University Students' Cooperative Association
Encyclopedia
Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) (formerly known as University Students' Cooperative Association or the USCA) is a student housing cooperative
serving primarily the University of California, Berkeley
but open to any full-time post-secondary student. BSC houses over 1300 students in 17 houses and 3 apartment buildings. Residents of the houses are expected to perform work (about 5 hours a week) as part of their rental agreement, helping to keep rent lower. BSC is led by a board of directors elected by the residents. BSC is a member of NASCO
.
. Berkeley YMCA director Harry Kingman inspired 14 students to start the first housing cooperative
in Berkeley, doing workshifts in exchange for lower rent. In the fall of 1933 the students leased Barrington Hall which housed 48 students. Sherman Hall, Sheridan Hall, and Euclid Hall all opened during this era, as well as Stebbins Hall, the first women's co-op.
After World War II
the UCSCA purchased Ridge House and Cloyne Court Hotel to meet the demand from the increase in the student population caused by the GI Bill. Due to changes in state law, the organization changed its name to the University Students' Cooperative Association (USCA). In the 1960s the co-op opened one of the first co-ed student housing projects in the nation, Ridge Project, later renamed Casa Zimbabwe in the 1980s. The 1960s and 1970s saw a decline in the popularity of the Greek System in Berkeley, which allowed the USCA to purchase defunct sororities which became Davis House, Andres Castro Arms, and Wolf House.
The 1970s saw the opening of Lothlorien Hall, a vegetarian
theme house, and Kingman Hall, both of which formerly belonged to cults (Lothlorien belonging to the One World Family and Kingman Hall to the Berkeley Living Love Center). This decade also saw the construction and opening of the Rochdale Village Apartments, one of BSC's three apartment facilities. The others are Fenwick Weaver's Village and the Northside Apartments. BSC also owns two graduate and re-entry student houses, The Convent and Hillegass/Parker House, formerly Le Chateau.
In 1990, the members of the USCA voted to close Barrington Hall, its largest co-op, in reaction to complaints from neighbors and problems with the City. The decade also saw the opening of two new theme houses: the African American Theme House, opened in response to the University's closing of all of its theme houses; and, in 1999, Oscar Wilde House. Oscar Wilde House is a former fraternity house, which the USCA was able to buy due to the continuing decline in the popularity of the Greek system
in Berkeley.
In 2007, the organization changed its name to the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC).
. BSC bought the house in 1997 and converted it to an African American themed cooperative.
The African American Theme House is one of two themed houses in BSC. The African American themed fraternities on the UC Berkeley campus do not have houses, which makes the African American Theme House unique in having a separate house for its members.
African-American Theme House members affectionately call each other "Afros" and the house "Afro House."
.
The house was originally designed as a mansion by architect Julia Morgan
. Its most distinguishing external feature is the three story red brick staircase leading up to the Warring entrance.
by architect Julia Morgan
for metallurgist Charles Washington Merrill
. The house was built in 1911 at a cost of $21,531 and originally featured an S-shaped driveway running up the steep hill to the house and the interior was elaborately decorated with redwood, pine and oak paneling, similar in many ways to the interior of another Julia Morgan-designed co-op, Davis House, however this was stripped when the house was converted to a sorority.
With the construction in 1923 by the University of California of Memorial Stadium and the International House in 1929 a few houses to the north, the neighborhood, once home to many exclusive and expensive mansions, turned into more of a student-oriented neighborhood dominated by sorority and fraternity houses.
In 1939 Merrill sold the home to the Zeta Tau Alpha
sorority. The eighty-four chapter sorority was founded in 1898 and the Upsilon Chapter at Cal was established in 1915 and initially located in a house on Euclid Avenue on the northside. The sorority attempted to make the house look more modernist
by stripping the interiors of the woodwork and enclosing the front porch in glass. In 1957 the sorority constructed a wing addition to the house at a cost of $71,500.
In the 1960s, the popularity of the Greek system declined significantly in Berkeley and many sorority and fraternity houses were forced to close for lack of membership. Unable to attract sufficient membership ZTA was forced to close its doors.
The USCA purchased the building in 1971, and decided to name the house in honor of long-time central kitchen cook Andres Castro, who was seriously ill at the time, but later recovered. The BSC initially opened the house as an all-male house, but after the first year in response to the need for more female housing and an overall trend in favor of co-ed housing, the house became co-ed.
campus. The brown stucco fortress sits on what is referred to as the "Holy Hill", the area surrounding a five-way intersection surrounded on all sides by churches and seminaries, such as the Graduate Theological Union
. The BSC central office and central kitchen are located within the Casa Zimbabwe building.
The residents of Casa Zimbabwe are affectionately referred to as Czars. Residents of Ridge Project were referred to as "Projectiles".
The house is divided into three segments. Residents' rooms are located in the east and west wings, both of which are connected in the middle by two stories of wide open common space. Such a layout seems to encourage social interaction more so than in some other houses.
Further evidence of having been built as a student co-op is the strange architecture. While the east wing is three stories tall, the west wing is four stories and is offset downward by half a floor. The stairwells look like their corners were chopped off as an afterthought, and none of the halls are perfectly straight. According to Co-op legends, the architects had originally designed the building to look more normal, like the campus dorms. Since many former dorm-residents move into the co-ops to escape the sterility of dorm life, the architects were asked to re-design the house to look less dorm-like. The steep terrain of the hill contributed to the odd design. The design also provided as many rooms and common areas as possible with sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge
or the Berkeley Campus.
When CZ opened in 1966, it was known as "Ridge Project" since it shares its lot with Ridge House. In 1987, the house residents successfully petitioned to change the house name to its current one, originally intended as a parody of some alternative exotic-sounding proposals. In 2002, the residents petitioned to change the name of the house to Krackistan, but the BSC Central Office rejected the proposal outright.
Casa Zimbabwe closed at the end of 2006 in order to perform major seismic retrofitting work. The house was reopened in Fall 2007.
The Cloyne Court Hotel, often referred to simply as Cloyne, is located at 2600 Ridge Road at Leroy Avenue on the north side of the University of California, Berkeley
campus. Residents of the house are known as Clones. Cloyne Court was named after Cloyne
, the village in Ireland
where George Berkeley
was bishop.
Cloyne is one of the biggest cooperative houses in the country with 150 residents. Despite its size the house was entirely student-run for nearly sixty years. This changed in July 2005, when the co-op was required to hire a facilities manager as requested by the University in order to renew the property lease; the facilities manager does not live on the property and is not a voting member of the cooperative.
Cloyne was built in 1904, as a high-class hotel, operated by the Pierce family, who later bought it from the original investors. The building survived the devastating 1923 Berkeley fire
. Cloyne Court was sold by the Pierce family in 1946 to the BSC. In 1972, Cloyne Court became a co-ed house. In 1970, BSC was forced to sell the property to the Regents of the University of California
, upon the threat of an eminent domain
acquisition by the University, in exchange for a low-cost lease, most recently renewed in July 2005.
The building is one of fifty-six buildings in Berkeley listed in the National Register of Historic Places
as well as a City of Berkeley Landmark.
property, all residents are required to be UC
students (as is also true of Cloyne Court
).
