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Wednesday 2012 7B
2B Wednesday, January 11 2012 // The Statement
THE JUNK DRAWER
Henderson House: A co-op
for the cooperative
from last week: tenure track
Do you think faculty should be able
to attain tenure regardless of their degree?
random student interview
by kaitlin williams
Welcome to the Random Student
Interview, where we laud your
accomplishments to the point of
self-deprecation.
Hey! How's your first day back at
school going?
It's good. I'm done for the day.
Yes
- No
Wow. Isn't it, like, noon? That's
awesome.
Actually, it's one o'clock, but yes.
How long do you think the University's tenure
probationary period should be?
8-10 years Other oh really? Already? Time flies
when you're sleep deprived. I
<4 years woke up this morning and seri-
0+ years --ously considered dropping my
first class, especially after the girl
next to me kept yawning morning
breath all over me.
4-8 years Oho
I had to zone out and go to my
happy place. Is your schedule
pretty set?
It is. I got all my classes, no waitlists.
t g t pud And I'm actually not taking that
many credits this semester.
So you don't actually hate your-
- self for taking early classes?
No. I love waking up early, and then
s n f r . w rks b getting everything over with so I
have the afternoon.
So what are you going to do with
your free afternoon?
I'm going to go home. I have some
" "end" sa q n t stuff to clean up and work that I
have to do for classes on Friday.
Wow. You're makingme look bad.
You're going to go be productive
the rest of the day? I'd just go to
the Union, get a pretzel and nap ...
So did you break any New Year's
resolutions already?
Um ... no. I never, ever do New
Year's resolutions. I don't want to.
I've never done it.
I made a resolution not to make
a resolution and I've messed that
up already.
(Laughs)
What are you looking forward to
most in 2012? A.k.a. "the begin-
ning of the end."
Well, this is just a big year in general
for grades and everything - apply-
ing to grad schools and then medi-
cal school. So I just have to make
sure I'm really focused and study
a lot this semester, but at the same
time really enjoy myself and have
fun because, unfortunately, being a
senior next year, everything's going
to come to a head.
ti
So you're looking forward to
being in school forever? You are
of another breed, my friend.
Yeah.
So, did you watch the Sugar
Bowl?
I did watch it. I watched the first
half and then the overtime part. I'm
not a big football fan.
Did you do anything ceremonious
for your game-watching?
No, not really.
My friend and I cracked some
Mike's Hard Lemonades. We like
to keep it classy and slightly alco-
holic.
I saw on Facebook
someone opened
champagne right
after the game.
Oh, that's funny! Champagne
would also do the trick. So do you
follow politics at all?
A little bit.
So do you care about the Iowa
caucus results?
Not really.
Do you knowwho won?
I don't know anything.
I should care because
it's the first year I'm
going to be able to vote
in a presidential elec-
tion, but ...
Oh, me too! Unless you count
how I convinced my dad to vote
my way in 2008. It was a crown-
ing achievement in my young
life, voting by father proxy.
Oh, that's good.
So where do you think you stand
this year?
I'll for sure have to do research. It's
less than a year now, so I'll definitely
get on that.
Well, between waking up early
in the morning, cleaning all
afternoon, studying at night
and applying to grad schools,
you should be able to kick back
after that and peruse The Michi-
gan Daily for all of your political
news needs.
- Alyssa is an LSA junior.
The Henderson House is the only
University-owned co-op in Ann
Arbor. Founded in 1942, Henderson
rests on the corner of Hill Street and Olivia
Avenue. Its occupants? 28 women. That's
right - ladies only.
What comes to mind when you think of
a co-op? Tofu? Mason jars? Red Solo cups
in peculiar locations? During my visit to
the wholesome Henderson House Co-op,
however, there wasn't Mason jar or Solo
cup in sight. Maybe there was some tofu in
the fridge, but I didn't check.
Despite the large number of residents,
the house was almost completely quiet
when I visited last semester, probably due
to the fact that it was right around the end
of finals week.
I chatted with the Henderson House
Resident Director and Ross School of Busi-
ness senior Kathryn Yaros, whose princi-
pal duties include managing the house and
keeping the community happy and civil.
Instead of house ragers and bar-hopping
excursions, Henderson women have an
annual barbeque with University alums.
They eat a Thanksgiving dinner surround-
ed by hand-painted turkeys. They attend
G-Men a cappella shows and gaze together
at holiday lights. The women of Hender-
son are mature and refined - although
if they do come stumbling back tipsy and
high heel-less to the house at 3 a.m., Yaros
expressed one wish.
"Just please, please, please don't forget
your keys."
by Katie Steen
And then there are "crafternoons" - a
house activity as cutesy as the name. Yaros
described these as relaxing afternoons
during which the residents, well, craft.
