Who is Helping Hobson?

Reported By: Benny Schorie

Photo Courtesy: @help_hobson on instagram

In Nov. 2022, an Instagram account called @help_hobson popped up to show how George Fox University’s (GFU) Hobson Hall is in disarray. The activity of the account was brief and is part of a long list of student-run Instagram accounts that fizzle out. But, it does show the rising discontent many students feel about the conditions of university housing, especially in the older buildings.

Hobson Hall was completed in 1977 alongside Macy and Sutton Halls (HMS) and has never been renovated. According to the Dean of Student Care and Operations Sharia Hayes, the oldest residential halls are Pennington and Edwards, which were renovated in 2014 and 2018, respectively. 

“I know there have been discussions about updating HMS, but, at this time, I am not aware of the specific timeframe for those renovations,” Hayes said. Updating the bed frames and mattresses in 2021 were the only specific improvements in recent years. Hayes is unaware of what regular maintenance of the building looks like.

Most on-campus residents understand the process of filling out work orders if they have issues with their living spaces. Often, however, these issues are not thoroughly addressed; buildings like Hobson Hall have ended up with serious plumbing, heating, and other problems that cannot be addressed with simple work orders.

The @help_hobson account shows pictures of the hall’s broken microwave, impractical toilet stall locks, and broken soap dispensers. These are only a few of the laundry list of problems residents experience while living in Hobson. The Crescent recently reported about the ongoing stink bug problem in HMS. What’s more, none of the HMS buildings are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) standards for accessible design, according to the GFU Housing website.

Despite these well-known problems, Hobson Hall has still not gotten the help it needs, and year after year, first-year students end up enduring substandard and inconvenient living conditions while paying the same price as students who are placed in newer buildings. It’s about time something like this Instagram account pops up to bring awareness to the problem, and students will only get bolder with voicing their concerns.