Oberlin Student Cooperative Association


The Oberlin Student Cooperative Association is a non-profit corporation that feeds and houses Oberlin College students. It is located in the town of Oberlin, Ohio, and is independent from but closely tied to Oberlin College, which has an enrollment of approximately 2900 students. OSCA is the second-largest student housing cooperative in North America, with the largest per-capita of any student co-op.

History

The first Oberlin co-op, Pyle Inn, opened in 1930 but due to poor funding existed only intermittently. By 1949, however, students dissatisfied with the college's dining system chose to revive the cooperative food system. The Inter-Cooperative Council was founded in conjunction between Pyle and the newly opened Grey Gables, with a mission to serve as an educational and social committee. By 1962, with the inception of Keep, the ICC became the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, the largest student-run cooperative in American history.
OSCA flourished for another twenty years, but underwent a critical financial crisis in 1982. OSCA was audited by the IRS and nearly lost its tax-exempt status. This setback caused a rift in the community and instigated the start of several major changes to the cooperative structure.
By 1989, the organization committed to practices of sustainability and environmentalism, purchasing local foods and cooking with more environmentally-friendly practices. In the spring of 2002, OSCA created the institution of COPAO, the Committee on Privilege and Oppression, which explores racial and socio-economic inequality within the cooperative system.

Former member co-ops

Kosher Halal Co-op, as a part of OSCA, provides at-cost Kosher and Halal food. As of 2013 it is co-managed by Oberlin College's Housing and Dining Office and the campus Hillel chapter.

Operations

OSCA pays rent to the College for use of its buildings but operates almost completely autonomously. Student members vote by OSCA's consensus process on all rules and implement decisions.
OSCA employs a Business Coordinator, a Financial Manager, a Food Safety Advisor, and an Office Assistant. OSCA members fill other positions within the co-ops, such as OSCA President, Education Coordinator, head cook, and kitchen prep. Members of OSCA do all of the cooking, cleanup, food buying, composting, and other tasks within their individual co-ops. Each co-op decides at the beginning of each semester how much time members must contribute. For those who hold jobs outside of the co-op, most co-ops will offer "time aid" to significantly reduce the number of co-op hours required. Every member of OSCA must clean up after one meal a week.
Every spring, OSCA members vote for the corporation's officers for the next year. Excluding the Chair of the Board, these officers, along with the two Operations Managers, the two Cleanliness and Maintenance Coordinators, one of two Education Coordinators, the Financial Manager, the Business Coordinator, the Office Assistant, the Food Safety Advisor and the OSCA/Oberlin College Liaison make up the General Management Team, or the GMT. The GMT deals with the day-to-day operations of the co-ops. The Board of Directors is made up of two representatives from every co-op as well as the Chair of the Board. These members then elect which staff positions should also sit on the Board.
There are no meal cards or cafeteria trays in co-ops. Communal meals are prepared at least for lunch at 12:20 pm and dinner at 6:20 pm, and the kitchens are open 24/7. Guest policies are set by members so they can bring friends and professors to meals. Many co-ops are vegetarian and vegan-friendly, and allergy awareness among the membership is always a priority.

Principles

Jobs

All-OSCA Staff

All members of OSCA equally own and participate in running OSCA. However, there are certain individual leadership roles that function on an all-OSCA level in order to allow OSCA to function as the large organization that it is. These jobs include four "officer" positions, and a number of All-OSCA student staff positions. Students in these roles oversee different aspects of OSCA. Most positions are elected annually.

OSCA Officer Positions

OSCA employs four non-student staff members in full-time management and oversight positions.

Coop Management Team

Each co-op has a Coop Management Team, consisting of members elected to do the behind-the-scenes jobs that help co-ops run smoothly. Many of these positions receive more hours of credit per week than other co-op jobs. Most CMT positions require two people.
Members can fulfill required hours by doing many varied co-op jobs. There is a fair amount of consistency in jobs across the co-ops. However, some co-ops differ in this area.
These jobs include:
OSCA operates four coops with housing and dining facilities: Keep, Tank, Old Barrows, and Harkness. It also has four dining-only co-ops: Fairchild Co-op, Pyle Inn Co-op, Third World Co-op, and the Brown Bag Co-op. All of these coops are located inside of Oberlin College-owned buildings.

Fairchild Co-op

Fairchild, known on campus and by its members as "Fairkid," is a dining-only co-op that opened in 1977 in the basement of Fairchild Hall. Members are referred to as "Fairkids." Fairchild Hall is a dorm on South Campus and is not affiliated with the co-op. A student survey determined that students were interested in a healthier dining option, so Fairchild opened as an "all-natural" co-op. Its legacy continued as such with a strict food policy that eliminated food such as meat, bananas, and coffee for socio-political reasons reaffirmed by its socially conscious membership each semester. Its membership began a tumblr called The Justice Goats in Spring 2012 in an effort to preserve its history. In Spring 2015 the membership voted to rebuild Fairchild's food policy from the ground up, and as of Spring 2016 discussions are underway regarding a new, less restrictive food policy. Until Spring of 2017, the co-op shared its space with Brown Bag Co-op, a grocery-store style co-op for students living in village or off-campus housing.