Until the opening of the Hillegass/Parker House coop in 2005, The Convent was the only BSC coop housing only graduate and re-entry students, and the only coop in which all residents had single rooms. With an older resident population and a more isolated location, it has a reputation for being quieter and cleaner than other coops.
The Convent gets its name from the fact that it occupies a former convent. Its rec room is a converted chapel
, and like the building, has kept the name.
Sorority and Sherman Hall (another BSC cooperative), near California Memorial Stadium. The house can hold 36 residents and has always been co-ed.
family's attorneys while he attended school at the University of California
. The house was designed by architect Julia Morgan
, who also designed two other current BSC houses, Wolf House and Andres Castro Arms. The beautiful interiors are described by Sara Holmes Boutelle in her book "Julia Morgan: Architect": "Morgan gave free play to her love of complexity in the wood-paneled living room, dining room, and library, all of which have fireplaces with elaborate mantels. The living-room mantel is carved of oak, showing acorns, leaves, birds, and squirrels; another has classical details; brackets in the hall and on yet another fireplace, in the library, repeat the Tudor rose."
With the completion of Memorial Stadium in 1923 and the International House in 1929, the neighborhood transferred from one of quiet, expensive mansions into a student-oriented neighborhood dominated by sorority and fraternity houses. At some point during this time, the house became a sorority (Alpha Xi Delta
) and several additions were made to the building, including a sleeping porch
with a deck above that features an expansive view of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
With the 1960s, the popularity of the Greek system in Berkeley saw a steady decline. Many sorority and fraternity houses were forced to close for want of members, including this one.
In 1969 BSC purchased the building from the sorority for use as a co-op, one of several former Greek houses it acquired during this era. The price was $75,000 (1969 dollars) and another $40,000 or so was spent on interior modifications, including changing the sleeping porch into private rooms. The house opened to residents in January 1970.
Davis House was established for juniors, seniors and graduate students, and was unique for its time in that members prepared all their own meals, including dinners, rather than obtaining them from the BSC's Central Kitchen on Northside. Like all co-ops, each member had a five-hour workshift every week, and for seven of the members, cooking dinner was the shift. They were free to select what would be served. Breakfasts and lunches were prepared individually by the residents, and at holidays such as Thanksgiving sumptuous meals would be created for which all the students wore their finest.
Three marriages resulted from the first 34 charter members.
Euclid Hall was originally the University of California Japanese Students' Club, built after the 1923 Berkeley fire
destroyed the building which previously stood on the location. During World War II
, when Japanese and Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from the west coast
, the building was leased to BSC, which returned it to a JSC alumni group, the Nisei Alumni of the University of California, in 1947. The building reopened in the spring semester of 1948 as Euclid Hall, and was open to students of any background, with preference given to Nisei
students without housing. In 1967, faced with declining occupancy, Euclid Hall was re-leased to BSC, which eventually purchased it in 1972.
in Berkeley, California
. It is part of the BSC coop system.
From the 70s Until 2005, Hillegass/Parker (AKA HIP House) was the site of Le Chateau, a large undergraduate co-op for 85 residents. After Barrington Hall closed, Le Chateau became "the black sheep" of the BSC system. Housing values rose in the southside neighborhood it occupied, and neighbors organized to file 20 small claims court cases at once against BSC. BSC offered to evict everybody and install new undergraduates if the neighbors would drop the suits, but they refused. BSC decided to meet the neighbors' request to convert the building into a graduate/re-entry coop, which opened in Fall 2005.
HIP House consists of three large houses, with a large kitchen in the central Main house. Additionally, it has a large backyard which was re-landscaped during the conversion. One of the house's major perks, the swimming pool in the backyard, was cemented over in order to appease neighbors. There is also a large roof deck on top of Main house.
Kidd Hall has 7 double rooms and 3 highly prized single rooms after reconstruction in 1989 which converted two triple rooms into three singles and a double.
campus. Kingman houses 50 residents, known as Toads. It is named after Harry Kingman, the former YMCA director who inspired 14 students to start USCA in 1933. The house was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark in January 1999.
fraternity in 1914 by Barry Building Co. of Oakland
. The building survived the devastating 1923 Berkeley Fire
, which burned close to 600 buildings north of the Berkeley campus. The Nu chapter of Theta Xi resided there until 1964, when the fraternity was disbanded owing to anti-Greek sentiment on the Berkeley campus.
The house was almost sold to developers as a site for high-rise apartments, but instead embarked on a more bizarre career. From 1964 to 1969 it was known as Toad Hall and served as a rooming house for male students. In 1969, it was purchased by a Hayward
attorney named Harold Mefford, who rented out the house to non-students as well. The house reportedly functioned more as a commune
than a rooming house and housed at most 50% students.
One of the residents was Joy, Country Joe McDonald
's personal secretary, who lived in a basement room. Author/Merry Prankster
Ken Kesey
(not to be confused with author/future owner Ken Keyes, Jr.) and musician David Crosby
used to buy their drugs from a Toad Hall dealer, and their cars were often seen parked in front of the house.
In 1973, Mefford sold the building for $127,000, to Ken Keyes, Jr.
, author of Living Love - a Way to Higher Consciousness and the building became the Berkeley Living Love Center. "The Living Love Way" was disseminated via broadcasts on KQED-FM
every Saturday evening. A 52-hour morning-noon-and-night group workshop, designed by Keyes, offered the opportunity for a breakthrough toward higher consciousness. The LLC claimed tax exemption as a religious organization and operated on a non-profit basis.
On November 22, 1976, the center approached the city of Berkeley with an offer to donate the property for park use if it could be determined that it was located on the Hayward Fault line. They did this because they felt it would be a violation of the "Law of Higher Consciousness" to simply sell the property to someone else.
For whatever reason, this fell through and the building was sold in 1977 to BSC for $300,000. The Living Love Center relocated to a 115 acre (0.4653889 km²) farm-university in St. Mary, Kentucky. The house was renamed Kingman Hall, after Harry L. Kingman, director of the local University YMCA
who encouraged the BSC founders to start a housing cooperative in 1933.
theme house. As such, all house-bought food is vegetarian and house bylaws prohibit the preparation, storage, or consumption of meat in common space. Because of this, many residents of Lothlorien are vegetarians and vegans
, but diet is not a condition of residence and meat-eating members are quite common. Aside from being a vegetarian house, Lothlorien tries to buy as much locally-sourced and organic foods as possible. Elves buying food for the house frequent the Downtown Berkeley Farmers' Market.
Lothlorien consists of two adjacent houses: North House at 2405 Prospect Street, and South House at 2415 Prospect Street. The two houses surround a common courtyard area and share a communal kitchen and dining room in the South House. The wall in the courtyard is an open mural space on which any "elf", as the residents are known, can paint, draw, carve, paste, etc. following environmental guidelines as set by house policy.
South House was a sorority during the 1920s, and was later bought by the One World Family, a sex-cult
led by Allen Michael that was known for its eccentric beliefs. The USCA, now the BSC, bought the building in 1975.
