Kristin McGrathNight was falling on the first chilly day of fall when I arrived at 6021 Pershing. I waded through the soggy fallen leaves, double-checked the address and knocked. This was definitely the place I’d heard about-Wash U Cooperative’s newly acquired house, which environmentally concerned students had transformed into their own community. I heard whistling approaching from the sidewalk behind me, and co-op resident Duncan Ward was soon there to let me in.
Cuddled up on a chair in Ward’s apartment were two cats. One, still a kitten, was pure white, while the other was white, brown-and bright red.
“Those are Nestor and Bruce,” said Ward. “Bruce got dyed red with Kool-Aid last weekend by our upstairs neighbors. We play pranks on each other all the time.”
Suddenly, Ward’s roommate David Barret made his entrance.
“I’d shake your hand, but I was just in a mud fight,” Barret explained.
When they’re not giving cats make-overs and slinging mud, the residents of the two houses inhabited by the co-op are engaged in a unique mission.
“Our basic mission statement is that we want to live under five pillars we’ve come up with,” Ward explained as Bruce and Nestor tore across the room. “Those pillars are social responsibility, community building, environmental sustainability, healthy living and cooperative learning.”
WU Cooperative’s history began two years ago, when two students, Alex Templer and Chloe Byruck, were inspired by an independent study course about utopian communities. They decided to create a cooperative society of their own.
After recruiting friends and holding weekly potluck dinners, WU Co-op was born. Last December, two particularly distinguished guests, Vice Chancellor for Students Justin Carroll and Dean James McLeod, were invited to dinner to discuss the formation of a residential co-op. This request was granted, along with a year’s worth of cleaning supplies. Fifteen co-op members moved into two university-owned apartment complexes this fall.
“We wanted to make a lot of changes in our lifestyles using the ideals we set out with,” said Ward. “I think that’s a lot easier if we’re all living together, sharing utilities costs. For example, if we were ever to get solar paneling, it would be cool to have it on the roof of this one building. It’s nice to be able to have more personalizable space.”
Nestor and I followed the aroma of eggs downstairs toward the kitchen where vegetarian meals are prepared four nights per week. Barret raced by us carrying a bucket of cold water intended for the disruption of his downstairs neighbor’s shower.
In the basement, residents Yasuko Okyama and Dan Koff were hard at work on breakfast food for dinner-pancakes and scrambled eggs flavored with homegrown basil. A small dining room off of the kitchen featured a “table” constructed of a door (with knob still attached) supported by Budweiser beer tanks. A sitting room lay bathed in the glow of a red tinted light bulb, its walls decorated with newspaper clippings.
“As you can see we have a lot to do down here,” explained Koff, a former architecture student. “But the university is pretty much letting us adapt this space to our vision. We’re going to bash out this wall here between the kitchen and dining area, extend this wall over here, and we’re planning on moving the bathtub out into the common area and make it into a fountain with plants.”
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Okyama had her work cut out for her, removing smoking pancakes from pans and keeping Nestor out of the mixing bowl.
“I didn’t really cook too often at home,” said Okyama. “My mom is actually coming in this weekend. She doesn’t really understand too much about the whole co-op thing. We’ll see how she reacts.”
Attracted by the delicious smell of dinner, residents began venturing downstairs, and I received a tour of the grounds from co-op founder Chloe Byruck.
Behind the house are two small gardens, that just weeks ago yielded a successful harvest of tomatoes, peas, lettuce, basil and zucchini. The gardens are open to those outside the co-op, too, Byruck hopes that these gardens will encourage those who don’t live in the house to join in.
“Our idea goes beyond just a residential co-op because we didn’t want something that was exclusive,” said Byruck. “We didn’t want to be a private group doing our own thing, high and mighty, holier-than-thou. We wanted something that would become part of Wash U culture that would be open to everyone.”
During the tour, Byruck received a phone call from her parents.
“My parents think [the co-op is] great,” Byruck said. “I kept telling them why it was such a good idea and they were like, ‘Hey, you don’t have to convince us.’ So their vision of it wasn’t this dirty hippie colony.”
Back in the smoky warmth of the kitchen, dinner was served. The residents took a seat at the table and helped themselves to pancakes.
For resident Irene Compadre, this is the best part about living in a co-op.
“I like that there are home cooked meals every night,” said Compadre. “We sit around the table, eat dinner together and talk about our days. So it really is a family away from home.”