Does anyone know about pros and cons of living at either 660 Stewart or Watermargin – the differences between the coops – and how they might compare to living in a dorm or fraternity/sorority. Is either coop known as risky as far as drug use? Is it possible to be at either and be in an academic program that requires a great deal of work/studying? Anything else? What do you know about other cooperative options as well?
Things may have changed over the many moons, but from what I saw “back when”, Watermargin seemed good.
They had some speakers, and held some great parties. When D2 attended, the coops did not really have much influence over who got to go there, they couldn’t really “pick” people the way frats did. So the group may wind up being not all that homogeneous, at the outset. Other than being part of the pool of people who might want to live in a coop. Which might affect blanket statements about drug use, etc. But close proximity, shared meals and chores, common place to hang out, tends to breed relationships, So it seemed pretty good from that standpoint, to me. It’s also in a good location.
I don’t think there’s much problem with work/studying. It’s convenient to campus, so people might go to the library if they are worried about getting distracted. The demands of the coop did not seem too onerous. Just specified “windows” for meals (gotta eat anyway, right? Not far from campus…) , and chores. If you wind up cooking, or on KP, that’s more time committed. But not every day, they split it up.
The people I knew who were in it were plenty studious. (Of course I did not know everybody there, just the people I knew)… But their parties were great, anyway.
Don’t know about any of the other coops.
Thank you.