Taylor, Bill. “Party’s over at U of T residence.” TheStar.com. 2007. Toronto Star. April 2008

    <http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/286958>.

    Gate House is a residence hall at the University of Toronto known for its juvenile pranks and behavior. Scenes of Delta’s toga party in Animal House represents this reputation, inspired by Donald Sutherland’s recounts of Gate House parties when he attended the university. After recent pranks, such as the construction of a 2.5-metre snow penis and the placement of a cooked pig’s head in a ladies bathroom, Gate House residents were kicked out and the building will undergo a major transformation. This is viewed as the death of Gate House, and of Animal House. The president is not only shutting down a residence, but a camaraderie that one member describes as unique. This will occur on the basis that acts carried out by residents were “disparaging and demeaning of women,” judged by the school’s president. The constructor of the snow penis denies this as their intention. “Ask my sister,” he says, “She’s at UofT and she’s the one who told me, ‘You’ve got to get into Gate House.’”
    This is how authority works on a campus these days. Though Animal House gives an image of this camaraderie, it ends with an unrealistic triumph that many students probably wish for Gate House. (It is not too late to happen.) It is possible that as they inspired Animal House, the film will motivate them to go out with a bang. It is hard to tell what a student’s limit is, because it is unknown whether the origin of such disturbing behavior was actuality or fiction. Furthermore, it is easy to laugh at a detestable character such as Dean Wormer who not only despises typical college life but also fails in suppressing it. However, no one wants to laugh at the president of the University of Toronto. He is actually getting away with ruining a college experience.