The Magical Campus of Caltech

News

If you stroll past the Olive Walk on a sunny Pasadena day, you might see something magical in the air. Is it the scent of freshly pranked upperclassmen? The echo of the Fleming cannon? Or perhaps it’s just the spirit of Caltech’s brand of wizardry—a house system that would make even J.K. Rowling jealous. At Caltech, the hallowed tradition of “houses” isn’t just about where you sleep; it’s about forging family, engineering pranks, and unleashing a level of creativity that would make even Dumbledore drop his lemon drop.

But what if we took things one step further? Imagine blending the best of Hogwarts—the Sorting Hat, the House Cup, the Triwizard Tournament—with the wild, inventive, and occasionally soaked (thanks, Avery Assassins) energy of Techers. Welcome to Caltech’s House System: Harry Potter 2.0, now featuring the ultimate House Championship.

Sorting, Tech-Style: The Rotation Ritual

Forget the Sorting Hat. At Caltech, you embark on “Rotation”—a week-long, turbocharged round of dinners, desserts, and social events in all eight houses. Instead of whispering your fate in your ear, the process lets you sample every flavor of house life, from Blacker’s cryptic mischief to Avery’s water gun warfare. When the Fleming cannon finally booms across campus, it’s not a call to arms—it’s the moment you discover your new home, your “family,” and, inevitably, your lifelong rivals.

The Houses: If the Hogwarts Founders Were Engineers and Scientists

A condensed 8-bit map of the Caltech campus created during the virtual Rotation of 2021. Image from Caltech News.

Blacker House: The Slytherin of Schemes and Genius

  • Color: Black | Mascot: Mole
  • Signature Magic: The infamous “Hellride” (think Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” at ear-splitting volume while barricaded in a hallway), heaven/hell-themed corridors, and elevator pranks that would make Peeves proud. Their mysterious “γδβγ” slogan has even stowed away on the Curiosity Mars rover.
  • Fun Fact: “God damn Blacker gang”—a phrase uttered by a flummoxed security guard—became an enduring emblem, now immortalized in Greek letters.
  • Wizard Comparison: Slytherins wish they were this clever (and mischievous).

Dabney House: Hufflepuff Meets Punk Rock

  • Color: Green | Mascot: Darb
  • Signature Magic: The annual Millikan Pumpkin Drop—frozen pumpkins plunging from Caltech Hall, hoping for a triboluminescent glow. “DEI” graffiti is everywhere, from video games to lunar surfaces. The Chouse (student-run coffee house) keeps the house buzzing with caffeine and conversation. Anti-authoritarian streak included!
  • Fun Fact: Once protested Nixon with a banner visible from space (okay, maybe not quite, but it was legendary).
  • Wizard Comparison: Hufflepuff, but with a rebellious streak and an espresso habit.

Fleming House: Gryffindor, but with a Real Cannon (I asked around and they told me that Fleming must be Gryffindor, the arrogant house 🙁)

  • Color: Red | Mascot: Flem
  • Signature Magic: The Fleming cannon was fired for milestones, parties, and occasionally to remind everyone who’s boss. Fierce is in interhouse sports and even more vicious in pranks (MIT, beware).
  • Fun Fact: The cannon has been “borrowed” by MIT and Harvey Mudd, but always returns home—sometimes with a story (and a gold-plated MIT ring).
  • Wizard Comparison: Gryffindors with extra decibels and a penchant for friendly warfare.

Ricketts House: Slytherin/Ravenclaw with a Side of Pyromania

  • Color: Maroon | Mascot: Skurve
  • Signature Magic: Once famous for courtyard firepots and the legendary brakedrum contest between classes. Murals abound—a tradition rivaled only by their fondness for inclusivity.
  • Fun Fact: The only house that doesn’t offer social membership. Once a Skurve, always a Skurve.
  • Wizard Comparison: Slytherin, but with more fire and zero tolerance for cliques.

Lloyd House: Gryffindor’s Golden Pranksters

  • Color: Gold | Mascot: Lloydie
  • Signature Magic: The “Lloyd Lights”—a nine-story Christmas tree of lights cascading down Caltech Hall. Notorious for the “Great Rose Bowl Hoax” and for transforming the Hollywood sign.
  • Fun Fact: Alleged to have run a clandestine LSD lab in the 1970s (purely folklore, of course).
  • Wizard Comparison: Gryffindors with a holiday decorator’s soul, a prankster’s heart, and a flair for epic mischief.

Page House: The Slytherclaw of Shenanigans

  • Color: Blue | Mascot: Page Dude
  • Signature Magic: Greased Frosh Races (Crisco, Beckman Lawn, and glory), a pirate radio station, and the legendary blue-painting of Fleming’s cannon.
  • Fun Fact: The only things off-limits for pranks are the pool table felt and a Nixon poster—sacred relics of Page.
  • Wizard Comparison: Slytherins and Ravenclaws united in cunning, creativity, and a refusal to take anything too seriously.

Venerable House: The Artistic and Philosophical Ravenclaws

  • Color: Navy Blue | Mascot: Ven
  • Signature Magic: OPI (Our Private Interhouse), where the house transforms into Mayan temples, Moulin Rouge windmills, or the Roman Colosseum. Murals everywhere (including a two-story astronaut), and Halloween zombie sieges on Dabney.
  • Fun Fact: Bread-throwing and “floating” rule-breakers at dinner are standard fare.
  • Wizard Comparison: Ravenclaws with paint-stained robes and a penchant for spectacle.

Avery House: Hufflepuff, but with Water Guns and Open Arms

  • Color: Purple | Mascot: Averite
  • Signature Magic: “Avery Assassins”—a 36-hour campus-wide water gun game that rivals Dumbledore’s Army for strategy. Annual beach trips, open kitchen, and murals on canvas (so even Filch can’t complain).
  • Fun Fact: Membership is open—just collect ten signatures and you’re in.
  • Wizard Comparison: Hufflepuffs with super-soakers and a beach house.

Bechtel Residence: The Room of Requirement

  • Not technically a house, but… Bechtel is the all-welcoming, ever-adaptable suite-style haven. If you can imagine it, you can probably find it in Bechtel.
  • Wizard Comparison: The Room of Requirement, minus the vanishing cabinets.

You belong in this story no matter who you are or what you bring. So come as you are, do what you love, and watch your house rise because every Techer’s magic truly counts here at Caltech.