Interhovse 2001

Interhovse 2001
by Mike D.

Back before when I was a frosh, even before any recent moles can claim that they were frosh, all seven houses would come together and throw one huge party each year. This Interhovse party centered around elaborate design and building projects to transform the Hovses into whatever theme they were trying to create that year. This party was hugely popular both inside and outside the Caltech community and, partly because of its huge success and the large number of people it would draw, the administration got concerned about security and limited the number of houses that could collaborate for any one event. Now each house usually throws one big party each year that centers around building and construction of scenery and decoration, and in Blacker we still like to call ours Interhovse.
This past year the house came together in a spirit of togetherness and community to decide on a theme, at which point the usual friendly bickering and arguments took over. Having chosen Egypt as the theme for the party, the upperclassmen tossed it to us, the Frosh, to plan, design, and build with a resounding “BUILD INTERHOVSE, FROSH”.

Over the next few weeks the frosh class came together to do absolutely nothing. When we finally got annoyed of the upperclassmen telling us to build Interhovse, frosh, Will Heltsley, the designated workfrosh rounded up the troops (and even a few upperclassmen) and we began working on the many grand schemes we had planned. From building a second floor to the lounge to the welded spiral staircase to covering the courtyard with murals to the 15 foot chicken wire sphinx to the flooded courtyard and free floating boat to the 20 foot inflatable snake to the 15 tons of sand that became the Nile river bed things started to come together.

Will is scowling because
you're not building Interhovse

Nate and Toomey survey the almost-
done party.

We were determined to do this party right and nothing, not doubtful upperclassmen, not classes, not homework and the corresponding threat of actual grades (since third term had just started and we frosh were now on grades), and not even the MAN (in the form of the local Pasadena Fire Department), was going to keep this party from happening. In the spirit of Blacker Hovse tradition it came down to the wire and we barely got everything done, but in the end everything went relatively smoothly.

Whether it was the wide variety music being spun on the dance floor, the relatively peaceful atmosphere of the Beach outside, the Indiana Jones style second floor (complete with spikepit), to the milkshakes, snacks, and alcoholic beverages (for the of age members of the Caltech community) there was something for almost everyone to check out. In the end, after 4 hours, a sign from God thanks to some Flems, and a lot of fun the party was declared an overwhelming success, after which we frosh finally crashed and woke up to the glorious memory of all the homework we had to make up as well as the huge party we had to clean up.