, rather than by vote. The house Council meets weekly, and usually consists of member reports, coordinator reports and motions
. A motion is brought to Council by members and non-members alike, and may range in topic from asking to stay as a guest to using money from the maintenance budget to buy materials to paint a mural. A motion passes when all those present at council come to consensus on the issue. If an elf feels they cannot agree with the motion, they may "major object" or "minor object" to it (for a motion to fail, a minimum one is needed of the former objection and 3 of the latter).
As at other houses, elected residents serve as coordinators: House Coordinator, Kitchen Coordinator, Maintenance Coordinator, Workshift Coordinator, Waste Reduction Coordinator, Garden Coordinator, Social Coordinator, Health Worker, Policy Coordinator, Network Manager (Internet), and Finance Elf. Lothlorien is the only house without a president--rather, Lothlorien has a "Policy Coordinator", who is responsible for keeping record of the house's motion history.
Unlike the other BSC houses, which are more like student-run dorms, BSC's three apartment complexes have no food service, and much lighter workshift requirements.
) student housing cooperative in the United States
. It is named after Oscar Wilde
.
Wilde house was a major source of inspiration for Ant Hill Cooperative
in upstate New York.
Prior to ownership by BSC, Ridge house was a sorority house for the University.
Rochdale Village was named after the English Town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, where the Rochdale Pioneers
developed the Rochdale Principles
of cooperation
In 1970, the City of Berkeley, the University of California, and the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) entered into a visionary collaborative to expand the supply of low-cost housing for University students. The result was the financing and construction of Rochdale Village, one of the first student housing projects in the nation to receive HUD (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
) financing under the sponsorship of an independent nonprofit student housing organization.
The apartments were constructed in 1971 on the site of a former Berkeley public school, the McKinley Continuation School which closed down in the late 1960s, and except for its Haste Street Annex building (now restored, but moved to a new location), was razed.
Almost forty years later, Rochdale Village still plays a critical role in the supply of low-cost apartment housing for an ethnically and economically diverse group of UC Berkeley students. Rents are as low as $1,788 per member per semester, qualifying Rochdale Village as perhaps the most affordable student housing in the City. Almost 80% of the 259 current residents of Rochdale Village participate in the University’s Educational Opportunity Program, reserved for students of a low-income or educationally disadvantaged background.
Rochdale Village also serves as a lynchpin of the University’s support system for disabled students. For disabled students on SSI, Rochdale Village is virtually the only affordable housing near campus. Each year BSC continues to add additional disabled accessible units to the seven that already exist at Rochdale Village.
Governed and run by UC students according to cooperative principles, Rochdale Village also serves as a community center and leadership development hub for a number of student organizations, including Hermanos Unidos and Raza.
In addition to paying off the HUD loan of more than $2 million without default, BSC has invested several million more in maintaining and improving Rochdale Village. Among these investments are “energy saving” improvements, including an extensive array of solar panels on the roof and high-efficiency furnaces and water heaters.
At the end of the Spring Semester of 2009, the ground lease between the UC Regents and the Berkeley Student Cooperative will end. The land and all of the improvements will then revert to the University. The student residents of Rochdale have formed a "Save Rochdale; Save our Home" http://www.saverochdale.org campaign as of November 2009 with the aim to renew the lease under the same conditions.
and IHouse
on 2250 Prospect Street. Nearby co-ops include Davis (next-door), Castro, Afro, and Loth. Many vegan or vegetarian Shermanites board at Loth (the vegetarian-themed house) in order to have both a high standard of living (Sherman is known for its cleanliness) while simultaneously meeting their dietary needs.
Sherman was originally a sorority house, but was purchased by the BSC in the 1940s. Since then it has housed all women, except during the summer, when it is open to men as well. Sherman Hall will be undergoing a retrofit during the summer of 2012.
Stebbins Hall is located on the north side of the University of California, Berkeley
campus, on the lot of the Pierce family's original Victorian home. The Pierces were a wealthy family, responsible for many architectural landmarks in the city of Berkeley. They built the Cloyne Court Hotel
, a "high class modern apartment house" in 1904, which was later converted into another student co-op. In 1927 the Pierce house was torn down to make way for Hotel Slocum. The University Student Cooperative Association purchased the property in 1950 as a site for the first all-women cooperative house, and it remained this way until 1971 when Stebbins Hall became coed.
The green hands on the front of the building were painted by residents of Cloyne as a prank, when Cloyne was all men and Stebbins was all women. Residents refer to themselves as "Stebbinites," and claim the lizard as their mascot.
Stebbins Hall is named after Lucy Ward Stebbins
, former Dean of Women at University of California, Berkeley
. During her time in office, she increased the enrollment of women from 1,200 to 6,400 by raising money for scholarships, expanding curriculum, encouraging women to participate in student government, and creating housing opportunities. During her office, the schools of Nursing and Social welfare were established, as well as the departments of Decorative Arts and Home Economics. Lucy Ward also founded the Women's Faculty Club, one of the earliest female faculty organizations to exist at a co-ed university.
Stebbins Hall houses 64 students during the school year and 41 or more in the summer.
campus on Southside
, an area dominated by sororities and fraternities.
The house was built by Julia Morgan
for the Rector of St. Mark's Church, the Rev. Edward L. Parsons, in 1905 and originally situated just above Telegraph Avenue
on Durant at 2532. In 1915, with the commercialization of the neighborhood, the family of Rev. Parsons decided to have the house moved up Durant Avenue to 2732, next to the corner of Piedmont. At that time the front porch was enclosed and the location of the front door changed to fit the lot, under the supervision of the architect. When Rev. Parsons became the Episcopal Bishop of California, the family moved to San Francisco. The house was first rented and then sold. Before being bought by BSC in 1974, the house served as a sorority.
In 2002, BSC, in an attempt to make the building accessible to disabled residents, added a ramp that ran the length of the house along Durant to the front door, bisecting the front stairs.
Central Office handles all of the applications to BSC and determines where members will be placed. Placement is based on how long the applicant has been a member of BSC, the member's preferences, and the number of vacancies in their preferred house(s).
Central Kitchen handles and delivers the food orders for all of the houses but not the apartments. Food orders are handled on the house level by the Food or Kitchen Managers. Central Kitchen also handles the supply orders for all of the houses, such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies, as well as the furniture orders for both the houses and the apartments.
Central Maintenance is responsible for major work on the houses, including major projects or renovations. Most minor work is handled by house Maintenance Managers.
Student housing cooperative
A student housing cooperative, also known as co-operative housing, is a housing cooperative for students in an educational institution.Unlike a resident who acquires shares at market rates to earn the right to occupy a specific apartment on a permanent basis , a resident of a student co-op acquires...
serving primarily the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
but open to any full-time post-secondary student. BSC houses over 1300 students in 17 houses and 3 apartment buildings. Residents of the houses are expected to perform work (about 5 hours a week) as part of their rental agreement, helping to keep rent lower. BSC is led by a board of directors elected by the residents. BSC is a member of NASCO
North American Students of Cooperation
The North American Students of Cooperation is a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968. Traditionally, NASCO has been associated with student housing cooperatives, though non-student cooperatives are included in its network...
.
