Volume S, Issue 2
MSU Student Housing Co.
February 18, 2002
PINE PRESS T H E H I S T O RY O F B OW E R H O U S E
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Co-op Bidness
2
Local & Community
3
People
4
Food
5
More Food
6
Random!
7
Ummm
8
Want a position of leadership in the cooperative movement? Letters of Candidacy for the next Executive Committee are due Feb 27, 2002 to SHC. Please contact Erin W. at Bower with questions!
“We must be the change we wish to see… do something!” Julia Butterfly Hill February 15, 2002
By: Erin Schwartz
As a newcomer at the Bower House Co-op, I recently discovered the origin of its very existence. Bower resulted from a massive explosion of soybeans in Sri Lanka in the year 1955. The sun was really hot that summer in Sri Lanka and as weeks went by, the soybean plants started to light on fire. The farmers could do nothing about it as the fire grew out of control, screaming its arms miles out in every direction. Townspeople quickly gathered their possessions and moved away from the soybean fire. One day at dusk, the firey flaming arms came together like a rubberband ball, overlapping their arms in a circular rotation. And, before the sun rose that day, the ball a’blazin blasted off into the sky and was never seen nor heard of again. About 12 hours later, however, on another hemisphere, the firey hug set itself down in a small town called East Lansing. Soybeans went flying everywhere on a hill. It was white. It became white when all the soybeans covered the land in atrocious amounts. Ergo, the road Bower Co-op stands upon is called Whitehills. I’m sure this historical documentation of
Caption describing picture or graphic.
such an event may seem surprising to some. But, mark my word, you have the right to believe whatever you want to believe. In addition to discovering the origin of Bower, I also have taken the liberty to interview some current Bower residents, better known as Bowerites. I came up with a few questions offering some very profound perspectives.
Question #1: If you could be an appliance at Bower, what would you be? Answer: “Appliances are a part of the capitalist conspiracy against all that is pure good. And, appliances are cold and dead…except for the Bower sandwich
maker.”
Another Answer: “I don’t believe in appliances. I believe all light and electricity should come from our natural inner light, evolving from pure love, Dude.” And Another Answer: “I would be the broken food processor, cuz I love it. I love to make peanut butter chocolate tofu and I like to lick it off my fingers and feet after I walk around barefoot for a while.” And, yet, another answer: “I would be the house sex toy because I’m fun, I’m accessible, and I come with my own set of rechargeable batteries.” (Continued on page 8)
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Volume S, Issue 2
Co-op bid-ness SOME ETHERNET WORDS OF WISDOM By: Henrique Bertulani To guide oneself in electronic subsistence, one does not have to pursue a degree in some computer science, just
Board of Directors 2002 Benjamin Ruby, Atlantis Kristy Rogers, Bower Jane Lalli, Elsworth Katie Rehahn, Ferency Julie King, Hedrick Scott Hilliard, Miles Jon Muzzal, New Community Traci Kennedy, Orion Andrew Roach, Phoenix Jen Cole, Raft Hill James DiVitta, Shadowood Kate Need, Toad Lane
be informed of the hassles that past Ethernet subscribers had to
go through. The first and foremost important fact to grasp is the actual amount of different companies that are providing your “Ethernet” service. In simple, there are 4 of them. The first that you come across visually, are the people that will wire every room in your house for pc outlets. This process might take weeks, depending oneself many rooms your house has. The company that has been doing this for the coops is called ITS* and they
have been pretty good. They deliver the service and initialize the system. (hook up the modem to the computer…). However, this modem is not obtained with the same people. The second company involved will give you the “service”. They are an office of people who have agreements with larger “providers” to sell their service. In our case, the company contacted was ARQ*. It is with them that you sign a contract, and get your modem. The people whom you signed the contract with usually don’t own the modems. Purchase them from a “provider”, we used ACD*. So
if you have problems with your modem, call ACD and not ARQ. Then comes the actually problem shooting to save you a few trips to ACD. Make sure your modem is upgraded, that it can run in a co-op. If you ask them if it is, they will know what you mean. (I made 3 trips to ACD, swapping the modem twice!) Now comes the ultimate “out of your mortal powers although crucial to your success” company, the phone company… in our case Ameritech. They are responsible to bring a cable from the telephone pole down to the house telephone box. Usually (Continued on page 8)
Inter-Cooperative Bowling League
BRING OUT YOUR BOWLING SHOES!! Are you interested in forming a co-op wide bowling tournament to meet one night a week at Marvel Lanes? If so, E-mail Carrie Bozym (mcbozym@hotmail.com) or Chris Profeta
(profetac@msu.edu) from Atlantis. ANNOUNCEMENTS
AND
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Send us your announcements! Treasurers: Meet Feb 20 @ 7:30 pm in the Union Lobby. Membership: Meet Feb 26th @ 9:00pm Education: Meet Feb 27th @ 9:15pm at Ferency.
