Lothlorien Hall
| Lothlorien | |
|---|---|
| File:Lothlorien logo.jpg | |
| General information | |
| Location | 2415 Prospect Street, Southside, Berkeley, California 94704 |
| Coordinates | 37°52′4″N 122°14′58″W / 37.86778°N 122.24944°WCoordinates: 37°52′4″N 122°14′58″W / 37.86778°N 122.24944°W ⧼validator-fatal-error⧽ |
| Category | Student housing cooperative |
| Population | 58 |
| No. of flats | 14 Singles - 15 Doubles - 2 Triples - 2 Quads |
| Constructed | 1883 and 1920 |
| Other information | |
| Governing body | Berkeley Student Cooperative |
Lothlorien, known by residents as "Loth", is a Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) vegetarian themed house.[1] All house-bought food is vegetarian and house bylaws prohibit preparation, storage, or consumption of meat in common space.[2] Many residents of Lothlorien are vegetarians and vegans, but type of diet is not a condition of residence.[3] Only organic food is purchased by the house.[4][5] Unlike the majority of BSC houses, Lothlorien retains a unique communal culture with fusion of art and progressive activism being a mainstay of the house.[1][5][6] Residents refer to themselves as "elves" after the elves in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy book The Lord of the Rings, who inhabit Lothlórien.[5][7]
Early history[edit]
Designed by Clinton Day and built in 1883, Lothlorien's North House (2405 Prospect Street) was originally located two blocks west of its current site, perhaps on Piedmont Avenue or one of its cross streets.[8][9] It was moved up to Prospect Street sometime before 1920.[8] Locally known as "Maxwell House" it was originally owned by George H. Maxwell, at the time a young lawyer and an up and coming Republican politician,[10] who later became known as a ferocious water conservationist and future co-author of the National Reclamation Act.[8][11][12]
With the completion of Memorial Stadium in 1923 and the International House in 1929, the Piedmont Avenue neighborhood transferred from one of quiet, expensive mansions into Berkeley's student-oriented home for Greek Life, and its numerous fraternity and sorority houses. North House become the founding Alpha chapter of the Chi Pi Sigma (ΧΠΣ) fraternity in 1924.[8][13][14] The fraternity moved out before 1940, possibly in 1937 due to failure to pay rent.[15] The South House (2415 Prospect Street) was built sometime before 1920, and in 1927 became home to several, now extinct, sororities during next thirty years - first Pi Sigma Gamma (ΠΣΓ),[16] then Beta Sigma Omicron (ΒΣΟ)[17] and finally Delta Sigma Epsilon (ΔΣΕ) which closed in 1951.[8][18] Eventually both houses became property of a single owner.[8]
One World Family Commune[edit]
Beginning in the late 1960's popularity of Greek Life decreased significantly throughout the United States, including Berkeley.[19] Moving to Berkeley in the Spring of 1970 and initially renting the nearby Acacia fraternity house, sometime in 1972 or early 1973 the One World Family Commune moved two blocks east to occupy both North and South houses.[20][19][21] Led by Allen Noonan (Allen-Michael, the new world comforter) its members believed that they were reincarnated beings who possessed messianic guidance; in 1973 the houses were home to 55 adults and 25 adults children.[21] The commune was vegetarian, had work-shifts, had a common bank, with decisions made primarily through member meetings by consensus.[22] The commune operated the One World Family Center located on the corner of Haste Street and Telegraph Avenue, which included The Mustard Seed a large vegetarian restaurant, bakery, pizzeria, clothing store and an assembly room that hosted various events ranging form New Age book readings to music concerts.[23][24] The building is now home to the original branch of Amoeba Music.[22] The group's membership began to decrease by the mid 70s, and in 1975 it's remaining forty members moved their residence to a mansion in Stockton, California.[25]
Lothlorien[edit]
Lothlorien was formed in 1975 when Berkeley Student Housing bought the two building from the same landowner. It stands out from other BSC houses as it has prominent qualities of a commune, not solely of a student housing cooperative, where collaboration and community living are heavily emphasized.[2][5] In a 2001 issue of Communities magazine, a former member wrote that "Where many student co-ops struggle to create a lasting identity, Lothlorien succeeds, persisting as an entity unto itself, where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts."[5]
Customs with elements of folklore and mythology are part of Lothlorien culture,[n 1][n 2] with significant elements of cultural tradition being passed on through the annual ritual of "Initiation."[n 3] Lothlorien is known for its rejection of conservative social norms, annual bacchanalian festivity known as the "food orgy", and it is the birthplace of "the naked run" done by students through the main university library at the end of each semester.[5][7][27]
Lothlorien is the only BSC house to make decisions by Quaker based consensus, rather than majority vote.[2] House council meets weekly, and usually consists coordinator reports and proposals. These can be brought to council by members and non-members alike, and may range in topic from asking to stay as a guest to using money from the maintenance budget to buy materials to paint a mural. Proposals are adopted when all those present at council come to consensus on the issue, a member can raise a "major objection" as a way of showing that they are considering moving out if the proposal is adopted.[28] Raising the objection results in denial of the proposal.[28]
Political activism and environmental concern is one of the main themes of the Lothlorien community.[2][29] Often, members major in different fields of environmental science and/or actively participate in protests.[30] Lothloriens joined other activists in the university oak grove controversy, where a tree sitting near the Memorial Stadium lasted from December 2006 to September 2008.[31][32][33] Lothlorien also organized and passed a UC Berkeley referendum creating an annual $100,000 fund for green initiatives at the university.[31]
Structural Layout[edit]
Lothlorien consists of two adjacent houses: North House at 2405 Prospect Street, and South House at 2415 Prospect Street. The two houses surround a common courtyard area and share a communal kitchen and dining room in the South House. There is a tree house, and in 2010, Lothlorien was the first co-op house to install photovoltaic solar panels.[34]
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Section through courtyard
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Treehouse
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South House kitchen
The killing of Roberta Lee[edit]
