The college has six residential halls for students - Selaiyur Hall, St. Thomas's Hall, Bishop Heber Hall, Martin Hall (earlier known as the Women's Hostel), Margaret Hall and Barnes Hall.
St. Thomas's Hall St. Thomas's hall was built in 1937, named after St. Thomas who brought Christianity into India. The first warden of St. Thomas's Hall was Rev. J.R. Macphail and the first general secretary was A. Mohammed Nabi. The Hall constitution was drafted in 1950–51 on the basis of the Indian Constitutional and Parliamentary system, administered by resident students (called the 'general body') who elect representative leaders holding eight ministerial positions and the post of the Speaker. The hall's current ‘E' block was earlier a campus school known as St. Thomas's Annexe. The Hall Emblem is represented using various elements that describe foundational and philosophical bases of the Hall: in the top portion, a lamp signifying enlightenment, divided by a cross signifying the Christian foundation of the college. On the top left: the crucified palm of Jesus Christ. On the top right: An elephant reaching out to a palm branch, signifying striving for higher ambition. On the bottom left: Maize, signifying India's reliance on agriculture. On the bottom right: A dove, signifying peace. The hall organizes an annual dance competition, named Utsav. Hall publications include
USHA, the hall magazine and
Tribune, the Hall newsletter. The hall has Table Tennis tables, Basketball grounds gymnasium, library, and entertainment room. The hall motto is
"For God and Country." Bharathi Mandram organizes debates, lectures, seminars to promote Tamil culture while
Jatra is the theatre society. The St. Thomas's Hall's Literary Programme organizes debates and distributes donations for various charitable causes. The Nature Club prepares the hall for
Vatika, Martin Hall's biennial gardening competition. It also has an active Tennis club that organizes and facilitates games.
Selaiyur Hall Selaiyur Hall, the oldest one on the college campus, was founded in 1937 and was named after the Selaiyur forest reserve, a part of which was set aside for the college. The Hall's coat of arms consists of a shield incorporated with an anchor and held together by a rope. Above the emblem are images of a lotus, a pair of laurel leaves and a torch, which stand for purity, victory, and truth respectively. The Latin motto at the base reads
Esse Quam Videri which means "Sincerity not sham" and alternatively "To be rather than to seem". The Selaiyur Constitution is derived from the British constitution. The governing body, or the Cabinet, is headed by the nominal-executive President (Hall Warden), the Chairman and The General Secretary and his cabinet consisting of six Secretaries. Finance, Appraisal, and Jury committees are appointed by the Chairman in consultation with the General Secretary and the President. Four general body sessions are held through the academic year in the presence of at least 2/3rd of the residents to pass budgets and coordinate planning. It is the only hall on campus that hosts an annual alumni meeting organised by the Selaiyur Hall Old Boys Association (SHOBA). An annual magazine called
Thots is published at the end of each academic year. Discussion sessions are held through
Parnassus meetings while a social initiative called
STEPS is used to bring Selaiyur's mess workers into the academic fold. The Tamil society,
Kamban Mandram, regularly conducts events of literary and cultural significance. It hosts the
Kathir event annually on the eve of the
Pongal festival. The Annual Hall Day is held around the end of the academic year and is an occasion for the residents to invite friends and family to partake in the celebrations. The most eagerly awaited event during the academic year is the
Moonshadow cultural festival which sees all the Halls competing in literary and debating (L&D) and performing arts events. Traditionally, a rock band is invited to play at the end of the festival and numerous Indian bands have graced the Selaiyur stage over the years, including
Galeej Gurus,
The Circus,
Kryptos,
Parousia and Slain. Since 2009, Selaiyur Hall has an in-house Integrated Knowledge Centre (IKC) named after Bennet Albert, one of the Hall's former and most celebrated wardens. It is based in the library for the residents to avail of Internet and printing facilities, books, videos, and music.
Bishop Heber Hall Hall History While the history of Madras Christian College dates back to 1837, the history of Bishop Heber Hall could be traced back to 1762 when a German Christian missionary set up a school at Trichy in 1762. The school eventually evolved into Bishop Heber College in 1878. It was named after
Bishop Reginald Heber (1783–1826) the hymn writer and erstwhile
Bishop of Calcutta. In 1934, this college was dissolved and merged with Madras Christian College. The teachers and students who shifted to Madras formed the Bishop Heber Hostel at Vepery. After a short stay at Vepery and at Royapettah as well, the hostel moved out with the rest of Madras Christian College to
Tambaram in 1937. Bishop Heber Hall’s architectural design was laid out by Henry Schaetti (who was also the architect of Madras Christian College) which is unique to Bishop Heber Hall. The Bishop Heber Hall song was written and composed by Chandran D S Devanesan who was also the first Indian Principal of the college.