History
The University of California Students' Cooperative Association (UCSCA) was founded in 1933 to meet the need for affordable student housing during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Berkeley YMCA director Harry Kingman inspired 14 students to start the first housing cooperative
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
in Berkeley, doing workshifts in exchange for lower rent. In the fall of 1933 the students leased Barrington Hall which housed 48 students. Sherman Hall, Sheridan Hall, and Euclid Hall all opened during this era, as well as Stebbins Hall, the first women's co-op.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the UCSCA purchased Ridge House and Cloyne Court Hotel to meet the demand from the increase in the student population caused by the GI Bill. Due to changes in state law, the organization changed its name to the University Students' Cooperative Association (USCA). In the 1960s the co-op opened one of the first co-ed student housing projects in the nation, Ridge Project, later renamed Casa Zimbabwe in the 1980s. The 1960s and 1970s saw a decline in the popularity of the Greek System in Berkeley, which allowed the USCA to purchase defunct sororities which became Davis House, Andres Castro Arms, and Wolf House.
The 1970s saw the opening of Lothlorien Hall, a vegetarian
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
theme house, and Kingman Hall, both of which formerly belonged to cults (Lothlorien belonging to the One World Family and Kingman Hall to the Berkeley Living Love Center). This decade also saw the construction and opening of the Rochdale Village Apartments, one of BSC's three apartment facilities. The others are Fenwick Weaver's Village and the Northside Apartments. BSC also owns two graduate and re-entry student houses, The Convent and Hillegass/Parker House, formerly Le Chateau.
In 1990, the members of the USCA voted to close Barrington Hall, its largest co-op, in reaction to complaints from neighbors and problems with the City. The decade also saw the opening of two new theme houses: the African American Theme House, opened in response to the University's closing of all of its theme houses; and, in 1999, Oscar Wilde House. Oscar Wilde House is a former fraternity house, which the USCA was able to buy due to the continuing decline in the popularity of the Greek system
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
in Berkeley.
In 2007, the organization changed its name to the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC).
African American Theme House
The African American Theme House is located close to the University of California at Berkeley near Memorial Stadium and the International House. It is the second smallest house in the BSC and houses 21 residents (11 during summer). The house is open to all students, not just African American students. House members promote the theme by doing community service and hosting student group events. The building was originally the Slavic House for the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. BSC bought the house in 1997 and converted it to an African American themed cooperative.
The African American Theme House is one of two themed houses in BSC. The African American themed fraternities on the UC Berkeley campus do not have houses, which makes the African American Theme House unique in having a separate house for its members.
African-American Theme House members affectionately call each other "Afros" and the house "Afro House."
Andres Castro Arms
Andres Castro Arms, often referred to as simply Castro, houses 56 residents (known as "Castrati", "Castonauts," "Castruffles," "Castromboli," etc.) and is located about two blocks south-east of the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
The house was originally designed as a mansion by architect Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
. Its most distinguishing external feature is the three story red brick staircase leading up to the Warring entrance.
History
The house was originally designed in the Mediterranean styleMediterranean Revival Style architecture
The Mediterranean Revival was an eclectic design style that was first introduced in the United States about the end of the nineteenth century, and became popular during the 1920s and 1930s...
by architect Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
for metallurgist Charles Washington Merrill
Charles Washington Merrill
Charles Washington Merrill was an Americanmining metallurgist. He was born in Concord, New Hampshire to Sylvester and Clara L. Merrill. He attended elementary and high school in Alameda, California and then attended the College of Mining of the University of California, where he received a...
. The house was built in 1911 at a cost of $21,531 and originally featured an S-shaped driveway running up the steep hill to the house and the interior was elaborately decorated with redwood, pine and oak paneling, similar in many ways to the interior of another Julia Morgan-designed co-op, Davis House, however this was stripped when the house was converted to a sorority.
With the construction in 1923 by the University of California of Memorial Stadium and the International House in 1929 a few houses to the north, the neighborhood, once home to many exclusive and expensive mansions, turned into more of a student-oriented neighborhood dominated by sorority and fraternity houses.
In 1939 Merrill sold the home to the Zeta Tau Alpha
Zeta Tau Alpha
Zeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...
sorority. The eighty-four chapter sorority was founded in 1898 and the Upsilon Chapter at Cal was established in 1915 and initially located in a house on Euclid Avenue on the northside. The sorority attempted to make the house look more modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
by stripping the interiors of the woodwork and enclosing the front porch in glass. In 1957 the sorority constructed a wing addition to the house at a cost of $71,500.
In the 1960s, the popularity of the Greek system declined significantly in Berkeley and many sorority and fraternity houses were forced to close for lack of membership. Unable to attract sufficient membership ZTA was forced to close its doors.
The USCA purchased the building in 1971, and decided to name the house in honor of long-time central kitchen cook Andres Castro, who was seriously ill at the time, but later recovered. The BSC initially opened the house as an all-male house, but after the first year in response to the need for more female housing and an overall trend in favor of co-ed housing, the house became co-ed.
Casa Zimbabwe
Casa Zimbabwe, (known as "Ridge Project" from 1966–1987, now commonly referred to as CZ, is located at 2422 Ridge Road, a block from the North Gate of the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
campus. The brown stucco fortress sits on what is referred to as the "Holy Hill", the area surrounding a five-way intersection surrounded on all sides by churches and seminaries, such as the Graduate Theological Union
Graduate Theological Union
The Graduate Theological Union ' is a consortium of nine independent theological schools, and eleven centers and affiliates. Eight of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded in 1962. It maintains the Graduate Theological Union Library, one of the most...
. The BSC central office and central kitchen are located within the Casa Zimbabwe building.
History
While every other BSC house was a pre-existing structure eventually converted into a co-op, CZ was built from scratch with the specific intent of being used as a cooperative living space.The house is divided into three segments. Residents' rooms are located in the east and west wings, both of which are connected in the middle by two stories of wide open common space. Such a layout seems to encourage social interaction more so than in some other houses.
Further evidence of having been built as a student co-op is the strange architecture. While the east wing is three stories tall, the west wing is four stories and is offset downward by half a floor. The stairwells look like their corners were chopped off as an afterthought, and none of the halls are perfectly straight. According to Co-op legends, the architects had originally designed the building to look more normal, like the campus dorms. Since many former dorm-residents move into the co-ops to escape the sterility of dorm life, the architects were asked to re-design the house to look less dorm-like. The steep terrain of the hill contributed to the odd design. The design also provided as many rooms and common areas as possible with sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
or the Berkeley Campus.
When CZ opened in 1966, it was known as "Ridge Project" since it shares its lot with Ridge House. In 1987, the house residents successfully petitioned to change the house name to its current one, originally intended as a parody of some alternative exotic-sounding proposals. In 2002, the residents petitioned to change the name of the house to Krackistan, but the BSC Central Office rejected the proposal outright.
Casa Zimbabwe closed at the end of 2006 in order to perform major seismic retrofitting work. The house was reopened in Fall 2007.
Cloyne Court Hotel
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
campus. Residents of the house are known as Clones. Cloyne Court was named after Cloyne
Cloyne
Cloyne is a small town to the south-east of the town of Midleton in eastern County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland. It is also a see city of the Anglican Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, while also giving its name to a Roman Catholic diocese...
