"Among the guys here, the average height and weight has dropped about three inches and 20 pounds, but most of it's in shoulder girth," says Valerie C. Nellen '91.

"I think the house used to be a little more fun, a little more wild," says Nellen.

"This house may have had a reputation then," adds Hopkins, "but you knew what that reputation was, and that's why you chose it."

Not all Kirkland residents are bothered by the changing house character. "There are fewer football players, it's noticeable," says John Marshall '91. "But I don't think the attitude is different. We're a lot more casual about the whole college thing."

Eliot House

A house known for its anything-but-casual atmosphere may be losing its distinctive environment, too. several residents of Eliot House agree that change has taken place there.

"It's a friendlier place now. You used to come into the dining hall and everyone would turn around and look at you," says James R. Burns '91.

Yet even if house friendliness seems to be a change for the better, non-ordered choice isn't necessarily the best idea, students say. "You shouldn't take people's choice away from them," Burns says.

"What's wrong with having places where people have an identity?" asks Burns. "Twenty years from now, they'll be saying, 'Adams House--it's just another house.'"

Diversification has not lessened house spirit, however, says Martin J. Valasek '91. "We have some sophomores who definitely wouldn't be classified as preppie. Although the image of each individual person has diversified," says Valasek, "I think the general spirit of the house has stayed."

One of Eliot's 1989-90 house co-chairs says that he has observed a decline in Eliot's volunteerism, however. "I definitely think there's a lot more apathy in the house," says Eric A. Levine '91. "There's a significant amount of apathy in the sophomore class. Pretty much all the committees are dominated by seniors," he says.

"I would hope that the house would maintain some identity. I think it's nice that the houses keep some kind of flavor," says Levine.

Dunster House

Dunster House, which does not have as strong a stereotype as Adams, Eliot or Kirkland, but is often described as politically left and highly environment-conscious, may be in transition as well, several residents say.

"The stereotype's just mutating," says Douglas D. Wolk '91. "What you need to do is look at the house T-shirts over a period of years, and see how stereotypes change." Dunster House T-shirts and suggestions for T-shirts have ranged anywhere from "PC-ness Envy" to "Dunster House...I live there," Wolk said.