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Housing for PEOPLE, not for PROFIT. Sign your contracts for more co-op livin’!
Co-op Volleyball!! Meet Henrique at Im West, Mon-Thurs at 5pm! Bower Pot Luck! Every other Thursday at 8:30pm. Come this Thursday, Feb 21! Please bring a vegan or vegetarian dish or other contribution to share.
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CO-OP HAPPENINGS... •
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Maintenance: Meet Feb 20th, 7:00pm @ Ferency Board of Directors, next meeting Feb 25! What do you want to announce? Contact us at pinepress@hotmail.com
Pine Press
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Local & Community INSIDE STORY HEADLINE This story can fit 150-200 words. One benefit of using your newsletter as a promotional tool is that you can reuse content from other marketing materials, such as press releases, market studies, and reports. While your main goal of distributing a newsletter might be to sell your product or service, the key to a successful newsletter is making it useful to your readers. A great way to add useful content to your newsletter is to develop and write your own articles, or include a calendar of upcoming events or a spe-
cial offer that promotes a new product. You can also research articles or find “filler” articles by accessing the World Wide Web. You can write about a variety of topics but try to keep your articles short. Much of the content you put in your newsletter can also be used for your Web site. Microsoft Publisher offers a simple way to convert your newsletter to a Web publication. So, when you’re finished writing your newsletter, convert it to a Web site and post it.
LADYFEST Ladies and Gentlemen! Come be a part of an exciting community event! April 11-14, 2002 Ladyfest Lansing is a celebration of women in arts, activism, and community! The first Ladyfest was organized locally in 2000 in Olympia, Washington. In 2001, inspired women produced Ladyfests in their hometowns of New York and Glasgow, Scotland, and
I S C O MIN G !
two in the Midwest - Chicago, IL, and Bloomington, IN. Let's keep it going! This event does not discriminate on any basis including gender. For more information, check out some Ladyfest websites: ladyfest ladyfestmidwest ladyfesteast
If you would like to participate with poetry reading, producing a workshop with friends or classmates, performing music, displaying art, showing your own films or a variety of other creative activities, feel free to e-mail either Sarah @ ladyfest_lansing@yahoo.com or myself, CrystalSolosky@hotmail.com. We would be happy to help you! Watch the Pine Press for further details.
“ If we are to master the sensitive arts of building a life– encouraging environment, we need to realize that: bigger is not better; slower may be faster; less may well mean more.” - Stewart Udall
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Executive Committee President: Megan Burt New Community 351-3820 burtmega@msu.edu Executive V.P.: Roy Jorgensen Ferency 332-0816 Jorgen33@msu.edu Corporate Treasurer: Mary Sturbaum Atlantis 337-2782 V.P. of Membership: Amber Bardon Bower 351-4490 V.P. of Education Erin Wright Bower 351-4490
People Moving On When December was up, I realized I couldn’t stand to live in Owen Graduate Center anymore. One semester of living in a closet, paying $500 in graduate taxes, when I’m not a grad student and being at all social in my dorm was more than enough for me. I knew I had to change my living situation, but I had no idea where to go. I did a good deal of thinking about it over Winter Break while I was a guest at Ferency House. After spending a lot of time both there and Hedrick House over fall semester, the choice was easy to move to the co-op’s. I called Damon every few days to see if there were any singles open. There wasn’t a one. I had almost resigned myself to live in a double, when I learned
Member Serv.: Damon Williams 355-8313 Coop@msu.edu Phys. Development: Stuart Holmes 355-8313 Coop@msu.edu
By: Aaron Mosier
that a friend over in Hedrick wanted out of his contract. Unfortunately, he was in Detroit over break. So I got his contact information and started up a game of phone tag. The game lasted for days before we could arrange for him to come up and sign his contract over to me. The day before he showed, I went to Owen and checked out. I packed up all my goods in my Taurus and drove back to Ferency where I proceeded to empty my life into Steve Parpart’s room. Phase One complete. On to Phase Two: getting into Hedrick. The second half of my move came at a very crazy time. I was till fighting with MSU about my housing contract, trying hard to keep both of my jobs, was dealing with reenrolling and
PINECONE DROPS
OF
temporarily had no place of residence. But once my name was the one on that piece of legally binding paper, I started my transition into Hedrick. My first house meeting was the same night I moved in. I jumped right in! Dish shift, cook shift and education officer. Eventually, I was reenrolled for the semester. I managed to keep both jobs as well. My room is a work in progress. Still a bit messy, but my posters are up and I plan to finger paint the remainder of the walls. My move seems complete after all this mess. I want to thank Ferency for their generosity and patience, especially Steve Parpart, Crystal Solosky and Roy Jorgensen. And also Hedrick for a smooth transition, a new bed and making mefeel welcome.