Hall Constitution & Cabinets The Bishop Heber Hall’s Constitution is adopted from the ‘Scottish Constitutional Model.’ The general body comprises the Warden as the president and all the resident students of the hall as members. The Executive machinery is composed of two parts, the President (hall warden) as the nominal executive and the Hall Cabinet as the real executive.
Hall Music & Literary and Debating Community Bishop Heber Hall’s Literary and Debating community which is known as the
‘Pelican Club’ is the oldest serving Literary and Debating Club in the college. As the Literary and Debating secretary is the foremost spokesman in terms of Events and Activities in the hall, he also carries the duties of conducting and hosting several events as the Master of Ceremony (MC or Emcee). Bishop Heber Hall’s magazine
‘Azad’, published at the end of each academic year showcases every residents’ love for the Hall through poetry and different short write-ups. The Tamil Society of Bishop Heber Hall, the
Thiruvalluvar Tamizh Mandram, hosts ‘Vaagai’ (வாகை) on the occasion of Pongal, which is an inter-hall competition where various literary and sports events are conducted. The Mandram gives the students a basic idea of the culture of Tamil Nadu by showcasing its values and traditions.
Octavia 'Octavia' is an annual musical fest hosted by Bishop Heber Hall. It is an inter-collegiate and inter-hall acoustic and electric fest which is wound down with a showdown featuring a rock band; most recently featuring the likes of popular rock bands, Pineapple Express and
Agam. The tradition of Rock music lies deep in the roots of Bishop Heber Hall’s culture which is portrayed through Octavia. Heber's very own
Rusty Moe have performed a few times for Octavia over the years, and even at cultural events at the other halls. Octavia gets an annual attendance of over 1500 people, making it one of the city’s largest and most awaited rock festivals. The rose garden in the frontyard of the chapel is also home to the Bell Tower. Sunday services are held regularly and the order of worship is a blend of
Anglican and South Indian orders. The chapel walls are painted and tiles are carefully polished each year by the residents themselves. The floor tiles were imported from
Scotland and the altar was carved from a single piece of rock that was transported from
Tiruchirappalli. This is a constant reminder of the roots of Bishop Heber Hall. The Chapel sustains the Bishop Heber Chapel Choir.
Martin Hall Established in 1968, Martin Hall was the only hall for women on campus until 2009, when Margaret Hall was set up. The hall was named after Agnes Martin, wife of Gavin Martin of the college. Mrs. Martin was also the YWCA's Madras secretary and a caring social worker. The halls has facilities like The Agnes Martin Auditorium, a library, an Indoor Games and Recreation Centre and outdoor badminton and throw-ball courts. Martin Hall is home to 210 students from India and other countries in Asia and Africa. The Vatika Inter-hall Garden competition was first hosted by Martin Hall in the 1997–98 academic year to commemorate 30 years of women's residency on campus. It has been held every alternate year since then. Galarompics is an inter-hall sports meet hosted by Martin Hall. This meet started in the academic year 1996-1997. Adds valor and sporting sprit to the men in campus as they vie for the championship and for the charm. The residents of this hall are known as Martinians.
Margaret Hall This is a second hall established in 2009 for women students on campus. The hall has the capacity to house 140 students. Margaret Locher Anderson was the wife of founder, Rev. John Anderson, who laboured for the institution from 1845 to 1887. She was instrumental in starting the first on-campus women's hostel at her own home. Margaret Hall has four blocks, each named after fragrant flowers- Freesia, Magnolia, Peonia, and Azalia. There are a total of 56 rooms which can accommodate around 150 residents. The Hall Magazine, Saisei (Japanese for ‘A New Beginning’), was introduced during the third year of the Hall by the then Literary and Debating Secretary, Ms Nikhila Sudharma Ajeer. The Hall Library was inaugurated by Pastor Charles during the third year of the Hall. The hall conducts an inter-hall and inter-department theatre event called Dionysia. Hall residents refer to themselves as Margaritas.
Barnes Hall This is the newest and the third women's hall established on 20 June 2016 by Mrs. Shanthi Manuel for women students on campus. The UGC, New Delhi, has sanctioned a grant of Rs.1.20 crores for the construction of a new Women's Hostel for the college. The hall was named after Mr. and Mrs. Barnes who were the first curators of the college. The first warden was E. Joyce Sudandara Priya. The governing body or the cabinet is headed by the President (Hall Warden), The First Minister, The Deputy First Minister and 7 secretaries. The Hall is home to 95 members. The motto of the hall is Shine Agad Agothan which means "Shine Your Light" in Scottish Gaelic. The Hall Logo consists of a Cross symbolizing Christian foundation of the college, a Creeper symbolizing growth and prosperity, a Female face symbolizing women empowerment, a Flame symbolizing light, purity, and guidance, a Bible symbolizing knowledge and wisdom, a Pomegranate symbolizing unity. Barnes is the only hall with 24/7 water supply. The residents refer to themselves as Barnesonites. ==Academics==