Frequently Asked Questions
The office is located in the Lorax Manner behind the kitchen. Just knock and ask someone to show you where it is. Office hours are Tues, Thurs, and Fri from 9am - 3:30pm Members can drop off fee payments to the locked box on the office door. How do I know if the co-ops are right for me? The best way to see if the co-ops are a good fit for you is to come take a tour of the house. You can set up a time with our office staff (scaoffice.recruitment@gmail.com) or just stop by and introduce yourself. It is difficult to try to describe the unique vibe of the co-ops, and each house is a little different so you just have to investigate a little. We'd love to meet you. Come by and have dinner with us. Who can be a member? Anyone who is enrolled as a student at an institute of higher learning in Lane County, a trade or vocational program, or any local accredited college. What is the membership process like? After an application is complete, it goes to the membership committee for review. Since this requires house participation and is a group decision, it may take a couple weeks. During this time we highly encourage you to come over as much as you want in order to meet some of the current membership. Your application can really only tell us so much, and coming to dinners to meet members will help us get a better impression of who you are. After receiving feedback from members about your application, we schedule a short interview with you (will happen at our Membership meeting in front of a small group of people, takes about 30-45 minutes). One week after your interview we will hold a membership vote. Once a decision has been made, we will let you know if you've been approved for membership. Applications
are considered when openings are available; when there are no open spots
we will keep your application on file up to one year and notify you if a spot becomes available. Diversity and other house-specific needs are
taken into consideration when accepting new members. Who do we want to live with? We want to live with people who see this place as an opportunity to be involved in a community built from diverse people. We want people who will be active in our community and not just live here because the rent is cheap. We favor applicants who are interested in cooperative life and have the ability to work in a cooperative manner and are involved in their community or school. What is boarding? A boarder is a person who contributes to the food budget and eats meals at the co-ops, but does not live on the premises. Boarding is a good way to get to know the community if you are interested but not sure you want to join the co-ops without getting to know them better first. This is also a good option if you love us and wish you could live here but are locked into a lease. What is covered in fees? Fees cover your room, a full kitchen stocked with organic local food, all the utilities and internet, and amenities such as toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc. Do the houses allow pets? Each house has different pet limitations. Please specify on your application if you have a pet that you'd like to bring with you. Do the houses have internet? Yes, all three houses are covered with wireless internet. Are the houses wheelchair accessible? The Campbell Club and the Janet Smith houses are wheelchair accessible with first floor bedrooms. Will I have a roommate? You can, but you don't have to. There
are four doubles in the Lorax and four doubles and one triple in the Campbell Club. The Janet Smith only has single occupancy rooms. People interested in living in a double or triple will usually
have the chance to meet potential roommates and decide if they are a
good match before moving in. Members living in a double can put their
names on the wait list for a single if they desire. How big are the rooms? Each room is a little bit different in size and style. A typical single is somewhere around 120 ft2. Smaller rooms are called wing rooms and average around 80 ft2. Will my room be furnished? It can be. Each room can be furnished with a twin mattress, desk, dresser, and chair. Most of the rooms have built in closets as well. There is also lots of furniture to be found in and around the houses that is up for grabs. Is it noisy? All three houses have the capacity to be loud at times, though the Janet Smith tends to be quieter. It can get wild but our houses have a basic code of respect: if someone is playing their music too loud while you are trying to sleep, if ask them to turn it down they usually will. There is a basic recognition that this is student housing and student needs are taken into account. Are the co-ops safe? The co-op itself is very safe. As a well-lit building with numerous people constantly around, it's unlikely that you will encounter any kind of violent crime. Theft is rare, but sometimes things may go missing from common rooms. Bedrooms are equipped with locks. People will inevitably leave the external doors open for ventilation when the weather is nice, but it's important to keep them closed at night! How much work do I have to do? Part of cooperative living is sharing the work necessary to keep the houses running. Some of this work keeps our costs down (like doing most of our building maintenance ourselves), but in general the purpose is to employ division of labor to reduce the amount of work that everybody has to do. The usual load is between 5-7 hours a week (plus additional time commitments for weekly house meetings). Every term there is also a work party. This is 5 hours of permanent improvement to the house that everyone in the house engages in on the same day. We try to make these as fun as possible. What are my other responsibilities as a member? Members are required to attend weekly house meetings and are encouraged to attend weekly Tri-House Corporate Board meetings. Members are expected to participate in the community and work to make communal living successful in their house, as well as live respectfully and cooperatively. Fees are due at the beginning of each term, but it is more common for members to pay in monthly installments. I've never lived in a co-op before, how social do I have to be? It's all up to you. You can make friends with your entire house, get involved in organizing co-op activities and creating useful stuff for the house, eat dinner surrounded by people every day, and chat with your housemates deep into the night. If this doesn't sound like something you are interested in doing, I would think twice about why you want to live here. You can simply do your jobs, pay your fees, attend meetings and just get on with your life outside the co-op. You'll need to be able to act civilly towards a large and diverse group of neighbors, but beyond that you're free to do as you please. Like a lot of co-ops, we have a lot of shared space and a good, friendly community. But unlike a lot of them, we also have private space and are used to people who would prefer to keep to themselves. What about parking? Parking around the University can be tricky. Parking is first come, first served. We have a couple spots between the Campbell Club and the Lorax, and a few at the Janet Smith reserved for co-opers. If these are filled, there is some free parking on 16th and 17th (careful, these are 2-hour zones), and further South on Hilyard. How much does it cost? Fees (Rent) for 2017-2018 Fall, Winter, Spring (Room fees with utilities and food plan included):
Summer (utilities included): TBD by the board of directors NASCO Membership Fee: $40 one-time fee (nonrefundable) Deposit (refundable with exceptions): Deposit is equal to one month of fees (which varies depending on your room type). To be eligible to move in you must pay your first month's fees and a deposit. |