While twee-haters may scoff at the idea
of crafternoons, the Henderson tradition
of "swells" is something to make even
the harshest skeptic utter an involuntary
"aww."
Swells, Yaros said, are little notes the
girls stick in a designated shoebox. They
are read aloud at the co-op's weekly meet-
ing and allow the women to share with
each other why every girl in the house is
the best person ever.
If your heart doesn't melt at the idea of
getting a sticky note telling you you're the
best dinner cook replacement a girl could
ask for, there's another incentive for par-
ticipating in swell culture - give a swell
and you're entered into a gift card raffle.
While there's a definite community
aspect to life at Henderson, the girls aren't
into the idea of communal filth. Like Inter
Cooperative Council co-ops (Ann Arbor
living communities run by the residents
who live in them), each member must per-
form a total of five hours of chores per
week - including cooking dinner, clean-
ing rooms in the house or even cleaning
the Internet (essentially, going through
software and doing other computer-relat-
ed tasks that probably wouldn't have made
much sense if Yaros had tried explain-
ing them to me). Unlike most ICC co-ops,
though, makeup work - called "odd jobs"
places you're living in."
So is this what makes Henderson specif-
ically Solo cup-free? For the record, I did
see some shot glasses, but they were clean __
and neatly arranged. Maybe it was due to
the house's explicit banning of alcohol in
common areas, or the strict enforcement
of rules and chores. Maybe it's because
it's all-female. Or maybe Henderson just
attracts a certain type of person.
I was interested, then, in comparing
Henderson to the co-op I consider to have
the most squeaky-clean reputation in the
ICC, Gregory House - an entirely sub-
stance-free living environment.
I spoke to current Gregory resident and
Rackham student Rocky Fischer. Like
Davenport, he basically adores his co-op.
Fischer described Gregory as a fully-
functioning and overall neat place to live.
Like at Henderson, there is definitely a
community aspect, but it can vary based
on differences in residents' ages as well as
the academic term. House social events,
while not terribly important, include the
occasional picnic in the Arb.
Fischer said he appreciated the sub-
stance-free policy and partially attrib-
uted that to the house cleanliness. Maybe
Henderson isn't the only co-op that has
responsible people who will do their work.
"In general, things work," Fischer said.
"On a regular basis, yeah, people do their
job."
NOLAN LOH/Daily Because the co-op is owned by the Uni-
versity, living in Henderson has its perks.
While touring the rooms of the house,
the amount of I saw, to name a few amenities, a fairly ,
d job. gimungous television, a grand piano and
a little bit ter- an entire computer lab, complete with
got to take off printers.
enderson. The Of course, the luxuries of Henderson are
late. For being not quite available to everyone - mean-
emarkably un- ing men. In fact, any male visitor must be
renovated this escorted by a resident until the girls are
of University comfortable with him.
less and atten- And should a man lucky enough to gain
ng are key - I the freedom to roam Henderson have to
s in the rooms use the restroom or shower, it's downstairs
sws. I'm pretty to the basement he goes, where there's the
room pillow at slightly sad boys' bathroom (think "the
long-dead hip- chokey" from "Matilda" but without the
thma-inducing rusty nails).
If you are the proud owner of two X
chromosomes and want to live in Hen-
derson, there is another catch - the
house must want you. Potential residents
not I must participate in an interview with the
RD and must complete an application. I
le or went through the interview process with
Yaros, slightly expecting to be judged and
belittled. But in actuality, it was painless.
The questions centered mostly on themes
you'd associate with Henderson House -
responsibility, respect, community and
port, a Hender- cleanliness. Henderson House isn't for
sized the com- everyone, and the interviews are meant to
weed out the girls who would probably be
to do chores or miserable living there anyway.
ce, then maybe "We continue to develop our interview
it for that per- format," Yaros said. "That way we can find
really impor- girls who want cooperative community -,M-
others and the who want to contribute."
at Henderson - is double,
time as the original assigne
Perhaps this is whyI was
rified when I realized I for
my shoes upon entering H
house was kind of immacu
built in 192, it seemed ri
rickety and is even being
summer (oh, the benefits
money). But house cleanlin
tion to detail when cleanit
noticed one of the task list
included fluffing the pillo
sure if you fluffed a living
my co-op, the skin cells of'
pies would puff out in an as
dust cloud.
28 girls and
a tofu partic
Solo cup in s
LSA senior Chloe Davenl
son House resident, empha
munal benefits of chores.
"If a person doesn't want
isn't respecting of the spai
living in a co-op isn't righ
son," Davenport said. "It's
tant to be able to respect{
the statement
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