SUNLIGHT
Pinecones to Vik, Crystal, Aaron, John K., Tim, Erin S. and Fred for being wonderful education officers!
A pinecone to the earth for providing us with life. Pinecones to Chauncey and all the wonderful people who traveled so far for the ECO conA pinecone to Ani D. for serenading me while ference this past weekend. I work. Pinecones to you, for being you!
SHC Staff: Executive Dir.: Joan Bulmer 355-8313 Coop@msu.edu
Volume S, Issue 2
By: Vikram Kamat As most of you know we are in the middle of the 2002 Winter Olympics, which our great country is hosting. I remember watching when I was younger and I would get very excited for the games but as I've grown older the thrill of the games has diminished. Here are just a few thoughts that I have about the Olympics, these ideas maybe the reason why the excitement is gone for many others and me: Many of these Olympic events are won and lost based on a single per-
T H E O LY M P I C S son's opinion on a performance. Ice Skating has seen much controversy in previous years, and is one that comes to mind. You could have two skaters who skate a technically perfect routine but the judges are still forced to pick a winner based on "Artistic" performance, and art we all know is a matter of opinion. It's not like the Ski jump, where a skier's distance can really be contested. The Olympics also don't seem very competitive to me. In many of the events annalists often pick the
winner months before the games begin. In the summer games the US wins the basketball event every year, the only thing left to be determined is by how much. This year the favorites in the Snowboard Half Pipe were the States and to no surprise the US swept, taking the Gold, Sliver, and Bronze medals. Many of these events seem just down right stupid to me and I wonder where they got some of these ideas. Take the Biathlon, a combination of Cross Country Skiing and Shooting. Who thought to pair those two activities? I would've Continued on page 7...
Pine Press
Page 5
FOOD
Rest and Relaxation Crystal Solosky I’m sure I’m not the only one daydreaming through lecture about the possibilities of a tropical spring break. Nor am I the only one among us longing for the summer to return to Michigan and warm the air. So I’ve been thinking up ways to look and feel my best both right now and in the sunny future. Staying healthy in this frigid weather is not an easy task. It's too cold to be outside much, and I'm sure all of us get enough of the marvelous weather and outdoors walking to and from classes. In door exercise is the alternative when it comes to staying fit. However, some of us may be sick of all the trudging and snow shoveling and book lugging and are in dire need of some rest and relaxation. Well show yourself some love and take an afternoon this week to pamper yourself. You may not know it, but you probably really need it. First off, start this healthy vegan soup up in your kitchen. It will fuel your body and help it to repair from all the rigors of the season. Not only is it full of healthy proteins, it will make your entire house smell wonderful! If you prefer, you can substitute chicken broth (in cans or made from bullion cubes) for vegetable broth and use diced steam chicken in place of garbanzo beans. 3 (14.5 ounce) cans vegetable broth 3/4 cup small seashell pasta 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved dried basil leaves to taste dried thyme to taste salt to taste ground black pepper to taste
Once you get this simmering, take over the bathroom for a few. Lock the door, turn on the warm, steamy shower and get ready to relax. I recommend giving that poor winter-whipped skin of yours a good exfoliation. But if you want your skin to keep that pretty glow and stay soft after the shower is turned off, you’ll need to moisturize. Well I just happen to know of a product that can take care of both things at once! Spirit of the Spa Energizing Sea Salt Scrub is a perfect pick up for your skin. You can pick it up at Target for about $15 for a 19 oz. jar. It comes in several scents, some feminine, some masculine. I have ginger, which smells like oranges and, well, ginger. You stir the oil and salts