, the village in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
where George Berkeley
George Berkeley
George Berkeley , also known as Bishop Berkeley , was an Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism"...
was bishop.
Cloyne is one of the biggest cooperative houses in the country with 150 residents. Despite its size the house was entirely student-run for nearly sixty years. This changed in July 2005, when the co-op was required to hire a facilities manager as requested by the University in order to renew the property lease; the facilities manager does not live on the property and is not a voting member of the cooperative.
Cloyne was built in 1904, as a high-class hotel, operated by the Pierce family, who later bought it from the original investors. The building survived the devastating 1923 Berkeley fire
1923 Berkeley Fire
The 1923 Berkeley Fire was a conflagration which consumed some 640 structures, including 584 homes in the densely-built neighborhoods north of the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California on September 17, 1923....
. Cloyne Court was sold by the Pierce family in 1946 to the BSC. In 1972, Cloyne Court became a co-ed house. In 1970, BSC was forced to sell the property to the Regents of the University of California
Regents of the University of California
The Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. The Board has 26 full members:* The majority are appointed by the Governor of California for 12-year terms....
, upon the threat of an eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
acquisition by the University, in exchange for a low-cost lease, most recently renewed in July 2005.
The building is one of fifty-six buildings in Berkeley listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as well as a City of Berkeley Landmark.
The Convent
The Convent is located at 1601 Allston Street, about a mile from the UC Campus. Because it is located on University of CaliforniaUniversity of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
property, all residents are required to be UC
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
students (as is also true of Cloyne Court
Cloyne Court Hotel
The Cloyne Court Hotel, often referred to simply as Cloyne, is a student housing cooperative located at 2600 Ridge Road in Berkeley, California on the north side of the University of California, Berkeley campus, on Ridge Road at Leroy Avenue. It is part of the Berkeley Student Cooperative system...
).
Until the opening of the Hillegass/Parker House coop in 2005, The Convent was the only BSC coop housing only graduate and re-entry students, and the only coop in which all residents had single rooms. With an older resident population and a more isolated location, it has a reputation for being quieter and cleaner than other coops.
The Convent gets its name from the fact that it occupies a former convent. Its rec room is a converted chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, and like the building, has kept the name.
Davis House
Davis House is located at 2833 Bancroft Steps, which is a pedestrian pathway between the Alpha PhiAlpha Phi
Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity was founded at Syracuse University on September 18, 1872. Alpha Phi currently has 152 active chapters and over 200,000 initiated members. Its celebrated Founders' Day is October 10. It was the third Greek-letter organization founded for women. In Alpha...
Sorority and Sherman Hall (another BSC cooperative), near California Memorial Stadium. The house can hold 36 residents and has always been co-ed.
History
The building was originally built in 1913 as the Richard Clark house, a single-family mansion, supposedly to house the son of one of the HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
family's attorneys while he attended school at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
. The house was designed by architect Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
, who also designed two other current BSC houses, Wolf House and Andres Castro Arms. The beautiful interiors are described by Sara Holmes Boutelle in her book "Julia Morgan: Architect": "Morgan gave free play to her love of complexity in the wood-paneled living room, dining room, and library, all of which have fireplaces with elaborate mantels. The living-room mantel is carved of oak, showing acorns, leaves, birds, and squirrels; another has classical details; brackets in the hall and on yet another fireplace, in the library, repeat the Tudor rose."
With the completion of Memorial Stadium in 1923 and the International House in 1929, the neighborhood transferred from one of quiet, expensive mansions into a student-oriented neighborhood dominated by sorority and fraternity houses. At some point during this time, the house became a sorority (Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...
) and several additions were made to the building, including a sleeping porch
Sleeping porch
A sleeping porch is a deck or balcony that is screened and furnished for sleeping in the warmer months. Sleeping porches can be on ground level or on a higher storey and in either the front or back of a home...
with a deck above that features an expansive view of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
With the 1960s, the popularity of the Greek system in Berkeley saw a steady decline. Many sorority and fraternity houses were forced to close for want of members, including this one.
In 1969 BSC purchased the building from the sorority for use as a co-op, one of several former Greek houses it acquired during this era. The price was $75,000 (1969 dollars) and another $40,000 or so was spent on interior modifications, including changing the sleeping porch into private rooms. The house opened to residents in January 1970.
Davis House was established for juniors, seniors and graduate students, and was unique for its time in that members prepared all their own meals, including dinners, rather than obtaining them from the BSC's Central Kitchen on Northside. Like all co-ops, each member had a five-hour workshift every week, and for seven of the members, cooking dinner was the shift. They were free to select what would be served. Breakfasts and lunches were prepared individually by the residents, and at holidays such as Thanksgiving sumptuous meals would be created for which all the students wore their finest.
Three marriages resulted from the first 34 charter members.
Euclid Hall
Euclid is one of the smaller BSC houses, with 24 residents. The residents of Euclid Hall are affectionately referred to as Euclidians. It is named after Euclid Avenue, the main street leading north into the hills above the Berkeley campus.Euclid Hall was originally the University of California Japanese Students' Club, built after the 1923 Berkeley fire
1923 Berkeley Fire
The 1923 Berkeley Fire was a conflagration which consumed some 640 structures, including 584 homes in the densely-built neighborhoods north of the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California on September 17, 1923....
destroyed the building which previously stood on the location. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when Japanese and Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from the west coast
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
, the building was leased to BSC, which returned it to a JSC alumni group, the Nisei Alumni of the University of California, in 1947. The building reopened in the spring semester of 1948 as Euclid Hall, and was open to students of any background, with preference given to Nisei
Nisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
students without housing. In 1967, faced with declining occupancy, Euclid Hall was re-leased to BSC, which eventually purchased it in 1972.
Fenwick Weaver's Village
The Fenwick Weaver's Village, commonly known as Fenwick, is an apartment complex located on the Southside of the UC Berkeley campus. Fenwick houses 102 residents in one-bedroom to four-bedroom apartments.Hoyt Hall
Hoyt Hall is located on the Northside of the UC Berkeley campus, on a block which holds four other BSC properties. Hoyt is one of two women-only houses in BSC, and houses 60 women during the school year.Hillegass/Parker House
Hillegass/Parker House is a student housing cooperativeHousing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. It is part of the BSC coop system.
From the 70s Until 2005, Hillegass/Parker (AKA HIP House) was the site of Le Chateau, a large undergraduate co-op for 85 residents. After Barrington Hall closed, Le Chateau became "the black sheep" of the BSC system. Housing values rose in the southside neighborhood it occupied, and neighbors organized to file 20 small claims court cases at once against BSC. BSC offered to evict everybody and install new undergraduates if the neighbors would drop the suits, but they refused. BSC decided to meet the neighbors' request to convert the building into a graduate/re-entry coop, which opened in Fall 2005.
HIP House consists of three large houses, with a large kitchen in the central Main house. Additionally, it has a large backyard which was re-landscaped during the conversion. One of the house's major perks, the swimming pool in the backyard, was cemented over in order to appease neighbors. There is also a large roof deck on top of Main house.
