Fireside Chats: Hoyt Hall
By JILLIAN CHENG, MICHELLE CHOO, ALEX LIM, and MELIA THIBAULT
Hoyt Hall has a reputation for primarily two things: their crumbling facilities and their vibrant community. “Hoyt really is an awfully old building,” noted Instructor in Science and Hoyt Dorm Head Caitlyn Sarno. “But I think that builds character! Somehow, we all found a wonderful community in this really awkward character of a building. All of us just care so much about each other, and we want to take care of one another and spend time together.”
Although Sarno has only been dorm head for one year, she is a real Hoyt enthusiast. Sarno noted that one thing that makes Hoyt so special is its one-of-a-kind dorm community. “I can feel that you guys care about each other and that you guys show your care even to people that you may not know very well. I see you form connections with each other in the dorm, and I think that’s really lovely. People here genuinely care about each other, and it shows.”
Chair of the Department of Theater and Dance Lauren Josef, another resident faculty member, detailed the intersection of the dilapidated building and Hoyt’s community. “I think because Hoyt is one of the older dorms on campus and it doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, the girls who stay in Hoyt stay because of the community. And it’s a strong one. We all really care about each other. We look out for each other. And I think there are some different friend groups within the dorm, but ultimately, they all get along, and it really feels like a family.”
Instructor in Modern Languages Dr. Humberto Delgado, another beloved Hoyt faculty member, echoed that sentiment. “We have a good spirit and good philosophy,” he said. “It’s something important that all the [Hoytians] pass to the next generation.”
We then went on to pivot slightly in our conversation, asking the dorm faculty what fruit Hoyt would be.
“The first thing that comes to mind is a strawberry,” Josef said. “But that’s lame. I just feel like everybody loves strawberries. You can buy them year-round. Although they’re in season, they’re their best selves in the summer, which maybe we are too,” She laughed. “And they work well with others. They’re part of the berry family. They love a blueberry, they love a raspberry, they love a blackberry.”
Sarno thought Hoyt would be a watermelon. “When it’s the summer, [watermelon] is the type of fruit that you cut open, and everyone comes around and shares and eats a bunch. So I feel like Hoyt is like a group that gets together and just connects.”
One iconic characteristic of Hoyt’s facilities is their infamously small common room. Sarno laughed, describing how Hoytians would squeeze together on the couches, gathering around for community building, “But you guys make it work! You find ways to get together and are really intentional about how you set up spending time together. That’s something that comes with a lot of care.”
However, Josef would also appreciate some renovations. “I just wish we had a common room that could fit everybody. It’s tight in there,” she said. “And I would also love to have a kitchen. Because I think we’re a dorm that loves food.”
“It’s an old building,” Delgado admitted. “It needs to be a lot of work.”
With such a tight-knit community, there have been many funny stories over the years. Sarno, the newest dorm faculty, had a funny story from one night on duty. “The craziest moment that I have encountered was while I was on duty, and all of a sudden, there’s this really loud Christmas caroling! We had some Christmas carolers that sounded loud enough for the whole dorm! And it was, it was just hilarious.”
Delgado also shared a funny story from his first year at Hoyt. “The fire department came twice! We needed to explain how to cook in a microwave because the students didn’t know how to use a microwave. Once, the fire department was here at 2:00 a.m. Someone heated an Annie’s mac and cheese cup with a fork in it at 2:00 a.m. in the morning and blasted the whole entire duty room. And there was a black dust all over the entire room.”
Josef seemed to have the most interesting story. “There was a cat living in the dorm, and we didn’t even know about it! A hidden cat!” She elaborated. “It’s not something I’m proud of. It was around Covid times, so we weren’t going into people’s rooms as much as we do now. I don’t know how it happened, but there was a hidden cat in someone’s room! I didn’t find it, though. It was Doc Seals, [the former dorm head], who found it.”
Oftentimes, Hoyt is only known for its scary interior and weirdly small common room. But through interviewing those who love Hoyt, it is evident there is so much more to Hoyt than that. It is a community, above all else, a place where everyone cares about each other and looks out for each other. So, if you can look beyond the bad parts of Hoyt, you can appreciate the dorm faculty’s support and love of its residents.