FROM THE HOCO
Well known in times past as artistic and individual, Adams is one of the few Houses that has managed to retain its old reputation with the advent of the random lottery. Adams was the hotbed of the protests during the Vietnam Era and continues to be the beacon of freedom and the physical center of undergraduate life on the campus. Described during its recent 75th Anniversary as a “den of sin and moral corruption” by Rev. Peter Gomes, Adams hosts a variety of events that show off its decadent and debauched nature. Drag Night is always popular and comes just before the sex-infused Sweet and Nasty Dance. When asked what they love most about the House, residents answers vary widely: the pool-turned-theater, the walls made of 24 karat gold, the luxurious and opulent accommodations, and the extra hours of sleep they get as a result of living so close to the Yard and classes. Perhaps it is also this extra sleep that allows Adams residents to have, according to John G. Palfrey ‘67, “more and better sex” than the other Houses. The most famous thing about Adams, however, is not the only golden cupola on campus or its proficiency in bed, but the gong hanging in the Dining Hall that is the target of all the other Houses’ envy. And if you’re lucky enough to live in Adams, rejoice because you have access to the most exclusive club on campus: the Adams Dining Hall.
THE BASICS
Dining Hall
The dining hall staff at Adams is known for letting students in a little late, and even pulling some food back out of the freezer. Sometimes, musicians play music on the piano located in the hall. Adams has heavy dining restrictions, which ensure that the it is never glutted with freshman or upperclassmen who don't want to make the trek home.
Sophomore Housing
Sophomore housing is pretty generous at Adams. Many sophomores end up in large triple “party suites” in Randolph. Housing in Claverly is also very nice. Most sophomores end up with “n” rooms for “n” people. According to a junior in Adams, the “square footage is two times as big as Kirkland's.”
Perks
Adams House is known for its arts spaces, some located in converted racquet courts, and the Adams House Pool Theater, which is located, unsurprisingly, in a converted swimming pool. The Molotov Café provides a late-night hangout spot. The Master's Residence, Apthorp House, hosts teas and other events for undergraduates. House-wide events include a Winter Feast with black-tie reading of Winnie the Pooh, Halloween Drag Night, Winter Waltz, and Spring Swing. Adams also has many tunnels. Student groups often rehearse and perform at Adams, and the practice rooms are in near-constant use.
— Sam Jack ‘11
LITERARY MATCHUP
Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities
Luxurious Adams House is the architectural alter ego of Wall Street bond trader Sherman McCoy. But take care, all ye “Masters of the Universe”: the more splendid your housing, the more likely it is that residents of other Houses will come after you with (metaphorical) pitchforks and torches.
NOTABLE ALUMS
Franklin Roosevelt, 32nd US President
Buckminster Fuller, inventor/philosopher/hopeless utopian
Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State for the Nixon administration
Chuck Schumer, Senator (D), New York
John Lithgow, actor
Andy Borowitz, co-creator, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Amy Brenneman, actress
X-MEN MATCHUP
White Queen
Who better to represent Adams House than Emma Frost, the elitist ice queen with the all-too-appropriate name? Part ally, part foe, the headmistress of Xavier Institute is the direct embodiment of Adams’s gilded walls and baroque sensibilities. Just when you think you’ve got her figured out, she’ll do a 180 on you and sleep with your straight-laced team leader.