- The Art of War, by Sun-Tzu. Added by Nicholas Breen (fr: 1996, president 1999).
- The Prince, by Machiavelli. Added by Nicholas Breen (fr: 1996,
president 1999).
- Two paint grenades. Added by Eric Hale (Fr: 1996, president 1998).
- Baseball signed "Marty" with two 8s written on opposing sides. Added by
John "Marty" Allen (fr: 1994, grad: 1998, president 1997).
- Undated Letter from the Residence Life and Master of Student Houses Office
on their letterhead, presumably from spring 1996. Presumably added by
Bill Penn (fr: 1993, grad 1998, President 1996)
One Free Favor
The certificate allowes the Honnorable
President of Blacker House to one free
favor from the Residence Life Office at
the California Institute of Technology
for the year 1996-1997.
<s> Kim D. West
Authorized Signature
*This may _not_ be taken in conjunction with any activity
deemed illegal, immoral, or just plain stupid. Stupidity
will be determined by the Pasadena Police and/or Fire
Department.
_Offer Expires January 1997_
[ Presumably, this letter was viewed with suspicion and left unused. ]
- Document of Rotation Pick Rules, undated, but presumably for fall 1997
[ Starting in the late 1990s, the IHC ruled that since pucking rules changed
so often, only people going to picks were allowed to know them. ]
- Magic 8 Ball. Added by Bill Penn.
- Micky mouse Twirl Pop, added by Bill Penn.
- Letter in envelope from Bill Penn to the next president.
Blacker President,
When you open the box of presidential
trinkets and you come upon this lolly-pop
please remember these things:
You are a sucker: If things become difficult,
or people get restless, or any problem comes up that
you would rather hid under your pillow than
deal with, dont get upset with the people involved;
things will workout, and you are the sucker who
asked for the difficult job you have.
The whole house is full of suckers: When
the time comes that you must make a difficult
decision that could affect the whole house, be
strong, be determined, and be faithfull to your
decision. If anyone complains or you start to
feel bad about your decision, remember, those
who complain are the suckers who elected you, to
make the dicisions that you find best.
<s> William C. Penn
William C. Penn
Blacker President
1996-1997
- Small box with red granite figurine of Chinese origin. Box also has a chinese,
unused, envalope with "Blacker gdbg Hovse" on it. Source unknown, but
after Jan 1994 and before 1998. I think this is a gift from Alison
Slemp (fr: 1992, grad: 1996, president 1995) since I know she visited China.
- White round container labled "James A. Honnaker". A gift from James (fr:
1992, grad 1997, president 1994). He said it was a, "gift of himself".
I.E., his own sperm.
- Graduating Senior underload petition (printed on blue paper). Added between
Jan 1994 and April 1998 by James Honnaker, Alison Slemp, Bill Penn or
John Allen.
- Box with "Mack's Earplugs". Source unknown, but added after Jan 1994 and
before April 1998.
- Guatemalan trouble dolls. Source unknown. Added after Jan 1994, and before
April 1998.
- Robert's Rules of Order, Revised. 75th anniversary edition. Added by Benjamin
Smith (fr: 1989, grad 1994, President 1993). Has the written note inside
the cover:
Future Blacker Presidents,
This is to show you what Blacker could
be like if we had a Constitution. Beware,
lest we be like the north Houses or Fleming.
Hopefully, in the future, we can continue to be
reasonable & operate without a Consitution.
Good luck.
<s> Benjamin Allan Smith
President
Dec '92 - Jan '94
- "Scientific Progress goes 'boink'". A Calvin and Hobbes cartoon book by
Bill Watterson. Added by Andrea Mejia (fr: 1988, grad 1992, president 1991)
The inside cover has the inscription:
To the Presidents of Blacker Hovse,
This is for after that really
nasty house meeting, the day
where you have six meetings
with the dean, you finally
figure out housing, and then
have to get ready for five
midterms the next day. The
crises will pass, and somehow
you'll survive, but I hope this
will help you laugh a bit.
Best of luck, and believe in yourself.
<s> Andrea Mejia
1991-1992
The back cover is chewed up in the bottom corner. The inside has the
inscription:
"Asriel! Stop that!"
Katy Quinn '92-'92
And a drawn picture of a cat. Katy (fr: 1989, grad: 1993) was president
in 1992.
- Plastic key ring with oversize plastic kiddie keys. Added by Cliff
Kisor (fr: 1986, grad 1990, president 1989) because of lock trolling in
Blacker.
- A paperback copy of "The Mole" by Dan Sherman. c1977. John and Lynn
Salmon (RAs Fall 1984 to Fall 1989) found the book and gave it to Peter
Ashcroft (Fr: 1980) when he was president in 1985..
The following items have and unknown source and existed in the box before
January 1989:
- Breast Doorbell buzzer. Basically a wall mounted, life size, rubber,
female breast. If you pressed the nipple, a buzzer battery operated buzzer
rang. By 1993 it had lots of ink stains. Eric Hale, president in 1998,
cleaned it up.
- New Testament, Psalms Proverbs. (Small green book).
- Brown bow tie with dark red and white stripes.
- Tueroz metal cigar case. Empty. From Havana, Cuba.
- Cylidrical Bell. ~3 in tall, ~1 in diameter. Old in Jan 1990. Note that in
the 1950s or 1960s there is a discussion on obtaining bells to annouce
dinner to ring announcements since they no longer had glass cups. This,
and the following two items, could be from that time. XXXXX
- Brass bell, used to ring dress dinner. Normal bell shape, ~1 in dia, ~1 in
high with ~1.5in handle. Old in Jan 1990.
- Brass, ~1.5 in diameter cymbals. Marked "N 12". On a string. Old in 1990.
- Key Ring with chinese characters and a single old key. The key is
labled:
Art Steel CO
NY-NY
- Acorn. Source unknown. I think it existed before Jan 1990.