How do students live in Delft? Delta takes a peek inside student homes. Today The White House, where ‘President’ means roommate and the common room is known as the Oval Office. This all-male fraternity house brews its own beer. And for residents who lack action between the sheets, ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ is quite a literal thing.
(From left to right) Fraternity members Arnoud, Bart and Alex in their 'oval office'. (Photo: Chris Reichard)
“When you stand on the door step, the name of our house is immediately visible,” says Management of Technology student, Arnoud Nederpel (23), referring to the imposing, white front of the building. In a fire in 1536, three quarters of Delft city went up in smoke. “This house was the only one still standing in the street. The skeleton is partly from the 13th century and this staircase might not be the most beautiful in the area, but it sure is the oldest. Sometimes we even have Architecture students over to check out the place.”
Brewery
“And in this bed lies the Panda,” says Arnoud, opening one of the bedroom doors and pointing to a soft toy. BioMechanical Design student, Bart Helwig (25), says “The President who has gone without sex for the longest period of time gets marked as the panda. He has to make coffee in the mornings and in the evenings.” How do the students keep tabs on this? “There’s a list hanging in the kitchen. We are brutally honest.” Before the building became a fraternity house in the 1950s, it was, among other things, a beer brewery. A tradition that the presidents continue in the boiler room. Bart: “This is the perfect place to ferment the brew for two weeks at a constant temperature of 24 degrees Celsius. It is a dark blond beer, with an infusion of hibiscus and orange peel. We make about 300 beers a year.” (Story continues below the pictures)
The President who has gone without sex for the longest period of time gets marked as the panda.Small but good
With five residents, The White House is a relatively small student house. Something which has advantages as well as disadvantages according to the lads. Two rooms will be available this school year. Complex Systems Engineering & Management student, Alex de Jong (27) explains. “Because of new study regulations, people often wait until their second year to join a fraternity. At that point, many have already found housing.” Bart: “That makes it harder to find someone who fits in with us.” Arnoud adds “But all the more fun when it does work out. You get to know each other better in a small house. And when you move out, the friendship is not suddenly thrown out the window. For example, we had 17 people during our Christmas dinner.”
- Type of house: all male
- Residents: five
- Associated society: Virgiel
- Location: Oosteinde
- Room size: 12m2 – 36m2
- Room rate: EUR 280 – 390
Do you have a question or comment about this article?
delta@tudelft.nl
Comments are closed.