Gate House at Victoria University on the U of T, reportedly an inspiration for the toga party scenes in the 1978 frat classic Animal House, is going co-ed after going one prank too far.
Victoria President Paul Gooch wrote:
"Recent flagrant acts of defiance, and continued behaviour reasonably seen as disparaging and demeaning of women, will not be tolerated and must be met with firm response on the part of the University."
I managed to find a picture of Mr. Gooch online:
Here is an actual resident of Gate House:
And finally, a scene from a Gate House party:
From the Toronto Star article:
Recent incidents included putting a cooked pig's head in a women's washroom and building a 2.5-metre snow penis outside the residence.
The 28 students who lived in Gate House are being rehoused by U of T's Victoria University. Gate House is part of Burwash Hall, classic academic architecture with ivy-covered grey stone walls. It looks, said one student, "like Hogwarts."
Some residents were studying for exams yesterday as others packed. They believe the university is overreacting. Most didn't want their names used, fearing more trouble.
The penis was erected by first-year student Grayson Lee, 18, during Toronto's first snowfall last month.
"I was stressed from exams and looking for something to give everyone a laugh," Lee said. "I did it in the middle of the night. It lasted a couple of days. Someone pushed it over but I rebuilt it. Then they sent a bulldozer ..."
The pig's head was on the Gate House table at the college's annual festive dinner last month.
"Yes, some guys came drunk but we won the best-performance award for singing `We Wish You a Merry Christmas,'" said one student. "The head wound up in a women's washroom. It was a joke and we cleaned up afterwards. But then we all got a letter saying we were being moved."
Former prime minister Lester Pearson is a Gate House alumni. Actor Donald Sutherland, who played the pot-smoking prof in Animal House (Wikipedia link), lived in Scott House next door. According to the Star article, his recollections of the Gate House toga parties influenced the development of the Animal House script (as someone who was in university when Animal House was released, I can attest to the fact that it caused frat popularity to explode).
Calls to Gooch were referred to Jason Hunter, dean of students at Victoria.
"The penis ... the pig's head," he said, laughing. "It's hard to say what the final straw was. I've talked to residents who were happy to move out."
He said Gate House will become coed .
Lee said he and his friends "had good intentions. We're not misogynists. Ask my sister. She's at U of T and she's the one who told me, `You've got to get into Gate House.'
"And now Animal House is dead."
The zone of permissibility for immature behaviour appears to be shrinking. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
Addendum
If you can track it down, the Simpsons episode where Homer goes to college (written by Conan O'Brien!) is hilarious.
The context in relation to this post is that Homer's entire perception of college had been formed by watching frat comedies.
He spikes the punch at the freshman mixer, which triggers an emergency announcement. "Don't worry. Your parents have been called and will be here to pick you up shortly!" the students are told. They cheer in relief.
Homer keeps muttering about the "mean dean," when in reality, he's an ultra-cool, hackey-sack-playing guy who tells the students, "And if you ever want to jam, I used to to be bass player for the Pretenders!"
After causing a meltdown in his Nuclear Physics 101 class, Homer has this exchange with the dean:
Dean: Homer, no one blames you for the accident, we simply feel you
might benefit from outside tutoring. I researched these names
myself. [hands him a list]
Homer: [to himself] Yeah, you've won this round, Dean...but the war
isn't over. [exits]
[Dean's phone rings]
Dean: Hello?
Homer: [disguising his voice] Hello, Dean! You're a stupid-head.
Dean: Homer, is that you? [looks out his window]
Homer: [looks up, sees the Dean looking at him] Aah!