Keenan Hall was built in 1957 and named after James Keenan Jr. who passed away shortly before his freshman year. Keenan Hall is extremely unique as it shares a lot with another men's residence hall, Stanford. These two halls are the only ones on campus constructed this way. They share a main entrance, lobby, and Chapel, although Keenan has its own door on the left which only Keenan residents can swipe into. One must then swipe in through a second door to truly be in Keenan Hall. As you can imagine the proximity between Keenan and Stanford fosters a brotherly rivalry.
Keenan’s location is also pretty awesome. It is situated on the north quad of campus, right across from the North Dining Hall. This makes it one of the best places to be, especially during the cold winter months. Saint Liam Hall, the university’s health center, is also right behind the dorm.
Keenan’s floor plans are pretty standard. There are four floors, each with two sections: north and west. Each floor also has two bathrooms, one embedded in each section. There are single, double, quad, and 6-man rooms on each floor, totaling 116 rooms with the capacity to hold about 250 residents.
I think Keenan has the best basement in any dorm on campus. There is a small weight room in the basement with rowing and cycling machines. It has a connecting door to Stanford, which was cool because I have a few friends in there who I liked to work out with. The weight room was renovated in 2019. Keenan’s basement also hosts the famous Zaland, which is open every evening and serves hot pizza!
The main lounge in the basement is home to 3 flat-screen TV’s, pool and ping-pong tables, numerous sofas and study booths, and a plethora of board games. A smaller area leading into it also has a projector and several sofas and high tables The basement also hosts a kitchen and a couple of smaller study rooms.
Since 1976, Keenan has hosted the largest residence hall signature event on campus: The Keenan Revue. The event takes place in Stepan Center and is almost entirely student-run with guidance from the dorms rector and garners an attendance of about 5000 people across the 3 nights it holds. Frequently alumni and parents come to watch the show which includes comedy sketches, musical performances, and dances by the men of Keenan!
Keenan also hosts several smaller events. For example, Muddy Sunday is a mud volleyball tournament that anyone on campus is welcome to sign up for, which raises funds for Habitat for Humanity. The dorm also has many activities which men of the dorm can take part in including Manday Knights, Kulture Knights, and smoothie Mass! The dorm also has a very unique SYR called Disco Roll. Students dress in 70’s disco clothing and travel to a roller skating rink!
The Knights of Keenan Hall are also known to be very competitive when it comes to sports. Every year, the hall performs well in basketball, soccer, football, Hockey, and more, making great playoff runs in the majority of them. There is competitiveness within the dorm as well, as the Knights compete against each other in section football and basketball tournaments which everyone regardless of skill level is welcome to participate in.
I have been privileged enough to spend all four years of my undergraduate career in Keenan Hall. Even with its own little pizza place, the Revue, and every other cool thing about Keenan, I can say with complete confidence that the best part of the dorm is the feeling of brotherhood that is always present. The knights of Keenan Hall truly are a family.