Tercero D Building was a residence hall located in the Thille Hall section of the Tercero Housing Area until its demolition in March 2012. It was an International Relations/Community Service based residence hall, although one does not have to be an International Relations major to live there. Besides the official name (Thille D) it was also called Hammarskjöld House, or Hamm House for short. The building had two RAs, approximately 70-75 residents, and there was also a Service Programmer.

"The universal theme of the house is to broaden awareness of international issues and provide opportunities for involvement in international exchanges and cultures. Activities range from international dinners to get-togethers with professors and teaching assistants. Informal discussions of recent world news, foreign language practice, travel tips, debates, and lectures are the kinds of events sponsored to help residents learn about the world in which we live." -Student Housing

Sadly, D building and the old Tercero buildings are gone, they have been replaced by newer dorms (2013?). Leach Hall, Quarto, which was next to Tercero, has fallen to the wrecking crew this year (2015).

Service Program Opportunities

To comply with the community service theme, each year the Service Programmer coordinates several community service events for the residence hall. These include programs like Relay for Life, March of Dimes, volunteering at the ASPCA, and planting trees in the Arboretum. In 2004, for example, 12 residents donated 10 inches of their own hair to the Locks of Love foundation that makes wigs from donated hair for children with cancer.

The Flags

From the outside of the building, the International Relations theme was not apparent. However, once you stepped inside, the International Relations connection became instantly clear. For years, the flags from countries all over the world lined the hallway walls. Before that, flags were flown from the roof of the building (the holders are still visible from outside). The residents of the 2003-2004 school year repainted and updated nearly all of the flags (because certain countries no longer existed, many names were mis-spelled, etc.), and it took them nearly 20 weeks to finish. A new mural of a map of the world was also painted that year by the residents. Each country had its flag painted within its borders and can be found on the second floor. Photo request, 2nd floor mural During summer 2005, Student Housing placed corkboard and drilled holes into the hallways with little regard for the state of the flags. Complaints to the Community Leadership Coordinator of Tercero were answered in late Fall 2005 with the hiring of a professional painter to move and repaint those flags that had been damaged. During the 2005-2006 year, the painters moved those flags by repainting them in the hallways of the first and second floors.

All in all, these flags represented 155 nations. There are 194 nations total in the world (2005). Can you guess which ones were not represented? In December 2005, a certain nation decided to adopt a new flag, thereby outdating one of the painted flags. Can you guess which nation?

Other Murals

The mural of the comfy chair & lamp, which appears on the third floor, was painted in the 2002-2003 school year by a student with a dream.

A Cow Haunting

In the 1980s, a group of D-Building residents stole a cow late one night from the local Dairy Cattle Facility and led it up the "stairway to heaven" (which refers to the steps leading up to the roof of D Building). They were attempting to test the fact that it is possible to lead a cow upstairs but impossible to lead it downstairs because a cows' knees cannot bend properly to walk back down. The cow was led onto the roof with little difficulty but sure enough, it could not walk back down. Because Student Housing could not figure out a way to remove the cow from the roof, it was decided that she would have to be killed on location... and so, she was. Now it is said that on clear nights, if you sit quietly on the stairway to heaven, you can hear the faint moos of dear Betsy's ghost... the cow.... that DIED on the roof.

D Building Alumni

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2007-06-09 11:55:46   In 03-04, we used to have crazy dance parties in the guys' restroom on the 2nd floor... we also set chairs by the lockers and listened to opera music by the bathroom sinks. —BenjaminCatabas

2008-08-28 23:30:17   05-06, the cows got out one day. We stood on the balcony on the side and watched cows walking around randomly. quite entertaining. —ascapoccia

2009-09-22 00:01:22   The picture for the building should be updated; flags are once more flown from the top of the building. —PatriciaK

2012-06-19 22:18:53   I just wanted to correct the information about the comfy chair mural. My friend Sarah and I painted the mural our freshman year (96-97). We were inspired by a chair Sarah found and was not able to keep in the hallway of the 3rd floor. We painted the mural to pay homage to the chair we were forced to get rid of. We were also The center picture of the mural also included an International cow, inspired by our Tercero bovine neighbors. Since we lived in the Hammarskjold House, we made the cow's spots in the shape of the continents. —ChristinaOrsi

2015-08-03 10:28:37   I was a resident in Hamm House in 1981-82 and there was an incident that year where someone led a calf to the third floor. Most of us were awakened by the sound of the calf slipping and sliding on the newly soiled tile hallway. But, in this case, the calf never made it to the roof and I carried the calf back downstairs and returned it to the dairy. It is possible, the ghost story regards another calf related incident, but, at least in this case, the calf survived, can't say the same for what I was wearing. —ledniz

2018-03-24 21:41:40   Ahh, brings back great memories! Hamm House was the dream of the late Prof Donald Montgomery (Monty) Reynolds, a fervent internationalist and humanitarian. It was a wonderful supplement to our formal education at UCD, and pushed many of us into humanitarian service. Thank you, Monty. (Chris Newhall, 1st batch, ca. 1967) —cnewhall

2020-03-19 04:52:59   The flags were first placed on the roof of the building in 1988. Students living in the dorm had to vote to select which flags to place. I think the maximum number was about 15 flags. Good times. —yassura

2020-04-27 18:44:58   The flags were first obtained from the countries' consulates and embassies and flown from the roof in 1970-71 or 1971-72, Bases for them were built from concrete blocks. Before that, a few flags were flown from the second floor. —skruft

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