- Breckinridge House
Breckinridge House is currently a
dormitory serving theUniversity of Chicago . One of the smaller dormitories on campus, it houses on average 90undergraduate s, though has been known in the past to serve as the residence forgraduate students . A prominent feature of Breckinridge house, as with many other dorms of the University of Chicago, is its overwhelming number of single rooms, which comprise approximately 2/3 of the building.History of Breckinridge House
For more information, see
Sophonisba Breckinridge When Breckinridge House became part of the University of Chicago housing system, it originally was an all female dorm, and to this day retains many qualities of the days of old. It is currently the only dormitory with single sex floors, except for the ground floor, which is divided between the eastern and western wings. Only two other houses in the university housing system, both in Max Palevsky Residential Commons, have single sex floors.
During the later years of the
twentieth century , the University began to have a surplus of beds and sleeping space, so Breckinridge Hall was closed for several years, and the residents were sent to live in Hoover House ofMax Palevsky Residential Commons .Undergraduate Life
Residents (colloquially known as "Breckies") of Breckinridge House dine at the
Burton-Judson Courts , along with residents of theShoreland and Burton-Judson. This is sometimes seen as an inconvenience to residents of Breckinridge, as the dining hall is approximately a 10-15 minute walk from the dorm, and during the winter, many opt to order food rather than go to the dining hall.Undergraduates living in Breckinridge house are generally known for having a very tight sense of community, and this is indicative of late night soccer games on the Midway, love of lengthy philosophical discussions, and other social events that take place in either of the two main lounges.
There are several house traditions at Breckinridge. The most notable, perhaps, is "Sophie Day", named in honor of Sophonisba Breckinridge (who actually preferred the nickname "Nisba"), which is a cocktail party in the lounge of the dorm to which the residents invite their favorite
professor s or TAs. Another tradition more relevant to the day-to-day life of the dorm is the claim that the girls' bathroom ishaunted .Scav Hunt
For the
University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt , Breckinridge House has historically teamed up with Hoover house of Max Palevsky Residential Commons, due to the historical ties shared as a result of the relocation of ex-Breckies when the dorm was shut down.External links
http://breckinridge-house.uchicago.edu/ - Official website of Breckinridge House
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