Hart House is a student activity centre at the University of Toronto. Established in 1919, it is one of the earliest North American student centres. Hart House was initiated and financed by Vincent Massey, an alumnus and benefactor of the university, and was named in honour of his grandfather, Hart Massey. The Gothic-revival complex was the work of architect Henry Sproatt, who subsequently designed the campanile at its southwestern corner, Soldiers' Tower.
Conceived as a place for cultural, intellectual and recreational functions alike, Hart House contains a range of facilities that include a gymnasium, swimming pool, archery range, theatre, art gallery, reading and sitting rooms, lounges and reception areas, offices, library, music rooms, conference and study rooms, restaurant and auditoriums. Hart House is organized into standing committees composed of students and faculty, and is governed by a similarly-composed board of stewards and the warden.
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History
As an undergraduate, Vincent Massey read history and English at Victoria University in the University of Toronto, and then completed graduate studies in history at Balliol College, Oxford. Upon his return to Canada, he sought to bring a unifying, communitarian spirit to the highly independent colleges of the University of Toronto, inspired by the social and recreational life that he observed at Oxford's colleges. Massey, who in 1908 had become a trustee of his family estate, offered to establish a structure devoted to extracurricular activities at the university, an idea that was readily embraced by the university's governors.
When construction began in 1911, the trustees of the Massey estate had budgeted a significant amount of $300,000 for the project. Working without a master plan, Massey and his architect continued to adopt new ideas and expand existing ones as construction progressed. By the time of completion in 1919, the cost of the building had soared to $2 million.[1]
Massey's donation stipulated that the building was to be used only by men, as he felt that a coeducational facility would ruin the sense of collegiality that he hoped to create. Beginning in the 1950s, this restriction created much controversy as women demanded admission. Massey stood by his original conditions, however. After his death the Stewards and administrators of Hart House had Massey's deed of gift altered to allow women to become members. Since 1972, women have been able to fully participate in the House's activities.
During John F. Kennedy's lecture at Hart House in the fall of 1957 he is reported to have said "I personally rather approve of keeping women out of these places" and went further onto remark "Its a pleasure to be in a country where women cannot mix in everywhere" (ignoring the female students who picketed outside with signs proclaiming "Unfair!" and "We want Kennedy!").[citation needed]
Governance
Hart House is a unique organization in many ways, not in the least because of its student-centred governance structure. The House is run almost completely by student committees composed in the majority of undergraduates, and also of graduate students, senior members, and staff. Two levels of committees operate in the House: standing committees and club committees. Standing committees have broad mandates for the general operation of the House. Before 2008, these committees were elected in open campus-wide elections widely publicized to the entire campus. This practice has recently been abandoned.,[2] Students are currently subject to "taxation without representation" under this new scheme.[citation needed]
The House Committee, for instance, is responsible for the daily governance and administration of the House; the Literary and Library Committee oversees the House's library, literary events, speaking series, and other related activities; and so on. The club committees are responsible for the operation of the various clubs, organizations, and groups the House facilitates. These include, but are not limited to, an archery club, a scuba club, a Diplomacy group, and a host of musical ensembles. Overall responsibility for House governance and operations rest with the Board of Stewards, a student-majority committee composed of the secretaries of the standing committees and various other interested parties from the University and the community. Most policy changes are made, however, by paid staff and rubber-stamped by a Board of Stewards increasingly distant from student opinion on campus.[citation needed] The lack of participation in student elections allows for this system to continue.[citation needed]
At first glance this governance structure can seem cumbersome. Such a setup is important, however, because all of the House's operating funds come from a yearly student levy. The University of Toronto provides no financial assistance to the House and therefore adequate and involved student representation is considered essential to maintain the vibrant and welcoming atmosphere the House is known for. Most students, however, are unaware how the student levy is spent and few take any interest in the governing body which spends it.[citation needed]
The Warden of Hart House is Dr. Louise Cowin, who succeeded Margaret Hancock in July 2007.
Clubs and activities
Hart House Debating Club
In 1986, the University of Toronto Debating Union—a university-wide debating club dating back to the 1940s—approached the Hart House Debates Committee and came to an agreement that secured support for the Union from Hart House. The organization, renamed the Hart House Debating Club, has ever since been the primary debating club at the University of Toronto open to all students from all colleges and campuses. Since its inception, the Hart House Debating Club has played host to some of the most prominent figures of the day, including several Canadian Prime Ministers, foreign ambassadors, and other notable international statesmen . Moreover, the Club has hosted dozens of prestigious tournaments, including the National, North American, and World Championships.
Literary and Library Committee
This committee oversees many of the literary events that Hart House sponsors throughout the school year. These include the writing groups le mot juste and the "Algonquin Square Table", as well as the "Hart House Review". The Literary and Library Committee regularly hosts a writer-in-residence who both leads workshops and reviews students' writings. The Literary and Library Committee also runs a library, located on the second floor of Hart House. It features a variety of books for in-house research and leisure reading, and often is the venue for public readings (also coordinated by the Literary and Library Committee).
