Baker College (Rice University)
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James Addison Baker College is one of nine residential colleges on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. Like the other eight residential colleges on the Rice campus, James Addison Baker College provides undergraduate residential and dining facilities, social organizations and student government, as well as faculty members and alumni and community associates.
[edit] History
Originally called East Hall, Baker was the first residential building on campus. Baker was established as one of the 5 original residential colleges at Rice in the fall of 1957. It was named in honor of Captain James Addison Baker, who served as the Rice Institute's first chairman on the Board of Trustees from June 24, 1891 until his death in 1941.
[edit] Traditions
Baker College is the home of "Baker 13." It is a semimonthly event occurring on the 13th and either the 26th or the 31st of each month. Students from all colleges gather and remove all clothing with the exception of shoes. Shaving cream is then applied to cover the body for modesty. They then proceed to tour all the colleges.
Another great Baker "tradition" is that of 4th Entrance, the college's prime gathering spot and watering hole. According to some, 4th Entrance attained its infamy and notoriety as a hotspot of excess alcohol consumption merely by chance, due to its position just one flight of stairs above the room where all the compulsory beer-pong tables were kept. When this venue was turned into what is now a quiet, carpeted study room, the beer-pong tables had to be put somewhere else. And due to the laziness of the Baker residents at the time, the most obvious place was just a flight up. And so, the residents of 4th Entrance that fateful year were bestowed the honor of being responsible for practically every social event of the year.
Since then, such great events as the Cockroach 500 races (a stroke of entrepreneurial genius on the parts of the residents of 4th one particular cockroach-infested year) have become the legends of 4th Entrance. Nowadays, a group of 8 freshmen is picked every year to maintain the 4th Entrance spirit on the first floor (affectionately referred to as Lower 4th), and a group of 8 upperclassmen who can guide them along the road of debauchery is picked to live right above, in Upper 4th. And so, the legend of 4th Entrance lives on, despite vigorous efforts on the part of university administration and campus police. For now, at least.
An older tradition at Baker, is the spring Shakespeare play. Fondly known as Bakershake, the annual play has been presented since 1970, since its founding by students Charles Becker and Ed Dickinson. Associated with the play, is an annual dinner, The Feast, where Baker and Jones seniors are invited to bring a guest to a Renaissance meal. In typical Renaissance fashion, there are no utensils, but plenty of wine. In later years, a Renaissance festival was added the weekend before the start of the play.
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