What do construction vests and hard hats on the first day of class, Mrs. Frizzle’s Magic School Bus, Paul’s missionary journeys, the song “Cecilia,” and the Grinch have in common? Anywhere off of Covenant’s campus, probably absolutely nothing. But at Covenant College, one thing ties these seemingly unrelated items together: dorm traditions.

Events with quirky hall themes, weekly prayer and praise, spontaneous dance parties, and relic stealing are all well-known aspects that have made dorm culture a special part of student life at Covenant. Each dorm building on campus is made of halls with their own unique traditions passed down through the years—generations maybe!—of dorm life. These traditions create a place for students to be involved and feel a sense of belonging and even ownership.  

Annual Dorm Events

Dorm buildings as a whole have campus-wide events such as Around Founders (Founders Hall), Carter Christmas (Carter Hall), Down in Andreas (Andreas Hall), and Mac Movie (Maclellan/Rymer Hall). Events like these are important to the campus to create inter-dorm community.

One of the favorite Christmas traditions at Covenant is the Carter Christmas event. Every year in December, students across campus attend this immersive event. The individual halls in Carter compete by decorating their hall, dressing up, and even role-playing for the interactive experience. Themes range anywhere from a nursing home Christmas to Shreck Christmas to walking through Santa’s digestive tract. At the end of the night, Covenant staff members and students vote, and winners get bragging rights til the next year.

Hall Traditions and Themes

Every dorm hall has nurtured special and intentional community and, over the years, each has developed a unique personality. Many of the halls have events and traditions that reflect their personality. Halls put on campus-wide events as well as events just for their residents, such as family dinners, hall dates, and other activities where students can get connected. 

Even in yearbook pictures, themes make an appearance: from formal dresses to construction vests, students dress the part for their halls. Each hall also has relics that have been collected over the years that have some meaning related to the hall. These relics, funny objects like a giant stuffed bear head or a traffic cone, are traditionally part of ongoing capture-the-flag type competition in which halls constantly try to steal each other’s relics. 

With these fun, at times, random building and hall traditions and exciting campus activities combined, students have opportunities almost every weekend to attend different events and build community that will last a lifetime. 

Which dorm would you want to live in? Learn more about residence life on our webpage!

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