Lothlorien Hall

Lothlorien, known by residents as "Loth", is a Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) vegetarian themed house. Majority of BSC members are students at the University of California, Berkeley. Lothlorien's 58 residents refer to themselves as "elves." All house-bought food is vegetarian and house bylaws prohibit preparation, storage, or consumption of meat in common space. Many residents of Lothlorien are vegetarians and vegans, but diet is not a condition of residence. Only organic food is purchased by the house. Unlike majority of BSC houses, Lothlorien retains a unique communal culture with fusion of art and progressive activism being a mainstay of the house. Residents named themselves "elves" after the elves in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy book The Lord of the Rings, who inhabit Lothlórien.

History
The the Lothlorian house is composed of two buildings. North House (2405 Prospect) originally stood in the middle of the Channing circle, where Channing Way meets Piedmont Avenue. It was a mansion owned by the Maxwell family, known in the area as Maxwell House. Near the turn of the 20th century, the family decided they wanted a better view, put the house on logs and rolled it up the hill to its present location next to South House, which was a sorority during the 1920s. Both houses were owned by Victor Constantine who in 1969 leased them to the One World Family, a utopian commune led by Allen Michael who believed in extraterrestrial guidance for the transformation of humanity, and operated a vegetarian restaurant on Telegraph Avenue. The BSC bought the building in 1975.

In 1984, a former member disappeared while jogging in Oakland hills with two Lothloriens, one of whom was her boyfriend. This made national news and over 2,000 people volunteered to find her. Her body was found five weeks later, which led to her boyfriend being charged with murder. He was acquitted, but found guilty of manslaughter.

Community
Lothlorien stands out from other Berkeley Student Cooperative houses as it has prominent qualities of a commune not solely of a student housing cooperative. From a Lothlorien statement: "We respect everyone’s level of engagement in the community. That said, we do try to create the society we want to see in our daily lives, and practice participatory democracy, consent, and anti-oppression. Knowing that we're 58 people from all different backgrounds, we hold workshops and guide one another towards creating a safe and inclusive space where we can all feel at home."In a 2001 issue of Communities magazine, a former member added: "Lothlorien, after 25 years, still attracts those committed to cooperative living and envelops all who pass through it in the nurturing field of its unique traditions. Where many student co-ops struggle to create a lasting identity, Lothlorien succeeds, persisting as an entity unto itself, where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts."

Customs with elements of folklore and mythology are a part of Lothlorien culture. With significant parts of cultural tradition being passed on through the annual ritual of "Initiation." In addition, the co-op is known for its rejection of conservative social norms - it is the birthplace of the "naked run" done by students through the main campus library at the end of each semester.

Lothlorien is the only BSC house to make decisions by Quaker based consensus, rather than majority vote. House council meets weekly, and usually consists coordinator reports, and proposals. These can be brought to council by members and non-members alike, and may range in topic from asking to stay as a guest to using money from the maintenance budget to buy materials to paint a mural. Proposals are adopted when all those present at council come to consensus on the issue, a member can raise a "major objection" a way of showing that they are considering moving out if the proposal is adopted. Raising the objection results in denial of the proposal.

Political activism and environmental concern is one of the main themes of the Lothlorien community. Often members major in different fields of environmental science and/or actively participate in protests. Lothloriens joined other activists in university oak grove controversy, where a tree sitting near the Memorial Stadium lasted from December 2006 to September 2008. Lothlorien also organized and passed a UC Berkeley referendum creating an annual $100,000 fund for green initiatives at the university.

The two houses
Lothlorien consists of two adjacent houses: North House at 2405 Prospect Street, and South House at 2415 Prospect Street. The two houses surround a common courtyard area and share a communal kitchen and dining room in the South House. In 2010, Lothlorien was the first co-op house to install photovoltaic solar panels.