The Daily Iowan WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2023
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COMMUNITY SINCE 1868
DAILYIOWAN.COM
‘A bittersweet moment’
Former Mayflower residents recall memories in the building before its sale. Kate Perez Senior Reporter
katharine-perez@uiowa.edu
The University of Iowa announced in February that it is aiming to sell Mayflower Residence Hall by spring 2024, leaving members of the university community with mixed feelings as potential buyers tour the building.
“Sixteen years almost together and 10 years of marriage. So you think about that, that shows the kind of lasting relationships that can come from being in college and being in a great environment like Mayflower.” Beth Tunis
Former resident of Mayflower
“Sixteen years almost together and 10 years of marriage. So you think about that, that shows the kind of lasting relationships that can come from being in college and being in a great environment like Mayflower,” said UI alumni Beth Tunis, who met her husband in the dorm. The broker on the sale said Mayflower could be sold by next year, potentially closing off the building that students have occupied since the 1970s. Some people interviewed by The Daily Iowan recognized Mayflower as the leastdesired dorm on campus. Others reacted with sadness, suggesting Mayflower was an iconic entry point into Iowa City and should be maintained for future generations of UI students.
History of Mayflower Construction on Mayflower as a privatelyowned building started in 1965, according to a DI article from that year. The building was originally advertised as a “luxury” dorm, costing $3 million to construct — over $29 million today. The building offered multiple amenities when it began advertising available rentals in early September of 1966, including: • Heated indoor pool
INSIDE
Illustration by Marandah Mangra-Dutcher | The Daily Iowan
Photos contributed by Molly Torchia and Sam Stewart from when they lived in Mayflower. Exterior photo by The Daily Iowan.
• Sauna rooms • Shower, bath, and kitchen in each suite • Private men’s and women’s lounges • Weight training room • Cafeteria in the building At the time of the residence hall’s construction, buildings across the U.S. were being constructed quickly as more students attended colleges following World War II, said Rod Lehnertz, UI senior vice president of finance and operations and university architect. Considered a modern prototype of “international style” architecture, the building followed a machine aesthetic, including straight lines and punched windows that are sunken into the buildings, Lehnertz said. Mayflower operated as a private apartment building for over a decade after it opened
in 1968, having spaces for non-student tenants, according to a 1966 edition of the DI. In 1979, the UI began using Mayflower for student housing. According to a 2012 Iowa Now article, the university leased part of the apartment building for students after overcrowding at other residence halls. The university bought the building entirely in 1983 for $6.5 million, according to the minutes of the Feb. 17, 1983 state Board of Regents meeting. Since then, Mayflower has remained in operation for the UI, undergoing multiple renovations. While there is no longer an indoor pool or cafeteria, the residence hall has a gym, multipurpose rooms, a game room, and a computer lab.
‘It’s an open period’: Mayflower’s future unclear The Feb. 14 decision to close Mayflower came after an internal review published this year. The review shows that Mayflower is the last chosen — and first transferred from — residence hall for first-year students. Mayflower can hold 1,032 students and features suite-style rooms, meaning students share a kitchen and bathroom with their roommates and suitemates. The low desire of students to live in Mayflower likely stems from multiple different
MAYFLOWER | 3A
Nontraditional student finds community Billy Stoynoff, a 33-year-old UI student, uses TikTok to document staying in the dorms. Isabelle Foland News Reporter
isabelle-foland@uiowa.edu
A culinary ode to hiphop Da Flava Unit owners Zee and Tony Brown took the IC food scene by storm. AMPLIFY | 5A
Daydrink coffee revives IC storefront The cafe is in the former Bowery Street Grocery. 80 HOURS | 1C
UPCOMING
William “Billy” Stoynoff is like many other students in their first year at the University of Iowa. He lives in the residence halls, cheers for the Hawkeyes on game days, and takes the Cambus to classes. However, there is one major factor that sets him apart from other first years — he is a 33-year-old transfer student with an associate’s degree and a growing following on TikTok. His top TikTok video of a dorm tour reached 277,000 views, as of Aug. 28. Stoynoff’s journey to the UI started when he began to feel dissatisfied at his job as a social media marketing employee at an apparel company. “It paid pretty well, but I woke up one morning and I was like, ‘Okay, this isn’t what I want to do long-term even though I’ve been here for six years,’” Stoynoff said. After receiving his associate degree at the College of DuPage in Illinois, Stoynoff’s next plan was to go to Northern Illinois University. However, he felt he would be doing himself a disservice
TIKTOK | 3A
• Listen to The Daily
Iowan’s latest episode of Above the Fold podcast at dailyiowan.com.
• Check out dailyiowan.
com Sept. 2 for The Daily Iowan’s online coverage of the Hawkeyes game against Utah State.
UI moves on campus improvement projects The university kicked off several multi-million-dollar projects this year. Roxy Ekberg News Reporter
roxy-ekberg@uiowa.edu
Streamed live at 8:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Always available on dailyiowan.com
Grace Smith | The Daily Iowan UI student Billy Stoynoff studies in a lounge in Reinow at the University of Iowa in Iowa City on Aug. 22.
After receiving approval from the state Board of Regents earlier this year, the University of Iowa is making headway on construction as part of its 10-year master plan. Part of this master plan includes the construction of a new dormitory to replace Mayflower
Residence Hall, building a new parking ramp near Kinnick Stadium, and major updates to the Iowa Memorial Union.
Iowa Memorial Union renovations The IMU is currently undergoing renovations, including updates to the Hawk Shop bookstore, ice cream shop, and an incoming Starbucks, and
additional marketplace. The UI last renovated the IMU in 2007, but improvements were halted because of the 2008 flood. The university received a grant to fix the damages but was unable to complete the second phase of its plan. The current renovations to the IMU include ideas from the original plan, as well as adjust-
CAPITAL | 3A