House Governance
Seniority System
Dishes
Food
Supper Club
Fraternities
Guests
Laundry
Newspaper
Quiet Hours
Parking Lot
Parties and Gatherings
Pets
Smoking
Showers
Waste Management
Compost
The Garden
Safety and Emergency Issues
Security
Fireplace
Computers
Internet
Phones
Life
Issues that require attention are addressed at "Board meetings".
They are currently held every other week on Sunday at 7 pm and are facilitated
by the President. Decisions are made by the vote of a simple majority.
All co-opers are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
Seniority is determined by the number of days you have lived and paid
rent at the co-op. When your deposit is refunded you lose all seniority.
If you plan to move out and come back, you may retain your seniority by
leaving your deposit. However, your seniority does not increase while
you are gone.
• Car parking is assigned on the basis of seniority, but once you
have been given a space it cannot be taken from you because someone of
higher seniority acquired a car and wants a spot.
• House jobs are chosen in order of seniority at the House Meetings.
People with highest seniority choose first and the newest people are stuck
with the jobs that are left over.
• Anybody may request a change of room, but requests are granted
in order of seniority. Once you are in a single room, you cannot be forced
out. In order to fill the house, the Board reserves the right to move
you out from one double room into another. This happens infrequently and
the Board tries to avoid this situation whenever possible.
You will probably be assigned a numbered plate, bowl, and glass to use.
You are responsible for washing these items yourself and storing them
on your food shelf. If you are not assigned a set, talk to the Recruitment
Manager or find a set to use, and wash and store it yourself. This takes
a huge burden off of the dishwashers. Also, if you bring dishes out of
the kitchen, bring them back when you are finished. Dirty dishes in the
living room and TV room make the house look like a pit. Flies like dirty
dishes. Always rinse pans, utensils, and such after you use them. You’ll
understand why after doing dishes for the first time.
When this was written, the food plan (or meal plan) included a wide variety
of items such as pasta, peanut butter, flours, beans, spices, veggies,
fruit, dairy, and condiments and cost $30 a month. You can eat as much
as you want, but it’s uncooperative to hog the high-demand items
such as bananas. Sharing a meal with a guest occasionally is okay, but
do not use large quantities of house food to take to a potluck. If you
are on the meal plan, you are given a choice between having either soymilk
or cow milk–inform the Food Coordinators of your choice. The meal plan
is optional. If you want to go on or off the plan, talk to the Food Coordinators
and the Financial Managers about the procedure. The house currently contributes
an additional $15 for each person on the meal plan.
Supper Club is a system in which people take turns cooking meals for
each other. If you choose to join, you will be responsible to prepare
meals on a regular schedule and will reap the benefit of having meals
prepared for you as well. You must be on the meal plan to join Supper
Club, since meal plan food is used (and supplemented). Supper Club information
is posted in the kitchen, and requires a little work by one person to
make the schedule at the beginning of each semester.
If the fraternity parties are too loud, don’t take it into your
own hands—take ‘em to court. Just kidding. First give them
a call (or ask our President to call) and ask for the president or someone
in control, then ask that person to turn down the music. They are generally
cooperative. Only call the police if they don’t honor your request.
Once we call the cops on one of their parties, they’re sure to do
it to one of ours.
Your friends are welcome to stay. But not for more than a week or two.
Some people’s friends virtually move in—using our showers
and phones and eating our food. This isn’t fair to the rest of the
house. If it becomes a problem, the board will step in and line up the
spanking machine with their metal-studded softball gloves. If the friend
were going to be eating here for a while, asking him or her to pay $1.50
a day for food would be reasonable and would cover our costs.
Washer and dryer are free to use. The co-op purchases detergent for all
to use. Washing large loads and setting water level correctly on smaller
loads conserves water and energy. Pull the cable on the back of the dryer
to engage the timer. Be sure to clean the lint filter before using the
dryer–it is a fire hazard. And though you may have good intentions, don’t
put someone’s clothing in the dryer–a person might not want their
clothes shrunk or ruined. Process your laundry promptly and leave your
clothesbasket downstairs so people don’t have to put your clothes
on a dirty table or floor. Please use the clothesline in the yard from
April to October—why waste natural gas and electricity when Sun
and Wind would gladly do the job? A word of caution: Don’t leave
clothes on the line on a weekend night. Hooligans have been known to steal
clothing.