together in the jar and slather the mixture all over your body. Be sure to get the bottoms of your feet and other dry areas, like the elbows and knees. The oils are quickly absorbed into your thirsty skin and leave you smelling wonderful for the rest of the day. It isn’t greasy either. You can usually skip an additional moisturizer after using this. Once you're all scrubbed up and dried off, put on some comfy pj's and slippers. Your soup is probably ready by now. Have a bowl or two, maybe share some with your housemates and curl up in bed for a nice long nap. Sleep is one of the best things for colds and stress. It gives your body time to repair itself and allows your mind some relaxation. When you wake up, you should feel much better. Nutrition Servings Per Recipe: 4 Amount per serving Calories 301 Protein 13g Total Fat 5g Sodium 4641mg Cholesterol Carbohydrates 53g
Fiber
THE WORLD’S BEST COOKIE It is a well known fact that people love cookies. In fact, approximately a quarter billion pounds of chocolate chip cookies alone are baked in homes around the world each year. That’s about 6 billion cookies! Laid end to end this many cookies would be enough to make ten rings around the earth, or extended into space in a single line would reach the moon. In fact, among all the different
8g
KRISTA ZIELINSKI
types of cookies there are, chocolate chip are the favorite cookie of almost threequarters of Americans. This delicious cookie has been around since about 1930 when owners of a small restaurant in a colonial house in Whitman, Massachusetts, known as the Toll House Inn created the recipe. The owner of the restaurant was baking cookies one day and ran out of nuts, so she substi-
tuted them with bits of a chocolate bar. She decided to call them chocolate crispies. Thus was born the chocolate chip cookie. Here is a recipe for one of the most popular chocolate chip cookies, slightly modified to guaranteed that they are soft and chewy. For crispier cookies simply subtract ¼ cup flour and add 2 tbl. Butter. Enjoy! Please turn to page 6 for the Recipe...
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Volume S, Issue 2
More food!
SEA VEGGIE RECIPES FOR THE MERMAID OR MERMAN IN YOU
Chocolate Cookie Recipe from page 5…
Original Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Cookies 2
Kelp & Honey Bits Snack: Soak dried kelp or kombu pieces in water until soft. Drain and snip into bite sized pieces to fill 1/2 cup. Bring 1/4 cup Honey and 1/2 cup water to a boil. Reduce heat, add sea vegetables and simmer until liquid is evaporated, about 1 hour. Spread 1 cup Sesame Seeds, or ground almonds on a baking sheet and arrange sea vegetables on top, turning with tongs to coat. Bake on 300 F for 30 minutes.
Brown Rice, Dulse & Tofu Soak 8 dired Shitake Mushrooms and a small handful Dried Dulse in water to cover. Sliver both when soft and set aside. Reserve soaking water. Dry roast 11/3 cups Brown Rice in a pan; then cook with 21/2 cups water. Saute 2 cubed cakes of tofu in 2 TBS sesame oil in a ½ add to rice. Add 1 skilled, TBS sesame oil to skillet and sautec 2 minced cloves garlic and 1u chopped onion until translucent. Add 1 teaspoon p Brewer’s s Yeast Flakes, 1 teasp. Cumin, 1 tsp. Sesame seeds, and 1/4 tsp. Lemon
f l o u r
1 tsp. Vanilla extract 1 t s p . B a k i n g s o d a 2 e g g s 1 tsp. Salt 1
pepper until spices are fragrant. Mix into rice. Add and saute until color changes: 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 2 zucchini shopped, 1 green pepper, mushrooms and dulse. Add mushroom soaking water and steam-braise for 5 minutes. Vegetables should be just tender crisp, not completely cooked. Add to rice and tofu. Enjoy you sea creature, you!
Pine Press
Random thoughts & continuations
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ALTERNATIVE NEWS SOURCES FROM THE WEB… Ever get the idea that mainstream media is telling fibs or at least does not get it? Suspect that there might be some grand scheme behind everything and you are the last to know? I would recommend http:// zenzibar.com as a good source of information. Something for everyone, not too crazy (but it has its moments). Useful, informative, and fun.
