New Member Information

New members often feel like they're in the dark when they first move to Escher. The FAQ page may help answer your questions, and the purpose of this page is to list all member responsibilities so you can rest easy knowing you haven't forgotten anything. See the move-in checklist below for a quick synopsis of important action items.

URGENT MOVE-IN TO-DO'S

All of these are REQUIRED and failing to follow these instructions could result in a fine! Please email the President or other relevant officers if you have any questions or concerns. (If you filled out a Fall move-in form, you can ignore this step.) You should receive a welcome email prompting you to email either the President or VP of Relations with your expected arrival time. Either way, email one of them as soon as you know the date you'll be arriving and update them if your ETA changes. Otherwise you may not receive a room key. Fill out the Work Survey BEFORE you arrive. The Fall '22 survey can be found here. If you arrive after the start of a term, email the Work Manager to ensure they received your response. Check your email each day for the latest Work Schedule where you will be assigned a house labor shift according to your responses on the work survey. You must attend your work shifts weekly after the latest work schedule goes into effect! If you are confused, please see the [Member's Guide to Work at Escher]. If you still have questions, reach out to the Work Manager. Suite chores are also required each week. Your Suite Manager will assign a task to you (or allow you to choose one). This will be something like vacuuming the hallways, wiping down the kitchen surfaces, or getting the mail. Make sure your Suite Manager knows who you are (you can find their email here), and that you have been assigned a suite chore. Note: If it is the beginning of a contract period and the Suite Managers have not have been elected yet, look out for an email with the date and time of your suite's election so you can vote (or run yourself)! Everyone cleans their bathroom a few times each semester at Escher. Inside the bathroom closest to your room, you will find a bathroom cleaning sign-up sheet. Write your name in at least four spaces on this sheet. Our Secretary should add you to the email list on the day (or a few days before) you arrive according to the email address you listed on your Rent Manager account. If you suspect you are not receiving house emails, contact escher.secretary@icc.coop with your name, preferred email address, and room number ASAP. Mistakes do happen and we wouldn't want you to miss any important house information!

Other Move-In To-Do's

Skim the House Constitution to understand more about how Escher functions. Read the current COVID Policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/16td_6ybcoIwfjZ_Qkj_rt8_78tIVMrm2iPlPKVMTElc/edit#heading=h.ftwnk2r5fpud to understand how masking and quarantining works in our house. Update your mailing address. See the House Constitution for the mailing addresses of each suite. If you have a car and want a space in our parking lot, fill out this parking form. If you install a personal AC unit you must fill out this AC form. AC units cost $26 monthly (added to Rent Manager charges) and rooms with unreported AC units are subject to fines.

Your responsibilities as a member

This section lists things that are required from all members.

Urgent and recurring responsibilities

1. Make sure you are on the house email list. If you have not been receiving any house emails, email the Secretary with your name, preferred email address, and room number.
2. The work survey is sent out at the beginning of the term. If you were not on the email list when the survey was sent you, you must contact the Work Manager to be assigned a shift.
3. Work is required from all members each week.
   1. House chores is a weekly 3-hour shift you must work. Make sure you are on the work schedule. Contact the Work Manager with any questions.
   2. Suite chores are also required each week. Your Suite Manager will assign a task to you (or allow you to choose one). This will be something like vacuuming the hallways, wiping down the kitchen surfaces, or getting the mail. Make sure your Suite Manager knows who you are (you can find their email here), and that you have been assigned a suite chore.
   3. Bathroom cleaning. Everyone cleans their bathroom a few times each semester at Escher. Inside the bathroom closest to your room, you will find a bathroom cleaning sign-up sheet. Write your name in at least four spaces on this sheet, making sure not to sign up for consecutive weeks (members should take turns cleaning each week).

Intermittent responsibilities

• Work Holiday occurs once each semester, near the beginning of the term. You are required to sign up for Work Holiday or complete four hours of work at a later date if you are unavailable.

Cooperative behavior

This section lists cooperative things you can do that don't have hard-and-fast rules, but go a long way towards making Escher an awesome co-op.

• Attend house meetings. Make sure your voice is represented in the house by attending house meetings, participating in discussions, and voting!
• Attend officer meetings. While some officer meeting discussions must necessarily be private, you are welcome to attend the regular officer meetings that occur twice a month. Each of these meetings will have a Member Time period where you can raise concerns directly with a room full of officers.
• Explore and contribute to this wiki, and the Escher Member Drive.
• Aim for sustainability.
  • Use cloth towels rather than paper towels whenever possible.
  • Take food scraps to the compost bins in the O'Keeffe Dining Room or Renaissance Dining Room during the warmer months when composting is underway.
  • Turn off lights in empty rooms.
  • Get to know other members with cars and try to carpool.

Possibilities

This section lists optional things you can do to be more involved at Escher.

• Write a proposal to change something at Escher.
• Organize a social event. Contact the Social Chair for help -- we have house funds set aside for social events, and the Social Chair can also help spread the word about your event.