The initial ideas and recommendations
In early November 1930, the Caltech Board of Trustees asked
the President of the Associated Students to form a committe to submit a
plan for organizing life in the Student Houses. Four seniors, three juniors
and two sophomores were selected. One of the Sophomores, Walter Scholtz ('33),
later joined Blacker. Three, including Scholtz, were given leaves of absense
and funding for a three month tour the US and Europe studying the living
conditions at the following Universities:
- Oxford
- Cambridge
- University of London
- Cite University (France)
- University of Toronto
- Harvard
- MIT
- Princeton
- Yale
- Universtity of Pennsylvania
- Swarthmore
- Haverford
- Cornell
- Duke
- United State Naval Acadamy (Annapolis)
- United States Military Acadamy (West Point)
- Williams
- University of Chicago
After their return the committee discussed the issues and
submitted a report on 27 February 1931. That report was issued as the
_Bulletin of the California Institute of Technolgy_, Volume XL, Number 131,
"Report on Undergradute Student Houses". In short here are their main
recommendations:
- Rooms should be picked by seniority and the order among men of equal
standing will be done by lot. In the event of more people than spaces,
extra freshment will be housed elsewhere. Seniority is based on
number of years that you have lived in that house. One can stay in
the same room from year to year if they so choose.
- Lunch and dinner should be served family style with student waiters.
Dining tables should hold between 8 and 10 people. Jackets and ties are
required for Dinner.
- Each House should have a small library of "non-technical books"
- Each House should have a Resident Associate whose job is to be a
counsellor and friend, not a proctor.
- "Conduct of house functions and the maintenance of order shall be placed
entirely in the hands of the students."
- It is suggested that each house have a President, Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer, Social Chair and Athletic Chair.
- Each fraternity is asked to move into one house to form a nucleus and
also to disband their own organization
- House dues are suggested to be $2.00 per term.
(21 meals/week) for 1931-2.
Room and board was set at $323.00/year (15 meals/week) or $382.50/year.
The Houses as physically designed
"Architecturally the houses are of Mediterranean design; and,
although they form a unified group, each house is a separate unit, with its
own dining-room, lounge and library. The bedrooms surround attractive inner
courts and are arranged with separate entries for every twelve or fifteen
rooms." -_Bulletin of the California Institute of Technology_, Vol XLI, Number
135, "The Student Houses".
The architect for the Student Houses was Gordon B. Kaufmann.
Data collected by Benjamin Smith, Fr '89, grad '94, President Dec 1992-Jan 1994
Email: Ben...
This page last updated 03:11, 4 February 1997