Moyer Hall:
Moyer Than Meets the Eye
On the edge of Tiffany Loop in Seattle Pacific University, there stands a residence hall called Moyer. It is a small building, with not many students, and has a reputation for being the “un-cool” residence hall, but I like it because our small population allows us to be a tight knit community. There are negative stereotypes surrounding Moyer, but I think it is because people do not know it well enough.
Moyer Hall was named after Jacob Moyer, who was a chemistry professor and Dean of Men at Seattle Pacific for twenty-one years (McNichols 64). He was also the director of Seattle Pacific’s first summer school program in 1931 (74). He was beloved on campus by both the students and the faculty. Seattle Pacific’s Bulletin wrote a tribute to him, and he was known as “Jacob Moyer, Friend of Youth” (McNichols 100–101). Moyer did not donate any money that I know of, but he did donate his time to the university for twenty-one years. Similarly, Florence Nightingale talks about how nurses donate their services and natural callings to their patients in her piece “Notes on Nursing” (Nightingale). Moyer not only donated his time, but also his knowledge of chemistry, and his leadership skills to the university.
In the early 1950s, Alexander Hall was the only men’s dormitory on Seattle Pacific’s campus. Because there were so many students enrolling, the campus was running out of space for them. The President at the time, President Watson, was able to get a loan from the Federal government to expand the housing for students. The architect, W.G. Brust, designed Moyer to fit 124 students. The residence hall opened in Autumn of 1954 (McNichols 99–100).
Today, Moyer Hall is a co-ed residence hall. The first floor houses men, while the second and third floors house women. For awhile, the second floor was a men’s floor beginning in 2005 (Durr).
Moyer is centrally located on campus, making it an easy walk to all of the classroom buildings, the Student Union Building, the library, and the dining hall. The front of the building is distinguishable by the glass windows, where you can see the lobby and each lounge. The lobby is small, with a front desk that has a funny sign that says “The Moyer the Merrier.” Connected to the lobby is a recreational area with a pool table and ping pong table. Usually in the evenings, one will see Moyer residents playing a game of ping pong or some variation of pool. Near the pool table there is a movie lounge that is too hot if the door is shut. On weekends, it is frequented by residents watching movies or playing video games. On weekdays, floors often have “life snippets” in the movie lounge, which is a time when residents can share a little about themselves to their floor.
Downstairs in the basement, there is the Center for Learning. The center offers free tutoring, study tables, writing help, and disability support services. In the evenings and weekends, the study tables are reserved for Moyer students, which is great because we do not have to walk up the stairs to the library. Residents often use the study tables for board and card games as well.
The first floor is just one long hallway that smells like a men’s locker room from the men’s body odor. The theme of the floor is Disney’s “Pirate’s of the Caribbean”, so there are movie posters, and paper ships on the walls. Each door has a scroll with the residents’ names on them, along with a pirate hat cutout. The second floor has a long hallway, and a smaller hallway called the “dink wing.” The theme is nature, so the walls have sticks tied to them, and paper trees taped on. This is the floor I live on, so I have a personal affinity to it. It is not all perfect here though. I have firsthand knowledge of the bathroom, and can tell you that the shower curtains are not wide enough. The laundry machines are not great either, they are often out of order, or stealing quarters.
The lounge between the first and second floors is called the 1.5 lounge. There, one will find couches, tables, a kitchenette that is too small to cook in, and a piano. There are many talented people in Moyer, so the piano is often played, and people are always singing. Our hall president works at a bakery, so she is always leaving baked goods in the 1.5 for residents to snack on. On weekends, the residents of the first and second floors are often in the 1.5 playing card games, singing together, or dancing. Although sometimes sharing a lounge with the men’s floor can be difficult when the second floor wants to do activities by themselves, I actually really enjoy being able to engage with the men of first Moyer.
The third floor has a tropical theme. There are flowers and hula grass on the walls and doors. The floor also plays a weekly game of “would you rather”, where there are two situations written on the wall with a place for residents to vote for the situation they would choose. The third floor lounge is larger than the 1.5, but is not often frequented. The lack of people makes it a great place to study. It also contains furniture, a piano and a kitchenette. Unlike the 1.5, it has a fireplace, and is not shared by the men’s floor.
The dorm rooms in Moyer are twelve feet by seventeen feet (Seattle Pacific University). The shelves, closets, and desks are a strange off-tan color. The blinds are either dark brown or white, and they do not keep the light out very well. The residents either have a beautiful view of Peterson Hall, with a little of Tiffany Loop, or a view of the Dravus parking lot.
In the basement of Moyer Hall, there is a water heater that students have named Bertha. The Student Ministry Coordinator for the first floor wrote “95 theses” all regarding Bertha, and taped them on the wall by the first floor.
Throughout the years, Moyer Hall has been subject to stereotypes. Since I am a freshman, I am not quite sure what exactly the stereotypes are, or why they exist. I have heard from sophomores that Moyer often gets overlooked by the rest of the campus. I have also heard that there is a four year challenge to not be placed in Moyer for housing. When non Moyer residents learn that their peers live there, their reaction is often to give “…a look of pity or awe” (Durr). In 2011, at Emerson Hall’s film festival, where the students create short films, the winning film was about a student who was in desperate need of finances, but implied he would still rather have to leave Seattle Pacific than live in Moyer Hall (Ackerson).
In an effort to make the Moyer community more inclusive with the rest of the campus, the Experience Moyer Project was created in 2006. The name is taken from Seattle’s “Experience Music Project.” This event is able to showcase the talents of the Moyer Hall residents. In 2006, “each floor featured its own walk-through music exhibit, accompanied by live bands, swing dancing, food and drinks, games, a disco, and an art display showcasing the work of talented Moyer artists” (Reuff). From what I understand, today the Experience Moyer Project is similar, except each floor has its own theme, and each dorm room decorates their room in accordance to the theme.
Moyer Hall is where I live, so I am biased towards it. However, I could not think of a better place to live because of the great community I have grown to be apart of in my short time at Seattle Pacific University. Each residence hall has its own feel to it, its own history, its own traditions. Although I want to explore everything the campus has to offer me, I do not foresee myself living anywhere other than Moyer Hall next year, and after that I will be very sad to leave it.
Works Cited
McNichols, Donald. A Growing Vision. Seattle Pacific University, 1989.
Durr, Chris. “Moyer hall small but special”. The Falcon. Pacific Publishing Company, 2005.
Reuff, Lauren. “An invitation to experience Moyer culture”. The Falcon. Pacific Publishing Company, 2006.
Ackerson, Amber. “Film Fest to avoid jokes about dorms”. The Falcon. Pacific Publishing Company, 2012.
Nightingale, Florence. “Notes on Nursing.” Lapham’s Quarterly. American Agora Foundation, 2015.
