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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2001)
With an emphasis on sharing, University co-ops offer a living atmosphere like no other Chessie Woodruff and Sara Albee (above) chat in the frog room, named for the frog mural on the wall. Samantha McCoy (below) takes the spiral staircasetoherrcmm The general consensus around the house was that the Lorax is, “an amazing place to live.” TEXT BY LISA R. GRIFFINS PHOTOS BY ADAM AMATO Imagine living with 30 other people under one roof and shar ing one kitchen; imagine having the liberty to paint anything, any where and anytime. Imagine walking in the door after a long day of lectures and note-taking. You paint a sun, moon and Ken ny from South Park in the hall way while the president of the co-ops walks by and says, “You should paint something in the bathroom too.” A few of the luxuries of living at the co-ops include: sharing a bathroom with 30 people, creat ing unforgettable moments and having the license to splatter paint anywhere inside the house. “When you move in, you have 80 instant friends. I find myself playing Twister or Risk in a group of people shooting the shit,” said the co-ops president and chair woman Robin Brandt, who lives at the Lorax on Alder Street. “All ways of thinking and ideals live here, and it’s accepted. People agree to disagree.” A wide cross-section of people live in the co-ops, from religious to non-religious, punker to folk and low-key to hyper. The atmosphere is busy, much like a beehive. Resi dents come and go at all hours, and activity never ceases. “The best part about living in the co-ops is that people sponta neously come out of the wood work, and you have 15 people talking,” Brandt said. “The weirdest thing was sitting on the toilet and having a heart-to-heart while someone was brushing their teeth.” The assortment of personali ties living in one house creates unique memories that are sure to linger. The most bizarre moment for Betsy Hunt, the social coordi nator of the Campbell Club, was the “hide and seek lingerie party. Even the boys wore [lingerie].” Brandt said the ideal co-op consists of a group of people who live together to cut costs and cre ate a specific community for spe cific purposes for students. “The people tend to be liberal, but not exclusively liberal,” she said. With all of these college stu dents under one roof, who takes charge? The answer: no one. “Students are in equal control; it’s unhierarchical,” said recruit ment coordinator Ben Cutler. “There’s no landlord. Any per son can participate in the process and say what they feel. ” In addition to providing inex pensive living, the co-ops also with people.” Each person has a specific role in order to take care of the neces sary duties. “We all pitch in for chores and jobs,” Brandt said. For example, Nance rides a six-foot long bike with another nominated person to carry 1,000 pounds of organic gro ceries every week from west Eu gene. Also, there are designated granola, hummus and salsa mak ers. Everyone contributes to the housework in turn. In a tour of the Campbell Club on Alder Street, the kitchen is the first stop. The cooks chat and host huge parties and generate profits in the process. “It’s really cool when we can throw a party and bring people together, and use proceeds to get solar panels or support good causes,” said the co-ops mainte nance czar Arjon Nance. “I really like the principles of people liv ing together and sharing re sources. It makes sense. It’s em powering for people to meet on a certain set of ideals socially, en vironmentally and economical ly. I’m learning about group dy namics and ways to get along dance. Thirteen loaves of bread stick out of the wooden side shelf. Purple, blue, yellow and other hues of paint decorate the walls. “Paint is provided for anyone who wants to paint their room or something like that,” Brandt said. “You can paint anywhere.” Bins full of ingredients stock the kitchen. Stickers plaster a huge metallic fridge, among them: “Join the Army: Travel to exotic distant lands, meet exciting unusual peo ple and kill them.” Cozy couches and chairs cover the living room floor. Stationary bikes crowd the corner of the liv ing room. Echoes of guitar riffs and bantering fill the air. A “free pile” sits at the top of the third floor. “If someone doesn’t want their clothes or other stuff, and you want it, you take it,” Brandt said. “You’ll get the coolest clothes.” Nance’s room, also known as the “frog room,” displays a col lection of healthy plants, school books and CDs. “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything” proclaims a sticker near the cream-colored ceiling. The position of the flat-surfaced roof allows the horizon to meet the eye. It is an escape for those who enjoy gazing at galaxies. Eighty people live in the co ops, but there are still some open ings. Singles are $1,110, smaller singles are $970 and doubles are $833 per term. The money in cludes meals and toiletries such as “tampons, razors — basically everything you need,” Brandt said. “You can even make food re quests,” Cutler said. The Eugene co-ops consist of the Campbell Club, Lorax Man ner and Janet Smith. “All three houses are all very socially active,” said Brandt. “The Lorax is an environmen tal house,” Cutler said. “They put on benefit concerts; it’s a mel lower house.” He said that Janet Smith is an academic environment. “We are trying to encourage it to be a quiet house to recruit peo ple more focused on studying,” Cutler said. “Campbell Club is socially ac tive,” Brandt said. “It tends to have students that are new, and it tends to have more parties. It’s boister ous.” Cutler said the Campbell Club will host open mic nights and serve coffee and food starting in a few weeks.
