An MIT Alumni Association Publication

Tech Reflection: Burton-Connor House, 1983

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A group of MIT students

Brian Moran ’85: “This picture was taken in the hallway of Burton 5 in April 1983―where I lived at the time. That thing on the wall to the right is a rotary-dial house telephone.

“I remember we were hanging out late one night when we somehow realized the Battle of Lexington reenactment was taking place the next morning in Lexington. We decided on a whim to pull an all-nighter and go to it. Then we had breakfast before coming back home. I don’t recall whether this was taken before or after. We were always joking around and were probably dared to try to reenact a scene from Yertle the Turtle. The photographer was likely Edith Wang ’85. I’m on the bottom, then above me is Lou-Ann Galibert ’85, then Lee Felshin ’83, and Frances Wu ’85 is at the top.

“At that time, there were two sides (maybe there still are) to Burton-Conner. Each floor had a different ‘flavor.’ I didn’t choose to live there as a freshman or choose a roommate—I didn’t know anyone coming to MIT from the Midwest. But, I quickly realized I’d found ‘my people’ at MIT. It really became home for a number of years, as I chose to stay on campus during the summers and was fortunate to be able to stay there while working in the Boston area between terms. Burton 5 was more a family group than a living group; we always did things together. Some of us still do!

“I remember coming to campus as a freshman. It was daunting to be thrown in with people you’d never met before. At the beginning of each subsequent school year, though, it was always a great time to see everyone return—to get involved with everything happening on campus and to look forward to those crispy-cool New England nights in the fall.

“I do also kind of remember the problem sets, but what I REALLY remember are the great times I had with friends. So many stories! So many pictures!”

Brian Moran lives in Seattle with his wife, Caroline. The couple has three kids. MIT continues to influence his life, Moran says, including his leisure time activities: After learning how to downhill ski at Sugarbush on a Burton 5 alumni ski trip in 1986, Moran has joined some sort of ski trip nearly every year, with two potential trips with Burton 5 alums in the works for 2023. Skiing is just one of the many things that bring him back east to see his fellow MIT alumni, he notes.

Comments

Christine Santos

Sat, 09/10/2022 9:15pm

My mom and dad (SM '29, Course I) lived in what would become Burton House when they were first married. They had to move out when the building was sold to MIT. Dad was very proud of his MIT connection, and I regret never asking him whether they lived there because it was so close to campus. (Daughter MCP'15 now has his brass rat.)