Tutorial System's Vitality a Factor In Kirkland's Increasing Popularity

More than any other House, Kirkland is on the rise. After two or three year of relative unpopularity, Kirkland garnered far more than its share of second and third place choices last year, and seems headed for an even better showing this Spring.

One reason may be that Kirkland is in the throes of change. There is a new master--Charles H. Taylor, Henry Charles Lea Professor of Mediaeval History; the Junior common room is about to be soundproofed and renovated; and the University has at long last decided to improve the appearance of the courtyard--shrubs, flower beds, and a Riviera-like sun terrace are contemplated.

But beyond this, the wild generalizations which have been bandied about for the past two or three years seem, quite rightly, to be passing out of vogue. For Kirkland is not a Midwestern House, and probably never has been. Statistics show that 17 percent of the House comes from the midwest, compared with 16 percent for the undergraduate body as a whole. Nor is Kirkland in any way the intellectual inferior of the other Houses. Quite to the contrary, 43 percent of the House made Dean's List last year, compared with about 35 percent for the rest of the College.

One traditional label has managed to stick, however--Kirkland is definitely a friendly, participating House. Unlike their counterparts in certain Houses, Kirkland athletic managers usually have little trouble recruiting teams, even in such sports as boxing and fencing. The results can be seen in the Straus trophy standings. Although Kirkland has not won for four years, its teams are perennial contenders, and had compiled enough points at the end of this Fall's competition for second place.

When one has brushed aside the generalizations, then, one finds a House, friendly than most, and containing the same cross-section of the student body that all the Houses contain.

All the Houses have tutorial systems and all the Houses have resident staffs, but nowhere does this system seem to possess such vitality as at Kirkland. The weekly staff dinners consistently draw a large crowd, with 35 to 40 an average figure. "They really keep me hopping here," Professor Taylor was once overheard to remark. And they do.

Contact with the staff is easy and informal. Whether one is playing billiards with the master (Professor Taylor is seeded sixth in the House three-cushion tournament and fourth in straight billiards) or eating a dinner with a tutor, one is hardly aware of the thin line which separates faculty from students.

But nowhere does the exuberance and vitality of Kirkland come to such a focus as in one individual--superintendent Eddie Chamberlain. Seldom is the office empty when he is on duty. For though Eddie, like all superintendents, must be a policeman, he is a policeman on the side of the students. "Now cut out throwing those snowballs or I'll have to take your name," he shouts from the window in his Irish brogue. But somehow the names never get taken.

Who Can Fit?

Vacancies in Kirkland for next year include: two singles ($160-240); eight doubles ($115-195); 26 triples ($100-205); seven quardruples ($115-165); two five-man suites ($105); and one six-man suite ($105).