(now the United Farm Workers (UFW)) . Biko Named after Stephen Bantu Biko, founder and martyr of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa, Biko has been SBSHC's "People of Color" Co-op. Biko's theme provides a safe, respectful space for people of color in a predominantly white college campus community. A social justice house, Biko has been known to host ethnic studies events and socials for the Queer Student Union (QSU). Biko has twelve bedrooms and six bathrooms. Its kitchen is large and spacious, with industrial-strength cooking facilities and a stocked pantry. Biko has a mandatory meal plan that always offers both meat and vegetarian/vegan options. The House charge includes gas, electricity, water, trash, and laundry, and cable internet. The garage space out front functions as central storage as well as an all-purpose community space for radical meetings, music, art exhibitions and dance. Biko Garage is funded by donation only, and is run and operated by house members. The basketball court and front garden and porch space, as well as ample parking, are some of the other benefits of living at the Biko. Merton The Thomas Merton Interfaith House was completed in April 2013, with the first residents moving in June 2013. The co-op house, located on the second floor of the building, has a large kitchen and living room, with semi dorm-style bathrooms. There is a sizable garden on the north side of the building, as well as bike storage lockers, SBSHC's office, and an auditorium and kitchen used for five SBSHC events per year. The theme of the house is Interfaith, continuing the legacy of the University Religious Center who previously owned the building. Through continuing funds, co-op members are enabled to attend interfaith conferences, host interfaith-themed events, and make connections with faith groups around the community and the world. SBSHC members who live at Merton House, are students at University of California, Santa Barbara, and who qualify as low income by the standards set by the County of Santa Barbara receive a scholarship that is a significant reduction in their rent, making Merton House the most affordable UCSB student housing in Isla Vista. Merton House is named after Thomas Merton, an Anglo-American Catholic writer and Mystic who was an advocate of spirituality, social justice, pacifism, and interfaith understanding post-World War II. External links The Santa Barbara Student Housing Co-op website Common Good, the SBSHC wiki University of