Harkness Co-op

Harkness opened in 1950 as a women's dorm, and in September 1967, Harkness became the fourth Oberlin housing and dining co-op. In 1979, Harkness became the first Oberlin co-op to use consensus, a decision process that soon spread throughout OSCA. Also in 1979, Harkness created the Contraceptive Co-op, which eventually transformed into today's Sexual Information Center. For many years, Harkness was also home to the Good Food Co-op, a consumer cooperative that was run and used by both Oberlin College students and Oberlin community members. In the mid-90s, Harkness became the first OSCA co-op to have an elected head cook system.
Centrally located on campus, Harkness houses 64 members, dines 109 and is traditionally vegetarian with vegan options. Harkness has a reputation for being a hub of student activism on campus. Harkness is home to the recently revitalized Oberlin Book Coop.

Keep Co-op

Keep is known as one of the more energetic and youthful co-ops in OSCA, with one of the largest populations of first-year student members in one co-op. It is also one of the most musical co-ops, with many a night filled with the sounds of banjo strumming wafting from the sprawling front porch. In addition, Keep is the home of the Bike Co-op, Oberlin's co-op-run bicycle repair shop. Keep's dining policies are usually vegetarian with an emphasis on environmental sustainability.

Old Barrows

Old Barrows, affectionately called "Old B" by Oberlin students, is the southernmost co-op on campus. The building's living space is a safe space for women and trans students, and the dining is open to all. Old B houses 15 residents. In 1993 Old Barrows was closed by the college due to structural issues, and the dining services reopened in 1994. Old B will close as a dining co-op starting in fall of 2017, but will remain open as safe space housing for women & trans members of OSCA. Students must apply to live in Old B. As of Fall 2017, the formerly Old B kitchen will be used by Brown Bag Co-op.

Tank Co-op

Tank's membership, known affectionately as "Tankers," is approximately 82 people, with a rather high proportion of older co-opers. Members of Tank enjoy a primarily vegetarian diet, with some meat. It's common to see Tankers congregating on the porch and the lawn when the weather is nice. Tank also hosts an annual pig roast in the Spring, a tradition that brings many OSCA members to enjoy good times and good company.

Pyle Co-op

Pyle is Oberlin's largest food cooperative. Nestled on North Campus, in Asia House's brick walls, Pyle offers hungry Obies a large but cozy space to eat and chat. Pyle provides meat more often than any other co-op. With long wooden tables and chairs, Pyle has been described as having a "hogwarts" feel. When weather permits, Pyle members often enjoy the weather and choose to eat outside in the Asia House courtyard.
Pyle members represent a good cross section of Obies, including a larger number of athletes due to its location, and smaller number of required hours. Pyle is known for its legendary pizza nights, and relaxed food-policy. It is also known for fun traditions, such as pub-night, and singing members their song of choice on birthdays.
Pyle, preceded by "Pyle Inn," is Oberlin's oldest Co-op. Before Stevenson was built, Pyle served as one of Oberlin's many cafeterias.

Third World Co-op (TWC)

Third World Co-op is the smallest co-op, and members are admitted by application only. TWC serves as a safe space for people of color and low income students. TWC plays a large role in activism on campus, supporting and bringing many speakers, activists, and artists of color to Oberlin's campus. TWC also started a fund to give money to activist groups and people of color and other marginalized communities outside of OSCA who are working to bring speakers, host events, etc. TWC is known as a comfortable and welcoming space within OSCA for students of color and low-income students seeking a safe-space. The Co-op is also known for its delicious food, which is often more varied than many other co-ops. Students who are not members of TWC or POC may attend meals at the Co-op by invitation only.

Brown Bag Co-op (BBC)

The newest co-op, The Brown Bag Co-op was opened in 2003. BBC was created for students living off-campus or in village housing who have limited time to devote to a traditional co-op. BBC works in a similar fashion to a cooperative grocery store, where members are allotted a certain allowance with which to "purchase" food from the Co-op. The remaining amount of the allowance is recorded for each member after their "purchase." Members then prepare their own meals at home. BBC members currently contribute one hour of work to the Co-op per week. As a part of OSCA, and in order for members to fulfill their hour of work each week, BBC has jobs common to other co-ops.
Prior to the 2017-2018 school year, BBC shared a space with Fairchild Co-op. Starting in the fall of 2017, BBC will be located in Old Barrows.

Unique Traditions

Weekly Traditions

Pizza Night

Each Friday individual coops host Pizza Night, a meal specifically devoted to pizza, run by a specific "Pizza Cook" who is elected at the start of the semester. Specialties for pizzas include Sunshine's Tofu Ricotta, and Mushroom Eggplant Pizza. Most Pizza is vegetarian, but some meat-eating coops enjoy meat toppings. There are always vegan, gluten free, and soy free options, as usual.

Special Meal

Every Saturday night coops host Special Meal! A "Special Meal" is a themed meal, voluntarily "head-cooked" by one or two coop members. Special Meal cooking shifts are an hour longer than normal cooking shifts. The extra time allows cooks to make special extravagant dishes. Favorite Special Meals have included "Harry Potter Special Meal," "Carnival Night," "Hanukah Special Meal" and "Holiday Special Meal,", and Fairkid's annual "Halloween Special Meal".

Special Events

Iron Chef

Iron Chef is an annual OSCA-wide cooking competition. Teams of students from each participating coop prepare their best meal, which must surround a specially chosen ingredient. In 2015, Iron Chef nearly wiped out an entire harvest of carrots, as 600 OSCA students rushed to make their best carrot dishes. After cooking, each coop transports their food to a main room where all OSCAns can come and try every dish. A panel of chosen judges tastes and announces a winning coop at the end of the evening.

OSCA Prom

Each Spring OSCA hosts "OSCA Prom." OSCA's 2016 prom theme was "cats." Student bands often play, as OSCAns dance the night away.