<p>Hey, I was wondering if anyone here had any experience or had any info about the co-ops at Cal. There are so many, is one more desireable than others? I know Cloyne Court has openings and looks decent from pics I've seen.
Any insight on this matter is appreciated. At the moment, I haven't got a place to stay for the next semester.</p>
<p>S has been living in one of the co-ops this semester, and having a much better living experience than the dorms (foothill) last year.
Cloyne and Casa Zimbabwe are the largest, and I think a bit hectic. I'm pretty sure Cloyne is closing for a while for renovations. </p>
<p>Here's the co-ops main website <a href="http://www.usca.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.usca.org/</a>. This page has a link to each co-op's description <a href="http://www.usca.org/understand/thecoops/%5B/url%5D">http://www.usca.org/understand/thecoops/</a></p>
<p>Things to consider are Northside or Southside location and number of people in the co-op. They range from about 20 to 150 people in each one.</p>
<p>The USCA offered me an immediate opening at Cloyne. Dec 8 is when I'll find out if I get a spot in the others.</p>
<p>what is a co-op?</p>
<p>a student owned and student run dorm that is not for profit</p>
<p>was surfing around the website above and came across a history of cloyne court:
<a href="http://www.berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_landmarks/cloyne_court.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_landmarks/cloyne_court.html</a></p>
<p>How is Euclid Hall?</p>
<p>bump.............................</p>
<p>why would one choose a co-op over a school dorm?</p>
<p>It costs less, you get to be with like-minded people, a sense of cummunity, better food (sometimes) and no campus security knocking on your door.</p>
<p>they throw awesome parties</p>
<p>cuz triples in a dorm suck</p>
<p>because dorms are sterile, boring, and they just plain suck from what ive seen. they are expensive and you cannot cook or do what you want in them.</p>
<p>co-ops are reputed to be much more social, and they cost about half of what a dorm costs, and you get free food. if you're a liberal or a hippy, it would be paradise to live in a co-op.</p>
<p>i'm not 100% sure, but I heard that since Cloyne is on UC property, it will now be handled by the campus police instead of the city police. So, the expectation is that there will be less and/or quieter parties going forward. depending on your outlook, that is either a good thing or not.</p>
<p>co-op cost for my son is about 40% of what his dorm was last year. Of course, I am not counting anything for the 5hrs/week that he has to work.</p>
<p>At least one data point, he had a pretty mediocre experience in the dorm and really likes his co-op</p>
<p>I just visited the co-op Im going to be living in today. It was crazier and more disorganized than I expected. There was writing all over the walls. The only thing I didn't like was that the bathrooms were kind of small and the kitchen looked kind of messy. My mom seemed horrified by it though, and wanted to leave.</p>
<p>coops = dirty</p>
<p>feel free to ask me anything
I live in Cloyne
and yes, it is fabulous!</p>
<p>Please describe your experience living there the past semester. More details the better. Thanks!</p>
<p>Personally I've loved every minute of living here, but I have to admit the experience is certainly not for anyone. You have to have an open mind and appreciate new ideas, and not be adverse to open drug use. While most people use some form of illegal substance, there is never pressure for people who don't want to (my roommate doesn't use drugs and he's never had a problem). Also the rumors of it being dirty are pretty true to a point... people leave their crap on the floor (because they know they can, whoever's workshift it is to clean the hall will get it), so it is often cluttered, but not dirty as in filthy, and it gets cleaned periodically during the week. Cloyne has a history of being anarchist and counter-culture and it certainly persists today. It is also very diverse (except politically... the popular ideas are generally pretty liberal), we have different ethnicities (but nobody even uses race as a distinction), a lot of exchange students, gays straights and people in between, people from different economic backgrounds... really this is the most awesome individuals I've ever met. Especially at Berkeley, where it is hard to find cool people you'd actually want to hang out with, it is refreshing to live with 150 of them. And the fully stocked kitchen available to you 24hrs a day is a nice bonus, along with the delicious home cooked meals. We have lots of vegetarians (and a few vegans) so at every meal we have plenty of vegetarian options and we order a lot of vegan-friendly food as well. For 150 students living together, with essentially no rules and very few checks, this place runs exceptionally well, and I credit that to the attitudes and personalities of the people who live here. It would be incredibly easy for this place to become a place of disrepair and chaos and uninhabitable but it runs, smoothly, year after year. It is one hell of a social experiment in cooperative living and I feel lucky to be able to experience what is the largest co-op in North America firsthand.</p>
<p>I love my co-op and if you have any specific questions I'll be happy to answer them.</p>
<p>Awesome.</p>
<p>-Since there are so many co-ops to choose from, how did you end up selecting Cloyne?
-Do you usually study in the library or is it possible to have some quiet time to do assignments and study?
-What sort of chores do you in during workshift hours? Cleaning bathroom?
-When's the best time to visit a co-op?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>