Blacker Hovse, or The Church and Hovse of Blacker (TTBOAI1), is one of the seven undergraduate houses at Caltech. It was built in the 1920s with the help of funds donated by Robert Roe Blacker, a trustee of Caltech.
One of the traditions of Blacker Hovse is the Hellride. In an act of defiance to not being allowed to play The Ride of the Valkyries, and to the constant announcements of fake Ditch Days by seniors, the freshmen living in a part of the Hovse named Hell (named for its cramped quarters and unbearable heat in the summer) would announce a Hellride. They then barricade the hallway and play The Ride at high volume, daring the upperclassmen to break in and drag everyone to be drenched in the showers.
Blacker house features halls painted as heaven, purgatory and hell (hell being rather hot due to the peculiarites of the construction). In the hell hall, an elevator switch is rigged to cause a red light to flash the prime numbers with the speed determined by the switch setting. Blacker also features a courtyard complete with a habitable treehouse and a giant tire swing, which daring house members can use to swing over a courtyard fire.
The war cry of Blacker House is γδβγ (Greek letters for gdbg, or God Damn Blacker Gang). The story is that in the 1970s, it was popular for Blacker students to climb on top of elevators and ride them. There was one time when the security went inside the elevator looking for the students, who were on top of the elevator. The security muttered, "God Damn Blacker Gang;" and the name stuck. Blacker students began signing GDBG or γδβγ on all their pranks.
The Alleys
Name
Rooms
First Floor:
Swamp
∞, 0–5
Kremlin
10–15
Vatican
22–26, MDH
Womb
36 (RA apartment)
Tunnel
37–46
Second Floor:
Pub
5A, 5–9
Upper P
16–21
Cannes
27–32
Heaven
47–51
Hell
52–62
Off Campus:
Munth
(255 S. Hill Ave.)
Munth 1–7
Batcave
(555 S. Catalina Ave.)
Batcave 1–5
Footnote
TTBOAI = the two being one and inseparable; Blacker tradition provides that whenever someone mentions "the Church and Hovse of Blacker", everyone else so responds.
External links
Official site (http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~blacker/)
Blacker's intimidating behavior toward his ex-wife, as testified to by Ginsberg and credited by the judge, could be rationally interpreted by the judge as "creat[ing] a picture of a volatile situation in which the possibility of physical abuse was present." Commonwealth v.
Blacker complains in his brief that the judge refused to allow his counsel to cross-examine Ginsberg regarding her allowing him to drive her and the children to visit her relatives on Christmas Eve but does not present a coherent argument that the judge's action was an abuse of discretion or otherwise erroneous.
Blacker advances no argument regarding the significance of Ginsberg's delay in seeking the order (a delay that can be regarded as understandable in light of the fact that she relied on Blacker's assistance with their disabled son, maintaining the house and, to a lesser extent, helping their daughter).
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