University Students' Cooperative Association
USCA: Providing Quality, Affordable Student Housing in Berkeley, CA since 1933
2424 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 848-1936   housing@usca.org
  Current Member Frequently Asked Questions

More questions and answers will keep appearing as we work on this page.


What if I want to transfer to a different co-op for Summer 2008?

You can turn in a Summer 2008 transfer request with a signed contract and be guaranteed your currently assigned space while trying to to a higher preferences. View more about requesting a summer transfer.

Can I still rent-share for Summer 2008?
The deadline has passed to turn in an approved rent-share form and be guaranteed a rent-share contract for summer.  You can still apply to be a late rent-sharer.  To be able to have a late rent sharing contract, you must have a room which is a double or triple during the regular school year and the house must be full.  If you want to apply for late rent-sharing, you must get approval from your house mangers. Get the rent-share form.

Kitchen Questions
(borrowed and modified from the Center for High Energy Meta-Physics web page who borrowed and modified them from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest web page at Stanford)

People tell me that the sanitizer is not a dishwasher, but I don't believe them, because it seems so unmistakably dishwasherlike.

Things are not always as they seem. The Sanitizer (or Hobart) kills people's germs by briefly blasting the dishes with very very hot water. This does not mean it washes your dishes. In fact, if you leave food on your dishes and sanitize them, the food petrifies and is virtually impossible to remove. On the bright side, you don't have to sanitize pots and pans, Tupperware, graters, or measuring cups unless you ate off them. In short: WASH EVERYTHING you use; only sanitize things you ate with.

Who makes the kitchen so messy?

Demons. (Also people who don't make absolutely sure they put all their stuff away.)

How can we prevent the messy people from destroying our kitchen with their filth?

If you see someone leaving stuff around the kitchen, you can say, "Are you done with this?" and start putting it away. This should make them scurry to help, and if they don't, at least it's a little cleaner. It's good to get in the habit of putting away one or two things for other people while you're cleaning up your own stuff, even when they would probably clean it eventually. It is friendly and it also helps people realize that someone does notice the stuff they leave out. Don't hate people who need this extra reminder, or you will soon be very bitter and angry.

Why shouldn't I hate people who make a mess in the kitchen that I have to clean up?

Most people mean to put their stuff away, but don't for various reasons. Besides the obvious (forgetfulness, laziness, drunken stupor), there are gray areas in cleaning responsibility, which can lead to messy areas in the kitchen. A few examples: If someone gets out the cream cheese and someone else uses it afterwards, who puts it away? (The last person who uses it, otherwise the first person will be waiting in the kitchen all morning). If someone bakes brownies for the house and then goes away before they are all gone, who has to wash the pan? The last brownie eater or the baker? (Ideally the brownie finisher would, but if that doesn't happen, it's the baker's responsibility.) And how many dishes does a Hobart rack really hold before you have to get out a new one? (Just get a new one out already. It's not that hard.)

Why can't I put metal cans or containers in the fridge?

Because the Health Inspector said so. The question of whether or not we will really all get botulism and die a gruesome death is interesting and has been hotly debated, but don't let a dissenting opinion influence your behavior. Whether or not our lives are at stake, we are sure to be fined if we don't store things properly.

Where do all the spoons (forks, cups, bowls) go?

To people's rooms. Much silverware is also sacrificed to the garbage disposal, which is why you should always stick your hand down the garbage disposal and see if there is any silverware in there before you run it.

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