Eliot Has Sophisticated, Diversified Atmosphere

The relationship between Eliot and the other seven Houses is similar to that between Harvard and the rest of the Ivy League. Eliot is just a little more conservative, a little more diversified, and the atmosphere in the dining room a little more sophisticated.

Perhaps it is this dining room atmosphere which sums up the House most completely. While the common room is usually deserted and most people keep the doors of their own rooms firmly closed, the Eliot man makes up for this by spending long hours over his meals.

Since the food is only average, better than the Union but worse than Adams, the reason for these dining table marathons must be the conversation. And the high level of conversation is n turn due both to Eliot's excellent tutorial staff, which includes a high proportion of stimulating and experienced members of the faculty, and to the Admissions Office's favorite platitude, "a wide range of achievements," among the undergraduates themselves.

This distribution of undergraduate interest has the additional effect of preventing Eliot from becoming an anonymous, amorphous mass. Its members all have their own circles of friends, but there is no pressure on making a close friend of a next-door neighbor merely because of his contiguity or saying hello to someone from tutorial merely because he is one's tutorial.

If the Eliot man, then, chooses relative individualism, he still feels an intense pride in his Hose, a pride that manifests itself not in pep rallies for the Elephants' football team, but in a quiet confidence in the House's excellence an leadership.

Strong motivation for the spirit is provided by Master John H. Finley, Jr. '25 and Senior Tutor John J. Conway, two men whose wholly different characters complement each other perfectly. Finley is renowned for the speed with which he becomes familiar with everyone in the House, for his ebullient personality, and for his enthusiasm and interest. This combination of characteristics serves to solidify an otherwise loosely-tied group.

Conway, nonetheless praiseworthy, achieves the same effect with his quiet sincerity and equally genuine interest. These two are backed by a very fine tutorial staff slanted towards the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The physical features of Eliot are good. Besides being the largest of the Houses, it also has the most spacious rooms. The library is well-stocked, with particularly good English Literature, French Literature, Classics, and Fine Arts collections and the darkroom facilities are excellent. There is a chapel, the usual pool and ping-pong tables, and a grill room that saves the hungry the trouble of walking to the Square between 5 p.m. and midnight.

The house is strong academically, but even stronger intellectually; there were five Eliot Rhodes scholars in residence at Oxford with Master Finley in 1955. Artistically, the House Dramatic Society scored a major success with its February production of Richard II, and is now rehearsing The Merchant of Venice. An Elizabethan comedy is the highlight of the annual Christmas dinner, and there are several practice rooms for pianists.

Few Eliot men considered any other House at the end of their Freshman year; virtually none would consider any other House now.

For Those Interested

Preliminary information indicates there will be 145 vacancies in Eliot next year including doubles, triples, and quadruples. Price range between $105-205.