I lived in Cloyne Court in 1978-79 during what I guess would be the Coops' heydays. Barrington was still around, and some of the houses like Chateau and LaThlorian where really nice places. Cloyne wasn't too clean and there was a lot of weed, but nothing too crazy. Barrington was certainly harder-core drug-wise, but I don't recall anything harder than acid and occasionally blow at either place. Certainly not any heroin, and this was before meth became a big deal everywhere. We had amazing parties with Dead cover bands from Marin (I seem to recall a great band called Short Notice). Great sauna in the back yard and co-ed YMCA-style showers downstairs. Certainly not your average college experience. I promoted one of the first punk concerts in Berkeley at Cloyne with The Mutants and the Psychotic Pineapple. The house members were actually a great cross-section of folks with undergrads and grad students with many people staying there for 4 or more years. Nice folks...a lot of fun, and nothing too traumatic. Flash forward 20 years....I visited Cloyne and was appalled at how run-down and filthy it had become. Broken glass in the foyer and front yard...just awful. I was so upset that I haven't been back since. I believe that sometime within the last 10 years it was closed down for repairs and I thought it was being cleaned up, but I guess not....
As for this unfortunate incident - shame on the poster who said this kid had it coming. **** happens, but nobody deserves to O.D.....NOBODY! I absolutely loved my years at Cal, but when people ask me about their kids going there, I'm always careful to say it can be the best school on the planet, but it isn't for everybody. Lost souls tend to fall thru the cracks and fall prey to bad situations. Sounds like this kid made some unfortunate decisions. As a parent of a 19 year old and 16 year old, I can tell you that losing a child has to be the most devastating loss possible. I'm sure his mother isn't looking at all the facts, but cut her a break. She'll have the rest of her life to ask how she missed the signs and didn't intervene.
