PRIME REAL ESTATE (Lambda Nu, Narnia, Lomita, Storey, Grove Lasuen, Grove Mayfield, Bob and Xanadu) Frosh-free houses on or near the Row. The best of the best boast both a central campus location and two-room doubles—pairs of rooms shared by two students. The others offer either a short bike ride to class or spacious two-room doubles (some with lake views). All are self-operated—students hire the cook and enjoy after-hours access to the kitchen. Parties aren’t thrown often at any of these houses; no one wants them ruined. A few lucky students will stay on the following year as house staff. Why leave Boardwalk and Park Place unless you have to?
THINK DIFFERENT (Adams, Schiff, Suites, Toyon, Mirrielees)The all-sophomore Toyon attracts those who want to relive freshman year. And Freshman-Sophomore College really makes that possible. This administration pet project gets lots of money for academic programs, and just about everyone gets a two-room double. Roth is female-only, though many residents wish otherwise. Mirrielees, the Suites and Sharon Green go for the apartment feel; the last even comes with a commute from Menlo Park for authenticity.
BRING YOUR GRANOLA (Synergy, Chi Theta Chi, Columbae, Enchanted Broccoli Forest, Terra) The model co-op resident sports dreadlocks, Birkenstocks and thrift-store clothing. That is, if you wear clothing—some Synergy inhabitants are known to go without, and Chi Theta Chi has coed gym-style showers. These houses are student-managed; residents take turns preparing dinner in groups and (allegedly) cleaning the common rooms. While most accommodate carnivores, Columbae serves only vegetarian food and Synergy prohibits meat in the kitchen. The co-ops are home to many left-leaning social activists—Columbae’s website lists one of its traditions as “fighting the Man”—but the occasional Republican has been sighted.
LIVING IN EXILE (Roble, Florence Moore, Stern, Wilbur) The Draw cutoff number approaches infinity here. Food is bad, and the one-room doubles in Wilbur, Stern and FloMo are cramped (several singles are available in Roble, however). There are two possible responses to these straits: resist or adapt. Resisters will spend the entire year avoiding their dorm; those influenced by frosh spirit may actually get social. Exiles are advised to obtain priority in a theme house next time. The only thing worse than living in a concrete-block house two years in a row is living in one three years in a row.
THEMES AND VARIATIONS (La Casa Italiana, Slavianskii Dom, Haus Mitteleuropa, La Maison Française, East, Murray, Yost, Robinson, Naranja, Ujamaa, Kimball, Lantana, Castaño, Okada, Casa Zapata, Muwekma-tah-ruk) The academic theme houses attract a range of characters. People will study Italian for a year just to qualify for the inner Row’s Casa Italiana (and say it was one of the best moves they ever made). But some jump on the theme bandwagon to avoid exile; you can score a two-room double in east by planning a project and attending a seminar on East Asian studies. The focus houses—Kimball (performing arts), Lantana (community service), Castaño (public policy), Naranja (entrepreneurism), Murray (comparative studies in race and ethnicity),Yost (human biology) and Robinson (environmental issues)—also bring in students with bad Draw numbers who happen to be involved in the featured activity (or pretend that they are). On the other hand, students choose the cultural theme dorms—Okada (Asian-American), Ujamaa (African-American), Casa Zapata (Chicano) and Muwekma-tah-ruk (Native American)—and international co-op Hammarskjöld more for the community than for the housing.
THE LEFTOVERS (Potter, Lagunita Court, MARS, Phi Sig, 592 Mayfield, Durand, ZAP, 717 Dolores) What can you say about leftovers? The outer Row houses have their own cooks, open kitchens and plentiful parking—but tiny one-room doubles. In the West campus houses, room configurations are better, but the food is worse. Still, it’s cooler than going back to Wilbur.
—Jennie Berry, ’01
