OSCA proposes a substance-free Co-op

Old-Barrows might be site of new Co-op if approved

A substance free Co-op may actually become substantive this year after it was re-proposed for the second year to the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA) board.

Resurrected by OSCA Education Coordinator sophomore Allison Falender, the proposal was supported and followed-up largely by the OSCA Accessibility Committee. The Committee's purpose is to make the Oberlin co-ops more easily accessible to the community, Falender said.

Oberlin, which lacks facilities designed specifically for substance-free students, is viewed by some people to be far behind in this area of student service. The idea of a community without drugs or alcohol, whether in a hallway or floor of a dorm or an entire house, is a fairly common one at many schools. Bowdoin College, for example, has an application-only substance-free dorm, and the University of Michigan offers the option of a 30-person living and dining substance-free co-op.

The proposal to create a substance-free co-op to meet the needs of some community members was first conceived last year, according to Falender. When discussed in co-ops there was not enough support generated to pursue the issue and it was tabled until the beginning of this year .

The tabling occurred despite the fact that at the housing fair last Spring, 10 non-OSCA members approached OSCA Area Coordinator Tracy Murry seeking to apply to the non-existent wellness co-op.

One of the difficulties in creating a new co-op is location, according to Falender. Last year's suggestion to transform Old Barrows into a drug-free co-op was opposed by people who did not like the idea of making the 17-member all-female housing section into a coed area.

Many students expressed a lack of interest in having a substance-free housing option.

"I honestly don't care," junior Nate Knaebel said.

Co-oper sophomore Mimi Assad felt there was no need to separate the Oberlin student community in this way. "It's a matter of personal respect, of respecting other people's [lifestyle] decisions," she said. She added that this substance-free separation implied a lack of general respect among students for each other's lifestyles.

Some students feared that separate housing for substance-free students would impact interaction with a diverse community.

"I'm not sure that I would live there. Even though I do not use drugs, I do not usually like to cut myself off entirely from that environment because, in a way, I'm automatically losing friends or acquaintances, just because of something that most people consider to be a fun pastime," co-oper sophomore Jesse Woghin said.

Students also questioned the function of a substance-free co-op among the large number of non substance-free co-ops.

According to Falender, the substance-free co-op would meet the demand of students on campus and greatly increase the availability of OSCA life to those students put off by its notorious connection to substance use.

Some students agreed with that notion. "The campus would be served well by a substance-free co-op," first-year Jonathan Adams said.

The issue is currently being reviewed by the OSCA board and would not take effect until Spring semester 1998, if at all, according to Falender. The Accessibility Committee is currently organizing surveys for OSCA members on the subject.