Hart House Review
- Main article: Hart House Review
Hart House Review (HHR) is a Canadian literary magazine / literary journal managed by student members of Hart House at the University of Toronto and published by Coach House Press. The magazine is best known for prose, poetry and photography contributed by emerging writers and artists in Canada. The likes of Rohinton Mistry , Camilla Gibb , Lynn Crosbie and many other notable names in Canadian literature have been published in the HHR during their university years.HHR also regularly organizes literary events which feature established and emerging members of the writing and publishing world.
Lecture series
The Hart House Lecture is an annual public lecture series in historic Hart House at the University of Toronto. Delivered by a lecturer chosen by a committee of students, staff and alumni, the Hart House Lecture generally takes place in late March in the Great Hall of Hart House.
The Lecture Series was launched in 2001, with the vision of establishing an annual public lecture in Hart House. Organized by students, the Hart House Lecture Series aspires to ignite public conversation and debate. The lecture takes issues identified by youth to a national audience. For Hart House, a historic gathering place at the University and a home for debate, discussion and dissent, the lecture is a fitting medium through which the House can nurture civic leadership and participation.
The lecturer for 2007 was McGill Professor Darin Barney, who delivered a lecture titled "One Nation Under Google: Citizenship in the Technological Republic". The lecture examined the relationship between technology and citizenship.
The lecturer for 2008 was Warchild Canada founder and U of T Professor Samantha Nutt lecturing on "The world is Our Backyard: Individual Responsibility for a Global Society". Dr. Nutt will speak about our role as privileged North Americans and our ability to effect change in war-torn countries.
Past lecturers have included Michael Geist (2006), David Bornstein (2005), Jennifer Welsh, (2004), Alan Lightman (2002) and Pico Iyer (2001).
Copies of some of the past lectures are available here.
Theatre
- Main article: Hart House Theatre
Hart House Theatre is often referred to as the cradle of Canadian Theatre. Opening in November 1919 the Art Deco theatre on the University of Toronto's St. George campus quickly became a leader in the Canadian “Little Theatre” movement of the 1920s and 1930s. Hart House Theatre cultivated and featured some of the country’s finest actors, directors, playwrights and designers of the Pre-World War II era, including Raymond Massey , Dora Mavor Moore , Lloyd Bochner , Lawren Harris, Arthur Lismer , Wayne and Shuster and Merrill Denison . After the war, Hart House Theatre, under the direction of Robert Gill, became an extracurricular student theatre and for twenty years turned out a new generation of stage professionals. William Hutt , Don Harron, Kate Reid , David Gardner , Arthur Hiller, Donald Sutherland , Norman Jewison and Lorne Michaels all got their start treading the boards on the Hart House stage.
By the mid 1960's the theatre joined the world of academia with the creation of the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama. A new generation of students combined dramatic literature with practical theatre experience and learned from and contributed to the vibrant Toronto theatre scene of the 1970s. Today Hart House Theatre is the focal point for the performing arts at the University of Toronto. With over a thousand students participating each year in its extra-curricular season of drama, dance, music and film, Hart House Theatre continues to influence each new generation (Source: Hart House Theatre). The performances almost often well reviewed by art critics, and sold out.
Other Features
Apart from the regular exhibitions held at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, the building houses an art collection that is valued at over CDN $10 million. The captivating beauty of Hart House has made it a popular location for nuptials, professional conferences and other highbrow events. Hart House also owns and manages a 150-acre (0.61 km2) farm in the Caledon Hills on the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment. The farm has long been a popular retreat.
Notable visitors
Since 1919, nearly all visitors to Hart House had signed its guest book. In 2007, the original leather-bound book finally ran out of pages and had to be replaced. Several individuals have signed the guest book more than once during separate visits to Hart House. Notable visitors include:
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Ronald Reagan
- John F. Kennedy
- Thomas Mann
- Stephen Leacock
- Henry Moore
- Seamus Heaney
- Octavio Paz
- John Kenneth Galbraith
- Christopher Hitchens
- Edmund Hillary
- King George VI
- Queen Elizabeth II
References
- Montagnes, Ian (1969). An Uncommon Fellowship: The Story of Hart House. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0802016537.
- Kilgour, David (1999). A Strange Elation: Hart House, The First Eighty Years. Toronto: Hart House. ISBN 978-0772706492.
- ^ Faught, Brad (1999). "The House Is Where the Heart Is". University of Toronto Magazine (Autumn 1999). http://www.magazine.utoronto.ca/99autumn/f01.htm.
- ^ Section 4, Board of Stewards Minutes January 15, 2009 http://www.harthouse.utoronto.ca/userfiles/minutes_Jan09.pdf
External links
Coordinates: 43°39′49.5″N 79°23′40″W / 43.66375°N 79.39444°W
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