A Video Tour of West Campus

Roubing Liao (CGS’22, CAS’24) stands on Nickerson Field in front of the three residential towers comprising West Campus—Rich, Sleeper, and Claflin Halls, named for BU’s founders: Isaac Rich, Jacob Sleeper, and Lee Claflin.
Campus Life

A Video Tour of West Campus

Get a peek inside the three residential towers named after BU’s founders

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A Video Tour of West Campus

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Campus Life

A Video Tour of West Campus

October 8, 2022
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It may not be as tall as StuVi I and II, have the convenience of proximity to central campus like Warren Towers, or the charm of Bay State Road’s brownstones, but there’s a lot to recommend the three dorms comprising West Campus: Rich, Sleeper, and Claflin Halls. First, they’re  a stone’s throw from Case Gym, the Track & Tennis Center, and FitRec. Then there are the killer views—of Nickerson Field and the Boston skyline. And finally, there’s the campus dining hall—Fresh Food Co. at West Campus, which seats 840 and has more than 20 food stations, including vegan and Halal options and the famous West Burger, all of which helped earned it the moniker “West Is Best.” 

Built in 1963 and 1964 and last renovated from 2010 to 2012, the three 13-story residential towers, named for Boston University’s founders, Isaac Rich, Jacob Sleeper, and Lee Claflin, today are home to approximately 1,800 students. 

In the video above, computer science major Roubing Liao (CGS’22, CAS’24), a popular digital artist known for her bizarre mash-ups of pop culture and memes on TikTok, takes us on a tour of the three buildings and the amenities that make each special. She also takes us inside her Claflin room, introducing us to her menagerie of furry friends and giving us a glimpse of her artwork before taking a spin on the ice at Walter Brown Arena. Take a look.

Have a favorite memory of your time at West Campus? Share it with us in the Comment section below. 

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  • Kreiver Zhou (ENG’23)

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    Kreiver Zhou (ENG’23) can be reached at kreiverz@bu.edu.

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There are 8 comments on A Video Tour of West Campus

  2. Ahhh…. Back in the day I first came to West Campus in 1966. Yeah I’m that old! Different world. We typed papers on a manual typewriter (grim work that) and our food was NOT what would have passed muster in a WWII prison camp. Still we made lifelong friends and memories and my BU years are among the best. Oh yeah, at dinner we had to wear a jacket and tie! Honest… I wouldn’t lie about something like that!

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  4. I arrived at West Campus as an incoming freshman in 1963. There were two, not three towers; a boys dorm and a girls dorm, no coed. The boys building was not finished when I arrived. If you were assigned a room above the 5th floor, you were temporarily housed in the Howard Johnson’s hotel on Comm Ave. Fortunately, my room was on the 5th floor, overlooking the football field, which was convenient for intramural sports, like flag football, but a healthy walk to classes. During that time, BU was on a building spree with a newly completed student Union and law school to go along with a well known radical student body, but it was the 60s and BU wasn’t unique in this characterization.

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  5. In September 1963 my parents dropped me and my one suitcase in front of Babcock Street Tower #2 as it was known then, turned the car around, and headed back to New Jersey. Unfortunately the interiors were still “under construction” only the bottom floors were ready for occupancy. My room assignment was on one of the upper floors. I had not been notified that this was the case. Folks scurried around and created a make-shift group living set-up in the lounges on the unfinished floors where we unlucky incoming freshman stayed while the workman finished the tower. The irony was that this was designated a “girls dorm” no boys allowed, yet the workman roamed the halls. Such was campus life in the 1960s. BFA ’67, MFA ’69

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  6. I lived on West Campus (Claflin) from 1977 to 1979. I was in the Fine Arts House (12th fl) then the Olympic House (8th fl). I worked at Case Center checking IDs at the door. I survived the blizzard of ’78 in Claflin Hall. I think Blanchard’s sold out! The cafeteria was down to dry cereal and Kool-Aid. It’s a fond memory.

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  7. Thanks for the Updated Tour of my old stomping grounds. 70/75..Lots of changes in 50 yrs…I still have friends from my Football n West Campus days..

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  8. Very cool video. I lived in “Dorm 1” my freshman and sophomore years (1967-1969). I walked to class; there was no BU bus. The cafeteria was standard fare, no food stations. It was closed for dinner on Sundays, so we would go to a local restaurant, The Open Latch.
    The athletic center hadn’t been built yet. The Commonwealth Armory stood where StuVi is now.
    In 1969 I moved to “700” (now called Warren Towers). The same year the Boston group Aerosmith practiced in the basement of West Campus Dorm 1. Who knew?
    Thanks for the memories. Great update!

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