Torchbearer: Winter 1996

New I-House Opens

The new International House is open to everyone.

Would you like to go to Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights? Or a screening of The Lion King? Or a meeting of the International Women's Club on what it's like to grow up in Britain? Or a performance of Pancho Sanchez, Latin percussionist?

If so, you need only find your way to the new International House at 1623 Melrose Ave., across from Hodges library, where these and similar activities will take place every day.

The almost-30-year-old organization has been camping out in Melrose Hall since losing its large, pre-war home on Cumberland Avenue to the expanding Law School. The new building will be formally dedicated in February. It was funded with student activity fees, and Dr. James Gehlhar, director of the Center for International Education, wants to make sure that all students get their money's worth.

"The philosophy of the International House has changed over the years. It's no longer a place only for people from other countries, but also a place whose mission includes bringing Americans and other nationalities together," he says.

Gehlhar says he hopes the house's location in the center of campus will draw in as many people as possible.

"We'll have coffee and tea for everyone. We want to make the building welcoming and accessible to everyone of every culture and age -- faculty, staff, and students," he says.

People visiting the new International House will have plenty of room to spread out, says Joan Lindsey, house coordinator.

The 10,000-square-foot brick building has a full kitchen, a dining room, library, TV room, large ballroom, patio, and several small gathering rooms.

Which is appropriate because Lindsey envisions the International House as a "gathering place" for anyone on campus who is either homesick for or intrigued by a foreign culture.

"We want everyone on campus to feel welcome. You don't have to be from somewhere other than the U.S. to join us at the International House," she says.