BUZZ
‘Perceived’ Jews, men, whites not wanted … but hey — one co-op has a communal kitchen! The other’s Weds. happy hour is the best!
On March 4, the Stanford Undergraduate Senate passed a bill calling for the fall reinstatement of two student co-ops that had been suspended for antisemitic and anti-white Title VI violations.
The co-ops are “student-managed residences in which house members cooperate in the operation and governance of the house.”
Stanford suspended the Kairos and Enchanted Broccoli Forrest co-ops — since renamed “586 Mayfield” and “1115 Campus Drive” respectively — last summer based on Title VI’s prohibition on “harassment and discrimination based on race, color or national origin in educational institutions.”
The university had received complaints that Kairos kicked out several students “participating in an extracurricular activity” due to their “perceived Jewish identity.”
For its part, Enchanted Broccoli Forrest had sent an email informing new students that “if you are white/white-passing, or if you are a man, do understand that you are being invited into space that wasn’t and isn’t made for you.”
The Stanford Daily reports the Stanford UGS listened to representatives of the residences make their cases for reinstatement as official co-ops. Unlike its initial report from last July, The Daily does not mention the reasons for the co-ops’ suspensions.
1115 Campus Drive House Manager Xitlali Ferrel-Alvarez told the UGS that co-ops “run on intergenerational knowledge” and that a “one or two year gap” could have “significant effects” on the continuing “success” of the house.
586 Mayfield Financial Manager Gisele Knaebel said her co-op’s focus on art, “uplifting marginalized communities,” and its communal kitchen has been “really valuable and life-changing” for many students.
The UGS resolution claims both co-ops’ current resident assistants “were not informed” that the Undergraduate Residence Governance Council “would decline to consider their applications in the fall cycle due to their suspension status,” and thus “were therefore unable to plan accordingly.”
The resolution also notes 586 Mayfield’s communal kitchen had been removed even after (allegedly) being informed that, despite its suspension, it could “continue to participate in communal meal and food preparation.”
Student testimonials had said the communal kitchen “can better accommodate allergies, dietary preferences, and religious accommodations, and that removal of communal kitchen access would undermine community belonging and student well-being.”
The UGS resolution also included links to two petitions in support of the co-ops; 1115 Campus Drive’s (formerly Enchanted Broccoli Forrest) petition notes its “Wednesday night happy hours are a staple of Stanford nightlife” and that the residence “is one of the most prominent artist communities on campus.”
The 586 Mayfield (Kairos) petition highlighted the communal kitchen: “People depend on this kitchen, they love this kitchen.”
MORE: ‘Anti-capitalist’ campus co-op faces shutdown because renters refuse to pay rent
