'Thursdayfests' Shape Spirit

The high school house, 90210. "Thursdayfests." Gossip running rampant through the 10 entries of Gore and Standish Halls. A front courtyard whose main fixture is a tire swing.

These are the images which continue to pervade many undergraduates' conceptions of Winthrop House. It's known as a river haven for the student who longs for the days of hall-passes and the cacophony of slamming locker doors.

John Winthrop House, as it is officially known, consciously fosters its playful image, sponsoring events like last week's "02138 Dance" to attract first-year students.

But residents and tutors say that behind its callow facade, Winthrop maintains a careful balance between frivolity and academic and intellectual pursuits.

"We're not pretentious, but we have some incredibly talented kids living here," says House Co-Master Martha Davis. "For instance, in musical areas we have some great performers among us, and those who aren't performing are often busy supporting those who are."

Winthrop residents are quick to point out their multi-dimensionality. They take pride in their diversity, which frequently results in interesting and unusual interactions.

"We try to provide house activities as a way for people doing all sorts of different things during the day to get together at night and be communally inane," says Eric R. Columbus '93, former house committee president.

These activities include the ever-popular "Thursdayfests," weekly parties which draw crowds of students eager to bond with their housemates and escape the mundanities of "grown-up" life.

"It's a really friendly house, and everybody really known everybody else," says Allison S. Bryant '94, treasurer of the house committee. "Part of how we got to know people when

I moved in as a sophomore was through the Thursdayfest party held every week in a different person's room."

Bryant notes that the resulting "cohesiveness" among Winthrop residents may now represent the house's defining characteristic.

"That letting loose and getting to know everybody has been helped by the Thursdayfests," she says. "In the beginning of this year they sort of fell off, but the new house committee is actively trying to resurrect these social gatherings."

While Thursdayfest and other events exclusive to Winthrop House may have promoted house unity, they have also contributed to Winthrop's "juvenile" reputation.

"We do things like the Thropstock weekend, where we jello-wrestle," says Richard E. Desmond '93. "Winthrop has been called, and not inaccurately, the high school house, which could in part be accounted for by our slightly juvenile tastes in music and television."

Winthrop's easygoing attitude is part of its appeal, says Columbus. "I have friends at Adams House who come down to spend some stress-free time escaping the impressive, intellectual attitudes of Plympton Street."

"We're more than happy to oblige, too," he adds.

Resident tutor Ginny Lunsford cites the residents' generally clique-free attitude as evidence of openness. "There's a house grille where people hang out together that's just a comfortable place to be," she says.

As a comparatively small house of only 350 students, Winthrop is able to foster a closeness that few other houses can match, says Davis.

A recent house T-shirt touted Winthrop as the place "Where Mary [a dining hall checker] knows your name and everybody knows your business." Another claims, "We know where you were last night."

The recollections of Winthrop alumni concur with contemporary accounts, says Thom Lockerby '87, a first-year proctor in Lionel who lived in Winthrop as an undergraduate.

"We were really spirited, kind of known as a rah rah house," he says. "But the number one intramural was gossip."

But this house enthusiasm did not prevent Winthrop residents from "rather sneakily" maintaining the highest house GPA for a few years in the mid 1980s, Lockerby says.

Even Davis refuses to condemn the house's gossipy reputation. "I think it's kind of nice that people keep an eye on one another," she says.

"And I think that the whole idea of us being the high school house is complimentary we're definitely as enthusiastic, spirited and diverse as one might expect from a high school, and sometimes there's a little bit of innocence about us too," Davis says.

Senior Tutor Greg Mobley agrees. "The fact that people gossip at Winthrop House shows that people are interested in each other and observing each other, and that there is a degree of involvement in one another's lives," he says.

Some question whether involvement can become too intense. Because of the noted overcrowding, even seniors are deprived of opportunities to choose suites with singles.

"Suite living arrangements could be very similar to those of freshmen," says Lockerby.

"And the walls are really thin, so you can hear everything that goes on," says G. William Winborn '95, house committee vice-president.

Davis marvels at the closeness at Winthrop House, however. She attributes a wider variety of students and activities at Winthrop now to the non-ordered choice system.

"In the 14 years that I've been living here I've seen the house grow more diverse, but still maintain its warmth," she says.

According to Bryant, the house committee is striving to maintain a friendly atmosphere in order to boost the sagging popularity of Winthrop in housing choices.

