International House Berkeley

they were unable to return home or provide for themselves here. Rising above national conflicts, I-House set up a bureau to help these young people reach their homes as soon as Government regulations permitted. The bureau also helped them with their finances by locating employment opportunities. In 1943, International House was rented to the U.S. Navy and renamed "Callaghan Hall." It was occupied by 800-900 Navy students (nearly double the pre-war occupancy), most of whom were not allowed to use the elevators so that they could stay in shape! I-House, in turn, rented for its traditional students four or five fraternity houses and organized customary programs and a central eating facility. Moving to the fraternities caused I-House residents to give up the privacy of single rooms. Yet the sharing of rooms in close quarters seemed to promote greater understanding. Staff members during that period wrote in the 1945 International House Quarterly of special friendships formed across culture and race: A Chinese girl from Hawaii, a black girl from the deep South and a white girl requested to live together and set the pattern for other international rooms. For three terms, this first group lived together, and their room was always a center of activity. Following the War, the Navy returned the building to International House. But the large infusion of returning U.S. veterans threatened to force a reduction of the foreign student program at the University. International House helped alleviate the problem by doubling up veterans with foreign students at its own facility. This took pressure off the University to reduce the number of students from abroad. University President Sproul addressed a meeting of the National Association U.S. Naval students on the steps of "Callaghan Hall" circa 1944 of Foreign Student Advisors on this issue. Citing the example of International House Berkeley, he argued that it was not a question of the veterans or the foreign students, but both. 1946-1953 "The Golden Age" f this uplifting and welcome post-war period, an I-House Board member writes: The International House years 1946-53 are frequently referred to by residents of the time as 'The Golden Age.' The expression comes not from the fact that the residents of this period were rich – far from it. Many were World War II veterans living on the GI Bill of $125 per month, and even though a double room at I-House cost only $200 per semester, kitchen and dish washing jobs were at a premium and essential if these residents were to make it financially. The building itself was not 'Golden' in 194647. The Great Hall was torn-up for remodeling and off limits, and the west dining room was under construction, making the entire dining area unusable. Food cooked in the kitchen and carried to the auditorium was tepid. Diners sat on benches at picnic style tables. Only one entrée was offered and O 5

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