The campus was quiet and peaceful and the Cunninghams dorm was still. In the next minute, cranes rolled in. Students stopped in awe as the bricks began to fall. Once the walls started to come down and the inside of the building became open, they started taking pictures. Everyday since then, the cranes have been hard at work removing the building that once stood strong. From afar, all one can see is the steady spray of water on the ever-growing pile of bricks and drywall as more and more of the Cunninghams are torn down. Soon the building will be completely gone with only the leftover debris and fallen trees to remember it by.
As sophomore Mary Wellman and former Cunninghams resident watches the building be torn down, she expresses her unhappiness, “I'm so against tearing down the Hams. They are tearing down the heart of Longwood.”
Not every former resident of the “Hams” feels as angry about the building being torn down as Wellman does. Sophomore Gigi Charters stated, “Wherever you live will always be a part of you.” Junior Kelsea Kitto feels sorrow more than anything as she stated, “It makes me really sad that Longwood carried through with tearing them down because they have been a part of our University for so long.”
The tearing down of the Hams has forced former residents to look back at all the memories they had in the building more than ever before. Wellman stated, “I liked that the Hams were very historical and it really felt like everyone was one big community.” She went on the say, “They were my favorite part of Longwood. I would walk past and see my old room window and wish I could live there one more time.”
Kitto felt much like Wellman did as she looked back on her experiences. She said, “I love how the Hams felt like an actual home. Freshman year I lived in Frazer, and while I loved the people I lived with, the building just didn't have that warm feeling that you feel when you are home.” On the other hand, Charters didn’t have the same remorse as she stated, “The Hams just felt bland and already abandoned to be honest, but I did have some great memories with my suitemates and friends downstairs.”
Even though there were many great memories for the former residents of the Cunninghams, that doesn’t mean that anyone forgets the negative ones as well. Charters was quick to list everything she hated about living in the Cunninghams. She stated, “I can't say I liked that we had no AC. It wasn't decorative, the walls were falling apart and the bathrooms were just nasty.”
Wellman, on the other hand, didn’t find the lack of air conditioning a major concern. She stated, “Honestly, once we all got used to using fans I still would've chosen to live in the Hams over any other dorm on campus. It was the mold in the walls that really bothers me because everyone would always be sick.”
Charters explained how even though the lack of air conditioning was bad, it wasn’t the worst, “I can’t believe I almost forgot about the heater. It banged and shook our whole room every single night of our long ass winter, keeping us up and restless. It's like we lived in a war zone.”
Although there were many concerns about the Cunninghams dorm that will not be missed, not all students think those reasons were enough to tear it down. Wellman stated, “They could have renovated the Hams instead of tearing them down. There already isn't enough housing for incoming freshman so it seems illogical to tear down one of the main freshman dorms.”
Charters felt the building itself wasn’t the only part about the Hams that will be missed. She stated, “I liked the trees, they didn’t do anything wrong so I’m very upset about that.” Wellman agreed as she stated, “The trees outside were so beautiful, I wish they had kept them.”
Kitto is trying to remember the good that comes with the tearing down of the Hams as she stated, “I love Longwood and I support the University, so I guess I'll just have to keep that in mind when thinking about a university center in the place where the Hams should be.” Nonetheless, Kitto adds, “They might have been old and in questionable shape, but they were the Hams! They will absolutely be missed.”
