Positioned between Nourse and Evans, overlooking the mini bald spot, Myers Hall is well-known to many across campus. Though many students may associate Myers with leaky showers, rarely used bathtubs and a flood in 2022, Myers is, in fact, a flourishing creative space. The tiles that line its corridors are compatible with dry-erase markers, and, as a result, many students have taken the opportunity to cover the walls with artwork.
Students on the third floor of Myers, an all-first-year floor, have taken particular advantage of this architectural feature by creating unusual artwork. When entering the third floor, one may notice the dark splatter covering the cement stairs between the third and fourth floors. This splatter, considered by some as the first piece of artwork,is the remnants of a Tide pod that residents hurled at the risers. “We just wanted to see what it would do,” an anonymous first-year said.
At the entrance to the floor is a “Floor Activity Ideas” list where residents can leave a check mark beside the activities they would like to do. Hall football, board game night and dorm trick-or-treating each have one check, but movie night has three checks. Indeed, it does not take long to notice the intense rivalry between the East side — facing Evans and Goodhue — and the West side — facing Nourse and the Mini Bald Spot. Written all across the walls is language such “east sucks” or “west is best.”
When asked for her opinions on this rivalry, Elin Wellmann ’28 said, “it gets so loud that people have to come out and remind us that it’s quiet hours, but we just don’t believe that quiet hours exist on Third Myers.”
Continuing down the hall, one will find the men’s bathroom to the left. Scrawled above the entrance in capital letters is “NOT THE KITCHEN!” The warning was written after a series of unfortunate events in which a freshman girl repeatedly walked into the men’s room, thinking it was the kitchen next door.
Cole Kniep ’28 drew a line down the entire length of the West side in permanent red marker. When asked his motivations for the art piece, Kniep remarked, “The space was just mad empty, and I wanted something in it.” In the center of the hallway, Kniep also wrote “theyre in the walls” 63 times, missing all 63 apostrophes. “The apostrophes were a design choice,” he said.
At the end of the West side, you’ll find “GO PATS” written in alternating blue-and-red marker 184 times across a grid of tiles. Just below that is what presumably meant to read “I SAW YOU SLEEPING,” yet has been misspelled to read, “I SAW YOU SLEPPING,” also accompanied by an arrow pointing to a resident’s room. “I was really tired when I wrote it,” Clara Mast ’28 said.
At the far end of the hall, Jackson Gutman ’28 wrote, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” 141 times. Gutman says that it took him an hour and a half to create his piece.
The East side of Myers features even more art. “I heard they wear no deodorant” was scrawled next to an arrow pointing at the doorway of one room, but so many letters have been erased that now it simply reads, “I heard they wear no dora.”
At the end of the hall, intermixed with information about the RA on call, is “NAZ REID” written 126 times. Next to that is, “I LOVE TINGUS PINGUS.” Upon further investigation, “Tingus Pingus” was found to be the nickname of esteemed NBA center Kristaps Porzingis.
The distinctiveness of Myers Hall, as both a building and a community of individuals, is reflected in the graffiti on the third floor. Varied, creative, thought-provoking and passionate, the artwork is symbolic of the individuality of both the dorm and its residents. Above all, there exists a pride among members of the hall. Written up and down, across tiles and doors and paper, is “GLORY TO THIRD MYERS.” Indeed, the residents of this hall feel immense pride as members of the dorm, even with the dripping showers, ominous bathtubs and rich history with sprinklers.
