How would you like to live at a place where everybody gets a half-housebill?
The following article was published in the Daily Illini in 1952 and authored by Gene Windchy. It cites Nabor House as the preeminent cooperative fraternity on the University of Illinois Campus.
How would you like to live at a place where everybody gets a half-housebill? That, in effect, is what happens at this University's oldest men's cooperative, Nabor House Fraternity at 811 W. Oregon, Urbana. The 19 men there have cut down their monthly bill to $40, less than half the cost of living in most fraternities.
They work this monthly miracle by (1) seldom hiring anybody for anything and (2) buying food and supplies in large lots, as cheaply as practical. Results, both visible and edible, are surprisingly good, and the time demanded of the individual member is surprisingly little. To keep the house spic and span and provide generous meals, each man contributes about six hours per week.
And the grades don't suffer, either. Always near the top, Nabor has won several scholarship awards from the Men's Independent Association. Last semester, it had a 3.926 average (out of 5.0)...
Life at Nabor House isn't just a mtter of grim efficiency, however. Everybody takes part in at least one extracurricular activity, and the house tries to arrange some type of social event for every week. These include dances, exchanges, date-dinners, and having faculty and staff members over for dinner and a talk.
Biggest problem in running a cooperative, of course, is in getting cooperation. And here it isn't merely a question of maintaining social prestige, but a matter of economic life and death.
To ensure harmony and cooperation at Nabor House, members follow two principles: selectivity in membership and having common interests. At Nabor, the common interests are agriculture and moral living. Each man was chosen from applicants with rural backgrounds and is enrolled in some curriculum related to agriculture.
The pool table in the basement is for 'amusement only,' because gambling is prohibited, as well as profanity and drinking. Smoking is 'discourage,' though if you look far enough you can find an ash tray.
An indication of how well these moral standards work out in practice is the fact that candy and ice cream are sold on the honor system. Most errors, incidentally, are on the side of profit.
Though the house had to incorporate as a fraternity and operates much like one, the men belong to MIA and prefer to be known as independents. Rushing is held in the spring, new men undergo a semester of pledgeship, and initation requires a 3.5 average plus unanimous Chapter approval.
The house is owned by the Chapter. Its five Charter members had to borrow to get the mortgage in 1939, but the debt has been almost paid off in rent.
They work this monthly miracle by (1) seldom hiring anybody for anything and (2) buying food and supplies in large lots, as cheaply as practical. Results, both visible and edible, are surprisingly good, and the time demanded of the individual member is surprisingly little. To keep the house spic and span and provide generous meals, each man contributes about six hours per week.
And the grades don't suffer, either. Always near the top, Nabor has won several scholarship awards from the Men's Independent Association. Last semester, it had a 3.926 average (out of 5.0)...
Life at Nabor House isn't just a mtter of grim efficiency, however. Everybody takes part in at least one extracurricular activity, and the house tries to arrange some type of social event for every week. These include dances, exchanges, date-dinners, and having faculty and staff members over for dinner and a talk.
Biggest problem in running a cooperative, of course, is in getting cooperation. And here it isn't merely a question of maintaining social prestige, but a matter of economic life and death.
To ensure harmony and cooperation at Nabor House, members follow two principles: selectivity in membership and having common interests. At Nabor, the common interests are agriculture and moral living. Each man was chosen from applicants with rural backgrounds and is enrolled in some curriculum related to agriculture.
The pool table in the basement is for 'amusement only,' because gambling is prohibited, as well as profanity and drinking. Smoking is 'discourage,' though if you look far enough you can find an ash tray.
An indication of how well these moral standards work out in practice is the fact that candy and ice cream are sold on the honor system. Most errors, incidentally, are on the side of profit.
Though the house had to incorporate as a fraternity and operates much like one, the men belong to MIA and prefer to be known as independents. Rushing is held in the spring, new men undergo a semester of pledgeship, and initation requires a 3.5 average plus unanimous Chapter approval.
The house is owned by the Chapter. Its five Charter members had to borrow to get the mortgage in 1939, but the debt has been almost paid off in rent.