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Why live cooperatively?
Economic Benefits
Our primary purpose is to provide cooperative, affordable housing to college students. We achieve this by buying our food in bulk and cooking our own meals, as well as doing most of the maintenance and all of the general cleaning. By sharing living expenses with other members, cost of living is generally less than living on your own.
Social Benefits
The co-op is an ideal place to meet new people and be a part of a strong community. Members often find that a family type of support group forms within the houses.
Environmental Benefits
Cooperative living benefits the earth through the common ownership of possesions and sharing of resources, for example, to prepare our dinners, we make two trips to the grocery store per week and use two ovens - something that would take 60 trips to the store and 60 ovens if we each lived alone.
Who are we?
The Students' Cooperative Association is a non-profit, student owned and governed housing cooperative in Eugene, Oregon. We have 26 spots in the Lorax Manner (1648 Alder Street), 28 in the Campbell Club (1670 Alder), and 18 in the Janet Smith (1790 Alder) for a total of 72. We accept applications from any individual attending an institution of higher education in Lane County, provided they are enrolled in at least 3 credits during the school year and 1 credit during the summer. We welcome students from all walks of life, nationalities, age, religion, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and sexual orientations.
We often have openings and we encourage anyone interested in living with us to stop by for dinner and meet us to see if cooperative living is for you! The Co-ops stand out from other student housing because our members don't sign a lease or have a landlord. Instead, members sign a contract that makes us all part owner of the houses. We make decisions by consensus to so that everyone has a voice. The houses are co-ed and consist of undergraduate and graduate students from all over the United States and abroad. We strive to foster diversity while creating a strong sense of community.
What are the costs?
Fall, Winter, or Spring Term:
* Single.......$1165
* Double.......$890
Summer Term:
* Single.......$650 (food not included)
* Double.......please inquire
The Janet Smith House
The Janet Smith House caters to graduate students from across the country and around the globe. Purchased by the SCA in 1981, the house holds up to 18 members in single rooms. Its namesake, Janet Smith, was a University of Oregon employment secretary who helped open Eugene's first women's co-op in the 1930s. Meals here satisfy vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.
The Lorax Manner
The Lorax, owned and operated by the SCA since 1991, holds up to 26 students in 18 singles and 4 doubles. The group of environmentally active students who secured the house's purchase named it after the Dr. Seuss character, the Lorax, who speaks for the trees. We've chosen to call the house a "manner" instead of a "manor" to emphasize member's efforts to live in an environmentally friendly way. Here members pick up their groceries by bicycle and prepare vegan meals.
The Campbell Club
The 28-member Campbell Club is named after Wallace J. Campbell, an alumnus of the University of Oregon. His senior thesis, entitled Depression Cooperatives, inspired a group of men in 1935 to start a co-op in his name. Mr. Campbell went on to found C.A.R.E. and lead the cooperative movement on a national and international level. Today the Campbell Club welcomes vegetarians, meat-eaters, cat lovers and their cats. Though not all house members are vegetarian, house money goes exclusively toward vegetarian food and a vegan option is available at dinners.