Kirkland

Photographs By Matthew D Moellman

A community so close it’s practically incest. You might have heard whispers of Incest Fest from your friends or listened to “We Didn’t Start The Kirkland” multiple times. But do you really know about K-House?

By the Numbers
By Kamara A. Swaby, Crimson Staff Writer
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354 Residents

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8 HoCo Members

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3 Ten-Man Suites

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Over 50% participation in Secret Santa

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$38,950 HoCo Budget\xa0

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Housing
By Kamara A. Swaby, Crimson Staff Writer
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Students coming into Kirkland are randomly sorted into either the house, the annex or the floor of DeWolfe. You can live with up to seven other people for your sophomore year. Most sophomores end up getting n or even n-1 housing and possibly walkthrough rooms. Incoming freshmen should not expect getting n+1 housing until their senior year (and even that is not guaranteed).

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The Community
By Kamara A. Swaby, Crimson Staff Writer
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Kirkland House is home to many things. It has two music practice rooms, a media room and a community kitchen. The dining hall also contains many tables that only serve four people, making meals there more intimate. The d-hall however does not have napkin dispensers on tables due to the belief that it will ruin the beauty of the room. Even without readily available napkins, the dhall is the place to connect with your housemates. \xa0\xa0

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The House is also home to many traditions. The most infamous one is Incest Fest, ritually held in B-51/B-52 every winter following Winter Formal. The name implies it all, and the annual morning-after brunch is just as exciting as the Fest itself. \xa0

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Another tradition is Secret Santa week, where participants are matched to another Kirkland resident for a gift exchange. There are six levels of intensity, so one person might receive chocolates while another may end up with a room redecoration. Friends will be jealous of the random songs or the blind date set ups that the event inspires. Boat Club is weekly tradition at Kirkland where students can go mingle and eat homemade cookies on Sundays.

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Kirkland chiefly claims its space as the House with most house spirit. Hoco Co-Chair Kate A. Buellesbach ‘16 remarked, “The biggest thing that surprised me coming here was the community. It’s not just the students. Everyone is so kind and welcoming and is easy to know everyone in the house” \xa0

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Being in Kirkland House means being in a place where celebrities have walked through. It was the House of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. You might be even able to live where he once did and be able to recreate a scene from The Social Network. The House is also the place where the lunch for Cultural Rhythms is held. Kirklanders enjoyed being 2 feet away from celebrities like Shakira, LL Cool J and most recently Eva Longoria.

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But the most famous people in the House have got be the House Masters Tom C. and Verena A. Conley. Often described as “eccentric” and “kind”, the pair are part of the welcoming nature of the House dynamic. Kirklanders have first dibs on the wine seminar taught by House Master Conley, where students (21 and over) get to taste and learn how to be a wine connoisseur. The masters also own two Bernese Mountain dogs, Max and Bella. While the house may be small, these dogs are surely not.

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The Critiques
By Kamara A. Swaby, Crimson Staff Writer
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Following the trend of house closeness, you will be in rooms that are relatively smaller than those of other Houses. Make sure you are happy to live in close proximity to your roommates. Being a part of Kirkland also means being a part of a tight knit community that is often referred to as “cultish.” If that is not your thing, you may not be cut out for Kirkland.

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