My first year at FAMU has been quite memorable so far. One of my fondest memories I will take from this experience has been my stay in Sampson Hall.
From the friends I’ve made, to the lukewarm showers, to the fake fire alarms (one of which went off as I wrote this), my stay in Sampson will be unforgettable for so many reasons.
At first glance of the weirdly shaped brick building, I was quite amazed to be honest. Sampson didn’t look as dilapidated as my older brother, a FAMU alumnus, told me it did.
Of course, the food in the cafeteria still tasted like home cooking that first week and I was completely oblivious to how few people knew where Rockledge was.
Having a roommate, wearing sandals in the shower and being told to turn down my punk music were just some of the things that I had to get accustomed to during my first few weeks in Sampson.
After the one month grace period wore off, Sampson Hall looked like the Sampson my brother had talked about. Trash was all over the dorm floor, the toilets in the bathrooms were clogged up and you couldn’t help but smell the stench of a black and mild wherever you went.
But don’t let me fool anyone.
I had some fun in Sampson, too. What could be better than throwing eggs at people from a bathroom window on Halloween night? Or playing Madden 2003 until my fingers became numb, or prank phone calling people in the middle of the night just too see what they will say? Nothing; its all a part of staying on campus your freshman year.
Sampson Hall is long overdue for renovation. From the looks of the place, it was overdue at least 15 years ago. It is very dangerous to have the amount of false fire alarms that occur on almost a weekly basis.
Keeping Sampson in its dilapidated state is costing the school a lot of money that could be used elsewhere – the money spent on calling the fire department for false alarms, fixing water leaks and making new locks could be used for better things.
In all honesty, I would not trade my experiences in there for anything. For all the people that never stayed on campus their freshman year, they have no clue what they missed out on.
Will Brown, 18, is a freshman broadcast journalism student from Rockledge, Fla. He is one of The Famuan’s assistant sports editors. He can be reached at willbitesgood@aol.com.