Stebbins Hall

Coordinates: 37°52′34.46″N 122°15′33.33″W / 37.8762389°N 122.2592583°W / 37.8762389; -122.2592583

Stebbins Hall is a student housing cooperative owned by the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) and located at 2527 Ridge Road in Berkeley, California, on the north side of the University of California, Berkeley campus.[1] The house has a total occupancy of 64 residents during the school year, from late August to mid May, and accommodate upwards of 54 residents over the summer.

Namesake

Stebbins Hall is named after Lucy Ward Stebbins, former Dean of Women at University of California, Berkeley.[2] Lucy Ward was born in San Francisco in 1880. She was educated at the University of California, Berkeley and later transferred to Radcliffe College to receive her A.B. degree. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1902 and worked in Massachusetts as a social worker until 1910 when she took the position as Assistant Dean of Women at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1912 the former dean retired and Lucy Ward was appointed Dean of Women.

Lucy Ward served the university for thirty years. During her time in office, she increased the enrollment of women from 1,200 to 6,400 by raising money for scholarships, expanding curriculum, encouraging women to participate in student government, and creating housing opportunities. During her office, the schools of Nursing and Social welfare were established, as well as the departments of Decorative Arts and Home Economics. Lucy Ward also founded the Women's Faculty Club, one of the earliest female faculty organizations to exist at a co-ed university.

Upon conferring an honorary LL.D award to her in 1953, President Sproul described Lucy Ward as “A teacher and dean...who saw clearly into the hearts and minds of students, and stimulated them by precept and example to achieve their highest potential. No single individual has contributed more than you to the personal and general welfare of the University's women, and few have touched helpfully so many phases of our University life."[2]

Stebbins was the honored guest and speaker at the Stebbins Institute in 1942, which took place at Stebbins Hall.[3]

During the summer of 2013, there was a motion to change the name of Stebbins Hall to "Two Hands House", but the motion was ultimately defeated.

Building history

Stebbins Hall is located at 2527 Ridge Road, the lot of the Pierce family's original Victorian home. The Pierces were a wealthy family, responsible for many architectural landmarks in the city of Berkeley. They built the Cloyne Court Hotel, a “high-class modern apartment house” in 1904, which they later transformed into their own residence. Additionally, in 1909, the Pierces built the Treehaven apartment complex which still stands on the lot next to Stebbins Hall.[4]

The Pierce's original house was a turreted Victorian, which they lived in as soon as they moved to the city of Berkeley in 1894. The Pierces sold the property in 1903 to move to a house up the street, and eventually to Cloyne Court. In 1927 the Pierce house was torn down to make way for Hotel Slocum.[5] Stebbins Hall was leased through the efforts of Mortar Board alumnae in 1936 as a women's cooperative boarding house.[6][7][8] Beverly Cleary was one of the first residents of Stebbins Hall and referred her time there as "two of the most interesting years of my life."[9][10]

The University Student Cooperative Association (now known as Berkeley Student Cooperative) purchased the property in 1950 as a site for the first all-women cooperative house,[11] and it remained this way until 1971 when Stebbins Hall became coed.[12]

Structural layout

Originally built to be a hotel, the building consists of three floors and a basement. On the basement level is the kitchen, dining room, laundry room, Projector ("TV") room (and free pile), and the maintenance area. By the entrance on the first floor are the lizard lounge (a small recreational area created by combining two adjacent rooms, the study room, and the Mystery Room.

All of the common areas (the lounges and the dining room) are front loaded near the entrance of the house.

On the first through third floors are the individual rooms. All of these floors are L-shaped, with a long South wing and a shorter North wing. There is one staircase near the front of the South wing and one at the back of it. The east half of the South wing of the building houses most of the single rooms, which have eastward facing windows. There is also one single on each floor on the east side of the North wing, near the back stairs. These rooms have northward facing windows.