Kidd Hall
Alexander Mardsen Kidd Hall houses 17 students; the smallest house in BSC. Located in a wooded neighborhood two blocks north of the UC Berkeley campus, Kidd Hall features a backyard redwood forest-niche intersected by Strawberry Creek. The house also features a basketball court and one of few wheelchair accessible rooms in BSC.Kidd Hall has 7 double rooms and 3 highly prized single rooms after reconstruction in 1989 which converted two triple rooms into three singles and a double.
Kingman Hall
Kingman Hall is located at 1730 La Loma Avenue on the northeast corner of the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
campus. Kingman houses 50 residents, known as Toads. It is named after Harry Kingman, the former YMCA director who inspired 14 students to start USCA in 1933. The house was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark in January 1999.
History
The house at 1730 La Loma Avenue was designed by the San Francisco architects Drysdale and Thomson and originally built as a chapter house for the Theta XiTheta Xi
Theta Xi was founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York on 29 April 1864. Theta Xi Fraternity was originally founded as an engineering fraternity, the first professional fraternity...
fraternity in 1914 by Barry Building Co. of Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. The building survived the devastating 1923 Berkeley Fire
1923 Berkeley Fire
The 1923 Berkeley Fire was a conflagration which consumed some 640 structures, including 584 homes in the densely-built neighborhoods north of the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California on September 17, 1923....
, which burned close to 600 buildings north of the Berkeley campus. The Nu chapter of Theta Xi resided there until 1964, when the fraternity was disbanded owing to anti-Greek sentiment on the Berkeley campus.
The house was almost sold to developers as a site for high-rise apartments, but instead embarked on a more bizarre career. From 1964 to 1969 it was known as Toad Hall and served as a rooming house for male students. In 1969, it was purchased by a Hayward
Hayward, California
Hayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. With a population of 144,186, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 37th most populous municipality in California. It is included in...
attorney named Harold Mefford, who rented out the house to non-students as well. The house reportedly functioned more as a commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
than a rooming house and housed at most 50% students.
One of the residents was Joy, Country Joe McDonald
Country Joe McDonald
Country Joe McDonald is an American musician who was the lead singer of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish.-Personal life:...
's personal secretary, who lived in a basement room. Author/Merry Prankster
Merry Pranksters
The Merry Pranksters were a group of people who formed around American author Ken Kesey in 1964 and sometimes lived communally at his homes in California and Oregon...
Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
(not to be confused with author/future owner Ken Keyes, Jr.) and musician David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
used to buy their drugs from a Toad Hall dealer, and their cars were often seen parked in front of the house.
In 1973, Mefford sold the building for $127,000, to Ken Keyes, Jr.
Ken Keyes, Jr.
Ken Keyes, Jr. was a personal growth author and lecturer, and the creator of the Living Love method, a self-help system...
, author of Living Love - a Way to Higher Consciousness and the building became the Berkeley Living Love Center. "The Living Love Way" was disseminated via broadcasts on KQED-FM
KQED-FM
KQED-FM is an NPR-member radio station owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, California.KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television. The founding manager was Bernard Mayes who later went on to be Executive Vice-President of KQED TV and...
every Saturday evening. A 52-hour morning-noon-and-night group workshop, designed by Keyes, offered the opportunity for a breakthrough toward higher consciousness. The LLC claimed tax exemption as a religious organization and operated on a non-profit basis.
On November 22, 1976, the center approached the city of Berkeley with an offer to donate the property for park use if it could be determined that it was located on the Hayward Fault line. They did this because they felt it would be a violation of the "Law of Higher Consciousness" to simply sell the property to someone else.
For whatever reason, this fell through and the building was sold in 1977 to BSC for $300,000. The Living Love Center relocated to a 115 acre (0.4653889 km²) farm-university in St. Mary, Kentucky. The house was renamed Kingman Hall, after Harry L. Kingman, director of the local University YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
who encouraged the BSC founders to start a housing cooperative in 1933.
Landmark status
In 1998–1999, in response to the residents' application to construct a deck on the roof of the building, the neighbors sought landmark designation for the building, previously considered eligible, in an attempt to block the group's permit application. Although the house was designated a landmark and the Landmarks Preservation Commission denied the application for a permit to build a roof deck, the group's appeal to the Berkeley City Council was successful, the permit was issued with use restrictions, and the deck built. Kingman residents are not allowed to use the deck after 9 pm.External links
- Kingman Hall website
- History of Theta Xi Chapter House, from the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association
- Living Love
Lothlorien
Lothlorien, known by residents as "Loth", is the BSC's vegetarianVegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
theme house. As such, all house-bought food is vegetarian and house bylaws prohibit the preparation, storage, or consumption of meat in common space. Because of this, many residents of Lothlorien are vegetarians and vegans
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
, but diet is not a condition of residence and meat-eating members are quite common. Aside from being a vegetarian house, Lothlorien tries to buy as much locally-sourced and organic foods as possible. Elves buying food for the house frequent the Downtown Berkeley Farmers' Market.
Lothlorien consists of two adjacent houses: North House at 2405 Prospect Street, and South House at 2415 Prospect Street. The two houses surround a common courtyard area and share a communal kitchen and dining room in the South House. The wall in the courtyard is an open mural space on which any "elf", as the residents are known, can paint, draw, carve, paste, etc. following environmental guidelines as set by house policy.
History
Lothlorien's North House (2405 Prospect) originally stood in the middle of the Channing circle, where Channing Way meets Piedmont Avenue. It was a mansion owned by the Maxwell family, known in the area as Maxwell House. Near the turn of the 20th century, the family decided they wanted a better view, put the house on logs and rolled it up the hill to its present location next to South House.South House was a sorority during the 1920s, and was later bought by the One World Family, a sex-cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
led by Allen Michael that was known for its eccentric beliefs. The USCA, now the BSC, bought the building in 1975.
House Traditions
- Along with the policy of not buying meat, the house buys much of its produce from the Downtown Berkeley Farmers' Market, which is all organicOrganic foodOrganic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
and locally-sourced, in addition to the Co-op Central Kitchen. - The house has three bylaws: No televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in common space (though this has become controversial with the advent of Youtube); Clothing is optional; No meat in common space (kitchen, foyer, etc.). - Residents of Lothlorien are known as elvesElfAn elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
, because the house was named after Lothlórien in J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's fantasy book The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
which was inhabited by elves. - Lothlorien adopted consensus decision making for its weekly house councils in 1981 and uses this model of decision-making to this day.
Organization
Lothlorien is currently the only BSC house to make decisions by consensusConsensus decision-making
Consensus decision-making is a group decision making process that seeks the consent, not necessarily the agreement, of participants and the resolution of objections. Consensus is defined by Merriam-Webster as, first, general agreement, and second, group solidarity of belief or sentiment. It has its...
, rather than by vote. The house Council meets weekly, and usually consists of member reports, coordinator reports and motions
Motion (parliamentary procedure)
In parliamentary procedure, a motion is a formal proposal by a member of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action. In a parliament, this is also called a parliamentary motion and includes legislative motions, budgetary motions, supplementary budgetary motions, and petitionary...
