U. celebrates 99th anniversary of Houston Hall

Amidst a scattering of red and blue balloons, the oldest student union in the country celebrated its 99th birthday yesterday. Fran Walker, director of Student Life, Activities and Facilities, began Houston Hall's anniversary celebration with a brief speech. "In our opinion this building has served us pretty well for 99 years," Walker said. "And that deserves a celebration." A small crowd of faculty and students gathered around a table laden with cake and ice cream as the Beatles' "Birthday" played in the background. The modest party was Houston Hall's first birthday party since the 1985 celebration marking its 90 years of service. But Walker said it paled in comparison to the bash planned for the building's centennial next year. "This is just a small preliminary to the big bash of next year," she added. "We plan to have a major celebration involving both the students and the faculty." The Houston Hall merchants contributed cards, balloons, coffee and cake to the celebration. In addition, the mall's stores held 99-cent specials to commemorate the event. The majority of the assembled students seemed most interested in snatching a piece of cake before leaving. "I just thought I'd get some cake and ice cream as long as I was here," College senior Dave Seminara said. Second-year graduate student Michael Roach seemed to sum up student sentiments. "[I'm here] for the cake," he said. The building was erected in 1895 with a financial contribution from Henry and Sally Houston in honor of their son who had attended the University. The annual conference of the Association of College Unions International will be held at Houston Hall next year -- the celebration of its 100th anniversary, Walker said.

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