Synergy (Theme)

As a home, we strive to cultivate opportunities for collective and personal growth in the way that we treat our space, labor, and one another with care.

Visit Synergy House Page

Theme Requirements

If assigned to Synergy, a student must:

1. Fulfill one weekly and one biweekly job from weeks 2-10 of the quarter. These require on average 4-5 hours per week of cooking, cleaning, or special-interest tasks (event planning, gardening, kombucha brewing, project building). Residents will also complete one Week 1 job determined at the meeting before the start of the quarter and will have one End-of-Quarter job. During all-campus events, residents who are participating will also act as hosts and may need to take on a small party job or preparation job for the event (e.g. helping make snacks or a 20-minute ID/consent check shift during the event).
2. Design, host, attend, or support a theme presentation, teach-in, or other project for the house related to Synergy’s theme during/over the course of the year, as a means of additional contribution to the community. Synergy’s theme is “alternative lifestyles and intentional community,” to be interpreted broadly as exploring different ways of life from the often oppressive or discriminatory status quo, and to do so in a conscientious way integrated with the community. Examples from past years have included educating residents about police accountability, leading a workshop on developing decolonial praxis, building a pizza oven, and creating a space for creative expression within the house.
3. Model cooperative life and collective values. Pre-assigned students are expected to be core residents of the house via consensus participation and taking initiative exploring and practicing intentionality in our home.
4. Contribute to fostering an empathetic community. Synergy is a space where we value Black, Brown, Queer, and Indigenous voices. In the spirit of building intentional community, residents are expected to be present in community conversations, listen wholeheartedly, and provide all residents the humanity we all deserve. We encourage individuals that come from places of privilege to acknowledge the space they occupy and reflect upon how they may use their privilege to make space for historically marginalized voices.

For more information about Synergy and other co-op residences visit the Residential & Dining Enterprises website.