'Cliffe Coop Houses Give Girls Only 'Home Ec' Course

Annex girls who are fortunate enough to get into the two Radcliffe cooperative houses save almost $300 on their board bill. To do this means some extra work on their part, but "the reward is a lot of fun, and pretty good food," according to present members.

Girls in the regular Radcliffe dorms work on an average of two and a half hours per week waiting on tables and answering the telephone. The Coop girl does all this, in addition to buying the food for the whole dorm, cooking it, and cleaning up after ward. This generally adds one or two work hours more. During the morning a maid comes in to clean the public rooms, but the girls must take care of their own boudoirs.

The houses are located near one another. Edmonds House, at 61 Garden Street, houses 14 girls, and Everett House, at 53 Garden Street, houses 20. The rates are the same as these of single rooms converted into doubles in the regular dorms. In addition to this, each girl puts in a sum of money at the beginning of the year. The average of the extras purchased for each meal is billed individually, based on the actual number of meals that the girl has eaten in the dorm.

The qualifications for becoming a cooperative resident have always been stringent. First, there must be a financial need, and second, sufficient scholastic ability to carry the extra work.

Three-fourths of the resident of Edmonds and Everett are at present on scholarship, and an equal number are at least on third dean's list.

The ability to cook is not one of the prerequisites, but it is the one most praised by the girls, and the "green" hands have a difficult few weeks. Each cook may choose her own menu, which includes almost anything for breakfast, and meat or a casserole, vegetables, salad, and a dessert for dinner. Private recipes are more often than not encouraged, and the result has been some very elaborate meals.

The work hours are based on a rotating system, so that each week a different girl has first choice of her work, which includes two hours of telephone-duty, and two or more of cooking and cleaning up. The food is purchased in the afternoon, and prepared for a 6 p.m. dinner, although "the most harrowing time of day is when it's five minutes of six, and nothing is ready," according to Cynthia Brokaw '51.

The girls who live in the cooperative houses seem to prefer them to all others. "A homelike atmosphere, responsibility, and Radcliffe's only course in Home Economics" seem to be the main attributes, as well as the benefits from a flaming red telephone booth, red checked table cloths, and "nicer" china and silver.