. A motion is brought to Council by members and non-members alike, and may range in topic from asking to stay as a guest to using money from the maintenance budget to buy materials to paint a mural. A motion passes when all those present at council come to consensus on the issue. If an elf feels they cannot agree with the motion, they may "major object" or "minor object" to it (for a motion to fail, a minimum one is needed of the former objection and 3 of the latter).
As at other houses, elected residents serve as coordinators: House Coordinator, Kitchen Coordinator, Maintenance Coordinator, Workshift Coordinator, Waste Reduction Coordinator, Garden Coordinator, Social Coordinator, Health Worker, Policy Coordinator, Network Manager (Internet), and Finance Elf. Lothlorien is the only house without a president--rather, Lothlorien has a "Policy Coordinator", who is responsible for keeping record of the house's motion history.
External links
- Lothlorien history at LothlorienHouse.org
- Lothlorien and the Limits of Sustainability Former elves study the cooperative from an architectural perspective.
- One World Family Commune, former occupants of Lothlorien
- UC Berkeley Daily Cal article, about Lothlorien: "Vegan, Vegetarian Students Find Berkeley Welcoming Students Who Eschew Animal Products Find Variety of Local Meat-Free Options"
Northside Apartments
The Northside Apartments are an apartment complex in Berkeley, California which are part of the BSC co-op system. All the apartments are studios or one-bedroom apartments, and are highly prized in BSC. Due to BSC's seniority system for allocating apartments, most of the inhabitants of the Northside Apartments are graduate students or long-term (more than 4-year) undergrads who've been members of BSC for most of their time at Berkeley.Unlike the other BSC houses, which are more like student-run dorms, BSC's three apartment complexes have no food service, and much lighter workshift requirements.
Oscar Wilde House
The Oscar Wilde House, often referred to simply as Wilde House, is located on Warring Street, in the heart of UC Berkeley's fraternity row, and was a former fraternity house. Its residents have chosen the nickname, "wildebeests". Wilde House was one of the first gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender-themed (LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) student housing cooperative in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is named after Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
.
Wilde house was a major source of inspiration for Ant Hill Cooperative
Ant Hill Cooperative
List of member cooperatives of the North American Students of Cooperation * 1614 Co-op* 21st Street Co-op* * * Berkeley Student Cooperative* * * * * * in Boulder, Colorado* * Community of Urbana Champaign Cooperative Housing*...
in upstate New York.
Ridge House
Ridge House is a converted mansion that houses 38 university students (also known as 'Ridgelings'), immediately adjacent to Casa Zimbabwe, and next door to the library of the Graduate Theological Union. Ridge house was originally an all-male house, but is now co-ed.Prior to ownership by BSC, Ridge house was a sorority house for the University.
Rochdale Apartments
The Rochdale Apartments are an apartment complex in Berkeley, California which is part of the BSC coop system.Rochdale Village was named after the English Town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, where the Rochdale Pioneers
Rochdale Pioneers
The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, was an early consumer co-operative, and the first to pay a patronage dividend, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement....
developed the Rochdale Principles
Rochdale Principles
The Rochdale Principles are a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives. They were first set out by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England, in 1844, and have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operatives around the world operate to this day. The...
of cooperation
In 1970, the City of Berkeley, the University of California, and the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) entered into a visionary collaborative to expand the supply of low-cost housing for University students. The result was the financing and construction of Rochdale Village, one of the first student housing projects in the nation to receive HUD (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...
) financing under the sponsorship of an independent nonprofit student housing organization.
The apartments were constructed in 1971 on the site of a former Berkeley public school, the McKinley Continuation School which closed down in the late 1960s, and except for its Haste Street Annex building (now restored, but moved to a new location), was razed.
Almost forty years later, Rochdale Village still plays a critical role in the supply of low-cost apartment housing for an ethnically and economically diverse group of UC Berkeley students. Rents are as low as $1,788 per member per semester, qualifying Rochdale Village as perhaps the most affordable student housing in the City. Almost 80% of the 259 current residents of Rochdale Village participate in the University’s Educational Opportunity Program, reserved for students of a low-income or educationally disadvantaged background.
Rochdale Village also serves as a lynchpin of the University’s support system for disabled students. For disabled students on SSI, Rochdale Village is virtually the only affordable housing near campus. Each year BSC continues to add additional disabled accessible units to the seven that already exist at Rochdale Village.
Governed and run by UC students according to cooperative principles, Rochdale Village also serves as a community center and leadership development hub for a number of student organizations, including Hermanos Unidos and Raza.
In addition to paying off the HUD loan of more than $2 million without default, BSC has invested several million more in maintaining and improving Rochdale Village. Among these investments are “energy saving” improvements, including an extensive array of solar panels on the roof and high-efficiency furnaces and water heaters.
At the end of the Spring Semester of 2009, the ground lease between the UC Regents and the Berkeley Student Cooperative will end. The land and all of the improvements will then revert to the University. The student residents of Rochdale have formed a "Save Rochdale; Save our Home" http://www.saverochdale.org campaign as of November 2009 with the aim to renew the lease under the same conditions.
Sherman Hall
Sherman Hall houses 40 women (called Shermaids, Shermanites, or Shermanistas) and is one of the two women-only houses in BSC. Sherman is located on the South Side of Berkeley near the California Memorial StadiumCalifornia Memorial Stadium
California Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley. Commonly known as Memorial Stadium, it is the home field for the University of California Golden Bears of the Pacific-12 Conference...
and IHouse
International House Berkeley
The International House, Berkeley is a multi-cultural residence and program center serving students at the University of California, Berkeley...
on 2250 Prospect Street. Nearby co-ops include Davis (next-door), Castro, Afro, and Loth. Many vegan or vegetarian Shermanites board at Loth (the vegetarian-themed house) in order to have both a high standard of living (Sherman is known for its cleanliness) while simultaneously meeting their dietary needs.
Sherman was originally a sorority house, but was purchased by the BSC in the 1940s. Since then it has housed all women, except during the summer, when it is open to men as well. Sherman Hall will be undergoing a retrofit during the summer of 2012.
Stebbins Hall
Main article Stebbins Hall (Cooperative House)Stebbins Hall (Cooperative House)
Stebbins Hall is a student housing cooperative owned by the Berkeley Student Cooperative and located at 2527 Ridge Road in Berkeley, California, on the north side of the University of California, Berkeley campus...
Stebbins Hall is located on the north side of the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
campus, on the lot of the Pierce family's original Victorian home. The Pierces were a wealthy family, responsible for many architectural landmarks in the city of Berkeley. They built the Cloyne Court Hotel
Cloyne Court Hotel
The Cloyne Court Hotel, often referred to simply as Cloyne, is a student housing cooperative located at 2600 Ridge Road in Berkeley, California on the north side of the University of California, Berkeley campus, on Ridge Road at Leroy Avenue. It is part of the Berkeley Student Cooperative system...
, a "high class modern apartment house" in 1904, which was later converted into another student co-op. In 1927 the Pierce house was torn down to make way for Hotel Slocum. The University Student Cooperative Association purchased the property in 1950 as a site for the first all-women cooperative house, and it remained this way until 1971 when Stebbins Hall became coed.