The remaining rooms in the west half of the South wing, the corner of the South wing, and in the North wing are doubles. Usually every two doubles share a private bathroom, and there are also two restrooms in the hall (one with a shower) on each floor. These are used mostly by guests and residents living in single rooms. Some of the rooms have hardwood floors, while others are carpeted. All of the hallways and staircases are carpeted.

Notable residents

  • Beverly Cleary (1938), author of the Ramona series of children's books. Cleary famously met her future husband at Stebbins one afternoon when, during a break from her workshift, she found herself having a sandwich with a young gentleman named Clarence Cleary.
  • Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics.

Annual/Semi-Annual Events

Events change according to new social managers preferences.

Socially Awkward Picnic (SAP)

This event occurs at the beginning of the semester, before everyone has their permanent roommates. Stebbinites mingle with one another over barbecue or picnic foods while desperately trying to find someone to room with. Lifelong friends and, less frequently, enemies meet at the SAP.

Initiation

Started as a mockery of Greek-style hazing, initiation has become the integral first major party of semesters at Stebbins. There's no telling what you might be asked to do in order to become a true lizard (with consent)!

Song and Story Night

An open mic night where Stebbinites perform musical numbers, recite poetry, and are just generally artistic. Special Dessert or Wine and Cheese are normally hosted in combination with this event.

Special Dinner

Stebbinites cook savory dishes for each other, then serve them one at a time.

Room-to-Room/ R2R

As is the same with all the other BSC houses, Stebbins hosts "R2R" every semester. Stebbinites decorate their rooms and open them to guests, serving refreshments and delivering new experiences. Party goers move systematically from one wing of the building to the next until they end with a dance party in the basement.

Wine and Cheese

Two-buck chuck is served with a collection of cheeses, normally purchased with the aid of a Cheese Board worker.

Scavenger Hunt

Stebbinites bond with each other and hunt around the city of Berkeley at night for specific items and new experiences.

Other events

In addition to these, many Stebbinites organize road trips and camping trips throughout the semester. Basically, each semester a new group of people come in and plan a multitude of events which vary according to the culture of the house.

Notable House Facts

House Motto: "Stebhaus Best Haus"

Since Stebbins is the best house in the BSC, "Stebhaus Best Haus" is the unofficial house motto.

Lizards

The unofficial house animal of Stebbins is the lizard. House members may be referred to as Stebbinites or Lizards. The animal has a special place in many Lizard's hearts.

The Womb

The Womb is a special bedroom on the third floor of Stebbins. The Womb has a vagina mural on the door and is traditionally occupied by female-identifying house members.

References

  1. ↑ Sturrock, Carrie. University of California, Berkeley's Co-op Housing Provides Affordable Living. Contra Costa Times. 25 April 2004.
  2. 1 2 "Lucy Ward Stebbins, Economics: Berkeley". University of California: In Memoriam, April 1958. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  3. ↑ "Liberals Will Hold Stebbins Institute". Berkeley Daily Gazette. June 19, 1942. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Daniella. James Pierce, the consummate host of Ridge Road. Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. 24 May 2009.
  5. ↑ "The New Hotel Slocum". Berkeley Daily Gazette. December 31, 1927.
  6. ↑ "Berkeley: Student Housing". University of California History: Digital Archives. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Alpha Phi Alumnae to Hear Talk by Mrs. Andrew Talbot". Berkeley Daily Gazette. February 16, 1940.
  8. ↑ "History of the BSC". Berkeley Student Cooperative. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  9. ↑ Harmanci, Reyhan (Summer 2010). "Extraordinarily Ordinary". California Magazine. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  10. ↑ Cleary, Beverly (1996). My Own Two Feet. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-380-72746-9.
  11. ↑ Nguyen, Tina (November 26, 2003). "70 Years Later, Ever-Expanding Co-ops Remain Popular Option". The Daily Californian.
  12. ↑ New Co-op Waits Student Boarders. Berkeley Daily Gazette. 25 Aug 1941.
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