What do the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Caltrain, “The Odyssey,” and sunny-side up eggs have in common? Take a stroll down Escondido Road or dorm-hop between on-calls on a Friday night, and the punny dorm themes painted on many residences might give you a hint.
Ahead of New Student Orientation (NSO), Resident Assistants (RAs) for Stanford’s undergraduate residence halls came to campus early to outfit the dorms in thematic decor, ranging from skillfully painted windows to hallway walls covered floor-to-ceiling in colorful paper designs.
“Our dorm’s theme is NintenCro, and [is] focused on all the different games from our childhoods,” wrote Ayla Gharavi ’28, Crothers Hall RA and an editor for The Daily. “We came up with it after going through tens of different themes and not agreeing until this one. I really love how different each hallway is in Crothers because it highlights our different personalities!” Gharavi is one of six RAs in the all-freshmen dorm, which features a different Nintendo game sub-theme in each hallway.
On the Row, Xanadu’s RAs are continuing a tradition of featuring female celebrities in their residence’s theme. This year’s is “Xance Moms,” a reference to Abby Lee Miller’s television series, “Dance Moms.” According to Xanadu RA Will Yu ’27, the house’s past themes have included “Xana Del Rey” (inspired by Lana Del Rey) and “Xandaya” (paying tribute to Zendaya).
Bradley Bush ’27, an editor for The Daily, is an RA in Mars, where the theme is “Mars 2,” a play on the Pixar movie “Cars 2” (2011). One key feature of Mars’ decor — and Bush’s favorite — is a wall in the lounge covered in Route 66-themed neon signs.
Bush commented on how his residence’s theme has helped build community: “It’s neat to see how [the theme] takes shape as we all start to feel more comfortable with the house and with each other,” he wrote to The Daily. “The theme really gets everyone laughing from the moment they step inside and see the decor and the atmosphere of Mars this year.”
Dorms can serve as a space to unwind, especially for frosh still exploring campus. “Themes are a unifying aspect of being in a dorm … It just makes you feel a little more at home,” Saron Amsalu ’30 said. “It was really nice because you were being inducted into your own little community — your own little new family.” Amsalu is living in “Soto Things” (Soto), themed after the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things.”
To kick off the warm welcome, dorm themes featured prominently at this year’s NSO — particularly on frosh move-in day, when many RAs dressed up to match their residence hall’s theme.
“Dorm themes were amazing during NSO — [they] made your dorm culture a lot more vibrant,” Rojan Mikael Habon ’30 said, who’s living in “J-Rodeo” (Junipero). “My RAs came up to me in blow-up suits and rodeo [costumes]. I felt the energy, specifically from my RAs, and I felt a bigger sense of community.”
RAs also carried hand-painted flags bearing the name of their respective dorms to lead frosh around campus on move-in day. Although not present at NSO, many upperclassman dorms also celebrate their themes with custom flags. Eddy Durant ’27, an RA in Xanadu, jokingly said, “Every day when I enter this building, and I look up to see the big pink flag with Abby Lee Miller [on it], I feel quite welcomed into this place that we call home.”
Some of this year’s other dorm themes include Lantana Hall’s “Wonderlantana,” based on “Alice in Wonderland”; Robinson Hall’s “Robinsonhood,” based on the character adapted into modern media from English folklore; Larkin’s “Monsters, Lark-Inc.,” a play on the Disney-Pixar film franchise “Monsters, Inc.”; Burbank’s “Burbcraft” (Minecraft) and Arroyo’s “Arroad Trip.”
Each year, dorm themes bring campus to life by highlighting puns and pop culture, and also by helping build connections between RAs, residents and visitors alike.
“When I go inside each [dorm] hallway, it’s a lot more energetic rather than dead,” Habon said. “It wouldn’t happen without [the] theme.”