Love Letter to Campion Hall

A month before my first year at Loyola, I received an email from Loyola Residential Life announcing I would be spending my first year in Campion Hall. My heart dropped as I recalled the countless horror stories I’d heard about the dorm: Rats, mold and the haunted basement. 

My mother was horrified. In true Karen fashion, she marched me to the Residential Life office during summer orientation, expressed my deep distress over this living placement and demanded a dorm switch.

The poor student workers had no role in my dorm placement and surely had no authority over changing it. Walking out embarrassed and blue, I geared up for a year of braving rumored rodents and mildew. 

Little did I know, I would have the best year of my life. Campion was nothing like the defamatory gossip I’d heard. I never saw a single rat or roach, just plenty of character.

Campion may not’ve had extensive amenities, like Francis Hall’s full-wall windows and private suite bathrooms. Our communal lounge was muggy, the walls paper thin, and the rooms Harry Potter cupboard-under-the-stairs small. But it was a home away from home. 

As a senior, seeing the Campion construction begin evoked nostalgia and heartbreak. It wasn’t a perfect place to live, but my roommate Shaza and I learned to laugh off the little inconveniences.

I remember attending the basement gatherings, sneaking my friends past the front desk and developing camaraderie. Our first year was loud and messy, but I’m lucky to look back at my freshman year and remember the liveliness and community formed by Campion Hall. 

Now I scroll through my Instagram feed seeing Loyola Residential Life’s cold-hearted video of a crane knocking down the place I once knew as home, collapsing brick by brick.

I walk past Campion on my walks to and from campus and hear my former home groan and slowly perish.

I hope as Loyola continues to renovate and modernize, we’ll remember the buildings, such as Campion, who gave over a century of students a place to belong. 

So farewell Campion Hall, thank you for the memories and for housing one of the best years of my life.