Let me take you back 18 years to the year 1998. President Dale T. Knobel was just beginning his 15-year tenure as president of Denison University. President Knobel succeeded the only female president in Denison’s history, Michele Tolela Myers. To a handful of the current graduating senior students at Denison, and also a handful of a couple generations of alumni, the name Myers may bring up some memories. These memories probably consist of having to cook for yourself, having to clean your own bathroom, or the joy of (almost) having your own place for the first time. Myers Hall, also known as Sunny C, is a senior apartment-style residence hall.
If you are a student at Denison that has been to even just one party in an apartment, there is a chance that you’ve found your way to the Sunnies. Pratt, Brown, Myers, and Good are the four buildings that sit between North Quad and West Quad. The four identical buildings house a total of 208 senior students. Although they have names, many current Denison students refer to the buildings as Sunny A, Sunny B, Sunny C, and Sunny D. Many not even knowing which letters correspond to which name or which name corresponds to which building. Some students can’t even recite the names. If you are one of those students, don’t worry. I’ve provided a handy map for you.
Here’s an easy way to remember them off the top of you head: Pratt has an A in it, Brown has a B in it, you just have to remember Myers is C, and Good has a D in it.
Now let’s go into the history of these buildings. In 1998, in her final year as president of the university, President Myers called for the construction of three apartment-style upperclassmen residence halls. Thus the first three Sunset Apartments, popularly referred to as the Sunnies, were constructed. They were originally named Sunset A, Sunset B, and Sunset C by the contractor URS Corporation. Sunset D was later constructed in 2001. Other buildings constructed during Myers's nine-year tenure as president include the F.W. Olin Science building and Mitchell Recreation and Athletics Center.
Another monumental initiative lead by President Myers was the controversial eviction of fraternities from their chapter houses on North Quad, and the subsequent conversion of the same chapter houses to university residence halls. Following this decision, Denison entered the early stages of becoming the residential college that it is today. The Sunset apartments were constructed to accomplish a long term goal so that senior students could experience living in apartments while still living on campus.
The four apartment buildings maintained their names assigned by the contractors until 2012. Near the end of his tenure, President Knobel suggested that the buildings be renamed after former presidents of the university. Sunset A was changed to honor President John Pratt, 1831-1837. Sunset B was changed to honor President Kenneth I. Brown, 1940-1950. Sunset C was changed to honor President Michele Tolela Myers, 1989-1998. Finally, Sunset D was changed to honor President Robert C. Good, 1976-1984. Other buildings named after former presidents of the university include Talbot Hall, Knapp Hall, the Chamberlin House, Shaw Hall, and Knobel Hall.
What I find interesting is that despite the name change four years ago, students still refer to the apartments buildings by their letter name. Many students are unaware that these letters are the original names of the buildings. Since the change was made during the summer of 2012, the 2015-2016 school year was comprised of the first generation of Denison students that did not attend the university prior to the name changes. Maybe some year students will call the buildings by their president names. However, due to the simplicity of single letter names, I do not foresee that year being any time soon.
