Closing the House on Blake
In the spring of 2007, the director of housing made the announcement on a grim day in March that University Residences would be closing Steel House for good. They cited extreme costs for facility renovations as their reasons. The director of housing met with the women at the house to pass along the news.
Although the director of University Residences could provide the women with very few options, the University did make some attempt at finding the Women of Steel a new home. However, the choice offered to them would have no longer allowed the women to function as a cooperative. The option offered to the residents would have changed the very face of how Steel House functioned. A blog explains what a resident felt about the Steel House community:
It is a house whose members are responsible for cleaning its premises, including doing the dishes, and must have the responsibility to police and enforce those rules. Steel House women have shown the capacity to meet those responsibilities. According to the university’s own Web site for Steel House, Ethel K. Steel was a strong advocate for cooperative living. Steel House is the nation’s oldest cooperative and enjoys some of the benefits of cooperative living such as democratic member control, autonomy and independence, and concern for community. The Steel House cooperative is a positive and successful living arrangement that should be continued at the University. (J. P. - Steel House Resident 1997-1999)
The University of Idaho did not find a solution for the Women of Steel. The women were left homeless for the school year 2007 2008. The president, Sara Cooke, met with Dean of Students, Bruce Pitman. Finding former residents of Steel House to back their cause, the group set out to re-establish Steel House in the manner set up by Ethel K. Steel.
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