University of California Berkeley - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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Vt)Klv ' Sl?I :TS are an integral part of co-op life. This Fenwick resident retreatsbacktohis apart- ment after hoeing the front garden. Cnashim omuecom- munitN ' sofas is all too common for some resi- dents as they can ' t seem to make it to their respec- tive bedrooms. use A Office .snot onl V the headquarters for all those living in the co- ops, but is also the infa- mous Casa Zimbabwe. Co-op Life ♦27

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W l Pn dCVrtl OOd ' ts vmi down .md the costs ol living in .in apdrtmeiit st irt to spiral upwards unaintrollabl v, the solution is obvious: move into a co-op. The University Students ' Cooperative Association (USCA) is made up of fifteen houses and three apartment complexes in the campus vicinity and houses over 1200 university students. Started in February 1993, the student housing cooperative at Cal is based on the Rochdale Principles. The Principles call for voluntary membership, democratic social affairs, shared capital, equal distribution and provisions for the odiication of members. ♦ Members are only required tt) pay around $1700 per semester for room, hoard and meals. The USCA is able to keep costs so low by requiring workshifts from all co-op members. In most houses, five hours of workshifts pe r week are required, ranging from meal preparation to gardening to cleaning bathrt)oms. Several levels of management are in effect in each house: the house manager, kitchen manager, workshift manager, finance manager cooperative and main- t e n a n c e managers all keep opera- tions run- ning smoothl)-. In addition, the Central Office, located at Casa Zimbabwe, acts as an administrative bodv for the entire co-op system. ♦ Some of the larger houses, like Cloyne, Chateau, and Casa Zimbabwe are notorious for their intcrestingf!) parties and virtual lack of clean spaces. The frequency of social events and the actual amount of time devoted to maintaining the cleanliness of each co-op are all decided by the members of the particular house. Some, like the all-female Hoyt Hall and the tinv Euclid Hall, are much quieter and cleaner, but don ' t necessarily guarantee members an active social life. Specialty houses, like the all-vegetarian Lothlorien, and apartment complexes, like Rochdale Village, offer students an alternative to the tra- tional cohahitatlon o p struc- ture. ♦ Speaking of his co-op experience, Ridge House resident trie Hall com- mented, It ' s a cheaper wav to live within a student communitv. Although we have all the social benefits of living in a dorm, we also have larger rooms and fewer rules. By offering students a more liberal atmosphere in which to live than is provided by dorms and other campus housing, the USCA is guaranteed a steady How of students into the system. A point system allows residents who have lived in a particular house for a period priority during room selection at the beginning of the fall semester. The close-knit atmosphere lets students get to know one another in a unique wav. Since our co-op is our home, said Hall, we all have to share in the household responsibilities which gives us the opportunity to learn a lot about one another. I ' ve met a lot of my good friends in co-ops. Lj. MciriCl Ch H VP7 Studeitt Life ♦ 26

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ApaKTcnem dweUens deal wnh ibe sowejicr es hansh our nealmes op hills and kuKued hReakpasis. own kv Ehzabeih D ' OhveKa , electricity, water and telephone. ♦ Who would ever guess that these four uld strike terror into the hearts of students every month? If you live in an apartmMt, of course, they are common concerns. Every month the bills come and every mWllrt ou and your roommates or house mates must sit down to determine who talked to Boston for two hours, who left the lights on all night, and who used all that water for a ten-minute shower. • Fortunately, figuring out the bills is an easy task compared to getting someone to take out the trash. Chores are a major problem for most apartment dwellers, since most have barely enough time to do their homework, let alone wash the moldy dishes in the sink. But somehow, the garbage does get taken out, and the dishes washed, but more as acts of desperation and necessity than acts of duty. And while the dishes are being washed, one begins to wonder: why leave the sweet sanctity of dorm life? All that seemingly free electricity and water, reliable meals, consistently clean bathrooms... the only thing to break such thoughts are the memories of what you don t miss. What you don ' t miss is living in a triple in Unit II, sharing a bathroom with thirty other people, and wondering if walking down to the dining commons for leftover turkey surprise is really worth all that effort. ♦ Usually the things that students don ' t miss from the dorm experience are the very elements that drive them into apartments. Those who move into apartments do so for various reasons: some get sick ot dorm food, others tire of the lack of privacy, and still others are flaky enough to forget to purchase a dorm contract and have little other choice. The most important reason for moving into an apartment, however, is for the independence and freedom that such a move symbolizes. Little problems like five vacuums and no dish soap may arise later, but the initial joy of finally being on one ' s own overrides everything else. Of course move-in day is the only time that the place will every really be clean, and the bills haven ' t come yet, either, so it ' s the best time to enjoy the independence before responsibility sets in. Student Life ♦ 28