To all of the haters who put Memorial House last on your dorm requests last year: you are missing out. Recently, significant changes have been made to Choate’s largest dorm, the most historic being the switch to co-ed housing. However, a new upgrade has sprung into the spotlight: Mem Events. Prefects and prefectees of what is called the “New Mem” are in for an endless series of parties, contests, and dances unlike anything that any dorm has ever done before. Ice skating, a haunted trail, pie-eating contests, dodgeball tournaments, and a spring fling dance — these are only a handful of all the events that Co-Head of House Mr. Timothy Yun, and the whole team of Mem advisors, have in store.
Ultimately, the Mem team is looking to make several grand changes during this consequential year for the house. “This is a very historic year. This is the first time that Mem, which has historically been an all-boys, freshman dorm, is now a co-ed space,” said Mr. Yun. Mem advisors are looking to transform the reputation of the dorm into one of laughter and festivity.
To accomplish their goal of building a fun-filled dorm community, the Mem advisors have created a year-long calendar of Mem Events. Mr. Yun, the brain behind the initiative, came up with the idea over the summer after doing some of these events on a smaller scale with his advisory. “I love doing these kinds of things … this is fun stuff,” he said. Becoming Co-Head of House finally provided Mr. Yun with the opportunity to achieve his dream. “I was like: Yes! I have control! I’m gonna make [fun events] happen for the entire dorm!”
Currently, a calendar is posted with a list of all the planned events on the roster for the year. A highlight for many students so far was Mem Hunt: a halloween-themed treat. As a study break during the stressful week of midterms, the whole herd of Mem-ers took a trip over to the Worthington Johnson Athletic Center (WJAC). All the lights had been turned off — the normally bustling athletic building was in a never-before-seen silent, pitch black, and spooky state. One group of students was assigned to be zombies and the other humans, and all 70 ran around hiding, chasing, screaming, or pretending to be zombies in the dark. “I had so much adrenaline pumping through my blood. I went for it. I was running around screaming with glow sticks in my hair,” said Jordan Dodd ’25.
Mem Events, however, are not just limited to the calendar on the common room bulletin boards. Mr. Yun has several other surprising ideas. “They’re kind of ambitious, but epic,” he noted. He is concocting scavenger hunts, DJ dances in the common rooms, and many more activities that are yet to be revealed. For the following event, the dorm is going together for a walk of terror on the cross country course — who knows what surprises next week in Mem will bring.
