Just one big happy family
By CASS SEXSON
Kansan Staff Writer
For the student who wants to live cheaply and can take a little of the unusual, there is a choice besides a dormitory, an apartment or a Greek house—the commune.
What started on the West Coast as an American experiment in communal living has spread to other parts of the nation, including KU, and is meeting with widespread success.
Communal living comes to KU
Lawrence has several communes; the Kansan visited one at 1340 Tennessee St. which houses eight persons.
Or so we were told. When this reporter entered the house, about a dozen people were watching the news on a small television set in the living room. Later, eighteen sat down to a mammoth spaghetti supper.
With the remains of a huge repast waiting to be cleared away, the residents of the commune at 1340 Tennessee St., and their guests, relax into a typical family pose. Only eight people live in the commune, but several visitors for supper is not unusual. Cooking chores for the group are split up on a volunteer basis.
Occurrences such as this are not out of the usual. Mike Warner, a resident of the Tennessee commune explained that some of the visitors were from another Lawrence commune, some were visiting from Oklahoma State University for a meeting on the urban plunge project and others were regular guests.
The adage "the more the merrier" seemed to apply, however, and everyone joined in on a picture-taking spree, including the reporter and the household pet, a small black kitten.
Two couples and four men live in the spacious house, which has one drawback—a single bathroom. There are six bedrooms and ample "crashing space" for the frequent guests. The living room alone has three sofas.
Expenses average $50 a month
Nov. 7
1969 KANSAN 7
per person, including rent, food and utilities, making the commune one of the least expensive living situations. Housekeeping and cooking chores are split up on a volunteer basis.
The commune also has other advantages, according to its residents. "It's a more natural way to live," said David S. Awbrey, Hutchinson senior and student body president.
Ideally, the commune should have a balanced number of men and women, said another commune resident. "That's how the commune got its name, from a community-type atmosphere," she said. "It's unnatural to segregate groups of men and women, as in dormitories. In a commune there's more of a family atmosphere."
Ironically, the most prevalent problem of the commune is preserving its community. Unlike dormitories or Greek houses, not all of those living in the commune are students. The problem arises of a "common experience, one that everybody can relate to," as one resident explained it.
"Lack of common experience is not really a problem as far as living together is concerned," said Warner. "But not being able to relate to each other hampers the ideal situation of communal living."
Another commune resident, who was visiting the Tennessee commune, said that in some ways the diversity of the group was beneficial. "It's more representative of a true community," she said. It's helpful to have a common basis outside of the commune, but the living situation itself is a common experience."
The Tennessee commune does not seem to be split by diversity or lack of "common experience." The atmosphere is relaxed.
though at times it appears chaotic to the inexperienced observer.
The commune on Tennessee was organized last June. There were 15 people living in two houses, said Warner, but one house was closed and its residents moved—some into other communes, some into dorms, and some into private apartments.
"The number of persons living in the house now is about eight," Warner said. "We have eight permanent residents and several who come and go."
Those who are living in the commune say they genuinely like the living situation, not simply because it is less expensive than other living quarters, but because it offers what one resident called "a natural atmosphere in an unnatural environment."