OSCA Offers Students Saving and Community

To the Editors:

How much are average students paid for their campus jobs? $5.75 an hour? $6.20? Granted, making curly fries in Stevenson can be really fun, but how about getting paid upwards of $8.90 an hour for doing a variety of jobs, from fixing appliances to ordering your favorite foods?* Members of the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA) get the advantage of flexible working hours, a variety of interesting tasks, and delicious food, with the financial security of a well-paying job.
A semester in OSCA yields a savings of $500(!!) over eating in the campus dining services. Broken down over the four hours a week that most co-opers work, the financial benefits become quite apparent. Plus, co-ops offer time-aid — a policy by which people who need to work outside of their co-op jobs can receive co-op credits.
But the reasons to join OSCA go far beyond financial ones. Oberlin’s eight co-ops offer homemade food, a variety of snacks, and fresh bread and desserts. Plus, kitchens are open 24 hours a day, making food available whenever you want it. Athletes or those who must miss meals can request saved plates, ensuring that everyone gets enough to eat. In addition, some co-ops have adjusted their meal times to make them fit a range of schedules. Co-op jobs can provide an opportunity to learn skills you might not get elsewhere — OSCA members can learn not only cooking tips and cleaning techniques, but also how to manage compost or drive cargo tricycles. And most of all, co-ops provide a mealtime community unlike eating anywhere else.
People have a lot of different impressions of who and what OSCA is. This may be one of OSCA’s greatest strengths — that each semester, a new membership redefines each co-op and OSCA as a whole. By joining a co-op as an individual or with a group of friends, you are taking an active role in shaping your co-op community for the semester.
Now is the time to join OSCA — no dreaded waitlist! And the sooner you switch from campus dining, the more money you will save. For more information (and fun co-op games) visit www.oberlin.edu/~osca.

* Rate calculated in “Co-ops: The Key to Cutting College Costs” by the OSCA Scholarship Committee, Fall 2001.

–Katie Shilton
–Phil Larimer
College juniors