Young Alumni Shenanigans: Broomball, Karaoke, and More. Oh My!
By Madeleine Loh,
Davis House (‘93-‘96) & Rochdale (‘02-‘04)
Jordan Pelot-Whitcomb, Alumni Coordinator, had a stroke of genius this last year when he organized the Alumni Association’s first broomball event. Broomball is a cross between soccer and hockey without the skates, and has been a long standing co-op tradition. Protective gear is a standard issue plastic cap. Ski gloves and rags secured with duct tape are optional. On December 9, 2007, many of the alumni gathered at the Oakland Ice Rink were obviously veterans, destroying the rest of us with their precision, power, and speed. While all walked away sore, there were no sore losers. When inspired by Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” and Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” blasting through the PA system, falling on one’s bottom and having one’s index finger beaten like a hockey puck felt somehow noble.
Co-op alumni are a fickle bunch that clearly prefer broomball over Cal football, as the Alumni Association has found. The climax of the Alumni Association’s Big Game event at the Convent was when Jennifer Heller, Communications Coordinator, discovered the karaoke machine and roused all of us for group singing. Although we were saddened by Cal’s loss, Jen warmed our hearts with her bravado and showwomanship.
We also had two happy hours in 2007 – one in the Mission District of San Francisco (August) and the other at Jupiter’s in Berkeley (September). We reminisced about the good ol’ days and swapped stories about workshifts, parties,
and roommates. We also met some co-op dignitaries, including the former USCA president who designed the “I heart my co-op” buttons! The “less young” alumni marveled how far we’ve come (well, mainly how much cleaner we are), and fresher graduates talked about career options and backpacking plans. We also just partied.
Attending alumni events is not only fun – we maintain our connections and support current co-opers. We have something very special in common because living in the co-ops prepared us for life in the way that none of the other housing options at Berkeley do. We learned to be resourceful, to live fairly, and to think about the larger community.