Commune offers low-cost living

Ryan A. Mihalyi Arizona Daily Wildcat Spadefoot, a commune several blocks from campus, was formed by a former science professor to provide low-cost housing for students. Spadefoot is recognized by the UA Department of Student Programs and therefore is eligible to receive funding from the UA.

Zendik is based in Austin, Texas, but Tucson has its own commune, Spadefoot, which is also an officially recognized University of Arizona student organization.

Spadefoot, at 503 E. University Blvd., was formed 11/2 years ago by Paul Patton, a former UA science professor, in an effort to provide cheap housing to students, said Jack Marchand, Spadefoot member and art junior.

Because Spadefoot is recognized by the UA Department of Student Programs, it is eligible for university funding.

Though it is a UA organization, and many residents do attend the UA, Marchand said Spadefoot residents do not have to be UA students.

"We're living in a very individual society," said Paul Johnejack, a Spadefoot resident who calls himself a prospective UA graduate student.

Spadefoot has 18 residents ranging in age from their 20s to 40s. The rent for the community is $360 to $400 per month, depending on room size. The rent includes food, utilities and supplies, which are bought in bulk.

Most members are vegetarians, but people can bring in meat to cook or eat, Marchand said.

Spadefoot is affiliated with the National Association of Student Cooperatives, which has branches in Berkeley, Calif. and Madison, Wisc., Atkins said.

"We make all decisions democratically," Johnejack said.

Spadefoot holds weekly meetings on Mondays to discuss household issues such as finances and living supplies. Marchand is Spadefoot's trustee, making suggestions about speakers and programs.

"We share each other's lives. It's a support system," Johnejack said.

"It's different than living in a dorm. You don't have to know your neighbors at a dorm, but here the walls are really thin. You can hear conversations and music through them," he said.

Spadefoot members are working to buy the house they are renting, Atkins said.

Hopefully, the organization will be able to build more communes in Tucson over the next 10 years, Johnejack said.

Michelle Heiman, environmental science junior, said, "If people can live that way, if that's what works for them, that's fine. But it wouldn't fit my lifestyle."

In contrast to Spadefoot, Zendik is a politically motivated tribal community that encourages college students to leave school to start a revolution, according to the magazine, Zendik Tribe, which Zendik representatives sell around the UA campus.

Two weeks ago, representatives from the Zendik farm, a tribal community, visited the university to distribute their magazine and share their philosophy to students on the UA Mall.

Zendik is a Sanskrit word meaning "outlaw, heretic, one who does not follow the established order," according to Zendik literature.

Representatives travel to various colleges across the country, such as Penn State, Northwestern and Syracuse to try to convince students to move to their farm.

"We all have the same problems here. We're totally committed to helping each other out," said Chen Atkins, Zendik farm resident and editor of Zendik Tribe, which voices the community's philosophy.

Atkins said that Zendik's message for students is to "get the hell out of college."

"The world right now is six billion polluted, toxified people with a fully loaded revolver to their collective head and the trigger half pulled. Quit your job!" the Zendik magazine states.

"We need to build a whole new culture that's essential to work for our species to survive," Atkins said.

The Zendik farm is a 300-acre farm outside Austin, Texas, comprised of about 50 men and women, Atkins said.

Residents of Zendik believe the pollution, diseases and environmental conditions that exist today are all wrong, he said.

The community participates in organic farming, cleaning up the Great Lakes, self-expression and recycling.

"Diluted sewage is now called water," an article in Zendik Tribe states.

The magazine also states, "We want to get some truth going politically and socially."

The goals outlined in the article for that truth include legalizing drugs.

"Clean drugs and needles available. Free help for anyone wanting to kick addictions. Drug use drastically reduced - there's no need to numb out in an Ecolibrium society since you're not selling your integrity," it states.

The cost of living on the Zendik farm depends on how much the resident can afford, Atkins said.

"We ask people for $200 to $300," Atkins said.

He said that Zendik efforts to recruit college students are very successful.

Zendik residents are encouraged to live at the farm as long as they wish, and residents teach their children at home, Atkins said.