UO Tunnels

In 2002, Elizabeth J. Simonsen recorded lore about a tunnel system connecting the greek houses to the UO campus.  She had heard that the Chi Omega sorority house was linked with other greek houses and the Collier House on campus.  A cement wall in boiler room in basement of Simonsen’s sorority house is said to cover the tunnel entrance, it was constructed of different materials, and had pipes that extend to the unknown. On Halloween, 2002, 10 Chi Omegas and 2-4 Sigma Chi brothers played with a ouija board, successful in getting responses, asked if the spirit was coming from the tunnels, the pointer moved to “Yes.”

 

After investigation Simonsen could not substantiate these claims but did collect many narratives about the tunnels.  She asked her sorority sisters what they knew of the tunnels and one said,  

 

“Back in the day the tunnel system allowed students to travel to parties underground so that the police/community members did not see them. I think the tunnels were closed because girls were raped down there and left to die because no one knew about the tunnels. I think the whole idea that tunnels connect this campus is a little scary. They are probably quite only and unsafe and it is also scary that people anywhere could possibly get into our house with nobody knowing.” 

 

Another said,

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“we have had members witness frightening events that further the belief that the tunnels are there, and haunted”

 

The tunnels were reportedly used for walking to fraternity parties in secret, transporting food and beverages between chapters who shared cooks, and getting to class when there was snow on the ground, though they are also said to have been the location of wild parties, fraternity hazing, rape and death. Simonsen also reported that Hatfield cited graffiti found in the tunnels saying Class of ’29 in red paint.

 

During the 1970s students broke into tunnels through an access gate by Susan Campbell Hall and hung out, after that security tightened due to the danger of the tunnels. She listed 1978 as the only mention of students accessing the tunnel, citing Hatfield saying a former student said, “We’d go down there with a flashlight. Sometimes we’d have to crawl but mostly we could walk along… you could go down there with 15 or 20 people”

 

When interviewed by Simonsen, a unnamed university archivist said there is a tunnel system connecting all the building on campus which contains pipes and electrical wiring which is still accessed by maintenance workers and periodically broken into by students. But the archivist did not know if they connected to greek houses. While the rumors of a greek connection remain unsubstantiated, the tunnels are real.