What are the vibes of the different co ops? For example, I heard that Harkness is a very politically active/hippie-ish co op. What about the others?
Hi, I am actaully a first year at Oberlin and am not part of a co-op, but joined one over winter-term and am planning on joining one full time next semester.
I will say each one does have its own vibe but they are more similiar then they are different. Pyle is typically the most approachable one since they usually allow meat (even though this can change with each semester based on what the co-op wants) while Harkness is strictly vegetarian. There is a lot of cooperation between them all and i think people who joined one would fit well into another. You can also just eat in many of the co-ops and not live there to get a sense of the vibe and whether you like it or not.
Living in a co-op is where the culture is more prominent so I am not sure whether you are talking about living in one or just eating in one. I am just eating in Pyle next semester as my first step into co-op life and I may consider moving to one in later years. OSCA overall just creates a cool vibe and community, and you can be as active in it as you want. So even if a co-op is more politically active then you are you can feel completely welcome and comfortable there.
I hope this helped a little!