The coop has subscriptions to the New York Times and the Star TribuneAlways bring the newspaper back to the kitchen after you are finished
reading it. That way everyone will know that it has been delivered and
will be able to find it when they want to read it.
Quiet hours are from 10 pm – 8 am Sunday through Thursday nights.
Please be considerate of those that have earlier sleeping schedules than
you. Treat your neighbors with the same respect that you would have them
treat you. Talk to a noisy person first before going to the House Manager.
Your car should be in running condition and insured if you keep it in
the lot. Exchange keys with the persons(s) in your row so that the both
of you can get in and out when needed. It would not be the Wisdom of Solomon
to leave your keys to the Jaguar on the 2nd floor message board. If you
lose someone’s keys, replace them. For best parking for everyone,
park straight, and as close to the building as you can. There is no guest
parking. If you see an unfamiliar car in the lot, check around the house
to see if anyone knows the owner. If you can’t find the owner, you
may call the towing company. If you have a spot in the lot, you are required
to shovel snow from your spot. Talk to the House Manager about any parking
lot issues.
The co-op has passed various detailed policies on what a co-oper must
do in order to have a group of people over for parties (with alcohol)
or other events (e.g. political events). What those policies have in common
is prior Board approval and responsibility by the event host. If you want
to have a large group (10 or more) event, get prior Board approval.
The co-op throws house parties from time to time. If you’d like
to organize one or have suggestions, talk to the President or the Board.
An animal that will fit in an aquarium or a small cage such as a fish
or a hamster is fine. (However, please don’t put both in the same
aquarium). If you want to have a larger pet, ask the board. There are
a lot of people living in the house and not everyone will necessarily
like your pet. Some people are allergic to certain animals. Others have
a difficult time recovering from the bite of a king cobra or a rabid bat.
Smoking isn’t permitted in the house. That includes common spaces
and private rooms. Smoking on the back or front porch is okay, but if
you smoke out there, please don’t throw your butts in the garden.
Make sure to shut the showers off completely when you are done. Leaking
showerheads waste water. You can reduce your impact on the planet and
save the co-op some money if you lower the water temperature and flow,
and take shorter showers.
You are required to sort the trash from the recyclables you produce and
place recyclables in the appropriate bins under the stairs in the basement.
There are several categories as follows:
• Commingled: glass, aluminum, tin cans, necked plastic bottles
can be combined.
• Paper products: all non-greasy, non-waxy paper, including books.
• Batteries.
• Clean plastic and paper bags are also kept for reuse.
• Goodwill: There is a bin for items to go to Goodwill.
• Scrap cloth that is no longer usable clothing can be used for
rags.
• Packing materials: there is sometimes a bin for foam peanuts and
such.
• Scrap metals: there is sometimes a bin for random metals that
can go to scrap yards for recycling. Please use when present.
• Computer/electronic components: these contain heavy metals. Find
a recycler in the phone book and recycle the stuff you bought yourself.
• Fluorescent lights (tube and compact) are toxic and must be recycled
by an appropriate facility. There is usually a bin in the co-op.
• Appliances: don’t dump your dorm fridges or air conditioners
on the co-op to pay recycling costs—do it yourself.
• Hazardous waste: do not throw motor oil, antifreeze, paints, solvents,
etc. into waste stream. Contact Hennepin County for drop off sites.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle!
Our compost process provides fertilizer for the co-op garden and welcomes
your contributions. The composting happens in the two green plastic barrels
in the parking lot. The compost barrels require someone to tend them a
little (rotate them, make sure they’re not too full or wet), so
if it suits you, do it! We generally discontinue composting during the
winter because it gets too cold for waste to decompose and our bins fill
up.
• Do compost fruit, vegetables, bread, eggshells, grass and leaves.
• Don’t compost meat, bones, whole eggs, waste oil or weeds
with seeds.
The garden is there for anyone with a green thumb to putter around in.
If you’d like to plant something, talk to others to coordinate your
plans or consider a group gardening effort. The house traditionally will
pay for plants if there are people willing to tend them and the food is
made available to all. Keep the garden weeded so it looks nice.
- Fire prevention:
- Fire detection:
- Fire escape routes:
- Fire fighting:
- First Aid:
- Other emergencies:
- Safety Review:
• No smoking in the house.
• Be smart with candles—do not leave unattended!
• Do not forget to turn oven off when done.
