Students looking for housing for next year now have a much more interesting alternative to the high rises.
College freshman Penny Jennewein is leading an initiative to establish a student housing cooperative, a community-based housing system whose members will live according to the shared values of social, economic and environmental justice.
Student housing cooperatives are gaining popularity nationwide. Not only do they allow students to live and socialize with like-minded people, but they are also often more affordable than other options.
The Berkeley Student Cooperative houses almost 1,300 students of the University of California at Berkeley. Within the Ivy League, Brown University students can live in one of two residences as part of the Brown Association for Cooperative Housing.
For some students applying to college, the ability to live under such systems is a strong factor in determining which school they will attend.
Although Penn’s College House system offers Residential Programs as ways to foster community, these arrangements pale in comparison to the shared experience that cooperatives at other colleges can provide.
The University should consider institutionalizing the cooperative model of student housing. Doing so would allow Penn to attract a group of students that would not have previously considered applying, as well as provide a fun and engrossing housing experience for the students who are already here.
