Aaron

Aaron

House President: Zach Stuart
House Website

Aaron House is a men's residence hall house that was among the first houses to be named in October 1962. The name refers to the Book of Mormon's Aaronic priesthood (a name that was derived from Aaron, the brother of Moses in the Bible). The name was suggested by Neil Francis and was selected by house members during a contest. Aaron House was located in Herald Hall during its initial year under house president James Warnock.

Since the first year, the house mascot has been the Knight, which was chosen for its connotations of courage and strength. Aaron's members first became Knights at a "Knight's Night Out" function, which became an annual function involving formal induction of new house members in a knighting ceremony.

The initial house colors were black (symbolizing chivalry), white (symbolizing purity), and red (symbolizing courage and bravery). The house once had a newspaper, The Aaron News, the first issue of which was dated December 13, 1962, under editor Cal Boardman. The Lance, an Aaron-Audentia newspaper, was first published on November 7, 1963, under editor Leon England and co-editor Neil Francis.

After several years at various locations, Aaron moved to the fourth floor of Gunsolley Annex (later Graybill Hall) in the fall of 1976. Later during that school year, college administrators decided to permanently leave all men's houses at their current floors. In the fall of 1997, Aaron relocated to the first two floors of Gunsolley Hall, trading sites with Stewart Manor. This move was made in part due to the feeling that Aaron's strong sense of identity would have the best chance of unifying a two-floor house.

The familiar red Aaron jacket, featuring the word "Aaron" in large, cursive white lettering on the back, has remained essentially unchanged since its introduction in 1977-78. Brian Carr designed the knight, armor, and shield for the jacket's front logo. Solah copied the jacket's design when it became Aaron's sister house the following year.

One of Aaron's most notable traditions has been its homecoming sidewalk rope climb, which was first staged in 1979. Aaron is the first house that establish an endowed scholarship fund. The idea began during the 1987-88 school year under house president Charles Wilmot. Two years later, house members wrote and phoned their alumni to raise funds for scholarships that are awarded to current Aaron House members.