International House Berkeley

Callaghan Hall Newlyweds F or nine decades, International House Berkeley has opened minds and broadened perspectives to prepare the next generations of leaders from around the world. Today, the ideals of I-House are more important than ever. Join with the estimated 65,000 living alumni and countless friends all around the world to mark the occasion of the 90th birthday of International House on August 18, 2020! In the last issue of the I-House Times, the founding of the I-House movement was chronicled, and we shared the historic early efforts to build a foundation for global fellowship. In addition to highlighting the enduring mission of I-House, we shared exciting innovations in our program offerings and resident experience, our keen focus on intercultural leadership development, our efforts to foster diversity through expanded financial aid scholarships, and the ongoing preservation of the architectural heritage and critical physical infrastructure needs of our historic home. In this issue, we share some of the many noteworthy highlights since our opening in 1930. We invite you to contemplate and to share with us additional insights and memories as we prepare for the countdown to our 90th birthday and beyond! In 1930, the opening of I-House delivered a powerful message against racial segregation and bigotry – situated by design in its prominent location at the top of Bancroft in the heart of fraternity row. Protests and opposition from students and community members were insufficient to stop the groundbreaking coeducational, interracial living center and its promise of building mutual understanding and respect leading to a more peaceful world. The turbulence of the 1940s and World War II saw I-House keeping alive the hope for a world of friendship for all peoples, despite being rented out to the U.S. Navy as "Callaghan Hall" from 1943-46. The leadership skills of I-House residents envisioned by the founders of the I-House movement were boldly mobilized by Executive Director Allen Blaisdell to bring reason, empathy, and attention to the causes of anti-internment and the desegregation of dining establishments in Berkeley. After the war, the period leading into the 1950s has been affectionately called the "Golden Age" of International House – and golden memories are indeed abundant! International festivals, sock hops, conversations in the Café, mind-opening programs, and traditional Sunday Suppers continue today. Beloved Executive Director W. Sheridan "Sherry" Warrick made sure that free speech, social justice, and activism were alive, well, and transformative for I-House residents in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Nowhere else on campus – itself also a crucible for change – could one find more side- by-side diversity of thought, experience, and citizenship than among the fellow future leaders living, dining, and learning together at I-House. Beginning in 1963 and continuing for nearly two decades, the Lodestar retreats featured incredible conversation and discovery of self and the world. In 1969, students removed the doors separating the men's and women's lounges, and Sherry Warrick chose to "ignore" the transgression! Years of Peace Through Understanding 90 4 International House Times I-House Residents, 1950s I-House Front Steps, 1960s Sunday Supper, 1935

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