Last week, many Brown undergraduates completed the housing selection process for the 2025-2026 academic year. Perkins Hall remained the last-choice undergraduate housing option. As of April 11, the day after housing selection ended, there were still 38 rooms available in Perkins.
This follows last year’s trend when by 1 p.m. on the final day of housing selection, every double room on campus had been filled except for 57 beds in Perkins, according to The Herald’s analysis of housing data. Aside from the handful of singles designated for Community Coordinators, the building consists entirely of doubles.
Much of the stigma around Perkins involves complaints about the 0.6-mile walk — approximately 13 minutes — from Perkins to the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, as well as past rat sightings, which facilities addressed in 2023. But current residents say the stereotypes aren’t true.
Maggie Holyoke ’27 and Genevieve Sychterz ’27, two Perkins residents who found friendship as neighbors in the dorm, were initially disappointed to be placed in the building last year.
“I kept hearing ‘Perkins is bad, Perkins is bad’ … that’s all I saw on Sidechat,” Sychterz said, describing posts on the anonymous campus forum.
“People will say that they live in Perkins and expect you to be sorry for them,” Holyoke added.
The two were surprised to find that they “wouldn’t trade this experience for any other option we had as sophomores,” Holyoke said. She said that the Perkins community is “fantastic” and described the kitchen and lounges as accessible communal spaces.
Built in 1960 and acquired from Bryant University in 1969, Perkins last received interior updates in 2016. Each floor has its own kitchen and lounge, and the basement includes a large common space with private study rooms, single-use bathrooms and an additional kitchen.
“There’s a communal feeling of having been through the Sidechat war about Perkins,” she said. “We resolved as a community that Perkins was going to be a good experience.”
Perkins Community Coordinator Anna Ryu ’25 has made it her mission to create a positive experience for Perkins residents despite the stigma.
“Everyone tells you, ‘Oh, I’m sorry you live there, that sucks. What an awful place to be,’” Ryu said. But “I like being in the position of uplifting my dorm.”
Alongside the other Perkins CCs, Ryu has organized community events including trips to the Providence Place Mall, apple picking and a plant adoption event. Ryu plans to relaunch the annual Perkins Formal, which last took place in 2023.
“The sense of community here truly is stronger than in previous dorms I’ve lived in as a CC,” Ryu said. “I’ve really loved seeing how people come out and spend time together.” She added that residents often connect over a sense of “Perkins solidarity.”
Riley Rosenberger ’27 and John Loncke ’27 also had negative reactions to being placed in Perkins last year “because of the stigma,” Loncke explained. But after living in Perkins this year, Rosenberger realized the stereotypes were “way overhyped.”
While Sychterz has dealt with heating issues and loud noises from the nearby parking lot, she said she isn’t bothered by the distance, which initially worried her. “I actually really enjoy the walk, and it’s pretty,” she said, adding that people are rarely upset about the Young Orchard dorms despite their distance from the rest of campus being the same as Perkins.
Ryu also doesn’t mind the distance. “The walk is my way of winding down for the day,” she said. “Being a little on the edge of campus places us in a quieter, more peaceful environment.”
“Everything needs a scapegoat,” Ryu said. “For housing, Perkins is it.”
