Like the Harvard houses, which have their own individual reputations, the co-ops have been known to attract a certain type of person. Most of the stereotypes held by students about co-op life are generally tied to the Dudley Co-op, which is farther away from the Square.

Built in 1958 as off-campus housing, Dudley in the 1960s and 1970s quickly developed a reputation as a commune for some of the more radical students at Harvard. And this image--like many of the students--has lingered.

Even today, the Dudley Co-op is considered a haven for students with far left-leaning political views, a sort of time machine transporting the granola crowd back to the '60s.

Dudley residents, however, shy away from the political labels that have been stuck on the co-op over the years.

"Someone suggested to my friend that she shouldn't move in unless she was a lesbian-separatist-drug-dealer," says Bromer. "That's just ridiculous."

It is true that Dudley has lost some of its Woodstock appeal. The murals which covered the house in the co-op's early years have been painted over, and the nude woman that used to grace the bathroom wall has been replaced with an abstract design.

But the shrine to Karl Marx still guards the stairway to the third floor, and urges "Workers of the world unite" in 14 different languages.

And the co-op is still politically conscious about other issues. In tune with its concern for the environment, Deadly also has its own garden plot and compost heap, right next door. "We grow our own flowers, vegetables and other herbs," says Broker.

In contrast to this more bohemian image, life in the Jordan Co-op is not all that different from life on campus, except that its residents make their own granola.

In fact, Jordan, located across the street from the Radcliffe Quad, is considered on-campus living. The co-op's three buildings were constructed in the 1960s, but over the years interest in the communal lifestyle has dwindled.

Now the 15 residents of the co-op occupy only one of the three original buildings. The other two three-story, stocky cement structures are used for overflow housing.

Although Jordan is technically on-campus, while Deadly is off, residents in both co-ops agree that there are not really many differences between the two--except for aesthetics. "I didn't want to live in the Jordan Co-ops because I don't like the architecture there," says Redoubt.

Although students say it is impossible to generalize about the people who live in the co-ops in 1990, most of the residents have something in common--they have taken time off from Harvard.

Residents say the decision to take a leave of absence from school made choosing the co-op housing option easier. After living away from campus, students don't feel like returning to the housing system, Bromer says.

"The rhythm of running a household myself was pretty much a part of the rhythm of my life when I came back to Harvard," Bromer says.