Columbae

Columbae is Stanford’s first co-op, founded during the anti-war movement in 1970 as a home for students committed to social and environmental justice. For over 50 years, our home has been a tight-knit community built on the principle of consensus – we make decisions as a house on everything from food and rooming arrangements to house parties with the input and consent of every single member of our community.

At the center of campus, Columbae’s cozy front porch and abundant lemon tree are the first things you’ll see when you walk onto the Row. You might smell the delicious scent of baking bread wafting out of the house from our signature bread bakes (a favorite house job) or hear a lively jam session on our house piano. We often eat our dinners on the porch or at the picnic tables we paint together every spring, sometimes featuring fresh herbs and vegetables from our beautiful garden. Inside, you’ll find murals painted by decades of Columbae residents, a library of archives chronicling the history of co-op living at Stanford, our warm couch-filled living room, and our always lively kitchen – the heart of our home. Most residents swap rooms every quarter through a consensus-based rooming process. 

Our house has always been a home of student activism and teach-ins on campus, but we also work to realize our commitment to social justice through collective labor and aligning our house’s purchasing practices with our political values. Historically, our house has committed to ethical and sustainable food consumption through vegetarianism, though our house meat consumption is always decided through consensus. We have always been home to people who make diverse food choices. 

In Columbae, there’s always someone to talk to – about where you backpacked over the summer and your favorite musicians or about what it means to live in an intentional, values-based community. Living here is a chance to build a different kind of home. 

Access an audio tour of the house