It seems nobody knows when the new date for the removal is, but one thing is for sure: our housing is way too expensive for all these issues to be going on. The cost of building Kalapuya just for it to be unlivable seven years later is unacceptable. The university needs to get its shit together because I can’t imagine the frustration and stress for each incoming class of freshmen the longer this housing fiasco continues.
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[Editor’s note: A previous version of this article said that Hamilton Hall has “literal health code violations.” This claim could not be substantiated and has been removed.]