THE CALTECH-HOUSE-BECKMAN-CENTENNIAL FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FILE. Questions that are addressed herein: 1. What is Beckman-Centennial House? 2. Is everyone in B-C really a psychopath? 3. Why doesn't B-C participate in any interhouse athletics? 4. What is this new "Centennial House," and what does it have to do with B-C? 5. How many people have died in the history of B-C? 6. Who are these people in the lounge with all the darts? 7. Who's that guy with curly hair who keeps ambushing visitors to the house? 8. How can I become a social member of B-C? 9. What is the "Frosh Freeze"? 10. What is the B-C garage used for? THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS. 1. What is Beckman-Centennial House? Beckman-Centennial is one of the eight student houses at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California. It was the most remote of the houses, located on Constance St., until the administration decided to tear it down and fling its members into the void. The members of B-C are commonly known as "Becks," and are famed for living life to its fullest. 2. Is everyone in B-C really a psychopath? Hubert Jackson responds: No, that's just a stupid stereotype. Saying that every Beck is a psychopath is like saying that every Darb is a homosexual drug-using hippie, that every Rudd is a drunken Bible-thumper, that all Lloydies are bridge-playing social misfits, that all Scurves are unwashed, techno-listening Satan-worshippers, that all Pageboys are misogynist geniuses, that all Flems are musclebound cretins, or that all Moles are annoying as hell. It's just not true. 3. Why doesn't B-C participate in any interhouse athletics? In April of 1990, a pageboy died during an interhouse volleyball game with B-C. It was an unfortunate accident, but the administration used the incident to further its vendetta against B-C, and barred it from all athletics except the discobolus competition. This privilege was removed three months later, when Styg broke a Flem's arm playing water polo. 4. What is this new "Centennial House," and what does it have to do with B-C? We haven't figured out what this "C-House," as the admins call it, is supposed to be. But it sure ain't B-C. 5. How many people have died in the history of B-C? The House stopped keeping records of deaths after World War II. According to Kim D. West, Director of Residence Life, though, there have been 47 non-suicidal deaths since the founding of B-C. We feel that this figure is somewhat inflated. Jeb Payne (currently a senior) claims that he's only seen one Beck die during his four years. (Yeah, right Jeb. Maybe you mean by your own hand?) 6. Who are these people in the lounge with all the darts? These fine fellows are "The Dart Frosh," one of B-C's most colorful cliques. Their leader is the Beckman-Centennial House Dart Czar, whose responsibilities are to keep the B-C dart collection polished and in good repair, and to post a new photo on the house Dart Board each week. The post of Dart Czar is now held by freshman Yevgeny Vladimirevich Alexandrov. The unwary who pass through the B-C lounge are often met with a hail of sharp, stinging darts. 7. Who's that guy with curly hair who keeps ambushing visitors to the house? We call him Pauli. 8. How can I become a social member of B-C? There is some difficulty now, because the house cannot meet for dinner or meetings since the breakup. But before, all one had to do was present oneself at dinner, and ask for membership. There are currently only three B-C members who did not enter as first-term freshmen: Travis Maron, Egon Pasztor, and Alison Slemp. Of course there is also Fat Albert, but he is a celebrity. 9. What is the "Frosh Freeze"? The Frosh Freeze was, before the administration stopped this fine tradition, a yearly event where the most annoying B-C frosh was kidnapped by his peers, frozen in LN2 for several days, and dropped from the top of the house. The Freeze began sometime in the early 70's in mockery of Dabney's "pumpkin drop." 10. What is the B-C garage used for? Ask the F.B.I., O.K.?