Leave behind your anxieties of a mediocre life in college and journey westward toward salvation. Tread past the behemoths of Jester and Dobie. Pay no heed to the expensive sandwiches and books as you pass the Drag. Look not at the many groups of morons who stand and talk in the middle of the street upon entering West Campus. The trek will be worth it - hidden beneath the many black spires of parking garages and high rises, a few strongholds of fancy, merriment and paradise remain.
I get a bit nostalgic during the summer. As I was conducting my annual college-life-in-review, I realized the thing that has had one of the greatest impact on life actually has very little to do with the University. Rather, it has to do with where I lived.
As an incoming freshman, on-campus dorms seemed like my only option. But after receiving a vague, dinky little card in the mail about social cooperatives, I visited the Pearl Street Co-op in West Campus. Not exactly an apartment, not exactly a frat house and certainly not a dorm. I decided to try it out.
Best decision ever.
Though the name "social cooperative" implies a failed Marxist commune of some sort, cooking, cleaning and pooling money together in such a small setting actually reduced costs to about less than half of what I would have paid for a dorm - with much, much better food.
With no resident assistants or landlords, co-oppers elect officers and maintain self-government through weekly meetings, voting and appropriation of discretionary money for purchasing food, gardening equipment and major house improvements (i.e., furniture, fences). Students rely on themselves to solve problems as a community rather than depending on an authoritative figure. And finally, with no RA's or landlords - well, lets just say that those who have been to co-op parties know what to expect. For example, during a 21st Street Co-op (the "treehouse" on 21st Street) anniversary party, the Austin Police Department felt compelled to send a helicopter to West Campus.
Eschewing the stereotypical presence of hard drugs and pervasive full male and female nudity, the co-op environment attracts all sorts of people and provides them with opportunities and resources for creativity, such as concerts, open mic nights, art showings, film screenings and mustache parties (you'd be surprised at how creative these can get). The result is a diverse production in the fields of art, video, sound engineering, photography (Pearl Street has a darkroom), social activism and brewing beer.
Because of the low cost, co-ops also serve as a home to international students from all over the world who study abroad in Austin. Racism is virtually nonexistent, and interacting with foreigners every day allows for a broader perspective, information sharing and making fun of "weird" customs. After the international students return home, American co-oppers have a friend and a place to stay in many other countries.
On a larger scale, these are places where people like Kinky Friedman and Ron Paul had a chance - areas of free thought and discussion with no expectations and little boundaries. Political and social constraints are left at the door while those outside claw to get a glimpse at paradise through the window.
The only downside is that at some point, you have to leave. Though, as a two-year veteran, I still go back sometimes to steal food. Long live the last bastions of freedom and affordable housing in West Campus.
Kumar is a Business Honors and supply chain management senior.
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