The Co-op council announced on Thursday that they reached an agreement with Residential Education (ResEd) to keep Synergy and Terra as cooperative (co-op) houses for the next school year.
ResEd moved to convert the longtime co-ops to self-operated houses (self-ops) last week after both houses struggled to fill 50% of their rosters in the initial pre-assignment round.
Though self-ops and co-ops are both classified as row houses, students living in self-ops have meals prepared by professional chefs in their house kitchens and cleaning services provided by Residential & Dining Enterprises (RD&E). Students living in co-ops embrace communal living, in which each resident is responsible for contributing to cooking and cleaning.
Student leaders from both houses joined forces to advocate for keeping their co-op status, organizing an open letter, assembling a testimonial campaign and bringing their concerns to Provost Jenny Martinez at her office hours last week.
According to future Synergy RA Jahfari Andrez Maddo ’27, Synergy and Terra will be listed in the housing portal as “hybrid co-ops.” RD&E will provide cleaning services for the houses and residents will be charged the regular housing rate. Students living in the houses will have the opportunity to choose either a dining plan or a co-op plan—those who select the co-op plan will be obligated to participate in cooking. Residents hope to retain full co-op status in the following year.
The Undergraduate Senate (UGS) unanimously approved a resolution in support of Synergy and Terra on Wednesday.
Students who declared their intent to live in Synergy or Terra after the houses announced they were in jeopardy will have the option to assign to those houses in the regular draw.
A previous version of the article misstated that Residential Education (ResEd) would be responsible for cleaning and that students living in hybrid co-ops would manage cooking. This article was updated to accurately reflect that Residential & Dining Enterprises (RD&E) will manage cleaning and that students living in the hybrid co-op houses can choose either a dining plan or a co-op plan.