Tech Reflection: Burton-Connor 1975–76

Adam Schneider ’78: “This photo was taken sometime in the 1975-76 academic year in our dorm suite at Burton-Conner. We were in Conner Suite 511. We had just made scratch pizza and were scarfing it down.

“The photo shows, from left, Michael Dinovi ’77; Stephen Pratt ’78, SM ’80; Mike Royal ’76; Gerald Landau ’77; and me. Dinovi, Royal, and I lived in 511; Pratt and Landau also lived on Connor 5.

“Burton was the first MIT dorm with suites, each of which came with shared kitchens and bathrooms. The suites provided natural areas to meet, and at least on Connor 5 the doors were always open. People routinely intermingled, and our floor (and suite) was a pretty friendly place.

“There was a strong culture at Burton-Connor, and we had a great group. Connor 5 had a series of intramural teams—I think we attempted to compete in basketball, football, and baseball. I don’t think we ever won anything, but it was fun to try.

“Given the suites, one of the things we particularly enjoyed doing was cooking and eating together. Since Burton had recently been renovated, the suite kitchens were new and the dining hall at Burton was not in use. Since the main MIT dining halls were pretty far away, everyone was always cooking something. In addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we made pumpkin pies for Halloween, holiday cookies, and—in this case—freshly baked pizza in the kitchens in the suites.  

“There were many cooking adventures. Most of us had never lived independently. We learned that you had to clean the ovens! Who knew? And since we regularly cleaned them every two years or so, that meant a suite evacuation as noxious gas poured out.

“But all in all, it was great fun. Making meals forced folks to work together, share chores, and led to a very friendly time. There were only a few ‘what happened to my banana’ issues.

“In fact, when we were snowed in at MIT for the Blizzard of 1978, we had no choice but to be creative—we ran out of food. We took sleds and hiked to the local grocery to buy provisions, and then we cooked for the dorm. Everything at MIT was closed. We mostly bought turkeys, as they had the most food ‘mass,’ and all the fixings. Good times.”

Adam Schneider of Boca Raton, Florida, and New York City is a strategy consultant with over 40 years of experience in financial services. A retired partner of Deloitte and of Oliver Wyman, Schneider is an angel investor, serves on multiple corporate boards and in advisory roles, and is on the board of Space Center Houston, NASA’s STEM education and visitor center in Houston, Texas. He is the president of MIT’s Class of 1978, and earlier this year was honored along with the Class of 1978 45th Reunion Program and Gift Committees with the MIT Alumni Association’s Great Dome Award in recognition of distinguished service.

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