The green hands on the front of the building were painted by residents of Cloyne as a prank, when Cloyne was all men and Stebbins was all women. Residents refer to themselves as "Stebbinites," and claim the lizard as their mascot.
Stebbins Hall is named after Lucy Ward Stebbins
Lucy Ward Stebbins
Lucy Ward Stebbins was the Dean of Women at University of California, Berkeley.Lucy Ward Stebbins was born in San Francisco in 1880. She was the daughter of Horatio Stebbins, pastor of the San Francisco First Unitarian Church and Regent for UC Berkeley...
, former Dean of Women at University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. During her time in office, she increased the enrollment of women from 1,200 to 6,400 by raising money for scholarships, expanding curriculum, encouraging women to participate in student government, and creating housing opportunities. During her office, the schools of Nursing and Social welfare were established, as well as the departments of Decorative Arts and Home Economics. Lucy Ward also founded the Women's Faculty Club, one of the earliest female faculty organizations to exist at a co-ed university.
Stebbins Hall houses 64 students during the school year and 41 or more in the summer.
Wolf House
Wolf House houses 29 residents, known as wolves, in a house on Durant Avenue, one house down from Piedmont Avenue and two blocks from the University of CaliforniaUniversity of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
campus on Southside
Southside, Berkeley, California
Southside, also known by the older names South of Campus or South Campus, is a neighborhood in Berkeley, California. Southside is located directly south of and adjacent to the University of California, Berkeley campus...
, an area dominated by sororities and fraternities.
The house was built by Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
for the Rector of St. Mark's Church, the Rev. Edward L. Parsons, in 1905 and originally situated just above Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, USA, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California campus in Berkeley, California...
on Durant at 2532. In 1915, with the commercialization of the neighborhood, the family of Rev. Parsons decided to have the house moved up Durant Avenue to 2732, next to the corner of Piedmont. At that time the front porch was enclosed and the location of the front door changed to fit the lot, under the supervision of the architect. When Rev. Parsons became the Episcopal Bishop of California, the family moved to San Francisco. The house was first rented and then sold. Before being bought by BSC in 1974, the house served as a sorority.
In 2002, BSC, in an attempt to make the building accessible to disabled residents, added a ramp that ran the length of the house along Durant to the front door, bisecting the front stairs.
Defunct Co-ops
The following facilities were once owned and operated by BSC, but are now closed or otherwise defunct.- Barrington Hall (1933–1989)
- Sheridan Hall (1934–1943)
- Oxford Hall (1938–1977), original location of Central Kitchen (CK), leased until purchase in 1963
Central Co-op Services
Right below Casa Zimbabwe are the BSC's Central Office and the Central Kitchen and Central Maintenance facilities.Central Office handles all of the applications to BSC and determines where members will be placed. Placement is based on how long the applicant has been a member of BSC, the member's preferences, and the number of vacancies in their preferred house(s).
Central Kitchen handles and delivers the food orders for all of the houses but not the apartments. Food orders are handled on the house level by the Food or Kitchen Managers. Central Kitchen also handles the supply orders for all of the houses, such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies, as well as the furniture orders for both the houses and the apartments.
Central Maintenance is responsible for major work on the houses, including major projects or renovations. Most minor work is handled by house Maintenance Managers.
Notable BSC alumni
- Beverly ClearyBeverly ClearyBeverly Cleary is an American author. Educated at colleges in California and Washington, she worked as a librarian before writing children's books. Cleary has written more than 30 books for young adults and children. Some of her best-known characters are Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Beatrice Quimby, her...
(1938, Stebbins Hall), author of the Ramona series of children's books - Narsai DavidNarsai DavidNarsai Michael David is an author, radio and television personality in the Bay Area.-Biography:Narsai Michael David was born in South Bend, Indiana to Assyrian parents Michael Khanno David and Shulamith Sayad. During college he supported himself by working in restaurants, then opening a plastic...
(1953–1955, Cloyne Court), food correspondent for KCBSKCBS (AM)KCBS is an all-news radio station in San Francisco, California, that is a key West Coast flagship radio station of the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One. Its transmitter is located in Novato, California. KCBS currently has studios on Battery Street, where it shares the location with co-owned KPIX...
AM radio in San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland... - Andreas FloerAndreas FloerAndreas Floer was a German mathematician who made seminal contributions to the areas of geometry, topology, and mathematical physics, in particular the invention of Floer homology.-Life:...
(1983–1985, Barrington Hall), German-American mathematician, Floer homologyFloer homologyFloer homology is a mathematical tool used in the study of symplectic geometry and low-dimensional topology. First introduced by Andreas Floer in his proof of the Arnold conjecture in symplectic geometry, Floer homology is a novel homology theory arising as an infinite dimensional analog of finite... - Ed MasugaEd MasugaEd Masuga is an American singer, musician, and songwriter from Berkeley, California.Ed Masuga's music is characterized by acoustic guitar fingerpicking and a strong yet mellifluous vocal style. Although best known for his intricate guitar work, Masuga also accompanies himself on piano, banjo,...
(1999–2002, Le Chateau), singer, musicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, and songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer... - Norman MinetaNorman MinetaNorman Yoshio Mineta, is a United States politician of the Democratic Party. Mineta most recently served in President George W. Bush's Cabinet as the United States Secretary of Transportation, the only Democratic Cabinet Secretary in the Bush administration...
(1949–1950, Ridge House), United States Secretary of TransportationUnited States Secretary of TransportationThe United States Secretary of Transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation, a member of the President's Cabinet, and fourteenth in the Presidential line of succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Transportation on October 15, 1966,...
under President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000.... - Marion NestleMarion NestleMarion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H., is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, in the department that she chaired from 1988 through 2003. Her degrees include a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition, both from the...
(Stebbins), Author of Food Politics - Gordon MooreGordon MooreGordon Earle Moore is the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Intel Corporation and the author of Moore's Law .-Life and career:...
(1950, Cloyne Court), Intel co-founder - Leon F. LitwackLeon F. LitwackLeon F. Litwack is an American historian and Professor of American History Emeritus at the University of California Berkeley, where he received the Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2007...
(195?, boarder, Cloyne Court), Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winner, UC Berkeley History Professor - Hugo SchwyzerHugo SchwyzerHugo Schwyzer is an American author, speaker, activist and professor of history and gender studies at Pasadena City College...
(1985-89, Ridge House), American writer - Terence HallinanTerence HallinanTerence Hallinan is an American attorney and politician from San Francisco, California. He is the second of six sons born to leftist attorney Vincent Hallinan and his wife Vivian....
San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
District Attorney
See also
- North American Students of CooperationNorth American Students of CooperationThe North American Students of Cooperation is a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968. Traditionally, NASCO has been associated with student housing cooperatives, though non-student cooperatives are included in its network...
(NASCO) - Berkeley Student Food CollectiveBerkeley Student Food CollectiveThe Berkeley Student Food Collective is a collectively operated non-profit grocery market founded by students of the University of California, Berkeley near the Berkeley campus. The market aims to expand student access to as many organic, locally-sourced, fair trade and whole foods as possible...
(BSFC)
External links
- The Green Book, a collection of BSC history