In 1984 Lothlorien made national news for an unfortunate reason. Roberta 'Bibi' Lee, a former member disappeared while jogging in Oakland hills with two elves, one of whom was her boyfriend; over 2,000 people volunteered to find her.[35] Her body was found five weeks later, which led to her boyfriend being charged with murder. He was acquitted, but found guilty of manslaughter.[35][36]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Rhetorical custom is often a part of political conversation: "Lothlorien resident Iman Kazah said, 'It took me a long time to learn a certain dialect in Loth,' a house where the culture encourages speaking in a specific rhetoric as to best engender inclusivity.'"[1]
- ↑ In a description of some members' beliefs, Libby Rainey writes: "Ghosts of past residents haunt the hallways, known to bang on walls, rearrange furniture and make trouble, particularly for the men living in the house. Two female spirits haunt the co-op — both victims of domestic violence and fraught passion who died while living at Lothlorien years ago."[26]
- ↑ T. Sterling, author of the Communities article writes: "At Initiation, we explain the origins of some of those gatherings, and the legends of our sauna and hot tub - the latter a giant sewer pipe end rescued by some enterprising "elves" with a forklift. As the evening slowly fades, Initiation concludes with the passing of chalices fashioned from red bell peppers, each filled with carrot juice. We eat and drink of these as the story of our two house symbols unfolds: the original carrot held aloft by a fist, the image of which graces our homemade T-shirts, was at one point thought too phallic, so the red pepper was added as a symbol of feminine power."[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kurata, Elizabeth; Smith, Conner (2016-04-29). "Demystifying the co-ops". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Lothlorien | Berkeley Student Cooperative". www.bsc.coop. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2021-01-21. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Robeznieks, Andis (September 1986). "Vegetarianism on Campus". Vegetarian Times: 49.
- ↑ "The Daily Californian - Increase in Food Costs Forces Co-Ops to Cut Meal Spending". archive.dailycal.org. Retrieved 2021-01-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Sterling, Ted (Spring 2001). "It's a magical life". Communities. 110: 41–44 – via ProQuest.
- ↑ Weltman, Sophia (2014-03-03). "Activism plays role in student-run production of Bertolt Brecht's plays". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Posner, Honey Shor (Spring 2001). "Finding Our Way Home in the Giant of Berkeley". Communities. 110: 45–47.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 "History of Lothlorien Houses". Lothlorien. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2021-02-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "14 Jun 1883, Page 3 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ↑ "28 Oct 1886, Page 3 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ↑ "Maxwell, George Hebard, 1860-1946 - Social Networks and Archival Context". snaccooperative.org. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2021-02-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Boime, Eric (Spring 2019). "Homecroft City: The "Duluth" Idea in the Progressive Conservation Movement" (PDF). Minnesota History. 66: 203 – via Minnesota Historical Society.
- ↑ "3 Mar 1926, Page 36 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ↑ "11 Jul 1937, Page 2 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ↑ "11 Jul 1937, Page 2 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
- ↑ "17 Feb 1931, Page 29 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ↑ "13 Oct 1935, Page 33 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ↑ "9 Nov 1951, Page 37 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Daniels, Carol (May 19, 1972). "Frat Houses Get Different Occupants". The Indianapolis News. p. 19. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ H. Ward, Hiley (May 9, 1970). "The Trees Are Alive at Dawn As Hippie Communes Seek God". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 28, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 21.0 21.1 Ramella, Richard (12 December 1973). "Noonan spreads the galactic word". The Berkeley Gazette. p. 13. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 22.0 22.1 Jaramillo, Paula. "Communal Living Sketches in Berkeley". FoundSF. Independent Arts & Media. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ↑ "Author to speak on Kennedy death". The Berkeley Gazette. April 9, 1972. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Electronic Music". Berkeley Gazette. Jan 24, 1974. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Tumminia, Diana G. (2007), Alien worlds: social and religious dimensions of extraterrestrial contact, Syracuse University Press, ISBN 978-0-8156-0858-5
- ↑ Rainey, Libby (2016-08-14). "A real haunted house: the spirits of Lothlorien". The Daily Californian. Archived from the original on 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- ↑ Pitcher, Michelle (2015-12-07). "The naked truth about the Naked Run". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Low-income students question whether UC Berkeley co-ops are living up to mission - SFChronicle.com". 2020-10-29. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
- ↑ "Drummond: UC Berkeley students feel the Bern". East Bay Times. 2016-02-10. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
- ↑ Staff, Sareen Habeshian | (2016-10-31). "Campus students join protest efforts in North Dakota over proposed pipeline". The Daily Californian. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2021-01-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 31.0 31.1 Alfred, Twu (2011-09-05). "It's a Co-op: Lothlorien & the limits of sustainability". It's a Co-op. Archived from the original on 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2021-01-21. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Jones, Carolyn (2007-12-02). "One year into protest, UC Berkeley's tree-sitters firmly planted". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2021-01-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Four Remaining Tree-Sitters Leave UC Berkeley Oak Grove". The Daily Californian. Archived from the original on 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-23. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Solar Photovoltaic - Sustainability". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 Ginsburg, Marsha (1995-02-10). "Killer of Berkeley student "Bibi" Lee to be paroled". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-01-26. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "People v. Page (1991)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
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