rank the co-ops!

Strykur
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:28:13 +0000

Cloyne Court Hotel and Casino - the alpha co-op, and for good reason. Large house (150+ at maximum capacity), notorious reputation for throwing badass parties (Pirate, BDSM, you name it, they will do it and do it better than anybody else). Back in the day, before the USCA found out (this was way back before the BSC was even the BSC), we would turn the basement into a bar-for-profit on Friday nights (which was illegal, because the BSC does not have liquor licenses), and throw local gigs in with a soundstage. In Spring 2007 we got suspended for 6 months because we had an outdoor rave that basically violated every noise ordinance known to man. Lots and lots of drugs (you can get pot from the house managers, and for the previously mentioned rave, the social manager at the time embezzled most of the social funds for a cocaine binge). Not for the faint of heart (you might get nasty roommates, but that goes with the territory). Recently remodeled, but still run-down to preserve that nice feeling of home. Watch out for marijuana cookies, if you are not careful you might kill 2-3 days having to recover from a huge high (bad idea during finals)…
Castro - probably the nicest house in the BSC in terms of location (Southside) and facilities (up on a hill next to International House, awesome views of the Bay). Difficult to get into if you do not have heavy seniority within the co-op ranks. Parties here basically do not happen anymore, and if they do, they are again very exclusive.
Stebbins - think of it as Cloyne Lite. Smaller house, decent parties, not as many drugs. If you live here, it will be much quieter than Cloyne, but expect to walk up the street to Cloyne if you want to socialize a lot.
Casa Zimbabwe - Cloyne wannabees, you will be at war with Cloyne, and Clones will want to destroy your life. House is very nice, compared to Cloyne and Stebbins anyway (extensive remodeling done a few years back). A major bummer in this house is that cable TV does not exist (a while back someone was busted for splitting the cable signal in that house 20-30 times, and now CZ is basically blacklisted by cable providers). They do have a nice penthouse at the top of the building which is used for parties and social events, check it out at least once if you get the chance. It’s also the building where the BSC office is located, in case you were wondering.


After that you get a lot of smaller houses, ie. Kingman, Kidd, etc. I know some people who have enjoyed living in Kingman. If you live in Ridge, you will be in a VERY quiet but expansive house (up the street from CZ). The location of Wolf House (near Fraternity Row) is pretty good if you like getting around the local Greek scene.

The absolute dregs of the BSC and proud of it, is undoubtedly Oscar Wilde (LGBT-themed house) . A freak show of freak shows in Berkeley, you have to check this place out at least once, whatever your sexual orientation is. Forget gay pride, this house will amaze you with the antics that go on in there. Nasty, livid, and outrageously awesome.

If you are female, I suggest you still stay the hell away from Hoyt Hall. I have heard nothing but terrible things about that house, but my male bias is obviously showing. You might like it or find some women that do, but I have heard more negatives than positives from former residents.