Issue link: http://ihouse.uberflip.com/i/703833
11 fourth floors in the front of the building, while the male students, clearly a majority, were on six floors in the back of the building. There were a few single rooms for American graduate students, but most American students shared a room with someone from a foreign country. Bathrooms, including showers, were "across the hall," and laundry rooms were down in the basement. Each double room was very small, with just enough space for two single beds, two dressers, plus two back- to-back desks, and two chairs along the wall opposite the beds. The two students shared a small closet. One might marvel at how we all managed both our studies and our personal affairs in such cramped quarters without major confrontations. Meals were served cafeteria-style and shared in a large dining room with long tables, each seating six to eight people. Here, people from all nations, all colors and all religious beliefs, could sit at the same table, and engage actively, but civilly, in conversation about sensitive political matters – something that all of us were fervently hoping would soon be happening around the world. The Great Hall was the heart of I-House, an imposing kind of living room designed in the Spanish Renaissance style. All kinds of activities took place there, from the quiet reading of newspapers in a comfortable sofa corner to large-scale receptions, to rousing sing-alongs. This is where the barbershop quartet [The Jahdrools] – Elliott Castello, Bob Brewer, Doug Powell and Bob Hacker – was often entertaining us in an impromptu rendition of such tunes as "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." Many times a singing group would suddenly form at the foot of the Home Room steps, in the Great Hall, or on the Front Steps. In the same spontaneous and unrehearsed way, those singers would have a great time entertaining the rest of us during a half-hour of glorious singing. Then, there was the huge auditorium where a variety of large-scale activities took place, from the multicultural Spring Festival, to spring and fall formal dances, to the semi-formal monthly Sunday Suppers. And, finally, there was the cafe, where students could sneak away in the evening for a cup of coffee and a short respite from studying. For many years, both before and after my stay there, Allen Blaisdell was the director of International House. I remember him as a warm and compassionate person, who in his quiet way made us all feel welcome and cared for. He had a very capable staff, all of whom were supportive of students and helped make I-House seem, in a way, like a large extended family. Etelle Carlson was in charge of events and programs outside the House and fostered community relations of all kinds. She was a "mother hen" who, in the fall, let students come to her house every Saturday afternoon to watch the football games from her large living room window – which happened to offer an almost perfect view right onto the football stadium. Mrs. Sanford was the