Events such as Tuesday night's "The Roommate Game" play on the house image, embarrassing residents.

Hosted by Lunsford and her husband, tutor Leslie Poe, the event featured five Winthrop House residents who were interrogated in front of 100 housemates. And students were inspired to share intimate secrets.

In response to the inquiry, "what do you know about your roommate that his/her parents would least like to know about their child?" one student revealed more than most onlookers likely wanted to know.

"Being that [my roommate's] mother is an extremely well-bred WASP, she would probably not want to know that she neglected to imbue her son with a sense of hygiene--but that's something we worked on with him freshman and sophomore years," the contestant said.

That's the kind of personal attention one can expect in Winthrop

I moved in as a sophomore was through the Thursdayfest party held every week in a different person's room."

Bryant notes that the resulting "cohesiveness" among Winthrop residents may now represent the house's defining characteristic.

"That letting loose and getting to know everybody has been helped by the Thursdayfests," she says. "In the beginning of this year they sort of fell off, but the new house committee is actively trying to resurrect these social gatherings."

While Thursdayfest and other events exclusive to Winthrop House may have promoted house unity, they have also contributed to Winthrop's "juvenile" reputation.

"We do things like the Thropstock weekend, where we jello-wrestle," says Richard E. Desmond '93. "Winthrop has been called, and not inaccurately, the high school house, which could in part be accounted for by our slightly juvenile tastes in music and television."

Winthrop's easygoing attitude is part of its appeal, says Columbus. "I have friends at Adams House who come down to spend some stress-free time escaping the impressive, intellectual attitudes of Plympton Street."

"We're more than happy to oblige, too," he adds.

Resident tutor Ginny Lunsford cites the residents' generally clique-free attitude as evidence of openness. "There's a house grille where people hang out together that's just a comfortable place to be," she says.

As a comparatively small house of only 350 students, Winthrop is able to foster a closeness that few other houses can match, says Davis.

A recent house T-shirt touted Winthrop as the place "Where Mary [a dining hall checker] knows your name and everybody knows your business." Another claims, "We know where you were last night."

The recollections of Winthrop alumni concur with contemporary accounts, says Thom Lockerby '87, a first-year proctor in Lionel who lived in Winthrop as an undergraduate.

"We were really spirited, kind of known as a rah rah house," he says. "But the number one intramural was gossip."

But this house enthusiasm did not prevent Winthrop residents from "rather sneakily" maintaining the highest house GPA for a few years in the mid 1980s, Lockerby says.

Even Davis refuses to condemn the house's gossipy reputation. "I think it's kind of nice that people keep an eye on one another," she says.

"And I think that the whole idea of us being the high school house is complimentary we're definitely as enthusiastic, spirited and diverse as one might expect from a high school, and sometimes there's a little bit of innocence about us too," Davis says.

Senior Tutor Greg Mobley agrees. "The fact that people gossip at Winthrop House shows that people are interested in each other and observing each other, and that there is a degree of involvement in one another's lives," he says.

Some question whether involvement can become too intense. Because of the noted overcrowding, even seniors are deprived of opportunities to choose suites with singles.

"Suite living arrangements could be very similar to those of freshmen," says Lockerby.

"And the walls are really thin, so you can hear everything that goes on," says G. William Winborn '95, house committee vice-president.

Davis marvels at the closeness at Winthrop House, however. She attributes a wider variety of students and activities at Winthrop now to the non-ordered choice system.

"In the 14 years that I've been living here I've seen the house grow more diverse, but still maintain its warmth," she says.

According to Bryant, the house committee is striving to maintain a friendly atmosphere in order to boost the sagging popularity of Winthrop in housing choices.

Events such as Tuesday night's "The Roommate Game" play on the house image, embarrassing residents.

Hosted by Lunsford and her husband, tutor Leslie Poe, the event featured five Winthrop House residents who were interrogated in front of 100 housemates. And students were inspired to share intimate secrets.

In response to the inquiry, "what do you know about your roommate that his/her parents would least like to know about their child?" one student revealed more than most onlookers likely wanted to know.

"Being that [my roommate's] mother is an extremely well-bred WASP, she would probably not want to know that she neglected to imbue her son with a sense of hygiene--but that's something we worked on with him freshman and sophomore years," the contestant said.

That's the kind of personal attention one can expect in Winthrop