Farewell to Rodney, Dickinson
UD grads celebrate West Campus residence complexes with Alumni Weekend lunch
1:01 p.m., June 11, 2015--Over 500 University of Delaware alumni, including numerous Double Dels, bid farewell to the John Dickinson and Caesar Rodney residence hall complexes on West Campus at a celebratory lunch on June 6 as part of the Alumni Weekend 2015 festivities.
Attendees shared stories of their times in the buildings and tied written memories to a fence outside of the complexes.
Campus Stories
From graduates, faculty
Doctoral hooding
“West side, best side.”
Many notes were heartfelt – “Where we met and fell in love.” Some notes were funny – “Fire drills at 3 am! Rodney A.” And several were inspirational – “The other side of the tracks isn’t always a bad thing.” All reflected a tight-knit community of students from all generations who bonded while living on the west side of campus.
In November 2014, the University announced plans to close the Rodney and Dickinson residence hall complexes by May 2015, at the end of spring semester, eliminating the entire West Campus.
Constructed in 1966, each complex housed over 700 students in the 2014-15 academic year. The residences historically housed freshmen, at a time in their lives when they establish early and lasting social connections.
“To good times in Rodney D! 40 years, 3 kids, 5 grandkids later.”
When David and Eugenia Coggin learned about the fate of Rodney and Dickinson complexes in the UD Messenger, as well as a farewell lunch planned during Alumni Weekend, the couple knew how they wanted to spend their 40th wedding anniversary.
On June 5, the Class of 1974 graduates flew from their home in Salt Lake City and made their way to Newark to pay their respects to the building – and the campus – that brought them together more than 40 years ago.
“We both lived in Rodney – I was in A and she was in D. I loved the freedom of being away from home. No parents to tell you what to do!” said David Coggin. “We were pretty wild when we were here,” added Eugenia.
In fact, Eugenia remembers frequenting a friend’s room in Rodney that had a view of the basketball courts. “We would sit at the window and check out the guys playing basketball.”
Kimberly John Saunders, from the Class of 1980, remembers throwing water balloons out of Rodney dorm room windows at unsuspecting men below, and watching her future husband play soccer.
“My favorite part of living here was playing soccer on the Quad. My friends and I would kick the ball around and she would watch me from the window,” said Scott Saunders, Class of 1979.
The Saunders were also celebrating a wedding anniversary during Alumni Weekend – their 35th. The two met while living in the Rodney complex and were married just one week after graduation.
“I got two bachelors in one week – I graduated from UD one Saturday and got married the next Saturday,” said Kimberly.
The couple planned to spend the rest of the weekend seeking out their relationship landmarks around campus and the city of Newark. “We are visiting the church where we got married, too,” said Kimberly.
But they know that it all began when they kept walking by each other on the west side of campus.
“To the home I chose! Thanks for a great freshman year!”
Over 100 notes were left on the fence demonstrating the affection that generations of UD alumni feel for the two residence halls. The notes included:
“Rodney F – thanks for being my home.”
“The ‘therapy chair’ and having one of the only TVs among my friends. Thursdays were 90210.”
“I met my best friends in Dickinson A bonding over the train, Rodney bugs and the walk to West Campus. We’ll keep those memories going after the halls are gone.”
“Thanks for starting my college experience with great people and great times!”
“Rod C will always be in my heart.”
“Thank you for Rodney, for bringing me to better friends than I could have ever dreamed of. I found my home.”
“All of us crowding into room 110 Dickinson F and watching Friends together. My best friends in the world are the ones I met here.”
“Thanks for being my most memorable dorm.”
Photos by Mark Campbell