Emily Paige Blodgett
“I’ve been locked in the phone booth,” said Riley Jacks, a human services major from Oxford who was a freshman in the spring.
“While I was here for Trumbauer 2013 (a theater festival), I wanted to take a picture in the phone booth, and the door closed,” Jacks said. “I don’t know if the cold maybe locked it up, but I had to basically beat the door down to get out.”
Jacks was on campus performing with her high school at the time. The red, English-style phone booth is a landmark on the main quad.
“I learned in my honors class, sophomore year, that the chancellor (Jack Hawkins) and his wife, Janice Hawkins, traveled to England and she liked the phone booth so much, that he bought one for her and had it sent to Troy,” said Zahra Qureshi, a psychology major from Dothan, who was a senior in the spring.
“The story is true,” said Jack Hawkins, Troy University’s chancellor.
“My wife loved the tradition then — and loves it even more today, for it reflects British culture and international dimension of Troy University,” he said.
Knowing the campus and its quirks will help you get to your classes more easily on the first day, and you can understand what your new fellow Trojans are talking about.
There are three quads on campus.
The main quad is surrounded by academic buildings, and has the statue of Hector (a great Trojan warrior in the Trojan War) and the fountain in the middle of it.
The social quad is between the Trojan Center and the library (Wallace Hall). Many organizations will set tables up on the social quad to promote events and raise funds.
The Shack squad is the quad bordered by residence halls, including Shackelford, Pace and Cowart. The Thinker statue resides in the Shack quad.
The Thinker is a gift donated to Troy University by Huo Baozhu, a sculptor from China. The Thinker is a symbol of friendship between China and the United States.
“Because of many requests for single or private rooms, the housing department is looking forward to the opening of the new residence hall, which is on University Avenue across from Trojan Dining,” said Sara Jo Burks, the assistant director of housing and residence life.
“Two safe rooms will be in the new hall, one on each wing,” Burks said. Safe rooms are to be used during bad weather and will double as meeting rooms.
The fourth floor will have a common room where students can relax and study. Every room will have a full-sized bed and a 42-inch flat-screen television.
“The new dorm will be completed in the fall,” said Herbert Reeves, dean of students.
The amphitheater is behind the new dorm and Janice Hawkins Park.
The amphitheater was open for a short time, but then closed due to the construction of the new dorm. It will reopen when the building is completed.
Reeves said that he foresees the amphitheater to be used for music events, band events, and sorority and fraternity events. The theater department might like to put on events out there, too.
Janice Hawkins Park will soon continue past the amphitheater, and there will be walking trails into the woods.
“Night walks happen once a semester with the Student Government Association,” said Olivia Melton, a double major in math and economics and minor in leadership from Orange Beach, who was a sophomore in the spring and was elected as the 2015-16 SGA clerk.
“These walks go all around campus to check if any of the outdoor lights are out, and the purpose is to make sure that the campus is safe,” Melton said.
Some places on campus have nicknames.
The Trojan Center is often referred to as TC. It houses the Trojan Center food court, TC ballrooms, TC Theatre (where plays and dance shows are held), Student Government Association offices, Barnes & Noble bookstore, post office and other facilities.
The Trojan Dining building, housing buffet-style dining as well as Moe’s Southwest Grill and Boars Head, is often called Saga or the Cafe.
Sorority houses are on the north part of campus, making up Sorority Hill, and the fraternity houses are on the south part of campus, making up Fraternity Row.
Among sports facilities recently completed or under construction are the 5,200-seat Trojan Arena, which is home to basketball and volleyball; a softball complex; and a golf clubhouse at Elm Street and George Wallace Drive.
This 4,500-square-foot clubhouse, built in 2015, will include offices, locker rooms, hitting bays and more.