• Do not store gasoline or extremely flammable materials in the
house or near heat sources. Do not leave fireplace unattended.
• Do not overload electrical outlets. Use thicker extension cords
for larger electrical loads. Extension cords overheat when they are too
thin for the load or when there they are bundled or covered.
The house is equipped with a central smoke and heat detector
system. The twenty or so detectors are in the hallways and public spaces,
while the control panel is in the laundry room. Each sleeping room should
also have a battery-operated smoke detector.
Every sleeping room should have a posted exit route
in case of an emergency. Metal fire escape ladders are located on the
outside of the house near the windows of rooms 14 and 16 (both on 3rd
floor) and rooms 7 and 9 (both on 2nd floor). The stairwells and both
exit doors are also equipped with emergency lighting and exit signs with
battery back-ups. Meet in front yard so we can account for everyone.
There are 5 fire extinguishers in wall-mounted boxes.
Each box also contains a flashlight, and the kitchen box also has a wide-band
radio. Locations:
• Kitchen: near back stairwell door.
• Living Room: in the southeast corner.
• Back stairwell: near laundry room
• 2nd floor bathroom: just outside it.
• 3rd floor bathroom: just outside it.
Supplies are located in a marked box under the dish table in
the kitchen.
In the case of a civil defense or bad weather emergency,
gather in the kitchen/basement area. In case of a Tsunami, you must provide
your own life jacket and/or raft.
Our insurance policy (and common sense) dictates that
these safety points be reviewed at least once a semester at the House
Meeting. The President and Maintenance Managers are also responsible for
making sure safety and emergency equipment is regularly inspected and
working.
Do not give out the door code to your friends. Friends tell friends,
and pretty soon someone burglarizes us at 3 am Monday. We cannot afford
to have our access code floating around outside. If you answer the door,
escort the visitor to her host. There have been incidences of visitors
given free reign and stealing stuff. If you see someone alone in the house
whom you do not know, you have a right to ask her who she is or with whom
she is.
The fireplace is available for all to use, but you must provide your
own wood. Take proper precautions when using the fireplace. Open the damper
during use, and be sure to close the damper after the embers have cooled
to prevent heated air from leaving the house. Do not leave a fire unattended.
At this point in time, the co-op has two computers available for common
use. Please observe the computer use policies posted near the computer.
Everyone is responsible for using the computer with care, though maintenance
usually falls to the technophiles in the house needing to fulfill maintenance
hours.
The co-op has a DSL network installed in the house, which goes to every room.
Currently, a wireless B/G network extends to every portion of the house as well.
The computer geeks in the house can help with technical questions.
There are three lines:
(612) 331-1078 for 1st floor
(612) 331-1020 for 2nd floor
(612) 331-2741 for 3rd floor
• When someone is waiting to use the phone and the other lines
are busy, please limit your call to 5 minutes.
• Please ask your friends not to call during quiet hours.
• Also, be sure to tell your friends when you move to a room on
a different floor so that they can call you there and not bother people
on your previous floor.
• If the phone rings, answer it. Please answer the phone if you
are nearby, even if you have a line in your own room. True, our voice
mail will pick it up, but if there is an emergency, people need to know
of it right away.
• When checking for voice mail messages, press “33”
or “#” to skip messages that are not for you. Please respect
the privacy of others.
• If you answer a phone call for someone not home, take a complete
message with date and time and complete information.
• If you want a phone line in your room, you must pay for installation
and service and all associated costs.
Hopefully your experience life in the co-op will be happy and enriching.
At its best, the co-op can be a fun place to live and a warm, safe community
to come home to after class. At its worst, the co-op is a run down dump
inhabited by strangers. Try to get to know your housemates. Share a pan
of brownies with someone in the kitchen. You might be surprised at how
things come back to you.
Try to leave the co-op a better place than you found it. The various
people who have lived here since 1940 have tried to make constant improvements
to the organization and to the building. Because of them there is a co-op
here for us today. Help continue what they started. Cooperative living
is a very special way to live and it should not be taken for granted,
but rather nurtured by each one of us. To paraphrase John F. Kennedy:
“Ask not what your co-op can do for you, ask rather what you can
do for your co-op.”
Composed by Gary J. Windels
Revised for 1995 by Jeff Zeitler
Revised for 2002 by Brian N. Hall
Revised for online 2004 by Brendan Nee