"It took a lot of nerve, but they had tremendous support from Adams House tutors and residents," Kiely says.

But in addition to social and political activism, Adams residents have been on the forefront of artistic innovation.

"In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Peter O. Sellar '58 formed a circle of actors and directors which acted as the catalysts of experimental drama," Kiely says.

This experimental drama movement led to the creation of the Pool Theater, one of Adams House's most striking and unusual features to this day.

Kiely says Sellar organized several shows, including "Antony and Cleopatra," that were set in oceanic locales conducive to being performed in the Adams House pool.

Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III says he recalls the innovative nature of Adams House productions during this period.

"I remember Sellar did a play on rafts," Epps says. "His experimental drama was always unusual."

Over time, the acts grew wilder and the clothing got skimpier, culminating in several productions during the mid 1960s that took the campus by storm.

Epps says "The Beggar's Opera," starring John A. Lithgow '67, was only one of many smash hits the Adams House theatrical team produced during this period.

The pool eventually broke down, and in late 1993, it was re-opened as an experimental theater.

The advent of randomization, Kiely says, will have a tremendous impact on the character of Adams, although he cannot determine precisely what will change.

But Kiely says he hopes that regardless of the composition of the student population in Adams, the tradition of open-mindedness will continue.