Would Oberlin Student Cooperative Association be different had it come together for reasons other than frugality and a need for an alternative to institutional college living? What would it be like if the fundamental core of OSCA were not cost-effective living, but something more subtle and more of the heart?

Over the last few years, some Oberlin students have interned at The Sierra Friends Center, a Quaker community located in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada. Like OSCA, this intentional community formed around the existence of an educational institution, in this case, the John Woolman Quaker high school. The institution closed in 2001, but the center sought to revive its educational offerings by creating a semester program, the Woolman Semester, to teach high school students about issues in peace, social justice and sustainable living.

The logistics of these communities are remarkably similar for two such separate places. It is in purpose and philosophy that the noticeable differences are found.

Unlike OSCA, members of the Quaker community have the option of declining the opportunity to be a part of group meals. Families who spend a large portion of their time going to school or working in the nearby towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City tend to be less involved in the meal program than those who spend a majority of their time on campus.

In addition, where OSCA unites over housing and dining issues, the Sierra Friends Center comes together around the task of running the Woolman Semester. While cost efficiency certainly falls under the category of sustainable living, an emphasis of the curriculum, the Center does not make frugality its primary focus as OSCA does. People who choose to live at Sierra Friends Center make the commitment to live, work and sometimes eat in a way that intentionally furthers its goals of sustainability.

“I think the people attracted to this community are invested in lightening their footprint on the earth,” said community member and Woolman school secretary Susan McGuire.

While OSCA tries its best to be eco-friendly, it is first and foremost a student organization, in which a smaller portion of the average member’s time is invested.

“Here we’re [only] cooperative for that one segment of our lives,” said junior Ben Shapiro, who interned at the Sierra Friends Center last Winter Term.

Overall, the main difference between OSCA and the Sierra Friends Center is that those who live at Sierra Friends Center have dedicated their lives, at least for the time, to the community.

“What we find out is that living in community means letting go of one’s prideful identification,” said the Center’s cook, Benjamin Rose. “We are forced to learn to love one another, a sometimes very painful lesson.”

The two communities are similar in many ways as well, in that the Sierra Friends Center functions in a way that is nearly congruent with OSCA policy. No one on the property owns his/her home; rather, all rent from the Center. In addition, most of the community chooses to eat in the dining hall while the school is in session.

The dining hall itself is also run in a way that is similar to OSCA kitchens. Although there is only one head cook at the Center, students do take turns helping with meals. The entire community signs up for “dish crew,” which is nearly the same as OSCA’s “crew.”

In general, the Sierra Friends Center’s actions are driven by a palpable lust for understanding and clear communication. Many residents use the rather formulaic but seemingly effective Nonviolent Communication, a way of relating to one another by expressing feelings and needs in order to resolve issues before they come to the point of conflict. The sentiment behind this type of conversation is reflected in many of the decisions the group makes.

OSCA members also use specific language to express themselves in meetings as well to help the membership come to a collective decision.

According to Shapiro, questions of what the community itself is “were alive, frequently voiced and aired.”

The Center’s philosophy has touched the mind and heart of more than one Oberlin student over the years.

“I learned a lot from that experience that I brought back to OSCA,” said Shapiro. “It got me interested in the question of what are communities and how do they interact and maintain themselves in healthy and unhealthy ways.”

The positive experiences at the Center that Oberlin students bring back to OSCA seem only to influence it for the better.