Am I telling lies? Does Money talk?
pinepress @hotmail.com
So, ya wanna be a rock star? The Studiotones are making a video to go with their single “A Crush” from their CD Digital Radio. Brent Nuffer, singer/ songwriter for the group is a former co-oper, having lived at the old Niko house for several years. Anyone interested in being a part of the video should e-mail the band at studiotone@yahoo.com or contact Craig Terrill at terrillc@msu.edu
Continued from page 4, Olympics... used the word sport but Shooting at targets while lying on your stomach is not a sport. I'm not saying that it's easy, I'm sure I couldn't do it, but all you need is a steady hand and good vision and some practice. And what's up with the Skeleton (A new event for 02 games), it's the Luge but on your stomach going headfirst... who cares? I also feel that the US and other more developed countries have an unfair advantage. We have a lot more money and so
Your voice belongs here… submit your thoughts to be published at:
we can afford to build huge facilities for our Olympic Athletes to train in. It's no surprise that we win the medal count the majority of the time. Another reason I find myself a bit turned off by the Olympics is that following these athletes is much harder to do. I don't expect the games to be held every year or even every other year but when I hear a name a few days once every four years don't expect me to remember or care that much. Now I know that so far all I've been doing is bashing the Olympics. I don't hate
the idea or even the way the games are played, I think it's great. But when people are all in a frenzy about how ratings for the Nogano games were so low, that kind of annoys me. I give the athletes a lot of credit. They don't play for money like many of the pro athletes of this country do, the play for the sport, and I find that very respectable. I won't be glued to the TV for the next two weeks and the only Winter Olympic event I really care about is Ice Hockey. I guess like the old saying goes "Different Strokes for Different Folks."
MSU Student Housing Co. 317 Student Services Bldg. Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824 Phone: 517-355-8313 Fax: 517-355-9576 Email: co-coop@msu.edu
Apologies from the editor: This newsletter is missing a few things, like our SHC logo. Also, I had to cut and tape a few pictures and articles. Unfortunately, the computer I normally use to publish the Pine Press is overloaded with memory and would not allow me to scan, open, close or delete any files. So, I ended up using Damon’s computer, retyping many things, and using my scissor skills to make things fit. My apologies, hopefully the next pine press will be better. erin wright (thank you Damon!)
moods. Oooh exotic! Oooh vegetarian! Oooh vegan!! Oooh its brown!!” Another question involved Bowerites talking about Another answer: “Dog Food Spagetti.” (use your their favorite thing about living at Bower. Animagination, its vegetarian.) swers follow. And another answer: “Seitan. (pronounced like Answer: “I like the fact that we keep the compost in Satan) This dark meat substitute leads souls astray the fridge.” This Bowerite says so as he places his with its temptuous odor. Once it’s made, it pulls stinky shoe on is head and struts his stuff across the unstable bodies to its striking and firm quality.” spelt flour encrusted floor. Furthermore, the population at Bower consists of a Another answer: “We have beautiful art on the third floor mural, but, I think we need to draw an oil very diverse selection of human beings?!? Well, that slick pouring out of the river and the cloud because still remains a mystery. We all live very happily the large size of the tree, the fairy, and the squirrels together. Finding goodness in all, cleaning up our poop when we should, and hugs, lots of hugs!! I are too much like we’re trippin’.” would have to say, as far as my living experiences And another answer: “My favorite thing about have been in the last almost 7 years I’ve been ‘round Bower is my roommates. To me, Bower means these parts, moving to Bower has been by far the ‘understanding’.” most beneficial and karmic living situations I have And our last question involved Bowerites discussing ever gotten myself into. And for that alone, I am sincerely thankful for the cosmic explosion of soytheir favorite meal at the house. Answer: “Peanut butter tofu. It’s a meal that fits all beans that took place in Sri Lanka in the year 1955. ( Bower History, Continued from page 1)
Everyone has a creative voice! Express yourself here! The Pine Press excepts all works of art!
( Ethernet, Continued from page 2 )
Recycle this tree!
they are pretty good about schedules, that means, when you sign the contract it will take two weeks max for installation and then you will be contacted by email that it is complete. Make sure you inspect your model. If the light that says “line” is constantly turning off and on, it means that the DSL was installed correctly in your box, yet the mode may not be totally compatible. If you have the upgraded modem, the line light on your modem should stay on… meaning that DSL is successfully traveling through our house! It was quite an ordeal to get these technical difficulties under control, yet with enthusiasm,
and this letter, it should only take about two weeks to have your equipment ready. Good luck with your lines and here is some contact information:
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Reach Marc or Michele at ITS at 450-8510
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The modem is connected to a “hub” with enough outlets for every Ethernet hook in the house. The hub is connected to only 1 computer.
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ACD is located in the plaza driving to the food co-op off of Grand River.
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Call ARQ and have them explain where they are… I don’t have the articulation to explain it. But they offer a good deal: $50/ month
Spring is coming, I promise… Until then Keep your head up...