From 457 Dudley Affiliates: The Co-op Must Stay

To Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra, Harvard College Dean David J. Deming, Dean of Students Thomas G. Dunne, and FAS Dean of Administration and Finance Warren Petrofsky:

As current residents, former tutors, and proud alumni of the Dudley Co-op, we write to express our concern about recent decisions affecting our home. Last week, Harvard College announced it would dissolve the Dudley Community, which served the administrative and advising needs of visiting undergraduates, off-campus students, and Dudley Co-op residents. As the future of the Co-op remains uncertain, we feel compelled to say: our home is and must remain a vital part of the campus ecosystem.

Founded in 1958, the Dudley Co-op emerged as part of a larger student cooperative movement aimed at making college residential life more affordable and accessible to all. With the support of University administration, students established a tight-knit, intentional residential community in two historical buildings.

Since its inception, the Dudley Co-op has served as a haven for students who struggle to fit in elsewhere on campus. International students, queer and trans students, military veterans, and other nontraditional students often find themselves at the Co-op after the House system fails to offer adequate support and sense of belonging.

Further, living at the Co-op remains significantly more affordable than living in the traditional Houses, helping students cover what financial aid may not. For many, living in the Co-op prevented us from having to take out a loan, hold multiple part-time jobs, or take a leave of absence from the College due to financial circumstances. Ultimately, the Co-op serves as a vital alternative space for marginalized students, and what it offers cannot be replicated in the Houses.

The Dudley Co-op provides its residents with a housing experience that is unique and necessary at Harvard. Residents cook for one another daily, share upkeep tasks, and meet weekly to ensure the Co-op remains aligned with the needs of its residents. Living in the Co-op allows students a taste of independent life within a university setting, which is often missing from the rest of the residential system.

Living in the Co-op, residents not only become competent DIYers, gardeners, and chefs, but also patient and compassionate community members, eager to roll up their sleeves and actively contribute to the shared life of their home. While at Harvard, Co-opers bring these skills to the classroom, the lab, their student organizations, and beyond, supplementing campus life. After graduating, they leverage those same skills in academic institutions, boardrooms, governments, and more.

Notably, the Co-op’s influence on campus life extends well beyond its residents, as evidenced by the outpouring of support and dismay from students and alumni across the Harvard community following the recent news.

The Co-op is open every night for any Harvard affiliate to stop by for a free, home-cooked dinner and conversation. Each year on Easter and Thanksgiving, dozens of Harvard affiliates looking for a homemade meal away from home gather at the Co-op for a holiday feast. And of course, we’d be remiss not to mention how our parties have likewise become campus institutions, drawing hundreds of students from across Harvard in a uniquely welcoming social environment.

Furthermore, the Co-op has long served as a hub for activism, social change, and dissenting thought on campus, paving the way for significant milestones in Harvard’s history. Many historic student campaigns were planned at the Co-op, from campus labor organizing to Harvard’s anti-Vietnam War movement. The Co-op fosters independent thinking and intellectual vitality, the decline of which Harvard has repeatedly expressed concern over. If the University hopes to encourage intellectualism and open-mindedness, closing the Co-op would be counterproductive.

Harvard may believe it can cut costs by dissolving one of the smaller residential communities on campus. However, what the Co-op contributes to campus culture is truly invaluable. It is a place steeped in history and tradition, impossible to replace. The Houses are houses, but the Dudley Co-op is a home.

Those who make Dudley home deserve better than boilerplate emails and vague assurances. As such, we demand that University leaders take action to protect the Co-op. We invite all decision-makers to step inside our home, break bread with us, and see firsthand what Harvard stands to lose before deciding that we are expendable.

Kai D. DeJesus ’27 is a current Co-op resident. Bethany L. Potter ’13 is a Co-op alumna. Jessica M. Marglin ’06 is a Co-op alumna and Jacob E. Safra Professor of Jewish History and Sephardic Civilization.

A full list of the signatories to this open letter can be found here.