Dear Provost Jenny Martinez and Vice Provost Michele Rasmussen,

We are writing to you about the recent decision to sunset both Terra and Synergy, a decision tantamount to burning well over five decades of Stanford legacy and residential learning. As former and current residents of Terra and Synergy, we find this decision deeply upsetting. We hope you consider these concerns as you move forward in your work on this problem, and thank you in advance for listening.

I came to Stanford from a small town in Montana, a difficult childhood for a young queer student. My first home at Stanford, the very first place I truly began to feel safe, was at Terra. Terra has a long history as a co-op, and as the unofficial queer residence on campus. Before spending time at Terra, I was sitting in Kimball, working on transfer applications to leave Stanford. I needed a smaller community, one that felt familiar, one where I felt free and in control, one where I could be myself fully.

When at last I joined Terra my junior year, it immediately enchanted me. I learned to care for and be cared for through cooking and cleaning alongside several dozen other residents. I called my mom before every head cook, learning how to properly knead dough and how to adjust seasonings for 50 people. It reminded me of the close-knit community of my home town, this time free of prejudice and bigotry.

We know you were excited to join our administration earlier this year so let us speak from our combined five years’ experience living in co-ops when we say: nowhere at Stanford have we found an environment more conducive to residential learning than Synergy and Terra.

I can speak from my years in Synergy living within a consensus-run system, where my fellow residents and I hold equal power and responsibility to raise ideas and reflections on our house operations. The scope of these discussions is not limited to the walls of our house, however — more often than not — they compel us to think about how we fit into broader systems and discussions.

The ability to determine our place in the world is integral to our co-op community: what food we purchase and from which suppliers; which cuisines we cook; which artists we support when we plan events; how we can mitigate our environmental impact. These lessons are best learned in the company of our housemates, who we can trust to engage us with care and grace. The world needs more spaces for this type of dialectic — not fewer. 

These are crucial values held by Synergy and Terra residents. It’s why we choose to live here. It’s why we sign up for bathroom cleans. It is what steadies us in a chaotic, politically tumultuous country, where agency is being threatened daily. 

“Sunsetting” Synergy and Terra into self-op style residences is not a small change. A central part to these communities is the coming together around house jobs. Changing the very structure of these living spaces to be one of unilateral service, could not be more antithetical to the principles of these communities. We work hard to create an equal distribution of labor, outside of the service economy, a system where each resident feels responsible for their own work and supported by the work of others. This is how trust is built. 

Introducing a cooking and cleaning crew to these spaces erases these values. The house no longer feels like a home to love and care for but rather a place to be served, without residents in collaboration. I simply cannot imagine these spaces operating as they do today under these new circumstances. If it weren’t for these sacred spots, free from the traditional structures of the university, students like me would be left feeling isolated, and — as the University aims to remove a queer space — deeply unsafe.

There are countless arguments to be made for the continued presence of Stanford’s seven co-ops —including, as it turns out, those made by Leland Stanford. A staunch supporter of cooperative principles, Stanford even introduced a legislative bill as U.S. Senator to encourage the formation of cooperatives in the District of Columbia. His belief in cooperative living is relevant insofar as it frames the duty of administrative structures like the VPSA that have succeeded him and now dedicate themselves to his vision for education.

We can directly attest to the kind of learning that occurs in co-ops. On its website, Residential Education describes their work fostering “living and learning together” in residences like co-ops, stating that “students can grow in their ability to understand and negotiate difference and can prepare for the complexities of global citizenship.”

As Vice Provost of Student Affairs, you have an opportunity to steer the Stanford undergraduate experience in a direction that is faithful to the missions this University sets for itself. You have the chance to honor decades of history and to prove your commitment to the wellbeing of the Stanford community. Over 1,200 students, alumni, donors and faculty have signed our letter of support. Over 140 people have written testimonials similar to ours. We have made known the concerns of the student body, and we urge you to listen.

Laney Conger ’24 MS ’25 is a former Terra resident. Sofia Gonzalez-Rodriguez ’25 is a current Synergy resident.

This article has been updated to reflect that Laney Conger is earning an M.S. degree, not an M.A. degree.